Sample Sale Success

It can't have escaped your notice that London Fashion Week has just been. Menswear day is going from strength to strength, and that's down to a crop of talented young designers who create wearable but directional fashion, and are developing and pushing their styling into new arenas each year. Topman's Lens project has been instrumental in this, giving the big-name support and distribution to a select crop each year. One of the current darlings of both of these forums is Carolyn Massey. Her bold knitwear and shirting is complemented with neatly tailored pleat-front trousers and coats that the London mens fashion blogs just can't get enough of. So I was rather thrilled when I checked my Twitterfeed and found out that she was having a sample sale, on the day that was to be my first day of freelancing. I decided that a quick trip over to her Mare St. studios to see if there was anything worth picking up would be a nice escape from the land of email. And boy was I right. Turns out I was the first person to arrive today, the second day of the sale, and was presented with a rack of tailoring, knitwear and woollen accessories at the kind of price point that a newly-freelance hack could get on board with. I tried on a few shorts, but eventually fell for this red cashmere number. Obviously, it's a slim-fitting red cashmere jumper, but the two strips of material sewn around the collar give it a new dimension. Kind of a feminine, pussy-bow (is there a less masculine sounding thing) vibe, but with such a basic garment in such a simple colour, it somehow achieves the opposite. Like a famous Athena poster, it somehow transcends boundaries. Having worn it all day, it now seems like the most natural thing to have on a jumper. With the great addition that my neck has been warm, but never TOO warm. Am a big fan, and I'll be storing this one much more carefully than my other pullovers that the bloody moths got - if I ever take it off! Oh yeah, best thing: Original price £240; price to the Staple £20. Only through Twitter...Other Staples this week:
Sample sale Carolyn Massey knitwear (also bagged a 'scarfaclava')
Embracing the freelance lifestyle
Resoling my shoes
Notion Magazine
Following LFW coverage via Twitter and blogs
The end of Winter
Chocolate brownies from Boradway Market

Cardigans Of Suspicious-perfection

It's been awhile, but I'm back to the blog. And with a double whammy, it's back with a bang. Amongst other things, I've been thinking what constitutes a Staple; it's always been very much about personal recommendations on places to go, things to see, clothes to buy, but from a clothes point of view (which has always been this blog's main focus) a wardrobe Staple is something a little more simple. For men, we're talking a suit (or 2), white shirts, smart dark trousers, smart black shoes, a good pair of selvedge denim, classic white (and black) tshirts, a quality bag and white Converse Chuck Taylors. I'd add a cashmere jumper, a Mackintosh, a Harrington and some killer ties to that, but anything extra is a matter of taste or necessity.
Until recently, if you were after perfect, classic versions of any of these, it entailed trips to practically all strata of retailers; however, the opening of Cos has created a place where all these Staples can be found - affordably - under one roof. When you go in, it can be difficult to get excited about rails of colour-coordinated knits and tees, seemingly fairly plain clothes with the odd splash of colour, but the little details and unusual but never showy cuts are what sets them apart as an excellent purveyor - and the first in my series of recommendations - of Staple Shops. I dropped in a week ago, after hearing through Twitter about a 20% off evening. I'd had my eye on a grey three-button wool jacket with narrow lapels and patch pockets, in a boxy but sleek cut, which seemed like the perfect Autumnal transition piece for some weeks, and decided that 20% off was a bargain too good to miss. However, on trying it on for the eighth time, I realised, rather unchacteristically, that I didn't actually NEED a jacket (damn you, credit crunch) and reluctantly left it on the hanger.
What I did need was a simple, grey, thin-knit cardigan (despite already owning 2 other grey cardis). As is so often the case, the simple the request, the more difficult the search. Even Uniqlo didn't seem to have the right combo of material/buttons and cut, and Reiss was outlandishly expensive. Cos, on the other hand, provided. The cardigan I picked up is 100% wool, slim-fitting and understated, but the unusual asymmetric detail on the hem marks it out as something a little different. As I explained to Mat from Buckets & Spades, Cos seems to have that Acne-esque Swedish simplicity down to a T, but at half the price. As a result, I've worn this cardigan more or less constantly since the purchase, proving inescapably its Staple-worthiness. And judging by the crowd at the 20% off evening, I'm not the only man with a vague interest in clothes who's discovered this. Anyway, a mini-selection of Staples that have been rocking my world since the last post:
Cos knitwear
DreamSequins postcard swap
Bestival & In the Woods festival
Johan Agebjörn's mix for FACT magazine
Countryside walking in Surrey
My gorgeous new red MBK racing bike
Lewis Crofts' 'The Pornographer of Vienna'

Scarf Ace

So the cold is most definitely here. And, as with previous winters, I have been combatting the freezing mornings by wrapping myself in scarves. I’ve got many, but the ones I go back to in this sort of weather are, unsurprisingly, weighty, woolly and warm. This one is a current favourite. The electric blue stripes inject a little colour into what is otherwise a monochromatic piece. Also, it's very long and very thick, which means you can really bury your chin into it on a cold day and it wraps around the neck twice. I'm wearing my scarves more loosely this year, just wrapped once and billowing in the bitter wind, rather than tied into a half-knot. While it does get a little warm on the tube, the resulting fug keeps you warm owhen you get out. The lambswool itself has also gone quite bobbly now, but I've since decided that this is a nice antidote to a smart coat, and makes the texture more noticeable and a little worn. The weight of this scarf also means I can wear lighter coats, or as with today, a velvet blazer and still get feel toasty. Despite the Guardian's rejection of scarves in last week's Measure, they're still an absolute Staple for me; a reminder of Paris and the best way to keep warm this - and every - Winter. Other Staples this week:
Woolly scarves
The King's Head pub on Upper Street and it's brilliant funk night on Wednesday
M&S Extremely chocolatey Mini Rings
Matter at the O2
Shane Meadows' film This Is England
Vans slip-ons
The Cribs album 'Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever'

Wrists of Fury

They don't look much do they? But I've been meaning to blog properly about these little beauties for months now, as they're just about the only things that have been everywhere with me over the winter. I originally found them in the Brora catalogue - a favourite of my Mum's - way back in September, but it took me a while to actually get to the delightful shop on that centre of civility, London's Marylebone High St. As a man with oddly lengthy limbs (my friends call them the 'Long Arms of the Law'), these seemed the perfect thing for when coats, jumpers and shirts don't quite fit properly. This is virtually all of my long-sleeved items, but as I don't have the money to go bespoke, I have generally made do with rolling up my sleeves. From purchase day, I have worn them probably 90% of the times I've stepped out of the house, the other 10% being when they were in my bag. The mid-grey colour happily sits alongside any other colour (except perhaps light grey); the cashmere is soft yet durable and they are flexible enough for me to wear just around my wrists (which I'm certain I've seen at some fringe menswear show in AW07) or for me to retract my entire hands into. They also make convenient Oyster/entrycard holders. They are utterly functional: unlike gloves, I can do up my coat or use a mobile communications device when wearing these, and they can be rolled down away from my hands when they get a little too warm. I know winter's drawing to a close (I'm on the lookout for a transition coat; Topman's crimson double-breasted mac has my vote so far) but I can't recommend these wristwarmers highly enough; in fact I've been extolling their virtues to just about everyone I meet - so much so that many of my friends have invested, and my Mum now has a pair of rather fetching grape-coloured ones. Like Mum, like Son. So thanks Mum for, well, everything; but in this case for some sartorial inspiration and an absolute Staple. Other Staples this week:
Cashmere wristwarmers
The choral music of Mäntyjärvi, as performed by my friend Jen
Topman's double-breasted crimson mac
Jens Lekman's fantastic album 'Night Falles over Kortedala'
Having a weekend back in your home town
My Godfather's inaugural lecture at SOAS
Jumbo records in Leeds and their lovely staff

Mister Lister

"You don't get anything done without a list." The sage words of my Dad to me as I explained that I'd spent the weekend having a constructive time doing little jobs I'd been intending to do for ages. And he's so right. In order to remember things, I have to have lists - for work, for music, for clothes, for stuff - it helps me to organise and make things happen. I carry a notebook everywhere (this one's almost over; there's a much nicer Moleskine on standby), both to remind me and to store more things on. Not only does this mean that I can always remember what I need to, but it means I never walk into a record store without getting something I actually want, rather than a hasty impulse buy (impulse buys are great, but must be curbed this year), and the lists also force me to do more difficult stuff that I'd rather put off so I have the satisfaction of crossing it off the list. The most useful part of listing is that once it's been written down, the information is sorted on the list and not in my head, leaving me free to write, have fun and generally daydream until I feel the need to be useful. I know this sort of anal listing malarkey won't work for everyone, but the idea of being organised and motivated is essential to having a good time; it is a Staple in that it takes care of the essentials; essentials we will all have to do in the first week of the 'New Year, New You' self-help bollocks stage of the year where everyone has good intentions. And while you might not get anything done without a list, with one you'll certainly have more time to do what you want. Happy New Year! Other Staples this week include:
A listbook
Short-sleeved knitwear from the B store sale, (preparing for SS08)
Waitrose
'Pyongyang' by Guy Delisle
Lancashire cheese
M&S socks and underwear
Short hair