Another example of how great British High Street Style is ! – Baartmans & Siegel X River Island

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Morning loyal readers, as many of you will know, design duo, Baartmans & Siegel or Wouter and Amber as they are known by their Mothers, are becoming not only regular subjects of high praise here at Clothes-Make-the-Man, but they have been making real positive ground as part of London Collections:Men.

Synonymous with an impressive attention to detail matched with unwavering masculinity, Baartmans and Siegel, are renowned for their use of interactive texture and razor sharp tailoring. Self described modern-traditionalists, Wouter Baartmans and Amber Siegel’s work focuses on beautiful fabrics that seduce and shapes that are accessible yet distinctive.

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They are the latest subject of River Island’s inspired, Design Forum, the inspiration for this 12 piece collection centres on a strong masculine protagonist, drawing dark cinematic elements from the dystopian works of Phillip K. Dick and the stark synthesizer noir of Director Michael Mann. Outerwear and tailoring are among the hero pieces in the range, including a structured double breasted blazer in a high quality wool mix fabrication and a versatile goose down puffa with reverse feature. Slick accessories and statement footwear accent the collection. Complete with a petrol-effect snow boots, a further reference to a signature style of the designers.

The duo said of this partnership, “When working on the concept for the collection we felt it was important for us to carry through our identity of indulgent masculinity with our signature fabrics and refined classic silhouettes. River Island’s responsiveness and huge industry network has allowed us to maintain our high level of craftsmanship which has been most refreshing. We have also been able to explore new technical aspects that we have wished to create for some time, which has been key in helping to create an accessible wardrobe with effortless style.”

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COMPETITION TIME – Win Free Tickets to Off The Rails Menswear Event

imageA couple of months ago we brought you the news of a brilliant new event that was coming to Ole London Town, that was specially created just for us good fellas. Off The Rails is London’s brand new event dedicated to men’s style, retail & grooming, taking place from 30th October –2nd November.

Making its home in the iconic Old Truman Brewery, OTR presents a collection of over 70 classic and contemporary menswear brands including Oliver Sweeney, Realm & Empire, Shore Projects, Kent & Curwen and Natural Selection plus many more to keep every stylish gent fixed up and looking sharp for autumn/winter. Shop from exclusive collections just for OTR, special discounted products & meet directly with the brands themselves.

Add to that; Complimentary expert styling sessions in the Topman Personal Shopping Lounge, DJs, a pop up Murdock London barbershop, A Mr Hyde Bar, Patty & Bun burgers, an on-site tailoring service, and the opportunity to buy affordable contemporary art at specially curated Future Art 10 exhibition.

OTR really is London’s freshest fashion retail and style destination for the discerning modern man and we want you to be there with us.

Clothes-Make-the-Man is a proud style partner of OTR and we are offering our wonderful readers the chance to win a pair of tickets to the event on any of the four days. We have 25 x pairs of tickets to give away so Follow us & Retweet NOW to enter #menswear #OTR to be in with a chance of winning.

If you want to buy a ticket please check out www.offtherailsldn.com for more details….

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Always bet on Black and Red to Win – The Blacksmith by Red Wing

Screen Shot 2014-08-28 at 07.52.28Red 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.”

I can see clearly now the SUN has gone – Transitions

imageYou now how it is, its still sunny and bright but you don’t want to appear a dick by wearing your sunglassees you don’t wanna have to keep on swapping over from regular glasses to sunglasses and back again, well by Gove, I think I’ve found the answer to your problems.

Transitions Optical, the world leader in pioneering light- adaptive lens technology and is the market leader in the advancement of photochromic lens technology, with over 100 worldwide researchers focused on the innovation of new technology. Transitions have developed over 4,500 different photochromic dyes, and over 115 US patents and 330 worldwide patents protect the technology. Transitions Optical goes beyond traditional vision correction by offering superior technology that surpasses clear prescription lenses and outperforms traditional sunwear. The lenses adapt their tint to changing light conditions, wherever you are.

imageFor Autumn they have collaborated with Eyewear specialists, Eye Respect, where all their frames are designed by hand in England and manufactured by hand in Italy. The brand was born out of a desire to pay homage to the long and distinguished histories of English and Italian culture, and the effortless combination of style, standards of craftsmanship and attention to detail that are inherent in both cultures.

The partnership is announced as Transitions unveils a great new colour to add to its Signature lens offering, Graphite Green. A green sunglasses colour had been originally developed in the 1950’s because research showed that the human eyes do not respond equally to all colours in the visual spectrum. Based on this insight, Transitions Optical and Essilor International jointly developed the new grey-green colour using a unique patented colour science technology to provide an enhanced colour and contrast experience. The new colour is a contemporary addition to Transitions Optical’s family of coloured light-adaptive lenses.

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Good, Honest, Hard Working Denim – Blue Collar Worker

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BLUE COLLAR WORKER is a brand established by an experienced team of British denim experts as a reaction to being sick and tired of the seemingly endless conveyer belt of over-styled European and West Coast American jeans brands, that lack a sense of authenticity. The team decided to launch a small, dedicated, functional, workwear inspired jeans range, with subtle twists in terms of detailing and cut to give a distinct, contemporary, “British” flavour.

All garment details are engineered to function as intended – pure focused jeans wear that will stand the test of time. Raw denim products (unwashed) will wear over time to evolve into a truly unique item, and a great “wardrobe favourite”.

Screen Shot 2014-08-21 at 08.24.42This season the brand has used the finest quality, ring-spun denims, referencing traditional workwear pieces and ‘archive’ influences from the 1930’s – 50’s, products are given that all important twist, whilst, never losing sight of their true utilitarian nature. And sees the introduction of a limited edition line of jeans in top grade 14oz Japanese selvedge denim. Each pair of jeans are individually numbered and with a nod to working times gone by hold beautiful copper “snuff box which doubles up as a handy coin case. This premium range is limited to 150 pairs per style.

Microsoft Word – Blue Collar Worker Press Release AW14

For keeping the cold at bay the collection also includes proofed cotton coats, denim over-shirts, checked work shirts and an expanded range of indigo jersey wear.

As always focus is given to each garment ensuring it not only functions in the workplace but to its overt attention to detail is paid to its construction and internal finishing.

 

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