CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN

WORDS BY RICHARD MEADOW

Festival season is just around the corner and that can only mean one thing: it’s time to get your festival wardrobe ready. Music festivals are the places to be in the summer, and great clothing choices are just as important as the headline act. Whether you’re wading through muddy fields or dancing along to your favourite act, you’re going to want to look your best and feel comfortable. Here’s a list of 9 festival fashion trends to keep you partying in style all weekend.

Mirrored Sunglasses

Whilst it isn’t typically sunny at festivals, mirrored sunglasses are a big trend this summer, channelling the retro style that is dominating the fashion trends this year. Ideal for hiding tired, hungover eyes, sunglasses are a must-have festival accessory, and a mirrored pair will keep you eyes protected in style.

Statement Hat

One of the easiest and simplest ways to instantly add a touch of style to your festival outfit, a statement hat should be on your festival packing list. When your hair is looking a bit dishevelled by day 3, a statement hat is perfect for hiding your hair. Baseball hats are a great choice, as well as the festival staple bucket hat.

White T-Shirt

Whilst some festival trends include eccentric patterns and colours, a simple white tee is a timeless classic for a festival. You can pair a white T-shirt with anything, and even when splattered with mud, a white tee will look great. The key to choosing the right T-shirt is ensuring that it fits well on the shoulders and is a slim fit – anything too baggy will look un-stylish and shapeless.

Neutral Coloured Backpack

Whilst a backpack is a practical essential for a festival, it’s also a great way to add a hint of style to your outfit. Choose a backpack that’s big enough to store your essentials and has chunky straps so that you can wear it comfortably over your shoulders. A neutral colour, such as black, tan or navy blue, will ensure that your backpack matches your outfits for the whole weekend.

Colour and Pattern

Whilst we don’t mean bright neon colours, adding in some different colours and patterns to your clothing and accessories will mean that you’re bang on trend. With retro 80s and 90s styles and colours having a huge resurgence this year, they are easy to add in. Go for a subtle tie-dye T-shirt, or even a little bit of festival makeup, like a bright and colourful glitter beard if you’re really in the festival spirit!

Great Denim

A good pair of denim jeans or shorts are essential packing for a festival and are one of this seasons biggest trends. Whilst it may be tempting to pack just lightweight shorts, having a good pair of skinny black jeans or blue denim shorts will mean you’re prepared for all eventualities and will look good with whatever you pair with them.

Parka Jacket

A festival essential, the parka jacket is a key fashion trend for this season. Easy to pack, and sure to be welcome when it inevitably starts to rain, a parka jacket will look great layered with a  white T-shirt and dark denim jeans.

Wellington Boots

Another festival staple, a pair of wellies will always be an on-trend fashion choice for a festival. Remember, you’re going to be walking, queuing and dancing all day, every day whilst you’re there so wellies are a great choice. Festivals are notoriously muddy, so choosing a premium brand is the best bet to keep your feet dry and comfortable.

Tropical Print

Tropical print is a big trend taking over SS18 fashion. Adding a tropical print shirt, t-shirt or even shorts if you’re feeling brave, is a lightweight and easy way to keep your festival fashion on trend. If you’re do decide to wear a tropical print piece, keep the rest of your outfit neutral and plain to avoid clashing.

Il Sarto Milano is a new 25 piece clothing brand, offering an Italian inspired collection which uniquely merges relaxed casual apparel with tailoring.

The range promises to offer effortless style through its classic design, the range features an extra level of tailored detail to all pieces. The SS18 collection will continue to drop throughout the season and will be made up of 25 garments including t-shirts, jerseys, tracksuits, swimwear and accessories. Plus, a womenswear range will also be available to buy from mid-June.

Bradley Howard, company founder, said: “The Italians take great pride in their appearance; an ethos that reflects in the values of the Il Sarto Milano brand. Our collection offers a modern-day twist on classic fashion, providing effortless style and a next-level attention to detail.

“The menswear fashion market has gone from strength to strength over the last few years with attitudes towards fashion totally changing. Customers are now far more fashion conscious and willing to try different looks and styles, so it’s an exciting time to launch and be a part of the mix.”

In 2016, the Office for National Statistics revealed that 3.7 million workers travelled for two hours or more every weekday as part of their commute. This may involve walking, driving, cycling, taking public transport, or a combination of a few. On top of this, many men choose to wear a formal suit to the office to look smart — not ideal attire for a lengthy travel time! Read on as we look at some smart solutions to avoid damage to your tailoring.

A suit made for the commute

The suit that you wear to work shouldn’t be the same one that you wear to a wedding. Look out for the signs of a suit that are suitable for your commute:

How to protect your suit

Your journey to work can cause damage to your threads in a few ways, depending on how you travel.

From creasing

If you cycle or walk to the office, it’s likely that you’ll work up quite a sweat. Not only can this be damaging to the material of your shirt and jacket, it’s also likely to smell laterin the day. Getting caught in the rain can also have negative effects on your suit as often it doesn’t have a chance to dry out fully throughout the day. Instead, consider commuting in workout clothes and freshening up when you get to work.

A great investment to make would be buying a suit that is crease-resistant — this way you can fold it up in a backpack and it will be good to wear when you arrive at the office. CT Shirts offer a range of ‘performance suits’ that are made with merino wool (a material with natural crease recovery). Their suits also have 2% added elastane which results in a crease-resistant cloth. This suit would also be suitable for public transport commuters. Sitting in the same position on a bus, tube, or in a car can cause your suit to become creased — not a great look for meetings throughout the day!

From the weather  

Harsh weather conditions can be harmful to your ensemble. During the winter seasons, road salt can be damaging to your shoes and the slush and snow can have long lasting effects if your shoes aren’t dried out properly.

There are some preventative measures that you can take. Purchase a shoe spray which can ‘prevent and seal’ the material and decrease weather damage. One way to do this is with beeswax — this creates a thin protective layer over the material of the footwear.

For suede shoes, invest in some hydrophobic suede protector. If you find a good spray, this can cover your shoes with a waterproof layer as the spray repels water.

From dirt

You might find that spending time on public transport can cause dirt from seats to cling to your clothing. You should brush your suit jacket down every day to prevent this dirt from becoming embedded in the suit and harder to remove in the future.

Avoid dry cleaning your suit too often. Instead, for stains that are hard to remove, send your suit for a spot clean

WORDS BY RICHARD MEADOW

As the Spring, moves into the Summer months and are slowing starting to show signs of life, the SS collections the high street are also appearing. It’s easy to spot the new trends to start wearing but what about the return trends? There’s nothing wrong with saving some money and dusting off some of the old jackets and jeans, trends aren’t just about how much you spend, here’s a look at returning trends that you can dig out of the wardrobe.

Jogger Shorts
One the comfiest garments on the planet, jogger styled shorts are coming back for the relaxed streetwear style. Luxury streetwear brands like Societe Noir offer simply designed shorts with a premium finish, the grey marl, black and navy colours are all popular colours this season and it’s usually something that most people have waiting at home. The style is mainly seen with high fashion brands though, getting the look ideal look may mean getting for branded shorts that show the intention bnd your choice.

Well-Fitted Jeans
The current era of jeans has mainly been skinning, carrot and spray on jeans these all show a more edgy approach to trousers, but as more people are wearing them, it has become the norm. Fitted Jeans are a current trend that still offers the wearer a tailored finish, without looking too tight. Fitted jeans are best for a smart casual style, everyday use and the style is currently seen in darker colours rather than the light stones washes…. But that could change.

Strips
Simple and effective, both horizontal and vertical stripes are a big trend this season but both have different styles behind them. Vertical stripes are known to offer the wearer a slimmer look, a clothing illusion, vertical stripes are being used in a smart sense this season, darker evening wear with light stripes to finish off the look. Horizontal stripes aren’t as flattering (warning) but it’s a trend that is best used for casual wear, retro-styled tops with multiple colours used for the stripes give off a relaxed style that should be worn with a casual fitted top.

Pendant Necklaces
Jewellery trends don’t tend to be set in stone like clothing, possibly because jewellery is a bigger investment. Pendant necklaces are a top trend this summer and vintage pendants add extra depth to the look, if you can get your hands on one. Extra-long necklaces matched up with a pendant works well if you’re a fan of wearing plain tops in the summer, the trend is mainly seen in silver which works perfectly with both white and black tops.

Denim Jackets
Light, oversized and showing signs of wear, you all have one hiding somewhere. A light stonewash jacket in an oversized fit it a great option for the summer, denim is always the best idea if you’re unsure of the weather, not too hot nor too cold. Rolling up the sleeves and matching it up with some slim jeans and longline top highlights the jacket and doesn’t demand too much to make the look work.

Some easy wins which you’ll likely have hiding somewhere, it might not be all of them but it’s a good starting off point. Naturally, you can always mix and match what you make work in the summer, it’s hot, the rules are made to be broken!