Daks Storefront

We have to start with one of my personal favourites, Daks in Old Bond Street.  Daks continue to produce upscale menswear that draws on classic British traditions.  However their menswear has modern flair and a crisp, nicely detailed edge to it.  At the moment , no one is doing the young Englishman style as originally as Daks.  Discreet and edgy?  I think they are carrying it off.

Picks of this sale have to be the dress shirts, especially the slightly more formal ones.  Autumn colours, with fine geometric prints, like Liberty prints for the grown-up.  Also, like many upscale labels, Daks is fielding a heavy knitwear collection this year, including pieceas like ribbed cable-stitch sweaters with an overstitched pattern.

I liked this suit, which steals more than a touch from Tom Ford.  This is a Prince of Wales check with a pale blue in-line under-pattern.  Good to see doubled-breasted suits back in the market.

A good sale, up to 50% off.

Daks

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

DKNY

Always some interesting casual wear here.  As yet there is not a lot in this sale, mainly some interesting shirts and knitwear.

Joseph

Joseph sale, Old Bond Street

Joseph has some real bargains.  Particularly the long topcoats, as seen in the picture below.  This one is of marbled leather with a white shearing collar.  There are others, in different styles, including some beautiful smooth leather topcoats with unfinished seams.  These topcoats are so stylish, gallic cool, sexy style.   Also good in this sale are the Joseph jeans.  Sale prices are between 30 and 40% off.  I always find that the larger sizes sell out quickly in the Joseph sale so if you are a big guy I would hit this one first.  

Joseph

Always a really good sale.  I particularly liked the fact that RL casualwear, especially their really soft knitwear, is on sale at 30% off.  Lots of winter gear, scarves, hats, etc are on sale at 40% off.  Go for the casualwwear.

Ralph Lauren knitwear

One of those sales that has not yet hit its peak, there will be further discounts I am sure.  Also, interestingly, they are discounting some of their very expensive style and photography books.      

 Ralph Lauren

 1 New Bond Street, London, W1S 3RL
+44 (0)20 7535 4600

Churchs Shoes

Church Store, Old Bond Street, London

 

Church’s was a bit of a scrum.  Like many other upscale menswear shops, Churches was full of Indian and Chinese buyers, buying quality at good prices.  Sale discounts only on selected items only here but discounting of around 25-30%.  Some very nice black and chestnut-brown monkstraps in this sale.

Church Shoes

TEL +44 207 493 1474 

Grosvenor Shirts

Grosvenor, ready-to-wear and made-to-measure shirts

 

Sale prices for Grosvenor’s quality English shirts are excellent, with some ready-to-wear shirts at 50% off (some shirts were selling at under £50.00).  Grovenor also has one of the best made-to-measure shirt services in London, with prices starting at around £100.00.  The sale discount on made-to-measure is 25%.  One to visit early, Grosvenor sales are always well-attended by discerning men looking for a bargain and good shirts go fast. 

Grosvenor Shirts

 4 Grosvenor Street, Mayfair, London, W1K 4PX
+44 (0)20 7629 2782

Boss Jacket

The Boss sale has started.  However I did not have time to visit this one, so was not able to review their sale stock.  However I did see this rather fine quilted jacket (Daks are doing something similar, in a check wool worsted) with a (fake) fur collar.

Fenwicks

I have written before about the surpisingly good menswear section at Fenwicks of Bond Street.  Menswear is tucked away on the lower ground floor (basement) of this department store, so it is not immediately apparent that they have menswear.  However, there are some interest brands, and in this sale, some deep discounts.  They have the current John Smedley knitwear range at 30%, including a couple of pieces which have sold out elsewhere.  The John Smedley flagship store has not yet started a sale and the John Smedley sale in Slefridges tell me that they are not going to have one, so this may be one to plunder.

Menswear Display, Fenwick, New Bond Street, London

Fenwicks have even larger discounts (50%) on young brands, including Theory, Filippa K and Surface-to-Air.  Defintely worth a visit.  Staff are helpful here.

Fenwicks

 63 New Bond Street, London, W1S 1RJ
+44 (0)20 7629 9161

Aspinall

Upscale accessories store Aspinall are having a sale (up to 50%) in their flagship store, just off Bond Street.  Picks here have to be the fine hipflasks, cufflinks and leatherware.

Aspinall, Brook Street, just off New Bond Street, London

Aspinall

25 Brook Street, London, W1K 4HB
+44 (0) 20 7493 9509 

Crombie

English classics from this traditional menswear company.  Their new(ish) flagship store in Conduit Street is very fine, stylish in an old-school way and their staff really know their stuff. 

Crombie store, Conduit Street, off Bond Street, London

Picks here have to be their classic Crombie wool overcoats, reduced to £495.oo and their superb crewneck cablestitch sweaters, reduced to £85.00   If you buy nothing else, go for the sweaters, they are of magnificent quality and beautifully made.

Crombie,
48 Conduit Street, London, W1S 2YR
+44 (0)20 7434 2886

R M Williams

Australian outdoor casualwear of very high quality.  There is a limited amount in the sale, maybe they will add more.  Currently they have a very good deal on their moleskins (2 for 1).  Also I was really surprised by the quality of their knitwear (some in sale) which is really well-tailored, in good quality yarns.  I know a lot of readers eagerly await this sale and I am beginning to understand why.  Sale now on.

For Part 2, covering the Italian stores in Bond Street., go here

For Covent Garden menswear sales, go here 

All the upscale London sales, here on What Makes a Man.  Bond Street, Jermyn Street, Soho independents and lots more.  First posts from tomorrow.

If there is a brand you are interested in hearing, about send us a mail.  We are sure to review them.

Lutwyche Bespoke, Clifford Street, off Savile Row, sale now on.

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.

There is a long association of writers with booze, which has pretty much reached mythical proportions.  The belief that many famous writers needed a drop of the hard stuff in order to write.  Kingsley Amis swore by McCallan single malt, to the point where it now referred to as “the writer’s malt”.  Scott Fitzgerald swore by Gin.  Ernest Hemingway was a connoisseur of good wine (and food) and when in need of something stronger turned to the Hemingway Daiquiri (For our piece on the Hemingway Daiquiri and a recipe, go here).  I suspect that the booze hindered them rather than helped, especially in Hemingway’s case (Our article on Hemingway is here).

The truth about what helps writers to write is much more prosaic.

Coffee.

If you have to spark those braincells onto paper (or Word) then coffee will be your best benefactor.  Sometimes, my reward for finishing a piece is a good cup of coffee. 

I think every stylish man should have a good working knowledge of coffee.  It fits right in with having good taste in wine and food. 

Regular readers will know I sing the praises of the Algerian Coffee Stores in Soho, London (website here), one of the best coffee suppliers.  I am more than a little of a coffee snob.

So with that in mind, I went to buy from one of London’s premier coffee suppliers, H R Higgins.           

H. R. Higgins

H. R. Higgins have a wonderful shop in Duke Street, Mayfair, a block south of London’s Selfridges.  Though the shop has only been there since 1986, it has the look and feel of a Victorian shop.  The shop is classic and beautiful as only a working shop can be. Dark wood and brass and of course the most exquisite smells of coffee. 

Here is a picture of the shop.  It is a coffee connoisseur’s palace and a warm gem of a shop.

H.R. Higgins Coffee Supplier, Mayfair, London

H. R. Higgins have a truly inspiring history, with H. R. Higgins starting the business in the middle of World War 2, in 1942.  There is a lot more to their story, and you can read it on their website, here.  It makes you proud to be British.

H.R. Higgins sell fine original coffees from all around the world.  Their staff are knowledgeable, warm and friendly and will gladly advise customers about their coffees.  

Coffee is sold by weight with the smallest size being 125 mg.  Beans are ground to your specification.  H.R. Higgins use old coffee grinding machines that make a sound like a scaled down jet engine.  It’s fun.

Further evidence of their high standing is that they have a Royal Warrant for their coffee.  This was awarded in 1979 and they have held it ever since.  Here is a picture of the interior of the shop (note the brass coffee tins) with the Warrant on the wall.

H. R Higgins shop interior, with Royal Warrant on back wall

If you look back at the first picture you can just see their downstairs coffee shop.  It is small but comfortable.  There are always three coffees on offer, by the cup.  Their brew is wonderful, it really picks up my day.

Here are the coffees I bought:

Inambari Peruvian, very dark roast

I bought the Inambari because it is a Peruvian coffee and I particularly like Peruvian coffees.  I like the fact that they often have a sweet, nutty, toffee taste to them.  I have since tried the Inambari and it has a lush, rich flavour.  Even though it is a very dark roast, with lots of strong flavour, there is no bitterness.  When I drank my first cup I was expecting the bitterness that I often associate with very dark roasts but it simply was not there.  Superb.  I am officially addicted.

Daterra Brazillian coffee, dark roast, full flavour

The Brazillian Daterra was suggested by the Higgins team.  I asked for a dark (not very dark) roast that had a full but not overpowering taste.  This is for serving to guests, who might not share my taste for very strong coffee.  The Daterra is what they suggested. I have not yet tried it and am looking forward to it.              

So, if you are a coffee fiend, go there if you can.  If not, visit the H.R. Higgins site, they sell their Teas and Coffees online.

A great experience, a great story and great coffee.

Details

H. R. Higgins

79 Duke Street,

London, W1K 5AS

Tel 020 7629 3913

Website:  www.hrhiggins.co.uk

Moths!

The Bastards!

They have been eating my knitwear!

So winter is late in London this year and I had not had the urge to wear knitwear.  Then the weather changed last week and I decided I was going to wear sweaters. 

I was feeling really good about knitwear.  Over the last three years I had built up what I felt was a really good collection of knitwear, perfectly suited for my lifestyle.  Even better, ladies of taste and style had been complimenting me on my sweaters.

A few days ago I opened the wardrobe I keep my knitwear in.  And was amazed, not to mention furious.  Moths had eaten holes in almost all of it!

I immediately turned into Vizzini, the self-described criminal genius in The Princess Bride.  Whenever he was frustrated or angry his curse was “Inconceivable!”.  That was me.  “Moths! Inconceivable!”. 

It was all the more irritating because I was so smug about moths, it was only a couple of months ago I was in Pokit, the Englisher designer store in Soho, talking about moths.  (Pokit are here)

The guys in Pokit was telling me how to handle moths because moths were an increasing problem.  My strategy was to use cedar to repel them.  I bought sixty (60) cedar balls, each the size of a big marble and folded them amongst the sweaters.  Sixty large cedar balls for twelve sweaters, that had to be the answer, right?  I put them in place four years ago.  So I was feeling pretty smug when I talked to the guys at Pokit.

Cedarwood balls

They were right and I was wrong.  Inconceivable!

Here is what I learnt this week.

Moths are drawn to sweat.  So if you put knitwear away in the spring without washing it, all of it, the moths will be drawn to it.

If your knitwear is stored in a wardrobe where the air is damp, moths will be drawn to it.   Is there anywhere in England where the air is not damp?  So pretty much every man (in England) is exposed to the problem.

Cedar is only fully effective for a year.  After that the scent (which repels the moths) diminishes.  So my four-year old Cedar was now useless.  I did not know this.  Cedar needs to be sanded down in order to release its scent anew.  It looks like I am going to have to shave my balls…..

Moths want an easy life.  Once they have found your knitwear they go for the finest knitwear you own.  So my Sea island Cotton John Smedleys?  Swiss Cheese.  My Cashmere?  Well, luxury rags for shoe polishing I think.

So here is what I did:

I washed all of my sweaters that were undamaged (four out of twelve).  I dried them carefully and ironed them equally carefully. 

A friend recommended Caraselle, a British company who specialise in innovative products to deal with Moths.  Caraselle are here.

So I rang Caraselle and they were incredibly helpful. 

I bought these sweater protection bags from Caraselle, who specialise in protection against moths.  The bags are well designed and wide and deep enough to take two sweaters folded, side by side.

Caraselle Sweater Bag

I bought these Orphea paper strips from Caraselle, which protect against moths, like cedar, the smell repels them. 

Orphea strips from Caraselle

The Orphea strips have a fresh herby smell, with a slight aroma of Alpine flowers.  I layered the wardrobe with them. 

Orphea Strips - note the perforation for attaching them to clothes hangers

Orphea strips last for twelve weeks so I have a note in my calendar to buy some more in three months.  That’s easy, they were competitively priced.  

I sanded down the Cedar balls with fine sandpaper.  I wiped them of with a damp cloth so no wood dust would get into the wardrobe.  They now smell of Cedar again.  Back in the wardrobe with them.          

Knitwear into the bags.

So now I have defence in depth.  I can recommend Caraselle, they have a wide variety of moth-handling products.

Replacements

Now I simply have to replace the damaged knitwear.  Some I cannot replace, but here are my immediate buys.

This is a favourite piece of knitwear.

John Smedley Turtleneck - Navy

This is a great colour for me and suits me more than any other.

Purple V-Neck - Charles Tyrwhitt

This is a great piece and works amazingly well under a black or navy suit.

Red Poloneck - Peter Gribby

Now I simply have to find a light grey cashmere sweater, a navy cashmere long sleeve polo and a couple of others ….

So that is my experience.  Replacing all this good knitwear is time-consuming and expensive.  If you think you have a moth problem, the time to sort it is now.  Good Luck.

 Regular readers will know that I have an enduring love for good shoes.  As a (very) young man I bought imported American long-wingtip brogues from a “grey” trader in London’s East End.  They were the coolest shoes on the planet (in my opinion).   

As I became a man I also fell in love with good tailoring   so, like a lot of Englishmen, I went down the classical shoe route, starting  with Church’s wonderful Oxfords and developed a shoe education from there.  From there it was Trickers, Loakes, Crockett and Jones, Grenson.  Somewhere (I think it was the Grensons that did it) I discovered the joys of good Italian shoes, Sutor Mantellassi and Tanino Crisci.  Good shoes are a necessity and a joy.

So this is by way of introduction to this site, which is about good shoes and whose content is both beautiful and useful.  Justin FitzPatrick is the Shoe Snob, and his website is here.

I like the Shoe Snob because Justin has a very definite taste in shoes, is very knowledgeable, especially about bespoke shoes, and writes in a style that is accessible to everyone.  I really like the depth of his expertise, the way he writes about shoe design (he is a shoe designer himself) and some of the interesting aspects of Italian shoes.  Justin practices what he preaches and has a shoe-shine stall in Gieves and Hawkes, suitmakers, on Savile Row.  You can read more about that on the Shoe Snob.    

I vist the Shoe Snob regularly and I commend Justin’s site (especially the photographs) to you.

Other What Makes a Man shoe articles you may enjoy:

How to preserve the life of bench-made shoes, here

Classic English Country Brogues, here

English Bench-made shoes, the traditional brands, here  

English Bench-made shoes, new brands, here

Those learned gentlemen at the Whisky Exchange are hosting a Burns Night party at Vinopolis, London’s premier wine centre.

The party takes place on the 25^th of January, which is of course Burns Night.  Tickets are available from the Vinopolis website here 

For those of us who are partial to a dram of Scotland’s finest product, the Whisky Exchange is a place of pilgrimage, being a huge treasure trove of single malt whisky, with prices and styles to suit everyone.  We wrote about the Whisky Exchange before, you can find our earlier article here.

Burns Night at Vinopolis

The Burns Night Party promises to be a good one, with the following attractions;

• A Whisky Cocktail on arrival
• A three-course traditional Highland dinner, with Whiskys to complement each course
• A Burns recital
• A cabaret from the Scottish duo, Simply Whisky
• A party, with dancing and late drinks

For more on this event, a detailed roundup of the night’s activities are on the Vinopolis site here.

For those of you who want to celebrate Burns Night in your own inimitable style, our guide to how to do so is here.

I picked this card up from the John Smedley store, off London’s Bond Street.

John Smedley shop, Brook Street, Off Bond Street, London

  It is their colours for Autumn / Winter 2011.  So if you are looking for the finest of sweaters here are the colours Smedley are making them in.

Colour Card, Front

John Smedley Colour Card, Page1

John Smedley Colour Card Page2

I am a fan of John Smedley.  Their classic designs are very stylish and their fabrics very fine indeed.  They have been making beautiful knitwear for over 225 years.  For knitwear to wear under a jacket (instead of a shirt) they have no equal.

John Smedley are here.  Have a look at their original designs, they are new and very pleasing.

Robert Mitchum: “Baby I don’t care”

A biography by Lee Server

I have always been a fan of Robert Mitchum’s movies.  He was, in movies and in real life, the coolest man in the world.     

Pauline Kael, the famous movie critic, published an anthology of her reviews, titling it “I lost it at the movies”.  She meant that she lost her virginity at the movies; they stole her innocence and gave her something priceless, experiences of places and times she could not go to in the real world. 

If the movies stole my innocence, then they gave me too something else, ambition, an understanding of how important moral principles are, a desire to have Cary Grant’s suits, Vittorio DiSica’s women, James Bond’s car.  Like so many other men, I wanted Mitchum’s cool.

When I was growing up, everyone in my family knew Mitchum was cool.  As snotty adolescents my brothers and I would watch Mitchum in movies like “Heaven knows Mr Allison”. Mitchum playing a tough marine in a romance with Deborah Kerr was way ok with us, yet any other actor playing such a weepie would have only received our scorn.   

The Man. Handsome, intelligent, cool.

Film Noir

One of my early movie loves was Film Noir, and Robert Mitchum WAS Film Noir.  His brooding, hyper-masculine presence filled those movies.  In a strange way Mitchum made the tragedy of Film Noir heroic.  He conveyed the truth, which was that though life was bad, and there was no way out, yet a man could win by showing courage, forbearance and dignity.  In films like “Build my gallows high” and “Out of the Past”, he gave us complex doomed men who had nothing left but courage.  He acted their lives with a frankness and finesse that no other actor could match.

The Yakuza, Mitchum and Takakura Ken

Later in life, I found a new appreciation of Robert Mitchum, when he starred in one of my all-time favourite movies “The Yakuza”.   In it Mitchum fights the Yakuza alongside a loner sword-master played by Japanese mega-star Takakura Ken.  It was the perfect matchup, the doomed hard man and the doomed samurai.  

Mitchum as Kilmer in "The Yakuza"

Lee Server’s biography, Robert Mitchum: Baby I don’t care” is considered to the definitive work on this great actor.  I have owned it for a little while, cracked it open a couple of days ago, and was hooked. 

Lee Server; "Baby I dont care"

Robert Mitchum; Early Life

Server is good on Mitchum’s early life, growing up desperately poor in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of a half-Blackfoot railway man, who was killed in a horrific accident before Mitchum was two.  His growing-up in a loving yet eccentric household dominated by his intelligent and spirited mother.  He is particularly good on Mitchum’s strange childhood, the idiosyncratic but loving family and their life on the edge of poverty.

Baby I don’t care” is marvellously well-researched and there were still many of Mitchum’s childhood chums alive when that research was carried out.  The young Robert Mitchum was simultaneously the cleverest boy in school and the biggest troublemaker, with a delinquency that verged on the irrational.  From this background emerged a man who did not give a damn what anyone else felt. 

At fourteen, Mitchum left home, became a hobo, an itinerant labourer, was thrown into jail for vagrancy, put on a chain gang, ran off and became a fugitive.  Not your normal adolescence.

Server makes it plain that Mitchum was cool, a rebel against convention, at a time when it was dangerous to be so.  One of the enduring themes of this book is the endless entreaties, warnings and threats to Mitchum to conform, fit in, retract his opinion.  As a young man in the thirties he made many enemies with his frank, outspoken ways, but as the book says, he did not care.

Mitchum and Hollywood

Once Mitchum gets to Hollywood, the story changes.  Lee Server shows how Hollywood discovered Mitchum’s incredible talent.  How with a minimum of action and emotion he could bring complex exciting characters to life.  In the movies his self-possession became a raw unconquerable maleness that audiences loved.  Directors wanted him and women found him sexy.  His female co-stars found him irresistible and he set out on a long career of bedding the most glamorous female stars in the movies.     

But as a star Mitchum was the same man he had always been, he refused to play the Hollywood game.  He had no movie star friends, preferring to hang out with men he called “working stiffs”, in bars and illegal jazz clubs.  His love of marijuana got him into trouble, when he was setup for a drugs bust in 1948.  At that time drugs were considered satanic and the province of negroes.  Convicted and sent to prison, Mitchum still bounced back.

Lee Server is to be congratulated for the depth of his insight into Robert Mitchum.  He shows us the secret man, who wrote poetry, was marvellously well-read and had a phenomenal intellect that allowed him to talk to anyone from world leaders to scientists. 

Robert Mitchum was also one of the funniest men who ever lived.  I am lucky enough to have seen Mitchum’s TV interview with Barry Norman, the British movie critic.  The interview reaches a point where Norman is gushing about Mitchum’s acting and Mitchum clearly has had enough.  He looks Norman in the eye and says “I have two types of acting, with a horse or without”.

A superb performance in "The Friends of Eddie Coyle"

Alpha Male

Mitchum made light of everything, apparently nothing could dent his cool, Alpha male to the hilt.  However there were crises in his life and Lee Server uses them to illuminate the inner man with insight and compassion.  But Server is no blind fan, he is capable of showing Mitchum’s dark side without justification or apology.

This is a big book, it is a complex story and there is a lot to tell.  Lee Server is good for it.  He has a clear lucid story-teller’s style, and is always aware that he is writing for an audience.  However, he doesn’t stint on the facts and keeps the key themes of Robert Mitchum’s life in view right up to the last page. 

The older Mitchum, looking great.

For me this book is a model of how a movie biography should be written.  I am so pleased to have read “Baby I don’t care”.  I never really understood or truly appreciated Mitchum till now.

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 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.  For the successful and aspiring to be successful man.  I am adding this to my core collection.  Carolina Herrera is actually Venuzuelan of Spanish descent, so this is, strictly speaking, a Latim American cologne.  Highly 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.