Berluti Polishing Events

The shoe polishing events that Berluti holds for its loyal customers are legendary. Started by Olga Berluti and nicknamed the Swann Club, it involves gentlemen taking over their beloved shoes, sitting at a dinner table in their cotton socks and polishing the shoes with the greatest of attention. According to previous attendees, these events have something of the schoolyard atmosphere about them – all of a sudden the men become little boys, eager, earnest and more than a little competitive.

The events are also well known for the champagne that is used in the last stage of polishing. It is the acidity in the champagne that is key, removing the last vestiges of oil from the surface of the shoe to give it that extra shine. This, the firm admits, could be achieved with any wine. But champagne does add a certain romance to the whole enterprise.

These events are something that the new UK retail manager at Berluti in London, Lorenza Cavalli, is keen to build on. They foster loyalty to the brand and help Berluti keep in touch with its clientele. Indeed yesterday and today (September 25 and 26), Berluti is inviting its customers to drop by the shop for a drink (it is open until 7:30), let the staff take a look over their Berlutis to provide advice, and get a new pair of shoelaces for them.

It is amazing how many men are happy with old, frayed laces – even those that spend an inordinate amount of time polishing the shoes.

Berluti is also planning more polishing evenings at the London store, so look out for these in the coming months. Indeed, Permanent Style has already been invited to the first such evening – so watch this space for tales of debauchery, patina and polish.

Cavalli is new to menswear, her previous job being in the bespoke department at stationer Smythson and other jobs including watchmakers Ebel. But she still says she feels right at home with men’s shoes – something about the fascination that men who truly love their clothes bring to luxury houses like Berluti. “The customers are so interested in the products, in the technical side of them, in the history and the ethos of the company. It is a lot less flighty and trendy that womenswear,” she says.

In other Berluti news, the firm has just launched its new luggage. This is in the Venezia line, the same as the famous Un Jour bag (both pictured here). The design is similar in that it is a simple leather without much ornamentation, just a characteristic patina. The wheels, modelled after those of racing cars, also make it very manoeuvrable, while the thin leather makes it extremely light – lighter than a lot of other non-leather luggage.

The Old Favourite: The Duffel Coat

When I was at university I had already begun to grow into the sort of clothing my parents approved of; wearing shoes instead of trainers, sensible overcoats instead of paper thin fashion jackets. It was an instinctive switch. My life had changed course. I felt that I was suddenly more responsible for my own maturation. I decided to grow up. However, I grew up unilaterally. A girl who had been interested in attaining my affections remarked that I had matured too soon. She said that I would eventually suit the clothing style that I had begun to adopt, but when I was a good deal older. “It’s just not sexy” she once commented, rather inanely. Others conformed to the student wardrobe with greater ease than I. I was never happy in a hoodie. As a result I developed, alone, a confidence in wearing clothing that was seen by many as ‘too old’ for my age.

When I recently expressed an interest in purchasing a duffel coat, a friend of mine remarked that I was probably now a little too old for one. A little maturation, a few years and suddenly no longer am I too young for clothing but, in actual fact, too old. The window for wearing such an item must be remarkably small according to this wisdom. A couple of years at the most? Bizarre.

It’s for certain that the duffel coat is a classic, collegiate item of clothing that seems to belong on wooden pews in dusty libraries beneath dreaming spires rather than draped over an Eames chair in an air-conditioned office boardroom. It has a childlike simplicity. It makes no attempt to conceal its origins as a practical garment for Naval officers; the fastenings and toggles often look like reef knots and it is certainly not an item of refinement.

However, although it is not an item to wear with your pinstripe suits it can surely be a perfect friend on chilly, winter days. The duffel material is a heavy wool and, designed to keep sailors warm in freezing Atlantic winds, provides more than adequate protection for cold, metropolitan Sundays. The toggles themselves, ideally horn, were designed to be fastened and unfastened whilst wearing cumbersome gloves and the hood, perhaps the most ‘juvenile’ feature of the entire garment, provides protection against icy winds. Beyond these practical points, the duffel coat has an undeniably youthful aesthetic. It manages to dress down even the dressiest of accessories – bow ties, silk scarves and waistcoats – and yet does not alienate them. It draws from these items a dishevelled elegance that is interesting and distinctly ‘weekend.’

It actually does make gentlemen look younger. Unlike trainers, hoodies, printed t-shirts and other remainders of a varsity wardrobe - which merely make gentlemen look desperate. Wear it with slim trousers or jeans in blue or khaki. Gloverall, the original military surplus suppliers, are the best producers of quality duffel coats.

Links: Tim Little Shoe, Shirtless Look, NY Sale…

• A Little Gem from London’s Tim Little. (bespoke-me.blogspot.com)

• No shirt look. You probably won’t be able to pull it off though. (thesartorialist.blogspot.com)

• Domenico Vacca Sale in NY. It’s still not too late to part with your money. (thechoosybeggar.com)

• Gianluca Isaia’s 10 rules of style. There is at least one that all will agree with. (men.style.com)

• Benefits of using a steam cleaner. (styleontheritz.blogspot.com)

Reader Question: Working In A Bank

Sim, Oxford: I was wondering if you could assist me with your experience regarding sartorial issues, the yays or nays, within banking. I have heard from fellow interns that French-cuff shirts and heavy pinstriped suits should never be worn as they depict status, status an intern does not yet have, and are thus considered a faux-pas by people higher up the chain. Any truth in this and if so, any particular things to avoid?

I think the general guidelines on discretion guided by propriety, and to an extent the dignity of business, should be enough here Sim. It’s just that bankers get a bit more snippy and competitive about it.

If you’re going for a job interview, everyone knows you should be well dressed and smart without standing out. The same thing applies to your first job – or in this case your first internship. Dress as smartly or smarter than your superiors and wear nothing that draws attention.

So I would advise you to wear navy and grey suits, shirts that are white, blue or a blue stripes, and ties that are solid colours or simple stripes/geometric patterns. Wear expensive suits if you have them, equally nice shirts and ties. But keep them sober, and finish it off with a nice pair of black Oxfords.

Avoid: braces, handkerchiefs, waistcoats, double-breasted jackets, trouser cuffs, bright socks, contrast collar or cuffs, ‘humorous’ ties, ‘humorous’ cufflinks, ‘fashion’ suits, and strong colours and strong stripes everywhere. They will all draw attention to your clothes rather than yourself, which is certainly not the aim of an internship.

The reason that some of these items of clothing become status symbols among bankers is that they are often flash and always competitive. Wearing a big, bold pinstripe suit is a way to demonstrate that you can get away with wearing it. Because you have attained such a level of success that it cannot be dented by wearing tasteless clothes.

While it is true that some of these items of clothing are more traditional and hark back to earlier days of banking, it is unlikely that this is the reason they are being worn. There will be exceptions, but these are often men over 50 who actually remember when most colleagues wore braces and white collars.

I would have thought French cuffs would have been alright, though, if all other advice is followed. It can be your little indulgence.

Why You Buy Bespoke Suits First

After four bespoke suits made in Hong Kong over the past few years, and now embarking on my second British bespoke suit, I find it hard to see how I could ever stop getting a particular thrill out of it. But it will be a while before I pay for bespoke shoes.

Ignore for the moment that I can’t afford bespoke shoes. (I can buy bespoke suits off Savile Row or in the City from £800 and up, but I’ve yet to find a bespoke shoe maker who is as proportionately affordable.) Even if I was spending the usual £3000 or so for a Savile Row suit, I’m not sure I’d be spending £2000 on bespoke shoes.

Equally, when you read the experiences of older men they still buy ready-to-wear shoes even though they never buy ready-to-wear suits anymore.

I think the reason is that a bespoke suit is both more comfortable to wear and flattering. Bespoke shoes are pretty much just about comfort.

A bespoke suit is more comfortable because it hugs your contours and your proportions. It ensures that the waist doesn’t restrict you when you turn or reach for something. And (more impressively, since that last aspect of fit could be achieved by just buying a bigger suit) it allows your arms to move independently without dragging the body of jacket wherever it goes.

So, it’s more comfortable. But that comfort also produces flattery and beauty. If you are relatively slim, the jacket is likely to be more pinched at the waist, giving you broader shoulders and a sharp silhouette. The shoulders will follow yours exactly, creating a smooth, sculpted body of cloth. Overall, as the Dictionary of English Trades (1804) describes the work of a cutter, it will “create a good shape where nature has not granted one”.

But shoes look beautiful no matter how badly they fit. OK if the fit is really terrible the leather might be distorted and bulge (if too small) or crease in the wrong place and leave an awkward curl at the toe (if too big). And a bespoke shoe does follow the lines of your feet better, making it look a little daintier and sculpted.

But generally, being a little big or a little small makes no difference aesthetically. Most of the aspects of shoes associated with bespoke, like a slim and bevelled waist, can also be found on high-end ready-to-wear (like Gaziano & Girling, for example, or Lodger’s English contemporary last).

So for now, I’ll be sticking with ready-to-wear shoes.