Treasured Items... Dapper Kid

The much appreciated art of wardrobe building is not a fast or haphazard activity: instead it is developed and nurtured over time. Now, as you all know, the ever changing pursuit of building the perfect wardrobe is a lifelong one and wholly personal. Of course, there will be the odd irrational purchase or taste questioning gift but over time these and desire will be forgotten and you'll be left with a true indication of your style and a wardrobe of items that perfectly balance need, function and desire. A wardrobe to be savoured and enjoyed is much more than a piece of future housing hanging possessions. Clothing is there to be worn but items should be filled with emotion and narrative. Over the course of the Summer, our fellow blogger dapper kid, found himself disassociated with his own wardrobe and embarked on crafting a new one (more on this endeavour here). After purging ninety five per cent of his possession, dapper kid was left with a core set of things that he actually found some personal value in. A solid core to build on. So, we thought now was the perfect moment to ask him to reveal his most treasured of items...   

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Dapper Kid and the 'Cheeky Monkey' sweater

"The garment in my wardrobe that I cherish most is one that I never actually wear. Not because it is too precious to be worn, but because it is a sweater made for a two year old, which does present slight issues for a six foot frame. It is a bright red acrylic sweater with an image of a yellow primate and the words "Cheeky Monkey" sewn on in the form of a patch. Aside from family photographs and my memory box, it is the only material object I own that I would go out of my way to save from a fire."

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Dapper Kid and the new wardrobe

"In terms of garments that I actually wear, the item I treasure most is perhaps not the most interesting or exciting I own, but it is one I view as marking a personal turning point. The piece is a long black hoody from the first Silent by Damir Doma collection. It serves as a reminder of a feeling and a decision.

I got to a point where I looked at my possessions, and whilst certain garments or objects triggered associated memories, they were in and of themselves entirely meaningless to me. They were garments that were nice enough, but they were not ones I loved. I was not happy with the idea of owning so many things that I could essentially do without, so I got rid of it all. I gave away, donated and sold 95% of my possessions, trying to edit down to a core set of things that I actually found some personal value in. I would rather own only a handful of things that I truly cherish, than a house full of things that are 'nice enough'. The hoody was one of those items I found value in. Even when I stop wearing it I intend to keep it as a reminder to myself that sometimes a little less can be better than a little more." Dapper Kid

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Treasured items... Tommy

Our blog roll is constantly evolving as we discover new favourite reads and bid a fond farewell to the ones which are sadly no longer with us. This is Naive, thankfully, is one which has been an ever present fixture. As stated on the blog itself, Tommy lives in London and she likes the beautiful and the good things. Her pictures and accompanying musings have been a constant source of jealousy and admiration for us and her eye for detail really cannot be overstated. With this in mind, it was only a matter of time before we asked her to to take part in our Treasured items series. Here, she reminds us that is far more pleasant glancing down at a well crafted watch face that tells its own story as well as the time than fishing out a mobile phone...

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Tommy and the Rolex Air King

"My watch, a Rolex Air-King from the 1970s, is one of my treasured items because it is practical and goes with everything I want to wear. It has belonged to others before me but I guess it is mine now. Like many, I believed that phones have made watches irrelevant; I started wearing this watch purely because I like how it looks. After spending some time with the watch, however, I thought I had rediscovered its functional worth: there is something pleasant and polite about keeping time by checking one's wrist rather than fishing for the phone. Perhaps this is still an aesthetic reason. It will be nice to wear the watch on its original bracelet but a bent edge on one of the links gives me a rash whenever I attempt to. Instead I use a dark brown crocodile-embossed leather strap made by Japanese clothing brand, Neighborhood. It is not official Rolex merchandise although it fastens with a vintage Rolex buckle. Last year I cracked the crystal face in an accident involving a ferret and bathroom tiles. Much fretting ensued: I was hunting on the Internet for an exact matching part but decided to go with the Rolex service centre in St. James. Other than the cracked crystal, the watch was diagnosed with water damage and I was recommended a full service. "No, please don't replace the hands or the dial! I really don't need it fresh and shiny!" A bit of negotiation and a few months' wait later, the watch was returned with the cracked crystal face replaced and a new case back to prevent further water damage. Relief! At least it still looks like how I remembered it to be. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the edges of the crystal now seem sharper than the watch in my memory. Oh well! Typically this is the sort of thing that can drive me crazy but I think age has relaxed my once-pedantic nature. After all, the process of using and repairing only brings out the character in a manufactured item. And it is only with the passing of time that we come to understand what we treasure and why."

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Tommy, This is Naive and The Beautiful and the Good

Menswear Day SS12 Illustrated

Just over a week ago I was curled up in front of the computer in a foetal position slowly rocking and talking gibberish about designers and collections to myself in a darkened room. Once more I was overcome by the menswear sights seen and indeed unseen during an extremely hectic and action packed Menswear Day. The entire bulging schedule helped cause a sartorial stir or two whilst collectively flying the flag of great British menswear and tiring us all out out in the process. Over the last few seasons the day has continued to grow and evolve. Now, it close to outgrowing itself as presentations, catwalk shows, both on and off schedule and screenings all celebrated the exciting diversity of menswear design talent which uniquely exists in this capital of ours for SS12.

Now that the dust begins to settle on the day itself and I've suitably recovered from fashion flu, it is time to take another look at the day. Over the coming weeks we will take our time to explore and examine our favourite collections but first we'd like a quick visual reminder. Now, going to the shows is a wonderful experience but looking over catwalk photos afterwards can be a bit mind numbing. So, to help bring the day to life we enlisted the help of recent graduate Anne-Marie Jones (check out her blog if you can) to illustrate our favourite moments from LFW. From Lou Dalton managing to create wearable beauty from the harshness and desperation of the 1984 Miner's Strike and Matthew Bourne's menacing male ensemble in Swan Lake  to Patrick Grant introducing each of his wonderfully cut sportswear clad gentleman in the opulence of The Savoy. From the best MAN show ever to b Store's voyeuristic presentation of their idealised wardrobe of a modern English privileged colonial. There were so many highlights to choose from. After a great deal of thought, we selected our favourite looks and the talented Anne-Marie spent the weekend reimagining them in paint. Let the beauty of the season wash over you...

The immediacy of Anne-Marie's artwork brings back a real sense of each show and captures just why each look was selected. The day might have flashed right before my excited eyes but these moments (in addition to many not illustrated) confirmed how special the day was. If this has whet your appetite for more detail about the collections, prepare for more meatier posts in the coming weeks.  

Style Stalking... Street Peeper

It is at times like this, when we are all a little weary of the goings on of the catwalk, the sight of Street Peeper Phil snapping away at the fashion crowd offers a welcome respite. Now, the mass of street style photographers that pound the streets in search of the stylish is every growing but Phil has been doing it since late 2006. He's a regular on the circuit, frequently awash of print and pastel. His colourful ensembles have the ability to both dazzle and soothe all at the same time. Unfortunately, he is rarely found on the other side of the lens...until now.

On our recent jaunt to Singapore and Tokyo we were joined by the street style veteran and I took full advantage of it in every sense. With Phil as our guide we were able to feed off of his knowledge of the Japanese capital. We gorged ourselves on everything from the finest tonkatsu to the very best designer bargains. However, Phil's need for shopping was exactly that. As he knew nothing of the trip beforehand, this jet setter had ventured to the East straight from a wedding in Mexico and landed clutching the smallest of suitcases. His hand luggage included two pairs of shoes, a shirt or two, two pairs of trousers (one with an increasingly obscene rip on the rear) and very little else. Over the course of his seven days in Tokyo, Phil set about adding to his holiday wardrobe. In addition to consuming all that the city had to offer in terms of both retail and food treats, Phil was there to work. Whilst he shot the stylish folk of Tokyo, I lurked in the shadows and peeped the peeper. Below is a three day style diary and a record of his growing wardrobe. Ordinarily, Phil is quite the talker but when it comes to his style he is surprisingly quiet. Probably because his clothes do the talking for him.

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Day One

Before the real shopping started....

Perks and Mini shirt with white polka dots

SFK camera strap

Comme des Garcons trousers

Cos belt

Happy Socks

Merci Beaucoup shoes

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Day Two

The fruits of the trip to Gotemba and frequent dashes around the various Ragtags on show during a spot of snapping...

Marni Top

Dries trousers

F-Troupe shoes

Lover tote

SFK camera strap

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Day Three

Taking to the streets in yet more bargains...

Comme des Garcons Ganryu top shirt

Peter Jensen purple gingham

Jil Sander trousers

Merci Beaucoup shoes

Tsumori Chisato tote

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Hopefully this three day diary has whet your appetite for more print and colour. All going well we will peep the peeper all over again when he is next in town for fashion week.

Style Stalking... Brandon

It has been a few months since we last lurked in the shadows to partake in a spot of Style Stalking. This seven day diary style feature has become one of the most popular sections of the site and we are constantly on the search for a diverse mix of stylish individuals. After some fruitless outfit voyeurism, we can make up for the barren spell with a real treat. With the help of a few friends, Feigned Perfection's Brandon has captured a full week's worth of his layered ensembles for us to savour.

Brandon is a man who knows how to use colour and play with textures to make truly wonderful, multi faceted outfits. He is someone who knows how to balance vintage, high street and a mix of labels (although, he is a self confessed Issey addict) in such a way that the admiring observer has absolutely no idea where he shops. Now, we could continue to wax lyrical about his style but that would only delay you from the real treat of the upcoming visuals. Without further ado, here's the man himself introducing his diary...

"I couldn't really write an introduction to my own Style Stalking feature, without saying how much of an honour it is to be asked to do this. The following seven days worth of clothing is a snapshot of the schizophrenia that is my style. If you've read my blog, or know me at all; you'll know that there are two things that define the way I present myself: messiness, and layering. I'm not sure if the extent of either of these really translates over the internet, but hopefully some of you won't walk away with the feeling you get after a really intense thrifting experience (I'm talking thrift by the lb. here people). Until doing this, I had no idea how much Issey Miyake and Issey-sub brands are in my regular rotation… I guess I have Issey issues. The good photos were taken by my friends, otherwise the photos were on my fire escape with my timer mode (so apologies for the lack of quality...)"

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Day One - Happy birthday to me!

"My birthday happened to be on a particularly bad week for me so I needed my clothing to bring me up to an appropriate level (or layer… ugh I know, bad) of good spirits. So in that regard, everything I wore was a little nugget of intrigue. From the weird and wrongly worn Undercover jumper (it's really a jumper with a tiny baby sweater going through the stomach. Yeah I told you it was wrong (so wrong it's right?)) to my Grandfathers tuxedo jacket (and Dad's handkerchief as a pocket square). It was also the first outing of my Issey Miyake "Vulcan Parachute" Trenchcoat. From the sci-fi techno fabric with pleated back and elbows, to the way it flies in the wind: this coat a great example of the futuristic vitality of Issey Miyake clothing."

Issey Miyake "Vulcan Parachute" trenchcoat, Grandfathers tuxedo jacket, Pleats Please yellow cardigan (worn upside down), Undercover "Toddler Attached" sweater (worn with my head through the bottom of the toddlers jumper (could this sound anymore f*cked up?), Ivan Grundhal tulle cardigan, Liberty London shirt, Haat printed green trousers, Alejandro Ingelmo Wooster boot/sneaker/wingtips, Issey Miyake organza bow tie, Vintage ugly duckling brooch, Dads handkerchief (pocket square) and Uniqlo socks

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Day Two - College Bored

"I find school can be quite trying for me, despite it being a "fashion" college my aesthetics in both design and choice of clothing tends to be misunderstood. I guess this is a good example of the strange way I think things can go together to make me feel powerful maybe? Definitely cosy and therefore at ease. The photos were taken by Wax of Pop, Bop and Snap, hence they're lovely."

Vintage fringe jacket from London, Opening Ceremony x Pendleton wool suit (with the jacket worn upside down), Ivan Grundhal deconstructed cotton/wool jacket, Haat asymmetric jumper, Kenzo printed shirt, SURevolution belt worn as necklace, Dr Martens metallic boots, Peter Pilotto x Kipling school bag, Ralph Lauren silk scarf wrapped around wrist and a nickel cuff from a friend

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Day Three - Typical Work Day

"Decided to do my version of minimalism today. I recently managed to get a large amount of Pleats Please (Yes I realize I sound a little like an Issey Miyake advertisement) for a song and the sculptural qualities continue to amaze me. This was my first top from the brand and I love the way it clings and bulges in seemingly random ways."

Pleats Please mid sleeve shirt, Paul Smith digital fishing print shirt, Zero + Maria Cornejo fold shorts, Issey Miyake APOC leggings and Alejandro Ingelmo sneakers

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Day Four - Style Like U Book Launch

"Well what can I say? My friends at Style Like U have been working towards this book for a long time, and I was happy. 'nuff said…"

Issey Miyake "future rainforest" biker jacket (The design team traveled to Brazil for this collection and collected actual colour samples as close to real rainforest colours as possible!), Great Grandfathers waistcoat (worn inside out because I think the shredding aging lining is beautiful), Thrifted sheer sweatshirt, Club Monaco floral shirt, Thrifted saturated print skirt, Issey Miyake Fete triangle pleats trousers, Alejandro Ingelmo Woosters, Traditional Mexican scarf, Paul Smith x Lola raffia brooch, Vintage elephant necklace, Rope bracelet from The Brooklyn Flea, same RL scarf and cuff as before and a vintage bag also from The Brooklyn Flea

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Day Five - Another School Day

"Ok so this is a very heavy outfit. Heavy on the heavy, heavy on the earthy warm colours and heavy on the Haat (yes another Issey brand...)."

Issey Miyake APOC cutout jacket, Thrifted Ports 1961 red mohair jacket, Haat african textile dress worn as a jumper, +J blue shirt, Haat folder trousers, well loved Chucks, Haat necklace, Charity Shop tie

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Day Six - Upstate Excursion

"Another outing for one of my favorite jackets, visiting the real world of Upstate New York. Wore a hoodie to fit in more… This is my version of practicality: Boots, shorts 'n leggings (for movement), flannel, you get the picture. The photos were taken by my friend Autumn Seguin of The Memory Mine."

Issey Miyake APOC cutout jacket, Random hoodie, Uniqlo flannel shirt, Uniqlo Henley, Zero + Maria Corenjo fold shorts, +J leggings, Yohji Yamamoto x Dr Martens, Vintage Dooney & Bourke bag

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Day Seven - Supermarket Sweeper

"Yes. This really is what I wear to grocery shop."

Cos zipper sweater, Richard Chai cashmere sweater, Thrifted flannel shirt, Haat skirt, Thrifted Laura Ashley skirt, Margiela sneaker sandals, Pierre-Louis Mascia scarf, Guatemalan cross-body bag.

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Collections: Jason Dike's Coats

Everyone's obsessed with something and our Collections series highlight a few of our favourites. Today, we explore Jason Dike's coat addiction. Now, Jason is a stylish chap who tends to avoid the limelight, preferring instead to focus on unearthing well crafted menswear labels from across the globe or featuring the latest product releases from our favourite brands for Selectism, Gentleman's Corner and Esquire. Whenever we see him around town, we never fail to admire his coat so we invited ourselves around to Casa de Menswear (Jason shares a flat with Daniel Jenkins) to rummage through his collection. Below is an introduction from the man himself followed by plenty of coat shots and we take a closer look at a few of his favourites...

"Before I was asked to take part in this post I didn't think I had that many coats. In fact, up until I was in conversation with someone who was lamenting their coat addiction (they had 12, at that point I had 15 and thought that wasn't enough) that I realised it. I'm now at 17 (and that's not counting the coats in storage) and I still think that isn't enough. What I like about coats is that they're the easiest way to change an outfit, put on a field blazer and you're instantly sharper, put on a varsity jacket and you're instantly sporty. I could prattle on, but put it this way: I'm a lazy dresser who prefers putting his clothes on and forgetting about them, so a good coat is an essential."

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Jason's collection currently stands at seventeen coats and he still wants more! We decided to cover his bed with a handful at a time before taking a few detail shots...

Now, having offered a cross section of his collection, we could not resist taking a look at how he wears a few of his favourites and to learn the stories behind them. What follows are his descriptions of seven of his well loved treasures...

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The one that makes an impression

Stutterheim coat, SNS Herning Cardigan, vintage shirt, APC Jeans

I've needed a raincoat for the longest time, so when the opportunity came to get this Stutterheim coat I couldn't turn it down. It's extremely white, but I like that about it. And it's properly waterproof so I can just throw this on when it starts chucking it down. I didn't know it, but it looks like I've always wanted to subconsciously look like a stylish lab technician.

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The one that's a trusted favourite

Lou Dalton Coat, COS Jumper, vintage shirt, APC Jeans

I got this a while back after raving about it in Selectism (this will be a recurring theme in this post) and deciding I needed one for myself. When I first got I wore it just about every day and I liked when people's expressions went from 'what's that coat, it's amazing!' to 'oh god he's wearing that coat again' after seeing me a few times in a row. I'm also pretty sure Lou Dalton did a double take of me when she saw me wearing it one time, which must be a weird moment for designers. It's one of my favourites, mainly because I can wear it with several things in my wardrobe with little thought (like I said, I'm a lazy dresser).

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The one that's worn all the time

APC Parka, Levi's Vintage denim jacket. COS Jumper, vintage shirt, Norsea Denim

Remember what I said about recurring themes? I also raved about this coat on Selectism and promptly forgot about it. Then sales season came around and I found this one in Liberty for an absolutely ridiculous price. And, seeing as there was nearly a full rack of them, I'm sure no one loved the colour purple as much as I do. Their loss, I got this for a steal and haven't looked back since. It's great for wearing in the spring with just a shirt and good enough to wear with multiple layers like I'm doing in this shot.


As for the denim jacket, I've wanted a well worn one for a while. I've been searching but the colour's usually a bit too dark for my liking, so I gave them a miss. It took a while but I finally got one from Beyond Retro when I bumped into Jason Jules and he pointed out some big E numbers. I'm not gonna turn down sage advice, so I bought one of them.

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The one that helps me look a bit sharp

Casely-Hayford for John Lewis Field Blazer, Uniqlo white oxford, COS chunky knit, APC denim

Despite having umpteen coats, to date I only have one blazer, a corduroy number that needs tailoring. Luckily I managed to get hold of this CH for JL number and it's now the easiest (and only) way for me to look sharp. The smart blazer is such an exact science that I've been putting it off until I can really afford it but this fits supremely well. It leaves just the right amount of cuff, fits well on the shoulders and isn't restrictive when buttoned up.

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The one that's very, very, very warm

And-I Peacoat, Howlin for Morrison Fair Isle jumper, White Uniqlo shirt, APC Denim

Writing for the outlets I do means that I use terms like 'essential' far more than needed. But a good warm winter coat is an essential, or staple if you wanna rack up the fashion cliches. This one's from And-I and it's ridiculously warm - I don't think I can overstate this. I can only wear it from late November to January (and I'll still sweat on the underground) and the rest of the time it lays in hibernation. The pocket in the back and random button up top is what makes this special.

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The newest one

Vintage coat, Howlin by Morrison fair isle jumper, White Uniqlo shirt, APC denim

This is my newest purchase and I like it because I don't know what it is. It looks like it started life as a bomber and someone decided to extend it into a longish coat with a shawl collar and ribbed cuffs. Whatever it is, it looks nice and fit me straight off the rack. I just have to work on getting rid of the vintage funk smell and it'll be good to go.

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