AreYouMod.co.uk

Wrap up cold, cos it's warm outside...

31/1/2016

Some hectic patterns over at a little-known site called modernclassicclothing.co.uk - check them out.

I also very much like their slogan "Watch the Cloth" - very Mod. Number of times I've had to get someone to back off because they're all over my gear...

And they're still coming in a bit cheaper than old Peckham Rye ...

Square toes vs round toes

29/1/2016

This is a very simple choice. Faced with the option of either a square toed shoe and a round toed shoe, I will select the round toe every time.

Of course, it’s good to know that healthy variations exist, but I simply cannot imagine myself wearing square toes. When I cast my eye down to my feet when I do, it looks as if they have been sawn off at the ends in some horrendous chainsaw injury. The sharp and abrupt ending to an otherwise perfectly fine shoe just seems inelegant and ugly.

Anyway, just an opinion.

Exquisite shoes for the exquisite gentleman...

28/1/2016

The Churchill JACKET: Harrington's finest hour?

25/1/2016

Churchill FLY53 Harrington Jacket (Atom Retro, £64.99) 

The merits of a shirt bar

21/1/2016

"If ITailor is cooking at home, Ben Sherman’s shirt bar is the restaurant experience of the Mod world."

As anyone who regularly reads this blog will know, I am enthusiastically in favour of the customisable clothing website iTailor. The ability to design your own shirts (and shoes, suits and ties) with the site’s easy-to-use tools is an incredible opportunity for any Mod to boost their wardrobe for a very reasonable price. The fact that garments take a month or so to arrive by post can be a downside, especially when ordering for Christmas as I discovered recently, but my experience has nonetheless been a positive one.

Why then would I need Ben Sherman’s shirt bar? If everything I can think of (literally) can be built in the iTailor online shop, why bother parting with cash for a high-street brand?

The reason is the same one that explains why people go to restaurants for dinner. It would be cheaper to eat at home every evening and you can certainly cook a wide range of recipes with the ingredients from your local supermarket.

Yet, going out for dinner is fun. The effort of gathering ingredients, of cooking, and of processing, is taken away and my meal is served by waiting staff, usually within half an hour of my ordering it. Depending on where I eat out of course, the food is presented to a high standard and tastes delicious. In addition, I’d probably go with friends and soak up the social atmosphere, fully examining the entire menu before selecting my dish.

Confronted with a fridge of meat and vegetables, even for a seasoned chef. it can be difficult to know how to be original and keep your home cooking fresh. Similarly, for the seasoned iTailor customer, it is sometimes possible to look over the endless lists of tailoring options and yet somehow end up designing the same shirt over and over with only tiny variations.

If iTailor is cooking at home, Ben Sherman’s shirt bar is the restaurant experience of the Mod world. It is the treat of letting someone else do the creative work for you and you choosing from their sumptuous menu of exquisite garments a combination of designs that you would never have thought to put together. It might be a bit more expensive, but the prospect of finding something totally fresh and original on those shelves is always alluring...

Discussion topic

21/1/2016

DNA Groove's "Taormina75":

What do we think of this?

Obviously as a Mod, I am inclined always against anything other than pointed-collar button-down shirts.

But it does actually have an oddly elegant quality despite the rounded penny collar and paperclip-esque collar pin.

Also I'm not sure about the combined stripes thing.

Perhaps it does work - would explain why DNA Groove have sold out of them!

Cut the BS, BS: why I can’t buy a suit from Ben Sherman

19/1/2016

Ben Sherman is great. It’s an established, classic British and, of course, Mod brand selling some pretty sound stuff. It might now be owned by a bunch of corp suits, but their flagship shops still stay (largely) true to their heritage. There was a slight wobble in the 2000s, but since then I find myself walking into their shops more and more whenever I happen to go past. The knitwear section is stocked full of smart jumpers of all shades. They’re selling some pretty natty Crombie-style coats. The Shirt Bar is an inspirational triumph.

But I can’t buy a suit there.

This is the fundamental flaw with BS which they never in my lifetime have ever quite corrected. The creative variety in their suit fabrics is excellent. There are pinstriped suits, check suits, grey, blue and even brown tweed. Yet if you look at all of them, not one draws from the three-button Mod tradition. They are almost always two-buttoned (with low lapels), or in some cases one-buttoned, and they often come in three pieces. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but waistcoats have never been part of the Mod look. Shiny-backed or not, they usually just make you look like a waiter. For a brand of such strong heritage, I find it disappointing that it doesn’t seem to be able to make even a nod to its traditional style. Just a single, sharp, black three-buttoned two-piece would be excellent if done well. Combined with the exceptional shirts and strong knitwear, it’d also make BS a one-stop-shop for all of a man’s clothing requirements.

I’d snap one up in a trice if it was available, but for people who want to stick firmly to the style, Ben Sherman just isn’t an option.

Harrington: The full spectrum

15/1/2016

Baracuta's G9 Harrington (£279)

I knew Baracuta did some strong riffs on the traditional Harrington, but until now I was never aware of quite how wide their range was.

They can be a bit pricey, but let's be honest - in this situation I think their sheer coverage (e.g. brown, army green, etc.) makes it worthwhile if you're looking for a rare twist on an original jacket.

Couple of classics from Pretty Green...

14/1/2016

SS blue Tanfield penny collar polo £24 [was £30!] (Pretty Green)

Black cord jacket Lennon £95 (Pretty Green)

Couple of classics here from the Gallagher's gaff
discounted at the moment so get in there quick...

*Actually the jacket isn't on discount... I just want one...

A spring look

11/1/2016

Riffing on a potential look for 2016...

Pastel blue Oxford shirt (Ben Sherman, £55)

Grey / caramel check trousers (Mendoza, £160)

Black Winsfords (Barkers, £185)

on the twelfth day of Xmas, my true love sent to me...

5/1/2016

A pair of "Northcote" black shoes (incredible) (Barkers, £210)

On the eleventh day of Xmas, my true love sent to me...

4/1/2016

A grey check overcoat straight from Crombie themselves (£650!)

On the tenth day of Xmas, my true love sent to me...

3/1/2016

An Italian-style, long-collar shirt from DNA Groove (€ 65)

On the ninth day of Xmas, my true love sent to me...

2/1/2016

A pair of dark brown dogtooth trousers (Jump The Gun, £65)

On the eighth day of Xmas, my true love sent to me...

1/1/2016

A pair of burgundy "Winsford" Oxfords (Barkers, £185)