Style, The bespoke column

The Bespokesman – Frank Foster shirts

It’s not easy to get a bespoke shirt made well in London. There aren’t many people that make them and the experience of using the few that do is often spoiled by inexplicable mistakes, excessive delays and annoying adjustments and re-adjustments.   [Read more...]

 

 August 13th, 2009

Style, The bespoke column

The Bespokesman – glen check fabric

The glen check, better known as the Prince of Wales check, is a staple suit fabric. For many men, particularly those who shun pinstripes, it will be their first foray beyond the basics of solid navy blue and solid grey cloths.

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 August 3rd, 2009

Style, The bespoke column

The Bespokesman – seersucker update

As promised, here’s a shot of the seersucker suit I recently ordered from Raja Fashions – the speed with which it was delivered astonished me. The results look good to my eye (I like that the white and brown stripes blend to make it look tan from any distance, and the patch pockets seem appropriate) and this weekend I’ll discover how it wears in the heat of a Milanese summer. [Read more...]

 

 June 19th, 2009

Style, The bespoke column

The Bespokesman – by Mansel Fletcher

I am an optimist and, in the expectation that there will be continued good weather this summer, I’m about to order a seersucker suit. That the word is adapted from a Hindi phrase tells its own story about the fabric’s suitability for very hot weather. That’s presumably why gentlemen from America’s southern states so enthusiastically adopted it last century, and why it’s never been very popular in the UK.

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 May 29th, 2009

Style, The bespoke column

The Bespokesman – by Mansel Fletcher

Legendary photographer Slim Aarons relaxes in a self portrait shot in Athens, circa 1955

“The fact that I’m on holiday doesn’t mean I’m not thinking about clothes. I’m just thinking about different clothes. The days when men wore cream-coloured lounge suits in the heat are long gone (perhaps because Dirk Bogarde in Visconti’s film of Death In Venice always looked so uncomfortable), but that’s no reason to give up entirely. After all, it’s only usually on holiday that we Brits go head to head with chic Italians in the style stakes – national pride is at stake!

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 May 20th, 2009