As with the earlier articles in this series, I have personally visited all of these stores.  The shop addresses are those of the shops I have visited, but remember that some of these brands have other stores.  See their websites for details.

Church’s Shoes

The classic shoe sale.  Go now and buy a pair of benchmade shoes that you will keep for years.

Details:

108-110 Jermyn Street, St James, SW1Y 6EE

Tel: +44 (0)20 7930 8210

www.church-footwear.com

DPMHI

The ultimate Skater-boi shop, DPMHI is the place for camouflage hoddies, Japanese casualwear and manga-influenced t-shirts.  The sale is now on.

Details:

2-3 Great Pulteney Street, Soho, W1F

Tel (0)20 7494 7550

www.dpmhi.com

Eton Shirts

Eton Shirts are a Scandinavian shirtmaker who use a proprietary weaving and finishing process to produce crisp cotton shirts which, they say, are creaseproof.  Good colours, classic designs, lots of stripes, good shirts for business.   Shirts reduced from £105.00 to £79.00.  Further reductions on multiple purchases   

Details:

65, Kingsway

Tel (0)20 7490 1433

www.etonshirts.co.uk

Ermangildo Zegna

Beautiful fabrics and exciting cuts from this first-class Italian designer.   The sale is on at their newly re-designed store in New Bond Street. This year has seen Zegna introduce their smart designer-casual range to their English stores.  There are some beautiful tailored jackets and trousers in this range.  Get them in the sale.

Details:

37-38 New Bond Street, W1S 2RU

Tel: (02) 7518 2700

www.zegna.com

Aquascutum

Revitalised English menswear brand, whose collections include a designer ready-to-wear collection from Savile Row tailor Nick Hart.  There is a wide range of prices and style-types in this sale.  I love the tailored elegance and sharp silhouette of their (own-brand) suits, but there is a whole lot more here.  Sale starts Boxing Day (26^th Dec).     

Details:

100 Regent Street   W1B 5SR

Tel: +44 (0)20 7675 8200

www.aquasscutum.com

Stanley Ley

English ready-to-wear tailor (and legal outfitters) who have a stylish range of three-piece suits in their latest range, and in the sale.  The suits are two-button, with a lapelled waistcoat.  These suits are well-cut and distinctive, Ley have partnered them with colourful ties and shirts from DuChamp (who they stock) for a lively look.  The suits are from £299.00 so bargains to be had.

Details:

Temple Bar House, 23 Fleet Street, EC4AY 1AA

Tel: +44 (0)20 7353 3533

www.stanley-ley.co.uk/

Lipman and Son

English ready-to-wear, classic and formal.  As part of the sale they have discounts on the hire of formalwear, which is useful at this time of year. 

Details:

4 Staples Inn, High Holborn WC1

Tel:  +44 (0)20  7404 5080

www.lipmanandsons.co.uk/

Bamford and Sons

Bamford make well-tailored classic English menswear but with modern styling and colours. The sale is on.

Details:

The Old Bank, Sloane Square, SW1W 8AQ

Tel: +44 (0)20 7881 8010

http://www.bamfordandsons.com/men/

Savoy Tailors Guild

Boss, Canali, Gant and own brands from this companies beautifully architected shop in the Strand, next to the Savoy hotel.  A good sale to browse, with excellent discounts..

Details:

93 The Strand, WC2R 0DW

Tel: +44 (0)20 7836 7881

www.mossbros.co.uk/stg/Home.htm

Full Circle

English casual clothes, strongly influenced by European and English designers like Dries Van Noten and D2Dquared.  Edgy and sharp shirts, knitwear, jeans at competitive prices.  An older version of Firetrap, who produce clothes with attitude for younger men.

Details:

13-15 Floral Street, Covent Garden, WC2E 9DH

Tel: +44 (0)20 7240 8314

www.fullcircle.com

Nicole Farhi Menswear

Elegant menswear, long lines and simple styling.  Classics on sale.

Details:

11, Floral Street, Covent Garden, WC2

Tel: +44 (0)20 7497 8713

www.nicolefarhi.com

Ben Sherman

Iconic shirtmaker, button-down classics and a design influence on young European designers.  The sale is now on. 

Details:

50 Carnaby Street, W1F 9QA

Tel: +44 (0)20 7437 2031

www.bensherman.com

Jaeger

Jaegar have changed beyond all recognition over the last few years, for the better.  Their clothes are excellent, well-cut with anglo-italian influences.  The suit cut is younger, sleeker and more streamlined.  Shirts are well-designed from good cottons, they feel good in the hand and on the body.  But what makes them stand out is the competitive pricing.  If I was shopping for good (stylish) clothes on a budget I would go straight here.  Suit prices in the sale are ridiculously low, from £199.00.  I suspect this sale will sell out so make it a priority.  

Details:

200-206 Regent Street, W1B 5BN

Tel: +44 (0)20 7979 11000

www.jaeger.co.uk

Nigel Hall

English menswear designer, with colourful, sophisticated and fun clothes.  Nigel Hall makes clothes for successful and creative men.  His shirts are colourful, witty and well-made, his knitwear slightly off the standard look, distinct and manly.  This is his newest shop and there are some great bargains. Sale now on.     

Details:

18 Floral Street, Covent Garden, WC2E 9DS

Tel: +44 (0)20 7379 3600

www.nigelhallmenswear.co.uk

More to come in another post, enjoy the sales and the discounts and…

A Very Merry Christmas from everyone at What Makes a Man!

This is interesting and rather timely.

According to a study done by Elizabeth Dunn, Assistant professor of the Dapartment of Pyschology, University of British Columbia, men and women who are romantically involved react differently to receiving gifts.

Crucially, if a man receives a gift which he perceives as “bad” (less suitable than he expects) he will then rate his partner as less similar to him, with the potential for this to damage the relationship. In fact men in receipt of a “bad” gift will often rate the future of their relationship more negatively, saying for example, that they would be less likely to get married! Women however, take a positive view when receiving a “bad” gift.

The British Psychological Society has a research digest wesite, which has a very readable summary of the research here. The article is titled “Why you should take extra care when buying a gift for a man” and I think they are only half joking…..

Hi, I have updated the post with some photographs of the watches under discussion and a note on Bamfords Personal Shopper service.

This is interesting.

I have not talked about Bamford before. As many readers will know they are an award-winning clothing company, who produce classic English clothes with a modern edge. Their menswear (they also make womenswear) uses finer, lighter wools, modern styling and organic fabrics to make clothes that fit, look good and wear well.

Their style is English, structured and classic but colourful and worldly. Their design makes them the perfect clothes to wear for a country hotel weekend or any smart casual occasion which verges on the formal. Have a look at their website here for some examples of their clothes. Their black military-cut fieldjacket is a thing of beauty in its own right.

Four years ago, George Bamford created the beginnings of a specialist watch department by creating a collection of customised Rolexes. He applied a high-grade military PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) to a selected set of Rolexes and produced a new classic in the Bamford PVD Daytona Rolex. PVD is best thought of as a finish on the surface of the metal which is bonded at the molecular level. This means that the finish is difficult to rub off and does not easily fade.

Now Bamford have produced an additional service which allows customers to design their own Rolex, from one of several models. You can try this on the website here. The Bamford Watch page has a link that allows you to customise a Rolex Submariner online. Click on the link and the interactive web page allows you to customise the bracelet, dial, date wheel, date, reverse engraving and add a face engraving. Of all of these options I liked the face engraving facility most of all. It seems to me that this facility really helps you to design a unique watch.

I have often thought that Bamford have very original ideas (see their company policy on using organic materials) and this is a really good one.

Why do I like this so much? As we know, each man’s birthright is to create his own style and this is a real step towards allowing us to do that. Also, as a creative man, it gives me the ability to try out my own ideas before I commission a definitive watch. Try it at no obligation (as they say in the better stores), its fun and you get to design the watch you really want.

Update - This service is avaialable as part of the Personal Shopper service that Bamford offer.

The sales are now coming thick and fast, here are some more.

I have visited all of the sales below, except for Pringle, which I visited last week (before the sale started). It is worth noting that several of these brands have stores at other locations. See their websites for locations.

Moss Bros

Ok the first on our list and one of the best, is Moss Bros. Their sale started Thursday morning. For me the high point of this sale is the large discounts on their Canali suits and shirts (Moss Bros handles the Canali brand in England). Canali’s shirts have been exceptionally elegant this season and if you want to buy them cheap, run, do not walk, to this sale. They have a very engaging salesman by the name of Andy, who will do you a deal.

Details:

Moss
27, King Street, Covent Garden, WC2E 8JD
Tel: +44 (0)20 7632 9701

www.moss.co.uk

Oscar Milo

These rather hip guys do stylish casual clothes, English style with Italian references and a young attitude. Shoes and their colourful shirts are good here.

Details:

Oscar Milo
19 Avery Row (off New Bond Street), W1K 4AS
Tel +44 (0)20 7495 5846

www.oscarmilo.com

Fiore Uomo

Classic unbranded Italian menswear, suits and jackets are well cut in good fabrics. Fiore Uomo’s prices are always competitive so the sale will get you an even better bargain.

Details:

12-13 Avery Row (off New Bond Street) W1K 4AW
Tel +44 (0)20 7491  

Chester Barrie
Savile Row does not do sales, but Chester Barrie has some superb bargains in their ready-to-wear suit range. If you need to invest in a power suit go see these gentlemen now.

Details:

32 Savile Row, W1S 3PY
Tel: +44 (0)20 7439 6079

Lanvin

Two bird with one stone. You get to see the opulent new Lanvin store on Savile Row and take advantage of the 20% discount on all their clothes.

Details:

30-32 Savile Row, W1S 3PT
Tel: +44 (0)20 7434 3384

www.lanvin.com

Gieves and Hawkes

Gieves and Hawkes are one of favourite brands and one of the best sales. I can personally attest to having bought superb suits at great (for me) prices in their sales.

Details:

No1 Savile Row, W1S 3JR
Tel: +44 20 7434 2001

www.gievesandhawkes.com

Daks

This is a superb sale for a brand that is on a real roll, their revamped, redesigned range is elegant and classy. I shopped there two days ago and the sale has great prices. Their magnificent men’s knitwear is selling at ridiculously cheap prices and I bought some. Put this sale at the top of your list.

Details:

10 Old Bond Street, W1S 4PL
Tel: +44 (0)20 7409 4000

www.daks.com

Hilditch and Key

Always a good sale at Hilditch and Key, and they have started a little earlier this year. Top bargains (IMO) here are their Sea Island shirts and their corduroys. Also if you are a smart chap, you could buy your favourite girl a pair of H&K’s classic ladies pyjamas. As always they are classy, classic and discreetly sexy. Late Christmas present at a great price, if you are smart….

Details:

73, Jermyn Street, St James’s, SW1Y 6NP
Tel: +44 (0)207 930 5336

www.hilditchandkey.co.uk

Charles Tyrwhitt

Competitively priced shirt brand whose smart and serviceable shirts are a City mainstay. Even more competitively priced in the sale. Their leather goods are very good for the money.

Details:

92 Jermyn Street, SW1Y 6JB
Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 6060

www.ctshirts.co.uk

Crombie (closing down sale)

Classic Scottish brand. The prices at this store have been cut to the bone, because they are closing this store in favour of their seriously stylish new store in Conduit Street. Buy here for the prices but do visit the Conduit Street store, it is an Aladdin’s cave of smart menswear.

Details:

99 Jermyn Street, SW1Y 6EE
Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 1375
.

Herbie Frogg

The bargains here are in their own brand suits. Herbie Frogg make ready-to-wear English-cut suits in classic fabrics (Pinstripe, Prince of Wales Check, Grey Flannel, etc) Well made in good quality wools, there are deep discounts on these. Their ready-to-wear shirts are good too, having a more dramatic (wider, deeper) collar than that of many brands. These shirts suit bigger men better than small collars.

Details:

18/19 Jermyn Street, SW1Y 6HP
Tel: +44 (0)20 7734 2992

www.herbie-frogg.co.uk

Simon Carter
New brand, suits and casual wear with a younger, lighter, edgy design. Suits are good value here.

Details:

29 King Street, Covent Garden, WC2E 2JB
Tel: +44 (0)20 7240 9456

www.simoncarter.net

Pringle of Scotland
As mentioned in the intro this one just in so did not get to look in the store for the sale. However this season’s men’s knitwear at Pringle was near-perfect, elegant styles and original colours. If the knitwear is up for grabs then I intend to have some.

Details:

112 New Bond Street, W1S 1DP
Tel: +44 (0)20 7297 4580

www.pringleofscotland.com

Poste

Bad-boy sexy shoes from one of England’s shoe-makers with attitude, currently at the top of their game. Like their peers Jeffery West (whose shoes they stock and are also in the sale) they design and sell shoes for dandies and sharp-dressed men. Also Italian brands with attitude, such as Dolce and Gabbana. This one will sell out.

Details:

10 South Moulton Street, W1K 5QJ
TeL: +44 (0)20 7499 8002

A note on Corduroys
Why, you ask, do I keep mentioning Corduroys in my sales listings? Simple, my friend Stephen is on the hunt for good Corduroys, so I am keeping tabs in the sales. So far we have Hilditch and Key and Roderick Charles – more as I find them. There you go Stephen.

Something you want in the sales? Post a comment and if I find it I will post it and email you.

This is interesting.

I have not talked about Bamford before. As many readers will know they are an award-winning clothing company, who produce classic English clothes with a modern edge. Their menswear (they also make womenswear) uses finer, lighter wools, modern styling and organic fabrics to make clothes that fit, look good and wear well.

Their style is English, structured and classic but colourful and worldly. Their design makes them the perfect clothes to wear for a country hotel weekend or any smart casual occasion which verges on the formal. Have a look at their website here for some examples of their clothes. Their black military-cut fieldjacket is a thing of beauty in its own right.

Four years ago, George Bamford created the beginnings of a specialist watch department by creating a collection of customised Rolexes. He applied a high-grade military PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) to a selected set of Rolexes and produced a new classic in the Bamford PVD Daytona Rolex. PVD is best thought of as a finish on the surface of the metal which is bonded at the molecular level. This means that the finish is difficult to rub off and does not easily fade.

Now Bamford have produced an additional service which allows customers to design their own Rolex, from one of several models. You can try this on the website here. The Bamford Watch page has a link that allows you to customise a Rolex Submariner online. Click on the link and the interactive web page allows you to customise the bracelet, dial, date wheel, date, reverse engraving and add a face engraving. Of all of these options I liked the face engraving facility most of all. It seems to me that this facility really helps you to design a unique watch.

I have often thought that Bamford have very original ideas (see their company policy on using organic materials) and this is a really good one.

Why do I like this so much? As we know, each man’s birthright is to create his own style and this is a real step towards allowing us to do that. Also, as a creative man, it gives me the ability to try out my own ideas before I commission a definitive watch. Try it at no obligation (as they say in the better stores), its fun and you get to design the watch you really want.

As you might have expected, Savile Row is not far away from the suits worn by the male dancers and contestants in Strictly Come Dancing. Each of the Strictly professional dancers and contestants has a ballroom (tail) suit made for them, to wear through the series. The suits are made by ex-Savile Row tailor Tony Brackley.

The show’s menswear is featured on a short BBC programme on the BBC website. In it Tony Brackley briefly explains how bespoke works and shows him making a first suit fitting and then fitting it to one of the dancers. If you ever wanted to know how men’s bespoke tailoring works, here is the lightning fast guide. He also talks about how he cuts the suit so that the jacket does not pull across the shoulder blades and the shoulders raise up as a consequence. Perhaps even more valuable is Tony holding up the finished jacket to show the cut, to show how tailoring to the contestant’s body holds the jacket in place and gives a smooth line across the shoulders.

Additionally, professional dancer Anton DuBeke talks about how a tail suit gives a man a longer body line and his enjoyment of the bespoke process.

Anton Du Beke

Contestant Tom Chambers talks about the feeling of wearing a bespoke suit. About how the jacket “moulds you into shape”. I would have said that bespoke coats mould to your shape but it is still a good acknowledgement of how a bespoke suit works for you.

This is a quick (three minutes) piece and is both informative and a bit of fun. It is on the BBC website here. Start the videostream at the 16 minute mark.

Some of the London menswear sales have started early and here are a selection of good ones that have kicked off in the last week:

New and Lingwood shoe sale
One of the finest English shirtmakers and shoemakers, New and Lingwood have put their beautiful shoes on sale. Classic benchmade shoes in fine leathers, New and Lingwood’s shoes are much sought-after. The discounts on the shoes in the sale are very generous, in fact this was the best sale I saw this week.

Details:

New and Lingwood, 53 Jermyn Street, St James’s London, SW1Y 6LX

Tel: 44 (0)207 493 9621

www.newandlingwood.com

Roderick Charles
Ready-to-wear menswear brand that makes classic English style at competitive prices. Their suits are excellent for business and their busienss shirts are also in the sale. Their country corduroys, which I like a lot, are in the sale and would be one of my best buys.

Details:

Roderick Charles
90 Jermyn Street, St Jame’s SW1Y 6JD
+44 (0)20 7930 4551

www.roderickcharles.com

Thomas Pink 20% reduction
Not quite the sale more a pre-Christmas discount. But a reduction on those excellent Thomas Pink business shirts is worth having.

Details:

Thomas Pink,
85 Jermyn Street, St James’s, London, SW1Y 6JD
Tel: 44 (0)207 930 6364

www.thomaspink.com

Fratelli Rosetti
One of the finest Italian leather shops in London, their fine smooth jackets and topcoats are beautifully tailored, manly and very flattering. This sale is only on until the end of this week so go quickly for this one.

Details:

Fratelli Rosetti
196 Sloane Square, SW1X 9QX
Tel: +44 (0)20 7259 6397

www.fratellirossetti.it

Pose menswear
Once again a pre-Christmas reduction, from the very stylish new Brit menswear brand Pose. We wrote about Pose here and they are definitely worth a visit.

Details:

Pose
30 Shorts Gardens, Covent Garden, WC2H 9AX
Tel: +44(0)20 7836 3274

www.poselondon.com

This is good news. The Natural Shoe Store has moved to a new store at 9-15 Neal Street, Covent Garden.

The Natural She Store sell a wide range of quality men’s shoes and boots including Grenson, Fry Boots, Blundstone, Bass Weejuns, RM Williams, Belstaff and Patagonia. They also sell other ranges of sport/casual footwear. Whoever their menswear buyer is, he has superb taste.

As a long time customer here I know that they really know their shoes. Service is knowledgeable and helpful and they sell useful accessories, like Chelsea Leather Food, which is essential for the upkeep of good shoes.

The Natural Shoe Store used to be squeezed into a tiny store further down Neal Street, which had great atmposphere but not much room. The new store is well-designed in a way that appeals to men (lots of natural wood, tan/ochre colour scheme) and really shows off the shoes.

The Natural Shoe Store sells both men’s and and women’s shoes and is definitely worth a visit when you are in the vicinity.

Details:

The Natural Shoe Store, 9-15 Neal Street, Covent Garden, WC2H 9PU

Tel: +44 (0)20 7836 5254

www.thenaturalshoestore.com

The Langham Gallery in London are holding an exhibition of the work of photographer Nick Delaney. Nick is a fashion and style photographer who is beginning to make a name for himself in art photography. As you can see from these images (both of which are in the exhibition Nick has almost painterly eye for colour and composition. The image below, of street art in Barcelona, is a great example of this.

Barcelona Wall by Nick Delany

This exhibition of work is from his personal collection of Urban Landscapes taking in cities such as New York, Budapest and Madrid. These are beautiful and arresting images, with a real sense of place. One more image to whet your appetite, below.

54th and Broadway by Nick Delany

The exhibition is at the Langham Gallery in Lamb’s Conduit street, recently featured in Monocle magazine as one of the best living community streets in the world. Nick’s work is clearly going to appreciate in value over the coming years, so here is your opportunity to invest while you can. Go, view and enjoy.

Details:

The exhibition runs from Monday 17th November till Saturday 13th December.

Opening hours 10-6 Monday to Friday, 10-4 Saturday.

The Langham Gallery is at 34 Lamb’s Conduit Street, London WC1 3LE

Tel: +44 (0)20 7242 0010

Email: info@langhamgallery.com

Website: www.langhamgallery.com

Here is a piece about celebrity tailor Oswald Boateng’s argument that James Bond should be dressed by a British tailor. Inasmuch as Bond is an important reference point for men and I think British tailoring is superb, I agree. 

In Quantum of Solace, Bond wears Tom Ford, who is a great menswear designer, though American. Not having seen the movie yet, do any of our readers have a view on whether Tom Ford suits Bond?

The link to the Boateng article is here