Bradley Wiggins, Royalty and the double-breasted jacket - recreating the look

Bradley Wiggins, the first British winner of the Tour de France and winner of 2012 Olympic Gold in the Men's Time Trial, won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2012 award with typical double-breasted mod swagger, set off by a large gold pocket square.

Wiggins's suit was made by Mark Powell, tailor to the stars. But isn't the double-breasted jacket the preserve of the older man, the every-day wear of the Establishment and Royalty? Grey Fox investigates.

Image News168

The two grainy images below must have been taken many years apart, but they show the timelessness of the classic double-breasted blazer, and how it has been loved by the British Royal Family for over 70 years. The naval origins of the blazer are obvious, as would be expected of a nation with salt running in its veins, and whose Royals have a strong naval link.

Many of the Royal males wear them, in particular for less-formal events. 

So how does Bradley Wiggins fit into this very traditional, Establishment look? Well, it's often said but true, it's not what you wear, it's how you wear it. Royalty make the DB blazer look elegant, Wiggo makes it look young, mod and, again very elegant - helped by the slim cut, an athletic frame and the daring use of velvet.

How can we recreate the look for the man of style, suiting any age? All images below from Mr Porter.

Michael Bastian wool/cashmere blazer

Slowear Incotex straight leg wool trousers

Canali

Etro

Gucci

John Lobb Becketts classic Oxofords

The Olympics comes to Grey Fox country

Attending the Olympic Opening Ceremony, and watching the road races and time trials over the last few days, have been experiences I will never forget. The cycling has taken place in Grey Fox country on the edge of London - at the end of our road and through the local park. A great privilege and an unrepeatable experience.

The Opening Ceremony was stunning; an unforgettable mix of British humour, culture and history. The transformation from Britain's green and pleasant land to post-industrial revolutionary chaos, the forging of the Olympic rings and the Queen's excellently-acted piece with James Bond were highlights for me. It was also special for me as a national charity run by a close family member was particularly honoured.

The men's cycling road race was disappointing for Team GB who were marked men from the start. Nobody would help the favourites and, as a result, the gold medal was out of reach. Lizzy Armitstead's silver medal in the women's race and gold and bronze for Wiggins (see photo below) and Froome respectively in the time trial  was an excellent consolation for GB cycling .

What has this got to do with this blog? Well, this is a record of influences and what could be more inspirational than a local Olympic Games? [All photos by Grey Fox]

The Flame is lit.

The breakaways start as Team GB tries to control the race on Box Hill.

Bradley Wiggins flies past the end of the road on his way to Gold in the Men's Time Trial.

Bradley Wiggins x Fred Perry cycle jersey collaboration

I make no apologies for featuring the winner of the Tour de France for the third time this month. His love of mod culture (he has a collection of scooters) has become better known recently. Recently Fred Perry (beloved of mods everywhere) launched a range of cycle jerseys in collaboration with Wiggins. As can be seen, they match the Paul Weller-style sideburns very well. They sport GB stripes at the collar and the rainbow World Champion stripes on the sleeves (he has been world champion in several track cycling disciplines).

Cycling jerseys were always a popular mod essential, and these are suitably retro in design. They are available from Fred Perry, priced at £65. Ideal also for those older gents who were mods the first time round!

CHRISTOPHE ENA / AP

Celebrate Bradley Wiggins's British Tour win with an Aston Martin - style on two wheels

After over 100 years of Tour de France history a British man has, at last, reached the Champs Elysée wearing the iconic maillot jaune. Unencumbered by his sideburns, Bradley Wiggins and his Sky team dominated most of the three week race. Cycling, already hot in the UK after Team GB's track successes at the last Olympics, is set to go viral. Suddenly, veteran cyclists like me find taxi drivers and white van man being polite and leaving us room as we thrash out the miles on our racing machines, or potter to work on our commuter bikes.

Coinciding with all the excitement, Aston Martin has seen the light and produced a real machine - a hi-tec bicycle called the One-77 (only 77 are being built). Essentially carbon fibre, the bike features hydraulic brakes and an electronic gear system. It comes with a fully integrated, multi-channel ergonometric data recording system that provides a record of athletic performance on the handlebars.

This lovely machine isn't going to make you go faster - only less beer, fewer chips and more miles in saddle will do that for you. With a price tag of £25,000 it's likely to be seen under the undeserving bums of big-bonus-spending bankers, but hopefully a few  real cyclists will be able to own a one-off technological cycling masterpiece carrying the Aston Martin name.

Aston Martin has been involved in bike design before. I remember Chas Roberts built a mountain bike for them about 18 years ago at about the time he built a bike for me. Here's a video from 1984.

The return of the sideburn? Bradley Wiggins to set a trend?

For the first time in over 100 years GB has a possible Tour de France winner in Bradley Wiggins. I'm not going to say that he will win, that would be tempting fate; however, as a keen cycling fan, I find the prospect very exciting.

Anyway, on to the serious consideration of his sideburns. Why he bothers, when he probably shaves most other parts of his body to reduce wind resistance, I don't know. The question is, will he start a trend?

Update, 22 July 2012 - as we all now know, he won despite the 'burns!

Image BBC Sport AFP