CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN
The extraordinary mens blog for the modern man
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A SPEZIAL Collection from adidas – adidas Originals X SPEZIAL

Screen Shot 2014-10-27 at 14.44.25In 2013 adidas held an exhibition to celebrate all things Adidas and showcased the product collections of some of its most passionate fans. It was a major success and it’s ‘SPEZIAL’ title has since come to represent the very essence of the adidas brand to fans and collectors alike.

The project was curated by long time, 3 stripe devotee Gary Aspden, honestly what Gary doesn’t know about adidas isn’t worth knowing, trust me. After the overwhelming response to the exhibition he put forward an idea to work with the adidas team in Herzogenaurach, birth town of adidas, to come up with a new, archive inspired, adidas Originals capsule collection of clothing and footwear. From this proposal the adidas Originals x SPEZIAL range was born.

Screen Shot 2014-10-27 at 14.45.19The adidas Originals x SPEZIAL range is not solely about the engineered science of performance sportswear, the cross over of high fashion luxury brands and sports wear or the nostalgia for one to one vintage reproductions. Whilst adidas is fundamentally a sportswear company, it has always had a rich history in leisurewear dating back over 40 years to the era of Adi Dassler himself. The adidas Originals x SPEZIAL collaboration is a modern collection that pays its respects to all these areas without being solely dedicated to any one of them. It offers a range of clothing and footwear range that provides an updated, contemporary and premium vision of adidas.

The collection includes twelve iconic vintage adidas apparel pieces (e.g. the Beckenbauer tracksuit) that are re-designed and re-invented in premium fabrics and modern cuts. Plus, the footwear takes four classic adidas silhouettes and tweaks them whilst retaining the brand’s DNA. The upper patterns are re-worked and new hybrid shoes marrying up different elements of much loved iconic styles are created.

Aspden says of the collection; “Growing up in the north west of England in the 70s and 80s adidas was (and still is) the brand we all gravitated towards. I have been a fan ever since. I grew up loving the sophistication of European sportswear brands.The adidas Originals x SPEZIAL collection is about identifying and utilizing those elements (beyond the three stripes) of the adidas design personality that are unique to this brand.”

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I think I’m turning Japanese – John Smedley X Comme des Garçons

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To say British, heritage knitwear brand John Smedley have invented themselves, is a bit of an understatement, along the same lines as describing the Great Fire of London as a bit of a contained bonfire. In recent years its turned its image and fortunes round from being a traditional knitwear manufacturer to being a go to brand, showing as part of London Collections:Men and this latest venture only strengths their style credentials.

The much loved British luxury knitwear brand is built on over two hundred years of craftsmanship and quality, their second and ultra limited collaboration with pioneering Japanese super-brand, Comme Des Garçons for Autumn ’14.

Limited to just 40 pieces worldwide, so better be quick, acclaimed designer, Junya Watanabe, has reinterpreted John Smedley’s  iconic design, the Bobby pullover, creating a fusion of classic British style with typical Japanese innovation.

Woven into panels at John Smedley’s Lea Mills factory, believed to be the oldest in constant production in the world, the premium New Zealand merino wool is then sent to Japan to be hand embroidered and finished by Comme Des Garçons, themselves, leaving a slight detail of the raw seaming. Available in two colourways, charcoal and navy, each design has been embroidered with Junya Watanabe’s signature plaid Union Jack.

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24 carot – Platinum by Calvin Klein

Screen Shot 2014-10-13 at 17.37.30Calvin Klein is a brand known for many things and other designer fashion houses would literally kill for an ounce of what they have, one could say if they could bottle it, but they already have several times over. Whether it be denim, underwear, fragrances etc Calvin Klein is legendary and shows no sign of slowing down or lessening its popularity.

For Winter this year they have teamed up with the retailer of ultimate luxury and bastion of everything aspirational, Harvey Nichols to stock this exclusive collection. It offers a new take on the classic and formal inspired by the pursuit of perfection. Simplicity and precision.

Platinum prides itself on natural luxury embodied in clean shapes with updated proportions, designed in rich fibers and yarns. Heroic and confident with architectural and studiously crafted looks. Hidden interior details offer a sense of concealed sophistication.


 Screen Shot 2014-10-13 at 17.37.01The collection offers a look that is elevated and tailored. Three and two-button jackets with soft constructions are paired with boat neck sweaters and tapered ankle cropped pants. For outerwear, a covetable camel wool/cashmere slim top coat, or a roomy, fleck-speckled pressed tweed balmacaan. A dark damson wool jacket over a black turtleneck sweater and black pants; or a Bordeaux iridescent weave nylon parka with neoprene trimmed hood, worn with a boat neck merino sweater and cropped black pants — both add graphic color to the season’s muted palette. Head-to-toe black styling, as in a quilted leather bomber jacket, turtleneck and flannel pant, presents a modern, city aesthetic. Alternatively, a pared down pale grey wool cashmere shaker sweater and flannel cropped pants introduces an element of ease.

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Roll with it – Six of the best Roll Neck knits

IMG_1788Whether it be on the international catwalks for the menswear Autumn/Winter shows to well turned out celebrities such as Michael Fassbender or Mr Saturday Night himself Dermot O’Leary. The roll neck knit is no longer the preserve of the 1970’s or the knitwear of choice for Bond villains. The roll neck, polo neck, whatever you wanna call it, is back and back with a bang and looks equally as good as an alternative to a shirt when worn with a suit or just plain and simple with jeans when your wanting to keep the cold out. So we bring you six of the best currently on the market at this very precise moment.

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This knit just looks warm and cosy in wonderfully warming oatmeal by none other then PS by Paul Smith at MRPORTER.com

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Classic Marl goes with everything and from the Genius of British Knitwear himself John Smedley

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Out to impress you can’t fail to do so in this little number from Gucci. Only problem is make sure your better half doesn’t take too much of a shine to it

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It’s unbelievably how this brand manages to balance price and quality and still make a profit !!! Yet they do and this example is testament to the guys at Uniqlo

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Stand out from the crowd for all the right reasons in this cobalt  out of the blue from can you believe it Burton

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Classic Navy what more could you ask for and from knitwear specialists Johnstons of Elgin

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Is it a boot or is it a Trainer ??? – Nike’s new SneakerBoots

Ho14_SneakerBoots_Hero_Mens_AirMax90_33317[14]Well, unless you are literally living on the other side of the world, you will have noticed a distinct change, for the worse, in the weather and the news is telling us, that all folks for Summer, for another 6-8 months, what a thought. Now, Part and parcel of being human is adapting to change and having the right tools can smooth the process. As the daytime diminishes and the weather becomes increasingly grim, the Holiday(never understand this term, what is holiday about freezing cold, awful weather ? A beach is Holiday) 2014 Nike SneakerBoot Collection provides the tools to combat the changing conditions. The collection introduces new styles and transforms iconic masterpieces of running, basketball and training design into weatherised powerhouses ! This season the Nike SneakerBoots collection emphasizes three benefits – warmth, visibility, and dryness – for unprecedented defense in unpredictable elements. We are talking, Marty McFly has nothing on these bad boys !

HO14_NSW_Lunar_Dome_M_3QF_33312[14]Basketball and running favorites from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s are bolstered and re-imagined, with features ranging from rugged interpretations of original outsoles to internal linings that make them as comfortable as their classic counterparts. For this season, time-honored styles and a few new introductions leave the fields, tracks and gyms for which they were originally designed and join the battle against wintry weather.

HO14_NSW_LunarForce1_3QF_M_33314[14]One such interpretation is the iconic Nike Air Max of 1990, built around the idea that “more is more,” ups the ante. This arbiter of air is re-mastered into a highly visible, high-traction, cold weather weapon of choice.

Another is, the Nike Air Trainer SC was designed to endure punishment put forth by the strongest, most powerful athletes of its time. Inspired by the original versionʼs multi- sport functionality, the Air Trainer SC SneakerBoot’s water-repellant leather upper, sticky rubber outsole and reflective Swoosh logo make winter terrain look like another day in paradise.

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