Roundup

Cutler & Gross – interview with CEO Majid Mohammadi (Permanent Style)
“‘That cross-pollination is crucial to a brand like ours, which needs to remain innovative yet produce wearable, timeless designs,’ says Majid. ‘Only when a designer sees the production process does he realise why certain things are made a certain way.’ Adding a fraction of a millimetre to the thickness of an arm, for example, can make a big difference to how well a frame wears over time.”

The Return of the Classic Wet Shave (Wall Street Journal)
“Inspection over, it’s shave time. But first my skin has to be prepared for the main event. A man’s beard can contain between 7,000 and 25,000 hair fibers, which, when dry, can be as hard as copper wire. So lubrication is important. This process starts with a liberal splashing of freshly scented oil, which my barber vigorously massages into my lower cheeks and neck before smothering my entire head with another searingly hot towel. This, he explains, will soften the beard and help open the pores. The warmth is immediately relaxing, and as I lie back, cocooned in hot cloth, I ask myself why every morning can’t begin with a wet shave carried out by an expert barber.”

The Sartorialist: Lunch for 25, Edition III (The Sartorialist)
“This is the third “Lunch for 25,” and it just keeps getting more fun. You’ll see some familiar faces, some new faces, and a wrinkle at the end.”

In Conversation with Frank Clegg (Wax Wane)
“There are so many things that influence what the final outcome on an item will be. In general, I start with shapes. I think of shapes that are appealing to the eye, and these shapes are the basis to the design in all of our bags. Once I decide on the shape, then I detail that shape for the specific feeling and function that I want the bag to have. I’ve always aimed for simplicity, and in simple designs, the details really matter.  They must become one with the bag without looking like a last minute addition. As with any design, function should always dictate the direction. They have to serve a purpose. My constant goal is to create premium bags so that even someone who’s not necessarily into fashion will be able to recognize that a Frank Clegg bag is an impeccable product.”

Top of the game (How To Spend It)
“The safari jacket has little in common with other holiday fare, as it has an air of authority about it (due, in part, to its colonial past, when the Empire’s enforcers dressed in the desert military attire to which its modern incarnation owes much). Like the best masculine looks, it has evolved out of pure practicality, with many a stylish accent added along the way.”

Monocle Style Directory 2013 (Monocle)
“From Lisbon to Taipei via Toronto and Melbourne, we’ve been on the lookout for lesser-known designers, brands and retailers that we think deserve to be on your radar. This is our round-up of all things fresh and interesting.”

How (Not) To Find A Tailor (We Are The Market)
“In the midst of this is the key word: relationship. Much better than trying an endless series of cutters is finding one you get on with. One with whom you can establish an open but trusting dialogue. Most important of all: one with whom you can refine your pattern and your style over a good length of time. Because the second suit is always better than the first.”

Justin Timberlake Is All Dressed Up (The New York Times)
““Smart people, as we know, ask a lot of questions,” Mr. Moore said. “This was way before ‘Suit & Tie,’ but he was already asking why the vest had to fit so tight, how much dimple there should be in the tie.” He was, in other words, well in advance of his generational cohort, the young guys one sees lately fussing through the tidy racks of windowpane-check jackets and rows of monk-strap shoes at neo-geezer haberdasheries like Carson Street Clothiers in SoHo.”

The Great Lost Expedition Brand (VICE)
“Yeah, but unfortunately good brands of heritage are a reflection of their original management; when they become professionally managed, they lose the spark that brought them to where they are today. I found that to be classic in the industry. Whenever they go into second- and third-generation management, they lose themselves. They no longer have the passion that was originally part of their DNA.”

Colin Marshall on menswear books: ABC of Men’s Fashion by Hardy Amies (Put This On)
“We should value Amies’ fearlessness in the face of the snob label, which lets him baldly state what other menswear writers feel they can only suggest. “You cannot substitute economy for quality,” he declares, “because they are synonymous.” We all know (or at least suspect), and some of us say, that, with its greater durability, versatility, and immunity from trends, the more expensive garment usually makes for considerable long-run savings over its shorter-lived downmarket cousin. But Amies makes the point directly, and several times over: when in doubt, and even when not, pay more. “So far as judgment is concerned, in men’s wear you can usually with confidence go by price.” Think back to adolescence, and perhaps you remember certain family members advising you never to buy a known brand, since you would just “pay for the name.” Amies’ reply: “Of course you pay for the name: but there is no way to make the name except by fair trading.””

The power of the personal brand (Financial  Times)
“It’s the lifestyle element that gives certain brands their fascinating, uncomfortable, comedy side. Lifestyle brands are a staple of middle-class stand-up comedians, whose audiences love a bit of social taxonomy (or, as we market researchers call it, market segmentation) delivered through the delicious embarrassment of brands.”

G&G: Principles of Shoemaking (Leffot)
“One such feature is our beveled fiddle-back waist, with a stained V-style design and contrasting dark brown with chestnut colour foresole and heel, patterned on traditional bespoke aesthetics. Combined with proportioned patterns that work in perfect harmony with our bespoke-designed lasts, the result is a shoe that fits and looks better than any other shoe made today. Our shoes have many features that are not seen elsewhere in ready-to-wear, some of which have been inspired by bespoke shoe making and others that come down to innovative design.”

At Work: Pantherella Socks (Port Magazine)
“Inside the factory, row after row of industrial knitting machines take up most of the space. Twenty year old Bentleys sit next to more modern machinery. But a lot of the footwork at Pantherella is still hand done. There aren’t many sock specialists left in Britain today, and especially not on Pantherella’s level. “On fine-gauge socks – which is our forte and what Pantherella is known for – the toe finishing and how the toe gets closed is where we use hand-linking techniques to ensure a very fine finish.” This is a process that some machines can do and others can’t, depending on what sock is being made: “Yes, the machines on the plant that can do the linking are only able to do plain socks, they can’t knit and create some of the diverse patterns and ranges that are a very important part of Pantherella’s background.” It’s good to know that man is still better then machines, at least sometimes.”

How to buy… a leather bag (How To Spend It)
“Good leather is the most tactile area. Pick up a soft example, like a holdall, and feel how supple it is in your hand. Try bending it inwards, towards the centre of the bag, and watch for sharp creases on the surface that show whether there is some kind of coating on the top. A good leather will wrinkle naturally like skin – like the creases on your knuckles.”

Suit Up: Ten Mills to Know (J.Crew Blog)
“Here’s a quick snapshot of the mills that should be on your radar…”

The Return of the Popped Collar (Wall Street Journal)
“Don’t panic: This doesn’t mean a full-on return of the 1980s preppy look indelibly associated with the popped collar. The modern upturned collar is a nonchalant flourish meant to give an outfit a little flair. It draws on the Italian concept of sprezzatura—an expression of style meant to look spontaneous—that has infiltrated menswear in recent years, showing up in rolled-up pants cuffs a few years ago and pocket squares spilling out of the pocket in an apparently unstudied way.”

Sixth scents: Olivier Creed, the world’s most elegant perfumier, explains his art (The Independent)
“I suspect that one reason Olivier Creed is reluctant to boast about his stellar client list is that the great majority of people don’t buy his products because they are fashionable. “They don’t,” he says. “You are absolutely right. When I was starting out – this would be back in the 1960s – people were not always encouraging. Some retailers would say, well, we already have Chanel and Dior, why should we bother with you? I remember going to Lille. OK, so we are talking about a northern [industrial] French city with a population of 300,000 or so. I went in to the Soleil d’Or, which was regarded as the leading perfume shop in town. The owner loved our products. Three years later, in Lille, we were doing as much business as Guerlain. People buy Creed fragrances because they love them.””

How to nail a tie dimple (Mr. Porter)
“Before practical techniques are considered it’s important to understand the philosophy of the tie dimple, which is that it should be a personal expression of artful imperfection. As such, it is, for men hoping to project an image of sprezzatura, a useful weapon in the sartorial armoury. Of course sprezzatura implies an element of artifice, which is why it’s something that must be internalised so that it loses the sharp corners of deceit and becomes second nature. As an example a tie dimple should be created with a natural carelessness, even while the decision to create one is deliberate.”

Repatination from Dandy Shoe Care (Permanent Style)
“ The result, received in the post a couple of weeks later, was extremely impressive. I have seen repatination done very badly, with the results cracking across the vamp of the shoe or simply chipping off after a few weeks of use.

There were no such problems here. The finish was smooth, has lasted very well and after one or two coats of cream it looks as if the shoes were always that colour. I also had an Hermes belt painted a dark, variegated brown and that turned out very well (pictures some other time).”

Ed Morel on the Internet and Menswear (voxsartoria)
“Try different shit out, don’t worry about if your pocket square drops a bit in your pocket, don’t aim to look like a perfectly staged and photographed menswear blogger all day long. Clothing should come alive when you wear it, it moves with you, it wrinkles, pants get frumpy, jacket elbows wrinkle.”

The Milanese Buttonhole (The Rake)
“There are two reasons why you won’t see many people with Milanese buttonholes adorning their suits; very few tailors can make them and even fewer are willing to. Beyond the challenge presented by an esoteric technique, the extra time required to create the tight, clean appearance of a Milanese buttonhole means an unnecessary cost.”

The Rise of the Well-Dressed Man (T Magazine)
“That men do now gave all the lunks of the world permission to exit their man caves and go shopping, to acquire a smattering of knowledge about design and fit and to stop deluding themselves that it’s somehow more manly to look like a bum.”

James Weir Style and the tailor (Permanent Style)
“I also like the idea that it’s a place men – and nowadays women – can come to have something of incredible craftsmanship made exactly for them. It’s a place you can have a one to one, and men especially don’t have this service as much as women do. I think that’s why a lot of men like to have a garment made for them, and Savile Row allows this to happen. I also enjoy working with the finest cloth  and learning from the incredible skills the tailors, cutters and finishers have; it’s a great honour.”

Why It’s Hard to Determine Quality (Put This On)
“Which is to say that quality isn’t linear and you can’t order these things up in hierarchies. It also means that many of the things that go into a suit are internal, and not things a consumer can readily examine. The “benchmarks” that people have written about are sometimes just ways for a company to differentiate its product – either to attract customers who are looking for something that stands out from the crowd, or for the salesperson, who needs a tell-tale sign so he or she can easily grab something off the rack.”

Am I Buttoning My Button-Down Shirts Wrong? (The Gentleman Scholar)
“So: Yes, you may leave your point buttons unbuttoned. But can you? Here is one way of approaching a self-assessment: You are statistically more likely to carry this off successfully if the shirt in question is, for instance, preppy pink as opposed to IBM white. This has nothing to do with the color of the shirt but with the character of the shirt owner. The man who wears a pink shirt has already begun to demonstrate his potential for the requisite panache.”

What does a man’s scarf reveal about himself? (The Guardian)
“And quite right, too: scarves are lovely, and your mother would cuff your ear were you to go out without one. But once you finally find a suitable scarf of a suitable length, the real difficulties are only beginning: how to wear it? And what will people think of your choice? Welcome, Gordon and your fellow menfolk, to the definitive guide of What Does Your Scarf Say About You?”

Massimo Dutti Personal Tailoring: Part 3 – Living In The Suit (Men’s Flair)
“I would definitely consider another suit from Massimo Dutti Personal Tailoring. The product represents great value for money, considering that it fits well and offers the multitude of options for personalisation in the final product. You would struggle to find a an off-the-rack three-piece suit in 100% Cerruti wool with details like working cuffs and real horn buttons, let alone one that fits well, for less than £400, which means that the Massimo Dutti prices are very attractive.”

Finding Affordable Shoes (Put This On)
“Shoes may or may not be the most important part of a man’s ensemble, but they can certainly be the veto point. A man can look sharp as a tack in a well-tailored suit, but if he’s wearing dull, square toe shoes, everything was for naught. Unfortunately, nice shoes are expensive. Even the ones commonly recommended as “entry level” brands will retail for $350 or more. So, in an effort to direct readers to where they can find well-made shoes for less, I’ve compiled a list of every place that I know of.”

Dropping Knowledge: The Fishtail Parka (The GQ Eye)
“The basic design behind the fishtail parka isn’t too far off from it’s military outerwear sibling, the N-3B snorkel. What makes the M-51 so special, though, is the aquatic inspired “tail” that’s the source of it’s commonly used moniker. And while that fishtail adds a certain aesthetic flair to the jacket, its originally purpose was strictly practical. While fashion folks would have you believe the tail is intended to hang down like the back end of a salmon, it’s actually function is to be tied around the wearer’s legs, from the back to the front, in order to seal things off from any unexpected wind gusts. The conditions in Korea called for a jacket that was more concerned with warmth than keeping guys dry and so, unlike the snorkel parka, the fishtail was crafted out of a water-resistant nylon and cotton that could keep a soldier warm in frigid conditions. And to keep all extremities warm and toasty, the jacket was outfitted with two slanted hand-warmer pockets and an oversized fur hood.”

Initial Here – Everything You Wanted to Know About Monogramming (J.Crew Blog)
“The shirt monogram began in grand households or colleges where many shirts were laundered together—the elegant ancestor of today’s laundry mark. Now the monogram isn’t there for the laundry, but for the ego. It used to be said that the proper place for the monogram is over the heart. Flashier dressers have long favored the shirt cuff, as it will be noted in a handshake, at the card table, lighting a lady’s cigar. “Trad” guys may wince, but it’s your damn shirt!”

On the importance of mentors (Rugged Old Salt)
“So with that in mind, the advice I can offer, after 33 very fast years of life, is to cultivate friendships. Earn mentors, respect them, learn from them. If you want to know about clothing, put down the book, turn off the computer. Find a great tailor and commission what you can. Ask their advice, with humility, and keeps your ears open. Be a patron of these great artists that still exist, and what you will get back for your hard earned dollars will be much more than cloth and thread.”

Pepe Albaladejo of Meermin Mallorca (A&H Magazine)
“Meermin’s goal is “to produce high-end shoes at a reasonable price.” What are your methods that guarantee this kind of successful product? Well, we use the same strategies learned from the production of the high volume production world (We are producers of goodyear welted shoes for the British and French Armies), so we take the advantage of the structures/systems of that high volume production applied at the time of producing the Meermin shoes. Also we have to add that we have been always shoemaking, we are members of the 3rd and 4th generation of a renowned Shoemaker’s family.”

Finding the Right Combinations – Cardigan and Cable-Knit Layering (Wax Wane)
“The idea of a cardigan as a layering piece is far from novel, but it was two men, Alan See from the Armoury, and my friend Jeff who runs the blog JHilla, that made me reconsider the cardigan, a piece that until now has mainly been collecting dust in my drawer. Normally, a standard cardigan on it’s own always come off to me as a cross between try-hard and hipster, two words that I would not want hurled in my direction. But, worn under a jacket, or better yet, coupled with a suit, the cardigan steps in as an extra layer that is not only comfortable, but makes a nice informal allusion to the three-piece suit. George Peppard effortlessly pulled it off alongside Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffanys (although his may be a vest), and it’s a look that Ralph Lauren and Italian men alike have honed over the years, using the cardigan for some tonal and textural contrast as a way to personalize the suit.”

The style of Francesco Maglia (Permanent Style)
“As Francesco Maglia demonstrates here. Chino, as he is known, has been wearing these colours for decades and it has become second nature. Heavy green tweeds, brown leather accessories, and strong colours such as the purple hank and mustard vest.”

Dee Poon Explores the Perfect Men’s Shirt with PYE (The Wanderlister)
“While introducing us to the range of shirts, she stressed how important it was for her brand to guarantee everything from the cotton’s quality blend, engineering, and easy care stylings as well as knowing the source of the cotton itself. She can vouch for the source of her cotton, because her main company, the Esquel Group, a leading global apparel and textile manufacturer, owns the the cotton farms that produce the material for all her shirts.”

If I Could Speak To My Younger Self (Put This On)
“In my time as a man interested in men’s clothing and style, I’ve made many mistakes, some of them very expensive. If I could speak to my younger self, I would give the following advice. Note, I don’t pretend these are universal truisms, but from my experience building a wardrobe, and seeing others go along the same path, I think these are more often true than not. So, if you’re just starting out, perhaps you will find these useful.”

Massimo Dutti – Personal Tailoring Part 2: The Fitting (Men’s Flair)
“Cutting to the chase, the big question is, how does it square up to a traditional tailor’s product?

In all honesty, pretty well. Beyond the most fundamental point – the fit (which isn’t perfect) – the easy details on the suit are all there; buttonhole with raised stitching, working cuffs. It is a valiant effort, and, considering the price, excellent value. It feels like a made-to-measure suit and fulfils all of the promises which Massimo Dutti Personal Tailoring makes, which is the most crucial thing.”

Emanuel Berg bespoke shirt service (The Rake)
“Fabric, shape and proportion — those are the most crucial elements of a shirt. It’s no different from a jacket in that respect, actually. And, much in the same way that the shoulder is one of the most immediately distinctive aspects of a jacket, the collar is the ambassador of the shirt — it tells you everything about the piece and its owner. It means a lot to an elegant man that his suit jacket is hand-canvassed, instead of just fused, but it takes a truly exceptional man to demand a shirt collar that is hand-canvassed as well. It’s a small detail, but it’s important in keeping the shape of the collar even after prolonged use, preventing it from going floppy like most shirts on men all over the world today.”

Foster & Son, London: Upper Class (Billionaire)
“Bespoke shoemaking is, simultaneously, an incredibly detailed process and one that literally is shaped in different ways by different artisans. Edgecliffe-Johnson explains: “I have had pairs made by four of our shoemakers and the personality of each person comes through. We have an elegant house style at Foster, but within that the craftsmen and women bring their own interpretation to what we do. One of the great skills we have as a team is to understand how the other people work.””

Forget About Necktie Folds (A Suitable Wardrobe)
“The lined tie is the domain of the folds, as it were. It is true that the earliest ties were simply silk folded over on itself, but false that they had interlinings. Extra folds of silk in a lined necktie are marketing extravagance, adding nothing to the appearance or wearability of the tie. Indeed, they add cost, delighting the silk weavers who sell their stuff by the meter, but those “hand made” ties are sewn by machine, which is why a seven fold tie costs about the same as a hand made unlined threefold (the extra cost of the silk is offset by the reduced cost of the construction).”

What’s your Collar ID? (Wall Street Journal)
“Beyond point collars, Mr. Julian has a rule of thumb on which shirts call for ties: “The wider the spread on a shirt, the more it needs a tie.” So shirts such as Thomas Pink’s new extreme cutaway collar shirt, called Beaufort, or Brooks Brothers’ Londoner should be worn with a tie. Also, the wider the spread, the larger the tie knot.”

Menswear Shopping in Tokyo, Japan (Sartorial Doctrine)
“It’s been about a month since I returned from Tokyo, much due to my wonderful readers I was able to visit some great stores. So I thought it would be nice to write a post about the stores that I enjoyed the most. To summarize it you cannot visit Tokyo without going home with overfilled luggage. Tokyo is truly a sartorial paradise where you can find price worthy Japanese products and also clothing from exclusive Italian brands known in the western market.”

The Meermin MTO Reaches a Fruitful Conclusion (Downeast and out)
“I’m sure many of you have already experienced Meermin’s shoes by now, so I won’t prattle on about all the elements that make them great. They use some of the finest upper materials you can find, and the suede in this instance is no different. It feels soft and durable, and the color is a rich dark navy, more akin to the photo of the back of the shoes above. The other shots are a bit lighter so you can all see the nuances. The soles are gorgeous and all the customization is fantastic. I really like the double leather soles, as they feel substantial and look it too. My only two gripes with these shoes are issues that have come up before in other reviews I’ve perused. First off, the finishing could use a little work. One shoe came with a slight chip near the heel on top of the sole – not a huge issue at all and something I’ve seen on Aldens I own as well. The one other issue is very petty, but I wish they had punched more than one hole on the strap – something that can be easily fixed at the cobbler, but it would have been nice to be able to adjust them a bit.”