Gustav Temple spoke to Australian hat maker Blake “Blakesby” Canham-Bennett, who has expanded the colour and shape of men’s headwear, while holding on to classic styles and manufacturing methods. You seem to have broken the mould when it comes to men’s hat styles, while adhering to traditional blocks and techniques. Was this what you set out to… … Keep Reading
Liam Jefferies meets the doyenne of Stanley Biggs, a menswear company with one foot set firmly in history. For some, there is no beating vintage. A vintage duffel coat found in the back of a surplus store will invoke a greater sense of worth than a similar model churned out by the thousands in some… … Keep Reading
A handy guide to understanding what people are communicating via their choice of face coverings during the coronavirus pandemic. When a new item of clothing enters the field, chaps are not normally consulted for their views, because for chaps there is no need for any new clothing items; they are still busy rediscovering things like… … Keep Reading
Gustav Temple takes a highly educational sartorial stroll around the West End of London with professional city tour guide Russell Nash We meet on the steps of the Athenaeum Club and head along Pall Mall towards the bottom of St James’s Street, where Russell pauses outside the fabled gables of London hatters Lock & Co.… … Keep Reading
Images of southern Spain, usually composed of matadors, barrels of sherry, women in flamenco dresses and orange trees wilting in the heat, do not commonly include tweed jackets. It’s rarely cold enough in Andalucia to don even a waistcoat, never mind a full tweed ensemble. Yet during the 1930s there emerged, from the royal and… … Keep Reading
You know when you get a new pair of brogues, and then all your other brogues suddenly look tired, old and worn-out next to them? Acquiring a Sussex Tweed cap has the same effect on all your other tweed caps. My collection of bakerboy caps numbers only a modest seven, but when The Windover joined… … Keep Reading
A while back, purely because I was very prominent during the 1980s and ran landmark clubs during the so called New Romantic era, some chump on that social media malarkey would not accept that, at that time, I was not wearing copious amounts of make-up. I, of course defended my corner as, being 6 foot… … 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 Chap Olympiad 2018 took place on Saturday 14th July in Bedford Square Gardens, Bloomsbury. Never in the field of human clothing was so much worn by so many; especially considering the 28-degree heatwave that swamped London that day. Ignoring details such as climactic conditions, Brown-in-Town, appropriate daywear for a civilised garden party, the guests… … Keep Reading
A fashion photoshoot at Hornets Kensington is not just people with cameras taking pictures of people in clothes. It is an opportunity to immerse oneself in the world of Bill Hornets, doyen of this parade of little vintage menswear shops along a quiet alley in Kensington, where so much more than mere clothes is purveyed.… … Keep Reading
David Evans: With winter’s chilly grip upon us, I find I’m wearing a hat more. I’ve become very attached to a Christys Epsom fur felt snap-brim racing trilby. It’s not a name that trips lightly off the tongue, but it’s genuine rabbit fur and made in England. As you’d expect, the brim has the property… … Keep Reading
At this year’s Chap Olympiad in July, Lady Eccentrik won our best-dressed female award and agreed to answer some questions for us Photograph by Soulstealer Photography What were you wearing on the day of the Chap Olympiad? Original 1940s dressing robe, printed in a vibrant pattern of bright cornflower blue daisies with maize yellow centres,… … Keep Reading