Reader Question: Buying Odd Jackets

David: I very much enjoy your blog and find it to be a great source of inspiration in my desire to master the art of permanent style. I was hoping you could help me in the matter of choosing odd jackets. I am starting a new job where most people wear a jacket but no one wears a necktie. I will probably wear grey flannel trousers, beige chinos and a light-coloured shirt. But I am not sure what odd jackets to wear. I don’t currently own any. What would you recommend to me if I have only one, three or five odd jackets to use for work?

The first thing to ensure about an odd jacket is that it goes well with the trousers. They must not clash in their pattern and they must be of a similar formality. As both your suggested pairs of trousers are plain, pattern is not much of an issue. And as they are both relatively informal, the jackets should reflect this in their cloth.

So my first suggestion to you would be a jacket in a pale grey, with a heavy texture in the cloth and in a relatively informal wool. So not worsted, but flannel, tweed, camel hair or something similarly rough. The heavy texture could be a herringbone or a hound’s-tooth. (Like the one pictured – from J.Crew)

The reason I suggest this for your first jacket is that the pattern is not too bold or eye-catching – there is enough visual interest to distinguish it from the trousers, but it is not a loud tweed. It is also classic and simple without being uniform – a blazer would offer less personality in your one item.

Your second jacket should be a blazer, though. Navy blue, preferably in something heavier than standard worsted wool, and fitting immaculately. Too many Americans wear a blazer and chinos out of laziness. Neither is likely to fit well and the jacket will rarely be buttoned. To differentiate yourself, get a blazer that is slim-cut, perhaps with just one button. And don’t go for brass buttons – something different, either plain blue or a different metal; perhaps even a cream colour like the Italians.

Third for me would be a tweed. The colour is a question of personal taste, as is the size of the check, but make sure it is slim (again) and smart enough to look at home both in the country and the office. I have a Donegal one-button tweed from Kilgour, in mid-grey, that I would put in this category.

Fourth, something for the summer – a tan linen or cotton gabardine. Make sure the linen is heavy, and if you think tan would be too casual, switch to a navy or a grey.

The fifth jacket can be something more adventurous: a classic black stroller if you want to add formality, something in an unusual colour like mid-green if you want to add flair.

When building the collection, just bear in mind that you want a spread of weights for different seasons and a spread of formalities for different occasions.

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Book Review: The Last Shall Be First

This famous book is well-named: its sub-title is ‘The colourful story of John Lobb, the bootmakers of St James’s’. That colour comes from tales of the young Lobb, social history of the development of bootmaking and pocket biographies of the shop’s most famous customers.

But fortunately there is also colour about the product – the boots themselves. Just skip the bits on the Lobb family and the lists of customers.

For example, I didn’t know that traditionally the best brown shoes were always made out of Russia calf, the best black ones out of waxed calf. I wasn’t aware that the clicker in men’s shoes was the senior or “aristocratic” role – he was the foreman that handed out the work to the other craftsmen, which makes sense I suppose, as his was the first stage. And I didn’t know that in the middle of the nineteenth century, bootmakers were the most numerous of any trade in London (apart from “general labourers”).

It is also interesting to read about the habits of Lobb customers. The average man bought 2-5 pairs a year, but there were few such men and they were all very rich. One, Frank Harris (“king of Pornographers” in late Victorian England), bought a pair of Russian leather laced boots, some calf toecaps, calf boot toecaps and a pair of patent “no caps” in 1899. Lord Alfred Douglas (‘Bosie’ in relation to Oscar Wilde) bought a “pair of Russia”, two pairs of calf button boots, “Russia caps” and patent Oxford no caps in 1902. While both men were at the height of their notoriety at this point, they must nonetheless have ended up with a lot of Lobb boots.

Those boots took one (fast) craftsman about 12 hours to make. And in the late nineteenth century, a man had to make six every week just to feed his family. So the gap between craftsman and customer was rather larger than it is today, even though the price has inflated from £2-something to £2000-something.

And then there’s my favourite story from the book. During the First World War it became very hard to get the hog’s bristles that shoemakers used to guide the waxed thread through the holes punched by the awl. Over a pint in the pub, six bootmakers settled on a plan and set out to Regent’s Park with apples, pears and nuts. They strolled into London Zoo, waited until no keeper was about and then converged on the hog enclosures. They used the fruit to tempt the animals forward, then grabbed two handfuls of hair each and ran. That was enough for six months of bootmaking.

I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in traditional shoemaking. Just read it selectively. It is now out of print I believe, but it can be bought second-hand on Amazon from $30.

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A Tour Around Milan

As anyone who has been fortunate enough to visit Milan will tell you, the city is not all fashion. There are several old and new stores worth the visit for those interested in classic menswear.

By reputation, the city’s three stand-out establishments for tradition and quality are Bardelli, Neglia and Tincati. However, each offers something quite different – as I discovered recently.

Neglia is the destination for Milanese men looking to the best in English and American imports. So the shoes are Church’s and Edward Green, the umbrellas and the bags from Brigg, the suits in the window from Ralph Lauren, and half of the ties from Drake’s. So while there are also top-class Italian names like Brioni and Kiton, and Neglia’s new and expanded own-label suits, the shop does not offer much to the international visitor that he can’t get elsewhere. The one exception is probably Incotex trousers – their cords pictured below.

M Bardelli is very different. One of the oldest men’s clothing establishments in Milan, it could safely claim to be the definition of Milanese style – classic, formal, with heavy English influences. Particularly prevalent (this season at least) are sports jackets in grey and brown checks and strongly striped shirts. As well as woollen ties in club stripes, which are ubiquitous for Autumn/Winter in Milan. While not necessarily inspirational, it is the base from which Milan can be understood.

Tincati is smaller, more refined and idiosyncractic. Very lightweight raincoats, woven belts and soft thin knitwear, it also has a dedicated area at the back from bespoke orders. Certainly worth a look.

Of more modern, quirky establishments, Al Bazar is the standout. Located outside the centre (a couple of streets from Bardelli), it is a treasure trove of items collected under the aesthetic of one man – Lino Leluzzi. More on Al Bazar on Permanent Style next week.

The greatest joy, however, is discovering less well-known shops. Like Piombo, just off the Golden Triangle, which had the most lovely unlined, washed cashmere green blazer (and one of their colour combinations is below). Or Rivolta, the old Milanese shoemaker that has recently relaunched with a model for making bespoke shoes purely off an electronic scan of your feet (a longer feature, again, is on Permanent Style). Larusmiani is also worth a look. It is an ultra luxurious menswear store on Via Montenapoleone that reminds me of Kiton before it grew. An old name in Milan, it is surrounded by fashion houses but retains a very particular character.

Anything else worth mentioning? The Etro sale store on Via Spartaco (50% of this season, 75% of the last); absolutely gorgeous and well-cut knits at Red and Blue, which looks more like it is called Fedeli (the brand of clothes sold); and Doriani for similar knitwear reasons. Oh, and go have lunch in the café at Corso Como (below), then wander around the shop inside – a great menagerie of brands.

It was also two days, but it feels like there’s so much more to tell.

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Observations From Milan

Milan has the most consistently, classicly elegant men in the world.

This is not necessarily a good thing. Many, in the fashion industry in particular, criticise Milanese men for a conservatism that is dull and impersonal. They all dress the same; they all dress like their fathers; they all wear the same goddamn blue tie.

A more balanced view comes from Michael Drake, of Drake’s ties in London: “Italy has a bigger, more consistent conservative establishment than most other places in the world. That is why our ties sell well there – men have similar views about classic style and investing in quality. It is an international style, that can go anywhere in the world and be recognised.”

Britain, for all its history, does not have this. The establishment is less conservative, less cohesive and less interested in clothes. Advocates praise British eccentricity and creativity – perhaps demonstrated by Paul Smith. And to a young man growing up in Milan it’s easy to see how that would be a breath of fresh air.

But to those of us outside Milan, and passionate about classic men’s style, the gentlemen of that city are an inspiration. Here are some observations from a few days spent there last week.

The strength of colours stands out immediately. Brighter light and darker skin make them easier to wear – but it is the strong dark colours that particularly inspire. An attendant in one store described their new range as containing “jackets with a Neapolitan shoulder in the classic colours – blue, brown, green”. Green as a standard jacket colour? But there it was, in several stores – as an odd jacket, unlined, in a deep forest green (sometimes with white buttons).

The combinations of colours were also strong. Every jacket displayed has a pocket handkerchief, with the pairings including brown/lilac, navy/mint and brown/sky blue. The handkerchief coming second in that list, of course.

As reflected in my previous observation The Italian Background, there are more navy ties in Milan than any other colour. They are silk, wool and linen, plain, striped and spotted; but they are all navy. This allows greater adventure in jackets and suits – several men wore great tan-gabardine suits; I saw two purple-cashmere odd jackets; linen was often navy but surprisingly common. Equally, the pocket handkerchief was probably more likely to be bright and patterned than the tie.

Other observations include fitted sweaters – even in old, conservative establishments the sweaters were short and slim at the waist (I recommend Red & Blue in particular). And the length of the rear blade of a tie is almost irrelevant compared to the length of the front, which must always finish at the top of the trousers – the back can be longer, tuck into the trousers or hang at the same length on its own.

There are, of course, many badly dressed men in Milan. If the proportion of British men that I consider well-dressed (in my very personal, subjective taste) is one in fifty, in Milan it is one in ten. But that’s still a lot more inspiration.

Look out for the next post, on recommended shops.

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The Coat Project 4

I had the first fitting last week for my bespoke overcoat – a traditional polo coat in camel hair, with the addition of a full-length pleat in the back that can be adjusted depending on what is worn underneath. (See previous instalment here.)

Earlier in the week I had seen a very similar model in Larusmiani of Milan. But though that had a full-length pleat, it was sewn together underneath the belt, which was not adjustable. Full marks for style, not so much on the practicality.

In an English September still enjoying 23-degree heat, the coat felt like a duvet (even with one arm missing). While the camel hair is very soft and has a lovely handle, it is also spongier than cashmere and can more easily resemble a tough (though luxurious) blanket.

Normally, tailors would make the coat one-and-a-half sizes bigger than a customer’s suit. My tailor Russell at Graham Browne had gone for just one size bigger, yet it was still a little large around the waist even on the smallest setting. I put this down to the extra material of the pleat; we took quite a few tucks in the cloth and it will be ripped down and recut for a second basted fitting.

The coat was also slightly longer than I expected, but I think this was an optical illusion created by the slight flare Russell had included, to make sure it was comfortable to walk in when fastened on the smallest setting. We took that in a bit too.

The split sleeve is a tailoring skill that is nice to show off, with the shoulder seam joining the sleeve seam to form one continuous line. But I think it also complements the style of the coat overall, something that will be particularly shown by the raised seams once the coat reaches its next stage.

I was interested to see that the canvas extends down the whole length of the coat, from chest to bottom seam. Apparently that not only adds shape but is essential for the lining and front seam to affix to. Most ready-to-wear coats will not include a full-length canvas, but rather a fused cotton layer from the bottom of the chest downwards.

Next basted fitting at the beginning of next week, though there is likely to be little to report except our struggles to get the fit right with the pleat. Perhaps just some nice photos.

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