Label To Know Hand and Jones
A stylish man never tires of quality basics. The skeleton of any man’s wardrobe, we all have our reach-for favourites. Hand and Jones is a new British men’s lifestyle brand specialising in premium men’s basics. Founded by Graham Hand, it is inspired by his life living between London and Rye in East Sussex.
Left - Inspired by life between Rye & London - Hand and Jones - Cashmere Intarsia Lion - £350, Colour Block - £245
Launch products include knitwear, accessorises and T-shirts with underwear following in the new year.
As part of the debut collection they have collaborated with Nicola Rowsell, an artist and illustrator based in East Sussex, to feature her striking lion and leopard illustrations on two styles in 100% 12-gauge intarsia cashmere sweaters.
TheChicGeek says, “What’s ingenious, and a really simple idea, each piece of their knitwear comes in a branded, clear, 100% recycled plastic zip lock
bag with a cedar wood block. Not just packaging, they recommend storing your knitwear in the bag, along with the block, at all times when not wearing to keep those pesky moths from devouring your favourite fibres.”
Left - Keeping those hungry moths at bay - Hand and Jones - Cashmere Intarsia Leopard Sweater - £350
Disclosure - A leopard sweater was gifted by Hand and Jones
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Label To Know Triumph Lifestyle
Drawing inspiration from 100 years of British history, engineering and culture, Triumph Lifestyle, is a new menswear brand providing clothing for those 'who appreciate quality of craftsmanship and iconic classics’.
A premium ‘moto -inspired’ clothing brand brought to you by the legendary Triumph Motorcycles, the new Autumn/Winter 20 collection, its second, offers a mix of reimagined wardrobe staples produced in the finest fabrics.
The collection combines iconic styles, incorporating staple vintage details from the original Triumph Motorcycle archives, such as original biker Talon zips and D pocket jackets.
This season features a selection of premium cotton jersey and tees starting with hand drawn designs inspired by the Triumph Motorcycles archives based on a 1950s Triumph Motorcycles instruction manual and moto track racing to include slub yarns, textural weaves, heavy twill and retro piques.
Left & Below - Triumph Lifestyle - Prices range from £25 - £650
TheChicGeek says, “When motoring brands move into clothing or ‘lifestyle’ it can often go either way. I saw this at a Berlin menswear trade show in January and I was instantly impressed by the quality. The prices aren’t cheap - it’s obviously chasing the Belstaff customer - but, neither is it crazy. Being privately owned, Triumph clearly want to do justice to the brand in this new enterprise and this looks like it has had careful thought and curation rather than just lazily sticking the name onto everything. *looks at Ferrari*
Moto-wear is very popular with an older, but want-to-look-younger-for-longer demographic of men and they have money to spend. While not groundbreaking, these are the types of clothes many guys want to wear and invest in."
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Label To Know Good Candles
Personal passions executed brilliantly are the key to any successful business. Olly Rzysko, CMO and Retail Advisor, has launched a new personal project called ‘Good Candles’.
Small batch candles designed and made by hand in the UK using high quality, sustainably sourced soya wax, Good Candles are safe and free of nasty stuff such as paraffin and carcinogens.
Donating to causes close to Rzysko’s heart, each 40 hours-long candle pledges
at least 10% of every single sale to projects such as tree planting, mental health, literacy and food banks.
Every candle has a personal memory and story from Rzysko and his associations for the scent and the reasons behind the good causes.
TheChicGeek says, "These are fun, stylish and coming from a truly good place. This is the kind of exciting and worthwhile type of brand we want to see coming into the beauty/lifestyle market post-COVID."
Left & Above - Good Candles - School Dinners, Forest Fire, Reading Books, Fred’s Garden - £35
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Label To Know Magnafied
We all love a Birkenstock, that goes without saying, but they’re as ubiquitous as a Kardashian. So, if you want a comfy sandal that nobody is wearing - just yet... - let me introduce you to Magnafied.
Spied at Pitti Uomo in January, this year, these babies are Danish made with a contoured bio-cork footbeded sandal and are as bold as they are comfortable.
Some of the uppers are made from vintage or dead stock fabrics that they find in places like Los Angeles, East Germany, Denmark and Japan. They search, find, hand-pick and use these special fabrics to minimise pollution instead of making new fabrics and say this is a super sustainable way of doing things.
Every single pair is handmade and the unique fabrics can range from original Camouflage, Canvas Pendleton Woolen Mills, Cohen Mills Denim, Japanese dyed Indigo Cotton, CYC Canadian quality cotton knit, all made on legendary, skilled quality Mills from Europe, USA and Japan.
The Magnafied clogs are made-to-order. They start production immediately when you order to reduce unnecessary stock and eventually sale/waste.
Above & Right - Magnafied - Thor 2-buckle Slide Sandals Orange Camo W - 950,00 DKK (About £115)
Label To Know Reyn Spooner
Hawaii is the spiritual home of the tropical floral shirt, so, say ‘Aloha’ to Reyn Spooner.
Reynolds (Reyn) McCullough returned home to Catalina Island, California after serving in WWII. He was inspired to explore his natural connection to that easygoing Cali style, at first as a shop clerk at the local men’s shop, then as the owner of Reyn’s Men’s Wear, soon running six popular stores across the state.
Meanwhile, in 1956, Ruth Spooner had opened Spooner's of Waikiki and quickly built a reputation in Hawaii for manufacturing quality surf trunks working with just one sewing machine.
When Reyn opened his first shop in Honolulu, he didn’t sell Aloha shirts. The shirts being produced at the time just didn’t meet Reyn and Ruth’s standards for style and construction, and it wasn’t until after a local surfer showed Reyn an inside-out sewing method championed by locals, that the dream took shape.
Left - Deep Sea Jive Tailored Buttonfront - Black Onyx - £130
In 1962, McCullough teamed up with Ruth Spooner to ensure consistent quality and decided to merge the two company names to create Reyn Spooner in Honolulu. He then set up four sewing machines in the basement of his Ala Moana store to create ‘Aloha Apparel’.
Developed by founder, Reyn McCullough, Spooner KlothTM is a unique woven cloth made of cotton and spun poly that’s amazingly durable, wrinkly-free and breathable.
Reyn Spooner is now owned by ‘Aloha Brands’, representing a group of investors, led by Charlie Baxter and Dave Abrams.
The brand is available at Liberty of London and The Hip Store.
Right - Kainapu Rayon Camp Shirt - Crocodile - £160
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Label To Know ERIBÉ
I love Scottish knitwear, especially the folky kind, such as fair isle from the likes of Jamieson’s of Shetland, but there’s another label to know. Eribé, eponymously founded by Rosemary Eribé 33 years ago, is a knitwear design house and manufacturer based in Melrose, in the Scottish Borders. They’ve recently taken over the old Burberry mill and opened a new showroom on Tweedbank before Christmas.
Left - Eribé's knitwear is all proudly made in Scotland and its signature is the multi coloured and pattern yokes
I first saw Eribé at the Premium trade show in Berlin a few years ago, and loved their fair isle berets - which I can’t find on their website - and I had a reminder, this year, at Pitti Uomo, where their colourful knits oozed authenticity and quality.
Their designers are specialists in their field, especially in the heritage knitting technique, Fairisle (Fair Isle) all crafted from quality, natural yarns spun in Britain from lambswool and merino.
Proudly all made in Scotland, Eribé exports to 20 countries, and Rosemary continually pushes for innovation in her knitwear, together with her team.
Her vast knowledge has been garnered from working with premium knitwear factories in Scotland and beyond, leading knitting machine companies and consulting with global designer brands.
Right - Eribé - Bloc Beanie Solstice - £47
Below - Eribé -Clootie Yoke Sweater Mirage - £399 - Hand knitted in 100% Superfine Lambswool
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Label To Know Kleman
French policeman’s shoes may not get your sartorial juices flowing, but Kleman should. Where else can you get French made footwear for less than £150? Owned by the larger Cléon group, Kleman was founded in 1988 and was initially dedicated to firefighters, policemen, Air France cabin crew and military seeking comfort, robustness and quality.
Still exclusively made in their factory in Anjou in Western France, they are now targeting the more fashion lead consumer having seem them promoting their wares at the recent men's trade shows in Florence and Paris.
Their classic ‘Padror’ style was first introduced in the 1990s for SNCF employees. Crafted in France with full-grain European leather, these are based on a unisex Tyrolean style. Even the laces are woven only 10 km from the factory.
Left - Kleman - Padror - €140
Right - Kleman - Frodan - €140
Left - Kleman - Pastani - €140
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