It’s all very well donning one’s ancient, broken tweeds for manual labour, but how much more focused on the task one would be, when approaching some artisanal project of a shed-bound Sunday, clothed in suitable attire? The outfit should reflect the task to hand, but contemporary tradesmen’s styling (tracksuit bottoms, hoodie and the unsheathed backside)… … Keep Reading
On the tenth anniversary of the first episode of Peaky Blinders being broadcast on the BBC, we recall a meeting with Loz Schiavo, who styled all the hair and make-up on Seasons 1-4 of Peaky Blinders, for which she received a BAFTA nomination in 2015. You have done the hair styling and make-up for all… … Keep Reading
There are few items of clothing more in line with the ideology of Chappishness than the blazer. A three-piece tweed whistle will always serve as a winter staple, but for a single garment that denotes both a sense of old-world savoir-faire and go-to-hell exuberance, only a blazer will suffice. The origins of the blazer lie… … Keep Reading
“Wondered if you’d ‘ave the time to assess the sartorial credentials of this dandy in the underworld,” writes London Boy Lou. “What could be more indicative of one’s immense chapability than writing about oneself in the third person, eh?” A decent command of the English language? However, we are actually impressed both by Mr. Boy… … Keep Reading
In the tribal district of Khyber on the Pakistan/Afghan border, moustaches are frowned upon. This is putting it mildly. Lashkar-e-Islam, a militant group allied with the Taliban, regularly terrify bewhiskered men with threat of kidnapping or even death if they persist in cultivating a large lip weasel. Taliban rules on beards are very clear: a… … Keep Reading
An association between a 1960s blues guitar legend and an English country clothing store seems unlikely, but it is just this odd, eccentric twist on the traditional that makes Cordings of Piccadilly unique among its Jermyn Street neighbours. Eric Clapton became co-owner of Cordings in 2003, but that milestone was only one of many in… … Keep Reading
The epistle that I received from this magazine’s editor was a tragic one. “I regret to inform you that I have been taken unwell, following an unfortunate trip to Cornwall. You shall have to do the next review as a solo endeavour.” This was enough to bring a tear to my eye, although my sorrow… … Keep Reading
It is fitting that a shoemaker founded in 1880 brings out a new range, 138 years later, named after that founding year. Loake was set up by three brothers, Thomas, John and William Loake in Kettering, Northamptonshire at the house of Thomas Loake. In 1894 the company moved to much larger premises in Kettering, where… … Keep Reading
You were born in Yorkshire. You’ve had lots of Yorkshire characters, but was your family steeped in Yorkshire from way back? My mother and father weren’t Yorkshire people. We ended up there because my father was an engineer. It was during the Depression in the 1930s and he couldn’t get any work down in the… … Keep Reading
Why am I writing about Disneyland in The Chap, you ask? Because, for the past four years, Disneyland in Anaheim California been the epicentre (not Epcot Center – that one’s in Florida,) of Dapper Day, and Rose Callahan and I had been invited by the event’s organizer to give a presentation about our book I… … Keep Reading
Miami greets the arriving driver with a glittering cluster of skyscrapers flanked by bright blue sea. As soon as the heart of the city has caught your attention, you’re in it, cruising through mid-town Miami with the buildings getting taller and taller and the sea coming nearer, like the opening scene of a disaster movie… … Keep Reading
The actress Fenella Fielding, who has died aged 90 from a stroke, was one of our most difficult interviewees to track down. After countless attempts to reach her via her agent in 2008, it was several years later that I saw her on a street in Soho, stopping traffic in a black and white ensemble,… … Keep Reading