Knightsbridge Revamp!

Gentry followers, a moment of your time please to tell you that Harrods newly redesigned and refurbished menswear department opens tomorrow (that’s Saturday 31st October) and to mark the occasion, the first 300 people to spend over £50 will go home with a complimentary goody bag including ample bits of goody-ness from the likes of Acqua di Parma and Bond No.9. There’ll also be some in-store exclusives on the day.

http://www.harrods.com/harrodsstore/

BESPOKEN, Passion For The Details...

Gentry followers , only a few words are needed to introduce you to the wondrous world of British label Bespoken. By the name you would be forgiven to presume that the shirting they produce is bespoke, but in-fact it is ready to wear with a emphasis on high quality fabrics, classic British cuts and interesting detailing. The video below shows why its very much worth paying the £120 price tag for a crisp hand pressed shirt.

Available at Harrods http://www.harrods.com

Lee Jeans Celebrate a 120 Years Under Their Belt!

This year Lee celebrate their 120th anniversary in the denim business with a collection based on some of the original pieces that made their name. With 120 years under their belts, they have plenty to draw upon for inspiration. For starters there's the Union all jacket, created when Henry David Lee's chauffeur complained that his clothes were getting dirty when fixing his car. Mr Lee's response was to attach a denim jacket to dungarees, creating the Union all.

Lee have gone back through their archives, including old adverts (see the main image) and trawled denim markets in the American midwest (yes, they actually exist) looking for early examples of Lee jeans. The new collection is based on the cut and fit of the denim that they found and will include jeans with a commemorative button and leather patch featuring the year Lee was founded, 1889, denim jackets and check shirts, all pictured in the gallery below.

The 120 collection is available now at http://www.lee.com

All rise for the Snood!

Historically worn as a turban-cum-hood contraption by women in cold climates, the Snood has been enjoying something of a resurgence of late.
Fundamentally an all-in-one scarf, some of us will recall the popularity of the men’s snood back in the Eighties, but at least this is one Wham-era re-hash which doesn’t involve embarrassing body augmentations, sequins or neon embellishments. But with roots in the 7th century, the snood has been an (almost) viable accessory for an entire millennia, so who are we to scoff?
Highly practical, incredibly simple and surprisingly dapper, Burberry championed the trend in their Autumn/Winter 09 collection, producing chunky, thickset snoods in a range of understated shades including grey mélange, black, sand, Bordeaux and Burberry’s (once again acceptable) check.
If you’re ready to get involved, i recommend you try the super-soft cashmere/wool blend – once it’s on, it’s not coming off.
Available from £120 at http://www.burberry.com/

Shiseido's ZEN Fragrance

It’s a bold step to name a fragrance after a 12th Century school of enlightenment, but Shiseido has never shied from a challenge. As well as being the oldest skincare company in the world (imagine trying to explain the virtues of moisturiser back in 1872), the Japanese outfit can also take credit for introducing the humble ice cream to a nation reared on Manju.
Zen may be the brand’s first scent for men, but with a number of iconic fragrance houses already under its wing (from Issey Miyake to Serge Lutens), it has an enviable talent base to call upon. Consequently this woody aromatic - created by Françoise Caron and Francis Kurkdjian - is able to blend the orthodox (bergamot, violet, patchouli) with the unconventional (Nashi pear, rhododendron) with admirable results.
It’s too early to say whether Zen lives up to the press release’s claim of containing “stress-relieving aromachological ingredients to liberate the modern man from his worries,” but i think it smells just great.
From £42 at Harrods

Nike Sportswear Holiday Capsule with Cassette Playa & Parra

Nike Sportswear has partnered with design talents Cassette Playa of London and Parra of Amsterdam (a personal favorite of mine after meeting him once on a trip to the red lighted city) challenging them to create their own sports team, the result is the Rivalry capsule collection.

Starting with an updated Air Max with speckled sole, jet-black upper and wing-tipped colour laces, this is not a style statement which all should attempt to pull off lightly - myself included, but i adore this design link-up adding new dimensions on updated collaborations from Nike HQ.

The clothing collection provides a technical artist mix of design brilliance, yet with a poke-fun attitude (see the illustration of a runner in high heels!). Both designers are helped to keep true to the Nike master plan of serious sporting wear supplyed with Nike technical spec fabrics, so quality and performance are assured whatever you decide to in these garments!

Both designers have also produced graphic Tees available in a men's and women's cut, with a classic snapback baseball cap rounding off the collection; one from each designer.

The Cassette Playa TZ Dunk, the Cassette Playa and Parra Destroyer jackets and t-shirts all launch today in Europe. The Cassette Playa and Parra Stadium jackets launch October 30th, Another great collection which shall inspire us to get into sporting style.

Available from Nike Sportswear’s 1948 space, Batemans Row, Shoreditch, London.

Nikesportswear.com/1948

The Desert Shoe? Oh Yes!

Dearest desert boot, how we love you so! But how we love you even more with the arrival of an innovative low-cut desert boot - so desert shoe maybe?! How the talented designer Hiroshi Takahashi must have gone about re-designing the best of British classic i will never know, but this show will work Croute Shoe will work with smart shorts, tailored of course, but without socks, obviously, and could even work with a a tapered legged jean or chino. I'm sure these Verginia Footwear shoes represent progress, some may disagree, and are a useful alternative to the desert boot. One thing for sure - it shows fashion can have many original evolutions!

Priced at £95, Available from http://www.oipolloi.com/oipolloi/shop/home.php

Hardy Amies ABC of Style

There aren’t very many books about men’s clothes that are worth reading, but Hardy Amies managed to write two of them. They’re both re-published this autumn, to coincide with the re-launch of the Hardy Amies brand under new ownership, after last year’s well-publicised bankruptcy.ABC of Men’s Fashion is an unerringly entertaining gallop through almost every aspect of men’s appearance. While some of the entries are showing their age - the book was written in 1964 - most remain spot on. The information on offer is a mixture of factual stuff useful to anyone interested in clothes, and Amies’ formidable opinions, for example: “Sandals are hell,” and “All short sleeves look ghastly.” It’s all served in easily digestible, but intelligent, bite size chunks.
Amies’ other book, The Englishman’s Suit is something between a history of the suit and a manifesto for the future of style. Written in 1994 the first part of this endeavor is useful and interesting, while the second is less successful. Because he worked in the world of fashion Amies was unable to get over the idea that men’s clothes ought to ‘progress’, which he believed involved raising the buttoning point on suit jackets until they fastened under the chin – the way Chairman Mao liked them. This major error of judgement can’t help but colour one’s view of Amies’ opinions, which is a shame because 90% of the book is superb.
ABC of Men’s Fashion, £9.99 (V&A Publishing) and The Englishman’s Suit, £10 (Quartet Books) are out now

Plastic Fantastic!

Even though celebrated British architect Will Alsop recently left his practice to concentrate on his painting, i'm glad to see he can still be coaxed from his garret for the odd design collaboration. The “Daytimer” is a polyurethane digital watch co-designed with Frederico Grazzini and produced by Alessi Watches in collaboration with Seiko. Like Alsop’s buildings, it is decidedly bright, futuristic and definitely not for the fainthearted — it would probably go pretty well with the Y-3 trainerswe posted on Tuesday, should you be that way inclined.

“Daytimer” watch by Will Alsop and Federico Grazzini, £79, www.alessi.com

Yves Saint Lauren Personalised Shoe Fettish?

Yves Saint Laurent is holding two special nights this week, Thursday 1st and Friday 2nd October, to celebrate the new A/W 09 shoe collection. The store event is being held at 33 Old Bond Street and you will be able to design the colour and finish of your chosen pair of shoes as well as have your initials embossed onto the sole of the shoe. A Gentry must!

From 6:30pm - 9:00pm

Yves Saint Laurent
33, Old Bond Street, London, W1

http://www.ysl.com/