Founded in 1879 in, of course, Northampton, the true home of Great British footwear Crockett & Jones are a British institution. Their name is associated with quality and innovation and in 1914 their footwear was used for the 2nd time on a Shackleton Polar expedition, emphasising the excellent quality of the shoes and their construction. Plus, during the 2nd World War Crockett & Jones manufactured over a 1,000,000 pairs for the armed forces under instructions from the government to switch the majority of the production to military footwear, making officers’ shoes and boots for the army, navy and air force.

Now with the 5th generation of the Jones family to work for the brand. The strong reputation of Crockett & Jones, which today sees stores in London, New York, Paris and Brussels, is built on solid foundations and a great ethos started many generations ago. The fact that the business remains in the hands of the family after more than 130 years ensures their shoes still retain the attention to detail, quality, comfort and durability that was the hallmark of their founders.

This season they introduce us to the Black Edition, three styles, one sole, three leathers and one iconic colour. The collection of three styles are The Chelsea XI, The Lanark III and The Tay II, offering an oversized ‘Cleated’ rubber Soul showcased using a selection of contemporary black leathers. A true British brand influenced by Japanese sharp style.

For more than a century, Crockett & Jones has exported footwear far and wide, today Japan is the houses no.1 wholesale market. Inspired by their knowledge of the market and the close working relationships with with such iconic retailing institutions as Isetan, Hankyu, Barney’s, Beams & United Arrows, ‘The Black Editions’ represents shoemaking of authentic quality, design and insight.

Horace is a French brand with an international outlook who are making positive waves in producing natural grooming essentials for men. Founded by two friends in Paris back in 2016, Marc Briant-Terlet and Kim Mazzilli. They had both come to the same conclusion: they felt stuck between natural, clean, and well- designed but expensive brands on one hand, and affordable, poorly-formulated brands with cheap packaging on the other. And as a result they decided to launch Horace in order to give men the grooming experience they deserve: high-end products at affordable prices, advice, routines, and portraits on their website Horace.co, and the desire to build strong relationships with a community of users. Being users first and product designers second is the key to their success.

Their ethos is to make products designed for the daily lives of modern men. They believe that – as men – taking care of yourself should be easy, fun, efficient, and it should feel good. Above all else, it’s important to love the skin you’re in while remaining true to yourself.

However, this is not the only factor within their business ethos, Horace’s commitment to natural and clean products is part of a more global approach to the conservation of natural resources. They use natural ingredients sourced from non-invasive plants. That means all the products contain 95 to 100% natural ingredients and their formulas are simple and straight to the point, they only ever use the amount of ingredients necessary for the products to be efficient. No more, no less. They reduce the use of secondary packaging to the bare minimum, and their products’ primary packaging is recyclable.

Plus they are proud members of 1% for the planet, an association created by Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia. As members they give back 1% of their annual income to environmental protection associations. Horace is a natural and digital-first company, as such, they direct their donations to organisations that support organic farming, take part in reforestation and the conservation of water quality.
Oh, and their office is 100% green energy-powered.

As clothing manufacturers, producers, retailers etc fight for a more sustainable approach to cotton production. From water wastage in production, to the tonnes of garments destined for landfill and human loss off skills and local industry caused by tightening margins, the cost of cotton is as much social as environmental issue. All the while growing awareness is driving discourse between consumers, designers and suppliers.

The Cotton Story who bring an ethical approach to the cotton industry. This brand think the only way to tackle a problem is to face it head on and take responsibility for its own actions. The Cotton Story was founded with a simple but lofty aim; to offer luxury everyday clothing at a fraction of the usual price. We think it’s time that clothing made with the finest materials should be available to everyone at an honest price. And we think the factories they’re made in should be ethically and sustainably run. They believe the term luxury has lost its meaning – largely coming to be defined by price rather than quality.

The Cotton Story know by the very industry that they are in, that being totally ‘sustainable’ is never going to be achievable…BUT they can all do their best to be responsible in the way they manufacture and produce their products. Their factories recycle all plastic, cardboard and metals once finished with and re-use the oils used in their machines and where appropriate sold on to be made into other products. The delivery bags are made from recycled paper and all their packaging is fully recyclable.

Part of their USP is the use of Supima cotton, more durable, longer lasting and softer than the standard cotton. Supima is twice as strong as regular cotton, which makes for extraordinarily resilient products. The longer fiber resists pulling, breaking and tearing resulting in fashion and home products that are incredibly resilient and keep their form for a longer-lasting product. Longer fibers contribute to the strength and softness of apparel and home products, ensuring they are more comfortable, retain color longer and resist pilling. Supima cotton is farmed using state-of-the-art technology and processes. From GPS navigation used on tractors to plant and harvest the cotton, to satellite technology and soil monitors, Supima farmers ensure they are growing the best quality cotton in the world with as little impact on the environment as possible.

WORDS BY ISAAC PERRY

That time of year has come around again with many teens bidding farewell to their incredibly unsure yet emotional parents as they prepare for life away from the warmth of home. We are sure many of you have incredibly fond memories of your University experience; any funny ones please do leave in the comment section to give us a laugh!! Unfortunately, fancy dress costumes aren’t something which you can wear everyday although you may think that after fresher’s. You will actually have to style it out in your own clothing and on the odd occasion you do this, here is a starter pack for looking good whilst studying.

Comfort always comes first so it is essential that you have your fair share of tracksuits for those book days, Adidas offer a classic tracksuit set however thanks to a wide choice of colours now introduced you don’t have to ever be low-key. Just to name one the Ash Blue colour way is something different however not too in your face and with a back to school offer at Adidas online you really don’t want to miss out!However, unfortunately you can’t be in comfy clothing forever, with night outs being your opportunity to dress up and gain some style and street cred, rocking a pair of checked trousers with a funky colour seen as an incredibly classic look with a modern twist. You can find a good choice of trousers on Weekday all at brilliant pricing for the quality offered with our pick of the bunch being Checked suit trousers seen below.

Basic tees are a must for university, actually not just university but life in general! Having a wide range of coloured tee’s means you will always be prepared for any last minute outfit change. However, if you want to change it up every so often striped tees offer a point of different and make an outfit just cooler overall! Puma have recently been releasing plenty of tees; you should definitely have a look.

A recent post which you may have seen from us was the up rise of Dad shoes, these are shoes with a thicker sole which usually wouldn’t have been the nicest however they are now a style must! The Yung 1’s were some our favourites and since that post was released the most hyped full white colour way has been released and they are a shoe which above all offer comfort.

Good luck to all those who begin a new chapter in their lives, we at Clothes- Make-the Man can’t change your grades (unfortunately) however we can assure that you look good whilst doing it and please don’t forget to use your student discount!