Pocket Rocket: Pocket Squares Can Be Fun

Pocket squares should be fun and Pocket Rocket, who make and design their squares in the UK, have gone out of their way to make them so. My first thought was that the printed silk squares were a bit loud, but of course once they are folded and placed in a pocket their multiple colours makes them extremely adaptable. They then take on a completely different personality, limited only by your imagination and pocket square folding ability.

And what do they look like in the pocket? They are generously sized at 42cm square and are made of opulent silk with hand-rolled edges. Here I've stuffed them in my blazer with my usual lack of flair and you'll see how they take on a different look depending in how you fold them:

Highly recommended and fun both in and out of the breast pocket. See Pocket Rocket.

This feature was kindly sponsored by Pocket Rocket, but the views in it are entirely mine.

Geoff Stocker Pocket Squares and Ties to Support Grey Fox Blog

The pocket squares and ties shown below were designed by Geoff Stocker and use #blogdog Harry as the model. It's this blog's fifth birthday this weekend and, to mark this, a proportion of the sale proceeds come to me to cover blog costs. Naturally, they are made in England of high quality silk and have hand-rolled edges.

Harry #blogdog

They come in a wide variety of colours (some are shown below) and are available here and here. Both Harry and I would appreciate your support by buying one for yourself or a friend for Christmas.

The-Bias-Cut: Pocket Squares with a Difference

The-Bias-Cut sells products mainly to older women, and the one on five readers of this blog who are women will find much there of interest for themselves, but my attention was also caught by a rather nice range of pocket squares, which I feature here.

Jacynth Bassett of The-Bias-Cut

The business was founded by Jacynth Bassett in response to her frustration at what she sees as ageism in the fashion industry. She told me:

"I was inspired to start the-Bias-Cut.com after growing saddened and frustrated at seeing stylish 40+ women, like my mum, feeling invisible and irrelevant in the eyes of the Fashion Industry. It shouldn't be so hard for 40+ women to find stylish, special clothing! But as lots of my customers' husbands had been inquiring about me going into menswear I decided to introduce a small pocket square range to test the waters".

For the collection of pocket squares, Jacynth teamed up with designer Claudia Meller (whose scarves she already stocks) to sell her unique made in Britain designs. You can see them all here and read more about Claudia Meller here. The squares are 100% soft, fine wool and finished with a frayed, rather than hand-rolled, hem to give a contemporary feel and to add a contrasting texture.

I love the colours and patterns. Ideal as Christmas presents, they are refreshingly different from the classic design and construction of pocket squares. They cost £28 and can be bought on The-Bias-Cut website.

Pocket squares for summer: reds and pinks

This is a companion post to Ties for Summer here. For warmer days, as with ties, look for summery materials, such as linen and cotton, and brighter, less formal, playful colours and designs. Here are some favourites with red or pink themes:

From top left clockwise:
Rampley & Co silk
Gieves & Hawkes linen
Drake's cotton and silk
Cravat Club silk
Dancys cotton floral
Aaron Hales silk

This post is unsponsored. The selection and all views are my own.

Book review: The Pocket Square by A.C.Phillips, pub. Thames & Hudson

The Pocket Square by A.C. Phillips is a nicely designed book presenting 22 essential pocket square folds in a colourful, graphic format with clear diagrams and minimal text.

Peppered with bons mots from celebrities who've worn pocket squares over the years, the book also gives information about the origins and history of the humble pocket hank. Published by Thames & Hudson at a modest £9.95.

I was sent this book for review.

Geoff Stocker x Grey Fox x Harry the Labrador pocket squares

Some of you know that I'm owned by a two and a half year old labrador called Harry. Harry's agent has negotiated an exciting collaboration with Geoff Stocker to feature in a range of made in England silk pocket squares. Whether you're a dog lover or not, these squares will guarantee that you will be the most dapper gentleman ever seen. Harry's handsome features will be an ideal conversation point at any party and you'll find that they are the perfect magnet for beautiful women (and men).

Harry the Labrador

In these squares Harry is featured with a stick (I never throw them for him - that's dangerous - but he likes to find and chew sticks). Available in three colours, azure, caramel and strawberry, they are made in England from hand-rolled silk and are available from Geoff Stocker (£36 each). A proportion of every sale goes towards a bone for Harry and the costs of this blog.

Birds of America pocket squares from Rampley & Co: made in England

Rampley & Co have used some of my favourite wildlife artwork for their latest pocket square collection. The stunning prints of John James Audubon (1785- 1851) are reproduced on silk which is printed in Macclesfield and hand-rolled in Britain.

Selby's Flycatcher

Audubon is known for his book The Birds of America (1827–1839) - one of the finest ornithological works ever completed. Rampley & Co worked closely with the University Of Pittsburgh to gain access to one of the original copies of the book from which they chose three birds to use on their range of Audubon inspire pocket squares.

See Rampley & Co to browse and buy. And see more on Rampley & Co on Grey Fox Blog.

Black-throated blue warbler

Yellow-throated vireo

Pocket squares from Monsieur London

It's the third birthday of Monsieur London and they've produced a lovely range of pocket squares based on their rabbit logo. Designed by French illustrator, RoSaCe and printed in Italy, the silk squares combine colour and humour in a way I love and are available in several colour combinations.

Monsieur London offers classics for the gentleman's wardrobe; British heritage, with a French twist. Their products are handmade in Europe, mostly in England, Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy. See Monsieur London.

Cravat Club: Made in England cravats and pocket squares and new Blog Sponsor

I'm delighted to welcome and thank Cravat Club as a sponsor for the blog as I look for funds to improve the blog for readers and brands I work with. They will be no strangers to readers as I've mentioned them before. Their cleverly-curated range of English-made cravats and pocket squares appeal to all tastes and styles and are well-displayed on their brand-new website here.

Please support Cravat Club and Grey Fox Blog by clicking on Cravat Club's advert on the right or by visiting their new website to browse and buy.

Rampley & Co pocket squares: Macclesfield silk

One of the pleasures of curating this blog is coming across another young, entrepreneurial, British menswear business committed to manufacture in the UK. Rampley & Co fits this mould, making a variety of pocket squares from Macclesfield silk and other materials, such as Harris tweed.

They have produced several designs and it initially was their Fine Art Collection that caught my eye. Developed in collaboration with the Tate in London, they reproduce dramatic works of art by John Singleton Copley, J.M.W. Turner and John Martin (seen in that order below).

The Death of Major Peirson 6 January 1681 (at the Battle of Jersey)

The Battle of Trafalgar, as Seen from the Mizen Starboard Shrouds of the Victory

The Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum

The squares are made of high quality silk with hand-rolled edges and are ideal for folding or stuffing into your top pocket. At 42cm square, they are an ideal size, not too small, not too large. The benefit of a large, colourful and irregular pattern, such as these, is that you can fold it in many ways to create a wide variety of top pocket looks.

There is much more to come from Rampley & Co. This collection and others can be found on their website here.

Deji George's new collection of pocket squares

Deji George's spring/summer '15 collection of silk pocket squares is called 'Psychedelic Nature'. I last reviewed their colourful and geometric products last April. Their new collection follows the same  pattern, offering hand-stitched edges and soft, flowing silks in a vibrant 36cm square, made in Italy.

For more information and to buy, visit Deji George.

Pocket squares: where to find well-made and original designs

Pocket squares make excellent gifts for a man. They add colour and style to an outfit and the greater the choice the better. A man can never have too many pocket hanks. But unless you look carefully the selection can be a little uninspiring and unoriginal. So here is a brief round-up of some of my favourite designs that are just a bit different.

Dancys

I love the originality of the fresh printed cotton designs from this small, young studio in Norfolk. Making ties and hanks in England, this is just the sort of business that deserves our wholehearted support. Dancys -

Drake's

One of my favourite stores, Drake's products are so eclectic, mixing traditional English style with Italian verve. These pocket squares are among my favourite designs. Like those from Dancys, the patterns are different enough to make them stand out from more traditional designs. See Drake's -

Age of Reason
I couldn't write about pocket squares that are original in design without mentioning the Age of Reason/Grey Fox limited edition collaboration squares, made and hand-rolled in England. If you haven't got one already, you must do so now from Age of Reason scarves. Available in blue or rust -

Cravat Club

A wide range of Made in England squares can also be found at Cravat Club, about whom I wrote recently here. The designs range from the traditional to more modern, so there is something for all -

The Merchant Fox

A good place to find all sorts of well-designed British-made gifts, The Merchant Fox has a small range of pocket squares which, like that pictured below, combine humour and style. Click here to buy -

Helen Ruth

Helen Ruth's scarves are 32cm square, printed on 100% silk twill in Glasgow and finished by hand with a rolled hem. The designs start off as Helen's hand-drawn illustration and artwork and then developed into digital prints. She also makes silk bow ties and you can get matching sets made to order. See Helen Ruth on Facebook and see about her scarves on her website here -

Marie Antoinette - contact Helen Ruth for more information

Cravat Club pocket squares

Cravat Club, so well-known for their made in England silk cravats, has introduced a range of pocket squares. Available in a wide range of tempting colours, there is something here for everyone, from traditional to more modern designs.

Every man should own a pocket square; they are no longer the preserve of the dandy. They add a splash of colour to a suit or blazer and enable you to send out a signal about your mood and tastes. Used to pick out colours in socks, tie or knitwear, a well-chosen hank will pull together an otherwise diverse outfit. 

In the image below, I've selected my favourite purple, orange and green Paisley design, the Romain. Priced from £30, they come in woven and printed silk and make excellent Christmas gifts. 

See Cravat Club for more information and to buy.

Augustus Hare ties and Grey Fox interview

I had the privilege of being interviewed on the Augustus Hare website this week for their Autumn Interviews series. I'm a great admirer of their English-made silk print ties, Italian knitted silk ties and pocket squares. The green/blue Zola knitted tie in the image below is one of my most-admired ties.

To read the interview and see their selection of beautifully-made products, go to Augustus Hare. Jacket - Hackett, shirt - Smyth & Gibson, chinos - Lyle & Scott, belt The Worcestershire Leather Co.

Cravat Club - Grey Fox talks to a British-made menswear label on its first birthday

Due to a skilled use of social media (there's a lesson here for many menswear brands), I've known about Cravat Club for most of its existence. I'd been wondering how it was getting on reviving the cravat, when by chance I recently bumped into (see image below) Jenny Meguro, who runs the company. She kindly answered some questions about the business on its first birthday (see below). 

Cravats are back, with Cravat Club leading the way

I'm not yet a cravat wearer, but I'll be trying some of Jenny's lovely products over the next week or so. Will I be converted? I've tried a couple and have a suspicion that cravats will now form part of my life, but I'll let you know in a future post.

Jenny offers a very impressive range of colours and designs of cravat and pocket square - all made in Britain. See Cravat Club for more information.

Grey Fox bumps into Jenny Meguro at L'Eroica Britannia

Here is my conversation with Jenny -

I'm intrigued as to how you came to be selling cravats. How did you get started?

Initially, my business partner Julian came up with the idea of Cravat Club as a sort of side venture, as his main profession is painting restoration. He had always been a fan of cravats and he felt that there was a lack of choice when it came to designs and finding a good quality product, as most cravats he found online and in stores had a tendency to either have very uninspiring patterns or be made very cheaply abroad which lacked quality. So he decided to fill this gap in the market by sourcing silk mills here in the UK and have good quality cravats made in more interesting patterns and colours. Julian then had a simple website made as the platform to showcase and sell these products.

Some of the many Cravat Club designs available

After 5 years in Japan, I came back to the UK last year, and while I was looking for work in marketing, I came across Julian’s business venture and was really intrigued by his idea of bringing the cravat back into fashion. I have always been interested in fashion; had previously studied textiles, and men’s fashion was always something I was curious about. It was eye-opening to experience the varied fashion trends in Japan and I also observed how the majority of men in Japan dressed so well and immaculately; a little different to here in the UK! It’s about paying attention to the smaller details and presentation is paramount in Japan, which is where a little accessorising comes into play.

I was keen to ensure that Cravat Club’s image steered away from the stuffy and outdated undertones that cravats have traditionally had, and that a slightly edgier and more contemporary touch would be ideal for today’s market and to appeal to a wider audience, not just for the more mature gentleman! So I revamped the website using more ‘off-the-wall’ imagery, I then had a plethora of designs made up to appeal to both the younger and older target market, and took over the online and social media marketing side of the business. 

Pocket squares

Has there been a revival in the cravat? 

There has been a huge resurgence of the well-dressed modern gent in the last few years, and popularity of men’s accessories have escalated hugely with the bow tie, pocket square and boutonnière being part of a man’s wardrobe, and cravats are steadily emerging onto the scene too. Cravats are the perfect accessory to complete an outfit for the sartorial chap bearing comfort and style at the same time, and as every woman knows, a well-dressed man is certain to stand out from the crowd and turn heads at social events! 

British manufacturing has also been increasingly sought-after as consumers in the UK are striving for well-made products from artisan and independent specialist businesses, as opposed to products being constantly churned out on a factory line abroad in order to cut costs, meaning quality and heritage becomes diluted; thus losing its charm and calibre. And so for us, the concept of a British made silk cravat was the epitome of quality and heritage rolled into one.

Where are your cravats made? Please tell us something about them and their design.

All of our products are manufactured across England. We have two types of cravats and pocket squares; jacquard woven silk and printed silk.

The woven silk is made in the Midlands from high grade raw-yarn silk. After we have requested and selected our designs and colourways, the silk goes through preparation, dyeing, and weaving stages to create intricate, lustrous and colourful patterns.

The printed silk is produced in the North of England from the finest raw-yarn silk, which undergoes various processes, and is then treated with steaming and stenting after being printed with our carefully chosen eye-catching designs and colours.

The material is then cut and made into cravats and pocket squares in the Midlands and the South Coast of England before ending up at Cravat Club HQ!

 Who and where are your main markets? How would you like to see these develop?

Even though our main market is in the UK, we offer free worldwide delivery so we are also popular across the globe, and have sold to over 30 countries so far, including all across Europe, the US, Canada, Brazil, Northern and South East Asia, Australia and the Far East, (and to my delight, this includes Japan)! It’s quite exciting for us when we receive an order from a country we haven’t sold to before, so each time we put a flag pin in our world map on a cork board in the office – it looks a bit like we’re planning for world domination! 

Our target market ranges from men in their late 20s/early 30s to, shall we say, the more mature gentlemen! There is a generation gap between Julian and myself, and I think that works well because we see fashion and designs from two very different perspectives. That’s why we have over 100 products on our site ranging from traditional to contemporary patterns, to classic designs with a twist - so there’s something for every gentleman’s taste!

We would like to see more men who haven’t tried a cravat before take the plunge and go for it, they would be surprised how comfortable it is to wear, and paired with the right outfit, how stylish it looks. You don’t have to make a huge statement wearing a cravat, you can show as little or as much as you like depending on how you tie and position it under your shirt, and there are a variety of ways you can wear it for different occasions, so you can dress it up or down. 

What inspires you in driving the business? What are you favourite moments in running the business?

Well, we’re only officially a year old but a lot has happened in this year!

Apart from wanting to see more and more men dressing well and taking pride in their appearance, I relish on the exciting thought that the cravat is on the precipice of flooding the men’s fashion scene. It feels like Cravat Club could potentially, or is already starting to have an effect on today’s fashion. 

I thoroughly enjoy running the business as it’s so varied, from planning and co-ordinating photo shoots, having input with the designs, communicating with customers and people via social media, to researching what’s trending and constantly thinking about the business and coming up with new ideas…and I love being my own boss, that helps too!

Click here to go to Cravat Club's blog.