CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN

anthonymcgrath405 / 05/09/2014

Ask the experts – Top Autumn buys

It’s all good and well, me spouting on about how great this is or how wonderful that is, but sometimes you need to hear from the proverbial horse’s mouth. So as Autumn is pretty much upon us, no point in denying its onset any longer, we seek the counsel of 5 of our favourite brands, creative genii to offer us their favourite piece from Autumn 2014.

For today’s post, our learned panel consists of – Frances Walker, Jigsaw Menswear Design Director, who chose this beautiful Prince of Wales Check Suit, saying, “Jigsaws Prince of Wales suit is a great buy, a heritage fabric that never dates produced by esteemed UK mill Abraham Moon known for their unsurpassed quality. This 100% wool suit comes with an unstructured jacket giving the shoulder a more natural line making the jacket perfect as both formal attire and more casual cardigan style in line with the seasons norm core trend.”

Next up we have Michael Anderson, Vice President, Men’s Product and Design, Banana Republic, “My must have for the season is our super luxe slim knit jogger pant in grey. Worn with a soft unconstructed blazer, waffle crew neck sweater and our suede sneakers is both easy comfort and cool. Its a great alternative when you want to give denim a rest but still want to look pulled together.”

Alex Field, Head of Menswear Design for Reiss has selected, “My essential piece for AW14 is the Sanders shearling aviator jacket. It’s incredibly versatile thanks to its peerless ability to combine luxury with comfort while feeling just at home as part of a casual outfit as it does as part of a formal outfit.”

Up next is Gordon Richardson, Creative Director of TOPMAN, who has gone with, “My absolute must have would have to be a drop shouldered textured coat.”

Last but by no means least, we have a new kid on the menswear block, but this brand is one you will be hearing an awful lot more of over the coming, weeks, months, years. Whistles is about to launch it’s menswear offering, more about that later, but we asked their CEO, Jane Shepherdson to select their fave piece and it was, “The biker jacket is an iconic, timeless piece, that adds a harder, tougher edge to sophisticated minimalism. This jacket is a piece you can keep for years and the leather only gets better.”

anthonymcgrath405 / 04/09/2014

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

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.

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.”

anthonymcgrath405 / 03/09/2014

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

A 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….

anthonymcgrath405 / 29/08/2014

I can see clearly now the SUN has gone – Transitions

You 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.

For 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.

anthonymcgrath405 / 28/08/2014

Good, Honest, Hard Working Denim – Blue Collar Worker

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”.

This 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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