Wedding style for men: Marks & Spencer bloggers' styling event

What does a man wear for a wedding? This year sees my 37th wedding anniversary. I'm not sure if that makes me an expert on weddings or not. However, I was grateful to Marks & Spencer for inviting me with other bloggers to an event at which we were to select outfits for several different types of marriage ceremony, from traditional country to beach. 

Marks & Spencer x bloggers wedding event with cake and bubbly for that authentic touch

I quickly learned that, from the man's point of view anyway (it was a menswear event) there is a huge range of choice for all at Marks & Spencer, from groom, best man, ushers, to family and guests. I was pleased to see that top hat and tails are available for the traditional wedding (I wore morning suit all those years ago), while a wide range of jackets, suit and accessories can be found for any style of celebration. 

Some of the wedding accessories available from Marks & Spencer

Long gone are the days when morning suit or dark suit were obligatory at weddings. Anything goes now. That's a good thing, but remember that this is one of the most special days of your life, so looking back decades later at yourself wearing shorts and little else at a beach wedding, or a nondescript jacket and open neck shirt at a casual ceremony may lack that element of style that such a day deserves.

Grey Fox pontificates

Each blogger was given a wedding to style for. I drew a beach wedding and a wild card, for which I chose the morning suit. For the beach I chose a linen suit with panama hat, pink gingham shirt with no tie and a pocket square (see top image). 

Marks & Spencer morning suit. The shirt was small for the mannequin, hence the unbuttoned look

The morning suit was nicely-made and I selected a very classic grey theme with a crisp white shirt. I preferred a tie to a cravat. The morning suit is creeping back into favour. It seems to me that one great advantage is that, with a such a classic look, wedding photos won't look as dated when you pore over them nostalgically in 30 years time as they will if you wear current trends for suits or jackets.

Some of the Marks & Spencer wedding styles designed by the bloggers

If you prefer a lounge suit or jacket/blazer, M&S had a superb range from square cut traditional business suits to soft-shouldered Italian style in high tech fabrics. Colours ranged through greys and browns to one of the largest selections of blues I've seen in a while. Wedding costs can rapidly get out of control and being able to buy good quality but reasonably-priced menswear, such as is available from M&S, is a real advantage. M&S recently reported the first profits for a few years and I can see how their improving clothing offering must begin to fuel recovery.

If you're planning or attending a wedding this year, I suggest you have a look at the huge range of suits available at Marks & Spencer. 

If you have any suggestions or thoughts about styling for that special day, please get in touch.

This post was sponsored by Marks & Spencer.

Summer jackets 2: Marks & Spencer - one budget, one made in Britain

As ever, Marks & Spencer gave us an interesting selection of summer jackets to choose from. We tried one that is the lowest price of all the jackets we tried for this feature and one that is made in Britain as part of their excellent Best of British collection.

M&S Collection slim-fit cotton jacket £69
Shirt Tripl Stitched
Pocket square Age of Reason Scarves

Both jackets are comfortable and well-made. They represent good value and, in the case of the second jacket, give access to British manufacture and a luxurious silk/linen blend at a reasonable price.

Many of our accessories are made in Britain as well. The lace pocket square From Marwood is a thing of exquisite beauty and the Liberty print shirt is for the man who likes to express his personality. Age of Reason pocket squares and Tripl Stitched shirts are personal favourites of mine. A list of suppliers and links is provided below.

I will be featuring summer jackets all this week, so please call back.

Linen/silk blend Best of British collection at M&S £299
Liberty print shirt from Susannah Hall, Tailors
Pocket square, Marwood

Suppliers -

Marks & Spencer

Tripl Stitched

Age of Reason Scarves

Susannah Hall, Tailors

Marwood

Photography - Nick Maroudias

Styling - Sarah Gilfillan, personal stylist of Sartoria Lab

With thanks to Shaun Cole, Course Director at London College of Fashion for modelling for this post.

This feature was not sponsored.

How to: Marks & Spencer party menswear with Grey Fox and Garcon Jon

I was delighted to work with Jonathan Pryce and Marks & Spencer on a guide to party and occasional menswear. The photographer was Scott Simpson, whose Scott Fraser range of menswear I've talked about before. Visit M&S to see the Guide. Here are some images (all Marks & Spencer) taken during the photo-shoot.

I explained why I'm very happy to be involved in such photo-shoots in Thursday's blog post (see below). We're given little chance to see what menswear products look like on older men, so if I can step into that gap, I'll do so. Many thanks to M&S for appreciating that older men are interested in style.

Websites

Marks & Spencer 

GarconJon 

Scott Fraser

Poppy Appeal cuff links from Marks & Spencer

This autumn, M&S menswear offers a set of poppy cuff links to commemorate the centenary of the start of World War I. They cost £15 a pair and all profits from the sale of each set (£4.50) will be donated to the Royal British Legion Trading Limited. I'll certainly be buying a pair. Go to the M&S website to buy.

Cary Grant and classic simplicity - Recreating the Look

It's been a while since I added a post to the Recreating the Look series. Here's a very cool Cary Grant ordering a meal on a train in Hitchcock's North by Northwest. Naturally, he's dining with a beautiful woman (Eva Marie Saint). Grant's distinguished grey hair is echoed by the silver of his immaculate suit and tie. A plain white shirt helps keep the look clean. 

This photograph could have been taken at almost any time on the last fifty years; the look is a masterpiece of classic simplicity. The suit (which may or may not have been made by Kilgour of Savile Row) is generally reported to have been a subtle blue-grey Glen check (Prince of Wales check), a cloth that never shows up properly in photographs. The tie is said to have been grey with very fine polka dots, rather than plain.

As usual, I've found some products at different prices to enable you to recreate the look. The intention is not to exactly copy, but to give a similar style. You could finish it off with some brown Oxford or Derby brogues with burgundy socks and a subtle dove-grey textured silk pocket square that doesn't inject too much colour into this understated style.

The suits I've selected are off-the-peg, but you may prefer bespoke or made to measure for a perfect fit. I've spoken to Susannah Hall, tailor, who could make a suit for you from £850 depending on choice of cloth and style. Prices elsewhere for a tailored suit can rise to several thousand pounds, depending on the level of bespoke and the tailor you select

M&S Sartorial check suit £299

Richard James grey birdseye Hyde suit £795

Oliver Peoples Gregory Peck sunglasses

John Lewis Oxford shirt £35

Burberry £275 Mr Porter

M&S silk textured tie £17.50

Marwood tie and tie pin £280 - Mr Porter

For more in the Recreating the Look series click here. If you have any looks you would like me to recreate, please get in touch.

Suppliers

Marks & Spencer

Richard James

Oliver Peoples

John Lewis

Mr Porter

Marwood

David Gandy's M&S underwear - Grey Fox tries it on

This package arrived yesterday from Marks & Spencer - it contains a sample of their new David Gandy for Autograph briefs, launched this week in a hugely muscular global campaign. 

This raised a few questions. How is a picture of David Gandy meant to sell underwear to a red-blooded male like me? Wouldn't it be better if the image was of a scantily clad female (preferably grey-haired)? Does it suggest that most underwear is bought by women for their menfolk? If so, would I want underwear bought for me by a woman who's been attracted to buy them by a picture of David Gandy? All very mysterious. But, of course, M&S are right; men will buy them in the hope that they'll make us look as buff.

Anyway, enough of this jocular philosophising. The briefs are to M&S's usual high quality; comfortable (I can vouch for this; I wear them as I type) and well-made. Also available in the range are boxers of different shapes. All were developed closely with David Gandy in soft, high quality and durable cotton and Lycra. Cost £20 for a pack of two. 

Click here to buy - Marks & Spencer. There, you may, if interested, also find a video lingering on Gandy's musculature. Gandy will be touring M&S flagship stores, starting with Marble Arch London on Thursday 18th September at 12pm and moving on to Ireland, Hong Kong and France.

M&S promise that Gandy will 'personally unveil the collection', so it all sounds very exciting. Book your ticket now.

Cobalt blue and orange - putting sizzle into spring and summer

I've mentioned cobalt blue and orange before - but separately. Both have been seen more frequently over the last year or two. But how about putting the two colours together?

Deji George

Orange and bright blue work well together, as can be seen from the pocket square above from the interesting new brand, Deji George (about whom more here) . At opposite ends of the colour wheel, hot and cool, they positively crackle and pop when next to each other. Here's a selection to put sizzle into your spring and summer.

If you have any favourite orange/cobalt blue in your wardrobe or collection, let me know - I'm happy to do a follow-up post. Hmm... how about a bright blue blazer with orange chinos?

Hackett

Lyle & Scott

British Boxers - OK, they're worn underneath, but why not go the whole hog?

Jigsaw

Marks & Spencer

PinCollarShirts.co.uk

Marks & Spencer

Lyle & Scott

PinCollarShirts.co.uk

London Sock Co

Deji George pocket squares

Hackett lightweight mac

PinCollarShirts.co.uk

Marks & Spencer

Jigsaw Menswear

Lyle & Scott

London Sock Co

Marks & Spencer Best of British AW14 - seventies men's style from the archives

Marks & Spencer showed its AW14 Best of British collection at London Collections:Men in January. In a dramatic show, using models as opposed to the static display they used previously, M&S continued their successful search for British-made menswear style. Again they have raided their archives and the seventies have clearly been a heavy influence. I remember some of this stuff the first time round and I love it. There will even be a brown velvet jacket - groovy!

I look forward to seeing the Autumn/Winter collection more closely. Meanwhile, see the wonderful Spring/Summer Best of British collection, now in the shops and on the M&S website here. 

Red cashmere for Christmas from M&S Best of British

I'm not doing a feature on Christmas jumpers this year, but thought I'd write about colourful knitwear that will brighten up our lives as the days shorten. We've looked at orange, today it's that seasonal colour, red. 

This cashmere jumper is made in Scotland and is part of the M&S Best of British collection. I have one in bright blue and it's superb quality, soft and thick cashmere. See M&S Best of British for information.

Marks & Spencer menswear for Spring/Summer 2014 - looking good!

The M&S press day this week gave me another look at their menswear for next Spring and Summer. Bold checks and colours reflect Marks & Spencer's increasing confidence, offering classics enhanced with modern cuts, as shown in the image below.

And the confidence is well-justified. There are some lovely clothes, all marked with great attention to quality and detail. There's not much here I wouldn't be happy to wear. Indeed, I'm hoping, in the new year, to repeat my recent Guardian photo-shoot to show that M&S are offering quality and style fit for all ages of man. 

I've talked about their Best of British collection before - and the sharp tailoring, checks and dapper silhouettes that it introduced are now filtering into the Sartorial and other collections, giving a logical uniformity to the menswear range; a sure sign that M&S feel they are getting it right. 

Overall, I still feel there's a bit of confusion between the different collections, but this is a minor quibble and the wide choice doesn't undermine the quality of the offering and the richness of the choice.

M&S Best of British SS14

M&S Best of British 2014

M&S Best of British 2014

Marks & Spencer Best of British - Grey Fox tries it out

Earlier this week I posted an article on The Guardian Fashion Blogs Network in which I was photographed wearing M&S's Best of British collection. When I first approached them with the idea, M&S had little idea how I would use the images or what I would say. But they agreed without seeking reassurances. They provided clothes, location, photographer and even a stylist - and it was a bit of fun.

Images Marks & Spencer. Images of Grey Fox by Keir Harris

Regulars here will know that one of my themes is the failure of the fashion industry to use older models in marketing campaigns. Although M&S are an exception (think of Twiggy and the recent campaign which included Dame Helen Mirren, Tracy Emin and others) they chose to use a young model (Oliver Cheshire) to sell Best of British. I felt that such a high quality, classic yet modern, collection should be tried on an older man. I'd like to thank the superb photographer, Keir Harris, who did much to put me at ease and took such excellent images.

For Grey Fox's first impressions of M&S Best of British, click here.
For more on the Best of British collection for men and women on the M&S website, click here.

Don't throw away those unwanted red chinos - go Shwopping with M&S and Oxfam on 3rd October

Looking for something constructive to do with all those unwanted clothes? When I first embarked on this search for style I emptied my wardrobe. While I gave most to charity shops, the waste gave me more than a pang of guilt.

A recent poll tells us that we're amassing millions of items of clothing we consider to be fashion disasters that will never see the light of day again. Two in five (38%) admit to only wearing half of the clothes they own. Over one third (34%) of Brits are still throwing clothes in the bin which means we are sending millions of clothing to landfill (is that where all our red chinos go?)

Joanna Lumley believes Shwopping can revolutionise clothes shopping by asking consumers to adopt a ‘buy one, give one’ mentality, encouraging greater sustainability on the high street. 

Social media sites have become the 21st century catwalk - one in ten (11%) admit using Facebook and Instagram to find out about clothing trends and styles. Surprisingly, it is men not women, that trawl celebrity Instagram snaps to find inspiration, with one in four (21%) admitting to styling themselves on men whose styles they admire. 

However, as well as working as a look book for future outfits, social media can also be a reminder of fashion disasters from the past, with just under half (45%) of the men and women polled confessing to de-tagging Facebook photos because they’re embarrassed by what they're wearing.

M&S and Oxfam’s Shwopping initiative is calling on the public to ensure no clothing ends up in landfill by shwopping - not binning - these unloved items of clothing in their stores nationwide. With over 1 billion items sent to landfill each year in the UK, the retailer is calling on Brits to adopt a ‘buy one, give one back’ culture when they shop.

As part of its One Day Wardrobe Clear Out Shwopping event tomorrow, Thursday 3rd October, the retailer is asking the nation to ditch the bin and ensure their unwanted clothing choices can have a second life by Shwopping in-store to receive a £5 money-off voucher when they spend £35 or more on fashion.

Since its launch in April 2012, Oxfam has received over 5.3 million items of clothing thanks to Shwopping, which could be worth £3.3 million for the charity. All money raised by Shwopping is used to support Oxfam’s projects around the world working to alleviate poverty.

For more information on Marks & Spencer and Oxfam’s Shwopping initiative and the One Day Wardrobe Clear Out event on October 3rd visit www.marksandspencer.com/shwopping.

M&S best of British in Mail Online and Grey Fox joins 'the style set'

The Mail Online reviews M&S's wonderful Best of British collection and quotes from my post here about it. Grey Fox has apparently joined the style set.

See The Mail Online post here.

Marks and Spencer - With 'Best of British', M&S is rediscovering its roots

Marks and Spencer rediscovers its roots with its 'Best of British' collection for AW13

Yesterday I had the immense pleasure of walking into a room full of menswear made in the UK. The pleasure was made all the greater by the fact that these clothes are from Marks and Spencer.

All images M&S

M&S is in the enviable, yet unenviable, position of being a British institution. As soon as things go a bit awry, we all have something to say about it (as have I in the past). Once M&S made many of its clothes in the UK. The harsh realities of the marketplace and stiff competition on the high street changed all that - and there were fears that quality was sacrificed too. No doubt this was financially justifiable, but many didn't like it and harked back to the glorious old days when M&S was British and quality to the core.

To their credit M&S saw these concerns and a recent collaboration with the British Fashion Council heralds a shift in direction and has created the Best of British range. This comes at a time when better-informed consumers are increasingly questioning the wisdom of buying cheap foreign garments made in the sort of conditions that sparked the Factories Acts in the UK in the nineteenth century. There is also the beginning of a reaction against foreign-made 'British heritage' collections and a desire to see the real thing once more.

While the Best of British collection is only a small part of the AW13 offering, M&S has to start somewhere and I really hope that we will give them a chance. It would be nice to think that the Made in Britain label will become commoner in their stores. The collaboration with the BFC will last three years - I'll be watching with interest.

The Best of British indeed

What I like about this collection is that M&S has resisted the temptation to play safe with middle-aged grunge. What I saw is a collection of beautifully-made classics, for both men and women, interpreted in a snappy and very contemporary way.

The designers have raided the M&S archives for many of these garments, updated with slightly lighter fabrics and modern design and colours. We have here clothes suitable for young and old alike - the benefit of applying a modern touch and details to classic designs.

M&S has worked with many of the great names in British manufacture, some new, like Private White VC and many much older, like Cheaney and Abraham Moon.

Prices? The suit above, for example, will cost £799. The beautiful Prince of Wales check coat below, £599. Knitwear will be £55 to £149. These prices shouldn't put off buyers - they compare with similar but imported items elsewhere - this is British-made from British fabrics.

The excitement in M&S about this collection was palpable. Tony O'Connor, Head of Menswear Design, kindly spent some time showing me the clothes and his enthusiasm was infectious. There is so much there I would have walked away with given the chance, and I'd loved to have tried some of it on - but that will have to wait for later in the year when it hits the stores. We will also see the collection at London Collections:Men next month.

M&S will be offering some outstanding menswear in their other ranges later this year. That can await another post - for me the highlight is Best of British.

For my interview last month with Tony O'Connor, Head of Menswear Design at M&S, see here.

  

All the above images are from Marks and Spencer