Polishing leather shoes up to a brilliant shine is an extremely enjoyable pastime. Nathan Brown over at Lodger always says that one of the problems with being an entrepreneur is that he never gets the time to sit down and polish his shoes any more. George Glasgow at Cleverley has complained to me of the same thing. Lodger’s store manager Clement has the opposite problem: he spends all his time polishing shoes but never his own, just the ones … [Read more...]
This post refers to ‘three more tips’ because way back in April 2008 I wrote a post called Two Tips on Ties. I think the alliteration rather pleased me at the time. That was a discussion about the best way to get a nice dimple in a tie knot. And it does work: you just have to create a memory of the fold in the tie’s lining (assuming it is lined). This post is about getting your tie to stand upright in the collar, arching out from the … [Read more...]
As an Englishman interested in classic style, it strikes as a particular shame that the industrial manufacture of clothes has suffered so much in this country. Leeds used to be world famous for its suit production, for example, a natural home for the industry being so close to the mills of Huddersfield. And while England still has some of the finest tailors in the world and punches well above its weight in fashion design, domestic manufacturing … [Read more...]
It must be the season for planning weddings. Not only did one of my best friends get engaged (congratulations Henry) I had two questions this week about what to wear as a groom. KL: Mr Crompton, I'm an avid reader of your blog and I've loved your posts on what to wear to a wedding. I'd love to hear more of your thoughts though if you were the groom at an informal wedding. I've been thinking of a couple of possibilities like a grey 1b peak w/ … [Read more...]
The fascination with things being made by hand is odd. If I sew a button on by hand, chances are it will be done worse and not last as long as the best machine doing it. This is firstly because I am not very good at sewing on buttons; but secondly and more importantly, it is because a machine will sew more stitches to the inch, so it will be stronger. Purchasers of fine clothes should ask themselves, when presented with something made by hand, … [Read more...]
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