When it comes to jeans I’m sure we all have our tried and tested favorites we go back to again and again, I certainly do but thats not necessarily a good thing! Its too easy to get stuck in our ways and in fashion that’s very rarely a good thing so men we really should welcome the new ASOS range of denim with open arms as they have a staggering 600 different styles to choose from, that’s right 600!
ASOS wanted to let you all know about this new range and with so many styles they really do have denim for everyone but have decided to do things a little differently with the help of a rather inventive twitter competition. ASOS are requesting you submit a challenge to their denim, the creative the better and the one they like the most will get a video reply answering their challenge and also win themselves a brand new pair of Jeans from the range.
Sound good? great well here’s a few challengers ASOS have already answered, I hope this inspires you to submit one yourself !
I’m often sent aftershaves to try in the hope I will write something about them and too often I just cant as they just don’t do much for me, you see I know what I like and tend to stick with it and that means I mostly wear Issey Miyake L’eau D’issey Pour Homme, its a classic scent that I’m often complimented on.
So I wasn’t sure what to think when I was sent Loewe’s Solo fragrance, for one I admit I havent heard of the brand before although it turns out they have been around since 1846 when a group of craftsmen opened a leather goods workshop
in central Madrid. Within a few years they had established themselves as one of the best names in leather goods and fashion, a trait they still hold dear to this day.
Loewe is now well established in high end fashion with Karl Lagerfeld, Giorgio Armani and Laura Biagiotti all having contributed to the Loewe collections.
Loewe launched their first scent in 1985, and has since become a market leader in Spain.
Upon the first spray of the scent I was pleasantly surprised, it actually reminds me alot of my beloved Issey Miyake with its citrus tones and spiciness but Loewe also have their own unmistakable scent here which they make their own. I’m not the best at describing scents but I know what I like and I like Solo. I wore it out yesterday to meet a friend for lunch and no less than three people enquired as to what I was wearing which is a very good sign indeed!
As the cold weather returns with its usual bite, it’s time to break out the winter wardrobe, pack away summer’s light shades and flimsy materials and replace with rustic hues and warm wool. Now’s the time freshen up your look with some stylish and toasty headgear – well you may as well look sharp scraping the ice off the car at 6am as you trudge to work!
Recently we were sent me some wonderful flat caps to review, perfect timing as the floods in Yorkshire recede to be replaced with icy blasts. The first three are from Bailey of Hollywood (regular readers will remember my review of their summer range here) and another from A Hume. First up is the collection from Bailey:
These offerings from the Bailey winter range deliver the impeccable standards of workmanship that Bailey are renowned for. Gone are the outlandishly daring fabric choices of the summer range, replaced with beautiful winter tweeds and understated muted tones. The quality of the outer fabric is thick and luxurious, the design patterns well defined, and the winter nature highlighted by thick padding for warmth. I’ve waxed lyrical in the past about how well made items bearing the Bailey name are, these being no different.
The inner liner is a work of art. On some items (even expensive items that charge only for the name) you can quickly identify where shortcuts have been taken to reduce manufacturing costs. For example, on a flat cap of lesser quality, the inner liner would be a single piece of fabric stitched to the rim, with a button in the middle and maybe a few stitches to hold it to the outer. The inner liner on all of the Baileys demonstrates an eye for tailoring-esque detail and a stout refusal to compromise on quality. The lining is made of 5 individual panels of Bailey monogrammed material, each stitched with perfect alignment to the outer material panels, something I’ve never seen before.
Traditional doesn’t mean boring. There are design touches in abundance that make these caps standout. My personal favourite of this brace is the Golf model. With its traditional tweed outer this cap could be dismissed as run of the mill, but Bailey have given it a modern twist. The foam insert in the peak makes the shape of the cap very defined and consistent, resulting in a stylish modern flat cap. I haven’t stopped wearing it since it arrived and I even met up with the editor of this blog at cigar function with it atop of my noggin to many admiring comments. The others sent continued the restrained choice of fabric; the Varden sporting a single coloured dark cloth and the plain mono-chrome Lord, almost a classic houndtooth design, are both perfect for when tweed doesn’t suit your mood. The cut of the pair gives a tight, head hugging sharp look.
The A Hume offering, made in the UK exclusively for A Hume of Kelso from 100% Wool, steps away from conformity in its choice of fabric and construction. A truly traditional green herringbone outer is given a modern feel by the use of a very large check of pastel blue. The method of construction is unique, the whole cap made from a single piece of fabric with the back panel formed by razor-sharp relief cuts and stitching. This method ensures the cap fits tightly around the head resulting in a very modern, tailored look.
Many thanks to both Bailey and AHume for supplying us the hats to review
I hadn’t heard of Chatham Marine until recently but it seems they are a British company that have been around for 20years catering for what they call the ‘weekend sailor’ supplying everything from waterproof clothing to polo shirts , hats and footwear.
For a while I have been looking for a Desert Boot style casual shoe and had yet to pull the trigger as every time I found a pair I liked they either didn’t have my size or I felt they were a little pricey.
Then I came across Chatham Marines Orwell Country Desert Boot, keenly priced at £59.00 and looking exactly how I imagined the perfect boots would I went ahead and got a pair in Brown. I received the boots a few weeks ago and I have to say I am nothing but happy and quite frankly really impressed how well made they are, as they were only £59.00 I wasn’t expecting anything amazing but the quality of these boots and the solid construction really is impressive, in fact several colleagues have asked me where I bought them and that I think is a true sign that something looks good, when others covert them!
If you would like your own pair or to explore the rest of the range offered by Chatham Marine head over to
A fifth of Brits admits to declining dates based on dress sense as discovered in a new My Ariel survey
· 1 in 10 Brits admit to intentionally destroying a partner’s item of clothing if they don’t like it.
· Dress sense voted primary factor to look out for by 58% of Brits.
· 43% of Brits demand their partner changes their clothes because they are embarrassed to be seen with them
· Unlucky in love? Wear purple – women are more likely accept a date from men wearing purple.
Its official, a survey to launch the new My Ariel campaign from laundry brand Ariel , has discovered that when it comes to finding love women are far pickier about appearances than men, with over a fifth (28%) of women and just 14% of men admitting to declining a date with someone because they hated their clothes.
In fact British women feel so strongly about a man’s dress sense that 60% reported clothes are the number one dating deal breaker, followed in second place by a suitor’s haircut (17%) and style of shoes (9%).
Passionate purple – the colour women fall for
The poll of 2000 Brits to celebrate the new My Ariel campaign discovered that men stand more chance with the ladies if they wear purple, with over a third (36%) accepting a date from a man dressed in a purple shirt. Men who prefer the black ‘milk tray man’ look come in a close second (32%), with the classic crisp white shirt taking third place (13%).
Wearing blue or pink is likely to leave men standing lonely on the dance floor, taking just 11% and 6% of the votes.
Wardrobe overhaul
If any men are lucky enough to pass the ‘clothing test’ and secure a second date it’s likely that she’s already plotting to overhaul his wardrobe with a quarter (25%) of British women believing there is always room for improvement on the clothes front, and nearly one in 20 admitting that every time they go out with a new partner they like to dictate their style.
But men are confident in their style choices as a quarter (25%) won’t seek anyone else’s opinion on what they choose to wear for a night out.
The destroyer
31% of women admit to having no qualms in demanding their partner changes their clothes because they are embarrassed to be seen out with them. It’s not only the ladies, however, that have a say in their other half’s wardrobe, as nearly a fifth (18%) of men are guilty of doing the exact same thing.
When it comes to taking drastic measures, men and women are both as guilty as each other with one in 10 admitting that they’ve even destroyed a partner’s item of clothing that they really disliked.
This might explain why nearly a quarter of men (23%) still take their washing home for their mum to do – and only 4 in 10 couples allow their partner to wash their favorite item of clothing with half preferring to do their own washing – separately!
The survey was conducted to celebrate the launch of Ariel’s new TV ad campaign ‘My Ariel’ which is themed around people’s real life clothing stories. Visit www.facebook.com/ArielUKandIRE for further information and to watch the videos.
Puma has long been associated with sport producing equipment for some of the best athletes in the world, I myself coveted a pair of Puma King football boots when I was a kid but sadly they were out of my reach. I doubt having them would have meant football stardom for me but Puma have graced many a famous footballers feet in the past.
An interesting development in recent years has seen sportswear companies produce more style orientated clothing some producing some amazing results which is why I was intrigued when I heard Puma were partnering with online fashion giant ASOS to produce a new range built not only for performance but with a heavy focus on fashion as well.
To showcase the new collection the filmaker Ben Newman was enlisted to document a day in the lives of underground Brazilian graffiti collective The Pixadores.
The Pixadores paint in and around inaccessible places using a range of creative techniques to reach these locations such abseiling and free climbing to reach places out of bounds to most of us, but they see it as a challenge!
The Pixadores whose motto is ‘Be a Creator’ and ASOS and Puma are encouraging you to get creative and share your designs, pictures, drawings, videos using the #Beacreator tag on Twitter or Instagram
The full collection from the partnership between ASOS and Puma will be launched on 25th September along with the full film by Ben Newman, but for now here are a few teasers to whet your appetite.
I have been meaning to write about Scottevest for a while, for several reasons now seems the time to let you know about them.
Scottevest produce tech friendly clothing, their jackets are designed to be loaded up with things like a Ipad, camera , water bottle, sunglasses, headphones all the usual stuff but in such a way that the weight is distributed that you hardly notice these things are there.
I carry my Ipad on the train every day in my Scottevest and nearly every day I get a shocked look from a fellow passenger when I produce the tablet from inside my jacket, for me that’s why I bought my first Scottevest product, I don’t like carrying a bag and now I dont have to!
Another big plus of the range is when travelling through airports, no more am I limited to the space in my carry on, my Scottevest is essentially a whole extra carry on for all my stuff, the above picture shows a xray style image of just the sort of things you can carry in one of the jackets.
I could go into more details on their product range but I really think you will get the best overview by visiting their site, watching a few of the videos and reading some of the feedback, I know that helped me make my mind up.
Is it true that ‘clothes maketh the man’ ? It is not just the clothes that you wear but the shoes that you team it them with, that define how you are perceived to the opposite sex. Shoes add to the enchantment of any kind of clothing that you don. And the appropriate shoes are important to carry off a particular look. Trainers never look great with a suit, not even Paul McCartney can get away with it (not for the want of trying!) so what makes you think you can?
Why am I talking about shoes? Well about the only bit of style advise I ever remember is being told that Women always look at your shoes first, I guess that makes sense, most women I know are obsessed with shoes so it stands to reason they would be taking a look at what’s on our feet as well as theirs doesn’t it?
As you can probably tell Im not the best person to dish out style advise but thankfully you don’t need me when you have experts like James Charm with his latest Seduction lesson focusing on clothing Im sure he will point you ( and me!) in the right direction.
James tells us that what we wear will unconsciously send signals to men and women about who we are, and will create the appeal that is the beginning of seduction. So you’d better learn a few practical tips about clothing, and a few things to avoid as well
Where’s the best place to review flat caps? Its got to be Yorkshire. The land defined by flat caps and whippets, frothy beer and Emmerdale!
So a package was dispatched (not by pigeon) to Yorkshire for a review by our “Gentleman in the North”. Here’s what he thought.
Bailey of Hollywood, Made in Milan the label says….well that’s a fair few airmiles. The three flatcaps that arrived were not your usual choice of materials, some very striking patterns and one even had pink stitching; that may be the height of fashion in Milan, but maybe not Mytholmroyd!
In terms of construction, this is where the Bailey shines. The cap just screams quality, from the heavy gauge liner with the Bailey logo running through, to the perfect stitching and flawless linen outer, this cap is a very well made piece of headwear. The attention to detail is something I always assess as it can tell you if the price is justified or if someone’s trying it on because of the name. As you can always tell a made to measure pinstripe suit by the pinstripe lining up at the arm/body boundary, the same attention to detail can be seen on this cap. My favourite of the bunch has large check pattern made up of multiple lines; these are matched perfectly as the top panel joins the side panel. There’s also less obvious, but tell-tale signs of quality; the logo on the liner all runs perfectly level, the pattern on the underside of the peak is straight and centralized and the head band join is hidden under the Bailey tag. All these little things show you this is a quality item that hasn’t been thrown together in a sweat shop!
The caps that were sent were Large and fitted my head perfectly. The shape of the cap on the head is slightly different to most in my collection due to the slightly larger side panel. This produces a shape that’s a sort of cross between a Bakers Boy and the traditional Flat Cap. No bad thing, it’s just different.
The full range of Bailey Hats can be found at www.baileyhats.com and all good fashion retailers
Notonthehighstreet.com is a fantastic idea, the site brings togther thousands of small designers and gives them a platform to show off their items on one very easy to navigate website. You order and pay through the site and them the designer sends you their item directly.
I recently bought this Personalised Silver Union Jack Plectrum for my brothers birthday. He’s a musician so I thought he would get a kick out of the plectrum shape and I was right he loved it!
I was given the option to personalise the necklace so I has the designer add his date of birth. In fact a lot of the items on Not On the High Street have the option to personalise in some way which I find people really appreciate when they receive something bespoke, it shows you have put some thought into the gift and you care.
There are a few similar sites to Not On The High Street around but I think what sets them apart is they seem to have a good quality control as to the items they carry and its all very well organised and easy to find something for that special someone or even yourself!
