The blue hat... Portobello

Jewellery: Love2have

Rings seem to be the most popular type of men's jewellery. I suppose this is probably because by their nature they are normally quite plain and subdued (not that this is a necessity, but more showy rings seems to be left for the ladies). The only piece of jewellery that Steve wears, as he has said, is a plain silver band that I bought him once.

Hammered silver ring with gold inlay, £115

It was while I was searching for interesting men's rings that I came across Love2have. Pants name, but some really nice looking stuff. Forgive me if my choices are all variations on a theme, but hope you'll agree that it is a rather lovely theme.

While I think of it, a note for those who are ring averse and think that they'd be annoying to wear: I thought the exact same thing when I was given a ring for my 18th birthday, but by the time I'd worn it for a week it just felt wrong NOT to be wearing it... you get used to it surprisingly easily.

Bits I like:
- Black Rhodium Finish Stingray Ring, £115 (part of their goth collection apparently)

- Brick work ring, £140

- Wide slate silver ring, £89.50 (it's the little details that make the difference)

- Biker Tyre Tread Zirconium Ring, £150 (I think this falls into the awesome or awful category... maybe a bit expensive for something that, for me at least, is a bit of a gimmicky piece)

Selfridges, Oxford Street...London

Jewellery: Tatty Devine

I really like Tatty Devine: bold, often funny designs that could be worn by a woman or a man. Many of their brooches could be used to liven up a suit or to add a bit of humour and interest to a more casual outfit.

The volume knob brooches above (£24 each) are pretty typical of their stuff- and who hasn't wished that a particularly noisy friend had one of these? I like how they come in such a wide range of colours too.

The special range they've done for the Gilbert and George exhibition at the de Young museum in San Fransisco is especially good. Attached to your jacket you could use this brooch as a subtle way to test out potential friends, perhaps? (and you could always pretend it's Morcambe and Wise!)
Other bits I like:

- Jarv Specs necklace, £35 (great for channelling one of our favourite gents)

- Undone bow tie necklace, £23 (would look great with a shirt)

- Price ticket cufflinks, £24 (funny and sweet)

- Artist's moustache necklace, £23 (for those of you that are unwilling or unable to grow your own)

Working Class Hero

One of the best known and much loved tailors Doug Hayward died recently and I found out whilst tucking into my Pepe's Breakfast Special (4 pieces of bread, three slices of bacon, two eggs, fries and beans), and reading the Guardian obituaries, I think this is pretty apt for the working class tailor.

Doug Hayward was one of the sartorial wizards to emerge in 1960s swinging London. From his tailoring premises at 95 Mount Street, Mayfair, he brought a new personality to the serious man's attire, instilling the traditional English style with a dash of Italian flair. Hayward's distinctive style was born from a working class childhood, watching his Dad transform from hardworking, week long grubby overalls metamorphosed on a Friday night into THE SUIT, which of course was perfectly pressed. Hayward advocated that a well cut suit can transform a man. He upheld the centuries old British tradition in which male style ascends, and transcends, classes.

His clients included included Michael Caine, Terence Stamp, Peter Sellers, Tony Bennett, John Gielgud, Rex Harrison and Michael Parkinson. When Roger Moore played James Bond, his suits were by Doug Hayward; as were Clint Eastwood's in many of his films. However, his clients weren't just celebrities, he also attracted City workers who wanted something different from Savile Row through his doors on Mount Street.

Hayward provided a model for Harry Pendel, the principal character in John Le Carré's Tailor Of Panama. In the book's acknowledgments, Le Carré writes: "Doug Hayward of Mount Street allowed me my first misty glimpse of Harry Pendel." (In the 2001 movie adaptation which starred Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush played the character).

I was a little sad over my fried breakfast after reading this news...

Picture Postcard: Dear Dev

Dear Dev

I have been a fan of you for sometime, you first caught my attention when you were one third of the 'joke band turned quite good' that was Test Icicles, I even bought one of your t shirts. I liked the fact that on the band's split you were honest enough to say "we were never, ever that keen on the music. I understand that people liked it, but we personally, er, didn't." There was something about you that I liked, you were definitely the only person in the band who could actually sing but you also had stage presence and a great style. I think I first saw you in the pages of Dazed & Confused in a shoot within the doors of Bardens Bourdoir and you instantly captured my attention and imagination.

Now you are Lightspeed Champion and have a fans in both myself and EJ (who is going to see you tonight!). We would love to run an interview with you and go through your style references. There can be little doubt that you are heavily influenced by Weezer in your music but who influences your personal style, where do you shop? Stop posing in photos for the Facehunter (although it does brighten up the site from the usual dullness of under dressed, underage girls) and come do an interview with us at Style Salvage!

For those of you unfamiliar with Dev and his present musical guise Lightspeed Champion, check out the below performance where he is sporting an awesome combination of plaid, puffa and fur hat.

Steve

Jewellery: Topman

Continuing the idea of men's jewellery, I thought that I'd look to the high street. Topman's pretty hit and miss when it comes to... well, everything I suppose, but jewellery in particular. Still, it's normally a pretty good place to pick up a cheap trinket or two to add interest to an outfit. The jewellery itself may not be an heirloom piece, but the price is normally right. I would normally wait for sales though, as stuff routinely is reduced to £1. The above necklace is currently selling for £8.

Other bits I like right now:

- Black sunglasses necklace, £10 (I'd probably wait for the sales for this one)

- Silver look sunglasses brooch, £6 (clearly sunglasses are in!)

- Wood/Silver look stripe ring, £8 (I suspect this looks nicer in person than in the pic)

I'm going to be looking at some slightly more expensive, but still relatively reasonable, pieces tomorrow.

Hey EJ, I'm so pleased that you have set forth and begun to explore the (slightly dangerous) territory of men's jewellery. I rarely find myself excited by menswear jewellery...I'm very boring when it come down to it, I like simple pieces...very much like the solid silver ring which you bought me for my 21st (I think, I'm terrible when it comes to time) which still adorns the middle finger of my right hand and is the only piece of jewellery I constantly wear. I like the idea of sunglasses and jewellery, I saw a cool necklace made from four Aviator lenses...it looked damn cool and I would happily sport something similar. I'm old fashioned when it comes to men's jewellery but as always I'm interested by what you find and will listen (and ultimately follow, your suggestion). Keep up the good work partner...

Simon Doonan at Selfridges...

I was on my lunch break, browsing Selfridges bookshop and who did I bump into? Mr Simon Doonan! Looking great as usual in his signature ditsy floral shirt and a great velvet jacket. He was signing his new book, The Beautiful People.

Hyeres - Top 5

The regular readers out there might have noticed that I can be little impatient/lazy and this forces me to take short cuts in some of my exploits, but on the majority of occasions rather than being shoddy the fruits of my quick burst of labour usually work. It works here. Many bloggers out there have been far more proactive than me when it comes to posting about Hyeres...I personally love how Susie Bubble has posted on the event, her eyes are my eyes... of course the Sartorialist captures some great images as well; there were plenty of people to snap but some of his choices surprised but as always impressed me... being a French festival there were plenty of French bloggers there, the pick of the bunch being Garance Doré, punky b and Cafe Mode. Without a further ado, here are my top 5 Hyeres moments:

1 - The Villa Noailles itself.

It is a beautifully modern building located on a mountain top with fabulous views of the city below. The drive up there might have been a little frightening (I rented a car, a nippy Citroen C3 - so I was the official driver of the event) but once there it was well worth it. The building, gardens and views are all breathtaking and it was the perfect place to chillax for most of the day reading Nico and a selection of other fashion magazines before wandering around the grounds and admiring the exhibitions.

The main garden where we sat, read and caught the sun

2 - Meeting the Sartorialist

OK - I admit it I didn't take this shot....I was far too scared to ask the great man for a photo - the image comes courtesy of A Shaded View.

After spending much of my time at the festival waiting to spot the Sart, I bumped into him at the party on the last night. He isn't at his most comfortable at parties, he certainly isn't a Facehunter, but we talked about his makeover post, why he wanted to do it and of course the furore which followed. He wanted to do it because, well he wanted to do it, his experience goes much further than taking snaps of people and the opportunity itself arose. He was a little surprised by the level of negativity on the post, it was the times that his readers had attacked him personally but he stood by what he wanted to do. You have to admire that. The overall feeling I took away after meeting him was that he knows what he wants and he stands by what he does and doesn't want to be pigeonholed by people- if they don't like it they don't have to read the blog.

3 - People watching

I'm afraid that much of my people watching was just that, watching...I didn't have the balls to ask for a photo. I think myself and Thomas from the Sunday Best need to sign up to Street Style Photography masterclasses. The most memorable person was a chap from Madrid who sported a clash of floral patterns...he certainly had the gaze of most of the people in and around the garden.

I really shouldn't like this in any capacity but I think under the sunshine of the South of France, the clash of florals worked for me.

The majority of people on show were well dressed, I saw quite a few pairs of the Pierre Hardy Hi tops which we featured back in November, a few pairs of Raf Simon shades, a few Slimane Dior Homme suit jackets but there was a lot of people dressed all in black or very casually...I'm making excuses for myself...I should have been more snap happy. I'm sorry readers!

4 - Melvin Sarkozy photography exhibition.

The images were quite astounding. The only negative was the room in which they were hung was pretty much a greenhouse, but as my eyes were melting I was happy that these photos were probably going to be the last things that I ever so (NB fortunately my eyes didn't actually melt). The photographs themselves are timeless, a masterclass of techniques and eye. Interestingly though, the man himself didn't see himself as a Fashion Photograper... he was interested in the clothing only for producing a powerful shot.

5 - Eric Lebon room

This was my pick of the fashion exhibitions. Lebon is a Hyeres graduate (but not a winner) and is a self taught designer who mixes the cultures of hip hop with more traditional notions of menswear. The room was full on wonderful pieces which I would welcome into my wardrobe... none more so that the bag shown below...

Portobello couple on a sunny afternoon

We love this couple's look. Their denim, distressed and not, look so fresh and American classic...