Sunday 31 October 2010

Soar for Autumn

Tim Soar for AW10.

Now, I rarely wear an outfit of pieces from one designer but I had to make an exception after falling head over heels for Tim Soar's AW10 collection back in February. After a successful number of seasons of no-holds-barred modernism Soar opted to look back in order to look forward with his 'Greatest Hits' collection. Throughout, Soar manages to eloquently condense the last one hundred and fifty years of menswear, picking out key pieces and exploring the shifts in the social constructs of masculinity as he goes. Soar developed a mood board that ran chronologically from mid-victorian times through to the late 70s. It then became easy to pick out themes to explore. Some of the themes were detail focused, some were all about fabric others were about cut and construction. The real focus is all about making each piece desirable in its own right.

A closer look at the cashmere mix waffle knit and the silk shirt.

For his 'Greatest Hits', Soar wanted to produce a collection that was warm and familiar, one that would have many overlapping memories and echoes from the past. The result is a collection fit for any modern day gentleman. Timeless elegance. When we unpicked the seams of his the collection back in March, I had to physically restrain myself from purchasing the entire line but succumbed to ordering a trio of key piece; the cashmere mix scooped neck waffle knit, long silk shirt and a pair of black trousers. Having enjoyed and experimented with these items for just over a month, I thought that it was about time that I shared them with you...

The Tim Soar outfit. Silk shirt, waffle knit and trousers all by Tim Soar
Socks from Uniqlo and shoes by Mr. Hare.

The length and fluidity of the silk dress shirt has to take centre stage whenever it is worn. Of course, it can be a little too much on its own but the fluidity of the piece works so well when worn the super soft waffle knit. I love the playfulness of this combination and decided to accentuate it by cuffing my trousers a little higher.

Silk shirt, waffle knit and trousers all by Tim Soar.

For me, the key piece of the entire collection was the long silk shirt and I was fortunate enough to hear how this piece embodies the aesthetic of the collection from the designer himself. About a month into the design process Soar looked through his own clothing archive and pulled out two exquisite hand made 70s silk dress shirts that had been kicking around for some time. They where very long and fluid, but quite precise at the same time. Upon this discovery the designer was able to see this connection between the Victorian/Edwardian aesthetic and classy Parisian feeling mid-70s menswear. As soon as he made that connection, it all fell into place. Until now, I had nothing like this in my wardrobe and  will no doubt have great fun experimenting with the fluidity of the item.

Here's to celebrating Soar's Greatest Hits.

16 comments:

Make Do Style said...

Very modern edwardian. Great pieces that beg to be worn together. glad to see Uniqlo socks still going strong. Also have had no time to comment of late just a quick fix read so have meant to say the new masthead is fab.

John said...

Prior to this collection I wasn't a Tim Soar fan but autumn/winter changed all that. Great picks

Adam King said...

I love all three pieces but I'm sorry I absolutely loathe the untucked dress shirt under the sweater look. Douche-baggy! All you need is some flared hardwashed jeans and some square toed shoes to polish the look off.

D. said...

Not so sure about the knit or the cut of the collar, but the fabric of the shirt looks really cool. I love the shoes, the coloured socks add a sense of fun and I really like the cuffing of the trousers.

Style Salvage Steve said...

Make Do Style: Thanks, always nice to have you drop by and leave a comment. Also it is not every day that I embrace the inner Edwardian in me but I must say, I like it!
John: Thanks. You're certainly not the first person to have said that to me. Everything came together so eloquently in this collection.
Adam: Ha, unfortunately I own neither flared hard washed jeans and square toed shoes. I appreciate your gripe with the top half styling perhaps but I wanted to accentuate the odd silhouette. This shirt is not designed for being tucked in.

Matthew Spade said...

agreed on this whole look very really modern. short jumper, long shirt, love the unconventialness of it, the shirt is very elegant and that fabric really comes across well on the photos.

you even seem happy to be wearing it all

Brandon said...

I totally disagree with Adam. Sometimes shirts look good untucked and in this case I really think it does (as Steve said) accentuate the proportions of the sweater. I just met Tim while he was over here with the BFC showroom in NY and he's pretty great. Did you see the digitally printed silk shirts too and Tyvek shorts?

Shane B said...

I like the wide open collar, very classy. The drapes of the shirt could be a bit shorter to make the look more proportional, my personal opinion~~

Anonymous said...

I love this. Good look.

Ernest

Tom said...

Agree with Adam. Sorry, that shirt might be deemed 'fashionable' in certain rarefied circles but worn on the street it just looks plain silly. I'm a fan of your site but would be laughed out of town if I ever wore anything like that. Still, wouldn't life be boring if we all had identical taste?

Style Salvage Steve said...

Mat: Thank you!
Brandon Acton-Bond: Thanks, I like this discussion. Tim is one of the nicest people I've ever met in the industry. As for the digital print silk shirts, I've ordered myself one. I can't wait to wear it.
Anonymous Ernest: Thanks!
Shane Bailey: Thanks. They are much longer than anything else in my wardrobe.
Tom: It certainly would and I love to hear different opinions. I find your choice of the word 'fashionable' interesting. The reason I picked this item was because of its historical grounding in menswear and not because it was 'current'. Something similar has been worn elegantly during various eras. Unusual and not to everyone's tastes certainly but for me, it is not the height of fashion but rather it is quite timeless.

Matthew Spade said...

hmmm disagree too, to say fashionable means it's pretty much all over our high street, i have seen silk shirts in the shops once or twice but how many people to do you in longer shirt?

also who cares if you get laughed at, live a little

Fashion Philosopher said...

I love this outfit. I had a look at Soar at Asos the last seasons and some of the clothes I remember as quite camp but I will have another look maybe I am wrong. This outfit is excactly my style. I just bought the same style of shirt from Stockholm label "Sparks" in a shop calle Behave off Bricklane. I had also my doubts since the shirt goes almost to my knees but I actually felt quite confidant and comfortable wearing it. It is black striped and made of cotton not silk. The fabric feels more stiff. I love the way you styled it with the cashmere jumper on top. I will do an interpretation of the look on the weekend and post it on my block
"thephilosophyoffashion". Maybe you want to have a look at it. I just started the block and I will try to concentrate on men fashion since it is diffcult to find good blogs for men. Maybe someone has some suggestions in regards to men fashion blogs ( and I do not mean brianboy ).

Fashion Philosopher said...

Sorry must correct me saying that Tim Soar is " quite camp ". I had a second look at Asos. Actually his designs are very " poetic ". Soft but mascline- very nice but unfortunately also quite pricey.

Izzy said...

I disagree, Adam, but I understand where you're coming from. Shirt+sweater+tie with the tie outside the sweater, that might be more evocative of a douche. But I never say never in fashion. If you could take styling befitting a douchebag and make it something new and fresh and creative, then kudos to you.

Izzy said...

P.S. No offense meant towards guys who wear their ties outside their sweaters.

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails