Seersucker Suits

I was amused to read that a Missouri Senator has proposed a ban on seersucker suits. Although no doubt done in jest, it seemed a shame that he dislikes them so much. Although I can't quite imagine myself wearing one, at least not with the kind of weather we get over here, they have a glorious tradition in warmer parts of the world and can look very elegant if well-made and well-fitting.

Seersucker is a cotton fabric woven in such a way as to create a warped or bubble effect. Apart from the aesthetic appeal (or lack of appeal, depending on your point of view) this actually has practical benefits in a hot climate: firstly, it creates space for air to circulate through and under the fabric, and stops is clinging to the body. Secondly, it is relatively resistant to wrinkles and needn't (and shouldn't) be pressed, so perfect for sticky days in India or the southern states of America.

In the USA, seersucker is considered traditional southern dress and, until last year, one Thursday in June was seersucker day in Congress. I think it's a shame that particular tradition has fallen by the wayside, but there we go.

Perhaps more than almost anything else, seersucker has to be done right. In the right place, at the right temperature, with the right accessories and the right fit, it can look smashing. Get some of these wrong though, and it's easy to look ludicrous, and incur the wrath of Missouri Senators.

Image property of StoneStyle.com

Four current trends you should try

This blog is, emphatically, not about current trends. The fads that come and go from catwalks and the pages of GQ are of little interest to really stylish men. All the same, fashion is cyclical and so its inevitable that, sometimes, things that we consider 'stylish' and 'classic' will, almost by accident, end up also being fashionable. When that happens, you can take a quiet pleasure in being as stylish as always, but with the added joy of being just very slightly 'on-trend' as well. Here are my top four trends that are worth trying this year:

Pins, bars and clips
I don't know whether it's the Mad Men effect, the hipster love of vintage, or just retailers delight in being able to sell more pricey accessories, but men's style magazines are absolutely in love with tie bars and collar pins at the moment. Don't overdo them (and don't wear both at once) but a simple tie bar does look smashing, and collar pins are awesome with a reasonably slim tie. Although any shirt can be pinned if you're happy to stick holes in it, shirts with reinforced holes designed in to them are mostly only available in white, or at least white collars. I suppose that makes sense since it nods to the fact that last time collar pins were in fashion collars were probably all detachable.

While the collar can't be very cutaway, avoid those shirts with collar points that come almost straight down, or with very high collars. In fact, slightly rounded collars are a classic look that can look great with a pin. As far as the pin itself goes, specifically designed double-pointed rods with screw on ends are easily available, but a large safety pin does the job and has a nicely laid-back look.

Elbow Patches
I've been asked about elbow patches a few times, and I get more and more searches related to them. Over the last year or so they seem to have really taken off, particularly in the sort of Americo-British public-school/preppy world. Hackett, Ralph Lauren, Massimo Dutti, and even New and Lingwood offer both jackets and knitwear with elbow patches on. Hackett is even doing shirts with them.

Although not to be overdone, I do like their slightly louche, battered look. In Winter they seem particularly appropriate on the sort of heavy tweed jackets that look as if they've been worn and repaired for decades (when in fact they were bought yesterday on Jermyn street), while in the Summer, in a light-coloured suede, they're a nice addition to linen or cotton jackets or lightweight knitwear.

Bow Ties
I think it was 'shortlist' magazine that, this week, did a little feature on top bow ties to wear. In one paragraph it suggested that you could show how on-trend you are this summer by wearing one with a short-sleeved shirt and tailored shorts.

Don't do that.

Do, however, consider wearing them with a suit. Bow ties have always been awesome, but always tough to pull off, especially for younger men. This year, at least, you can take advantage of the fact that you might not actually be the only person in your tube carriage wearing one. You probably will, however, be the only person wearing a properly tied, elegant silk one with a beautiful tailored suit.
Best of both worlds.

Three-piece suits
James Bond wears them, Roger Sterling wears them, Harvey Specter wears them. Is it surprising, then, that everyone from Topman to Ralph Lauren is churning out three-piece suits at a rate of knots? Nope. Of course, as a well-dressed man you've probably been wearing waistcoats for years but, if not, take a few bits of advice that most people don't understand:

• Your trousers need to be higher-waisted than you'd usually like. I'm sorry, I know high-waists aren't cool, but noone will know when you're wearing a waistcoat and it's far better than worrying about the fact that a bit of shirt keeps appearing in the gap between your waistcoat and your waistband.
• You almost certainly need to wear braces. Sure, it's possible to wear a belt with a waistcoat (I think Mr Sterling does it) but it tends to either be visible between the waistcoat the trousers, or create a bulge underneath the waistcoat. I'm not sure which is worse. Far better to go for braces which will keep your trousers at just the right level all day.
• Don't do up the bottom button. There's no good reason for this beyond a bit of fashion that's stuck around. It's just one of those things you need to do. It also makes the first point particularly important.

If you're especially stylish, you can improve the standard three-piece suit by either adding a lapel to the waistcoat, or making it double-breasted. Both are fantastic traditional looks which some of the big brands are catching on to, and which are easier to find off-the-peg than they would have been even a couple of years ago. At the cheaper end, Charles Tyrwhitt (pictured above) is doing very well at taking the lead in this sort of thing. Otherwise, Hackett is always a good bet.

Restaurant Review: Les Deux Salons

Les Deux Salons always seems to be good for a last-minute booking, even at relatively busy times. As a result, I've been here twice in the last few weeks, with two different groups of people. The experience (good and bad points) was fairly similar both times.

With seating both upstairs and downstairs (two rooms, you see?), the interior is reasonably large and buzzy. On both visits we got comfortable corner tables with as much space and privacy as the relatively crowded Parisian-style restaurant allows. Front-of-house staff were friendly but harassed and on my first visit we got a hint of the creaky service that was to come when we were inexplicably abandoned at the front-desk for a few minutes before being shown our table.

Image property of Ewan-M


The menu is French and meat-heavy, and the excellent wine list allows all but a handful of wines to be delivered as a 500ml carafe rather than a full-bottle. This is always a bonus, particularly if you want to properly appreciate the varied wine list by selecting something different with each course. Most of the main courses fall within the £20-30 range, although there are a couple of exceptions, and a three-course meal with wine would come to around £60-70 per head.

The food is very good indeed; on my first visit I had some stunning oysters followed by an excellent steak, brought to the table in the skillet and smothered in a shallot sauce, with decent skinny fries on the side. I was never asked how I wanted it cooked so, assuming that the chef had a preference for this particular dish, I did not specify and it was delivered suitably and beautifully rare. On my second visit three of my companions had the same steak and this time were asked how they liked it. Infact this was fairly academic since the waiter couldn't remember which was which when they arrived at the table. My point, which I am coming round to, is that the standard of the food was consistently far above the standard of the service.

The puddings were similarly superb, although marred on one visit by the fact that we waited a considerable time to be given our menus, and again to place our order. Then, despite one of my companions specifically asking for her coffee to be brought at the same time as the pudding and chasing the coffee at least once, it actually arrived some 15 minutes later. While you may join the French in their contempt of anyone who messes with the order of the universe by choosing to enjoy their pudding with a coffee, this particular bit of incompetence was not a culinary decision but simple mismanagement. I'd like to suggest that the restaurant has accurately captured the Parisian style by having far too few waiters for the number of tables, requiring what staff there are to rush madly around keeping everyone waiting. However, I'm not convinced that was the case. Yes, it was busy, but to the eye of this enthusiastic amateur the ratio of waiters to diners didn't look totally wrong, and I am sure I have seen other restaurants manage considerably better with far fewer staff.

When we finally received our coffees, we were left in peace to enjoy them for a good twenty minutes, all attempts to catch the eye of a waiter going ignored. When I finally managed to ask for the bill, we were ignored for a further twenty to thirty minutes until I finally went to the bar and asked to pay. None of this would have mattered if we had been polishing off a bottle of wine, or had been offered more coffee or after dinner drinks, but simply being ignored altogether for the best part of an hour after your meal is just infuriating. A similar wait happened on my second visit although this time, better prepared, I chased a little more aggressively and managed to pay and leave only half an hour or so after the end of our meal. On that occasion, when we arrived there was a couple on the table next to me becoming increasingly frantic in their attempts to pay and get out in time to make it to the theatre. Given the location, this is a prime spot for pre-theatre dining and that market cannot tolerate such long waits at every stage of the meal.

I probably haven't done the food or atmosphere justice: both are outstanding, and this is without doubt a great restaurant that offers excellent value given the quality and location. However, if they cannot drastically improve the service then it simply won't be a fun option to take friends to, or a practical place to go for pre- or post-theatre dining, or a business lunch.

New Ties - Atkinson's

I was wandering around Selfridges yesterday, on the look out for a couple of new ties, when I came across a manufacturer I'd not heard of before. Atkinsons specialise in ties made from Irish Poplin, a distinctively matte cloth made from a blend of merino wool and silk. The company has been around for nearly two hundred years, and is proud of having been popular with a number of royals over the years.

For myself, I particularly liked the soft look of the poplin. It seems to go better with some of my suits than the 100% silk ties that make up the bulk of my wardrobe, and is particularly suitable as a casual tie to be worn with a jumper and a button-down shirt.

Although it's not too obvious in this picture, the tie is a large, very dark, green and blue check. It's completely unlike anything else I own, and I love it. Although I think it goes nicely with the casual outfit above, I also think it will go rather well with a white shirt and a dark suit as sub-dinner-jacket evening wear, when the tie will look almost (but, crucially, not quite) black.

The other purchase was a black and white tie in a large houndstooth pattern and the same soft, matte poplin. This will be particularly suitable for Ascot, where a macclesfield check is traditional but any black-and-white tie is ideal. In fact, however, I think it will work nicely as a smart and restrained tie for any relatively formal occasion. It also makes a nice chance since almost all of my favourite ties currently are some variation on dark blue silk, so it's definitely time for some variation.

Dress code: Cheltenham

At most races other than Ascot and the Derby, the dress code is somewhat 'flexible'. Suits are sometimes recommended in certain enclosures, but often its more a matter of choice.

The most usual approach taken by men with any sense of style is to go for a fairly smart country look - heavy on tweed and, often, soft waistcoats in bold country colours. Personally, I chose my grey Donegal tweed suit. It gets relatively little use, and I like the fact that it's not quite as much of a statement as a full suit in a convention green overchecked tweed or something. 

A dark green waistcoat sets this suit off nicely, and gives that all-important opportunity to get out the recently-inherited pocket watch. Other than that, I favour a slightly less aggressively 'country' shirt and tie, to slightly up the smartness and avoid looking as if I'm going on a shoot...

Off to the races? Tweed in cold weather, light grey or blue suits in the Summer. Either way, smarten up and ditch the jeans.

Gammarelli: Infallible socks.

My thanks to reader KB for pointing me in the direction of the marvelous socks made by Gammarelli. A business that's been around for over 200 years, it is one of the many historic shops in Rome selling clerical attire but with the added honour of having served the former Pope, Benedict XVI. In particular, they are known for making the white socks that Pope Benedict wore, and for making other versions in black (for priests and, well, anyone really), purple (for Bishops) and red (for Cardinals). They come in either cotton or fine wool, and are knee-high (which I like, as you may know).

Image property of Mes Chaussettes Rouges

Of course, I am neither a bishop nor a cardinal (and not currently in the running for Pope, to my disappointment), but I don't think that should preclude anyone from wearing beautiful socks in bold colours, so I bought myself a red pair and a purple pair from Mes Chaussettes Rouges, a French company which is the only authorised online retailer of these socks. They have a charming delivery style, with the socks coming neatly wrapped in brown paper with no business franking but an array of colourful stamps to make up sufficient postage. Above the printed address is l'impeccable Jacob Bate written neatly in ink. (Although, as one friend pointed out, it looks a fair bit like l'impossible Jacob Bate which is equally suitable.)

Inside the package is an attractive felt drawstring bag, containing the socks. I'm an absolute sucker for nice packaging, it's an important way for high-end companies to demonstrate the customer service and attention to detail that is an important part of their brand, even though they increasingly have to trade online. Still, it's the socks that really matter, and they are great - a perfect fit (as you'd expect for socks that come in not just individual sizes but half-sizes) and beautifully soft and thin. The red ones are a good look, and went particularly nicely with my black tie on Saturday night - even more so since they matched my favourite red braces. And yes, I wear red socks with black tie. I happen to like it.

The purple ones are a bit more unusual (and perhaps a bit more explicitly clerical although, to be fair, I think Roman senators got there first) but that's no bad thing.



Give them a go, you won't regret it, and you can wear them over the next few weeks as you speculate on the outcome of conclave.

Hero of the week: Greg Rutherford

Not only is Greg Rutherford a sporting hero, but he's a sartorial one too. Many thanks to an anonymous contributor on a previous post for pointing me in the direction of this marvelous picture.

This is flawless morning dress. The tie is in a Macclesfield pattern - a tight check in black and white which gives a grey or silver impression at a distance. While by no means mandatory, it is the most traditional and formal tie to wear with morning dress, and gives a sense of classic elegance as well as the impression that the wearer understands what he is wearing.


A similar tie from Burton

The waistcoat is a double-breasted buff morning waistcoat. Again, this is about the most classic choice you can go for. It looks fantastic, although to really show it off to it's best, Mr Rutherford MBE ought to leave his coat undone. The white shirt is a good choice, particularly for such a formal occasion, although a light blue shirt whit a white collar is perhaps more traditional and would add a little colour to the ensemble.

Is Mr Rutherford an extremely good dresser, or did he just go to Ede and Ravenscroft and say 'give me correct morning dress'? I don't care, because knowing when to ask for (and take) advice on dressing is just as important as knowing correct dress codes, and plenty of other public figures (Mr Obama, sir, I'm looking at you) would be well advised to ask around a bit before they try and do formalwear.

Congratulations to Mr Rutherford MBE.

Best blog posts of the week

A roundup of particularly worth-reading posts from my fellow style bloggers:

The Suit Room: The Real Traditionalism
Beautiful suit, and a great post about how much more important it is to dress in a way that looks right and feels right, and not to worry about classifying yourself too much.

To the Manner Born: Another One Bites the Dust
A sad post about an all-too-familiar occurrence. I didn't know about the shop feautred, but I am wondering if I should try to visit it before the end. Sadly, it's hardly alone - one of my favourite shops, a completely obscure but totally traditional bespoke tailor on the corner of Gwalior Road in Putney closed last year when the owner retired. Sad, but perhaps inevitable.

Grey Fox: What Shoes Should I Wear?
A sensible answer to a reasonable question. What I particularly like is that the fox doesn't enforce his own style on a man who has made it clear tends to wear more casual clothes, and finds him something that is (in my opinion) absolutely suitable for what the reader is looking for, but still stylish, beautiful and traditional. Ideal.

Mensflair: Awarding Costume not Design
Fascinating and timely post by Winston Chesterfield about the way that costume design in film is now seen as primarily about recreating historical fashion, rather than reflecting and even furthering present-day style.

Review: Otto Originals

There's a nice scene in the film of Another Country (which is well worth watching, if you haven't already seen it) where the pupils (at a school that is not Eton but pretty much definitely is Eton) are playing cricket. They are casually dressed in that fantastically casual 'public schoolboy on the playing fields in summer' look that brands like Ralph Lauren would so desperately like to capture: rumpled white shirts, hand-me-down cricket jumpers, and grass-stained white trousers held up with school ties. Later, if I can track down my DVD copy, I shall try and get a suitable screengrab.

Anyway, it's that look of using a tie as a belt that I particularly like. Trouble is, it's a bit self-consciously preppy, ruins your ties and can look a bit odd when you're no longer 17 so it's not something I tend to go for. That doesn't change the fact that a flash of striped silk at the waist of casual trousers evokes endless summers, cricket games on green meadows, post-rowing beers in a pub with a lax policy on ID, and all sorts of other wholesome visions. Is it any wonder, then, that I particularly love the belts made by Otto Originals, a start-up company created by a brother-sister team based in the Cotswolds. They've taken a slightly more grown-up approach to holding your trousers up with a tie, and make the ties into proper belts with leather ends, brass buckles, and hidden webbing to support the silk.

It gets better though, because they're not just selling belts made from any old ties. While they do sell a range of one-offs made from ties found in charity shops (and thereby indirectly supporting a range of charities!), the core of the business is a clever model where you pay online, send your chosen tie to a freepost address and, in a couple of weeks, get back a beautifully made and carefully packaged belt, plus a little bracelet made from the offcuts.

This is one of those ideas I just wish I'd come up with. In retrospect it's obvious, but I'm not aware of anyone else who does this and (if they exist) I doubt anyone else does it with quite the same combination of efficiency and charm as Otto Originals.

The belts are all handmade in the Otto studio in the Cotswolds and the quality is obvious - soft tan leather, neat stitching, and a solid brass buckle. How long the belt will last depends a lot on the tie you send in, but they're more robust than you might expect and I would imagine they'll wear well and look more distinguished with age.

Having a belt made from your own tie costs £44 which is extremely reasonable given the individual work that goes in to each one. I suppose if you were to buy your own tie specially then the whole thing would come out quite pricey but, for me, the real appeal is in finding a use for an old tie that, for whatever reason, you don't get much use out of otherwise. A stripey school tie that doesn't quite seem suitable for business-wear could make a great belt, as could a slightly more flamboyant one that you love but can't pull off in the office and have no other opportunities to wear. Or you could always do your own charity-shop hunting and find something suitable.

Whatever your choice, you'll end up with a beautiful and genuinely unique casual belt. Oh, and you can get 25% off until the end of March in their Spring promotion, by entering SPRINGBELTS into the voucher code box. So there's no excuse not to.

Note: The belt in this article was provided by Otto Originals for review. No payment has been made for this post, and acceptance of items for review does not guarantee positive coverage.

Complementary but not matching

Understanding the meaning and vital importance of 'complementary but not matching' is probably the most difficult part of wearing a pocket square. I'm not sure my own grasp of colour is really up to the task, so I tend to go with 'whatever I happen to think looks nice'.

If I were to post-rationalise this particular outfit choice, I might point out that the pink in the pocket square picks out the pink shirt, while the blue flowers are the same shade as the blue overcheck on the jacket. However, all I really care about is that I found a pocket square with little elephants on, to go with my Oriental Club tie.

Sometimes, that's all that matters.

(Pocket Square is from Thomas Pink, Tie by Dege & Skinner)