MILAN AND PARIS SEES TAILORING GET CASUAL

The men’s catwalks in Milan and Paris did a strange thing this season. While Milan is usually about formal tailoring, where trends turn on the placement of a button or the shade of a pocket square, Paris tends to major on what the fashion pack calls “experimental silhouettes” (that’s feather headdresses and bottomless trousers to us. Gah!). But this time round both shed their usual agendas to put the spotlight on a sort of relaxed tailoring.

A more louche look for Milan and a slightly more formal twist for Paris, this was a genuine meeting-in-the middle for Europe’s two menswear capitals and signalled a clear direction.

Jackets came unstructured, unlined and unfettered and we have just the thing for fashion hungry men who want to pull off this cool but understated look. Check out our exclusive Universal Works blazer, piped with the brand-check and boasting the sort of soft collar that will look bang-on across the seasons. Cold Method’s steel-shaded two-button jacket is a touch more formal but retains that versatile appeal while a more relaxed and classic summer look comes from Paul Smith London, where the seersucker blazer brings that timeless sun-drenched appeal.

But perhaps the ultimate in relaxed formalwear is the softly washed cotton blazer. Polo Ralph Lauren’s version, complete with yachting crest, is a fast-selling summer piece as is the understated version from Burberry and the subtly striped cropped and fitted Marc by Marc Jacobs.

JOIN THE HUNTING, FISHING AND SHOOTING SET

my-wardrobe has teamed up with iconic heritage brand Barbour and GQ.com to offer you a taste of sporting life, with a shooting lesson at the Royal Berkshire Shooting School for you and a friend, plus £250 worth of Barbour from its Spring Summer 2010 collection.

And what could be more fitting than donning a brand new waxed or quilted Barbour in midnight black or royal green, loading up your 12 bore and getting a few rounds out across the Berkshire countryside where 150 traps replicate all sorts of wild fowl? And don’t worry if you don’t yet know your driven grouse from you coveys of partridges, the instructors will reveal all, turning you from a novice into an expert in two hours of professional tutelage.

Barbour –though a hit with trendy urbanites – is a winner of the Shooting Industry Award for best clothing and is keenly worn by the aristocracy of the hunting and shooting world. The brand itself started out in 1894 in the industrial port of South Shields, Tyne & Wear, where it manufactured oilskin coats and workwear for the shipyard’s toiling labourers. Its expertise has since brought it popularity among the hunting, fishing, shooting, biking and fashion-conscious communities. And whether you spend the £250 prize on a reinforced-shoulder padded jacket – ideal for deflecting rifle recoil – or a classic waxed International, you’ll feel as at home on the fields of Berkshire as the streets of Soho.

The B-Store show

London Fashion Week kicked off yesterday and to our delight, nestled amid a line-up that was chocca with womenswear, was the B-Store show. So what’s on the cards for Autumn Winter 2010?  If we use this as a style blueprint, as the new season dawns, the menswear landscape will be rife with the raw and rugged with, of course, a tailored edge. Thin belts with utility style fastenings were cinched over wool blazers. Trousers were pleated or steam pressed with a centre crease and rolled to that very particular just above the ankle length. Boots had thick contrasting soles and a workwear appeal – although they were clearly not meant for labouring with their smart untextured matt finish. Shirts were worn buttoned to the top and accessories were either ultra minimal or rocked a geek chic mood with chunky bobble hats proving most popular. B-Store did what felt like the impossible – they bridged that gap between the city slicker and the great outdoors and, it worked. MY-TV went along to capture all the action. Watch the video to find out more.

There aren’t many things born in 1874 that look perfectly at home break-beating across the dancefloor of an urban nightclub. But one that does is a certain grand old man from the Scottish Borders town of Howick (pronounced Hoyck, for those of you who have never embarrassed yourselves by getting it wrong in front of a resident). But then Lyle & Scott is no typical 136-year-old. Now pretty much a stonewall fashion phenomenon, in the space of just a few years, it has ballooned to become one of the cornerstones of the menswear wardrobe and its spectrum of colourful polos and lambswool V-necks has seen its familiar golden eagle logo adorn the proud chests of such lens-happy bedfellows as footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, rockers Kasabian and TV presenters from Dermot O’Leary to Steve Jones.

But even that is just part of the story these days. With a new design team on board for Spring 10, the colourful classics now line up alongside a whole rail of looks. Rugby stripes, contrast collars and plackets, fine multi-stripes and button-down collars all update the polo styles while the knit-list has been lengthened to round up long-sleeve polo-necks, zip-through hoodies and the tangled-stripe crew neck knits. On T-shirts, there are Breton style nautical stripes, while a whole host of shirt styles includes punchy coloured checks and subtle button-down tartans. Lightweight nylon outerwear and canvas pumps underline the casual look.
The slim fits are still part of the brand DNA, and the mantra remains youthful; but the truth is that this is a versatile brand, which can offer succour for most chaps seeking anchor pieces for their wardrobe. And if anyone tells you this is a flash in the pan brand – just remind them how long Lyle’s style has been around – its 100th birthday was 36 years ago!

GOING AWAY? CHANCES ARE, YOU WILL DRESS LIKE SEAN CONNERY

All hail the mighty Connery. As with so many things in the world of male style and fashion it was James Bond who wrote the modern rulebook on how to dress abroad. Fact is, back in the day when big Sean was drawling his Scottish brogue as the archetypal Englishman (the irony never thins!) most British men thought dressing for the holiday season meant rolling up your trouser legs, stripping to the vest and getting your sandals wet – check out your family album for snaps of your father or grandfather for evidence.

Fortunately, there Connery was, in Jamaica for Dr No (1962), the Bahamas in Thunderball (1965) and Hong Kong and Japan for You Only Live Twice (1967), laying down a template for sun-drenched dressing that was ultimately much more influential in style terms than his feted tux. Teaming tight slacks and a pale blue polo or an open-necked half sleeve cotton striped shirt with white trousers Connery, with the possible exception of the globe-trotting Alan Whicker, did more than anyone to lay down the sartorial style guide for a British public just starting out on cruises and package holidays aplenty.

And while the details have changed, the legacy remains. Those cotton shirts are still versatile beach-to-bar favourites. Check out the drapey cottons of Universal Works‘ patchwork check shirt and team it with the Polo Ralph Lauren beige classic fit chinos or the Farhi by Nicole Farhi drawstring linen slacks. Take it to the evening with Universal Works’ four-pocket twill Morten blazer or switch it with knitted polo. Try John Smedley’s navy knitted Dorado top and wear it with APC’s slim leg chino. And where would James Bond be without his shorts? Polo Ralph Lauren’s white cotton knee shorts fit the bill perfectly.

Nottingham’s menswear marvel is the prince of patterns

Had he come from New York, he’d be as ubiquitous as Ralph Lauren. But he didn’t. He’s from Beeston in Nottinghamshire and he’s a tall knight of the realm called Paul.
He is one of the gems of British fashion yet somehow encapsulates a humble form of Englishness. For a start he’s not too keen on being called Sir. Secondly he didn’t even want to work in fashion.
To start with, he wanted to become a cyclist. But an accident put paid to his ambitions and instead – after six months in hospital – he took a course in tailoring. This opened the window for him to escape from his work in a clothing warehouse and soon he was working at Savile Row tailor Lincroft Kilgour, having been spotted by Harold Tillman.
A word on this other luminary of UK fashion – Tillman is now the chairman of the British Fashion Council and de facto guv’nor of London Fashion Week. But he, like Smith, rose from humble beginnings. Living in Brixton he worked at a clothing wholesaler called Lincroft, which sold conservative demob style suits. But Tillman came up with his own more outré designs that were wildly successful and after taking a £5000 loan, he had bought the business installing Smith in his recently acquired Savile Row premises.

Once on the Row, Smith’s designs were snapped up by the celebrities du jour – including a young George Best. With his savings, Smith opened his first store in Nottingham in 1970. In 1976 he showed his menswear collection on the Paris catwalk – where he still shows today – and in 1979 he opened his store on Floral Street, Covent Garden.
And from there, his empire has grown. He has taken his tailoring expertise and twisted, weaved, teased and knitted this knowledge into a range of brands, which make him a master of a spectrum of quirky patternings. Stripes, spots, and prints populate his London range, while his PS collection includes graph checks, ginghams and tiny geometrics. Imaginative stuff from the one-time warehouse worker.

He does womenswear too you know.

Top buy! Limited edition blazer by Universal Works

The Spring blazer can be a sartorial minefield. From boating blazers to collegiate numbers, Riviera styling, classic linen or well worn cotton, your decision can determine your whole look. For 2010, we’ve teamed up with the British brand Universal Works to bring you an exclusive, limited edition blazer that straddles the boating meets modern dandy style boundary – the perfect combination for style aficionados everywhere. Made from lightweight navy cotton, the design boasts an asymmetric madras check trim along the lapels, pockets, and cuffs and is specially numbered by hand from one to twenty. Designed in collaboration with our buying team, David Keyte, the brand’s founder and designer like how this pieces gives the customer something truly unique. “We’ve taken the original ’suit jacket’ style – a Universal Works favourite – which is more in keeping with the classic British work jacket, versus Savile Row tailoring, and given it an edge with the madras checked cotton bound trim. The lapels have been broadened to give more of a ’sports jacket’ feel.”

Film meets fashion in Tom Ford’s cinematic debut

Tom Ford’s first foray into the world of film directing proves that he’s just as much a stylist in the director’s chair as he was at the helm of Gucci two decades ago. Starring modern Hollywood greats including the Oscar and Bafta nominated Colin Firth, Julianne Moore and Matthew Goode to name but a few, A Single Man is based on the seminal literary work by Christopher Isherwood. Set against the backdrop of LA during the Cuban missile crisis, the film tells the tale of a British professor trying to come to terms with the death of his lover. The fashion throughout the film is, perhaps unsurprisingly, remarkably polished and Ford’s style is apparent in every scene, with slick black tailoring, slim fit, narrow collared white shirts, slim black ties and patent dress shoes markin g the cinematic landscape. The look is all about being groomed to perfection – the ultimate statement in modern and understated power dressing.

THE DON DRAPER STYLE PHENOMENON SHOWS NO SIGN OF SLOWING DOWN

As series three of Mad Men gets well underway, the heralded world of 1960s advertising looks all the more exhilarating: long booze-laden lunches, flexible hours and office romps – here, here! And at a time when financial frivolity is spoken of like a dark and dirty little secret, the excesses and accompanying style of the ever-slick lead, Don Draper, are vices we’re all able to bask in. The poster boy for office dressing, Draper shows us how it’s really done. His tailored suits and power ties have a great success rate from boardroom to bedroom so why wouldn’t we all take a style note out of his book?  Choose a well-cut steely grey suit, a crisp white shirt and a not too bold but commanding tie. It’s sounds like a simple look, a time honoured style combination that we all adhere to. But in recent years, it’s given way to the relaxed media uniform of open collars, jeans and plimsolls. With the awards season in full swing and Draper breathing down our necks, we say look to master Paul Smith London, Hugo Boss Black and Richard James. It’s time for a revival of the traditional office exec.