Gieves & Hawkes bespoke linen suit: Review
This dark, muted green linen was a risk. I had never had anything like it before, let alone seen it on anyone else. But I think it’s worked out very well. I’m pleased as well as relieved. The colour is unusual yet subtle. Indoors, it l...
Gieves & Hawkes bespoke linen suit: Review
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It's good for eveningwear, or at least the casual approximation of it. Black knit would be nice, if I had one. Denim isn't a bad choice either, but probably not chinos. Especially not the olive ones. But who knows, perha...
A guide to high-twist bunches – 2019
This is a summary and analysis of the high-twist wools available from different mills and merchants. As with the linen one we did last year, the aim is to set out most of the range so that bespoke customers know if their tailor is missing something...
A guide to high-twist bunches – 2019
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Well, the mills themselves won't vary much in quality, if you know that's what you're after. I haven't looked for mohair for a while though I'm afraid...
Green/black linen suit, with Davide Taub at Gieve...
Relief, and relaxation. Those are my abiding memories of this, my fitting at Gieves on a new suit. Readers commented on a previous post that it was nice to know what I was thinking and feeling during a fitting. That it felt more immediate and person...
Green/black linen suit, with Davide Taub at Gieve...
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I do wear it, but I wouldn’t say it’s a versatile, wear-every-week piece. More occasional (in both senses). I don’t think the trousers would be great in that respect either. I’d just go for a normal dark-green li...
How to layer knitwear
Layering knitwear can be both stylish and practical. Practical, because it gives particular warmth on a cold day - more, usually, than a shirt under knitwear. The multiple layers are also easy to add and remove as the temperature varies. And stylish...
How to layer knitwear
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I have found a reasonably good solution for drying is to use a de-humidifier in a small room (I use my bathroom as depending on what type of house you live in, it is possible to overly dry out the fabric of the walls/bui...
Olive-green corduroy suit – from Ettore de ...
You know when you think you’re not part of a trend, and then see everyone wearing the same thing? As a clothing snob that likes to think he’s different to everyone else, it’s very annoying. I had admired Michael Hill’s green-...
Olive-green corduroy suit – from Ettore de ...
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Okay, I will be looking forward to it....
The guide to summer jacket cloths
In some ways, summer trousers are more challenging than jackets in terms of cloth, and therefore more interesting. Trousers present the challenge of having something cool, but with enough body or crispness to hang straight. Jackets are les...
The guide to summer jacket cloths
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I would look at jacketing materials - hopsack or mock leno - not suiting materials like those high twists you mention...
Superfines: The story of refining wool
Pop-up shop update: Sartoria Formosa are in the shop today, Friday and Saturday. Gennaro Formosa is on site, together with Gianluca Migliarotti – director of the ‘O Mast’ film among other things There was a ti...
Superfines: The story of refining wool
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I came across this article when looking to understand what a 14 micron wool sports jacket was, and it was exactly what I needed. What an ignorant and foolish comment!...
The ‘Guide to Cloth’ microsite
Someone asked me the other day when I'm going to run out of things to write about. To be honest I have yet to have that problem - there's usually too much rather than too little. But as one writes more (1612 posts and counting) it's nice to work on...
The ‘Guide to Cloth’ microsite
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Good question. It will appear as a main post as well. The microsite is more a grouping of relevant posts - and an easy place to link to for references...
The guide to cloth: Weaves and designs
The next in our series on Cloth is a guide to weaves and to designs. As with the A-Z this is meant as a reference tool, which we will link to as we publish more detailed pieces about trousers, jackets or overcoats. When we describe the benefits of ga...
The guide to cloth: Weaves and designs
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I'm not sure Ahmed, I think so perhaps, like Bedford cord but not cotton. I suspect it wouldn't be great for a jacket though, as it would be quite dense like a cavalry twill or whipcord, but it is hard to say without any...
The A-Z of cloth
As the next post in our series The Guide to Cloth, we have put together a glossary of cloth-related terms, covering everything from different animal fibres and their properties, to the various stages of spinning and finishing. This took a lot of wor...
The A-Z of cloth
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Hey, nice to hear from you. I don't really ever wear or recommend very stretchy fabrics. You'd really only get that with something that had artificial stretch in it I think...
The guide to jacketings
What makes a cloth suitable for a jacket, but not for a suit? This is a question I know many readers struggle with, particularly as offices become more casual. Without the safety of a dark suit and dark shoes, what should a man wear? Why doesn’...
The guide to jacketings
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Yes it does....
Introducing: The Guide to Cloth
This week we are launching another big project for Permanent Style: The Guide to Cloth. This has been a long time in the works, but we wanted to do it right. There is a lot of piecemeal information out there about cloths, yarns and weaves, but (for m...
Introducing: The Guide to Cloth
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I will have to check the suit. Will get back to you....
The corduroy suit
I have a friend who wears what he calls ‘knockabout’ suits. How exactly he knocks about in them I don’t know, but the meaning is clear: these are casual suits, that don’t belong in a formal environment like an office. Most no...
The corduroy suit
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Great, thanks, Simon....
Interview: Gregor Thissen, Scabal
A couple of months ago I sat down with Gregor Thissen, Executive Chairman of cloth merchant Scabal, in Brussels after a tour of the factory. You can read more about Scabal and that factory on my first post here. Permanent Style: I’ve always ...
Interview: Gregor Thissen, Scabal
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From a Tailors perspective the issue of purchasing material on line is fraught with complications and customers need to be made aware that CMT is not a pathway to a cheaper suit. It is almost impossible to underwrite the...
Scabal: Why make your own swatch books?
Last week I was in Brussels visiting the headquarters of cloth merchant Scabal. They moved buildings two years ago and now have an attractive, open-plan space on top of their warehouse. That warehouse stores a lot of cloth. Most of the ...
Scabal: Why make your own swatch books?
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Not usually, no. Partly because the books have some cost, and partly because they don't usually have capacity to take on private customers...
Huddersfield’s mills and merchants explained
I was up in Yorkshire last week, based in Huddersfield and seeing a few of the mills and merchants, including Pennine, Johnsons and Dugdale. What struck me hardest when I got back was the lack of understanding among bespoke customers, ...
Huddersfield’s mills and merchants explained
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There's no guarantee that a cloth from an English name will be woven in England unfortunately. But you don't usually want Dormeuil, not being English, and you want to look at Dugdale, Huddersfield Fine Worsteds, Fox, Smi...
