In an interview with The Telegraph, Patrick Grant of Norton & Sons and E. Tautz once described fashion as being an “ever-moving feast.” I often find that the quick-paced nature of fashion – where things are constantly being created and destroyed – makes the field endlessly interesting. There’s always something new, something different, something to talk about. And while my taste in tailoring leans classic, I like casualwear that’s a bit more progressive and experimental.
For the past few years, I’ve been doing these annual posts where I round up some new brands I recently found. To be sure, not all of them are actually new – many have been around for years – but they’re new to me. Here are seven labels I recently discovered. And while not all of them sell things I’d personally wear, I find them inspiring in some way. For more of the same, you can see previous years’ posts here, here, and here.
If there’s any country that knows how to make cold-weather clothes, it’s Scotland. Heavy tweeds, cabled sweaters, and what I think is the best cashmere in the world. Recently, David Marx – the author behind Ametora – wrote a great essay on how Japan has become an important export market for traditional Scottish clothes and textiles. The article was first published in Vanguards Magazine, a bi-annual publication celebrating design and products.
Marx’s essay starts with how traditional Scottish goods landed in Japan in the first place. Mid-century American clothes, marketed as Ivy Style, originally brought things such as Harris Tweed to the island. Pictured above, for example, is Tailor Caid’s Yuhei Yamamoto (photo by Mark Cho), wearing a classic, soft-shouldered, American-style overcoat. It’s this sort of tweedy look that would later open up the Japanese market to other Scottish specialities, such as fisherman knits and teaseled scarves. Marx’s essay is republished in full here with permission, but if you like it, check out Vanguards’ second issue, from which this is taken (there’s a graphic novel in there about Aero Leathers). Vanguards is also selling a specially designed bandana that accompanies this story.
Each autumn in Tokyo, there are a series of annual rituals which alert shoppers that crisp weather and burgundy maple leaves are just around the corner. First, traditional menswear retailer Beams Plus covers an entire wall with stacks of fluffy Jamieson-made sweaters in a crayon’s box worth of color variations. Next, stores such as United Arrows, Tomorrowland, and Ships join Beams in bringing out piles of thick wool shawl cardigans from Inverallan, each with a tag certifying the sweater’s hand-knit origin. In November, men celebrate the bountiful harvest of late summer trunk shows: their made-to-measure Harris Tweed sports coats have arrived. They match their herringbone and dogtooth jackets with explosions of fair isle patterns and tartan scarves to scatter festive color across the Tokyo streets.
Even with the explosion of online media nowadays for men’s clothing, it can be a challenge to find good, relatable content for how to wear a coat-and-tie. Much of what’s celebrated online is too aggressively styled for most offices – tightly cut suits, heavily patterned fabrics, and unusual accessories. Great for Instagram and menswear blogs, but less so for the day-to-day grind of most people’s lives.
Which is why it was such a pleasure for me to talk with Mr. Kazuto Yamaki. He’s the CEO of Sigma, a Japanese manufacturer of camera lenses, flashes, and other photographic accessories. He’s also an exceptionally well-dressed public figure, but so far removed from the world of menswear blogs that I had to try a few times to convince him that I was not, in fact, joking when I said I wanted to interview him about how he dresses.
Much of what Mr. Yamaki wears will be familiar to anyone who reads this site – softly tailored Italian-influenced suits and sport coats, paired with tastefully designed ties and solid colored dress shirts. Where I think he makes a distinction is that everything looks relatable, something you can wear to most offices today. It’s thoughtfully considered without being obsessive; informed without nit picking. And in being so, it looks more naturally put together.
The Japanese are often presented online as being masters of their craft. The toiling shoemaker who’s a bit more meticulous and focused than his European counterparts, producing things to the highest level of quality. There’s a strange and sometimes unsettling strand of Orientalism that runs through these narratives, but if there’s anything that can be said of Japanese production, I find it’s more about design.
Japanese companies are tremendously good at design, especially if you have a penchant for classic clothing but want something that feels relevant and updated. Kaptain Sunshine, one of my favorite casualwear labels as of late, is something like a quirkier version of LL Bean. The designs are a little more creative; a little more daring. The silhouettes and details are playful in just the right ways, making them more than just literal reproductions from history.
The same can be said of bags. Before the heritage revival in the US went mainstream – encouraging companies to dust off their archives – Japanese brands were already making their versions of the 1970s-style hiking backpacks, helmet bags, and classic carryalls. If you want a casual bag, it’s worth looking towards Japan. These can be expensive, ranging anywhere from $150 on sale to a whooping $1,000 at full retail, but the designs go a little further than your basic Jansport. And while similarly priced US options are just as nicely made, they’re often too technical – sacrificing form for function.
Barbour holds a special place in my heart, but from their expansive collection, the only pieces I wear are the Bedale and Beaufort. The first is a waxed cotton jacket with ribbed storm cuffs, which is great for layering over sweaters; the second is similar, but a little longer so you can comfortably wear it over sport coats. This fall, however, they’re introducing a special collaboration with Daiki Suzuki of Engineered Garments and I couldn’t be more excited. The collection was recently unveiled this past Saturday at London Men’s Fashion Week, although the jackets won’t be available for sale until fall. If you couldn’t wait for last year to be over, this collection is a good reason to pine for the end of this one.
Each jacket is made from Barbour’s signature waxed cottons, in neutral colors such as olive, black, and navy. Waxed cotton, as many know, is one of the more traditional forms of water-resistant fabrics, but unlike others, it develops a unique patina over time. Before British sportsmen wore the material to cover themselves from the rain, British sailors covered their capes in grease in order to protect themselves from the sea’s sprays.
Daiki Suzuki says Barbour reached out to him for the collaboration, and given how much he already draws from hunting clothes, the partnership was natural. “I personally love Barbour and hold in my collection a Bedale, Beaufort, International, Cowen Commando and vintage reissued cape given to me by WP Lavori,” he said. “One of the main elements of Engineered Garments is its classic military styling. It was a challenge to think about how to go about working with such an iconic brand and one that I hold dearly."
Mr. Porter just made their second round of markdowns. It’s still pretty early into the sale, so not all the product pages have been updated yet. However, you’ll see the newly adjusted prices when you take things to checkout. I imagine the prices on the product pages will be updated in the next couple of hours.
At the moment, select items are discounted by as much as 70% off. And, surprisingly, there’s still a lot of stuff left. The key at this point in the sale is to just browse the sale section and filter by garment type and size. That way you can stumble upon some good finds while not wasting time hopping from brand page to brand page. Note, Mr. Porter’s sale at this point moves very fast, so be aware when considering something. Google Chrome can also be a bit buggy sometimes on the site, so switch to another browser if you experience problems.
Traveling can be rough, especially during the holidays. Last year, I decided to treat myself to some Rimowa luggage – suitcases built on four wheels that I can easily roll through airports when trying to catch a flight. Airports are often harried and stressful places, but I figured I can make the experience a little better with good luggage.
For all the online articles about luggage, surprisingly few focus on both form and function. It’s not hard to find posts about various features – the spacious pockets and smart technologies – but many suitcases, frankly, are kind of ugly. You can get bags nowadays that will weigh themselves and give you GPS tracking anywhere in the world, but few that will do the simple job of looking good. That said, if you’re curious about some of the more innovative designs that have come out in the last few years, just browse YouTube. Some are interesting, some really interesting, and some outright bad.
One of the inherent problems with luggage reviews is that few people, including me, have enough experience with different brands to give a comparative perspective. Doing so means testing out enough models across a range of price points, as well as flying frequently enough to put a piece of luggage through the paces. I’ve flown with my Rimowas a little more than half a dozen times now. Not enough to give a meaningful review, but enough to confirm everything I’ve heard is true.
The explosion of sportswear and designer clothing after the Second World War shattered dress norms. Whereas men in the pre-war era were united by their allegiance to the coat and tie, fashion became a lot more diverse and divergent after the 1950s. Prole gear such as chambray shirts, five-pocket jeans, and white tees became popular off the worksite precisely because they represented something different – something more rebellious – to the more formal buttoned-down and strait-laced look of the establishment. Bruce Boyer has a nice essay about it in his book Rebel Style.
To the degree there’s still a male uniform in the United States, it’s the dress shirt with dark jeans and a smooth merino knit. It’s the final outfit for men who don’t wear tailored jackets – the thing they can use to go to churches, offices, and other conservative settings without fear of drawing unwanted attention. It’s the thing your mother wanted you to wear when it came time to have your yearbook portrait taken. And likely what most men will be wearing next month at holiday parties.
The uniform persists for a reason. Shallow v-necks with dress collars underneath frame the face in a way that t-shirts can’t, and the combination gives a vague sense of formality without actually being formal. The look is nearly failsafe, but it’s also devoid of personality. A finely knit sweater in plain navy or gray is about as good of a candidate as any for a menswear staple, but I find I rarely wear mine.
If there was ever a reason to care about global warming – aside from total death of all living things on this planet – our ability to wear cool jackets should be it. As each year gets warmer and warmer, it feels like the opportunity to wear our favorite fall and winter clothes is getting shorter and shorter. It’s been unseasonably warm these past few months, but luckily the temperatures just dropped low enough to break out our favorite outerwear. And let’s be honest. Men’s style revolves around outerwear.
Menswear blogs this time of year are often filled with lists about seasonal essentials – the perfect pea coat, the ideal trench. All of which can be great, but also feel a bit too generic to be personal. So while this isn’t a list of menswear essentials, here’s a list of eight outerwear styles that have me excited this year. Hopefully you can find something here that also works for you.
Tailoring is often described in regional or house terms. Anderson & Sheppard’s iconic drape cut is soft shouldered and full throughout the chest, making even the most frail and pudgy look athletic. Conversely, Huntsman’s imposing shoulder line and flared skirt, which kicks out from the hips, accentuates their X-shaped silhouettes. Huntsman’s cut is derived from their heritage, obvious from the company’s name, back when the firm used to tailor for Europe’s hunting and riding aristocracy.
Over the years, I’ve realized these generalizations only take you so far. In reality, there’s no such thing as an Anderson & Sheppard cut – only a specific cutter’s interpretation of a house style. The word cutter is a tailoring term for a person who drafts a pattern and cuts the cloth, sort of like the architect behind a building. Large tailoring houses can have two or three cutters, maybe more if you count the people making trousers, which means the same number of people can walk into a shop and come out with surprisingly different garments. If you like a bespoke suit or sport coat, it’s just as important to ask who was the cutter as it is to ask about the tailoring house.
Which is why I like working with small tailoring shops, where the cutter’s name is on the door. You have a better chance of knowing who cut each of the garments that carries the shop’s label. One such cutter-run firm is Steven Hitchcock’s, who’s been in the tailoring business for over twenty-seven years. He left school at age sixteen to find a trade, first puttering around with the idea of becoming a mechanic (he even took some classes for it). “At some point, my grandfather suggested I spend a day with my dad, John Hitchcock, who at the time was a trouser cutter at Anderson & Sheppard,” says Steven. “It ended up being fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing a pair of trousers get cut and made, as well as celebrities such as Liam Neeson walk through those doors.”
