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Seasonal Jackets: Nino's, London

Friday 13 April 2012

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I went down to Brewer Street recently to visit our friend Nino Santoro. I’ve featured Nino’s shirts on a number of occasions, indeed he’s listed in BespokeMe’s favourites. This time my interest was not in his shirts but in the wonderful range of jackets he has in at the moment. Perfect for the season, by way of an added bonus he’s having a sale so there are some real bargains to be had. All designed by Nino himself they combine classic Italian flair with exquisite tailoring.

A fine selection in pure cashmere, pure wool and some great unstructured Jersey jackets worthy of serious consideration.

First item to catch my eye was this pure wool, SB, structured, half lined jacket which makes for a great weekender or casual Friday working centrepiece. Nice touches include the suede patches on the elbows and a slight ribbed weave to the Italian made cloth. He’s retailing them for £245 a pop.

 

Here you can make out the fine ribbed weave of this pure wool Italian cloth. Patches on the elbow are another key trend this year.
 

 

For all the technicians out there, this is what a structured half lined jacket should look like. The half lining reduces weight and increases airflow making this an ideal jacket for the season.

 

This is really clever, beautiful unstructured soft tailoring. Available in this mottled wool Jersey cloth they come in blue, brown and grey single and double breasted styles. Being half lined and unstructured they are perfect spring/summer jackets. Reduced from £395 to £245 that’s a really reasonable price. Stand out piece for me was the double breasted version (above) which is not only beautifully designed by Nino himself but right on trend. That said a piece like this with its classic styling will last and last regardless of the vagaries of fashion.

 

Nice contrasting patches to the elbow. The camera work make this look grey but infact it's brown.

 

A close-up of that Jersey cloth. You make think that sounds rather too heavy for summer but trust me this is the lightest softest cloth coupled to a stripped down unstructured jacket. You'd hardly know it was on your back.
 
Last but by no means least these absolutely beautiful half lined cashmere jackets, reduced from £1295 to £495 for some affordable luxury. Available in a range of colours my rather retrained tastes instantly picked out this little black number. The brown buttons add a little interest and add to its versatility. You could put this with grey wool trousers or khakis. 
 
For an off the peg jacket they are beautifully tailored. You might think cashmere too heavy for spring and summer, but again the half lining reduces weight and increases airflow making it practical for all but the hotest summer days here in London. I'm seriously considering something like this.
 
Sadly the camera work doesn't do the richness of the cashmere justice. There is  something about a black cashmere jacket, perhaps that's just me, pure magic! 
 
N.B. Nino's father is a distinguished bespoke tailor who makes suits for, amongst others, John Malkovich and former Heavyweight Champion David Haye. Yours truly will also add his name to the list as I've decided to use Nino's for my next bespoke suiting project. Stay tuned.
 
   
 

Posted by Stealth

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BespokeMe Ratings

Italian

Jackets

Welcoming

Independent

Flair

click on any link above to see more items that match that type or try our Advanced Search

 

My Own Money: Czech Glass Cufflinks from Exquisite Trimmings

Wednesday 11 April 2012

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I recently featured New York based website Exquisite Trimmings and the source for these rather beautiful and unusual Czech glass cufflinks (read here). They arrived recently have already become firm favourites.

They are in fact a little smaller than I imagined but that’s not the fault of Exquisite Trimmings owner Shaya Green who helpfully puts their diameter alongside each pair. Indeed, in the case of my links Shaya went well beyond the call of duty by having his sister in law transport them across the Atlantic Ocean and post them in the UK when she returned from a recent visit.

Now I’m just guessing, but I reckon the people who hand make these glass links also make earrings. There are subtle similarities in scale and elements of the design which are very reminiscent. I have no information to back this theory up but regard it as no bad thing even if true. Indeed, I've often spotted pairs of earrings that I've thought would make pretty nifty links. But this is all a side issue because what I have been looking for are elegant but contemporary substitutes for silk knots and these fit that bill perfectly. In all I’m very happy with my choice and feel inclined to add a few more pairs to my collection.

Cufflinks are not the only things sold by Exquisite Trimmings, they have stock some exceptional ties and pocket squares, many now on sale with some tasty discounts. In my last e-mail to Shaya he told me that the site would soon be remodelled and new stock was on it’s way, so there are plenty of reasons to put this stockist in your ‘Favourites’.
 

 

Posted by Stealth

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BespokeMe Ratings

Contemporary

Cufflinks

Quality

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Update: Slim Fit Shirts and Gift Vouchers now available at Stephan Shirts

Tuesday 6 March 2012

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I popped into Stephan Shirts a few days ago to visit proprietor Erlend Norby. Not only is Erlend helping me with my micro clothing label project, but I also needed to add a couple of shirts to my arsenal –and you can read my thoughts on cream shirting in my Men’s Flair column.

Since taking over the running of the shop a few years ago, on the retirement of Martin Haroutunian, Erlend has slowly added to the shop’s offerings. He started with made to measure suits, which we’ve reviewed, and now he’s added a couple of welcome innovations I’ve long hopped to see.

The first of these innovations are slim fit shirts. Of course if you opted for Stephan Shirts fine hand cut made to measure shirting you can have your shirts as slim as you like, but until now unless you liked a fuller classic cut you couldn’t benefit from the exceptionally well valued off the peg range. But speaking to Erlend they’ve finally perfected the block and a limited range has now been produced. In keeping with the modern cut the shirts come with a fused collar and cuff rather than the classic cuts unfused versions. They’ve sold rather well according to Erlend, satisfying a latent demand. But if like me you need the fuller cut then fear not, the classic Haroutunian block isn’t going anywhere.

The other innovation is one I’ve personally hoped Erlend would offer for a while. Giving someone a made to measure shirt experience is a great gift. However, the clue to the problem is in the name. But now you can purchase a gift card inviting the recipient to visit the shop for a fitting. You can put as much or as little on the card as you wish and of course Erlend, unlike almost all other shirt makers, doesn’t require a minimum order.
 
 
Stephan Shirts
95 Moore Park Road, Fulham, London, SW6 2DA
www.stephanshirts.co.uk

 

 



Posted by Stealth

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BespokeMe Ratings

Shirt Makers

Informal

Traditional

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Online Sources: Exquisite Trimmings, Cufflinks

Monday 27 February 2012

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What do you think of these? Unusual and rather beautiful is my view. They’re handmade in the USA, crafted from Czech glass with Sterling Silver pins. I got them from a New York based online retailer called Exquisite Trimmings, for a very reasonable investment of just $25.
 
Run by a chap by the name of Shaya Green, these unique limited edition cufflinks are but one of the delights offered up. Also available are a nice range of luxury ties, pocket squares and scarves from such famous name brands as Kiton, Tom Ford, Rubinacci; plus a few I’m less familiar with like Battisti Napoli and Corneliani. Certainly a useful selection of quality kit for those living outside of Europe or unable to get hold of these high grade brands easily. But for me it’s the wonderful range of glass cufflinks that make Exquisite Trimmings worth a look.

While I’m still waiting on delivery of my links my first impressions of this retailer are very positive. Very soon after placing my order I got an e-mail from Shaya. He normally offers free postage worldwide but on this occasion his sister-in-law was over from England visiting and so offered to transport the cufflinks back to England and post them on from here, thus avoiding the vagaries of international postage. A nice thing to offer to do I thought.

While corresponding with Shaya over delivery of the cufflinks it seemed an ideal opportunity to ask a few questions. I started with what inspired him to start his own online retailer?

“I have no background in the fashion industry. I was brought up as, and still am, an orthodox Jew! However, I have always been interested in style, dressing well, high quality goods. I think that people are drawn after the finer things in life, for me that was a walk down Jermyn Street and Saville Row to ogle the storefronts! From my teenage years I was always more conscious of my clothing than my peers, having said that, it was never an ambition or dream of mine to enter into the fashion industry".

I was also curious as to how he got started;

"Just over a year ago, I joined an internet forum, StyleForum, I'm sure you are familiar with it. Reading all the articles, threads and posts opened my eyes to a new world, where it's what's behind that name that is important. How is the garment constructed? Is it handmade? What is the history of the company? This helped enhance all my prior knowledge and awoke within me a desire to become involved at the highest level. To meet the people and to wear the clothes that they make.

I am still somewhat the new kid on the block and the more I read, the more I realize how much more I have to learn. This is all in the hope that I will one day be able to give back".

While I love the internet for making the World my high street, lets be honest, when buying kit from abroad you always feel slightly nervous. But while I’m still awaiting delivery of my links I don’t think I’m going to be disappointed and strongly recommend checking out Exquisite Trimmings.
 

 

Posted by Stealth

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BespokeMe Ratings

Contemporary

Accessories

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