My case for the lightweight English jacket
By Aleks Cvetkovic. For much of my career I’ve felt like an anomaly, especially at the likes of Pitti or industry events. Principally this is because I’ve always chosen to wear structured tailoring, largely from London tailors, over the ...
My case for the lightweight English jacket
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Thanks so much for this. It's very helpful. I'll take a closer look at cordovan boots. I've been wearing the roughout because it's pretty easy to manage scuffs on. With all the snow we get here I've been pretty relucant ...
Reader profile: Sebastian
Sebastian has an interesting story - a clothing story with distinct phases. He’s a long-term reader (just over 10 years) and has worn many different styles, many different brands. But he's another PS reader in essence - always a little similar...
Reader profile: Sebastian
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Most classic menswear brands will not offer discounts and often don't go on sale...
The practicality of a sweater over the shoulders
Wearing a sweater over the shoulders has a lot of negative connotations. But if you can get away with it - because of your style, of where you are, or just because of your personality - it’s incredibly practical. This suit I wore at Pitti earl...
The practicality of a sweater over the shoulders
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Understood Rob. I personally find it doesn't really fall off, but then it depends what I'm doing that day - I'm just walking around town and chatting, not playing with the kids. And, if I tie the sleeves I don't find the...
Who are my favourite tailors? (Part two)
Please read part one of this article, here , before this one. Without that context, setting out my priorities, this summary will likely be misleading. Everyone is different, wants different things from bespoke, and simply gets on with people differ...
Who are my favourite tailors? (Part two)
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I have always been pleased with my tailor in DC, William Field. I have worked with him since 2010, like his fairly structured, English style, and have always enjoyed his professionalism and company as well. Also, as he i...
Wearing all black
I’ve been playing around with black so much in recent years (note, this is classic menswear - it’s years/decades, not weeks/months) that I thought I’d try out wearing nothing but black. This was during Pitti at Florence, on a rela...
Wearing all black
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Things like that certainly can be, Markus, but I think it's fairly universal at a more professional level with tailoring. In some.countries there is a more fashion influence, eg in France, and there is more black. Your l...
The guide to morning dress: Part three, the final...
by Aleks Cvetkovic Having now been to my first Royal Ascot, it strikes me that the hardest thing to do with morning dress is to get the details right, and in so doing capture a kind of comfortable ‘old school’ elegance without looking li...
The guide to morning dress: Part three, the final...
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Aleks, I'm just pulling together my own outfit for Royal Ascot this year and wondered if you had a firm view on the colour of your top hat? You've obviously gone for black but just wondered if you think a medium grey is ...
Dege & Skinner lightweight summer jacket: Re...
This brown wool/silk/linen jacket was made in a lightweight model that Savile Row tailor Dege & Skinner introduced last year. It has a thin shoulder pad and no chest canvas, unlike their normal tailoring. I can directly compare the differen...
Dege & Skinner lightweight summer jacket: Re...
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I don't think I'd worry on the coolness point, as it is so lightweight, but yes I think you'll find the trousers too flimsy to get long-term wear out of. Sorry, it otherwise sounded like a great plan!...
The guide to morning dress: Part two, cut and make
By Aleks Cvetkovic Welcome to the basted fitting for the bespoke morning suit by Whitcomb & Shaftesbury that we referenced in the first instalment of this series. As mentioned previously, the coat is cut in traditional black featherweave wor...
The guide to morning dress: Part two, cut and make
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Aleks is correct. Plain grey trousers aren't part of the traditional morning coat outfit. If you wore plain grey trousers with a morning coat to a wedding then people who care about classic menswear would notice this, an...
The guide to morning dress: Part one, style
Morning dress is an area I’ve always found fascinating, but never have occasion to wear myself. I do want to have some guidance on Permanent Style, however - so when Aleks Cvetkovic told me he was having morning dress made for the first time, ...
The guide to morning dress: Part one, style
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I can see I might go to someone with more experience, yes, though I believe Steven would have that. I would certainly ask. I wouldn't necessarily go to a more traditional tailor though, no. I would certainly trust Davide...
A collared cardigan under a jacket: Ciardi and Co...
In recent weeks I’ve been playing around with this button-through cardigan from Colhay’s. Initially I was sceptical as to whether I’d ever wear it tucked in - and afraid it was a little lightweight to wear untucked. The same fear ...
A collared cardigan under a jacket: Ciardi and Co...
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I know what you mean. I think with the cream and white and grey elsewhere, it works fine with the black. And there's a black belt to help it too. But a dark-brown would be a little easier and would certainly work as well...
Why I’m wearing more belts
In recent months I’ve been wearing belts more often, after years of hardly doing so at all. I never wore them with tailoring, preferring the clean, elegant look of an unfettered waistband with side adjustors. And I didn’t even wear the...
Why I’m wearing more belts
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It's hard, nothing is quite right, but I usually go with dark brown leather rather than black. Anything that is not black is so obviously different - brown less so. Either solid or braided is fine...
How my jacket style has changed
In recent weeks we’ve been talking a lot about reflections on bespoke over time; the lessons I draw from commissioning tailoring for 13 years or so. We did an article on how dramatically tailoring can be altered , using my Chittleborough &...
How my jacket style has changed
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I don't have it with me in afraid but I can try and measure it when I'm home...
Real bespoke chinos, in design, cloth and cut
Chinos from tailors never feel like chinos. Why is this? I used to think I knew the answer: the fabrics they used were too fine – dress cottons, made with fine fibres, finished for a sleek look and good drape. Chinos, even lu...
Real bespoke chinos, in design, cloth and cut
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No sorry, if I did it wouldn't be an issue!...
Matching checks on a jacket
Checked jackets are always a lot of fun for tailoring discussions. Nothing makes you look harder at a fabric than working out the advantages and disadvantages of check arrangements. The jacket above - first shown in our recent article on the new PS ...
Matching checks on a jacket
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Good question, I'm not sure actually. I think that would be the starting point, the placement the tailor would start with. But it might not be possible, perhaps, if the customer was stooped, so the back had to be rather ...
Introducing: Permanent Style Plaid
Two years ago, when we visited the Joshua Ellis mill near Batley, Yorkshire, I spent a happy couple of hours browsing their archive. As you might expect, the vast majority were classics: plain or textured cashmeres, houndstooths and herringbones. T...
Introducing: Permanent Style Plaid
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Thanks Leif, the material is coming back into stock this summer, for autumn/winter jackets...
Layering and accessories for cold Spring days
Back when these things were possible, I remember an American friend visiting in the Spring and asking: “How on earth do you dress for this weather? I can see my breath in the morning, but my midday I’m roasting and can barely wear a jack...
Layering and accessories for cold Spring days
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Wonderful! Thank you Jack...
Whitcomb & Shaftesbury RAF-blue suit: Style ...
Whitcomb & Shaftesbury have achieved great popularity in recent years because of their pricing. They offer one service where the majority of the suit is made in their Indian workshop, and as a result can offer a Savile Row suit for just unde...
Whitcomb & Shaftesbury RAF-blue suit: Style ...
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I am aware everything has become quite quickly expensive over the past few years but their offshore suit now starts from around £3,200 which in my opinion is a massive jump in two years. I wasn’t really sceptical abou...
Artisan of the Year 2021: Whitcomb & Shaftes...
Best artisan 2021: Whitcomb & Shaftesbury I decided to give my Artisan of the Year award this year to Whitcomb & Shaftesbury because, looking back on recent commissions, they have so consistently delivered on quality and v...
Artisan of the Year 2021: Whitcomb & Shaftes...
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Amazing, so pleased Matthew. That's time, money and waste all saved!...
Heavy brown Brisbane Moss cords
The main reason I shot this outfit with Milad last month was to talk about the cords - a heavy Brisbane Moss brown that has both its pleasures and its weaknesses. I’ll run through the rest of the outfit too though, because there are a few thin...
Heavy brown Brisbane Moss cords
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I'm not a big pleats fan period, but I would not have them here particularly, as you say because of the weight and thickness of the cord. A lighter, thinner cord might be OK...
The T-shirt under a shirt (and tailoring)
A couple of weeks ago, we looked at a relatively casual outfit - and how elements such as a baseball cap or bright knitwear could make classic menswear less formal, with some Ivy influences. Today I’d like to talk about one element that I find...
The T-shirt under a shirt (and tailoring)
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I'm afraid it's one of those late nights of fretting over what to wear for event again, Simon. The idea of a T-shirt under a shirt peaked my interest as a potential de-formaliser. One google search later and I find mysel...
The style of a belted wrap coat – with Whit...
Just before Christmas, I took my belted coat into Whitcomb & Shaftesbury to have it converted into a normal overcoat. As detailed on my original article, this was always a possibility. I began the experiment of a bespoke wrap coat with the...
The style of a belted wrap coat – with Whit...
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I would certainly he hesitant about playing with the proportions too much, MK, at least until you've worn it a fair bit. Also, if it's a straight cut like that, don't ever just taper the waist. If you want it more shaped...
Introducing: The white PS Oxford
On the final day of the pop-up shop back in October, it occurred to me to bring in my blue PS Oxford shirt - to show how it had softened with age. The response was telling. Half of the people that felt it bought one on the day, and several of the o...
Introducing: The white PS Oxford
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I'm afraid it is exclusive, yes...
Wearing navy trousers as separates
I’ve generally cautioned in the past against wearing navy tailored trousers as separates, with a jacket. This is for a few reasons. First, I know from experience that it’s an option men often go for. They’re likely to already have...
Wearing navy trousers as separates
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Wearing the two together? Nothing wrong with it, but as is often the case with navy chinos, another colour like beige or brown would be nicer...
PS shirts available to try in Prologue, Stefano B...
Despite the inquiries readers often make during the pop-up, we have no plans to open a permanent shop. However, we have started working with a few friends around the world to make it easier to try on the various shirts and polo shirts. Last year, St...
PS shirts available to try in Prologue, Stefano B...
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Yes, to try on...
A Connolly tonal outfit: cream, grey and brown
This outfit, worn on the last Saturday of our pop-up shop, is a good illustration of the kind of clothing that excites me at the moment. It could be defined, perhaps, as casual but luxurious, muted but refined. Casual, in that there’s no jacke...
A Connolly tonal outfit: cream, grey and brown
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Great, thank you, Simon....
