The latest issue (No 14) of S Magazine is out. For those of you who do not know S Magazine, it is an Arts/Photo magazine, published in Denmark. Its truest love is erotic photography and to my mind it is the best out there. S Magazine allows established photographers to show pictorials that are just too erotic, too edgy, for the regular glossies. The previous issues have produced some inspired photography. We previously described S Magazine as “The missing link between high fashion and sexy women and some very famous high-fashion models have graced its pages. We wrote about S Magazine before, here, here and here.

Cover, S Magazine, Issue 14

Issue 14 is a little bit of a mixed bag.  There are some interesting articles on art and artists including a very insightful article on new Scots clothes designer, Graeme Armour.  However, as usual, it is the photography that dominates.

Lars Botten

There is a striking, downright dirty set of photographs from Lars Botten, a photographer new to me.   He shoots a blonde model called Ada, in a white clapboard country cottage.  I cannot tell whether the cottage is in a Scandinavian country or in backwoods America, but it is clearly isolated.  There is something adolescent and exciting about the atmosphere of these pictures.  Ada is beautiful, young and coolly sexy and the shots suggest a teenage tryst.  Like a boy has got the best-looking girl in class to go to the cottage and asked her to show him her body…..  Erotic and quite unique.

Ada - Photoshot by Lars Botten

Massimo Leardini

There is an amazing set of photographs from Massimo Leardini, a photographer who I have written about before and who is a favourite in S Magazine.  Some of Leardini’s previous work has been very sexy indeed but this set is sexy in a different, very delicate, way.  These nudes are very sensitively photographed, there is a care and a tenderness that radiates out of the pictures.  Again the model is blonde, but unfortunately she is uncredited.  The chemistry between this model and Leardini’s photography is quite incredible, the pictures sit in the space where erotic photography become art.  This is love on the page.  Leardini is a really individual photographer and and often surprises me in the way he presents very original photographs, in terms of mood and tone.

UPDATED 25.10.21012. We had an email from Massimo Leardini himself, informing us that the model in the shoot above is Jenny Sinkaberg.  Of you would like to see more of Massimo’s work his website is here

In plein air - photoshoot by Massimo Leardini

Quentin De Briey

There are of course lots of other pictorials and one I keep returning to is a single image by Quentin De Briey, showing an ordinary room, with books, plants, sofa, with a nude model glancing longingly out of a large picture window.  The model is Noah Steenbruggen.   The shot is slightly out of focus and the model is in longshot and a little indistinct, but you cannot ignore it, it raises feeling of curiousity, of desire, of puzzlement.  I do not know De Briey’s work but will be looking for more of it, now that I have seen this one picture.

No other mag is doing what S Magazine does, it is very adventurous and sometimes the pictorials are too ambitious and fail.  However it is always worth reading, whether the photography succeeds or not, S Magazine is always doing something inspiring, This issue is not perfect but it is one of those inspired issues.

Details

S Magazine is a twice-yearly publication. Their website is www.smagazine.com

Note.

If anyone knpws thew name of the model in the Massmio Leardini shoot, I will be happy to update the post with it.

Aspinal are an English company who make very high quality leather goods. 

I have been a fan for some years and like their men’s collection a lot.  Aspinal have put a lot of work into building up their men’s leather goods and for me they have built a distinctive style.  There is a solidity about their men’s leatherwear, a classy English ruggedness, but they also have a sense of fun, there is a lightness about their designs which prevent them being stuffy or over-traditional. 

I would like to claim that I disovered Aspinal myself (being a style genius and all) but the truth is my wife, with a keen eye for great accessories, bought me my first Aspinal piece. 

So Aspinal recently held a Press Day, centred around their new men’s bag, the Harrison.  I went along to see the current collection at their Brook Street flagship store and to take some photos of what I like in their men’s range.

But firstly, here is my first Aspinal piece, from some years ago.  My Aspinal hip flask, complete with scuffs and dings.  This hip flask has served me well, and is currently full of Bowmore 12-year old.  Gotta have some good stuff for an emergency….

Here is the front view.

John Van Rijn's very own Aspinal hip flask (click on pic to see full-size)

Here is the back view. 

Hip Dlask - back view (click on pic to see full size)

I show you this because I really like the detail stitching.  Very British, more than a bit James Bond.  Aspinal’s detailing is one of the things that make their men’s range stand out.  More on the detailing below.

Harrison Bag

This is the new men’s bag from Aspinal.  It has a luxury, weekend-getaway-bag kind of feel about it.  Like almost all of Aspinal’s men’s products it has a functional, well-made quality about it.  You can just imagine stuffing it with weekend essentials and chucking it in the car.

Aspinal of London Harrison bag in chestnut brown (click pic to see full size)

I like that the bag is so obviously well-made, shows off its functionality and is clearly designed to be used.  I like the slight retro-look of the design, that kind of ‘fifties manly man feel.  I would like to see one of these bags after it has been knocked around a little.  I suspect that they age well, and develop an individuality all of their own. 

The leather is of course superb, it feels smooth, supple and thick.  The colours are deep and rich.  I shot this picture under the shop lighting, which is quite harsh, but the glossy chestnut colour glows. 

Here is a picture of the same bag in black marbled leather.  For me marbled leathers have a style and sophistication all of their own, so this bag looks very mature style and class, to me. 

Harrison bag in marbled black leather (Click pic for full size image)

 Other Leather men’s bags

The man-bag below has more an urban design.  There is a bit of the school satchel about it and it actually has an insert for a laptop inside.  However the graining and the gloss of the leather give it authority and class.  It is not my personal style but I think it is a well-designed bag, of its type.  As an executive bag with flair and style I think it would make an excellent gift, to the CEO/Finance Director of your choice. 

Aspinal bag (click pic to see full size)

Pochettes

These Pochettes are very fine indeed.  Pochettes are those little bags that European men carry, big enough for your passport, phone and credit cards.  These two are very stylish, for very different reasons. 

Aspinal pochettes (double-click pic to view full size)

My friend Matt liked the Navy-Blue crocodile-effect leather.  And I can see why.  It is very upscale, discreet and slightly traditional in effect.  Quietly understated, as they say. 

Aspinal Navy Pochette (double-click pic to view full-size)

I have to say I liked the bolder pochette, with the tan strapping.  The effect here is rather like the bonnet strapping on old jags and bugattis.  There is a functional, military effect that makes the bag stand out.  The bag is a bit of a contradiction.  It is quite showy but does that by drawing on some very old-school masculine iconography.  Intriguing.

Aspinal strap Pochette (click pic to see full size)

This wallet was fun, with the brightly coloured insert layers.  Studies show that women always look at what kind of wallet a man carries.  Depending on the type of wallet a man carries, women make assessments of what kind of man he is.  Apparently it’s not about the money but how you determine your style.  So a guy carrying this wallet would clearly have a little devil-may-care.  Good fun, discretely done.

Coloured layer wallet (click pic to see full size)

Portofino carry-on bag

Next up is the Portofino carry-on bag.  It has a steamer-trunk, cruise-liner glamour and carries on the strappy, overlock theme of the pochettes.  Its not for me, my style is simpler, more classic.  But if you have a glamourous style, are the star of your own movie, this one is for you.    

Aspinal carry-on bag (click pic to see full size)

Team GB!

Damn, this is a great bag.  Tough, extravagant and colourful.  This is THE sports bag.  This bag looks and feels like you could kick it off the side of Everest and it would hit bottom without getting a scuff!  This is the manly sports-bag of the Team GB patriot!

Thew big Union Jack bag (click pic to see full size)

Portofino weekend bag

Now this bag is a work of art.  A weekend bag, again the Portofino collection, this is  organic, sophisticated, cosmopolitan, it just radiates real style.  If Aspinal have any sense, they will send me one of these bags forthwith and I can wax lyrical about its virtues.  Classy colours, subtle finishing and mature style.    

Travel Bag - Portofino collection (click pic to see full size)

Fedoras 

These colourful fedoras were a real surprise!  I had no idea Aspinal made them.  And they have real bravado, the colours are vivid and lively, not simply your usual browns.  And then I found out why.  These are Borsalino Fedoras!  Aspinal are selling the finest Italian hats here in the UK.  This is seriously good news. 

In this case, I am the last to know.  Apparently the Borsalinos are amongst the shop’s most best-selling products.  Not really a surprise, these are amongst the finest of men’s headgear.  

Borsalino fedoras at Aspinal London (click pic to see full-size image)

Cufflinks

Aspinal have a wide range of cufflinks, from the slightly old-school to the chunky.  But I shot these because I really liked this pair.  They are of course gloseed enamel over gold.  I liked them because they were slightly bigger than similar fine enamel cufflinks and because the colour and finish was so very rich.  The designer had hit a moment of inspiration with these and made something very beautiful.  

Enamel and Gold cufflinks (click pic to see full size)

A treasury of cufflinks.

Just to prove that Aspinal have a wealth of cufflinks, here is a shot of their cufflink cabinet.  If you would like to see mre, go alongto the store fof the Aspinal website, which has all their cufflinks available to buy on-line. 

A wealth of cufflinks

In fact, all the products I have reviewed here today are available from the Aspinal website.  Though if you can get to the shop I would recommend it.  Aspinal products are very tactile, if you handle these bags, you will get a feel for their richness and quality of manufacture. 

There are lots of men’s accessories out there in the market but Aspinals’ products, especially their bags, have an assured manly design.  Put them on your style list, they are very good.

Details

The Aspinal London Flagship store is at

25 Brook Street (off Bond Street)

London,

W1K 4HB

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7493 9509

Their website is here

Walpole British Luxury Brands Part 2

Here is the second part of our article on the Walpole best of British Luxury Brands. This article is about established British brands. The first article, about Walpole’s British luxury brands of the future, is here  

Henry Poole and Co

Henry Poole are the founding tailor of Savile Row. Back in 1806, Henry Poole setup their then revolutionary tailoring shop. Still one of the finest upholders of the bespoke tradition, Henry Poole are legendary for their clientele (famous names both past and present) and their fine work as ambassadors of Savile Row. Simon Cundey, the current MD, still leads Poole and Co’s trunk shows (travelling presentations) to the USA. It was with this in mind that I approached their stand at the show.

Here in this first picture is Tom, who is a journeyman tailor at Henry Poole. Tom was doing a great job, in explaining Henry Poole to the young woman in the shot. The difficult thing about great tailoring is that some aspects of it are not immediately apparent. So Tom was patiently and entertainingly explaining the secrets of bespoke suiting. It was great to listen to him talk about tailoring, which he is clearly passionate about. Tom showed me the most beautiful Lovat Tweed fabric, a rich green, with a texture that alternately captured and reflected the light.  It is in the next shot and though I did not do it justice with the photograph, it is simply beautiful. In the earlier picture you can see Tom chalking the tweed (on its reverse side) prior to cutting. This is going to make the most beautiful jacket for some chap. It is the sort of fabric you can only get from a Savile Row tailor.

Henry Poole and Co. Note the poster for the Burlington Arcade Beadle (left of image)

Simon Cundey, MD of Henry Poole

In the picture below we see Mr Simon Cundey. Simon is the fifth generation of Cundey’s to head up Henry Poole and is a master tailor in his own right. That blue pinstripe suit he is wearing is perfection itself. It fits him perfectly and in doing so, turns him into an icon of bespoke style. It is hard to describe just how much he stood out from the other presenters at the exhibition. He was immaculately turned out and the eye was drawn to him. Simon is also a very charming man and a great ambassador for Savile Row. He has an ability to talk about Savile Row, its place in the world and the wonderful clothes it produces, which is both informative and inspiring.

Simon Cundey (notice the Lovat Tweed - lower right of picture)

Henry Poole’s tailoring is timeless, they really can produce unique and individual clothing for any man. At their shop they have their accounts and records of all their illustrious customers. When I was there recently they showed me the ledger containing the account details of the suit they made for Buffalo Bill Cody, when he was in Europe with his Wild West show. And they have a photograph, of the suit itself. It is an extremely stylish suit, in a late Victorian style. If you are in Henry Poole, you should ask them to show it to you.

Making the old new

Henry Poole has many beautiful articles of clothing to its credit, but there is one old but very new piece that we must mention here. To celebrate London Fashion Week Savile Row and Burlington Arcade joined forces to hold an open house event. Henry Pool played a major part in this, please read on. Burlington Arcade is a Victorian arcade of shops, in London’s Piccadilly, originally opened in 1819. It is a beautiful arcade, full of Victorian glass and fine woodwork, beautiful shops. The Arcade is protected by the Beadles, liveried cards wearing Edwardian frockcoats and gilded top hats. These gentlemen are the courteous soul of the arcade. To celebrate the London Fashion Week event, Henry Poole made a new Chief Beadle’s uniform and presented to the Arcade. Only master tailors of Henry Poole’s calibre could make such a complex and beautiful uniform. Here is a picture.

Beadle's uniform, by Henry Poole and Co.

Henry Poole’s website is here

Daks

Classic ready-to-wear menswear brand Daks was also at the exhibition. I have huge amounts of time for Daks. They are inventive, stylish and confident in what they do. To me they seem to tread a path between classic, well-priced English menswear and some very stylish pieces which put a twist on English casual style. You can always find something interesting and different in Daks. They are full of surprises. For example, in the 2011 season, they had some gloriously stylish double-breasted suits, which could have come straight from the Tom Ford collection. Not that they were copies biut they had that glamourous elegance, at a competitive price.

I personally swear by Dak’s knitwear which, seasonal variations aside, is always of superb quality, lightweight and more than a touch Euro-chic. Their men’s shirts can throw up some very pleasant surprises too. They often re-work retro-patterns in smaller, more elegant pattern-schemes, in colours that are outside the standard seasonal palette. If I wanted a shirt to liven up a suit, Daks would be one of the places I would look. Similarly, last winter season saw Daks produce a modern re-interpretation of the Seventies padded blouson and, you know, they were really stylish pieces.

Claiming the middle gound

Right now, it is hard to be a menswear retailer in the middle ground, neither high design nor mass market brand, but Daks are doing it really well. It seems to me that they are mining their design past and combining that with a more edgy modern take on classic styles. If I was a man in my thirties, looking for clothes that were really wearable but with some colour and edge, I would start with the Daks collection. Daks (like all the exhibitors) were having to contend with the odd shapes and sizes of the rooms of Somerset House. This is by way of apologising for not having many photographs to put into this article. Here is a classic Daks look, with more than a touch of Eighties verve. I would recommend visiting Dak’s Old Bond Street store, which is a work of art in itself. The staff are good here too, very discreet, polite and do not press you. For a man, Daks are a very easy store to browse in.

Classic Daks style

Daks are here

Ettinger

If ever a brand represented true luxury and craftsmanship, Ettinger is that brand. Ettinger make luxury leather-goods and accessories and have done so since 1934. All Ettinger products are hand-made by their own craftspeople in their workshops. As a brand they are amongst the best in the world, their leather-goods are beautiful examples of the leather-workers craft, perfectly finished in immaculate detail. Ettinger leather has a sheen and a quality unlike any other. If you own an Ettinger product then you truly have good taste. Ettinger sell their products in luxury retailers around the world, in Britain they sell in such stores as Harrods and Harvey Nichols. They also sell their goods from their own stores. Here is a picture of Ettinger’s stand at the event.

Ettinger display at Somerset House, Best of British luxury exhibtion

Ettinger and Monocle

If you look closely you will see a copy of Monocle at the far left of picture. Ettinger and Monocle have collaborated on a Monocle-branded leather luggage tag, which can be bought from the Monocle store. There is a timeless quality about Ettinger leather-goods that appeals even to the ultra –cool Monocle reader. Below is a picture of an interesting Ettinger service. At the show, a professional tattooist (apologies, I did not get her name) was tattoing designs onto the fine high-quality leather Ettinger uses for its products. This is a new Ettinger service, whereby Ettinger can customise leather goods with individual tattoos. In this way Ettinger’s bags and accessories can become even more personal. Ettinger continue to go from strength to strength, long may they continue to do so.

Tattoing designs onto Ettinger fine leather

Ettinger’s website is here.

Links of London

I recommend Links of London to men, especially youngerr men, looking for stylish jewellery. From a design perspective their men’s jewellery has a modern look, so their cufflinks, cuffs, studs and pins have simple clean lines. For me, they seem to target the younger, prosperous male market. So their designs have a lot of flair and zip and their precious metal preference (for men) seems to be for silver, rather than gold. It is really good jewellery and their prices are competitive, for what is some of the best men’s jewellery around.

If you are going to browse a Links store my personal favourite is the one in Jermyn Street, which is very attuned to male customers (though I also like their Canary Wharf store, where the service is superb). Here is a picture of a collaborative set of pieces, designed in association with Mclaren (as on our homepage). I really like men’s jewellery with a harder edge, darker colours and some tactile emphasis and this collection ticks all of those boxes. I like the “machined car-part” look of this collection, very masculine. It has a nice heft to it as well, which I feel is important in men’s jewellery. I particularly like the silver/black metal cuff at the back-left. However I think that they should do a second version, even wider than the first. It is such a good piece and would bear the size increase and it would be rock-star spectacular.

Links of London, Mclaren collection for men.

Tank Watches

One particular jewellery range that I really must credit Links of London for, are their tank watches.

In a word, superb.

They deserve all the superlatives I can muster. Elegant, manly, simple, slim. Stylish without being oversized or over-embellished. These watches are both good timepieces and good jewellery. They are priced in the hundreds of pounds rather than the thousands, but they have a refined luxury style about them that is quite eyecatching. Below is a picture of Gemma Douglass of Links showing off one of the watches

Gemma Douglass of Links with new collection Tank Watch

If you want to browse Links of London, their website is here.

That is all for this piece on Walpole. More mens’s brands, old and new, in future articles.

The latest issue (N 15) of Fantastic Man is now out.  Recent issues of Fantastic Man have been a bit variable and for a while I thought they were running out of steam.  However this issue is good, even very good.  What’s good about it?

Firstly their short handy-hint articles are once again focussed on clothes and style.  They have a brief review of the new Tom Ford pochette (men’s wrist bag) that is both informative and a good read.  Similarly, they review a new gadget for rolling, packing and transporting ties safely.  It is short articles like this that we want more of.

The interviews in this issue are good, very much in the old FMan mould, interesting men, incisive articles.  There is an interview with Jean Toitou, who created the cult brand A.P.C., which is worth the price of a copy on it’s own.  Toitou is blunt, original and controversial on the subject of clothes.  Useful, though-provoking stuff.

The cover interview is Matthew Slotover, who invented the Frieze Art Fair.  Much more intimate than the Jean Toitou interview, this interview paints him as a thoughtful family man, and shows just how much love and ingenuity has gone into the Frieze Organisation.

Clothes spreads are variable in Fantastic man.  Sometimes they are works of near genius and others, well, lets just say that in their search for new ways to present menswear, F. Man sometimes go overboard.

This issue is no different. The colour spread (only one per issue) is given over to “vacation clothes” from designer brands.  So this means (mostly) patterned matching t-shirts and shorts.  So this photo-spread goes a long way down the path of Seventies excess and, basically, you would not wear the clothes, at least not in this way.  It all looks appalling, like a set of dire mail order catalogue pictures featuring matching shirts and ties.  My advice, take a pinch of salt, wear your sunglasses and you will find some striking summer pieces in the spread.  But matching ensembles for the beach?  Dear God, no.

However they redeem themselves with the second spread, which is on Spring tailoring.  This gives F. Man the opportunity to showcase some superb tailored separates, from brands as diverse as Hermes and Dries Van Noten. This is a great piece, because it has all the clothes, especially knitwear, that one needs for a European spring.

Finally there is an article on Eighties menswear designer Bill Robinson.  He was a designer I did not know, but the pictures show that his clothes were full of the bold, sexy, bigness that we remember the Eighties for. It’s a good article and shows how his clothes had a lasting influence on men’s fashion.

So this is a good issue of Fantastic Man, there is lots more in it, besides the articles mentioned.  It is definitely worth your time and money.

Paul Weller in concert: March 2012

So here is the Modfather in all his glory.  This is a picture of Paul Weller performing his latest album Sonik Kicks.  I posted the picture from the Evening Standard print edition, only because the onlineedition has cropped the photo down to nothing.  Here is a link to the Standard review of Paul Weller’s concert.

I post the picture because it reminded to me that Weller has always had style and most musicians don’t have any.  So here is a brief tour through the Weller style scrapbook.

The Jam

The Jam, early days

Here he is in the Jam.  Weller was always musically retro and the skinny Motown style mohair suits were designed to emphasise the fact.  England at the time was full of punks with purple Mohawks, so Weller kinda stood out.  In fact the style was very much influenced by an earlier English style-tribe called “Soul Boys”, who wore tight two-tone mohair suits, Ben Sherman shirts and long wing-tip American brogues.  Their god was Marvin Gaye.  They in turn got much of their style from working class Italian New Yorkers, who wore two-tone mohair and called it“sharkskin” for its iridescent qualities. Odd how it come around.…

Paul Weller - Mod suit

Style Council

Here he is in the Style Council.

The Style Council

The Style Council started in 1983, when England was still doing the punk “lost generation” thing.  I honestly believe that, at that time, there was a law in place in England forbidding men from dressing with style.  Punk was still big, bondage trousers were fashionable, men’s style was unspeakably grim.  So what does Weller do?   Always the contrarian, he takes up another working-class style look, the original “smart-casual”.  Which in turn came from an even earlier style-tribe, the Mods.  In Weller’s own words “I was born a Mod, they’ll bury me a mod”.  He was a generation too late, but the sentiments were admirable.

Good clothes and stylish knitwear

In this style shirts were crisp pastel button-downs, Fred Perry or Lyle and Scott polo shirts.  The defining centrepiece of this style was a good pair of slimcut trousers in a smart fabric like Prince of Wales check or steel-grey wool-worsted.  Shoes were Bass Weejuns or Italian loafers.  With this style you wore a navy blazer or, if going casual, an original “Harrington” windcheater.  Weller cleaned the style up a bit, added somegood Italian knitwear, casually draped around the shoulders, but it was pretty much the original style.  They even had raincoats (the Aquascutum straight-drop raincoat I believe).

Casual style, Blazers and chinos

Brit-pop and onward

|Here is Weller during the nineties, when he was the elder statesman of Brit-pop.  He got into these collarless, button-though t-shirts that were synonymous with Oasis and the Gallagher brothers.  For a while he made them his trademark, which put him on a level with Liam Gallagher.  Though they are true Mod style, I still cannot decide if they work for him.

Collarless button-through

At the end of the nineties he designed a shirt collection for Fred Perry, which they no longer sell but you can occasionally pick some pieces up in some of their stores.  Also, at a time when suits were unfashionable, he had the suit, pocket handkerchief, look down pat.

Fred Perry button-through

The great thing about Weller is that he knows his own style and rarely gets it wrong.  As he got older, he honed that slightly flashy East-end of London suit style.  Here he is with Noel Gallagher, hitting all the right notes.  Grey suit, tones with his grey hair, striped shirt lifts the whole outfit and gives it some pizzazz.  Perfect in its own way.

Looking London-style

Today

I hear that at Weller’s concerts, many older mods turn up wearing their stylish suits and brogues.  It must be something to see, London suit style turning up and looking the business. As the first picture shows, he still has soul and style.  Good style Mister Weller.

Fashion for Men Magazine, Issue 1

I was in my favourite newsagent’s when I saw the monster that is Fashion for Men. 

Fashion for Men, Issue 1

For  some time now magazines like “Self-Service and “Another Magazine” have been publishing as “ book-magazines”.  These hard-bound, glossy paper mags are the size and weight of a book, with the style and attitude of a magazine.  Advances in computer-typesetting and digital printing have made this possible.  These book-magazines are usually published twice a year and strive for a kind of permanence in the ephermeral world of style mags.

Well, clearly this idea has jumped the gender barrier, because Fashion for Men is just this kind of book-magazine.   

This is big, I weighed it, it weighs 6 Kilos.  Hell, I carried it.  Occasionally, writing about menswear can be a slog but it has never been an actual sweat before….. 

Here is a picture, with my mobile phone as size comparison.

The biggest men's magazine on the block

So what do you get for your 25 Euros?

The magazine is the venture of Milan Vukmirovic.  Vukmirovic is currently the creative force behind Rome’s Trussardi  brand.  Late last year I was in Trussardi’s flagship store in Rome, recently redesigned by Vukmirovic.  The brand now has a young, arrogant but elegant style, think La Dolce Vita for the IPad generation.    

Vukmirovic is also a fashion photographer, artist and has several other hats.  He writes an introduction in the magazine.  He says the magazine is a guide to men’s fashion and he hopes it becomes a benchmark for men to refer to. 

In my view the magazine feels very European.  This is reinforced by write-ups of forthcoming exhibitions in Paris, European art and the type of American culture that appeals to Europeans, classic black American music etc.   

The articles are short and serve to support the menswear as art, style theme.  There is an interesting interview with African designer Adrien Sauvage and some superb pictures of his African-influenced menswear.  

There are couple of articles that strike a false note.  One is an article solely about Chanel’s Exclusif’s for women, which is striking in it’s irrelevance. 

The quality of the photography and the ads is of course stunning.  Fashion for Men is printed on heavy art paper and shows the current menswear brand ads off to their greatest effect.

The pictorials, though beautifully photographed, are varied in their impact.  The most successful of them are photographed by Vukmirovic himself.  So a pictorial set on romantic Italian influenced clothes is beautifully and simply photographed.  The clothes are beautifully presented and look wonderful.    

Here is a picture of an Etro shirt from one of the articles.    

Etro Shirt, from photo-pictorial in Fashion for Men magazine

However, some of the other photsets do not match up to this standard.  There is a piece on Givenchy’s new collection, menswear influenced by tropical images.  However, the point of the pictorial is thrown away in favour of a homo-erotic paen of praise for the (admittedly handsome) model.  Others are just as bad, but with less point, an exercise in art photography where the menswear comes off a bad second. 

This lack of consistently is further exacerbated by a Vukmirovic-shot photoset of men’s suits.  This is superbly done but comes as a shock, because it is an almost exact copy of the style used by Fantastic Man magazine.  It is completely different from anything else in this magazine. 

So at this point the magazine stands in need of better artistic/editorial control.  What is good is that the upscale brands clearly trust Vukmirovic and have given him clothes from the very top of their range.  These coats, jewellery and accessories are extragavant and beautiful and would not usually be seen in a fashion mag, so when the mag works it works well. 

Similarly there is a piece by Vukmirovic, on trends, which is superb, an incredible eye for the details that make men’s style.  This is the single most useful piece in the magazine.

So I am undecided on Fashion for Men.  I bought it because it is what I do.  Naturally Fashion for Men needs a little time to mature and the second issue will really tell whether it can become a benchmark for men’s style.  It has some tough competition in the shape of Fantastic Man and Man about Town magazines, who have already staked out the sophisticated, stylish man territory.

If Fashion for Men can use Vukmirovic’s design sense to give the magazine a coherent visual style then I think they can be a contender.

Cary Grant.

“I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be until finally I became that person. Or he became me.”  Cary Grant.

Cary Grant was born on this day, January 18^th 1904, in Bristol, England.  He rose from working class poverty in Britain to become one of the greatest American movie stars that ever lived.  Here is a short appreciation on the occasion of his birthday.    

For me, he was and is the very model of a successful man.  I long ago learned that there was so much one could learn from his movies and from him, the deeds of his life.  As I have grown older I have appreciated him more and more.  When I was younger I appreciated him for the way he dressed, his worldliness, his connoisseurship.  Now I am older I appreciate him for his self-awareness, his generosity of spirit and his love of life.  He was and remains my inspiration for writing What Makes a Man. 

The truth is, I still do not understand Cary Grant and I think that is a good thing.  His reason for not discussing his personal life was sound; he did not feel that he could be a model for anyone else.  He was ahead of his time here, understanding how we each play to our own psychology.  But his reticence is intriguing because it hides his huge achievement in inventing himself, in becoming Cary Grant. 

What he did was almost impossible, he started out poor, badly educated and badly parented, and became a movie star, a worldly connoisseur of art, clothes, food, a successful businessman and a father.  It is no accident that Graham McCann’s definitive biography of Grant is entitled “Cary Grant, a class apart”.  For Cary Grant invented a man for the twentieth century, a gentleman of quality but of no particular class.      

Cary Grant, early on in his career

 

Bettering himself

What we do know abut Cary Grant is that, from somewhere, he had a deep-seated desire to better himself, and he never lost that desire.  He was only nine years old when he first expressed an interest in clothes, he asked his mother for a pair of white flannels.  But this was no disinterested interest.  Cary had developed an affection for the butcher’s daughter and even at a young age, realised that good clothes would make him more attractive to girls. 

Initially it was his willingness to listen and learn that set him apart.  He went to New York as part of a vaudeville acrobatic troupe when he was twenty.  When the act folded he stayed in America.  By the time he was twenty-four he was appearing in musical comedy on Broadway.  He knew musical comedy was a route out of vaudeville and learnt to sing, paying for lessons with the money he earned from a variety of odd, often downright odd, jobs, that were related to show business.  In those days when his reviews came in, they were very mixed.  However Cary Grant was not dismayed, he read about his faults and duly set out to fix them.  Before he was through he added a touch of Noel Coward, a slinky elegance of movement and an accent that combined English diction with American pronunciation.

At the same time he started to become the Cary Grant we know today.  He became a “walker”, an escort for attractive women and in the process met a lot of accomplished and successful people.  By his own admission he learnt all he could from the people he met.  At twenty-four he started clipping articles on all kinds of subjects, something he did for his entire life.  It became his habit to make light of his achievements but the truth was, he had a ferocious work ethic.        

This shows up in small but inspired ways in the movies.  In the early scenes of “To catch a thief” Grant wears a trousers, striped shirt and scarf combination that set the tone for the movie.  These were not his own clothes, which Hitchcock felt were wrong for the character.  He found the clothes he wore by looking at the style of local men in the South of France (the setting for Thief) and buying in local stores.  Once again, looking and learning. 

Incidentally Grant’s shirt and scarf “look”, caught on hugely when the movie came out and lots of men took it up, unfortunately, “very badly” in the words of Thief’s costume director.   

There was a bit of a downside to this learning.  Like many man who teach themselves to be self-sufficient, Grant became used to doing everything himself.  His second wife, Barbara Hutton, in a rare critical comment about him, once said that “He was a frustratingly difficult man to care for”.     

Listening

One of the things that set Cary Grant apart from other actors and other men of the period was his ability to treat women with respect and listen to what they had to say.

All of his female co-stars said the same thing.  Cary Grant listened to them; he was not simply waiting for the chance to speak his lines.  He did this with great care and it gives his scenes with his co-stars a texture, a depth and a timing that other stars could not match.  Part of Cary Grant’s mystique as a star was his chemistry with his female co-stars.  This was partly because he was a truly sexy, handsome man. 

However it was also because he built that chemistry, by listening to them and making them believably human.  It was part of his gift that he brought that feeling to the screen.  There is a wonderful early scene in Indiscreet, where Ingrid Bergman’s lonely, beautiful actress is flirting with Grant.  Grant is clearly both flirting and hesitating at the same time, but more importantly it is clear that he is responding to Bergman’s conversational gambits.  There is a realism about the tone and timing that carries one deeply into the scene. Magnificent acting by both of them. 

Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, in "Indiscreet"

 

Self-possession

If Grant was courteous and listened to women, he was still very comfortable in his own skin.  His self-possession is evident in many of his roles.  He would listen to women but he had his own view of the world, downright challenging.  This confidence, even aggression, made for great interplay.  In my opinion he never did it better than in the “The Philadelphia Story” as the divorced husband of the imperious Katherine Hepburn.  Grant’s  classlessness also works beautifully here, as he neither conforms to hierarchy nor flouts it.  By starting from a position of certainty he consistently out-manoeuvres Hepburn’s icy aristocrat.

Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn in "The Philadelphia Story"

Alpha Male

By the time we get to the making “To catch a thief”, Grant was perfectly Cary Grant.  The first part of Hitchcock’s genius was to have Cary Grant almost play himself, cosmopolitan, cultured, stylish, but with an element of dangerous alertness.  Here is the man that so impressed Ian Fleming that he wanted Cary Grant to play James Bond.  It is ironic (and a tribute to Cary Grant) that Fleming, a terrible snob, wanted the poor working class lad from Bristol to play his officer-class spy. 

Hitchcock’s second act of genius was to unleash the danger, the aggression in Cary Grant.  It starts with Grant’s trick with a shotgun to fool the police and it ends with his willingness to hurl Brigitte Auber’s girl burglar from a fourth-floor rooftop.  In between there are times when we are never sure whether we are going to get the well-dressed lover or the underworld parolee.

Now, Grant is the complete master of the woman he is with.  Grace Kelly is beautiful, selfish, arrogant and flirtatious as the wealthy but spoilt Francine Stevens.  However, Grant’s John Robie is unperturbed by her behaviour.  The more Kelly’s Francine tries to play Grant’s John Robie, the more he teases her, showing her who has the power.  There is nothing coarse here; Grant defeats Kelly with both wit and style, leaving her no alternative but to fall in love with the man who has bested her.

Cary Grant in "To Catch a Thief"

The end for now

I am going to stop here.  Cary grant had formed the man he wanted to be by the time of “To Catch a Thief” and that seems a good place to stop.  There are so many other things to talk about, his generosity, his care and loyalty to his friends, his romantic weakness for women.  That will wait for another time.  But there is one thing that I still find amazing, after years of watching his movies and reading about him. 

The man turned out so well. 

Given his difficult start in life, there is no English class-war defensiveness in him, no embittered distrust, no predilection to make excuses for any part of his life.  His story is of a man who was determined to succeed and happy to do the work that he needed to do.

Cary Grant created Cary Grant and he created a very special man.

God Bless you Mr Grant, wherever you are.

Details

Movies

There are of course so many wonderful movies.  Here are five of my favourites:

To Catch a Thief

Cary Grant was never more urbane, more stylish or more interesting than in To Catch a Thief

The Philadelphia Story

Witty and exceptionally funny.  In some ways it is the ultimate  screwball comedy, in others there is no movie quite like it.  Sharp, funny and clever. 

Charade

Before Bond, Grant made a very classy, worldly American spy.  Setting the movie in Paris played to Cary Grant’s strengths as a stylish, cosmopolitan man.

Only Angels have Wings

Howard Hawks movie about mail flyers in the Andes.  The camaraderie works here.  Surprisingly, so does Grant as a tough aviator disdainful of romance.

Indiscreet

This movie has grown on me in recent years.  Cary Grant play a less-than-ethical character and yet is still appealing to the audience.  To carry that through an entire movie and not lose the audience is great acting.  

Books

Graham McCann

Cary Grant, a class apart. 

Though McCann sometimes feels like he is a little cold on his subject, this is the definitive biography, and treats Grant’s acting with the consideration it deserves.

Richard Torregrossa

Cary Grant, a celebration of style

This is a book of bits and pieces, but wonderfully illuminating on Cary Grant’s style, his relationships with his friends, his view of movies.  Like a mine full of nuggets of gold.

Yann-Brice Dherbier

Cary Grant, a life in pictures.

This is a new book which unfortunately contains some errors of grammar, and, I think, one error of fact.  That said, it is a beautifully researched book and contains some stunning studio photographs that have rarely been seen.

A very Merry Christmas to all readers of What Makes a Man. 

Our thanks to you for reading our work and we look forward to your visits in the New Year.  Good luck in 2012.

The first part; Choosing a man’s cologne, is here

Having written the first article we realised that there is no real guide to how men’s colognes smell.  So we wrote this article. Here are our top twenty colognes, divided into five categories.  If you find this useful, let us know.  We intend to do more on this subject.

Our articles on dressing well for dating start here (article 1 of 5)

Classic men’s colognes.

We start with the classics, because most of us will have heard of these and we using these, we can start to get ourselves on a common footing.

Men’s perfume classics have made a huge comeback, revived initially by the new Italian fashion designers, who like them for their complexity and rich combination of scents.  The great thing about the classics is their reliability, you know what you are getting.  They also date from a period when men’s fragrances were more discreet, so they lack the orchid and aromatic wood- heavy notes of today’s best-selling colognes.  This means that if you are unsure about colognes, you can start with a classic fragrance, it is unlikely to be too extreme a smell.

Eau Savage

A clean, fruity, sharp smell, very sexy, lots of hot floral smells and leather.  Young, masculine, lively, a statement cologne.  After it wears in you have a slightly acid leather and lemon scent, which is appealing and noticeable.  If you are fit, engaging, dress with a clean sharp look, then its dry, musk and fruit smell is for you.  If you are slightly overweight, losing hair, classic style, sorry, it’s not really for you.  This is also a strong-smelling cologne, so do not douse yourself in it.  You want to smell good, not overpower your audience.

Eau Sauvage - dry, floral, acid - the original manly cologne

Givenchy Monsieur (Givenchy Gentleman)

Cary Grant’s favourite cologne, which says it all really.  A complex, very long-lasting scent, with some deep notes of amber and wood mixed with a fresh rich floral topnote.  For the classic man really, it works wonderfully for the older man.  A superb day-time cologne, it says worldly, ladies man, gentleman.  A true ladykiller.

This is one of my two preferred day colognes, along with Chanel’s Egoiste (see below).  Most times I wear Givenchy Monsieur because the Egoiste is a little big for daywear.

Givenchy Monsieur - Cosmopolitan and sophisticated

Aqua Di Parma

Has had a huge comeback with modern fashion designers singing its praises.  Floral, ostentatious, a little goes a long way.  A slight spicy undernote makes it as Italian as can be while having a classic musk base.  A good cologne and, for the immediate future at least, a talking point.  Technically a mid-range cologne, it is good for the man who is looking for a middle of the road cologne to enhance a classic image.

Aqua Di Parma - a much loved classic

L’Homme Roger et Gallet

For those men who think colognes make them girly.  This is woody, salty, has the tang of astringent herbs.  If you are a crocodile hunter, special forces soldier, or arctic explorer, L’Homme Roger et Gallet is for you.  The most masculine.  Ever.  Wear it when you are going to take down a full-grown grizzly, armed only with a Bowie knife.

I used to wear this all the time when I was finding my way with colognes.  Women love it but you have to be right for it.  I was not, but still wear it occasionally, it brings back fond memories.  Out of fashion now, but definitely due a revival.

L'Homme Roger et Gallet - a truly masculine cologne

Light Fragrances

Issey Miyake man

(L’Eau D’Issey pour homme).  This is light, smells of exotic woods, a faint smell of orchids and salt mist, the slightest smell of herbs.  If you are a slim man or of compact build, your style is discreet, neat, orderly, this will work well for you.  A thing of beauty.

Issey Miyake for men - Light, elegant, stylish

Canali Men

Light, fragrant, lots of citrus and floral notes, yet distinctive and classy.  It lasts well for a light cologne and after a while has a slight soft undertone of exotic flowers.    Definitely one for the ladykillers, but not really for your Aunt’s summer lunch party.  A light cologne, but quite showy, it has an impact.  Canali have produced something really fine here, it is clearly Italian but modern and young.  I would recommend this for men in their twenties.

Canali - spirited, sexy and elegant

Egoiste Platinum

Egoiste gets two write-ups here, because it is such a versatile cologne.  Egoiste Platinum is the lighter of the two Egoistes.  It was specifically designed for the younger man, based on the best-selling original.  It has the sharp coriander and oriental balm scents of the original but has more flower scents, lavender and jasmine predominate.  Light and good for day-wear, once again a good young man’s cologne.

Armani Code

This is light, clean, sexy and a definitive smell.  A little young, but striking, a scent of exotic florals and spices.  There is a tangy mineral/herb edge to this one, so it definitely has body.  Light but with an athletic personality.

Armani Code - young, definitive, clean-smelling

Complex mid-range fragrances

Paul Smith Men

This is a really useful cologne.  It has a light herby Englishness about it but with a quirky spicy edge that is very present when you apply it.  However the spiciness wears away to leave undertones of warm florals and a surprising level of musk.  You might say it becomes sexier as time wears on.  A good all-rounder, it is noticeable but not obstrusive.  An excellent cologne, especially for men just beginning with colognes or men whose style is subtle and understated.

If you feel confident, are creative, have that extra zing, then I recommend Paul Smith Extreme.  More spicy, with lush notes of Bergamot and exotic herbs, it still has the underlying musk but now overlaid by a bolder, more oriental scent.  This is an attention-grabber.  Whatever you do, do not spray this on ten seconds before you enter the room.

Paul Smith Extreme - quirky, spicy, lots of character

Burberry Men

This is a very good mid-range day cologne.  Slightly astringent, slightly herby, with enough musk and body to wear through a day.  A clean, slightly minty smell, very classic and pleasing.

Burberry Men - clean, fresh, slightly herby

Egoiste – Chanel

This is a superb cologne.  Egoiste straddles the line between the mids and the bigs, it has enormous character but is also subtle and light.  It has a distinctive oriental, woody smell.  There is a crisp smell of coriander, lemon and light notes but this cologne has a real spine and it is held up by a woody and heavy floral note.  The end result is a complex confident, prosperous smell that lasts really well.

Too new to be a classic but I am sure it will become one.  Quite rightly, a best-seller since its launch. Ignore the other Chanel men’s colognes, they are not good.  Chanel have never equalled Egoiste since they launched it.

Egoiste - fresh, floral but full of character

Tom Ford – Classic

Tom Ford understands style in a way that few people do.  To me, Tom Ford classic smells like a modern version of Eau Sauvage, without the overtly sexual fruity acid topnote smell of Eau Sauvage.  Which is a good and clever thing.  This is a floral fragrance with some spice and some amber.  Complex and superbly mixed, this smells like a worldly man, lots of scents but is a subtle, beguiling smell.  As it wears in, it develops into a light, fresh, slightly floral slightly spicy scent.  Good stuff and (I think) destined to become a modern classic.

Tom Ford Classic

The bigs

Complex strong scents, for the big man, be it big style, big size or big presence.

Terre D’Hermes

Big, rich, very woody, a smell of orchids and leather.  Lots of earthy musk underpinning all of this.  It is very longlasting, the floral notes give way to a warm woody spiciness with a hint of amber and leather.  Very powerful, for the mature man, needs a strong presence to carry it.  The sophisticated man at night.  My personal favourite.

Terre D'Hermes - Rich, woody, pungent

Valentino Homme

Yes, the Italian designer.  Spicy, big, intense, very flamboyant and noticeable.  Lots of orchid and rare spices, a complex scent with bergamot, exotic wood and musk, Italian to the core. If you are the star of your show, here is your scent.  Party scent  for the successful man.

Valentino Men - big and showy

Zegna Intenso

What it says on the bottle.  Intense, deep floral scent with a fruit and spice complexity to lighten it.  A musky ostentatious scent, a little is enough, it is very noticeable.  In my experience, women love this scent, are provoked to comment on it.  Left my bottle in a hotel in Spain, keep meaning to buy some more.

Zegna Intenso - intense, sexy, fun

Black Tea – Murdock

My god.  This is potent stuff.  Smells of wood, tobacco, burnt spices and a manly musk.  Put it on, it is spicy and warm but insistent, you can smell the leather and tobacco, a slight hint of tea, oriental spices.  A warm dry smell, it wears in and carries all of its scents confidently.  This is one of the most long-lasting colognes I have ever worn, I put it on at 14.00 and it was still working strongly at midnight.

This is the Alpha Male of scents.  Lets be blunt, this one says big male animal, looking for sex.  Here’s a context for you.  As a yong actor, before he became a movie star, Oliver Reed was one of the most good-looking men alive.  He had a good-looking devil face, thick dark hair, a confident, insolent look and a devil-may-care presence.  Women adored him.  Black Tea by Murdock is the distilled essence of Oliver Reed and I mean that as a real compliment.

Murdock Black Tea - Dry, spicy, leathery, truly masculine

Latins

I had to give the Latins some space of their own.  These are romantic, big men’s colognes and they are the boldest of them all.

L’Occitane

L’Occitane are a Provencal cosmetics company that specialise in the fragrances and balms from that region.  Primarily a women’s brand, like a lot of French houses they have an extensive men’s range.  Sometimes I wear their Eau De L’Occitane pour Homme.  I would never have bought this myself, my wife bought it for me but I like it.  Funny really, because I have an ongoing love affair with Provence.

This is a sharp, very spicy scent, with lots (and lots) of juniper, exotic herbs and flowers in it.  Not a shy scent.  I wear it when I need a cologne that can hold it’s own, such as at a summer day party, or a barbecue.  This is not an expensive or complicated men’s cologne but is fun, sexy scent.

Warning.  In my experience, some of L’Occitane’s men’s colognes can be overwhelming.  For example I find their men’s Verbena completely overpowering.  Try before you buy.

Narcisco Rodriguez – Men

Spanish designer, who has made a name for himself with his sophisticated womenswear, reinterpreting women’s classics and producing a dark, sexy look.  I sampled his Narcisco Rodriguez Men recently.  This is most definitely a big cologne.  In fact this is very heavy.  It is a heavily floral cologne, a big scent of orchids, a deep sweetness balanced by a heavy musk layer.   It has some undertones of wood but is primarily a strong floral smell, very opulent and quite decadent.  A showbiz perfume, movie-star-at-the-premiere men’s cologne.

Narcisco Rodriguez for men - Heavy, floral and powerful

Adolfo Dominguez – Black

Warm scents of oranges and spices, some wood.  It smells like a hot, sunny day in Seville, with some sharp flowers and a scent of organges thrown into the mix.  A bit less heavy than the others, the scent is lighter and not so penetrating.  This might be a good Latin cologne for a younger man.

Black by Domingues - spicy and Spanish

Carolina Herrera 212 Men

Carolina Herrera 212 Men.  I tried this recently.  Marvellous stuff.  Sophisticated, spicy, complex, lots of rich floral notes, some amber and (I think) a touch of vanilla.  This is aristocratic, prosperous, sexy and confident.  If I have a complaint about 212, it is that it fades very quickly, the complexity dies and the underlying floral note is all that’s left.  Still, it is spactacular while it is in action.  Carolina Herrera is actually Venuzuelan of Spanish descent, so this is, strictly speaking, a Latim American cologne.  Recommended.

Carolina herrera 212 Men - sophisticated, aristocratic, sexy

The End, for now

So here are twenty men’s fragrances we like, there are of course lots more.  Half the fun with men’s fragrances is finding the good ones.  The other half is of course wearing them.

As always, your feedback on our choices is most welcome.

The old saying still holds true.  A stylish gentleman gets his suits in Savile Row and his shirts and shoes in Jermyn Street. 

I really enjoy visiting Jermyn Street at this time of year.  So many elegant and individual shops, all decked out for Christmas, it really does make it feel like Christmas is approaching.  And there is nowhere better than Jermyn Street for buying Christmas gifts for your friends.  Somehow the haste and crowds do not intrude here, you get to make your choices and purchases in a considered and enjoyable atmosphere.  Shopping for the discerning man.    

The Ultimate Jermyn Street Christmas Hamper

This year sees Jermyn Street presenting a chance to win the Ultimate Jermyn Street Christmas Hamper.  Think of it as a representation of the best of Jermyn Street in a single hamper.  It includes a pair of shoes from master shoemakers Foster and Sons, a hat from the ever-stylish Bates hatters, shirts from Hawes and Curtis, accessories from jeweller Nigel Milne and other superb examples of men’s style. 

For the gourmands amongst us the hamper includes a bottle of 2002 vintage champagne from Fortnum and Mason, cheese from Paxton and Whitfield (who hold a Royal Warrant for their cheeses) and a Ritz Christmas pudding.  There are many other gifts including an overnight stay for two at the luxurious Cavendish hotel, famed for its quiet glamour, charm and impeccable service.  So if you win, you can enjoy Jermyn Street in high style.  

Here is a picture of the hamper showing some of the gifts:

The Ultimate Jermyn Street Christmas Hamper

 

To win

To enter the draw, simply visit one of the participating stores and fill out an entry postcard.  For a full list of gifts in the hamper and the stores participating in the draw, go to the Jermyn Street Association website here.  The draw is now open, with the deadline for the draw being the 16^th December 2011.  The winner will be announced and the hamper sent during the week of the 19^th December.                

So, pop along to Jermyn Street, fill out an entry postcard and give your luck a try.  May the best man win.