Grey Fox's new suit

I've been reporting on the progress of my three piece tweed suit from Susannah Hall tailors. Today I went for the final fitting - here's the result. A few tiny tweaks yet to be done, but I will be wearing it at Best of Britannia at the end of this week. I will be there on Friday all day and Saturday morning and I hope to meet many friends while there (I will be at Susannah Hall's stand for some of the time).

The quality of the cut and tweed (from Hunter's Tweed) is obvious. It feels very comfortable to wear, I felt immediately at home in it. The checks meet precisely and the details, such as beautiful horn buttons, add to the overall look of the suit. Contact Susannah Hall with tailoring queries.

See Hunter's Tweed for information on their range of estate and other tweeds. Here's Best of Britannia.

I'm grateful to Susannah for doing a bulk deal for me and my three identical twin brothers; we're pictured admiring our suits below.

For my reports on the making of the suit see here.

The history of the three-piece suit - a video by The Museum of London

The History of the Three Piece Suit (and how it was created in London). A video by Curator of Fashion at The Museum of London, Timothy Long.

Hackett - purveyors of fine shirts and suits

I can remember when, in the early eighties, a new shop opened in Parson's Green London, on the New King's Road. It was housed in a small white building with, I seem to recall, three windows - square, round and, around the door, an elongated capital P-shape. It was the young Hackett store, moving on from its origins as a Portobello Road market stall run by Jeremy Hackett and Ashley Lloyd-Jennings.

Jeremy Hackett - the archetype of the grey fox

Nowadays Hackett is at the centre of the menswear establishment and is one of the first stops for the older man in search of better quality mature and classic fashions. Hackett's Spring/Summer 2013 men's brochure even contains a man with grey hair - so it's good to find a menswear company embracing the possibility that older men are interested in, and want to buy, clothes - well done Hackett! With such a record you'll guess that I've written about Hackett here on the blog before (and you'll find the Spring/Summer '13 video which includes a grey-haired man as well!)

Their range is wide, but, with two weddings coming up soon, I wanted to look at men's shirts and formal suits in particular. Hackett's off-the-peg suits come in most materials, from cotton and linen through to wool and mohair. Most styles are catered for and range from classic double-breasted pinstripe, through a beautiful 1960s style mohair, to a three-piece linen suit (each of these three is illustrated below). Suit prices vary between £550 and £825. For more information about suits see Hackett's web site. Personal tailoring services are available in some stores.

As you'd expect, Hackett's men's formal shirt designs and shapes are many and varied - and price between £80 and £120. Some are slim fit, some are tailored; the range contains all manner of collar and cuff styles - some even contain elastane for added stretch. I've chosen a selection below to give a flavour of what is available. The Hackett formal shirts can be found here.

This post accords with my partnership policies here.