The term wardrobe staple is banded about all too easily within the style press, and yes, there most certainly are pieces which every stylish man, sorry let me correct myself, EVERYMAN should have in his clothing repertoire, a black single breasted suit, a decent white and black shirt, a good pair of brown brogues, a quality pair of Black Oxfords, a pair of well cut black/blue denim jeans, I could go on. But when it comes to selecting definitive outerwear, things become a little more difficult, the pea coat, the overcoat, the parka, all have there place and are great for different looks and occasions but a timeless classic and a fairly safe bet for looking good no matter what you put it with is the International Jacket by Barbour.

Now over 100 years old, Barbour is a fifth generation family owned company who have developed a unique understanding of clothing. Duncan Barbour, grandson of Barbour’s founder, was a keen motorcyclist. In 1936 he oversaw the creation of a one piece suit called the Barbour International. Made in dark green wax cotton, it was named after, and developed specifically for, the 1936 International Six Day Trials (ISDT) event. The International jacket, the world’s first wax cotton biking jacket, debuted a decade later.

The International became so popular that it was worn by almost every British Motorcycling team until 1977. In the 1954 ISDT, more than 70% of riders wore one. In 1964, The International was worn exclusively by the American ISDT team, which included actor (and bike nut) Steve McQueen, and the legendary stunt rider Bud Ekins, who “rode in” for McQueen on that famous fence leap in The Great Escape, which was in part responsible for elevating the International to its iconic status.

The design evolved in the 1950s. The distinctively slanted breast pocket developed for quick access to maps, essentially for modern urban living, don’t you know. The iconic black colour came about thanks to a link-up with Vincent motorcycles, ‘Maker of the World’s Fastest Standard Motorcycle’. Vincent machines were invariably black and gold. The celebrated black and gold Barbour International embroidered badge, however, only appeared in 1980, but soon became a fast favourite.

Today, the International jacket continues to be produces to a near-identical specification. Beloved by classic bike aficionados and style connoisseurs in equal measures including Ewan McGregor, Viscount David Linley, The Duke of Edinburgh, Helen Mirren, Alex Turner and Rufus Wainwright.

Ian Bergin, Director of Menswear says of the International Jacket “ We have a rich resource in our Archive and draw on this on a seasonal basis to produce intelligently designed pieces for a modern consumer. Attention to detail, fit and finish are key in the Heritage area and we strive to provide a great rounded product which is totally fit for purpose but provides newness as well as value.”

Words by Isaac Perry

With Autumn Winter looming in the not so distant future, it’s no surprise that we’re already thinking about it here at Clothes Make The Man. Barbour and Land Rover, two of Britain’s most valued heritage brands, have collaborated to create an AW17 menswear collection that fuses style and comfort for the ultimate driving experience.

land rover x barbour

Both brands respectively dominate their individual industries in their own ways, with this season’s inspiration coming from the Land Rover Defender which alongside Barbour, has been dominating the countryside for countless years.

These two brands have worked tremendously well together and seem to be a match made in heaven, creating an interesting collection using their classic colour palettes of olive greens and blues. This has allowed the brands to use their recognised design and styling techniques, creating a consistent and true-to-brand range of timeless garments ready for all environments. Whether it’s worn within the city or out on the wet and windy countryside, this collection contains a wide variety of product suitable for everyone, from essential tees to signature jackets.

Land Rover x Barbour

The standout pieces for us in this collection are the classic waxed cotton Broome and Gillingham jackets. The Broome jacket is perfect for colder weather, featuring large bellow and hand warming pockets to keep you warm and dry whatever the weather. The Gillingham is the perfect shorter length jacket in a windcheater style and can worn casually with jeans or chinos for comfort. Versatile and timeless, both these jackets are perfect to throw in the back of the car. The collection also features tees, shirts, sweaters and accessories designed for spending time in the city or country, work or leisure, so there’s definitely something for everyone in this Barbour x Land Rover collaboration.

land rover x barbour

Lindsay Weaver, Branded Goods & Licensing Director at Jaguar Land Rover said, “The Barbour for Land Rover Defender Collection perfectly complements our much loved icon. With over two million Defenders produced they remain a common sight and are synonymous with the countryside. This collaboration is the perfect fit, two brands with mutual aims; quality, durability with timeless design.”

‘The collection is a shared celebration of heritage and authenticity’. Available exclusively with yet another classic British retailer, Department store John Lewis will be releasing the collaboration from the end of July onwards, both online and in stores nation wide.

This Friday night is, that night of the year, some see it as the most dreaded night on the calendar, whilst others count the days down from last years one. Yes, if you work in an Office environment the likelihood is you’ll be heading off to your annual office party. Making an impact at this event is all too important, be too gregarious and your seen as not being professional. Staying quite and keeping yourself to yourself, your seen as being standoffish and not a leader of people. Plus not attending is not an option as then your seen as. not a committed member of staff, who sees himself as better then the rest and you can kiss goodbye to that promotion or pay rise.

If you feel you need a little more advise to avoid the minefield that is the Office Christmas Party take a look at this link from last year when we covered the do’s & don’ts etiquette of this nightmarish event.

Now to ensure you look your best for the big bash, we’ve selected an outfit to cover each scenario that could possibly cover the Partay, we really are too good to you guys.

The casual Office event

So it might be a meal, drinks down the pub but essential quite an informal setting, where you don’t wanna rock up looking like you’ve made a real effort and overdressed for the occasion.

This is a winning choice from Barbour, as it shows your entering into the spirit of the Yuletide without going all out Christmas Jumper extravaganza.

I know I’ve said this before but its an absolute staple, the Black Shirt, this one from Marks & Spencer, is a great all rounder. If the Christmas do takes a turn and you wanna take it onto a club or somewhere a little more upmarket you can whip the jumper off and it gives a completely different look to your outfit without having to go home and change. Plus if you pair this with.

A pair of chinos, my advise is keep the look simple you don’t wanna look like one of Santa’s lil helpers in your fair isle knit and red or green chinos so stay traditional. These are a great example from Ben Sherman and the reason for Chinos over jeans is simple, it gives you more options. Alot of establishments, particularly at this time of year aren’t welcoming of lads wearing jeans so do yourself a favour and make sure your night doesn’t come to and abrupt and early end.

Finish this look off with the highly versatile Finton from Grenson, these lil lovelies can pretty much be worn with anything, they will see you through so many different occasions over the years. Not only timeless, they can be dressed up or down and still look great.

The Semi-casual event

Now this is when your boss is flashing the cash and has hired a venue for the Annual shindig, whether it be hotel, hall or even if its not been such a great year, pushed all the desks and chairs to the walls to make a dance floor and some room for Sharon from accounts Boyfriend Mark to show what he’s worth on the decks.

This is a great look that sends out all the right messages, from yeah, I’ve made just the right amount of a effort, to Ohh yes I know how to put an outfit together effortlessly. This herringbone jacket and waistcoat combo can be bought as separates but also include a pair of trousers all from NEXT.

These are a great pair of jeans from Oliver Spencer, Comfortable fit on the waist, front and back rise and a regular fit on the leg Dark Indigo Denim plus great value for money and will look great with this jacket and waistcoat.

I’ve gone for a Chambray Oxford style shirt from Joules, rather then a white shirt as this can sometimes look too formal and you can easily smarten this look up with a navy tie and a pocket square. Plus it goes really well with the grey herringbone.

Once again I’ve kept the outfit simple and finished it off with a classic pair of shoes, this time with Brogues from Oliver Sweeney. You want to keep things simple so there’s less for you to worry about and if you know you look good this will help with your confidence on the night. This look strikes a real balance and shows that you know what you’re doing.

The Formal event

So here you have it the final in the options for the Christmas Party looks to impress. The formal event, this is often when you have to attend a ball style function. Now once again you need to strike a balance of looking good, looking confident and standing out form the crowd for all the right reasons.

Now this is a tuxedo that ticks all of those boxes from Banana Republic, you’re making a statement by going Navy rather then traditional black but at the same time looking totally dapper.

You’ve made your statement with the Navy tux so you need to keep the rest of the look classic and sober. This is a brilliant dress shirt from the French brand Ami, which does does that, understated yet chic.

Its all in the detail and this classic with a twist Black bow tie from TOPMAN finishes of this look perfectly, its just a little smaller then the traditional bow ties.

These are a great dress shoes from Ted Baker and aren’t too traditional so you can easily wear these on other occasions with jeans.

So whatever your Christmas party follow these tips and it should hold you in fine fettle so you can hold your head high come Monday Morning.

In the light of the U.S Government finally acknowledging the existence of Area 51, Barbour thought now was the right time to own up and confess about their own shadowy project. “Department B‘’ was a special area in Barbour’s South Shields Factory that specialised in customisation, taking customer’s individual requests for extra pockets or special reinforcements and creating jackets that were unique and personal to each wearer. These requests and this special attention to detail are celebrated in Barbour’s latest Men’s Heritage collection, Dept. B.

Whether it’s a hidden trim, an unusual stud, a zipper that also serves as a ring-pull, unfortunately not a build in life jacket or jet pack, at the moment – all these are located in clever places – meaning there is always something interesting to discover in the jackets, knitwear and shirts that make up the collection.

In its opening season, Barbour’s most recognisable pieces are given subtle yet meaningful makeovers. The Commander Jacket takes its customisation cue from the wardrobe department on Skyfall, who featured a Barbour jacket on James Bond. Taking its inspiration from this jacket, the new Commander jacket even references its iconic muse in its product code, which, of course includes the famous code name of the agent, 007, in its composition.

The art of customisation is referenced in the midlayers in this collection too, with bursts of contrasting colours, textures and trims featuring on pieces such as the Pym Zip Thru, the Dart Tee and the Hatch Polo.

What do they put in the water over in Copenhagen, for a population of just over 1.2million, the residents of the Danish capital are incredibly creative when it comes to their clothing brands. Today’s Post is on Wood Wood, a brand founded in 2002 by a trio of designers, Karl Oskar Olsen, Lotte Bank Nielsen and Brian Jensen, who wanted to collaborate with one another on a small range of classic pieces with a quirky twist. The type of clothing that they would like to wear themselves and carve out a unique niche with their playful graphics, ahhh that old chestnut. Since then it had grown and grown into a complete collection that successfully manages to mix elements of street wear but without losing any of its high end aspiration. Their individual approach to style has gained the Wood Wood trio, friends and fans in high places with collaborations in recent years with the likes of Nike, Barbour, Eastpak and Adidas, not bad, hey.

Their most recent collaboration sees them work with the Little Sun project on a limited edition tee. The Little Sun Project is a non profit organisation started by artist Olafur Eliasson and engineer Frederik Ottesen, that aims is to provide trade in off-grid communities, which addresses the need for light in a sustainable way.

For Summer 2013 their collection has looked to the “Summers of Love”, for inspiration, the first Summer being 1967 San Francisco, where the Peace, Love and Understanding of the Hippie Movement were the order of the day and the second being the great Summer of 89 where Acid House and Rave Culture ruled supreme. Both were significant movements which dealt with the confrontation and liberation from existing social systems and both were driven by positive and engaging energy.

So with this collection Wood Wood hope to bring about a third Summer of Love, pulling in elements from both past Summers to offer a distinct range.