The Agony Of Choice

I’m going to have a suit made soon. Naturally I’m considering what I’d like to have. Not suffering the burden of excessive wealth this is a rare happening, so some care must be taken with the selection of style and cloth.

Now, there are two schools of thought on this issue. These can be defined as my school, and everybody else’s.

Everybody else, probably wisely, argue that if you’re going to invest in bespoke or made to measure tailoring then get the basics sorted first. Those keystones of your wardrobe, the blue and the grey suit in classic styles, are by far the most versatile options, and you can always build in more interesting elements later. Sound fatherly advice.

My theory goes something like this; working one to one with a tailor opens up a world of possibility that the high street just can’t match. Why not have something a bit special, a bit different, something you’ve always wanted but which the high street isn’t offering. Keystone suits will be worn regularly and wear out, unless supplemented with high street offerings. In which case what’s the point?

So, here are my contenders…

First up, a suit I wrote about some posts ago. Referred to as the Kent style it wasn’t popular judging by the comments. But I’ve seen one or two more and I really like them. But as the previous article made clear, you can’t afford to buy this off the peg.

The single breasted peak lapel suit with a double breasted waistcoat. The fact that I couldn’t find an exact picture of what I want is the reason I’m considering getting one made. The pictures give a rough idea of the aesthetic I’m searching for, the lovely sharp lines and series of V’s. One to be done in a navy worsted cloth I think.

A large box check, ever so slightly reminiscent of Victorian dandies. Popular with the Duke of Windsor, here in the UK it went through a bit of a revival 10 years ago and was done to death. An ideal candidate for revival.

A subject I have written about ad nauseum, I continue my love affair with patch pockets.  I’m toying with both the single breasted and a double breasted option. Interesting scoop by fellow columnist Simon Crompton here, shows I’m not alone in my thinking. I have it mind to go for Navy needle cord or grey flannel for the double breasted option.  Alternatively, something similar to this.  But I want to see the cloth books.

The agony of choice.

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Maintenance: The Cotton Bud - A Mans Unlikely Best Friend

When I talk of cotton buds I’m referring to those little plastic sticks with cotton wool on each end; most of us use them to clean our ears, despite the box telling us not to and they having no other conceivable use. Although, when I was a kid I remember they did make useful replacement lightsabers for Star Wars figures – provided you removed the cotton wool.

Anyways, two tips for why any well set fellow should have a couple of these in his kit bag.

Removing beer from leather

Wherever men gather there’s a good chance beer won’t be far away, and these two ingredients can make for the ruin of leather shoes. The other night I got a little beer on my Albam loafers, and having done a little research came across this tip, which works like a charm.

Mix a solution of warm water and washing-up liquid in a glass.  Then dip one end of the cotton bud into the solution and roll it across the stain. Leave it for five minutes and then use the dry end to dab up the excess moisture. Allow it to dry naturally and the stain should have gone. Obviously test it first on a less affected area before going all out.

Removing blood from shirt collars

Before I picked up a beard in New Zealand it was often the case that having shaved I’d have a myriad of little nicks, this was most acute when using a new blade. Too numerous and too small for the old tissue paper gambit, invariably the blood would find its way onto my collar.

Take a cotton bud and dip the end in cold water, then roll the wet end over the blood. You should see the stain begin to fade and keep going until you no longer see it. Job done.

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On My Soap Box

Thanks to a spot on article in this week’s London Evening Standard I’ve joined a couple of protest groups.

For the many readers who live outside London, you might not be familiar with the area known as Portobello. The largest open air antiques market in the world, for the sartorially inclined it is a treasure-trove of second-hand fountains pens, cuff links, tie bars, watches and vintage clothing. The street market that stretches from Ladbroke Grove to Notting Hill is a cornucopia of sights, sounds and smells. Portobello provides not only the above but freshly prepared foods from the mundane to the exotic. It’s also home to some great independent retailers, Adam of London being my favourite.

Sadly this is all under threat. Recently an AllSaints store opened on the street, and in order to accommodate its 15,000sqft – the length of seven shop fronts – over 150 independent antique dealers were evicted from what was formally Lipka’s Antiques Arcade. You may think; how is one store a threat?

What retailers see is footfall. What they fail to understand is that the reason people like me go there is precisely because they’re not there. The arrival of this soulless dross palace will give heart to all the other rapacious chain retailers, landlords and property speculators who see this wonderful area as underdeveloped and ripe for exploitation.

What is happening in Portobello is happening in many of London’s unique retail areas – a sort of retail equivalent of acne. Bates Hats and Barons of Piccadilly, a favourite independent gents retailer of mine and fellow columnist Winston Chesterfield, are both victims of redevelopment of buildings on Jermyn Street. While Bates has secured space in Hilditch & Key it won’t be the same. Sadly Barons is going out of business all together. And as good as TM Lewin, Charles Tyrwhitt and Hawes & Curtis are at supplying cheap shirting, they’re not shirt makers as Cary Grant or the Duke of Windsor would have recognised them. How long before Jermyn Street is just any other?

If you saw the BBC’s four part series on Savile Row you’ll have seen the tailors work rooms being moved from top floors into basements to make room for hedge fund managers; and the arrival of Abercrombie & Fitch on the Row indicative of commercial interests coming before character, variety and quality.

It is often said of the English that we are incapable of appreciating what we have.

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Commonscents

It’s funny the things you suddenly realise you don’t know. As I made clear on Bespokeme this week, I’m on the hunt for new scents, having tired slightly of my current signature. The one thing I have learned is that it’s a whole other world out there, with its blogging enthusiasts as passionate and as dedicated to detail as those of us enthralled by tailoring and style.

However, the first bit of basic knowledge I’ve now got under my belt is why one scent might last a day while others merely a few hours. As a smoker – no I haven’t managed to quit yet – this happens to be an obsession of mine. Additionally, I really don’t see the point of unburdening my wallet on expensive scents that last but a few hours.

There are certain anatomical factors that determine how long a scent lasts. They take to people’s skin type differently, so there is a certain amount of luck involved. You can weight the odds in your favour by layering products, such as using the same scented body wash, deodorant and moisturiser. Alternatively put some on a comb or brush and run it through your hair – it absorbs the moisture better than skin. The other factor is the strength of scent you pick, and this was the bit on which I was a little hazy – or rather, I had hitherto met with success purely by dumb luck.

I may be entirely alone in my ignorance but just in case, you have five types of scent; Aftershave, Cologne, Eau de Toilette (EDT), Eau de Parfum and Parfum. The name is a guide to the percentage of essential oils in a mixture, and the higher the concentration of essential oils, amongst other things, the longer the scent is likely to last.

Aftershave: This is the weakest of the bunch. Typically containing 1-3% concentration of oils you can expect it to last roughly 2-3 hours. It will often contain other ingredients, like Aloe, designed to help sooth the skin after shaving.

Cologne: Typically a 2-5% concentration these will last a little longer, but not much more and it is advised that you use them like an invigorating spray. They are also better for the skin after shaving than EDT’s and EDP’s. Now this is were it gets tricky; apparently many scents labelled Colognes are in fact Eau de Toilette’s; many but not all.

Eau de Toilette (EDT): Scents in this group apparently work best if you place them on pulse points. In fact owing to the higher concentration of oils some advise avoiding the face all together –especially after shaving. A concentration of 4-8% they should last 6-8 hours.

Eau de Parfum (EDP): Also works well if placed on the pulse points. Some advise spraying it into the air and stepping into the scent cloud. A concentration of 8-15%, sometimes higher, and will last all day –certainly that’s what I’ve found with Ormonde Man. These are quite hard to find and you pay a premium for them.

Parfum: In men’s scents this is like hens teeth and even harder to find than EDP’s.

What I have realised is the more I read the less I know – which I think is a song lyric. More work.

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The Week Ahead: North Sea Clothing

One of the tasks on my agenda this week is to score an interview with Neill Starr, the fellow behind London’s North Sea Clothing and the resurrection of the Submariner Jumper. I discovered this particular item on a recent visit to 14 Earlham Street, a vintage store just off Cambridge Circus, and have had a bit of a fixation with it since.

If, like me, you’re a devotee of those classic British war movies that you used to watch on a cold Sunday afternoon such as In Which We Serve, The Battle of the River Plate, We Dive at Dawn, Sink the Bismark and their like, then the submariner jumper may strike a similar chord. Standard issue kit by the War Office to Royal Navy personal in both World Wars, the jumper was later taken up by 1950’s motorcyclists and worn under their leathers as a means of keeping warm.

It’s this historical thread, its robustness and the perfect combination of form and function that have tempted me to buy one. I’m even scouring the markets of London in hope of bagging a vintage beaten up Barbour to complete the look.

Although, for me the truly curious thing is how subtext has altered my view of a garment type. In the normal run of things I have a near religious aversion to turtleneck/roll neck jumpers, or anything like it. I know they have their enthusiasts here, but for me they conjure up images of greasy, moustached, medallion wearing lotharios, synthetic fibres, Old Spice, wide lapels and the great collective awfulness that were the 1970s.

Of course the story to be told is as much about the man behind the jumper as the jumper itself. Speaking as someone who has often talked about setting up their own label I’m fascinated by people who just decide to get on and do it; and in my experience, the more unusual the garment the more interesting the back story.

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