When it comes to luxury brands the first name that pops into my mind isn’t Top Man. But in the seemingly never ending plan to push that brand upmarket it has unveiled a new range of high-end goodies called Lux.
Due in the stores on March 7th are a range of items in upmarket fabrics, with the price to match – well almost this is Top Man after all.
Pick of the bunch is this Cobalt Blue suit which is made from that 60s staple Mohair. But there are also classic biker leather jackets, silk scarves and fine gauge knit navy T-shirts.
The most expensive part of the range is £300. More details on actual items and prices nearer the time.
I read Robert Elms’ marvellous book The Way We Wore last week. If you haven’t read it it is a fascinating, and very personal dissection of British youth cults and the clothes that were associated with them, throughout the 70s and 80s.
It descends into a quagmire of narcissism towards the end as Elms seems to spend his life chasing after stupidly expensive, and quite possibly awful, 80s Japanese suits.
Nevertheless he does take the mickey out of himself a bit so I can forgive him a great deal (not this though).
Anyhow Elms says in the book that when it comes to knitwear there is only one brand and that’s Derbyshire’s finest John Smedley. And I couldn’t agree more.
Well the brand also does a very striking line in cotton polo shirts – the sort of thing that Sean Connery wore inn the early Bonds when he needed a spot of causal.
Anyhow this shirt named the Mercer, looks great, and very Spring-like in light blue. It is also available in navy, black and peacock blue in limited stocks. They are priced at £54 down from £99. You will need to sign in to see them though.
If there’s one man who has done a few festivals in his time it is Liam Gallagher. Mind you he probably hasn’t done too much queuing for the toilets of chomping on vom burgers, but we will give him the benefit of the doubt as his label, Pretty Green, has just unveiled a series of festival jackets.
The most eye catching of the range of this little orange (apparently this year’s colour number say people in the know). Partially inspired by the maritime thing – that is going on here - it is made from lightweight nylon and has colour panels and full front zip closure. There’s also a hood to fend off the inevitable rain.
There are also plenty of pockets for you to keep your essentials in and it has elasticated cuffs and an adjustable waist.
Last year H&M became one of the biggest clothing retailers (though Levi’s got there first) to start to take cycling seriously. Spurred on by the growth in the number of cyclists and also a little by our success at The Olympics the company teamed up with Brick Lane Cycles and launched a capsule range of jackets, retro jerseys and more
Well the second range has been unveiled and it is due to land in H&M’s 180 stores and on-line from 7th March.
The spin is that each item has been designed with the needs of modern cyclists in mind. So the items are technically suited to cycling, but still ideal for wearing all day long.
Included are water repellent rider jackets and articulated blazers, caps and more. But is is the vintage-inspired bike jerseys that caught our eye. These are very classy and are made from a mix of Merino wool and recycled polyester.
Describing the range the company says
Shirts come quilted for colder days and in plaid checks with reinforced patches on the lower sleeves. The crewneck top has a zip and ventilation holes, as well as sleeves cut for extra mobility, while the rider T-shirt has a functional pocket on the back. Rider’s trousers similar to a functional chino. Legs are cut for slightly bended knees, a reinforced crotch, and reflective tape seams on the inside leg which are visible when rolled up for extra safety.
“This collection captures the energy and excitement of Brick Lane Bikes, along with our respect for the traditions of cycling. I love how the technical details become part of the look of each piece, while the colours bring cycling’s heritage to life. I can’t wait to see guys wearing these clothes as they ride the streets of the world,” says Feya Buchwald, founder of Brick Lane Bikes.
Farah Vintage has just unveiled a very striking new range of Mod type Breton style jumpers. There’s a traditional blue and white (which is nicely in keeping with the vogue for all maritime things) version here, but I prefer this navy and red number.
It is Beatnik style features a cool Sixties Mod Breton stripe detail in chilli red throughout and has a Ribbed hem, cuffs and collar and Farah Vintage embroidery to the chest.
Breton jumpers were a staple of the beatniks in the early 60s as they attempted to ape cool French new wave stars (and American ones like Jean Seberg). Breton is derived from the region of Brittany in France and the Brittany flag in fact also consists of monochrome stripe detail, much like the jumper
We haven’t featured a Brutus Trimfit shirt for awhile so I thought I’d check the website out. And then I found this. It is an Original 70s “Golfer” Print from the Brutus archive that’s 100% cotton and comes in light blue and I love it. It straddles that line between kitsch and cool and to me anyhow is equal parts of both.
It would certainly go really well with some dark blue jeans and navy suede shoes.
The shirt also has a rolled button-down collar (apparently each shirt is specially packed so that the roll remains intact) and has Brutus’ trademark button detail and vent on sleeve. Heaven only knows when it will be warm enough to wear it though.
As ever Clarks has a superb range of classic casual men’s shoes and of its latest arrivals I am quite taken with these Marden Grove leather shoes. These are in navy and are already sold out on the Clarks store though you can get them here. There are also versions in tan leather and wolf suede.
They are great quality navy leather with the twist being the piping, which is this year’s big thing apparently. Nevertheless they look great and retail for £59.99.
We are big fans of the Farrell brand. In case you haven’t come across them yet they are an quirky English indie with ex-Burberry fella Ben Dickens at the helm and Robbie Williams, yes him, providing some of the inspiration.
They also have a blog that sometime can be laugh out loud funny.
And they have just unveiled their spring summer collection and we really like a lot of it. There’s a lot of navy and white, some very classy lightweight rain coats, striking knitwear and more. There’s a whiff of the 1950s about it, especially that bowling shirt.
Here are five of their items which caught our eye. You can view the whole collection on their website.
This looks really classy. It is a light cotton jacket in Navy which sports one button at the front. There are some neat touches too likes the fully functioning cuff buttons.
Ok, so it might still be freezing outside and summer wear probably isn’t that high on your mind, but spring and summer collections are already filtering their way through to the stores and one very impressive range is from Levi’s.
But it is the striped T shirts that have caught my eye. This £62 striped T shirt is available in four different incarnations including burnt orange, but I reckon it is this blue version that will be the big seller.
It has a great pattern and is made from super soft cotton. It is quite fitted too.
As you probably already know Primark doesn’t sell its range online. You have to go into the store to buy its clothes. It can also be a bit hit and miss with what it sells too. However the spring collection, which seems to be filtering its way into its stores now, looks like its strongest for a while.
We have already written about blue suede shoes (well navy ones, but that doesn’t have the cheesy pop culture link) already and Primark has a pair of blue Desert Boots for the give-away price of £15. Like the grey/brown trim and laces too.
Another £15 goodie that caught our eye are these waterproof hooded jackets. They are available in light (Man City esque) blue and brown and sport a white piping at the bottom. They remind me of a jacket that Lambretta sold a few years back. They look like perfect festival wear.
Still agonising over whether you need a bag to lug all your gear around? Well I’d get over it. How else are you going to transport your iPad, Kindle, various chargers – and maybe even the odd book or mag if you are old school?
One option that more and more blokes seem to be adopting are medium sized Barrel bags. These are the smaller versions of the the kit bags that you used to put your footy stuff in back in your fourth form days.
There’s now a good range that are suitably stylish, classically retro and big enough to accommodate a load of gadgets.
I love this Navy one from Fred Perry that has just gone on sale via The End. It not only has a striking Blue and Beige finish, but there’s a load of little details too like the Embossed Laurel Logo Stud and the small zip pocket at one end.
You can buy it now for £55. its is also available in grey and yellow and there are also a pair of Fred Perry shoulder bags that sell for £45.
Train travel was much more fun in the 80s. Then you had the wrong sort of leaves on the track, pissed footy fans on Inter City Specials, Jimmy Saville doing the TV adverts and timetables that were quite possibly penned but The Brothers Grimm. Yes those days sure were fun.
Actually the best bit about the, coughs, golden age of train travel, was the Inter City logo and it is great to see that it is making a bit of comeback on a T Shirt or two.
Leading the trend is Renaissance Man, and quite possibly serious train spotter, Damon Albarn who was seen wearing one in the summer when riding The Africa Express to Glasgow. They are available from the V&A but it seems that they are short of stock at the moment.
This is as close we could get to the Albarn shirt and guess what, it is out of stock. I can't imagine that the V & A won't be selling them again though.
V&A
One way to beat off the cold is to invest in a seriously heavyweight lambswool cardigan like this gem from Ben Sherman. The Plectrum Cardigan is Porcelain White with black flecks, is made from super warm lambswool – with a little nylon and is a regular fit.
It features a shawl collar and through zip front and is finished with contrasting patch pockets and ribbed cuffs and hem.
it has just landed in the Ben Sherman online store and sells for £175.
It is now getting cold- seriously cold. Not just an odd breeze ruffling your hair, but full on Arctic howlers accompanied by temperatures that are dipping well below freezing. And let’s be honest that flat cap that has served you well through the autumn – even if it does make you look like an extra from Billy Liar – won’t cut it anymore.
Its is time to go beanie – or even bobble.
The bobble has been making a bit of a comeback in the last few years and now are the hat of choice of many a hipster. As for beanies, well every man really ought to own at least one.
You probably don’t need me to tell you but you really need to avoid hats made from cheap scratchy wool. Not only are they massively itchy they just feel very uncomfortable. It might sound ridiculous but an investment in a Cashmere hat – provided you can keep the moths at bay – is well worth it and you’ll have a hat that will last several years.
Here are five to look at from cheapies through to £50 beanie handmade by artisans in the Himalayas – I kid you not.
Villain, an east London label which was founded seven years ago by John Vullo has a pretty interesting range of items on ASOS now.
Among the best is this pair of brown-ish checked trousers. In keeping with the company’s philosophy they have minimal branding but are made of high quality fibres – in this instance 51% Polyester and 49% Wool.
They are a straight fit have a concealed fly and are hand wash only. Yours for £110. The brand’s ASOS page also includes a striking pair of blue cords, some patterned shirts and a coat with an unusual collar called the Austin. They are all here.
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