What I wore at Conference

As some of you may be aware, I was away at a conference this weekend gone.
However a trip away from home is never an excuse to let sartorial standards slip. On the contrary, it is an opportunity to showcase your wardrobe to a new and grateful audience.

With this in mind, today's post is a review of my three wardrobe selections, and the thought process behind each.

First some context.

• Occasion: This was a political conference. I don't want this to descend into a propaganda piece, so the Party in question will remain undisclosed.
• Location: City Centre
• Activities: Lots of sitting and standing still during the day, but also lots of rushing between buildings. There were one or two drinks consumed too <ahem>
• Weather: Clear and sunny, but with a nice breeze

Thursday

Thursday was spent partially travelling, and is tradtioanlly the least formal of the days. This tweed-esque two piece suit travels very well indeed. The material doesnt crease, and is well endowed with pockets for tickets, wallet, phone, and assorted bits of paper. The leather trip on the lapels is matched on the elbow pads and pockets.
I normally don't go for these types of suits, but it was a bargain at H&M during the sales last year, and to be honest it's served me well. As with all of thier jackets, they fit my triangle figure very well.
The trendiness of the suit is tamed by the tradtional regimental style tie. The tie is from Tie Rack which is normally very hit and miss, but do churn out some good ties, even if they are a little thin.

Friday

 Friday is the first proper day of conference and I thought it important to go in with a bang!
This is my Unapologetic Evil Bastard Suit. You can almost picture a snarling hyena or wolf wearing this type of suit in a cartoon.
The suit itself is a one buttoned single breasted number from Topman. I got this for an absolute steal two years ago...a mere £25 for jacket and trousers!! To this day I think they mis-labbled it. It is very very fitted but the price you pay for that is very very shallow pockets.
The shirt is what's known as a City Shirt. The collars and cuffs are both white. Not everybody likes these, but I love them and have three or four, all from different stores. The handkichife matching the shirt was unintentional, but worked quite well. It's important to note that handkichiefs should be worn loosely. I can't stand handkichiefs that look like a work of oragarmi. They are there as a foppish foil to the formal feel of the suit. They are there as a bit of fun.
The lighter coloured tie needed to be a block colour or I was in danger of giving my friends a seizure.
Oh, and I was wearing braces too.
All in all, a smasher of an outfit, if I do say so myself.

Saturday

The last day of conference gave me an opportunity to premier my latest suit. It's a gem I picked up from a second hand shop. The whole thing cost £9. The trousers fit like a dream but the jacket was a shade to big so I took it to have it tailored. That cost just shy of £25, but it means I now have a gourgous Savile Row designed double breasted suit for less than £35. If you are in the North West, I can highly recommend Reeds at The Trafford Centre. They had me measured in ten mins and the garment ready within three days.

The shirt is another City Shirt, this one from Burtons. The only problem with this shirt is that it isn't double cuffed meaning you can't wear cufflinks. However as I seldom remove my jacket, it's not a deal breaker. The tie is from Primark. The photo doesn't do it justice but it's a lovely deep purple and worked well with the thin purple and blue lines on the shirt.

The photo below shows more of the shape of the suit.

Not the best picture in the world, but my arms are only so long. It's an older suit so the jacket is longer than most modern ones but that sets it apart a bit more. the trousers also have turn ups which you don't see on many High Street suits. Although you can't tell from the picture, it is very well fitted and follows the form of my torso very well.


So there you have it, three diffeerent suits for three different days at the same event.
...and who said conferences were boring?!

The Need For Tweed

It's now officially Autumn.....(unofficially every day is an Autumn/Winter day in my house, but that's between me and my thermostat)

There will be those among you who mourn the passing of Summer, with it's BBQ's, Pimms, assorted sporting cappers. But fear not chumrades, because this is preceisly the time of year to dust off that most versatile of garments...
...the tweed jacket!

Now technically speaking, tweed is a very specific fabric, made in a very specific way. However the spirit of this blog has always been to help the modern gentleman get by on a High Street budget. A brand new Harris Tweed jacket can easily set one back a cool £400. Yes, it's a jacket for life, but you I for one can't justify spending on a jacket what I could pay for a second hand car!

We are lucky in that may High Street stores offer a range of tweed-esque jackets at reasonable prices.
Here's a starters for ten from Next and can be found here

It's called herringbone but we shant be picky. It's a solid choice.
It's two buttoned which means it'll hang well if left open but equally won't look too forced if bottoned up. The colour is understated without being boring, and the sloped pockets (and cheeky extra small pocket on the right) give it a modern feel. The good folks at Next have also given you a handkerchief as well, so there's no excuse not to wear one!
It retails for £75.00 which is the higher end of this type of jacket, but the material looks good and and this can be worn with a range of looks and in various situations, so you'll get your money's worth.

Our next offering comes from H&M and can be found after the jump

I'll start brutally, I don't care for this look and the model looks like he needs a decent meal....and some vitamin D
Rant over
The jacket is another faux tweed number, but different from the previous one from Next. This is far more comtemporary and is in keeping with the H&M look and feel.
It's darted so will look fitted without having to be tailored. As I have said before this is great for me, but not if you have a bit of a belly.
The colour is....ok, but unless it's worn with bright colours or you are a naturally bouncy person, it'll wash you out and make you look, well, like this guy.
The pockets have no flap which is a personal preference, but I am old school in this sense and would rather have the flap.
The stiching on the buttons doesn't look too sturdy and I doubt the material is very durable either. That being said, it's made for the club, not the country side.
The only redeeming feature of this jacket is the price. At £34.99 it's half the price of the one from Next.

The last jacket today is from Topman, found here

This is a 'difficult' jacket, which is presumably why the model asked to have his identity hidden!
When I first looked at it I though a derranged canibal had made a jacket from human skin....
The colour is flattering to nobody's skin tone, and the leather pocket adds nothing to the garment. Oh, I've just noticed they added a similar flap on the left lapel. Why? Your guess is as good as mine...maybe they had some material left over? The material is too thin and the pockets are ludicrously large (is he a clown?)
Oh, and it's needlessly short
The only thing I sort of, half, kind of like is the different coloured buttons. But it's a sad day for the sartorial world when 'the button' is the best feature.

If you want to know the price, it's £80.00. Personally you couldn't pay me £80.00 wear this.

I always like to end on a high, so here's a smasher of a jacket from M&S

...proper job!

Bow Ties

A controversial one here team....
Bow ties.

Dr Who had a lot to do with bringing these back to the High Street. Previously they had been the preserve of the university don or a children's entertainer. For most men they only ever got worn with a dinner jacket, on your wedding day or an ambassadorial reception.....you know, because we all get invited to those.





The question is, how should they be worn as part of a day-to-day wardrobe, and how can they be integrated into an existing collection?
As with all accessories, it's about two things; context and confidence.

Context is key because it has to go with the rest of the outfit. This may seem obvious enough, but I saw a lad today wearing a shirt, tie, and tracksuit bottoms.........I kid you not! I had to do a double take.
Firstly, bow ties need to have an element of whimsy to them. However I must urge caution. Whimsy does not mean wacky. This poor soul took a very lovely outfit and ruined it by going too far with the bow tie.

A plain block-colour bow tie would have been perfect. Intstead, he looks ridicuolous. It's bordering on fancy dress territory. To be fair, judging by the background, he may actually be at an audition for a childrens TV presenter, so we shouldn't be too harsh.

This young man has the right idea.

The same trousers and pale blue shirt, but a far more subdued bow tie. The pattern on the tie is very close to matching his belt, but I don;t think that was intentional. The whole look is clearly very preppy, even down to the ruffled hair and clean shaven uber-jaw. That look suits the bow tie and you can't really go too far wrong with this style in any season.
It's also nice to see the lowest button of the cardigan left undone. Well done that man.

This final look is a bit more Mod inspired, but I like it.

OK, the jacket is a bit short and the trousers a bit tight, but the bow tie and pocket silk really pulls it together. Again. the bow tie is a simple colour so it isn't distracting. I also rather like the shoes.


The models here are, well, models so you would expect them to look confident. However if you decide to venture into the realm of bow tie wearing, make sure you have the resolve that goes with it. If a man is visably uncomfortable or nervous wearing it, it'll draw more attanetion to him and the bow tie and the whole image will fall apart faster than a sandcastle in a cyclon.

Like a good suit, a bow tie should look as if the wearer has put it on in the morning and forgotten about it. You don't need to swagger or be brash. Just convey an air of quite, dignified, self confidence.

There's a reason bow ties are synonymous with British men....

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.