Style – Cricket Chic – how to look good when watching The Ashes
The best parody of The Smiths ever – from, err, Horrible Histories
From Paisley to Geometric – this season’s best Patterned Shirts
The 11 hottest new psych bands – Hidden Masters, Hounds Tooth, Magnetic Mind…
The Timex revival continues this summer with a variety of colours and not just one per watch, yet this beautiful block blue (turquoise meets mint green?) bubble watch is my pick of the colours.
Fresh for Spring Summer, messenger bags never seem to fully go out of fashion. Here are four of my picks. Remember that the more retro, the more vibrant colours you can get away with. Although you don’t always need to go bright, as exemplified by the Speedo bag. Coming in at only £20 and the Slazenger Heritage bag which looks set to be a bit of a hit over summer with this rebranding of Slazenger, much in the same vain as fila did a few years back. The Adidas bag is my favorite colour at the moment and also comes in gold and the Nike is a classic.
I am actually in love with these headphones. They come in 14 different colours and this colour is amazing. With so many ‘designer’ headphones out there such as Wesc and Skullcandy it’s hard to choose which ones to buy, yet aesthetically these are beautiful. No lairy branding and one block of colour, I’m yet to know what the sound is like, but I’ll tell you after I’ve bought them today. Availble at Urban Outfitters.
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Love these square framed glasses at only £30 from Cheap Monday.
There are quite a few luxury rucksacks out there at the moment, and they could be taking the place of the tote bag in the coming seasons. The high street are doing versions with the canvas and leather trim, but Burberry and Brady have come up with some beautiful styles. Taking a minimalist approach to the design and using luxury materials makes for a clean and smart accessory that makes a change from a standard satchel.
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Unfortunately the Barbour Liddesdale has been mercilessly copied on the high street this last season in some horrible ways (think New Look), yet the classic waxed jacket remains a must have. Aside from the Barbour styles available here, vintage shops usually have good ranges. You can pick them up for around £30. Try To Be Worn Again if you’re ever in Brighton or Beyond Retro always source some good ones. On from that, at Hip Leeds, you can buy this retriever bag which is in exactly the same material and finish as the jackets themselves. Although in the picture it looks black, it is in fact olive with a beautiful tartan lining. You can see more detailed images in the gallery and pick it up for £80.
CLICK IMAGE TO START GALLERY.
Actually quite reasonably priced for a Mulberry bag, this holdall features a hidden padlock in a hanging leather pouch. Not that that alone would make you part with £350. This luxury British brand has an amazing collection out at the moment, all of which you can shop online on the Mulberry website. This particular style is available to buy here, at Autograph Menswear
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It cannot be denied that the Sixties are having a moment right now. There seems to have been an upswing in media inspired by or set in the Sixties, from Mad Men gracing television screens to the year’s big awards contenders in film, A Serious Man, Nine and An Education. The recently released Youth in Revolt and this Friday’s A Single Man continue this trend and show that slick Sixties style is still a winner.
A Single Man based on the book by Christopher Isherwood, comes with flawless sartorial credit, being the directorial debut of the man heralded as the ‘saviour of Gucci’, Tom Ford. Colin Firth, as the main character George wears costumes designed by Ford throughout, a parade of sharp suits, crisp white shirts and slim ties. George describes his clothing as a kind of ‘armour’ that he puts on piece by piece, steeling him for battle with the world.
At first glance Youth in Revolt seems a world away from glossy, impeccable period detail of A Single Man. But note: gawky Michael Cera, in order to win over the girl next door, creates a dashing alter ego to give him the confidence to woo her. This alter ego, named Francois Dillenger and based on the French New Wave icon Jean-Paul Belmondo, rocks the causual Sixties look in a shirt by hip label Band of Outsiders.
There really is no better era for dressing to look sharp and well-put together and making you seem confident and a little louche. Granted, a new Tom Ford suit is a bit out of most people’s price ranges but you can easily recreate the look shopping on the high street. Try Uniqlo for affordable separates, especially their J+ range, their collaboration with designer Jil Sander. 
Above all, never forget the accessories.
Try the ever reliable Top Man for skinny ties, Aspinal of London for pocket squares and Retrospecs for Anglo American glasses. Add a tie clip and a tumbler of scotch and you’re ready to go.
Phrases like ‘geek chic’ shouldn’t be thrown around lightly, but when it comes to completely unnecessary accessories, you can call me a geek all you like. For other out and proud nerds, here are some of the most un-cool glasses around which, rather ironically, will make you a lot cooler than everyone else.
CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO START GALLERY
By Kay Rodgers
I love cufflinks but to be honest I’m not really sure about these from Chambers & Beau. The actual cufflinks in sterling silver look nice enough but I’m not really a big fan of hand stamped initials, names and dates. Still each to their own, they may well make a good present for your Dad, brother etc this Christmas.
Priced at £70.00 a pair, the cufflinks come in a velvet pouch and luxury gift box and are created by award-winning Devon based designer Amy Elson. Chambers & Beau also makes necklaces, bracelets, key rings and collar stiffeners with a handcrafted finish. Many of the designs can also be customised with a choice of original charms and semi-precious stones so you can create individual pieces.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO HAVE A LOOK AT THE RANGE
Sometimes, its the small details that make an outfit look particularly polished and well thought out. And whilst 80s digital watches are nice, they have become a bit ubiquitous. Striped, military style watch straps – particularly when paired with a vintage watch face – can make a statement. Actually part of the preppy uniform (those bold colours and stripes) and available at stores like Rugby Ralph Lauren in the States, the striped military watch strap can also be found here on grooming site, Carter and Bond. A bargain detail at £15 and worth digging around to find the perfect, vintage watch face to pair it with.
On first impressions, current gangster blockbuster Public Enemies starring messrs Depp and Bale may seem to offer little in the way of fashion inspiration. Being so familiar, the gangster genre is not one that can shed a light on looks we may have forgotten about or didn’t know before. But, as ever with menswear, its all about the detail.
And with this film its the hats – fedoras to be precise. Wonderful New York blog all plaid out gives a fascinating view of Optimo, the classic brand who created the said fedoras for the movie. One of those brand insights that leaves you yearning for bygone eras of quality and craftsmanship. I particularly love the detail about the oxblood hat that Depp wears being a colour that “In certain lights looks black in others dark brown”. With fashion for autumn being largely about a certain restrained luxury, details like these should be treasured as inspiration for the coming months.
Image source of Johnny Depp in THE oxblood fedora: WENN
Story source: all plaid out
The second instalment of our summer picks from menswear buyer Lee Douros. There are some beautiful items that will take you stylishly into autumn including a wonderful pair of cornflower blue deck shoes.
Having made their first foray into menswear my-wardrobe have got some exciting brands on board for Autumn, can’t wait for their A/W picks!
Lee Douros is the menswear buyer for my-wardrobe and at the last press day we had a great chat with him about men’s clothing and the online side of things. Lee definitely knows his stuff, so we were thrilled when he agreed to present his top summer picks for us. If you’re still stuck for high-summer chic then this is like the holy grail. Stay tuned for pt2!
The word sarong is synonymous, at least in the UK, with David Beckham. One of his key fashion moments, he popularised the formerly little-known ethnic printed wrap and inspired, if not a generation, then at least a summer’s worth of Essex lads to don the said item on the beaches of Spain. Dries van Noten‘s just-shown collection for SS10 featured ethnic prints such as the Indonesian ikat design and by next summer we could be much more familiar with prints from this part of the world. In the meantime, APC have this amazing sarong, with a contemporary twist on the classic Indonesian design. Sadly not available from their main site, this is the perfect beach cover-up being part garment and part towel. As an alternative, if you’re somewhere interesting this summer consider buying lengths of gorgeous printed fabrics for a DIY version.
APC ikat print sarong, Bird NYC
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