CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN

I don’t think it arrogant or big headed to claim that Britain has the best High Street Retailers on the face of this planet, I hope It doesn’t sound flippant or making light of the situation, as I know we’ve lost a couple of big names in the last few years, but overall we have an enviable High Street portfolio. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no Judith Charmers, but I have travelled a fair bit and if I had to select a runner up to our crown, no it wouldn’t be the US, nor France or even the home of Designer retailing Italy. It would be none other than Espana, home to Zara, Mango, Bershka, Massimo Dutti and Camper.

The latest Spanish export to set its sights on enticing us with their Mediterranean wares is Scalpers. The brand was founded in 2007 by a group of friends in Seville and was inspired by a tribe of Native American Indians who cut off scalps in order to reclaim their freedom, nice, I wonder if Ted Baker, has a similar story behind their heritage ? This is also how the logo transpired; the signature skull and bones that is so widely recognised within the brand.

The stylish brand has built a reputation since its founding for supplying timeless durability and contemporary design, conceived with the idea of liberating men from a traditional and homogenous sense of style. Scalpers presents a refreshing take on the modern gentleman and his wardrobe essentials. Offering a wide range of accessible menswear suitable for work and play including jackets and trousers, casual and smart shirts and everyday T-shirts. Footwear and accessories include sunglasses, trainers, cufflinks and ties.

With Scalpers’ spirit of rebellion at the core, the label’s added quirks allowing it to stand out from the crowd. Together with this, Scalpers also prides itself on its design and details, working with Master Tailor, Borja Martin, who is recognised as one of the best in Spain for his expertise, on their formalwear offering.

The New all purpose Gillette Styler is essentially a 3-in-1 precision grooming tool for men who style their facial hair, thank you very much and goodbye. Ohhh OK so it Combines Braun engineering and Gillette Fusion technology, it trims evenly, shaves closely and edges accurately – allowing men the ability to craft any look without having to compromise and own their look with added confidence.

In all honesty there is a lot more to this gadget, the Styler is waterproof and shower safe, letting you trim while you shower. The All Purpose Styler lets you easily master any style with one precision tool using any Gillette Fusion cartridge. But that’s not where it stops, the styler has a Blade Stabilizer, to maintain optimal blade spacing for comfort, while allowing the blades to adjust to the contours of a man’s face. It carries a Lubrastrip infused with mineral oil and lubricating polymers, enabling the razor to move smoothly over skin even on repeat strokes.

It packs a real punch when it comes to trimming with 4 Levels of Trimming, with three exchangeable combs (2mm, 4mm, 6mm) for consistent length and contour adaptability. Plus, a Precision Trimmer, designed to create crisp, defined lines and finishing touches. The Stylish Base and Holder, conveniently stores all three Braun combs, the Fusion ProGlide attachment and the Braun trimmer – neatly and securely and the Battery-Powered Design for easy use anytime and anywhere with no cords or charging time, is ideal for throwing into your washbag in time for your holibobs.

COMPETITION TIME

Now if that has whet your appetite, how would you like to win your very own Gillette 3 in 1 precision grooming styler courtesy of yours truly at Clothes-Make-the-Man and those wonderful people over at Gillette. All you have to do is follow us over on Instagram. YES IT’S THAT SIMPLE !

Please note the competition runs from 6am on Tuesday 19^th July until Midnight (BST) on Friday 19^th August and is only open to residents of the mainland UK, Sorry.

The Apollo 11 mission will forever go down in history as the first epic mission by mankind to the Moon and will always be remembered for when, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first human men to walk on another planters body, uttering those immoral words, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”.

To coincide with this anniversary and as part of an on going collaborative effort between Stylish American retailer J.Crew and the equally stylish sneaker brand New Balance, have worked together to create the 997Moonshot trainers. Their lunar inspired colourway features an off-white pigskin suede upper with midnight navy blue and white accents to mimic the look of the moon in the night sky.

Henry London is the new kid on the block when it comes to Timepiece brands. It Launched just 6 months ago, but has surpassed all expectations of it surpassing any targets the brand had set to monitor its success and as a result is now available in some 38 countries and rapidly growing.

The story behind the brand, is an interesting one to say the least. It began brand two young, fashion designers exploring London’s vintage districts searching for inspiration. On one such visit to the renowned, Portobello Road street market, in London’s Notting Hill, one of them came across an old, beautifully styled, classic Swiss wristwatch which had the words ‘Henry, August 1965’ enigmatically engraved on the case back. Although it had suffered the ravages of time, the watch still typified the craftsmanship and quality of a bygone era and the designer just had to, not only have it, but wear it there and then. Later that day she met up with her partner and he too loved the watch every bit as much as she did. Again, he was inspired by the attention to detail of the old timepiece, and appreciated the fact that this was only found in high-end, luxury watches. He too just had to wear it.
With both of them wanting to wear this unique possession, the couple started to think about the possibilities of reinventing Henry’s watch. So in tribute to Henry’s original watch from 1965 and with an approach that emphasises watchmaking heritage, the collections have been reinvented for a modern, contemporary, stylish consumer living in today’s society. The classic proportions of the slim case flow seamlessly into a high double domed lens accentuating the subtle curves of the soft Opaline dial.

The elongated minute hand moves with a timeless precision, over the curved, raised hour markers whilst the separate seconds dial at the 6 o’clock position is reminiscent of a dial from an old Grandfather clock. A self adjustable supple stitched leather strap or Milanese mesh bracelet compliment this timepiece, ensuring a perfect fit.

Henry London have stayed true to both the watches design heritage, and the city in which it was discovered. Probably most notably in all the timepiece styles are named after iconic London tube stations, so you have Piccadilly, Holborn and Stratford, all pictured.

We live in an age of travel being part of our everyday life’s, not only are we talking about our daily comute but as part of our career and social down time, we travel so much more. Whether that be a quick jaunt for a business meeting or a city break or an extended stay for a vacation. Travel and all that comes with it, both good and bad, is so much a part of our modern existence.

We pride ourselves at Clothes-Make-the-Man that we take on the stress and strain so you don’t have to. As part of this and a negative aspect of travelling generally, who wants to carry around full sized versions of their washbag essentials with them every time they need to jump on a plane?

There are numerous reasons for this, when you are off on a short capper, whether for work or pleasure, we want speed to be on our side to maximise on time and minimise time spent at a luggage carousel in some non-descript airport. Plus, increasingly, airlines are becoming tighter and tighter on their baggage allowance so ever precious ounce counts when it come to packing and there is no place for bulky grooming packaging. But, primarily, flight restrictions mean that each liquid you carry within your washbag on planes must be in its own container and no more than 100ml(3.4 ounces). Many holidaymakers will be familiar with the limitations and hassles of organising toiletries that are travel friendly and standing at security check and having to make that heart wrenching decision of which one to dump. Is it a barely opened bottle of fragrance or a jumbo sized tube of toothpaste that was going to do you for the entire duration of your holiday, remember it’s two weeks not two months.

men-ü offer ultra-concentrate products for skin, body, hair and styling. The products are conveniently packaged for the modern man with handy and all important 100ml pucks, tubes and bottles with locking pumps to provide accurate dosage and less leakage.
For the ultimate in compact men-ü offers travel friendly 15ml ‘buddy’ tubes (up to 30 applications) available for all the men-ü shave and facial products as well as its latest hair styling product LIQUIFFLEX.
The products fit neatly in the hand and into a man’s travel bag. These buddy tube sets will travel through customs with ease and cover all your skincare needs.

Also, the iconic Fish Salon in Soho have transformed three of their best selling styling products into handy mini sized versions, perfect for travel. The Fishfingers Shape Defining Wax, Fishshape Texturising Cream and Stonefish Matt Texturising Clay are now all available in flight friendly 25ml sizes. So whatever you’re up to this Summer; flying around the world on business trips, a weekend away with someone special or jetting off to Ibiza with friends, you can now take your favourite Fish styling product with you, without weighing down your suitcase.

OK so that’s your hair, skin and body sorted, but what about smelling sweet, a great number of grooming brands now offer their scents in handy miniature sized versions, specifically for travelling and any globetrotting gent knows that maintaining impeccable style whilst travelling is of the utmost importance. Ted Baker have created to compliment the essence of a man’s jet-set aesthetic, three distinguished Travel Tonics that are inspired by three treasured metals. Fusing style with substance, each sophisticated fragrance ensures he always sparks a reaction, wherever in the world he may be. Available in gold, silver or copper each Travel Tonic is slim line and portable, making for a rare and refined addition to any fragrance collection.