Making Life more Beautiful
Apparently corduroy started life as a type of Fustian. I remember clearly reading about both fabrics in one of my GCE O level books, The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy. The man was of fine figure, swarthy, and stern … Continued
When I was taught the rudiments of traditional tailoring at college we were told that this was quite different from “soft tailoring”. I am not sure this word is still used much to describe the difference between proper tailoring and … Continued
In order to inspire myself to sew menswear I have been considering who my style icons are. Here are a few men who I think dress well, whatever the period. Arthur Miller Frank Sinatra James Dean Sean Connery Steve McQueen … Continued
Last weekend we went to see the Picasso Portraits exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Nick and I love Picasso, believing him to be the greatest artist of the 20th Century. We have seen his work in Spain … Continued
Maybe the suit is no longer required in many workplaces. That could be just the reason to wear one. A nice suit can be very flattering on a man, and often makes him look both taller and slimmer. Trousers with a … Continued
Last month the world’s leading bank wrote to all its employees telling them that they no longer needed to wear a suit. The sort of “business casual” clothes they had been wearing on Fridays were now OK for every day … Continued
Governor of the Bank of England, and well-known Canadian, Mark Carney has a reputation for dressing well. Also, if I tell the truth, I find him rather attractive. He has been doing his best to suggest that we should stay … Continued
Nearly two years ago I wrote about how Hillary Clinton and Angela Merkel were enamoured with the dumpy-frumpy pant suit. But while trousers are the ultimate practical outfit Hillary looks awful in a these dated trousers, matching suit jacket and … Continued
Andre Courreges died last month at the ripe old age of 92. Although he kept designing throughout the 70s and 80s, he never again achieved the same sense of having spoken, in clothes, for the moment. This image, I think … Continued
I can’t say I am a great fan of remodelling existing outfits. I had a go last year as part of the SWAP contest, and was pretty underwhelmed with it. It took forever to reclaim the fabric and then I didn’t … Continued