Friday Favourites: Archer & Peyton socks, Spoke trousers

Archer & Peyton socks

I've mentioned Archer & Peyton before. Produced in Italy in a wide range of colours and designs, they are well-made and comfortable and among my favourites.

Contact Archer & Peyton for more information and to buy.

Spoke

An update on another brand I've mentioned before. Spoke have returned their manufacture to the UK. Their speciality is not only matching size to waist and leg but also to build/body shape. 

I've tried a pair of their 'Bulletproof' chinos which fit perfectly. The fabric, quality and cut are very good. Highly-recommended from Spoke.

Tom Cridland - support British-designed trousers on Kickstarter

Tom Cridland makes trousers in Portugal from luxury fabrics; cotton first, wool and cashmere later this year. They spent a year ergonomically testing the cut - a slim fit (with no elastase, polyester etc diluting the quality of fabric) that retains both comfort and functionality. They wanted to create an arty brand with bold, beautiful colours and developed unique shades of classic beige and navy, as well as brighter blue, orange and pink. 

Tom Cridland started the brand with a government loan and is now looking to finance further expansion through a Kickstarter campaign. Tom told me more:

'This is a labour of love for me. I'm 24, started the business with a small government loan and it's been steadily growing ever since. This Kickstarter campaign could make or break my first collection!'

I've road-tested a pair of the chinos. Slim-cut, the cotton fabric is soft but durable. This is a young brand that deserves our support. Here is the link to Kickstarter where you can pledge money in return for trousers and find out more.

Spoke chinos - a good fit and made in Hoxton, England

None of us is the same size and few clothing manufacturers pay much more than lip service to this fact. I recently ordered a pair of chinos (British-made, note) from Spoke whose unique selling point is the effort they make to cater for different sizes.

They do this by asking for details of not only your size, but also your build - and they'll send you a tape measure of you need one. The sizes progress in increments of 1 inch between 30" and 36", so there is generally a size and fit for all.

Mine are navy blue and are a comfortable, slim, but not too slim, cut. The fabric is a soft Italian fabric which comes in a variety of colours. Best of all, they're stitched together in Hoxton, London - so these are genuine British-made trousers - all for £79.

 See Spoke's website for more information.

With thanks to Spoke for providing a pair of trousers for use in this review

Red trousers - are you man enough?

I've talked a lot about how men are wearing brighter colours this year - and I've indulged myself with bright blue chinos, pocket squares and socks. I enjoy colour, but being bold with it probably comes more naturally to the younger man. With grey hairs comes a tendency towards the classic and conventional.

However, having pinned this image of a gent in red jeans on Pinterest (where I've been rediscovering a liking for red, see here) I spotted red trousers in several local shops. I now feel the need to recreate the look - navy blazer, red chinos and red pocket square.

The problem is I don't have the courage - should I take this bold step? There are some similarly red chinos in the M&S North Coast range. They're less than £20, so I wouldn't be making an expensive error if my nerve breaks and they remain unworn!

Note - this bright red is not to be confused with the pink/red colours of trousers in the Nantucket Reds family, discussed here in a previous post.

The trousers below are not quite the right bright pillar-box red, but they work with a blue blazer. 

Red suit, anyone?

And some more -

Young and older wearing variations on a theme.

At a recent party for my 21 year old twin nephew and niece I posed with members of the younger crowd wearing coloured chinos and jeans. In case you can't spot me, I'm second from the left.

The overall styles were similar with a few differences. The cut of the blazers worn by most of the younger men was short and they had one more shirt button undone than I did. They also wore very pointed brogues, what decades ago were called "winkle pickers"; not my style at all. Most wore their trousers long, rather than with turn-ups. Despite these small differences, the picture illustrates that fashion for all ages is generally centred on well-tried classics - here chinos or jeans, blazers and shirts. 

I was wearing a brown linen jacket (usually buttoned up) and tan Loake Chester brogues. I discussed the blue brown colour combination a few months ago - see here. These colours were brought together by an old  Liberty silk pocket square, pictured below.

Wear out your chinos naturally - the ethics of artificially ageing your clothing.

My favourite chinos, an ancient pair of Gants, have nearly given up the ghost. I wore a hole through the seat a while ago and was able to patch it from the inside with an iron-on patch. As I was ironing them today, I noticed that a hole is appearing in the knee.

The first thought is to replace them, but I love them and it would be like giving away a favourite pet. Furthermore, many misguided people spend good money to buy brand new clothes with just this level of wear carefully built in (I've discussed such dishonest and objectionable distressing of clothes before, see Patina and Style). So, I'll continue to wear them with pride.

If you're desperate for worn chinos here is some advice from Ask Valet about ageing them artificially. Personally I'd rather wear out my trousers naturally than cheat by getting out the sandpaper.