CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN

The extraordinary mens blog for the modern man
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Lovetting your work ! – Jonathan Lovett

Today’s textual conversation is with Jonathan Lovett,Head of Design at Burton Menwear London. The Brand has been through somewhat of a change in image recently with the launch of such brands as Drift King and Montague Burton and with the website having a re-design to clean it up and make it easier to navigate. Captain Lovett has been at the helm of the SS Burton keeping it steady as it goes.

Before turning his hand at Burton, Jonathan oversaw menswear at Debenhams and his CV also includes Marks & Spencer and Tu at Sainsburys. He lives in East London and LOVES the east end way of life, his favourite cafe being Fix, on Curtain Road, as for its people watching ability and favourite shops in the area are Anthem on Calvert Street and HUB off Broadway market for divine inspiration.

If you could have invented anything what would it be ?

Invented……I don’t think I could invent anything apart from a good story however I would of love to have come up with the idea for the Bobble Hat, I love them right now and can’t stop wearing one with, literally, everything!

What inspires you ?

Its less about who more about whom, what, where and when. I am so inspired by what guys are wearing in London right now, it just seems to have come into its own again. Its part of my job to monitor trends and make them happen at the right time, London is where you see things emerging.

What’s your favourite piece of clothing ?

The Tee Shirt. I have loads of them, a drawer for casual, a drawer full for going out and work and a drawer for the gym and lounging around my flat in. I will spend anything from a fiver to a hundred quid on one if I really love it.

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

That’s a tough one, I am not a big follower of any particular brand I just buy what looks good on me. However if I really had to it, or could afford to, would be Burberry because it offers such a wide selection from Porsum to Brit that I could still look cool when I am seventy in it.

Who is your style icon ? 

Sorry I don’t have one and never will, I take a bit of inspiration from anything I like but ultimately I can style myself.

Can you tie a bow tie ? If yes, who taught you ?

Yes, you did Anthony when we worked together on a shoot!

What piece of style advise do you live by ?

Have a style and buy around it rather than going off on tangents, those garments never get worn.

What piece of clothing should everyman have in his wardrobe ?

A pair of vintage jeans, I cannot remember not having at least one pair in my wardrobe and they are a failsafe solution to anything apart from formal of course. I don’t do holes though, its too eighties and I was there first time around.

Have you ever bought a piece of clothing and regretted it ? 

So many over the years especially when I was younger. The last real disaster was a Burberry tee shirt with gold brocade running down the front, I think I thought I looked hot in it but every time I put it on I felt like Adam Ant. If it’s a fashion piece now I always get a second opinion.

Who would do you ideal diner guest and why ?

It would be old friends that I worked with when I lived in Hong Kong, one’s president of Lane Crawford in Hong Kong, another Design Chief for Playboy in New York and couple of others doing interesting things. We used to have a riot and I bet we could still now if we all got around one table.

These are a few of my favourite things – Summer 2012 Burton

Polka dot shirt £28

City Trekker Rucksack £28

Carrot fit Chinos £32

Fisherman's jacket £45

Montague Burton Collection suede shoes £46

burton.co.uk

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Dress to impress – AskAnt

Salutations my friends I hope life is treating you well and off we go again on another voyage of discovery in this week’s AskAnt. This week’s subject was inspired to reach out after reading the column two weeks ago. The problem in question was sent in via an anonymous reader and regarded having started work at a Trendy Ad agency and wanting to fit in more via his workwear wardrobe. On a different but similar vein we have today’s subject matter;

OK then Antony, great name by the way, maybe think about improving it by adding a ‘h’. Anyway, I digress, essentially you have two interviews coming up for the same company,  in front of the same panel and you want to impress them to ensure you get the jobs you’re after. OK straight off you need to remember with job interviews, the interviewer/s make their mind up on the matter of whether you have or haven’t got the job within 15 seconds of meeting you. So first impressions last and making the right one is vital, so ensuring you are wearing the right clobber is essential. To help you on your way here are a few points to remember;

1) Never think you can overdress for an interview.

2) You have to feel comfortable in the clothes you’re wearing, it will help with you feel and come across in a confident manner.

3) Think about what you are going to wear, approach it like how you approach your interview. Research it, what will the weather be like on that day, raining, bring an umbrella and mac, Hot, don’t wear a shirt which may show swear marks and leave in enough time so you can arrive cool and relaxed. These are all factors that you have control over.

4) If you are going to invest in a interview suit, be conservative and classic now isn’t the time to show your creative side, stick with navy, grey or black with are multi purpose in their usage. Dame Vivienne Westwood, creates incredible suits but there is a time and a place and you want the focus of the interview panel on be on you, what you say and not on what you’re wearing. Yes, you want to impress them with your professional attire but not to let it detract from the point you’re trying to get across.

So, bearing in mind all the above points I assembled three opinions for you to choose from;

Black single breasted suit £129 from BHS

A good solid suit, at £129 you could buy a two different versions so you ensure you wear completely different looks to the interviews. Plus you get what you pay for so I would suggest buying slightly bigger and then having the suit tailored to you via a local trusted tailor.

Silver Grey Wool & Mohair suit £349 from the Inspired by Savile Row range by Richard James for Marks & Spencer.

Reliable, faithful and good quality, yes slightly more but you can’t go wrong with this section, we’ve discussed the how good the Richard James range is at M&S and we look forward to seeing what he turns out for Autumn. Make this suit look completely different for both interviews with accessories, maybe go white shirt, black tie and black oxfords for one and tonal colours for the other one finished off with a pair of tan brogues.

Blue Twill single breasted suit £599 by Austin Reed

Yeah I know this is slightly more expensive for an interview suit, but remember first impressions last and you WANT these jobs so you want to bowl the panel over with a professional, clean and crisp look.

So Antony, all that is left for me to do is to tell you, the choice is yours ??? Good Luck and let us know what your decision was and which job you end up taking, because of course, they’ll offer you both !  Join us again soon for another style clinic.

A.M.

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Get your prep on – Grooming

Eau de Prep Tommy is the new Fragrance from the All American Fashion House which promises a cheeky twist on the Classic preppy feel. What that all important twist is, is a mix of Egyptian geranium, wet greens (answers on a postcard as to what “wet greens” are please), a splash of tonic, white pepper, lavender absolute, and juniper berry. And finally, rich amber, georgywood, oak moss, and white suede reflect his comfortable yet familiar style.

But the man who wears Eau de Prep isn’t your normal run of the mill Prepster, this is a modern take on the classic American dream, he’s had somewhat of a makeover. While his wardrobe is still based on a foundation of smart separates, new silhouettes and details have emerged. Trousers may still be khaki, but are now slim-fit or slouchy. The classic colour cornerstones of navy and red have been updated to airforce blue and burgundy but the classic boat shoes and polo shirts still remain but are worn in a more contemporary manner. This is a man who doesn’t take life as serious as his forefathers but has a sporty, ready-for-anything, spontaneity.

If you feel you are that man and you fit that bill, Eau de Prep Tommy and his female counterpart Eau de Prep Tommy girl are available exclusively at the Perfume Shop.

Eau de Prep Tommy 100ml Eau de Toilette, RRP £45 / 50ml Eau de Toilette, RRP £35

www.tommy.com.

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Tell us what you’re thinking ?

CLOTHES-MAKE-THE-MAN.COM wants you !

CLOTHES-MAKE-THE-MAN.COM wants you !

OK so Clothes-make-the-man.com has been live now for two months and we want to know what you’re thinking about it. Good or bad, literally anything we want your opinions, what you’d like to see more of or even less of, what you’ve loved but also what you’ve loathed. The blog can only ever be as good as the people who read it and if we aren’t speaking to you we need to do something about it to improve the service we offer you.

So whether your in Bangkok or Birmingham, Mumbai or Melbourne we don’t mind we just want your feedback on the blog.

Now to make this offer more tempting, one of your opinions will be selected at random and a great secret gift will be sent to you, all I can promise is, it’ll definitely be worth while, I promise !

So please feel free to contact us either email us @ askant@ymail.com or leave a tweet @Clothesmakethem on twitter or simply leave a response at the end of this post. It’s that simple.

Thanks for joining us, so far

A.M.

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A smart/casual dilemma – AskAnt

Morning, Ola, Guten Morgen, Bonjour, Buongiorno, Godmorgen, Selamat pagi, Dea-maidin & Buenos Mias wherever you may be reading this. So without any further ado lets get down to business today and act as a fashion conscious Jimmy Saville (google him for our non-UK readings) and answer the problems of the great masses of  style aware men out there. This week’s stumper came via our Facebook page, yes we have one, honest !

Well Dave, firstly better start speaking to mensa cos a Fashion genius is gonna totally answer your query sir ! OK then, lets break this question down.

1) You’re after a look to wear on informal occasions, down the pub to us mere mortals and you don’t, “want to buy jeans and converse All-stars again”. Well fair enough, the answer to this is simple, go for a chino, I refer you back to an AskAnt from 13th March when Blubes wanted to buy himself some strides but not JEANS, sorry are Jeans tres unpopulare ???? Anyway, as I advised him, ” There is literally a pair to suit any man of any colouring and body shape.” In reference to chinos and no matter who you are there are a fit and colour out there for you and your j-lo esque statistics Dave. As with jeans, chino come in pretty much the same fits, O leg, twisted, slim, skinny, baggy, carrot leg, boot cut (Sorry, never a boot cut never) and as Summer is all about colour literally every colour of the spectrum is covered. So as with anything, take a little time out and visit your fave retailers whether that’s in the comfort of your home via the use of the information super highway or your local high St or mall. I would advise, and hopefully save you some time, if there is a cut of jeans or a denim brand you favour, I’d let that be your first port of call. But no matter what you want to spend, chinos are a key staple of a man’s wardrobe at the moment and please don’t think that they are exclusively the attire of exchange students or hooray henrys, every one from Primark to Polo Ralph Lauren and Burberry to Burton are producing great examples of them.

A Rainbow of Ben Sherman Chinos

I'll take a pair in every colour - Dockers

2) Shoes, all important, don’t leave home without them, you don’t wanna invest in a classic pair of Converse and I’m reading in-between the lines, that you might already have a pair or two, am I right ? That’s cool, then what I’m thinking is a choice of two opinions;

a) Oxford or brogue type shoes –

In recent years we have seen a real return to the great British formal shoe as a fashion essential whether worn in a formal or informal manner. Brogues and Oxford style shoes can equally be paired with a pair of jeans as with a suit and can be used easily for work or play.

The Brilliant Grenson Brogues from Selfridges

The Great British Institution Loake shoes

b) Boots –

A return of boots in a hiking-esque kinda way was seen all over the catwalks of Milan, Paris, New York and London and it certainly didn’t take long for the high St to jump upon this trend and brilliantly aswell ! There aren’t many men who don’t suit a certain type of worker boots is some incarnation.

Either of these type of shoes work really well with chinos (and jeans) plus they are versatile enough to be worn with a suit and for you not to look as though your off to work in the offices of a lumber mill or a manor house.

The Wolverine Boots available from Urban Outfitters

3) The all important top half. We’ve sorted you out with the bottom 50% of you, now for the upper part of Dave. Right, brilliantly you laid out what you did and didn’t want from an outfit, thank you sir, this is really helpful as it gives me a guide to work from. Quite rightly a guy like yourself in his….. mid 30’s doesn’t want to look like Mutton dresses as Lamb or even Mutton dressed as a Hoxton graphic designer, (sorry hoxton graphic designers reading this blog, I love you really). I hear you ask, but only girls can do Mutton dressed as Lamb surely ? Elton John’s partner David Furnish, Peter Stringfellow, Shane Warne (of recent time), I rest my case your honour !

So in my learned opinion to finish this look off with as much style as your bottom half I’d firstly go with either a sweatshirt or cardigan. The unpredictable nature of the British summer means you could equally be dressing for rain and wind as much as for barmy heat and sun, so layer up my friend. This is another chance to show off your style knowledge of menswear trends in selecting to wear some colour, without looking like a kids TV presenter. One thing I would say, to prevent smart Alec’s having a go down the pub and for your own self confidence is, if you go for a brighter colour in your chinos go for a darker colour in selecting your garments of choice for your torso. The cardigan has been back around for longer enough now that even the most style illiterate of men most be able to see the benefits of it. Additionally, the sweatshirt has made a Christ like comeback for this season and is appearing in more colours then Joseph had in his technicolored coat.

If it's good enough for Bond. I can't see many people laughing at his cardi, hey ?

Acne from my-wardrobe.com

Now yes, you could finish this piece of Michael-Angelo style outfit with any number of T-shirts whether a polo shirt, a striped nautical number or even a vintage rock piece, any of these would go perfectly with a cardigan or sweatshirt.Or go with a formal shirt, OK a formal shirt and a cardigan thats fine, but no what I’m suggesting is a formal shirt, maybe a chambray or a nice oxford button down with a …….SWEATSHIRT ! Yes I know, but please trust me on this one Dave it works and works exceptionally well, honest.

Now after that bombshell, it’s all in the styling and how confident you feel. If you’re feeling particularly confident fasten the top button up on your shirt, wear your chinos with turn ups, even wear your brogues with bright coloured socks or even NO SOCKS !!! Plus, there’s always the sweatshirt and formal shirt combo, but lets not push these things, little by little mate or some luddite will say something to you at the bar and it will either knock your style confidence back lightyears or his teeth back his throat and we don’t want either of those to happen.

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

A.M.