Sun’s so bright gotta wear shades

That time of year is drawing closer and closer, it doesn’t matter if the weather here is rubbish or not. If you haven’t booked a cheeky lil getaway, then maybe now’s the time to do so. Remember that feeling, bags packed, check, passport in order, check, high factor suncreams, check, sunglasses, ohh. Well don’t worry, rather then running around your high street, surfing countless websites or trawling through a shopping mall, we’ve saved you the trouble, here are a selection of the BEST sunnies money can buy for this season, enjoy.

20120509-112028.jpg

Wayfarer style sunglasses by Persol @sunglasses-shop.co.uk/

20120509-112108.jpg

Grey sunglasses with green detailing by Breo

20120509-112141.jpg

Mirrored lens with purple frame aviators by Ray Ban @ sunglasses-shop.co.uk

20120509-112158.jpg

Tortoise shell wayfarer style sunglasses by Oakley

20120509-112209.jpg

Foldaway wayfarer style sunglasses by Sunpocket

20120509-112230.jpg

Avaitor style sunglasses by Tom Ford @sunglasses-shop.co.uk

20120509-112255.jpg

Sports sunglasses by Carrera

20120509-112303.jpg

Avaitor sunglasses by Maui Jim

20120509-112324.jpg

Tortoiseshell frame sunglasses by Lacoste

20120509-112342.jpg

Red frame with white detailing wayfarer style sunglasses by TopMan

STOCKISTS –

sunglasses-shop.co.uk

www.persol.com

www.breo.com

www.ray-ban.com

www.oakley.com

www.sunpocketoriginal.com

www.tomford.com

www.carreraworld.com

www.mauijim.com

www.lacoste.com

www.topman.com

Lou Dalton – the First lady of Menswear

Dame Lou Dalton, you mark my words, its on the cards.

Today’s subject of Textual conversations had the nightmare task of kicking off proceedings for the first London Collections:Men  last week, so no pressure then !!! However, in the words of Gary Barlow, X-Factor circa 2011, “Wow! what a way to open to the show.” Lou Dalton totally rose to the occasion and took it all in her lady like stride. Dalton has established herself within Menswear with a signature aesthetic that showcases contemporary classicism and refined tailoring that is defined by her working-class roots and her dapper Teddy Boy father. She has the ability to develop exceptional well crafted garments that are both considered & at the same time functional. She has honed her craft by working with amongst others Stone Island, Crucianni Knitwear and tailor extraordinaire Charlie Allen. Now you would have thought this lady was too busy for interviews, but she made time to answer the questions of Clothes-make-the-man.com  

In your words, describe your SS13 collection ?

Light wool mohair tailoring mixed with M.O.D mesh. Harness inserts in contrast fabrics mixed with classic shirting. Oversized shirts worn with slim jersey sweatshorts.

  What was the inspiration for it ?

Obssession & restraint. Also the male leads in films such as Breaking Away, Eraser Head & Taxi Driver.

 

SS13

    What are the key pieces in it ?

The mesh inserted single breasted jackets, strap shoulder sweatshirts, harness cut shirts 

    What is you most memorable moment?

Seeing the boys lining up back stage about to walk out, the realisation that I actually got to this stage, also having key heavy weight press pop back stage to congratulate me on what they saw as a great show, very moved by that. Also meeting & chatting with Prince Charles.

    Who would do you ideal diner guest and why ?

At this moment in time the love of my life Justin Haigh, we haven’t been in each others company for a while due to the show. Within the public eye, from the past Princess Margaret, from the present David Hockney, both colourful souls with many a story to tell I’m sure.

    If you could give £1,000,000 to someone/something who would it be ?

I would split it between close family & friends, in return for all their constant love & support, my nearest & dearest have sacrificed a great deal, for that I will be forever greatful.

    What piece of clothing would you relegate to Room 101 ?

A couple of seasons back one of the collections was heavily inspired by Napoleon, pretty much all of that collection can be put into room 101

    What track would always get you on the dance floor ?

Raze, Break for Love

What piece of clothing should everyman have in his wardrobe ? 

A good crisp white shirt, preferbly one by Lou Dalton

Tell us something no one else knows ?

I was once on Alan Car’s tv quiz where I won a colourful rosette, this sits proudly upon my Christmas tree now, year in year out.

If you could only wear one brand/Designer, other then your own, for the rest of your life who would it be ? Why ?

Dries Van Noten, relevant when I was a student & still relevant today, considered & beautifully executed. Love, love, love

www.loudalton.com

Lou Dalton A/W12 Collection

Preview of SS13 Collection


Havaiananniversary – 50th Birthday of Havaianas

OK we’ll take it, but you have to throw in the furry dice aswell amigo !

How many of us when packing for our holidays, do the whole check list of, suncream, check, swim shorts, check, havaianas OK, I’ve got one but where’s the other one ?

In 1962, while the rest of the world was busy with more ‘serious’ matters, the shoe which has become synonymous with holidaying was born in Brazil: Havaianas, the original, 100% rubber flip-flop. Modelled on the Japanese Zori slipper, Havaianas insoles still have a textured rice pattern to this day and was named Havaianas in honour of the Hawaiian pleasure-centred approach to life.

Can you believe the evolution of this fun loving footwear came about by accident ?

A whole batch of flip-flops intended to be the brand’s
traditional blue, came out green due to a technical mishap. A
potential disaster ended up launching a new era. The new colour
was such a success that the company began making the same
flip-flop with different coloured straps in yellow, green, red and black. From then on, colour became key for Havaianas customers.

In 1998, the brand supported Brazil in the World Cup by launching a new line of flip-flops with a small Brazilian flag on the strap. Huge hopes weren’t enough to secure Brazil ultimate victory, but the huge success of the new shoe led to the Havaianas Brasil collection becoming one of the most popular, right to today.

But, the humble, footwear of choice to the Brazilian working class has created somewhat of a viva revolution in its own rights. It has evolved and spread it’s unique colourful love into espadrilles, trainers and even added a bit of Brazilian colour to the Great British Welly ! Also, its seen collaborations with such fashion glitterati as Paul & Joe, Celine and even the equally colourful Misoni.

Here are a few interesting facts about Havaianas that you might not know:

  • 94% of Brazilians have or have had a pair of Havaianas. In 1963, over one thousand pairs of sandals were sold per day.
  • In the 80’s, the Federal Government considered Havaianas a basic-goods basket item. Prices of these basic-goods basket items were controlled to avoid inflation.
  • 18,255 employees.
  • Main factory in Campina Grande, North East Brazil manufactures over 206 million pairs per year.
  • 190 million pairs of flip-flops sold in 2011.
  • 520,547 pairs sold per day.
  • 21,689 pairs sold per hour.
  • 6 pairs sold in a second.
  • If a consumer wants to buy all Havaianas flip-flop models available in the market, print and colour combinations, he/she would buy 454 pairs per year.
  • Since its birth, over 4 billion pairs of Havaianas have already been sold. If lined up all together, they would go around the Earth about 40 times.
  • Each Portuguese owns 4 pairs of Havaianas on average.
  • Each Aussie owns 5 pairs of Havaianas on average.
  • Each Brazilian owns 25 pairs of Havaianas on average.

Havaianas now retails in 85 countries, with over 454 different styles available!

June 15th also marks National Flip Flop day, and as a celebration, Havaianas will be launching a limited edition 50th Flip Flop. Only 50,000 pairs have been produced worldwide, with 100% of net sales going to UNICEF to support further projects in Brazil.

The 50th Anniversary Havaianas in associate with UNICEF

www.havaianas.com

Shoes for a long-ish hot-ish Summer – AskAnt

Good day fellas, it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve done an AskAnt and the requests and pleas had started to mount up so I though I better pull me sleeves up, and help the good men folk out there. This week’s enquiry came via our twitter account, Clothesmakethem, for those of you interested. Young Donkey has asked ;

OK then, so let’s get this straight Donkey, you don’t want trainers, you don’t want boat shoes, nor toms or sandals nee flip-flops, I really don’t think you’re a work boot and shorts kinda guy. So, this might leave some lesser bloggers stumped, but no sir not me. Right then, off we go, the weather’s kinda starting to warm up, well some days anyway and with that comes that whole pandora’s box of problems of, what to wear with shorts, are shorts appropriate to wear to work, milk bottle legs, I could go on and on.

Anyway, first off, always a classic, or maybe an original is Clarks Originals Desert boots. They come in countless colours, suede, leather, striped, checker board and even Union jack. The Desert Boot is pretty much seasonless and is versatile enough that you can wear it with a suit, jeans or even shorts. Plus, obviously you can pay a pretty penny for them but overall Desert Boots, particularly Clarks Originals are really good value for money and super comfy.

Option 2, I’d advise you to look at the good old, Plimsoll and automatically when you think of Plimsolls you think of Converse. Now like the Desert Boot, the Plimsoll is unbelievably versatile and nowadays can be dressed up with a suit or dressed down with a pair of shorts. The overriding great thing with Converse is you can be conservative and go with simple white, in the Jack Purcell’s, who were launched by the badminton player in 1935 and you’d ask why not who wouldn’t, they’re a design classic that should be in every man’s wardrobe as a staple. Now, the other choice is you can be as adventurous as you want as they offer you the chance to design your own at their website http://www.converse.co.uk/. But I have to say, my personal preference has to be with their designer collaborations. Now their Missoni Chuck Taylor’s (or high tops as their more widely known) might not be everyone’s cup of tea but take a look at their John Varvatos tie up, available at, amongst others, www.MrPorter.com

Your final option is, a little leftfield and certainly won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but what I’m going to present to you is the Mock or Mocks.  They come in an array of hues and are inspired by moccasins (if you hadn’t guessed), these lightweight Driving shoe hybrid feature a lemon scented, odour resistant Coolmax insole, which I thought would be ideal, particularly with your urban cycling. The super lightweight Mock is available from branches of Schuh.

So YoungDonkey, all that is left for me to do is to tell you, the choice is yours ??? Do let us know what your decision was and  join us again soon for another style clinic.

A.M.

Be the apple of your Father’s eye – Father’s day gift guide

Which images best captures your Father/Son relationship ?

I’m sorry, I forgot there’s no need to sulk, jeez, it’s not the end of the world !

Some day dad I’m gonna be just like you !

Ahhhh someone to look up to

June 17th, yes that date’s marked in your diary but why, why ? %$£& It’s Father’s Day ! So to save you the hassle of running round like a demented lun in and out of every store from here to Timbuktu, Clothes-make-the-man.com has come to your rescue, yet again. Ohh and please don’t leave it til the last minute and have to settle for whatever they’ve got left at the service station, no one wants a day glo travel neck pillow, particularly not your dad !

So here’s all you need to know to keep your ole Pa happy and keep in his good books for a couple of more months.

1) Whether young or young at heart, any Dad is gonna be over the moon with this lil blinder of a gift and if my daughter is reading this, your Daddy would be very happy with a personalised Polo Shirt from Ralph Lauren. Take advantage of the Design Your Own service at Selfridges Manchester, Trafford and London, Oxford St from where you can have up to three initials embroidered onto the classic sleeved custom fit polo. With endless combinations, choose the colour of your shirt and monogram to create a truly bespoke gift, presented in a luxury box.

2) Old reliable and always a winner, Alcohol in its many different formats, OK I’m not suggesting a six pack of Kestrel Super Strength, but something a little more on the classy side. How about a descent bottle of whiskey, personally I’m a fan of a touch of the Irish variety, OK that was another personal hint again, sorry. But how about a wee dram of Macallan. The famed luxury single malt whisky from Elgin, has worked with photographic legend Annie Leibovitz and the Elgin native and star of Trainspotting & Grey’s Anatomy, Kevin McKidd on a unique project which will be available in Septemeber, more to follow on that at a later date.

Now if whisky isn’t your Dad’s poison of choice how about a case of Real ale ? God bless them over at Marks & Spencer, because there’s no better way telling your Dad how great he is than a Great British Ale selection. They are offering a mixed case of 20 bottles featuring the very best from across the UK with five bottles of each… Sussex Golden Ale, Cambridgeshire Summer Ale, Norfolk Bitter and Cornish Ale.

3) Now if you’re looking for something a little different from norm how about this Poker set from Thomas Lyte, now I’m not condoning gamble or for your Dad to squander your inheritance but, this set is packaged in a beautiful way and could start a new form of Father son bonding over a traditional Poker nite.

4) Now if sophistication is what your after for Father’s day, look no further then Derek Rose, the Rose family have been designing and making luxury men’s pyjamas since the 1920’s and we remain as passionate about these wonderful pieces today as they were all those years ago. The cut and style used in the pattern to make their pyjamas is a question of balancing form and function – Rose wants the pyjamas to look good but also understands they need them to be as comfortable as possible. Naturally the cut is a generous fit so that when one sleeps in a pair of Derek Rose pyjamas they are not restrictive.

5) Like Alcohol, you really can’t go wrong with After Shave, which actually does contain a fair amount of alcohol come to think if it, but seriously don’t try and drink it, it not good and it’s not clever. Now there are two routes you can take here, first, the traditional, retro, cheeky, ironic and slightly tounge in cheeky, but offering a truly masculine scent and available in gift sets literally everywhere, go for Brut. Then the second, is for a Dad who likes to look his best, look no further than the Lab Series Skincare for Men gift set. This set includes a selection of bestselling, essential products. Multi Action Face Wash, Maximum Shave Comfort Cream and Daily Moisture Defense Lotion SPF 15.

6) Now for this option, I always think there’s a golden rule to adhere to, keep it simple and keep it classic and you can’t go wrong, when it comes to cufflinks. Like novelty socks & underwear, the same is with cufflinks, there is NEVER a good time for them or for them to be given as a gift. These chic pair from Hackett are so versatile and would literally go with anything.

7) For the gift that keeps on giving, no not book vouchers, but a wallet, you can’t do much wrong if you go for this great understated number from Burberry available at MRPORTER.com. This piece has a low-key yet luxurious design that is ideal for everyday use. The two note pouches and eight card slots provide ample space for any daily requirements you may need.

8) When it comes to technological gifts for Father’s Day, there’s one gadget that has to be on pretty much every Dad’s wish list and that is of course, the iPad. Now in these tight times, not everyone is as flush as we would like and as much as we’d love to splash out on dear ole Pop, there is a way to wet his appetite and give you some breathing space to save up and to recruit other family members to chip in for a group Christmas iPad. There are some brilliant iPad cases out on the market, in, well, one size but lots of colours. One of my favourite comes from Mulberry, although it ain’t cheap it’s seriously impressive and will make Dad the envy of the office, when he whips it out in a meeting.

9) OK then next up is the matter of wanting to get Dad something that looks like you’ve spent countless hours of thought on a gift without it costing you a small fortune, well I’ve got just what you need. Symthsons of Bond Street has been producing some of the best stationery supply, no not bics & staplers, but beautiful note pads, diaries & address books since 1887. Smythson was granted a Royal Warrant to Her Majesty the Queen in 1964. Other warrants followed: HRH The Prince of Wales in 1980, HM The Queen Mother in 1987, and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh in 2002. While holding the Queen Mother’s Warrant, Smythson was one of only eight companies in the world to hold all four Royal Warrants at the same time. Their note pads have to be seen to be believed, Wine notes, Little black book and Director’s notes all come in equally vibrant colours. For Father’s day I’ve chosen the rather apt, “Daddy Cool” note book.

10) Finally, every Dad, no matter what his age, quite fancies himself and loves to dress himself up, whether that be for a drink down the pub or a swanky dinner in an impressive eating establishment. Now whatever your budget may dictate you can supply him with something, that he can boast is a gift from his offspring, it can be a tie, a shirt, socks, but I would suggest taking a look at the footwear range from one of the most respected stylish retailers, Ted Baker, which has an added bonus of, it won’t break the bank either. Psst, carry on reading for an added bonus, that’ll be to good to refuse, promise !

So, if that hasn’t given you food for though than nothing will, but we at Clothes-make-the-man.com can only help you if you help yourself, don’t leave it to the last minute. Now, if you ignore our words of wisdom and fancy getting your hands on a rather impressive Father’s day gift we have the above to offer you lucky, lucky, lucky chaps. Yes we have 3 pairs of the Ted Baker Abcak boat shoes, for your delectation. All you need to do is click on the Follow button on your screen, input your email address and confirm the email sent to you or Follow @Clothesmakethem on TWITTER between now and 9am (GMT) on Wednesday 13th and you could be making your Dad a very happy chappie with this gift winging its way to you in time for Father’s Day on Sunday. Good Luck fellas !