Knitwear and Sweaters

You'll have no doubt noticed the change in the window displays on your local High Street. Gone are the shorts and t-shirts (and those stupid narrow brimmed hats) and in are rugged manly man items for days out in the park with your dog.

Following on from my last post on winter jackets, you could do a lot worse than treating yourself to a reasonably priced new jumper this season.

Below are few treats you might fancy checking out.
This first offering is from Bank Fashion which as you know isn't my favourite shop.

On the face of it, its a pretty unremarkable garment. The colour is pretty safe, the pattern is subtle and the lengths are pretty conservative. However there in lies it's beauty.
You can wear this with jeans, chinos and maybe even a pair of trousers with a pink or light bue shirt underneath. Pop a tweed or houndstooth jacket over the top and you've got a belting little Sunday afternoon pub lunch outfit.
It's a really rich and thick material, but cut loosey enough to prevent it being suffocatingly warm when worn inside.
It's currently going for £32.00 which isn't bad at all. Oh, and the brand is called Nanny State which made me laugh too.

Second out today is this jumper from Next

I don't very often go into Next as it tends to be a bit dearer than other places on the High Street, and at £42.00 they are continuing the trend. However I'll give Next some credit; they are excelent at Autumn/Winter wear.
The cable roll neck jumper isn't to everybody's taste, and the model on the link looks like a tool as well which doesn't help matters! I rather like this though. It's a classic pattern and the armpits are cut high so you can use your arms without the whole thing riding up and exposing your midrift.
The roll neck will keep the cold away from your neck which is always a boon. As you would expect from Next it's very sumptuous material and feels exquisite to wear. The elasticated cuffs add to the snug feel of it too.

My favourite find this week was this gem from River Island

Shawl neck is a happy half way house between roll neck and round neck. It's more commonly seen on cardigans but this a cracking example of it too.
The button on the right hand side gives the jumper a bit of focus, which is good as the colour is nothing to write home about.
The cut of the neck is fairly loose so you could even wear it over your shirt and tie on the way to the office. However it is best worn with jeans and a proper pair of boots. Although this isn't quite as versatile as the first jumper, it has a decent range and you just know you wife or girlfriend will 'borrow' it so you'll earn yourself some brownie points there too.
It's going for £30.00 which makes it the cheapest of the three today, and in my opinion, the best.

Happy shopping!

Coloured Suits

The last year or so has seen a rise the range and availability of coloured suits.
Previously these had been the reserve of Teddy Boys, Lounge Lizards and people going as the Wedding Singer to a 1980's fancy dress party.

Topman and River Island have taken the lead on the High Street, with H&M not far behind.

This number is from Topshop and can be found here

For a start, whatever the website tells you, it is NOT a 'tux'. The word tuxedo is a wretched American import and it has no place here.

The suit has a modern short cut which suits shorter men, but makes taller chaps look like they have donned their younger borther's jacket my accident in a hurry to leave the house.
That being said, its fairly well fitted (at least on this model) and the armpits are cut quite high so your sleeve won't ride up when you lift your arm.
The satin lapel is a nice touch, and is complimented well with the smaller pocket on the right hand side.

At £150 it is a decent price. I haven't felt the garment but I doubt its very thick or rich material, but as you are only going to wear it to the Office party or a New Years Eve do, that won't matter because it won't be visiting the dry cleaners very often.


This next outfit is from River Island and you can see the whole page here

I like this jacket...for a few reasons.
Firstly, its darted (you can just make them out on the front of the jacket). This is more of a personal prefernce as I am broad shouldered but very slim, so I need a very fitted jacket.
The colour is also modern without being too brash.
It's also very versatile. You could wear the whole suit to the Office party, on a date, drinks with the chaps, with a white shirt and black tie to work (just) or even with a pair of jeans as a casual day to day jacket.
 If you are *very* hip, you could probably get away with a funky t-shirt too.

It's currently going for £95 which is pretty good. It's available in sizes ranging from 36-46 so most of you will be able to get into one.

My main criticism is that it's also a little short. I also fear that any creases would show up very quickly.
However all in all, it's a good piece and well worth a look.