With spring catching in the air, Style Council fans will know it’s just about time to go out and buy a new French nautical-style top. Even if you don’t have a private yacht to show off on (blazers, white trousers and caps optional).

As one would expect from a glorious, vibrant community culture, there are a vast array of different places to get your Breton for this season. And  indeed, a vast array of Bretons to choose from! Whether you want long-sleeved or short-sleeved, jumper or t-shirt or indeed, a dazzling rainbow of different styles and colours, we’ve got all the samples you need to whet your appetite right here.

1. JTG’s pink and navy (£95)
Starting with a bang from the guys down in Brighton. Great colours, traditional heavy look and I especially like the buttons on the shoulder and long sleeves. It is however the most expensive of today's set.

2. JTG’s grey and navy (£95)
Slightly subtler version of the pink number and probably more my style. Again, good attention to detail on the shoulder buttons and long sleeves.

3. Pellicano’s short sleever (£37)
Pellicano’s take on the classic Breton with short sleeves. Pellicano are known to be quite pricey, but they’ve done well here and this isn’t much more expensive than a polo.

 4. Pellicano’s long sleever (£46)
Again, a take on the traditional Breton, now with long sleeves. For those collectors out there, they also stock a second variant where the dark stripe dominates.

5. Levis (via Atom Retro) red and white (£49)
Probably the lightest of the bunch here - effectively a t-shirt from Levis with red stripes - a more mainstream take on the Breton.

6. Cookley Luke 1977 (via Atom Retro) navy and white (£56)
A distinctive twist on the original, the Cookley Bretons have piping of a particular colour around the neck (in this case, blue), brightening up the traditional striped pattern. I think they also do a red version.

Now, readers of this blog will know that I’ve not always been the biggest fan of Pellicano. I won’t go into the details here, but my main criticism has essentially been that they are very expensive for the ordinary Joe (or at least, me). There’s no doubt the quality is there - this has never been my criticism. But when it comes to acknowledging the traditional working class roots of Mod, this almost haute-couture, luxurious and slightly elitist pitch seems a little contradictory.

Anyway, this aside, they have come up trumps (no connection) with some of their new arrivals. Usually, Pellicano put out a plain-colour shirt or two, commonly blue, white or pink. These are usually very elegant, but not something one can’t find elsewhere. Now, they offer a very smart black and white striped number (well-named “Geno”). 

Click the pics above if you want to check it out, but this is a winner in my book. I've always thought creativity in design should be rewarded, as the whole point of Mod (at least in my opinion) is an individualistic and unusual approach to outfits, rather than just being one of 100 people able to afford an expensive single item.

I hope Pellicano continue to push the boat out with their designs.

I originally discovered Pellicano a while back and I quite liked their slogan of “British swagger, Italian style”. I ordered a couple of ties, both polka dot, one burgundy, one blue and they are a particularly strong part of my general suit and tie strategy. They are not too wide and they are of elegant design and silky, high-quality fabric. I also paid a high, but okay price for them, about £22 each.

However, I am sorry to say I find Pellicano’s new site and season a bit of a disappointment.

They do have a couple of things going on. I particularly like their check shirts with their narrow collars and their knitted ties, for example. They also do a good line in pocket handkerchiefs.

But the prices are ridiculous. £82 for a plain white shirt and £50 for a knitted tie. No doubt they are of exquisite design, but I reviewed Art Gallery last week and they charge literally half the price for one of their new-season shirts. Come on Pellicano, are we seriously saying these shirts are double the quality of Art Gallery’s?

​I think it’s a mistake to try to charge this much frankly and Pellicano are in serious danger of undermining their own customers’ loyalty. As I said, it’s not hard to find cheaper shirts and Jump The Gun do knitted ties for much less than £50. Pretty Green did this when they first launched, with some shirts being priced about the £120 mark. Fortunately they realised their error and nowadays they're back in the region of saner economics. I’m sorry to say the marketplace, especially the internet marketplace, is not kind to uncompetitive businesses. 
It's a simple fact that people won't be taken for a ride.

Having said this, there is a lot of nice stuff to be picked up in Pellicano’s “Outlet” section at much more reasonable prices. So have a look at that area of their site for the real deal.