I buy my moustache wax from Taylors of Old Bond Street, but even if I did not, I would still go buy something from them, just to shop there. I love the shop.

Taylors of Old Bond Street, Jermyn Street

When I step over the threshold I expect, and get, the most superb service and the best shaving products in the world. I have never left the shop without feeling like their most valued customer. Just knowing Taylors exists is enough to restore my faith in the world.

Taylors of Old Bond Street was founded in 1854, when Queen Victoria was England’s ruler, by Jeremiah Taylor. They are a combined English gentlemen’s cosmetics company (“Toiletries” in the old phrase) and gentleman’s barbers. They were making men’s cosmetics from natural and herbal products before the large cosmetics companies had ever heard the word “organic”.

The same Taylor family run Taylor’s today, the great, great grandson of Jeremiah being in charge. Despite their name, Taylors of Old Bond Street are actually in Jermyn Street, near their peers Trumpers, (and Truefitt and Hill are just the other side of the block).

Taylors sell razors and badger-bristle brushes in the old style (picture below). Their razor and brush kits are very highly esteemed and to my mind, a thoughtful gift if you want to give a gift with English character. Taylors have gift-sets in a manly packaging for those of us who want to do that.

Taylors of Old Bond Street, razors and shaving brushes

Taylors also sell those wonderful old-fashioned colognes, like Eau de Portugal. For me Eau De Portugal is the definitive scent of the traditional barber. The sharp citrus scent as the barber finishes your haircut and clears the tiny cut hairs with a wipe of Eau de Portugal is the fitting end to the ritual. I emerge cleansed and revitalised.

Taylors of Old Bond Street, Eau de Portugal

Taylors also sells the famous Bay Rum cologne, which was once beloved by military men everywhere.

Taylors of Old Bond Street, Bay Rum Cologne

In fact Taylors sell all manner of things a man needs, from shoe-horns to skincare, from travelling kits to toothbrushes (with their logo, of course). If you look on their website you will see all of this and more. Below is a photo of their luxury herbal skin moisturiser which I use extensively. It is easy to work in, has a slight fragrance and is very effective. It s also very competitively priced, at £12.95. A giveaway, as the English market traders like to say.

Taylors of Old Bond Street - luxury herbal skin moisturiser

Also, here is the aforementioned moustache wax, again, highly recommended. It holds form well, is non-greasy and not visible.

Taylors of Old Bond Street, moustache wax

But men’s products are only half the magic of this store. If you walk through the store to the back, where the sales point is, there is Taylor’s barbershop, the “Gentlemen’s Court”.

This is like entering Narnia, going from one world to another. From the main floorspace of the shop the barbershop is not visible. But go to the back, take a slight half-turn and you enter a world of calm manliness, where experienced traditional barbers tend to your every need.

It goes without saying that Taylors shop has class, but the barbershop also has that air of masculine ease which permeates a good barbers. Here you can get a haircut, traditional wet shave and services such as facials, all in the comfort of a traditional leather-upholstered barber’s chair. Nothing is too much trouble and skill and manly competence rule. This is dark wood, barbers in white jackets and of course the smell of Eau de Portugal. Go here, you deserve it. But book in advance, it is a busy shop.

A great shop and an icon of the best of British.

If you cannot get to Taylors, they sell their products by mail order and across the Internet. My last picture is of the front page of Taylors catalogue. Most fittingly it emphasises their service.

Taylors of Old Bond Street - Catalogue

Details:

Taylors of Old Bond Street
74 Jermyn Street,
St James,
London, SW1Y 6NP
England

Tel +44 (0) 20 7930 5544 / 5321

Email: sales@tayloroldbondst.co.uk

www.tayloroldbondst.co.uk

I was shopping in Gant and it was kinda prosaic, I was buying underwear, and I rate Gants’ underwear as good. As regular readers will know I also think Gant sell the best chinos in London and I was also in the market for a pair of their New Haven navy chinos, which have weight and a smart yet rugged cut.

What was interesting was of course the Gant spring/summer collection. Gant’s summer clothes have (for the last few years) been a variation on the New England preppy goes to Florida for Spring Break. They do these types of clothes so well. Here is a picture from their shop window;

Gant summer check shirt

Light, bright checks over the palest of faded jeans, relaxed, casual and clean.

This next picture shows the best thing I saw in Bond Street today. The piece is an off-white soft wool lightweight sweater with a white placket and a hood. Fitted tight to the body it combines originality, casual style and manliness in a single piece. Superb.

Gant sweater with hood

The picture below demonstrates Gant’s mastery in the mid-market casual summerwear range. The bright-stripe, pre-wrinkled button-down, matched with the slim-cut pale tan Harrington work really well. Unfortunately the crop of the photo prevents me from showing the white jeans. But Gant have really excelled with their bleach-washed soft white denim jeans. At the moment no one is doing those jeans better. Style on legs, literally.

Gant Harrington Jacket with white jeans

Details

Gant
107 New Bond Street, London, W1S 1ED
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7629 3313

www.gant.com

Lyle and Scott Polo Shirts

I thought it was a clever display, and a quick way to see if they had a colour one liked. It also shows the breadth of their range. For those readers who are new to Lyle and Scott they are a long-established (130 years) Scottish haberdashery company who are now chiefly known for their iconic Polo shirts and mens casualwear.

Their shirts all bear the Lyle and Scott logo, which is a Scottish Eagle in flight. Like Fred Perry, each generation of smart-casual young Englishmen seems to discover them anew. In my experience their Polo shirts are a shade heavier than Fred Perry and a little less subtle in their colouring, which is not a bad thing. As you can see from the picture, there are some rich and striking colours to be had.

Here is another window display showing some of the t-shirts in the spring/summer collection. Lyle and Scott have been on a bit of a roll for the last few years, their collections are very brit-pop style and their shirts are well-made, hold their shape well. Besides the current collection the shop stocks a Lyle and Scott Retro collection, which has some cool sixties styles and designs with a more tailored collar.

Lyle and Scott T-Shirts

Details:

Lyle and Scott
40 King Street, London, WC2E 8JS

Telephone: +44 (0)20 7379 7190

www.lyleandscott.com