CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN

Words by Cameron Mclauchlan

Another instalment of Something for the Weekend is here! and we think we have finally found the perfect basic T-Shirt. For everyday use. At an undeniably good price.

Whilst there are many T-shirts available below the £10 mark from your local retailer. I challenge anyone to find a better quality T-shirt for the same price as our first item in this weeks edition of something for the weekend…

It may come as little surprise to those of you who have shopped at UNIQLO before, that our ultimate basic T can be found there. For those of you who are yet to pop a head in, I recommend having a nose when you can! Current stores in the UK include Manchesters Arndale, Bluewater, and Londons Oxford St. As well as online.

UNIQLO. One of, if not the largest fashion retailer in Asia has seen an equally impressive rise in popularity across the EU & US. The brands origins can be traced back to Yamaguchi in Japan, post World War II—1949. Beginning its days as a textiles factory.

UNIQLO which was abbreviated from ‘Unique Clothing Warehouse’, opened its first store in Hiroshima in 1984. Nearly a decade after its first store opened, the great recession hit Japan in early 90’s. This prompted UNIQLO to flourish as cheaper price-point clothing was met with consumers looking to save where possible.

The brand now operates globally and owes much of its success to founder Tadashi Yanai, now CEO of Fast Retailing, the parent company of UNIQLO. UNIQLO as a retailer operates selling predominantly the same clothing for the entire season, leveraging its quality and affordable pricing as a reason to return. The brand has built some really interesting collaborative relationships with the likes of Jil Sander, Undercover, Kaws, Engineered Garments and more recently and more recently JW Anderson.

To shop the T-shirt hit the link below, sizes vary from XS to 3XL, sizes tend to sell out quickly so would advise heading in-store if there’s one close by!

2.   Stan Ray Slim Painter Pant – £85.00

Workwear brand Stan Ray, similarly to Dickies we featured last week is a brand coveted for its durability. Earl Beard founded the brand in 1972. In Texas US where it is based to this day. Earl entered the market at a time where the large majority of brands outsourced their production to the Far East & South America. American brand/American made was — and still is Earls vision.

The brand name ‘Stan Ray’ didn’t come until later, inspired by Earls son’s name — Stanley Ray. Stanley now oversees the family run company particularly when it comes to the operations at their  manufacturing facility in Crockett, Texas.

Now selling through roughly 2500 stores worldwide, the brand seem’s to have emerged into the UK and EU markets more notably in the last 5 to 10 years as a result of the tidal wave demand for street and workwear.

3.   New Balance 990 v5 

Originally created at the beginning of the 80’s as an all new running shoe. The 990 has now become the king of ‘dad sneakers’. Whilst the latest iteration is named the v5, the 990 has actually seen a total of 7 variations since its birth in 1982. Other variations over the years include the 99X (2001), 991 & 992 (2006). With the 991 & 992 being created in celebration of the brands 100th Birthday.

So as you can probably guess from that last sentence, New Balance was officially kicked off way back in 1906 by William J Riley. Rumour has it that one day Riley was watching chickens strut around his back garden when he noticed how well they balanced with their main three points to use as balance. Inspiring Riley to design arch supports with three points of support.

Formally called New Balance Arch Support Company the company didn’t begin making actual trainers until 1961. By which point Riley and his main partner Arthur Hall had sold the company to Arthurs daughter Eleanor and her husband Paul Kidd in 1956. The new owners saw continued success selling the arch supports alone, until making the Trackster in 1961. Probably as a result to being approached by numerous companies to co-create a shoe with their now renowned arch supports.

Since the Trackster, like many shoe company stores we have featured in this series, New Balance has built itself into a highly successful sportswear brand through the creation of iconic silhouettes which have etched themselves across all aspects of culture over music, sports and fashion. Visible today with their sponsorships of European champions Liverpool FC and ongoing partnership with Londons sneaker store FootPatrol.

To shop the v5’s hit the link below, sizes tend to go like hot cakes but the v5 seems to have received a higher number of stockists than the v4, so if the link below has run out of sizes check out : Size?, New Balance or END.

Thank you for reading another week of #SFTW

As summer draws to a close, it’s about time you start thinking about updating your footwear to something a little warmer, a little more durable – but ultimately – still stylish: say hello to the  Novesta Chukka Boot.

Known mostly for their iconic Star Master silhouettes, the brand’s has had quite the 2019 following collaborations with the likes of niuhans, Universal Works etc. 

Coming in a handful of stylish colourways, the Chukka Boot features the typical Novesta sole, many have come to love, with choices of either suede or canvas on the upper, plus a super-easy lacing system for extra comfort.

As well as being a distinctly handsome shoe, the Chukka Boot remains in-keeping with the brand’s eco-friendly PETA-approved ethos, in creating footwear by using vegan-friendly, naturally sources rubber, alongside other eco-friendly materials wherever possible. The brand even uses wooden chips to warm its buildings so much is their passion for the environment.

Words by Daniel Ramsdale-Harris

As the English summer comes to end, (if we can even call it a ‘summer) we now turn to more warmer alternatives in our wardrobe to curate our outfits. And you can’t have too many hoodies in your wardrobe can you? We’ve selected our top 5 streetwear picks, ranging from rising streetwear brands such as Noah and Awake NY to established counterparts in Stussy and Comme Des Garcon.

Noah, founded by former Supreme creative director Brendon Barbenzian continue to establish themselves as a leading brand on the streetwear scene. A focus on transparency surrounding social stances and production processes, has transpired Noah as a brand who simply care, which in turn has created a loyal following of fans who buy in to their values beyond just product.

Perhaps their most recognisable silhouette is their signature logo hoodie, which emblazons the brand name with their red cross motif. Constructed with 100% cotton, with tonal overlocking stitching throughout and a black colourway, this silhouette is a staple piece that can be matched with pretty much all outfits.

Another founder formerly of streetwear staple Supreme, Angelo Baque started Awake NY back in 2012, with the aim to capture the unique cultural spirit and sensibility of New York City.

The brand sits in the group of emerging streetwear brands, expanding the core brand selection from the true OG’s in Stussy, Supreme and BAPE. And it’sSplit Patch Logo has become an instantly recognisable motif in the scene, alongside sold out collaborations with Asics.

The hoodie comes in a relaxed fit, 100% cotton composition, and of course the embroidered split patch logo. Another simple, but clean silhouette to add to the wardrobe.

Arguably the main brand that formed what is known as streetwear today, continues to deliver staple sweats, emblazoned with unique graphics and high-quality compositions.

The Stussy Basic Hoodie features the brands signature logo, a logo that was defined by Shawn Stussy himself, with the founder scrawling his surname on to hand crafted surfboards with a broad tipped marker pen.

The sweat features a cotton and polyester blend with fleeceback jersey and a printed logo. Coming in yellow colourway which allows you to hold on to those summer feels into the winter.

Rei Kuwakbo’s Comme Des Garcon continues to be a giant in the streetwear game. A brand worn by all ages, and one that is identified by many as a pioneer for all Japanese fashion.

Their ‘heart’ motif is one of the most recognisable logos in fashion, yet alone streetwear. For this silhouette, it comes in its black form, an alternative to the classic red.

The hoodie is made out of 100% polyester with the embroidered heart on the chest and back of the garment. An ivory colourway way is spotted, offering the perfect light subtle tone for the upcoming winter.

We finish off the picks by going back to one of the OG’s in the streetwear game in A Bathing Ape. Since opening up in 1993, the Japanese brand is one of the biggest in the world, and one that continues to resonate with multiple generations.

Famous for their camo prints, this silhouette however shows off a more simplified design, featuring the iconic ‘Ape’ logo on the chest, with ‘A Bathing Ape’ spelled out across the back.

Sporting a green colourway, the hoodie comes in a regular fit with a 70% cotton and 30% polyester blend. A streetwear classic to add to your collection.

Well it’s nice to see not all news from the Great British High Street is gloom and doom, yes retail, particularly Fashion Retail, is getting a bit of a kicking at the moment. But just when you think, tut it’s all bad news, comes a little gem like this.

This coming season signals a bit of a mammoth evolution of Menswear at John Lewis and Partners. The change will be anchored by two completely transformed own-brands, designed in-house, which will sit alongside a renewed focus on independent and emerging brands.

This confident approach follows the successful launch of John Lewis & Partner’s womenswear last autumn and, with the menswear market set to grow almost 20 per cent in the next five years, it’s an area that presents a significant opportunity for growth for the brand.

Central to this transformation are two own-brand collections. The first is John Lewis & Partners eponymous label, a 280-piece collection that takes a fresh perspective on menswear classics. Designed in-house, the collection blends modern design with reconsidered fits, fabrics and quality.

Alongside John Lewis & Partners sits ​Kin​, a brand that launched in 2013 and which embodies luxe-sport inspired style. From this season it will refocus on directional designs and high-performing fabrics – across both tailoring and casualwear. The Solotex travel suit is a key innovation within the Kin collection; an unstructured suit cut from a four-way stretch showerproof fabric that is crease-resistant. Alongside this, corduroy and velvet bomber jackets paired with matching trousers, and the new Kin Quilted Jacket mix impressive performance with modern, clean design.

Joining the own brand collections, AW19 also sees the introduction of a raft of new independent brands leading with two ​capsule collections from British brands Folk and Albam​. Folk has created a collection called It’s All Good Folk, set to launch at the beginning of August, which focuses on sustainable fabrications, materials and the reissue of key pieces from the brand’s archive.

Albam’s capsule, Albam Utility, set to launch in September, reinterprets workwear staples with a focus on wearability; hero pieces include canvas work jackets, soft jersey sweatshirts and robust cotton chinos.

Both capsules are exclusive to John Lewis and have been designed in close collaboration with the John Lewis menswear team.

Words by Isaac Perry

Accessories are a key part of everybody’s outfits in 2019. Whether you are showcasing some of the freshest jewellery or sunglasses, accessories are an absolute must. A key piece for us at Clothes Make the Man and something which everybody needs in their wardrobe is a cap. Caps are perfect for those hungover days when you hope nobody will recognise you or days when you are simply going for that incognito celebrity look.  However, we understand that sometimes the High-street doesn’t offer the best selection and we’re here to become your guardian angel and push you in the correct direction and get your headwear game that little bit better. We have put together our top three brands that you should be shopping with right now with each offering something different that we’re sure will suit your personality and offer something a little bit different. Make sure to let us know what you think in the comments section below as well as any future posts which you would like to see.

Goorin Bros

Goorin Bros offers an incredibly large variety of hat silhouettes but one which has really caught our attention from the brand is their baseball cap selection. The American based brand showcases the classic style with something a little bit different. Each cap has a different animal on the front with its nicknames or a funny little word next to them adding some humour to each and every outfit. If having an animal on the front of a cap isn’t exactly your thing they also offer a plain silhouette of the cap perfect for each and every day. These caps can be found in small boutiques around the UK, Amazon and the Goorin bros website themselves! We would definitely recommend treating yourself to at least one of these caps. You will not regret it!

Twinzz

Cap brand Twinzz has been growing massively in popularity with the high quality and stylish essence being very obvious. Each cap can be recognised by the branding on the face, however, where Twinzz are able to dominate is in the array of colourways which they offer. Something for everybody is one of the biggest understatements ever and for £30.00 you really can’t complain. A couple of our favourites include the Gradient Trucker Forest Green/White/Purple and the Gradient Trucker Black/Lt Grey caps. One offering a standout look and the other a more day to day style. Let us know what you’re copping!

New Era

Definitely the most popular out of all the brands mentioned are New Era offering caps globally in an array of colourways, styles, materials and much more. The high quality and array of colourways give you the opportunity to wear a different hat almost every day. New Era caps have been around for years and are a staple piece that everybody should have in their wardrobe simply to chuck on. These caps are perfect for styling in both summer and winter with the selection endless.

Let us know what you buy this season!