Red Wing are in a very fortunate position, they are one of those few companies that are sort after by the style savvy male consumer and equally are respected by the workmen who use them day in and day out as part of their workwear uniform. One great style of boot in this brand repertoire that is considered a true classic is the Blacksmith. It can truly be considered the classic American work shoe. In the early 1900s, when Red Wing Shoe Company first began to service rural America, this style of shoe became vastly popular across the country. Versatile and reliable, it was used in farm fields and blacksmith workshops during the day before being cleaned and shined up for a night out on the town. It was the all-purpose shoe for many years in many industries. In conjunction with the Blacksmith, Red Wing presents the video ‘Marching to a Different Drum’(see below). The video details the craftsmanship of Red Wing Shoe Company employees and the pride with which these boots are built. ‘Marching to a Different Drum’ follows the installation of a new wooden tanning drum at the company’s S.B. Foot leather tanning facility( I promise, It’s more interesting then it sounds). Tanning drums are huge round containers used to tan leather via chemical reactions that involve soaking leather hides in various tanning solutions within a slowly rotating drum. The tanning process takes several hours, or even days, inside a drum that weighs up to six tons without the hides. Dedicated to crafting only the finest leather, Red Wing Shoe Company uses drums made from African yellow teak wood that has been cut and then submerged in water for two years to achieve the correct density.“All good things are being made in wooden drums,” says Andy Rhein, Master Tanner. “Leather, beer, wine, whiskey. We are really trying to make leather the way it used to be made two hundred years ago.” Why use wooden drums? Rhein answers that by saying, “A wooden drum is able to retain the heat (of the tanning process) and it’s all-natural. (The resulting leather) makes good shoes…consistent shoes. Every pair is as consistent as a pair (made yesterday), last week or fifty years ago.”

Experimental, Alpha chic, alluringly retro and individualistic are some of the words that have been used to describe menswear this season. What’s most fascinating is that style has not been restricted to those perfectly toned and tanned bodies and the picturesque beaches and parks. Style and comfort in menswear make their presence felt in the boardrooms as well. We do understand that it’s rather tricky to look cool and smart in these scorching months, hopefully, when heat and sweat become your perennial companions and the commute becomes even more of a trail. But a button down here, a turn up there and you’re all set to send the temperatures in the boardroom soaring. Follow these simple guidelines and be at your stylish best at work this summer without breaking into a sweat or the bank.
Fabrics
When you don’t want to invest an exorbitant amount of time or money on your office wear for summer, the rule of thumb is to invest in some quality fabrics. Getting the right fabric for your shirts and trousers is essential for looking stylish. Style is synonymous with comfort. To look sharp, businesslike and yet feel relaxed and comfortable, is a magic, crafted and spun through fabrics. The go-to summer fabrics would be cotton and linen. Classic cut customised shirts and trousers in cottons and linens never go out of style. Take care to choose finer threads, looser weaves and porous material to ensure breathability, lightness and maximum comfort.
The Colour Parade
Let your summer wardrobe be a curtain-raiser to the upcoming summer months. Don’t be scared of colour, flaunt colours that distinguish you from the crowd. Move beyond the browns and navys in suits and think baby blues and more berry tones, we’re not talking Cam from Modern Families here, just subtle changes. In linen, cotton or chambray these suits guarantee you a second look. Marc Jacobs and Ralph Lauren are really embracing berry tones as the colour to watch out for in men’s style this season. This rich and vibrant colour will not just perk up your summer business wardrobe but also make its presence felt in the spring and winter months. Paired with blacks, greys, beiges or blues, a berry colour shirt.
While the new colours are totally on trend, always resort back to your used-and-loved shirts and suits in khakis, light greys, beige and daring whites to feel comfortable and look stylish at your work-place, you can never go wrong in these. However, do remember that if you want to be that most noticed and uber-cool alpha male at the workplace, you got to play with colours. Think of experimenting with pastel tones. Pick shirts that uniquely punch in some summer colours and team them with darker tones until you feel more confident.
Add a Casual Vibe to Your Wardrobe
While I’m all for professional and business like attire in corporate wear, I do believe that the sweltering summer months call for some concessions and exceptions. Opt for an extra button open on your shirt to give that relaxed feel. Know that the era of the impossibly stiff suits and excessive buttoning up is totally passé, it’s not a period drama ! Casual chic is the new office wear code for the practical, style conscious alpha male.
Do spare a thought to the modest chinos and tailored-shorts (think loose-fit, grown up skater shorts, from Hugo Boss to Gap) Linen shirts tucked into smart chinos with loafers or brogues is captures the right balance of cool and comfortable. If you’re contemplating loafers would be appropriate or not, take our word for it- this summer penny loafers definitely are. Another trend in menswear that is rapidly bringing casual back in the corporate warrobe are rolled-up trousers ,showing just a BIT of mankle, easy does it.
The good news is that none of these require you to really burn a hole in your pockets. Most of them have made a pretty smooth transition from last season and are here to stay. The cool and chic look in business wear this summer is achievable and accessible. Tweaking your wardrobe essentials and digging a little deeper will help you in getting this right.

Rules Not to be Broken
While the stalwarts of the fashion world are encouraging men to experiment and break some boardroom rules, when it comes to power dressing, there are some rules that a man should never break.
• Always make sure that you smell good. Being appropriately deodorized at all times is absolutely must.
• Shoes maketh a man is not just a saying. Wearing sharp, well-made and comfortable shoes can ooze confidence.
• Keep the bedroom hair for just that-the bedroom. Short cropped hair, smartly cut and combed is what we are vouching for this summer.
• Last season we saw the resurrection of the beard. But now it is quite literally done to death. Gentlemen skip the beard this season and opt for a clean shaven look.

Final Business Talk
Sunscreen and sunglasses are not just for the fairer sex. Apply sunscreen lavishly on all exposed areas and let your skin feel and look good. Don’t be shy to flaunt a hat if you are going to be walking to work. The evergreen flat cap remains, but the style gurus are recommending the bucket hat, think Reni of the Stone Roses.
Finally make your own style this season. Flirt with clothes and be the sartorial powerhouse that never fails to impress. Look cool this hot season. Be suave, be relaxed, be yourself because nothing quite spells business and style better than being comfortable in your own skin

No one can dispute the UK have an incredible reputation the world over for quality and craftsmanship whether that be in Car Production with the likes of Rolls Royce or Jaguar. In the service industry some of the best hotels in the world are based here in the shape of Claridges or the Dorchester. But one industry is still seen as a British world class market leader and that dear friends is in the style stakes, whether it be the sartorial suiting of Savile Row or the envious creativity of the Great British High Street Brands, every nation under the Sun looks to the UK, no matter if they are looking for Creative Directors, Editors or plain and simple good quality brands whose produces will last.

One such brand that very definitely falls into this category is Chapman who pride themselves on the craftsmanship which goes into each and every accessory they produce in their Tannery and factory still based in Cumbrian Border region. In fact many of their employees are Cumbrian born and bred. While some have been with the Company for much of their working lives, we are also committed to taking on and training young people, an investment essential to maintaining the technical and craft skills required to manufacture in England. We recently launched three new apprentice programmes.

Every Chapman bag is manufactured at the company’s factory in Carlisle, Cumbria, from where products are shipped to clients worldwide. The company uses traditional hand crafted manufacturing techniques; including hand cutting all their bags from original patterns, hand machining and traditional saddlery work. This combination of traditional manufacturing techniques and high quality, natural materials, produces a unique finish quite unlike mass produced items.

However, it’s not all about tradition and age old techniques, a component of their new website is a new feature offering the ability to design and order a classic Chapman bag online using a wide range of materials and colours, enabling customers to create a bespoke bag to their own specification. The site contains rich and varied content as well as new product photography, including styled and modelled sizing shots of each bag.

Celebrating over 40 years of creating, the new Chapman brand identity draws on the Company’s origins as a field sports company, deeply rooted in the local Borders community. The new logo features two crossed fishing hooks, a reference to the Company’s historical association with the manufacture of fishing bags and accessories. The new branding also features stunning landscape photography of the Borders region in which Chapman is based, focusing on the 2,000 year old monument of Hadrian’s Wall, which runs the whole width of the Borders from coast to coast.

Wedding season is upon us and if you have a wedding(s) to attend this summer, then one of your key considerations should be what to wear. Don’t leave it till the last minute to try on the suit that you’ve planned to wear, just in case you find out that it needs dry cleaning/repairing/ doesn’t fit or the moths have been dining on it.

And if you do find out any of the above – it looks like it’s time to buy a new suit. Read on for our tips on how to choose what to wear to a wedding.

Colour

A wedding is the ideal opportunity to go for something more interesting than your standard navy or grey. A rich green, a vibrant blue, a deep burgundy or on the lighter side, a denim blue, pale grey or beige could all be good choices. Whichever it is, make sure you choose one that suits your skin tone. One of my clients visibly aged by about 20 years when he tried on a silver grey suit which didn’t suit his warm skin tone, but looked glowing in a deep olive green one!

Contrasting colours ie: dark suit and light shirt look more formal or if you wear more tonal colours ie: denim blue suit and pale blue shirt they’re more relaxed. Scale this up or down according to the formality of the wedding.

If you need to use this suit for many other occasions including business events then stick to a dark neutral and add colour and a touch of frivolity with your accessories.

Style

A looser, shorter cut differentiates a contemporary style from a classic, business style so this could be the point of difference from your work suit. Another idea would be to go for a double breasted style, back in fashion after years in the wilderness, it can give a very elegant and dapper look. Wear a waisted style that fits you like a glove rather than the looser cuts of the Eighties.

If you have a larger stomach and are stocky in stature then stick to a more complementary single breasted style. and embrace the peaked lapel trend which will flatter your figure by taking the eye out towards the shoulders. This will widen them and concurrently take the eye away from your mid-section – enhanced further by wearing a pocket square.

A three piece suit also comes into play for a wedding, looking suitably smart, concealing your stomach if it’s in a dark shade, or adding an extra layer if it turns out to be a cold, damp July day in the great British summertime.

Fabrics
Mohair will give an extra depth and sheen to the fabric and gives a luxurious feel to your suit differentiating it from a business suit, with the added bonus that it doesn’t crease much. Linen, chambray or silk mixes are great if you like a less structured softer feel but be aware that they will crease, so if you have a long journey to get to the wedding, you may want to choose something else. Cotton, and seersucker in particular, are great options if travelling to a hot country, being both lightweight and crease resistant.