BESPOKE BLACK AND WHITE SHOES
GEORGE CLEVERLEY & CO.

Great shoes must have two characteristics: lightness and elegance. And no shoes are greater than those made by George Cleverley & Co. My admiration for the bespoke footwear which leaves the firm’s shop in the Royal Arcade, just off London’s Bond Street, knows no bounds. That is because I admire skill, dedication and fine workmanship, and these qualities are crammed so tightly into this little place that it must surely one day burst at the seams. And I love that which is light and elegant. One day the thought came to me – I shall attribute it to Divine Revelation – that I should devise a pair of shoes which would be the perfect expression of all that is wonderful about Cleverley. This pair of shoes would be a work of art, as well as being entirely practical and – it goes without saying – wonderfully made. Thus did Providence lead me to the idea of bespoke black and white shoes.

Please click here to read more

BESPOKE DINNER SUITS
BESPOKE TUXEDO
HENRY POOLE & CO

For my new dinner suit, it was only right that I should go to the Original Source. 150 years ago, Edward, Prince of Wales, decided that he wanted a short, celestial blue evening coat, which he could wear for informal dinners at Sandringham. The Prince liked his role as both an innovator and an arbiter in matters of gentlemen’s dress. Having had his idea, he knew exactly to whom he should turn – his tailor and friend, Henry Poole. The garment was duly made, and from this royal prototype was developed what Englishmen now call the dinner jacket and what our American cousins call the tuxedo. It seemed to me therefore both an historical and a sartorial imperative that my new black tie should be made by the Prince’s tailors, Henry Poole & Co.

Please click here to read more

EAUX DE COLOGNE
ASKETT & ENGLISH

We are told that the olfactory sense is enormously important to our sense of well-being. This is one message from the ‘experts’ which I am ready to believe. After all, it is clearly true that, unless we smell a good wine, the pleasure of drinking it is immeasurably reduced. And nasty smells are at least as significant as good ones. It seems therefore incumbent upon me to address the sensitive subject of a gentleman’s aroma. Mercifully, I need not concern myself with the more delicate areas of a gentleman’s toilet. But I have been asked more than once to offer advice about his eau de Cologne. Its importance is without question. The wrong choice of eau de Cologne, and the consequent suggestion of vulgarity and bad taste, will have a most deleterious effect upon the impression a gentleman makes in his everyday encounters. It is therefore with relief, dear Reader, that I am able to recommend to you the Eaux de Cologne of Askett & English, which I first encountered in the emporia of the excellent shirt-makers, Harvie & Hudson (hence the photograph).

Please click here to read more