THE ESTABLISHED MAN

Sorry its been a while, there just not been anything notably notable of any noteworthiness. Last Wednesday we resurfaced and a quick hot foot across town and to the gargantuan yellow mother ship that is Selfridges to fete the re-opening of their Womenswear designer galleries. But this was no in-store warm white wine with a cheese & pineapple hedgehog special, just a discreet sandwich board directing us up some well-worn stairs leading to the space that was once formerly Selfridges Hotel, now a concrete shell and the perfect place for a stylish soiree. 

Selfridges commissioned and worked on films with a selection of the designers stocked in store to celebrate this makeover moment..Gareth Pugh, Rick Owens, McQueen and Dries Van Noten to name but a few… and rustled up the creative maestro Emma Reeves to bring it all together and with tremendous effect. We particularly enjoyed the Comme Des Garcons film, a wise piano player reflecting on sensuality and love, all this viewed from the most enormous armchair we’ve ever sat in. Think Alice in Wonderland and you weren’t far off. What with the most delicious ham & cheese sandwiches, lobster and an ice cream bar with sprinkles galore, not to mention a fine playlist, this is how an in-store shindig should be… simples!

The Film Project until 25 March

www.selfridges.com/thefilmproject

Our show of the season for Autumn Winter 2012 has to go to a certain Mr. Raf Simons. 

We loved the proportions, those skinny shorts and that oversized outerwear ticked all the boxes as did the use of animal hair & hide, both in coats and on the back of sweaters and knits. Not to mention some fine Ombre’s which always tickle many a fancy as well as a fine piece of bright knit or two. This really was modern, urban menswear at its very best.

www.rafsimons.com

Images gorunway.com

We LOVE the covers for this month’s i-D.

http://i-donline.com

The American leather goods house Coach has never been a stop on our regular jaunts to the other side of the pond. Sadly it was rather tarnished by that synonymous C monogram that plagued the sidewalks of Fifth Avenue and Broadway in a bootleg bonanza but the tide has turned and Coach is reinventing itself and shedding those C’s.

With women’s accessories you actually might want to gift to a Lady and she herself might actually want to carry its now time for us gentlemen to get a good coaching.

British artist Hugo Guinness has for a long time caught our eye with his monochrome, stylish, simple works…any regular at John Derian’s lustworthy store on East 2nd street will know exactly what we mean. But now a Guinness can not just hang on your walls but also your arm what with a perfect bit of collaboration. Cue smart man bags..reversible don’t you know, and some natty small leather goods all featuring Guinness’ interpretations of our favourite city.

www.coach.com

The Established Man has been particularly sloppy at delivering any shape or form of infusion for quite some time really, so apologies one and all. Its been January, a deeply boring, grey, uneventful month where sleeping until 11am has been the norm followed by newspapers and breakfast in bed but we’ve woken up finally. Sorry

SoulCycle is the place to sweat like Bridget Jones on crack in the most slick of surroundings in NY. LA on the way soon and hints of a London opening..bring it on. We’re still perspiring after this morning’s hip-hop class.

www.soul-cycle.com

Come courtesy of the The Peninsula Hotel

Wonderfully bonkers

Repeated sightings of gentlemen sporting waist skimming fur coats in NY. Quite the look to pull off.

Mac & Cheese at Schillers on a wet Manhattan Night…perfection

Trust those savvy Americans to know how to keep one’s toes both dry and warm during these chilly months. 

Photo Alexandre & Emilie, Persona Production

Azzedine Alaia is quite the property mogul, renting out three apartments nestling near his Parisian Atelier, needless to say our name is down on the waiting list…

Photo by Bruce Weber for Visionaire

One cannot deny it any longer, winter has arrived. Yes the sun might well be shining but by God its bloody chilly and already the chat is that snow, sleet and clear skies will keep us shivering for well into the new year, got to love the Daily Mail rumour-mill.

So without a longhaul airfare in sight it means some serious wardrobe plotting is in order, we will not get cold! The first of our investments has been this rather tasty Pendleton scarf, with a nod to the American Novaks and every bit as comforting as one of their fine blankets it will not be leaving our side until Spring 2012.

A brief period of service disruption at The Established Man the past week..apologies Ladies & Gentlemen. What with art world-arama landing in Regent’s Park like a giant white space ship Frieze Art Fair gripped London town and everyone seemed to go arty party bonkers. But it was less the art that captivated us, not to mention the numerous zeros that one was serenaded with when chat moved to prices. The fine flurry of mid-century gems that gallerists chose to park their Prada and Margiela-clad derrieres upon had our inner-furniture connoisseur happily contented.

We’ll make no claims against the accusations that here at The Established Man HQ it’s predominantly big cars that float our automotive boat. Uber lustings persist for a black Ranger Rover Vogue, obviously caked in mud upon every surface, filled with plentiful canines in the boot ranging from Irish Wolfhounds to Jack Russells and just to make life that little bit more simpler blessed with a Kensington & Chelsea parking permit on the windscreen for that odd trip to the smoke..naturally parking one of these monsters in an underground car park is not an option.

So it was with great surprise that the other week we became rather cosy with the junior runt of the Audi litter. The aptly named A1, a sort of Mini-busting machine that eats Fiat 500’s for breakfast. We weren’t sure about the A1 at first, the design and the lack of power being the main reasons but when we were kindly given the rather sporty version, in boy racer down Dagenham or Granny in Bournemouth White… delete where appropriate…we grew fonder by the second. 

Speeding through the filth coated lanes of Sussex made us feel vaguely like a rally driver and what with the amount of power and sheer oomph this little beast kicks out when you put your foot to the floor it really is the quintessential pocket rocket. We nipped back to London town, sitting in the fast lane at blues & twos inducing speeds, where it was so easy with the S-tronic gearbox navigating the capital’s streets and an absolute star at slotting in to the tightest of parking spaces. All this and remaining solid, roomy and adult inside with no frilly-sillyness that’s often found in these new little cars aimed at ‘young people’. Maybe we don’t need that company Range Rover after all…

www.audi.co.uk/A1

An early morning awakening during fashion week is always a tricky one but fashion-fatigue took a back seat for Jonathan Anderson’s show as a queue of attendees snaked through the corridors of Somerset House and packed out the Portico Rooms, some a little to pushy for their own good…a manbag in one’s face is not what we’d had in mind for breakfast.

Short but sweet is often the way with London menswear unlike its Milanese and Parisian counterparts but think of it as quality not quantity. With many a colourful pant parading out in varying shades of fluro, paired with tank tops and bearing a gentle appliqué one wasn’t sure where Anderson was going on the journey this season but this was merely an appetiser for what was to come.

A penchant for paisley has been an Anderson trademark season upon season. This time around the classic pattern was deconstructed down to the bare bones and laid upon a crisp white base changing its appearance altogether into one of a much stronger, powerful motif on shorts and vests. Shorts were short, as is always the case these days, often made of suiting and cutting the thigh in half. Other leg-wear was layered with a leather chain-mail in varying shades, hinting to the handmade and a slight rustic-ness. This only continued what with the hexagonal patchwork quilt-effect vests, with flashes of flesh alluding to a hot summer. One has to wonder where Mr. Anderson keeps such a troop of fine knitters.

The handmade was aptly juxtaposed with more technological methods, cue laser-cut net shorts in vibrant blues and layered over traditional shirting on upperwear, albeit with a twist what with button fastening on the back, extra hands needed all round then. Some fine rucksacks also made an appearance with raffia panelling alluding yet further to the artisan but in a very modern way.

A good track to open a show always works wonders and Shannon certainly achieved this from the word go. He also did a fine job at keeping his trademark sports theme ever alive but tweaking the silouette and combining some apt tailoring. Here’s a boy that clearly has a wealth of inspirations, one can only imagine what sort of ‘mood-board’ he’s cutting and pasting as there were plenty of references going on here from preppy, street and skinhead.

As usual the technological intricacies of the fabrics Shannon utilises were key to this collection with nylon on shirting and outwear, made up of composite panelling in contrasting shades and often with toggles and ropes. These were teamed with heavy cotton monogrammed chino shorts and the odd sweat pant. Plentiful madras check on shirting, outerwear and shorts drifted away from the harder sportswear theme but still had that Shannon take on it when combined on bombers. Add in the tassels that appeared on shorts, cummberband-style belting as well as shirts and this was clearly a new direction and a nod to further away lands.

Image: Catwalking.com

The Established Man has been hiding in yet another foreign destination…more on that later…but arriving home after a Sleazyjet flight, delayed due to Mount Etna spluttering its volcanic innards, we were glad to fall out of a black cab and arrive back at The Established Man towers and find a surprise in the post.

Being rather partial to a nice bit of printed matter, we were delighted to feast our eyes upon Fourth Floor’s book to celebrate their twentieth birthday. This gem of a spot to get a one’s barnet fixed-up and made good have published what can only be described as a collaborative dream. What with a band of merry-followers going in for the chop including Jon Snow, Timothy Everest and Nigel Slater it’s no wonder owner Richard Stepney thought they might make perfect contributors to this anniversary edition. So cue Snow’s guide to WC1 where Fourth Floor resides and Slater’s recipes inspired by their own product line…Pumpkin with rosemary and ciabatta anyone…yes please Nigel at the double!

No doubt Fourth Floor’s long list of patrons will be keeping a very watchful eye over this covetable read. Book in that appointment pronto!

Fourth Floor | 3rd & 4th Floor | 4 Northington Street | London | WC1N 2JG

0207 405 6011 | www.4thfloor.co.uk

The Established Man spent the day rifling through the charity shops of Oxford today, and whilst our partner in crime might have come away with no less than five Armarni suit jackets for the gentle-women, we were rather pleased with a lovely bit of vintage Daks, British tailoring at its best, now we’re on the hunt for the trousers…suits you!

Surely the best Brogues around this season come from a certain Mr. Thom Browne across the pond. We’re like a labrador begging for food as a result of their lust-worthiness! Get to Oki-ni P.R.O.N.T.O

Finally Paris’ finest, Laudurée has landed on American shores, those Upper East Side Grand Dames will be happy bunnies….head to 864 Madison Avenue at once!

We’re rather partial to some Band of Outsiders threads here at The Established Man. Their shirting always seems to catch our eyes as we rifle through the rails whenever we pop into Barneys on a trip to the Upper East Side, and there was some fine winter wool suits the last time we checked in with their latest wares. 

Not content with some fine garbs their current winter lookbook, shot on polaroid darling…naturally, the film variety, not some half-rate iphone app…it features model magicians Rupert Grint a.ka Ron Weasley and Tom Felton a.k.a Draco Malfoy. Wizard!

The Established Man has just returned from a sojourn in Sweden, where it was ‘Loppis’ season. Think lovely old Swedish Ladies & Gentleman with sheds and gardens filled with the most glorious of junk. It makes the British Car Boot sale look like a slum! We were very pleased with these old brown glass chemists bottles, and even more pleased that they got through customs in one piece!

As the rains of Bangladesh pour down outside The Established Man Towers we’re not sure today is really the day to be debuting a new pair of pearly white classic Vans. Despite their luminous properties, no longer is a light bulb required to illuminate our office, we rather like them in their fresh off the conveyor belt guise. 

It has been something of an age since The Established Man perused the dilemmas of what to wear, see or do, as well as merely just noting things that caught our eye.

Perhaps the habitual tendency to drift towards the nearest airport and flee at the slightest hint of wet or cold weather has had something to do with it, or the fact that it has just been rather busy of late, either way, and very sadly keys were not punched, ipads not touched thus resulting in something of a void.

And so as summer on the English shores comes to an end, did it really ever start, The Established Man is back, or will be soon at least. There’s a distinctive nod in the air of the holidays being over, of new stationary on shelves, sharpened pencils in pots, winter coats being pondered and footwear more sturdy than a tatty old espadrille required.

The leaves on the streets where Established Man Towers lies are turning more golden by the day and the lure to get in the rather tatty old Audi that serves as our chosen method of transport and forage around in bramble bushes for the early blackberries is riding high. Thank god for crumble.

Here’s to plentiful posts to come…