Journal
King & Allen bring you all the very best style advice, news and ‘tailored’ articles. If you have a question that you’d like to see answered on our blog, send us an email to [email protected].
Jason Manford’s Guide to Dressing for a Wedding
Recently the stand-up comedian Jason Mansford posted a rather funny homage to the life cycle of a wedding suit on his Facebook page. We thought we’d share it with you. Here’s Jason’s post: When trying on a wedding suit in a changing room you have to prepare it for all the evening’s eventualities!
Celebrity Style
The History of the Suit Jacket
Practical, comfortable, smart and flattering, no other garment has impacted menswear quite like the humble suit jacket. In the following article we trace the steps of this hugely important garment, from the work attire of 15th century peasant farmers to the two buttoned, single breasted style icon that hangs in your wardrobe…
Style History
Overcoat Season is here again
The weather has turned, the nights are drawing in, and October will soon be upon us. It’s time to start thinking about how you’re going to protect yourself (and your suits!) from the elements this winter. Thankfully, overcoats have never come in more styles, cloths and colours than they do today and thanks to a change in overcoat fashion over the last couple of years it is now perfectly acceptable to break away from the classic blues, blacks and greys – even for a business suit.
Style Tips & Advice
Icon of the Month – Jude Law
Jude Law first came to the attention of King & Allen in The Talented Mr Ripley – in which his character Dickie Greenleaf wears some of the best ‘Riviera Style’ ever committed to celluloid. Since then he has gone on to play a number of dapper roles including Alfie Elkins (Alfie), Dr. Watson (Sherlock Holmes) and most recently in the title role of Dom Hemingway.
Celebrity Style
Accessories – the magic number
Pocket squares, tie pins, collar bars, cravats, tie bars… suit accessories have never been more popular. And understandably so: a well-chosen blend of accessories can turn a standard suit into a sartorial masterpiece. But if you take it too far you’re trying too hard and you could ruin all that effort. The crucial thing is to strike a balance, and the magic number to ensure accessorising harmony is, as De La Soul so famously put it, 3. However, this magic number only works if one of your three is your tie or (coloured) socks. If you’re not wearing either of these the number falls to 2.
Style Tips & Advice
Myth busting – The truth about the ‘Super’ number
The ‘Super’ rating on cloth refers to the width of the fibre in microns. It is therefore an indicator (but by no means a measure) of quality and performance. The finer the wool is spun the thinner it is in microns and the higher the Super number – indicating that it will feel very soft. However, the high number also indicates that the cloth will be more delicate and therefore require more care be taken when wearing.
Style Tips & AdviceIcon of the Month – Idris Elba
Idris Elba deserves Icon status on the strength of this photograph alone. At 6ft, 3” he pulls off this double-breasted suit perfectly, reaffirming what we’ve said many times before in The Stitch – that if you’re tall and well built a double-breasted suit is definitely worth considering.
Celebrity Style
Take a tour of our latest showrooms
The wonders of modern technology! Thanks to the clever folks at Google you can now take a full tour of our Liverpool Street and Amersham showrooms from the comfort of your computer! So if you haven’t been to our latest two stores recently, or if you live too far away to visit them, now’s your chance to take a sneaky peak. Unfortunately you can’t feel the fabrics, or hear the tailors beavering away – but it’s the closest to the real experience you’ll get without leaving the house… Tour the Liverpool Street showroom. Tour the Amersham showroom.
King & Allen News
King & Allen celebrates – The Henley Regatta
King & Allen have always kept a close eye on the development of mens summer style – in particular through the sporting social calendar – and it’s been great to watch how the gentleman guests have embraced the dress code with increased relish over the years. This year’s Henley Regatta, in particular, was an opportunity for the gents to show a bit of daring in the way they dress. Across the length and breadth of the river you’ll see a flourish of pocket squares, an array of colourful bow ties, fabulous socks, boaters, braces and of course the wonderfully coloured rowing blazers. Henley attire is not overtly stylish, but it is fun and sometimes having fun is what it’s all about.
Style Tips & Advice
Icon of the Month – Edward VIII: The Prince Charming
It’s interesting to note that the ‘best dressed Englishman of all time’ was also one of the most decadent and controversial. Coincidence? Unlikely… From the playboy antics to the nazi sympathy and bisexuality rumours, the Duke of Windsor was never far from the headlines. Like him or loath him, no one can deny that he was a snappy dresser. Indeed his wardrobe is the stuff of legend. Rumours include:
Celebrity Style
King & Allen ‘Icon’ Special – The Suits of Salvador Dali
One of our favourite smaller stories of this month was about a man called Tomeu L’Amo who spent 25 years proving that an artwork he bought in an antiques store for €150 was a Salvadore Dali original. Dali’s dressing style was almost as original, flamboyant and creative as his art. As well as his trademark chalk stripe double breasted suits (complete with pocket square), he was a huge fan of bright colours and rich, extravagant cloths such as velvet, silk and tweed.
Celebrity Style
Cloth, Construction and Colour – The 3 C’s that will keep you cool this summer.
You don’t need us to point out that May had some scorchingly hot days. If you’re a commuter, or you got married, you could probably recount each and every one of them – for polar opposite reasons! It’s not too late to prepare for the summer heat, and below is the King & Allen guide to the 3 C’s that will stop you sizzling this summer: Cloth, Construction and Colour.
Style Tips & Advice
Suit Up Ladies….
This week’s guest blogger is Mary-Cait Bristow, who works as a tailoring consultant in our Wilmslow store. She is going to share some insights into a subject close to her heart – ladies suits…
Style Tips & Advice
A review of the suits on SUITS
This week we have a guest blogger – Tulani Tubi – who is a K&A consultant based at our Liverpool Street showroom. Watching the TV show Suits these past few months has become an obsession of mine. Not only is the show extremely funny and intriguing, but also it’s the styling of the characters that keeps me engrossed. It is true to say that the hierarchy of the characters on the show is actually displayed through the suits they wear: from a well tailored classic style (displaying power) to a modern more tailored style (showing the character’s youthfulness).
Celebrity Style
We are Social!
At K&A we have always taken great pleasure from sharing on social media. It gives us an opportunity to engage with the menswear community and hopefully impart some wisdom along the way! However, we are aware that people can be put off by the amount of pointless noise and sales patter on the internet, and we’d like to assure you that our policy regarding content is very much focused on quality rather than quantity.
King & Allen News
Style advice for 2014 – Accessories
This year we are seeing a return to classic British style, with gentlemen dressing like gentlemen. The conservative formality of the recession is dwindling and men’s style is starting to show a little flare once again. We explored this topic earlier in the year with regard to the suits when we looked at the rise in popularity of flannel, classic checks and double breasted… today we’re looking at the finishing touches that turn a great looking suit into a magnificent looking outfit.
Style Tips & AdviceKing & Allen Icon of the Month – Sam Lambert
Sam Lambert is an individual who’s style is always on point; he never looks out of place but always creates a statement. He spent years studying tailoring (he is now the co-founder of the creative movement Art Comes First) – which is evident in his own personal look.
Celebrity Style
K&A Suit Style Predictions for 2014 – Part II: Cloth & Colour
Continuing from last week’s article on Cut and Style, below are the King & Allen 2014 style predictions for Cloth & Colour:
Style Tips & Advice