This is our seasonal piece covering the best things I’ve bought recently, with comments on fit and views on style. A useful round-up, a gear review in brief: they’re all things I’ve bought and worn already so I can help out with any more detailed questions as well. Just ask in the comments.
The last two are from Lucas, as noted. It’s so nice having a plethora of views (and wider range of styles) in the team. In fact on that subject, we recently hired our third member of staff – Bao – whom readers will have already started to meet on the support emails. He’s been an absolute godsend. Welcome Bao!
1. De Bonne Facture ‘Artist Shirt’
Size: Medium
€271
The two notable things about this shirt from De Bonne Facture are the lightness of it, and the colours. It’s made in a washed cotton voile that’s really lightweight, yet not see-through. It feels very cool on the body and I can’t wait to wear it in the summer when I really feel the benefit.
And the colours are great – unusual but subtle. I took the ‘rosewood’ (shown on me, top) which is nice with blue jeans as well as brown trousers. The dark brown shirt (above) is also really nice – slightly purply. And there’s a standard navy if you want something safe.
2. Buck Mason ‘Hollywood Trousers’
Size: 32
$298
When Lucas, Manish and I went shopping at Buck Mason in LA last month, the one product we all walked away with (in different colours) was the trouser from the Hollywood line of suiting.
They’re a really nice cut – wide but not exaggerated, tapered slightly through the thigh, and a comfortable true high-rise fit. Having met the Buck design team now, I can understand why the cuts are so good. Few brands at this price level are doing all their own pattern work.
I took the linen herringbone in natural. It’s a lightweight linen so wrinkles a little more, but cooler too.
3. Allevol quarter-zip sweatshirt
Size: Large
£195
I like a sweatshirt with a collar where I can, because I find it more flattering around the neck. The issue is I rarely like the collars on them – the McCoy’s one I have is a bit tiddly. So I was pleased to try this from Allevol at Clutch Cafe.
The collar stands up a bit more and rolls down quite nicely too. The material is soft and light as far as most Japanese sweatshirts go, but I’m tending more in that direction – a bit like not having the patience for raw denim anymore.
4. Vicki Turbeville southwestern jewellery
Size: N/A
My cuff: $400
We met Vicki and her partner, Steve Nelson of Mountain Lion Trading, while we were in LA. They’re both wonderful people; Steve in particular is a legend of trading in southwestern art and artifacts.
Vicki handles the jewellery side and that’s the most obviously shoppable: Lucas and I both bought simple necklaces for our partners, and I bought a beautiful vintage cuff. Highly recommended as an online source, or as a lovely place to visit. A couple of minutes from Redondo Beach.
5. The Anthology ‘Dress Chinos’
Size: 50
$325
There have been quite a few questions from readers about these since The Anthology launched them, so apologies for not including them in anything sooner. To be honest, I’ve just started to wear them with a few things.
I’d describe them as a really nice smart chino – the kind of thing I’m most likely to wear with tailoring, if I did so. The material is a soft, slightly peached cotton, and they have dressy details like lapped seams as well. The fit is a fairly high rise, slightly more than I usually have, and flat so the same rise in the back.
6. Strapateer camera strap
Size: N/A
£125
I recently bought a Fujifilm XE-5 camera, and obviously wanted a good strap. Our photographer Alex recommended this one and it’s proven a very good purchase: a little vintage in look, which is of course welcome, but very functional as well.
I haven’t found I use the ability to wear the camera under a jacket, then unsnap the strap in order to pull it out, but that’s probably because I’m too precious about the fit of my outer layer. It certainly does work if you want it to – and I shorten the strap to use it more around the wrist.
7. Dalmo cotton/linen knitted polo
Size: Medium
£331
Dalmo, the Italian hand-framed knitter we’ve featured a few times on PS, have just launched a website for the first time. They’re a small operation, and in the past have concentrated on made-to-order (which they still do) but the site will hopefully now make their products much more accessible.
I tried a couple of things on the site recently, and I’d recommend the knitted polos in a linen/cotton mix. I’ve never particularly liked pure linen knits, despite several attempts over the years (eg here). They’re just a little too heavy and lose shape. But a cotton/linen mix is a great idea, and the ‘Patrizia’ in brown has been lovely to wear.
8. Rubato short-sleeved linen shirt
Size: Medium
£285
Rubato did a different version of their pop-up in London this week, where they came over for just a day, with a few appointments for people to see just the new releases. I tried all of them (of course) but my favourite was this short-sleeved shirt, because I find it so hard to find one of those in a cut I like.
This one is a little higher in the neck which is good, and while the sleeve is a little square (which I know some readers will actually prefer) a little fold back of the end produces a perfect taper on me. Happy to answer questions about anything else in the range (which I think launched for everyone yesterday.
9. Oak Street ‘Rowing Oxford’
Size (Lucas): 11(US)
$372
This is one I haven’t actually bought myself, but Lucas has been wearing a pair for almost a year now and I’ve seen them age really nicely. They fall into a category of shoe that you could think of as a boat shoe with a chunky sole – that same rounder, casual look, but with a sole that can cope with walks in the countryside.
It’s not a category I’ve explored yet, as I’d usually wear a boot in that kind of scenario. But if I do, these are definitely the ones I’d go for – more than the others from Timberland, Paraboot, Sperry or Yuketen that Lucas has also tried.
10. Lady White ‘Band Pant’
Size (Lucas): XL
£255
While we’re talking about Lucas, let’s include this one as well. I wrote about my lazy travel clothing recently, and the controversial thing was the Bryceland’s sweat pants. Well this is what Lucas wears: a cotton trouser with a pin tuck from the great LA brand Lady White, whom we also visited on our recent trip.
The material has more clean drape than a sweatpant, and the appearance of a crease helps too. They have nice natural stretch – you’d almost think they had some elastane or something in there, but they don’t.
