The men's style hit list: Smart investments for handsome autumn style
Heads Up
There was a time when a greeter at your club of choice would welcome you with hands outstretched, the better to take your hat. Those days have gone, but thankfully, the world’s oldest hatter, Lock & Co, continues to keep the faith, producing a range of headgear proven to keep not only the elements but the occasional naysayer at bay.
Since it opened at 6St James’s Street in 1765, styles have come and gone (deerstalkers, anyone?), but the Madison, first introduced in the 1950s, remains a keeper: a square-crowned trilby made from rabbit-fur felt, with a wide band and bow to create the appearance of a shorter crown. Result: a neat, man-about-town titfer for someone who needs that little extra support when the weather turns. Lock & Co takes delivery of its Madisons ‘unblocked’, meaning final shaping can be done with the wearer, who can decide to have it ‘traditionally’, with a central crease and two dents, or a more modern ‘open crown’ style, ie. no crease or dents. Otherwise, the only decision is whether to wear your trilby with the brim snapped up or down; a civilised morning ritual if ever there was one.
Camel chameleons
To mark the reopening of its flagship London boutique on New Bond Street, Loro Piana has unveiled four keynote pieces in this season’s featured fabric: baby camel. Each comes in the distinctive tawny cloth, woven from wool found on the underbelly of the Bactrian camel, rather than the coarser, outer coat that serves the animal so well in the cold climate of its native Central Asia.
Here, the ultra-fine fibres have been woven to maximise their temperature-regulating properties to produce two outerwear pieces–ahooded duffel and slimline covert-style city coat – earmarked for one’s ‘lifetime wardrobe’ – alongside a half-lined sweater jacket in a micro-jacquard jersey and a turtleneck cable-knit sweater.
The boot-off
This season’s big play-off: the rustic hiking boot or a smart Chelsea?
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