Who are my favourite tailors? (Part two)

January 18th 2023

Please read part one of this article, here , before this one. Without that context, setting out my priorities, this summary will likely be misleading. Everyone is different, wants different things from bespoke, and simply gets on with people differ...

Who are my favourite tailors? (Part two)

Match in comments:
Partly, yes, though it's more about the style - it's less comfortable than a drape cut, but not than a Sexton or Chittleborough, yet I'm happy to have the latter two for the style...

January 18th 2023

Esquire ‘Five Fits’ feature: Tonal sh...

January 4th 2023

Esquire magazine in the US recently profiled me for a column - their 'five fits' feature . It's run by Christopher Fenimore, who has been into menswear for about the same time as I have, although he was a little younger when he started. It was fun ...

Esquire ‘Five Fits’ feature: Tonal sh...

Match in comments:
Andrew ,I have worn my C and J Chelsea boots (no 11) in three dutch winters and have dry feet. They are leather grain and have a vibram sole. Once I had a slight dampness of sock, but I was cycling in a true winter storm...

ShirtsJanuary 4th 2023

A guide to corduroy: Colours, wales, fibres, bunches

November 9th 2022

I’ve been buying and wearing more corduroy in recent years - including the new dark-brown jacket above, from Sartoria Ciardi . I think the reason is that if you’re not dressing for a formal office, worsted is likely to feel out of place...

A guide to corduroy: Colours, wales, fibres, bunches

Match in comments:
True. English tailors tend to favour that way, the Italians the other way (shinier)...

ClothNovember 9th 2022

Rain: Cap and cordovan, or felt and suede

May 9th 2022

This may be a little niche, but it’s something that often stresses me out in the morning, so hopefully it will be of some use to others. My plans for what to wear on a particular day usually don’t account for rain. I might be going int...

Rain: Cap and cordovan, or felt and suede

Match in comments:
I wish trucker/ball cap wearers (actually ALL hat wearers) would google "hat ettiquette" and learn that gentlemen remove their hats when indoors. Pet peeve of mine to see men in a decent restaurant sitting eating with th...

Coats - HatsMay 9th 2022

A collared cardigan under a jacket: Ciardi and Co...

March 9th 2022

In recent weeks I’ve been playing around with this button-through cardigan from Colhay’s. Initially I was sceptical as to whether I’d ever wear it tucked in - and afraid it was a little lightweight to wear untucked. The same fear ...

A collared cardigan under a jacket: Ciardi and Co...

Match in comments:
Mostly tailored...

Knitwear - StyleMarch 9th 2022

Would you (could you) wear a cowboy boot?

February 16th 2022

A friend once told me that he gets a kick out of finding an unusual piece of menswear, and working out a way to wear it. Like a challenge: how can he make this esoteric bit of clothing wearable. I’ve never really taken that approach to clothe...

Would you (could you) wear a cowboy boot?

Match in comments:
If you want the best cowboy boots, I'd contact D.W. Frommer at https://www.bootmaker.com/...

ShoesFebruary 16th 2022

Why I’m wearing more belts

January 5th 2022

In recent months I’ve been wearing belts more often, after years of hardly doing so at all. I never wore them with tailoring, preferring the clean, elegant look of an unfettered waistband with side adjustors. And I didn’t even wear the...

Why I’m wearing more belts

Match in comments:
Very late to the comments: I am also an attorney, although in Vienna, Austria. I wear a charcoal or grey suit in court, always with a white or light blue shirt plus tie. Wearing a suit without a tie would also be okay, b...

Belts and wallets - StyleJanuary 5th 2022

If you had five coats: A versatile selection

December 1st 2021

  As with our previous article in this series – on bags – five coats might seem like a lot, but actually chances are many readers already have that in their wardrobe, if they account for smart and casual coats, for warmth...

If you had five coats: A versatile selection

Match in comments:
Have you seen this post on overcoat fit?...

CoatsDecember 1st 2021

The jackets I picked for winter

October 20th 2021

A couple of weeks ago, when our little Indian summer here in the UK came to an end, I started the process of switching my wardrobe around for colder weather. I keep winter sweaters, roll necks, coats and heavy tweeds stored in the attic, and slowly...

The jackets I picked for winter

Match in comments:
I'd go with grey herringbone - see the article on a capsule like that here...

JacketsOctober 20th 2021

White jeans: how to buy, wash and wear

April 7th 2021

White jeans are a classic example of menswear that has been damaged unreasonably by association. Unfortunately, they carry connotations of flash Mediterranean men, wearing their white jeans with a shirt unbuttoned to the navel. Or skintight ripped ...

White jeans: how to buy, wash and wear

Match in comments:
Drake's ecru jeans are still available aren't they? For the others, look at either the Clutch or Son of a Stag website for white or ecru jeans - they will always have new options. The Allevol ones are nice too at Clutch....

Denim - StyleApril 7th 2021

Knitwear and necklines – with Ciardi overco...

October 23rd 2020

My love of bespoke overcoats continues unabated: the thing I was most excited about this Autumn was the prospect of wearing them again. It's annoying that, useful as they are (and arguably today, more useful than a bespoke suit) they are limited to...

Knitwear and necklines – with Ciardi overco...

Match in comments:
Yes that would be right Chris I think. Make sure you specify those finishing points in advance so they don't have to be undone later...

CoatsOctober 23rd 2020

The guide to jacket pockets

July 27th 2020

  As ever in the lovely, international, interactive community that is Permanent Style, this article was spurred by a reader. He asked about the appropriate configuration of jacket pockets on a suit he was ordering, and I realised we hadn&rsq...

The guide to jacket pockets

Match in comments:
Yes it should do...

Jackets - SuitsJuly 27th 2020

The T-shirt under a shirt (and tailoring)

March 18th 2020

A couple of weeks ago, we looked at a relatively casual outfit - and how elements such as a baseball cap or bright knitwear could make classic menswear less formal, with some Ivy influences. Today I’d like to talk about one element that I find...

The T-shirt under a shirt (and tailoring)

Match in comments:
I'm afraid it's one of those late nights of fretting over what to wear for event again, Simon. The idea of a T-shirt under a shirt peaked my interest as a potential de-formaliser. One google search later and I find mysel...

Casual clothingMarch 18th 2020

Artisan of the year 2020: Sartoria Ciardi

March 2nd 2020

Artisan of the year 2020: Sartoria Ciardi   Enzo Ciardi has a lovely smile. It’s big (but then he’s big), it’s warm, it’s friendly. It’s extremely welcoming. And best of all, I can enjoy that smile fully. Beca...

Artisan of the year 2020: Sartoria Ciardi

Match in comments:
They should be on the original article featuring the jacket here...

March 2nd 2020

Introducing: The white PS Oxford

January 13th 2020

On the final day of the pop-up shop back in October, it occurred to me to bring in my blue PS Oxford shirt - to show how it had softened with age. The response was telling. Half of the people that felt it bought one on the day, and several of the o...

Introducing: The white PS Oxford

Match in comments:
How lovely to hear Markus, I hope it serves you really well...

ShirtsJanuary 13th 2020

A vintage shopping story: M47 Parka

October 14th 2019

This week is vintage week. You didn't know that, but it is. We're starting today with an article on a vintage piece of mine; we continue on Wednesday with the advice of three experts on buying vintage; and we finish on Friday with an interview about...

A vintage shopping story: M47 Parka

Match in comments:
Thanks M. I find it too bulky, myself, if all buttoned and zipped up. But just buttoning the top couple, and leaving the rest open to move around (and therefore not zipped, as you say) is a great look....

CoatsOctober 14th 2019

Ciardi jacket in vintage gun-club tweed, from Laf...

June 10th 2019

I was very excited when I received this jacket a month ago. Primarily because of the shoulder. Enzo Ciardi is fast becoming one of my favourite tailors. I like him, I like his roomy Neapolitan style, and everything he's made for me has been good: on...

Ciardi jacket in vintage gun-club tweed, from Laf...

Match in comments:
Hi Simon, I wanted to ask if we could discuss the details of this jacket? I'm in training to become a tailor and plan to recreate this jacket as my exam piece. The school I attend is called Master Tailor Institute, liter...

Cloth - JacketsJune 10th 2019

Sartoria Ciardi cotton suit: Style breakdown

February 6th 2019

In our last installment in this Tailor Styles series, we looked at the modern incarnation of the Neapolitan jacket: light and soft, but also short with a small shoulder. Today’s suit, from Sartoria Ciardi, is the diametric opposite within Neap...

Sartoria Ciardi cotton suit: Style breakdown

Match in comments:
No, sorry Ken...

SuitsFebruary 6th 2019

White tie and blue shirt: Sunny formal in Sartori...

November 7th 2018

Wearing a white tie with a blue shirt is something that makes perfect sense in Naples. To a certain extent, wearing sugary-pink jackets and lapis-blue tailoring makes sense too. It's just sunny so much of the time, even in winter - and that sun is s...

White tie and blue shirt: Sunny formal in Sartori...

Match in comments:
I don't have a close-up I'm afraid. I think this one on that page is closest though: https://www.emarinella.com/product/tie-cr3086/...

Style - SuitsNovember 7th 2018

Vintage gold cuff

May 11th 2018

My view on jewellery has always been that it should be something special, certainly emotionally and probably financially too. Men wear so little of it, and it is such a statement to do so, that it should be precious. Not a cheap leather bracelet, in...

Vintage gold cuff

Match in comments:
I don't really shop for jewellery like that much, so it's hard to say. Michael Rose in the Burlington Arcade is good, though expensive. You can find what you want and then maybe look online perhaps. Also Hatton Garden of...

Glasses and jewelleryMay 11th 2018

Video: Sartoria Ciardi in conversation

March 21st 2018

This is the film of our small presentation with Sartoria Ciardi a couple of weeks ago - at Mark's Club in London. We had 25 readers in the audience, with Poppy Charles kindly translating, and the result was a nice, intimate-feeling event with the Ci...

Video: Sartoria Ciardi in conversation

Match in comments:
Very nice and pleasant video. Grazie mille)...

VideoMarch 21st 2018

An evening with Ciardi

February 24th 2018

In a couple of weeks (Wednesday, March 7) Sartoria Ciardi will be coming to London for the first time. They will be holding a trunk show all day on Thursday 8th, but we thought it would also be nice to have an event the night before. So on the Wed...

An evening with Ciardi

Match in comments:
No...

February 24th 2018

Sartoria Ciardi Neapolitan bespoke suit: Review

February 23rd 2018

A friend used to say that he knew whether a suit was going to be good at the first, basted fitting. I’m not sure I entirely agree. The first fitting is largely for the tailor, to make sure the fundamentals of balance etc are correct. It is at ...

Sartoria Ciardi Neapolitan bespoke suit: Review

Match in comments:
There is a little roping in this one, and I wouldn't say it was that different to the green cotton, no. The more casual jackets I've made, like my gun club, are different though and have none...

SuitsFebruary 23rd 2018

Sartoria Ciardi – The next generation

November 27th 2017

Renato Ciardi, who sadly passed away earlier this year, was truly one of the greats of Neapolitan tailoring. Succession planning is rarely one of a bespoke tailor’s strengths, but fortunately the Ciardi family began planning for this several y...

Sartoria Ciardi – The next generation

Match in comments:
Simon, Shame that Ciardi does travel to the US. Which of the Neapolitan houses do travel to the States?...

SuitsNovember 27th 2017