How design works: Classic menswear and fashion co...
The main reason I wanted to bring designer Luke Walker onto our series of talks was his experience working at both fashion brands (Lanvin, McQueen) and classic menswear (Dunhill, Drake’s). I love what he does at his own brand, LEJ, and we tal...
How design works: Classic menswear and fashion co...
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What a breath of fresh air Luke is ... so many gems, anecdotes and wisdom (Oh ... and a dusting of luxuriant chest hair). Loved it all....
Video: Carl and Oliver of Rubato, in conversation
One of the things I enjoy about this series is the way each conversation drifts onto grander topics. Even though many of the people are similar, and the questions don’t vary too much, we always end up discussing abstract, interesting ideas. W...
Video: Carl and Oliver of Rubato, in conversation
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I recently picked up the Rubato fireman’s jacket. Leaving a review here, since Google brought me here when I was looking for opinions. I was thinking about the jacket for months and had the good luck of trying Carl’s...
Video: Jamie Ferguson on photography and style
This was really fun. I guess it’s always easier interviewing someone you know well, but there’s also a temptation there to just chat – to forget the perhaps more significant topics you had wanted to discuss. I think ...
Video: Jamie Ferguson on photography and style
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nice guys) cheers!...
How to hand wash knitwear: Video
The clothing care I’ve always been worst at is washing knitwear. But I have got better in recent years, in part as I’ve become more used to the process and it’s felt more reliable, more predictable. Over time...
How to hand wash knitwear: Video
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It would be good to see some more evidence on the potential issues that can have, I think, given the people I spoke to have washed their knits for years without any issues. I suspect that specific detergents will have so...
Video: Ethan Newton, his style and the evolution ...
It's easy to forget that when Bryceland's first started, the idea was just to do tailoring. Six and half years later, on the eve of opening his third shop in London, Ethan Newton reflects with me on how far he and the brand have come. Hear how he th...
Video: Ethan Newton, his style and the evolution ...
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Yes, I think we begin to be more interested in clothes over time, particularly when we see others wear them well. However, I wouldn't put these in the bracket of black trousers, as they'll fade quickly and basically beco...
Video: Tony Sylvester, style and subcultures
Can subcultures ever exist in this century the way they did in the last? Why are logos better on some clothes than others? Why do French men dress like happy Englishmen? When I introduced this talk with Tony Sylvester I promised a wide ranging mens...
Video: Tony Sylvester, style and subcultures
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It is, but I don't know more than that....
Pressing: An unsung art of bespoke tailoring (video)
The first time I saw a tailor use an iron to shape cloth, I was genuinely surprised. You wouldn’t think material would be able to be manipulated that much, using steam and pressure to turn a straight piece of canvas into the shape of a collar...
Pressing: An unsung art of bespoke tailoring (video)
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Thank you Simon. Have a great day! -Tony...
Video: How to deal with stains on tailoring
This video, the latest in our series on how to care for your tailoring at home, looks at stains. Cutter Ben Clarke, from Richard James in London, suggested this as a topic a while ago, but I wasn't sure. I thought we'd want to talk to a dry cleaner ...
Video: How to deal with stains on tailoring
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No actually, that's interesting. I guess I thought that wasn't usually the case given when I get water on something, it doesn't normally leave a mark - only when used for something like the cleaning mentioned...
Video: How to hem trousers, like a Savile Row tailor
Fixing the hem on trousers is a fairly easy - and satisfying - thing to do at home. It also enables you, should you want to, to alter the length of trousers (though it's much easier without cuffs). In this video I talk to Ben Clarke, cutter at Richa...
Video: How to hem trousers, like a Savile Row tailor
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Thank you. From Jean-Manuel Moreau, reviewed here...
How to sew a button – like a Savile Row tailor
Dressing well is not just about buying clothes, but about looking after them well, and responsibly. Caring for things so that they last longer, and you need less. In the past we’ve covered quite a few aspects about caring for clothes, includi...
How to sew a button – like a Savile Row tailor
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Many thanks Lindsay...
The Online Symposium: How luxury menswear can bec...
One of the things bespoke artisans have struggled with during the Covid-19 crisis is not being able to travel. Savile Row makes more than half its money in the US, and the Spring trips weren’t possible. Should they try to do remote fittings? C...
The Online Symposium: How luxury menswear can bec...
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Mostly the style...
Video chat: How to build a wardrobe from scratch
This is the third in our series of reader-question videos, with the subject this time being wardrobe building. Specifically: “I am building up a wardrobe from scratch. What do I buy first, and how much should I spend?” It’s a popu...
Video chat: How to build a wardrobe from scratch
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Thank you, pleased we've been of help. Yes I think Whitcomb might be a better uniform and a good one for the budget. Anything else, just let me know...
Video chat: Going to a maker for the first time
I’m not sure we really answered the question in this chat. The idea of each of these videos is to take a frequently asked reader question, and then tackle it from every angle. Here the question was: ‘I’m going to a tailor or shirt...
Video chat: Going to a maker for the first time
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Yes, they usually do. Though I actually ask them not to sometimes, as I have too many and hate the waste! Same with cloth bags. Really pleased the video has been so useful....
Video question: How can I dress up without a suit?
One of the things I enjoy most about Permanent Style is the comments from readers. It’s like each article is a new thread in a forum, with subject raised and then comments, experiences and questions all following, vastly enriching t...
Video question: How can I dress up without a suit?
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Hi Creceden, Thank you, that's very kind. If the jacket you're talking about is the one in the picture, it looks like a nice material and I like the combination with the roll neck. But it's more traditional and i think i...
Video: Comfort vs style in the fit of a suit
Here is the final video in our series on how a jacket should fit. The first looked at the basics of fit, while the second was on the length of a suit jacket. In this third one, we look at how much the fit of a suit is a matter of comfort. So arguing...
Video: Comfort vs style in the fit of a suit
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Hey Jack, I really don't know I'm afraid - I would have guessed the material, but if that's the same then I have no idea...
Video: How long should a jacket be?
This is the second in a series of videos in which we're looking at how a jacket should fit. The first one, here, was a summary of the basics on fit. In this second one, we look at the length of a jacket. This is the kind of thing that can seem like ...
Video: How long should a jacket be?
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You can see how all the tailors I've used vary in length in the Style Breakdown section...
Video: How a jacket should fit
This is the first in a series of three videos in which I look at how a jacket should fit. In this first one, we cover the basics around the jacket - front, back and side. It's a useful summary of the main points, and applies as much to a high-street...
Video: How a jacket should fit
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Ah, ok. One of the advantages of bespoke always, having that inlay...
Video: Audie Charles on swapping a shirt for a sw...
It's dress-up time! In this second video with Audie Charles at the Anderson & Sheppard Haberdashery, Audie dresses me in five pieces of knitwear from the shop, showing how she thinks they can add variety. In Audie's view, men too often go fo...
Video: Audie Charles on swapping a shirt for a sw...
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Hi Michael. Most sweaters will stretch a little if worn close and therefore pushed and stretched themselves. Wool particularly. It sounds like you might need a bigger size if you're wearing them over a shirt...
Video: What makes a quality hat?
In a comment on our recent video covering suit alterations, a reader complimented my questioning of Davide - saying I was putting the questions the viewer was thinking. I was really chuffed at that. As someone who spent most of their professional c...
Video: What makes a quality hat?
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Yes it could, though I'd probably start with a sisal one, or perhaps at least a brown band and slightly smaller shape...
Video: What ‘spalla camicia’ really m...
As soft Neapolitan jackets have become popular in the past 10 years or so, the phrase 'spalla camicia' has been more and more frequently used. However if it means anything consistently, this Italian phrase for 'shirt sleeve' refers to a pretty narro...
Video: What ‘spalla camicia’ really m...
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Not particularly, but just because my experience with BN Tailor wasn't great, so hard to comment on accurately, and I haven't tried any others...
Video: How much can you alter a suit?
One of the reasons a bespoke suit can last a long time is that it is easier to adjust, and the tailors that made it are better at doing so. It's easier to adjust because more cloth is left in the seams, and in more places, than anything made in a fa...
Video: How much can you alter a suit?
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Hey Jack, I wouldn't worry much about the material becoming overworked, no. Being wool it should be pretty able to take that. Sorry the experience hasn't worked that well...
Video: English and Neapolitan jackets compared
This groundwork for this video was laid two weeks ago, when we examined the various aspects of the cut of a jacket. It might be worth watching that first, if you haven't already. It showed the most important points of cut and structure, from the siz...
Video: English and Neapolitan jackets compared
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There's always one in there - just needs to be controlled now and again!...
Video: The cut and parts of a bespoke jacket
At the prompting of readers, I will be doing some more video pieces over the coming months, looking at different aspects of suit style. These new, slightly shorter films will be a nice accompaniment to the Style Breakdown series - where I measure an...
Video: The cut and parts of a bespoke jacket
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Thank you. I'm afraid that number of takes, audio and editing is a bit beyond our budget/time, but thank you for the suggestions - I'll bring them up with the team....
Ivy Style today: The Symposium video, New York
Last week's Symposium in New York was hugely enjoyable. There were over 200 enthusiastic people in the audience (standing room only) and I think the speakers were perfect. Alan Flusser gave the historical background on Ivy style (having lived it him...
Ivy Style today: The Symposium video, New York
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By the way, if you want an explanation from Alan on why he dresses this way today, it can be found here: https://alanflusser.com/musings-from-alans-desk/alan-flusser-style...
Video debate: The future of tailoring, with Saman...
The lack of a coherent dress code in modern offices does not mean men will wear tailoring less. It just means they have more choice. And Saman and Dag find that their customers are both bankers dressing down (not in a suit, but not in a polo either)...
Video debate: The future of tailoring, with Saman...
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Thank you very much for immediate response!...
Video: How a bespoke suit can be repaired
How a suit lasts - and can be repaired over time - doesn't get much focus in bespoke. The craft, the history, the style: they're all talked about more, and understandably so. They're a good deal sexier. But it's a shame, because a benefit of the way...
Video: How a bespoke suit can be repaired
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I see, thanks Dario. No, it is cloth rubbing against itself that usually causes it to wear through. My comment above at the end is in regards to jeans. I'm saying that you can patch on the inside there, because you don't...
Video: How to pack a suitcase
For most people, the main problem with packing is fitting everything in. If you're carrying a suit, however, you're also faced with the trickier problem of avoiding creasing. I've long used a technique that involves wrapping jackets and trousers aro...
Video: How to pack a suitcase
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I'm afraid I don't know the brand Tim, they don't have one on them and I've had them for many years. Anything in plastic is good though, it just has to be light...
Video: Douglas Cordeaux and Gianluca Migliarotti ...
Why did the Japanese spend all day screaming at Douglas? How does Gianluca think Italian artisans are being dishonest? This conversation between myself, Gianluca Migliarotti of Pommella trousers, and Douglas Cordeaux of Fox Brothers, I think qualifi...
Video: Douglas Cordeaux and Gianluca Migliarotti ...
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I'm sure it was Fox Brothers, but other than that I don't know, sorry...
Video: A conversation of cordwainers
Two weeks ago, Deborah Carre of Carreducker and I organised a talk among five very different shoemakers, to talk about how and why men are buying bespoke today. It was scheduled to coincide with London Craft Week, held in Carreducker's leather schoo...
Video: A conversation of cordwainers
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I've know Felix for some time. He has upscaled some rare beautiful vintage boots, multiple re-soles and re-finishes all to my rathater OCD requirements. He then made me a very beautiful pair of engineer boots with bespok...
England and Florence: Understated, rural style
I always wondered why my friend Tommaso was such a fan of British style: he always wore tweed jackets, flannel trousers, Scottish knitwear. Even cotton Harrington jackets. His green tweed jacket from Loris Vestrucci was one reason I was i...
England and Florence: Understated, rural style
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I'm exaggerating, but there is a tendency among many Neapolitans to be a bit flamboyant and try to show off with their clothes - Neapolitans themselves tell me, so it must be true!...
Menswear craft in China and Hong Kong: Symposium ...
I’m not from China or Hong Kong. Although I’ve visited more than a dozen times, I can’t say I know it well. It was therefore a particular pleasure to host this edition of the Symposium in Hong Kong, and hear the experiences, views ...
Menswear craft in China and Hong Kong: Symposium ...
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Nice point. I have a shirt made by them so will plan to do that...
Video: How to buy a bespoke suit
This talk with Tommaso Capozzoli of Sartoria Vestrucci is a useful beginner’s guide for commissioning a suit. Tommaso explains how he would work out what kind of suit a customer wants, how he would direct cloth choices, and how ...
Video: How to buy a bespoke suit
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Thanks so much for your guidance!...
Video: A bespoke shirt fitting
Akshat of 100 Hands was a little nervous before this, but he needn't have been. He is one of the most thoughtful people out there on shirts, their fit and their make. Partly, this is because he's simply been through it all: building a shi...
Video: A bespoke shirt fitting
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Hey Jim, It's very hard to say from a single static picture, but I would expect that you would get less collapsing of the cloth at the sides of your chest and back, which probably comes from shoulders that are a little m...
Video: Buying a pair of bespoke shoes
While in Florence last month, we took the opportunity to film some of the practical videos we've produced in the last year, with artisans based in the city. This is the first, with Stefano Bemer, talking about buying a first pair of bespo...
Video: Buying a pair of bespoke shoes
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That's very sad. I was quite looking forward to trying the new range at some point. Hopefully it's not a permanent closure but the above doesn't sound very auspicious....
Video: How to care for wool knitwear
When was the last time you washed your knitwear? I have to say it's one of the clothing maintenance things I'm worst at. Even though I know it's great to avoid pilling, and more importantly moths, I rarely do it. I feel guilty every few m...
Video: How to care for wool knitwear
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I haven't tried any of those methods I'm afraid Rich, and I'm not sure I'd recommend trying them unless you're happy for it to mess up the sweater. If it helps, I thought that at first but got used to the lambswool over ...
Video: Maintaining and caring for your suit
The Campaign for Wool recently asked me to help them with a series of videos educating people on caring for wool products. Chaired by HRH Prince Charles, the Campaign is a charity that communicates how environmentally friendly and sustainable wool i...
Video: Maintaining and caring for your suit
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Thank you, Simon and Michael. Appreciate it....
Video: The New York Symposium – Dressing up...
'Dressing up in a Dress-Down World' felt like a very timely subject for this Symposium, our first in New York. And particularly relevant in the US, perhaps, where there has always been a cultural aversion to dressing too smartly - in the so-called '...
Video: The New York Symposium – Dressing up...
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It's a royal-blue flannel. I'm not sure it's available anymore I'm afraid, but that's what you're looking for....
How to polish shoes: Part 2, polish and mirror shine
As with the first in our shoe polishing videos, this film is more discursive than most, with context and analysis around both the talk and the demonstration. Most videos on polishing just show one person doing what they do, and coming up ...
How to polish shoes: Part 2, polish and mirror shine
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Hi J. To be honest, not soon I'm afraid. We are planning a follow-up video but it has been slow....
How to polish shoes: Part 1, context and cream
For the next in our series of practical videos, I wanted to tackle shoe polishing. But, also to present it in a way that was more discursive, and explained rather than just taught. Most videos on polishing just show one person doing what they do, an...
How to polish shoes: Part 1, context and cream
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Thanks, Simon! I’m on the same page as regards smells, didn’t know what ‘source’ to use so will surely check out the blocks....
Media Symposium – The debate
Our debate at the Media Symposium last week covered everything from influencers to Interview, story-telling to Supreme. It was one of the best discussions we've had, and probably the one with the broadest appeal. The audience was made up of largely ...
Media Symposium – The debate
Match in comments:
what's worse is the no socks look with those 'hidden' socks that everyone can see......
Video: How to wear a pocket handkerchief
This was a nice opportunity to do a practical video, and express a forthright opinion. Videos on folding pocket squares and handkerchiefs are normally so terrible. Guys in black suits using fiddly folds to wear yellow-satin hanks. Hopefully this off...
Video: How to wear a pocket handkerchief
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Hi Nik, is there a chance to get one of these white linen pocket squares? Best regards, Jens...
Video: In conversation with Lorenzo
As promised a while back, here is some video coverage of the talk Lorenzo Cifonelli and I gave at Attire House in Hong Kong last month. We cover a pretty broad range of topics, from how annoyed Lorenzo looks when he's doing fittings, to the various ...
Video: In conversation with Lorenzo
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Yes, it's easier to get good fit in RTW shoes than in RTW tailoring...
Video: Sartoria Ciardi in conversation
This is the film of our small presentation with Sartoria Ciardi a couple of weeks ago - at Mark's Club in London. We had 25 readers in the audience, with Poppy Charles kindly translating, and the result was a nice, intimate-feeling event with the Ci...
Video: Sartoria Ciardi in conversation
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Very nice and pleasant video. Grazie mille)...
How to look after suede jackets – Video
This is the second in our series of videos looking at practical aspects of menswear. The first, available here, explained the basics of good shoe care, with Edward Green on London's Jermyn Street. In this second instalment we turn our attention t...
How to look after suede jackets – Video
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No worries. Yes you can...
The Shirtmakers Symposium – The video debate
Below you can find the full video of our Shirtmakers Symposium in Florence. It's a little basic, but thankfully the sound worked well and it's audible throughout. Silvio Albini makes a lovely introduction at the start, then each shirtmaker introduce...
The Shirtmakers Symposium – The video debate
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Awesome article Simon. Very informative. Your photography is perfect and this type of content is hard to find. You are right i found it interesting because of the video. Nice crowd and very well explained everything i al...
How to look after your shoes
This is the first in a series of videos that we will be doing over the coming months, looking at caring for good clothes. They will be instructional, but not too technical, and we plan to build them up slowly over the year - so for example, not try...
How to look after your shoes
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Ah, yes but that will vary a little - sometimes if they've been on display in the shop they will have had some polish on them already...
The ‘Style Guide’ dinner: What is the...
Last month, we organised a dinner at the beautiful Beaumont Hotel to celebrate The Style Guide - the book published earlier this year by myself and photographer Jamie Ferguson. There had been official launch events, and signings, at Fenwick's of Bo...
The ‘Style Guide’ dinner: What is the...
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Hope you enjoy the little video, changing a bit with humour your dinner for your book. https://www.instagram.com/tv/CD-nn2zpvRN/?igshid=1deds976zz0ra...
Video: Evening wear at the Huntsman dinner
As requested by readers, here is the video coverage we took on the night at our Huntsman dinner a couple of weeks ago. The sound quality isn't perfect (our fault) but you can certainly hear the short explanation I gave at the beginning of the dinner...
Video: Evening wear at the Huntsman dinner
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Well done ... lovely thoughts and great fellowship. Cheers to my confrères...
Video: The Young Tailors Symposium
Looking back on it, our summer 2016 edition of the Symposium series - which focused on young tailors - was particularly interesting. It's easy to forget until you see our film, shown here, how much the backgrounds of each tailor varied. Each was als...
Video: The Young Tailors Symposium
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Very well done. I think the videos on this site are a nice extra touch. It adds extra value and experience to hear from the personal side of tailoring, which I think is a very wirthwhile side to this industry. Luxury ite...
Video: Edward Green shoes being made in Northampton
Edward Green recently made this video showing step-by-step the stages of making a pair of shoes in the Northampton factory. I like the lack of pretentiousness to it - others would desaturate the imagery, use slow motion to linger over particular par...
Video: Edward Green shoes being made in Northampton
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Personally I think the Dainite is too thick - the city rubber sole would be OK, but the Dainite is a bit too chunky. Right on the London Grain, but a cord suit could be nice with it...