Bailey's Lost Matchstick Man?

The title of this post is somewhat optimistic but you have to aim high right? There is no doubt that the Burberry Prorsums AW 08 collection was one of the stand out collections way back at the beginning of the year and as this year draws to a close it is about time that I present to you my own interpretation...using the fruits of my DIY challenge and dlittlegarden's handywork!

To reach my Burberry knock off look, the DIY Cardigan is worn with grey shirt from bstore, vintage bow tie from Marks&Spencer, grey trousers from peoplesmarket, patent shoes by swear and winter warming accessories from dlittlegarden.

This little tribute look was a long time coming but I'm glad that I've finally done it. I can now move on from my little obsession...I wonder what the next one will be...

DIY - Cardigan Reborn

EJ certainly raised the bar with her wonderfully executed and amusing Tache Gloves (these would make a great, inexpensive Christmas Gift). For my DIY Project I wanted to create a double layered cardigan because I have been crazing one ever since I saw them strut down the LS Lowry inspired Burberry AW 08 runway but could not find a more affordable version anywhere. The colour palette that Bailey used in that show made me want to rush out and play in imaginery piles of crispy red and brown leaves...and I wanted to achieve something similar. Then I remembered about my well worn Reiss cardigan which was lying somewhat unloved at the bottom of one of my drawers. Susie actually featured this cardigan on her blog long before we started going out and it was the first time that I took notice of style and fashion blog...more importantly it was the first real opportunity for me to speak to her at work (for those of who don't know we used to work at the same office) and of course great things have later blossomed. Therefore, this Reiss cardigan deserved a much better life than the one it had found itself in. So under the guise of the Men Represent DIY Challenge, I just had to breathe fresh life into this special piece of knitwear.

What you will need...

- Two cardigans, preferably battered and old. I actually decided to treat myself to an extra fine Merino Wool Cardigan from Uniqlo in a complimentary shade because my deep aubergine Reiss Cardigan deserved a fine companion.
- Needle & thread
- Pins
- A steady hand and patience...neither of which I have!

What I did...

1) It seemed that the bottom drawer had not been too kind on the Reiss Cardigan and a repair job was needed on a few rips, tears and loose buttons, so out came the needle and thread to make some fat fingered amends.


2) Following the repair job, I carefully cut along the seams of the sleeves to create a sweater vest out of the Uniqlo cardigan. To maximise my thrifty-ness I kept hold of the sleeves because these could quickly be turned into arm warmers.

3) I've really never seen the appeal of sweater vests so continued to cut until all I was left with were the two front panels.

4) Now came the fun part. The joining of the two. I overlapped each panel and played around with it until I was happy with the appearance of the overlap (two inches at the bottom, thinning out to the top) and pinned the garments in place. All that was left now was to sew where the two seams met and the cardigans were now entwined.

Apologies for the brightness in this shot. I will post styled pictures of the cardigans later today...

I'm ashamed to say that this was the first time that I've held a needle and thread since Primary School (we took basic textiles classes in Year Four) and my technique certainly improved as the morning developed. Now that I have awoken my crafty side, I have taken the needle and thread to add leather buttons to my Angels find. Over the course of a few hours, I had breathed fresh life into two garments and hopefully this inspires you to at least think about doing the same.

DIY tash

When I saw the Jack Spade for Gap for Colette x Gap moustache gloves my first thought was 'dude, those are so sweet' (yes, I turn into an American teenager when excited). My second thought was 'I could do that'. So, for my DIY/men represent project, I did.

What you will need:
- Gloves
- Felt
- Needle & thread
- Tailors chalk
- Scissors
- Pen & paper

...and it helps to have a mirror.

(I think you know what a mirror looks like)

To start with, I drew roughly the shape of the desired tash onto my felt using tailor's chalk. I had decided to use black felt with grey gloves. The tailor's chalk didn't work brilliantly but it was enough to get the general idea. I then cut out the shape.

As you can see, it turned out a little wonky.

Wonkers!

Take two. I figured folding the felt in half, then cutting out half a moustache shape would produce something a little more even. This worked, but was a bit too small.

Small and sweet.

Take three. I had drawn out a half mustache shape on paper and used it as a guide to ensure that the tash was big enough.

Please excuse my freaky fingers.

This time the porridge was just right... um, I mean, this worked. Finally a shape and size that I was happy with!

From top to bottom: wonkers, mini and just right.

Then I put on the glove and put the moustache into position. Because it was felt on wool the tash stuck enough by itself for me to be able to let go and get a real idea of how it looked before fastening it on properly. (this is where a mirror comes in handy. I stupidly kept running into the bathroom to look until I remembered my portable mirror).

Once you're happy with the positioning, it's time to start sewing. I suppose you could use a small amount of glue to stick it on, but I wasn't convinced that this would hold. I just used a few small cross stitches in the middle of the tash- a maximum of 5 minutes sewing (I'm really cack handed and had to keep checking that it was on straight) and then I was done!

Cue idiotic picture:

This time you'll have to excuse both my freaky fingers AND my freaky face. I'm not used to taking photos of myself for the blog. And I was trying to hide my excitement about moustache gloves! Focus on the GLOVES people!

Update: Lick of paint and upcoming posts

It must be the combination of pre-Christmas dread and excitement because the world of men's style has been relatively quiet recently...although we were both excited by the chap recently featured on garance doré (yes we posted about his glasses yesterday but his hair alone deserves a post which will be with you soon!). No matter on the quiet times on the men's style front, as part of the Men Represent DIY Challenge (talking of which we are both gathering materials, how are you getting on?) we have decided to use this time and rather than twiddle our thumbs give the blog a lick or two of paint - we might have been inspired by TheSundayBest's recent redesign. As the blog has grown older it has become somewhat cluttered (like most old homes - just think of your Grandparent's home filled with an amazing amount of antiques and tat) and we want to make the experience of reading it as easy and as aesthetically pleasing as possible so have been working on ensuring just that. First up has been to redesign the right column of the blog and to tackle the clutter we have been working on creating our very own Style Salvage Buttons (above is one example of what we have been working on). We are however interested in your opinion, so it would be great if you could let us know what you think about the aesthetics of the blog, how can we improve it (please bear in mind that blogger only allows a limited degree of creativity)?

As well as messing around in photoshop we have been plotting a number of post ideas. This is what we have coming up (in no particular order):

1) Men Represent DIY - The first round of the the 'how to' posts along with the results will be posted after the weekend. We will give you a hint about our projects...Steve's involves feathers whilst EJ's involves facial hair...intrigued and worried? well you should be!
2) Style Salvage Gift Ideas - as the festive season is fast approaching we will walk the streets and surf the web to find the best gift ideas (also, it will give you an idea if you want to send us something)
3) Advent Calender - rather than a piece of dubious chocolate we will give you a picture postcard each day
4) Best of British - inspired by acontinouslean's The American List we will unveil the very best products and brands originating and producing in this Island.
5) Magazine Review Videos - Like the true junkie that he is Steve is waiting for the next batch of men's style journalism to hit the shops, as soon as they do we will digest and review them for your viewing pleasure.

So, we are sure that you'll agree that there is lots to look forward to! It doesn't matter if you love the Christmas season or scream bah humbug at every given opportunity because we are going to ensure that December is going to be a good month.

Men Represent: DIY!

I bet you thought it was over, didn't you? How wrong you were... Possibly our last request of you for this year is my favourite yet. It's time to get creative!

I've noticed that a lot of my favourite women's style blogs do some AMAZING DIY projects, but it's something you very rarely see on men's. Is it because crafts are more popular among the ladies? Do they take more pride in being able to say 'oh this? I made it myself'?

We'd love to see your DIY projects: write up how-tos, create photo guides, film how-to videos. Show the world that you're all just as innovative as the ladies (we know you are, but the world should know too).

Here are a few man-friendly DIY projects to inspire you:

A rather fantastic, if probably time consuming shredded t shirt

Knit your own Steve Zissou hat!

Slim those trousers!

Make an ascot tie out of normal ties

Your project can be as large or as small as you want: you can simply change 3 buttons on a cardigan or you can create your own range of knitwear. Just make sure you write up/film/photograph what you did and the results.

Style Salvage's Tony Hart Moment

Steve has tried and failed (countless times) at picking up a pencil and producing something that it is worthy of your viewing pleasure. EJ has sketched something special but is nervous about posting - it will follow one day soon. Step forward Susie Bubble who has actually been pestering us to post her effort.

Here comes Style Salvage's Tony Hart moment...Readers have had more luck than us with a pencil and have put me to shame, we thank you all for taking part and apologise for the delay in posting your efforts. Even though Steve couldn't produce anything worthy of showcasing on the blog, his infantile sketching efforts certainly made him think about outfits in a more intense light. As he stared at the outfits of choice he analysed them deeply, taking in the cut, the use of colour, uncovering often over looked detailing...in short, even though the act of sketching was a failure the task was certainly worthwhile.

TheJournalofStyle

Giancinephile

Fushisaboy:

Me Buddha Banana:

Did you pick up a pencil? If you did, please let us know!

Men Represent - Sketches

First and foremost we apologise for the obvious lack of activity on this Men Represent task. Jonas Fred has continued to lead the way with little support from any of us. Picking up a pencil and a notepad isn't that hard but some how we have let other things take precedence. No more. Steve is off to the seaside to visit the old folks so will have plenty of time to sketch the locals...expect a great deal of sportswear from him but more than likely the local uniform of intimidation and trainers will bore him and he'll take inspiration from the new issue of Arena + Homme instead. Meanwhile EJ is on her way down to the big smoke - no doubt she will be inspired by the abundance of art she will see over her stay in the capital. On Monday we will upload the fruits of our scribbling. We hope you all have great weekends and productive ones.

Please note, you will need the following to sketch effectively (we've packed ours):

Drawing paper
Tracing paper
Pencils (including coloured)
Eraser

An assortment of sketches from What I Saw Today to inspire you this weekend

If you are stuck on how to approach the task, here a selection of useful links:

What I Saw Today

How to Fashion Sketch

How to Croquis

Figure Proportions

Figure Drawing - Quick Poses
100 Years of Fashion Illustration

Aitor Throup

Men Represent: The next challenge

Whilst we at Style Salvage have been enjoying something of a long weekend, Jonas Fred of The Journal of Style has been busy interviewing Paul Hardy (the aspiring designer we featured recently) and from this unexpected fruits have grown. Taking inspiration from the marvellous blog What I Saw Today, The Journal of Style has asked why not start a program in which we could all start posting sketches of the looks we have seen around town or even from the deepest darkest nook of our men's style obsessed minds? The Journal of Style has set the the challenge and indeed the bar with his own sketches...are you up for the challenge? Steve's ability at sketching is unexplored due to his inability during art class and EJ is nervous about sketching menswear (although she's a dark horse and quite the artist) so we have opened up this challenge to all forms of artistic interpretation. If you can't sketch, why not come up with your own creative way to recall a look, EJ is pushing the montage medium. We will both be posting our own attempts this week, are you with us?

Men Represent: Essential essentials

Apologies for the delay in putting up the first batch of Men Represent's Essentials, Steve managed to give himself concussion after fainting (he really needs to give this story a more masculine edge), anyway, he's on the road to recovery now and please see Men Represent: Essentials, part one...

xS - The Staple:

1. A killer item, something that you love and goes with anything - mine would be an APC peacoat


2. An individual/daring streak that means you try and look different from the crowd, and aren't afraid to leave the house wearing something a little odd (whether that's pink shoes or a sequinned cardigan)


3. A good sense of colour/pattern so you know what goes together and doesn't to complement the individual streak
   
4. A voracious appetite for magazines, style and curious eye for detail
   
5. The evening dress outfit combo (white shirt, black trousers, black tie/bow tie, smart black shoes, jacket/blazer/tux jacket and accessory (scarf/brooch/bag)

Matt Ahoy - Buckets and Spades

1. Quality socks are a must, ususally bright coloured. Marks and Spencers is the best bet for good quality yet affordable socks.



2. Footwear, I ususally can't stick to one type of shoes but since I bought a pair of A/W08 Kurt Geiger patent black hi tops I can't take them off. Hi tops, boots, brogues, deck shoes and loafers are my 5 essentials.



3. I can't leave my house without a watch, I need to know the time all the time, I don't know how anyone feels about this, Whether it's weird but I just can't do it. Casio is the brand for me (until im earning a bit more).



4. Christian Dior - Eau Sauvage
   
   
5. Pen and note pad. These guys never leave my side. You never know what you will see or hear when leaving your house, they're a must.

Mark - Broken Closet

1. The Velvet Blazer - I couldn’t bear to see the blazer in anywhere but my top five. It would be like moving to Nepal and leaving my favourite teddy behind in my empty room. This Autumn I’m a little obsessed with velvet, so on the look out for a velvet blue blazer. I am in love with the one by Kris Van Assche last year, but I’d rather not have to sell my liver or youngest child to buy it. I just think a well fitted blazer transforms anything underneath into pure gold… like the philosophers stone, but dry clean only.

2. The Giant Knits - I was never much of a cardigan boy. I have but one, which is colossal and increased my body size threefold. Now I’m after more humungous knits, requiring a whole herd of Swedish sheep to make a single sleeve. In particular I love the turtle necks by Alessandro Dell'Acqua this Autumn… but then I have a soft spot for blissful winter jumpers.

3. The Dress Coat - Something about the dress coat this Autumn fills me with pleasurable quivers. I think it’s because for a while all the featured coats and jackets have been cropped to just below the waist and now I think it’s time to let them flow down to the knees. I'm loving Paul Smith's ones this year.

4. Hi-top Footwear - I’ve been captivated by Connies for many, many years. My feet are addicted to them, shivering in hatred at anything else. This year I’m determined to break their obsession and the return of the Hightops might just do it. Then again, I might just buy some new hightop AllStars. Ah Well.

5. Am I Allowed to Say Plaid? No? Well I will anyway. I didn’t like the idea of this at first. I prefer block colours to patterns and thought the plaid might be a bit too masculine for me. However,one fateful day in one of my online buying fits, I bought one off ASOS and it worked! I do feel quite manly in them… even though I’m sipping a Cosmo and humming a tune from Hairspray at the same time.

Jonas Fred - Journal of Style

1. Canvas Shoes. Preferably a pair from Converse (although everyone has them)


2. History. Because without the past there is no future.


3. A good music system. Preferably an ipod (although everyone has them, again)


4. The Internet. In the form of blogs, websites. It's a wonderful resource.


5. A good read. I do enjoy reading books on great designers and a magazine but what brings great joy to me is a wonderfully written novel. (The Godfather would be my favourite)

Dusting off Men Represent - Change you can believe in

We have had a number of comments in recent weeks asking us about the status of Men Represent. It got off to a solid start with the w_r posting which EJ recently highlighted and we managed to reach out and create a dialogue with a number of new bloggers. Since then however, Men Represent has lost its way somewhat and we would like to get back on track with it all as we have not fulfilled our promise. As I sat at my desk at work today (while I should have been working) I had grand notions of writing a speech inspired by Obama but then decided against it. I will however remind you of the aims of the movement; it was one of change, of creating a better world. In short, with Men Represent we aim for unity, innovation and awareness. After the first few weeks, it has been clear that there has been interest. The issue has been galvanising this interest into something tangible, something productive. We have grand notions as to where Men Represent can go but ultimately we want to instill a greater sense of community amongst menswear bloggers. With this in mind we would like to introduce the blogs who have already expressed an interest in taking part.

The Sunday Best - Thom is an interesting chap with a lot of things to say on the world of fashion, a lot of it amusing. His interests include fashion, writing, photography, sketches of hats, food, bourbon, stories, films involving dance routines...With him on side we are confident of success and so should you. We are currently loving his One leg a time comic and cursing the fact that we didn't do something similar first.

The Journal Of Style - Written by Jonas Fred. Jonas started the blog to spread his knowledge of fashion and help increase his own knowledge on the subject. The Journal Of Style is aimed at more casual styles than formal (although there is a bit on formal dressing). It's a new blog - less than 2 months old.

Buckets and Spades - Written by Matt Ahoy who lives by the seaside and who studies Fashion Promotion at UCLan, drinks cocktails and eats cakes.

The Staple - Written by a consummate consumer blessed with an aesthetic eye yet no tangible artistic talent - reporting from the urban metropolis with the latest in ephemeral goodies. This was one of the first blogs that Steve read online and it's a constant read...he just wishes XS updated it more.

The life and times of a problem child - Gian documents the days and loves of a jeune homme who calls himself a fashion voyeur and a cinephile at the same time.

Kyle Feel Good - Follow the life of a 20-year-old pretentious fool (his words!) whose fluctuating interests jump from fashion to biking to travels. Throw into the mix some rambling about university life and the occasional drunken night in beautiful Vancouver, Canada.

Iluwfashion - This blog needs no introduction as I'm sure you're all regular readers... a Swedish gent in London who has a taste for luxury goods.

Style Flavors - This is a guide to fashion, accessories, living, travel and things others might associate with superficiality.

Daniel Jenkins - A shop owner rather than a blogger but we all know that he has a lot of interesting things to say on menswear so let's listen up!

We are in conversation with Gert Jonkers, Jop Van Bennekom, Tyler Brule, Charlie Porter and the usual crowd but to be honest we would rather keep it between the key bloggers. You have to concede that we have a strong lineup of bloggers on board already, why not join the party and comment or drop us an email. In terms of the subject matter we would like the cause to explore, the options are endless and we would like your involvement as much as possible. We want Men Represent to become a forum of ideas, something which can allow us to evolve men's style blogging and create something interesting. We are far from aimless however and have a number of ideas which we would like to explore under the guise of Men Represent, these include; modification projects (you just don't see enough of this within men's style blogs), a shop guide (beginning with a write up of your favourite shop we will map out the stores of choice and creating a valuable resource), interpreting/applying fashion week to your wardrobe - from runway to your bedroom, to name just a few ideas.

Where would you like Men Represent to go? As a nice re-introduction to the campaign and to introduce us all to one another it would be great if everyone interested in taking part emailed their own 5 Essentials (idea stolen from men.style). I will leave the concluding sentence to Obama..."Fellow men's style bloggers, we are better than these last few years. We are better bloggers than this."

Men Represent: Style Icons Update

Firstly apologies again for Week 2 of Men Represent which passed me by...the last two weeks have flown by and left me tired and a little confused...but it was all worth it. For those of you who don't know I moved flats and aside from carrying boxes, driving in vans and visiting Ikea I didn't have access to the alternate, all consuming world of the Internet. Excuses, excuses I hear you say, well, you might have something there. My point is that our thirst for your style icons has yet to be quenched, despite some stella work from The Journal of Style and The Sunday Best, we still want more, If you've posted about your style icons and I've missed you out please let us know.

Here are the blogs and the icons who have taken part:

The Sunday Best gave us Brian Eno and David Byrne whilst letting us know about their new collaboration. "And for letting his hair grey wonderfully, and cycling everywhere, and drawing trees, and wearing scarves and fedoras, David Byrne is a definite style icon."

The Journal of Style (a regular read of mine - a men's style blog written by Jonas, inspired by music and design) has been the busiest and most productive at the style icons task.

Marcello Mastroianni - "The Italian actor showed us that dressing in a very simple style was never boring as long as the fit and execution is right."

Albert Einstein - "Easily put he wasn't the most sartorial scientist in the world and his clothes didn't fit like a glove but he always was the most stylish scientist, he was what I would like to call - an individualist."

Please send us the links of any style icons post...let's focus on week 2 of Men Represent.

Men Represent: Men of wardrobe_remix

A little late, here are my favourite men's outfits submitted to wardrobe_remix in the last few weeks and a very brief summary of what I like best about each of them. Steve's will follow when he's all moved in to his new flat.

Men Represent - Day 1

Thom really set the bar for the week with this one. Hat, jacket and nonchalance are my favourite bits of this outfit.

Messy Layers

Cozy, classy layering. Love the glasses. I'm just love hoodies too.

Red and Black Hellboy

Hint: I'm a sucker for buffalo check. Anyone else being dragged to the new Hellboy film and praying that it's good?

blogging 050

This is a woman's shirt! Fear not gender labels on clothes! (also love the cuffing on the shorts)

Sunday 10 August

The hair! The shades! The ability to wear white envy! (I spill) Did I mention the hair?

Day 1

Great shirt, great hat, great watch.

Wet Tuesday

Love the flash of stripes and the mooooon boots. I love stomping around in those moon boots almost as much as Steve does.

La fleur du mal

Gian killed me with his gloves and shoes combo... not to mention the silk flowers!

P.S. Because Steve is so busy moving all his worldly possessions to a new abode with the lovely SB, this week's Men Represent task will be extended for an extra week... keep those style icons coming!

Men Represent - One week on

Above documents what I've been wearing this week. I wasn't able to experiment as much as I'd hope to but it gives an honest account of what I've been wearing lately. The last few weeks have been monopolised by flat hunting and other stressful tasks which have not allowed me to do everything I planned, but that's life! I've been away this weekend so not had a chance to look at your posts on w_r but we will put up a selection of our favourite outfits over the coming days. It was great to see so many of you taking part. How was it for you?

The time to represent is now

We declare Men Represent officially open! I've just uploaded my recent outfit shots on w_r and if you've not done so already...do it now! I think as the week goes on I will push my looks further but I thouht I would start the week off pretty safely.

To inspire us all....

I just stumbled across the above video on Kanye's blog and think we could achieve something similar over the coming week...wrinkles will appear, hair will grow and then fall out, weight will be gained and lost...we want you to document it all and share it with us. Happy Posting everyone.

Update - Hard liquor, soft holes has mentioned the Sidney Lo video in the comments section. Watch it and be strangely mesmerised and inspired.

Save the tie campaign

The slow demise of the tie is something that I've noticed during my time working in the big smoke, not just within the offices where I have worked (not that surprising really because the media industry were one of the first to embrace the open neck look) but also more alarmingly during the commute in where I am pressed up against numerous peoples indistinguishable body parts I can see very few ties. Getkempt recently ran the Wall Street Journal article and I've seen enough. A number of articles in recent years have highlighted the decline of the tie and some have tried to explain the reasons why. Kathryn Hughes writing a few back for the Guardian suggested that the tie should be abandoned as ever since the 1880's when the jaunty rowers of Oxford's Exeter College removed the ribbon bands from their hats and tied them around their necks the tie has come to represent class and social divisions. This argument is utter rubbish today. The tie is for everyone and should again adorn neck's one and all. The tie has broken free of the shackles of work/formal wear, no longer confined to being teamed up with bland, ill fitting office suits.

wardrobe_remix needs you!

I recently signed up to the wonderful world of wardrobe remix, well I couldn't leave Thom Wong by himself now could I? I wanted to accompany this post with a Lord Kitchener inspired poster but alas I am writing this feeling poorly and in an Internet cafe so hopefully you can forgive my lack of creativity.

There is a lack of men within the group so I urge you to start sending in your pics. If you are worried about the comments don't be, everyone is so nice...in fact they might be a little too nice, lulling me into a false sense of security and then bam, they become so bitchy I run away from my laptop one day in tears, never to venture online again. If you aren't aware of wardrobe remix - briefly it is an online 'DIY fashion community' created by Tricia in 2005, if you are aware of it, why aren't you on it?

I personally like trawling the pool of images (there are currently over 34,000) because I'm a aesthete and enjoy the variety on there, a nice mix of handmade/modified, vintage buys, high street and designer...I just wish that there were more men on there and then it would be become a great resource for inspiration for the blog. The community is so much more interesting than the exactitudes project (an ongoing exploration of the so called striking dress codes of various social groups, and the way clothing and fashion can be used to both fit into and stand-out from the crowd) which I recently saw at Selfridges but I will soon be amassing a favourites portfolio containing a similar volume of images!

Channeling his inner 1950's dad/1960's French assassin Mr Wong above is an inspiration. I seriously need to smarten up my act and most importantly invest in a few hats...I do not possess a single smart hat and this is a fact I will change very soon. In fact I think I've found the perfect one at Hurwendeki but decided against buying it just yet because I now have a clothes budget in place and I'm actually sticking to it pretty well...Anyway, enough of my consumer habit...as I said, this is a serious post, I want to see more guys sign up to wardrobe remix, so start taking lots of pics. I have to admit that I'm not the most regular of contributors to the w_r community because...well I can be a little lazy and uninspired but I am beginning to get the desire to attack my wardrobe and drawers with gusto and start taking more photos to post and I urge you to do the same.

Pocket Squares - more than just hankies

First things first, yes I am calling them pocket squares...this is an Americanism but this isn't because I love all things stars and stripes, this is because they mean more than your average old hanky. On many occasions a look that involves a jacket or even a shirt can be greatly enhanced by a pocket square. When I talk about pocket squares it isn't in the strict sense of folded cloth, one can be as imaginative and interesting with filling a breast pocket as possible in my opinion. That said any dark jacket with shirt underneath looks so much better with a complimenting fold of material.

This accessory is associated most with evening wear and, yes, without one the evening look isn't quite right but it has far more use than just complimenting evening attire. There are amazing styling perks with a pocket squares which most men do not realise; any mediocre or worn out jacket can be instantly livened up with an inexpensive, casually folded pocket handkerchief.

On one of my frequent explorations of the sartorialist I came across this interesting quiz question. The common opinion would be that it is a bit over-the-top to put a pocket square in your overcoat but if you actually saw this on the street you would barely notice it and therefore this is a perfectly subtle sartorial detail. Style is all about details and this is where the pocket square can shine. There is so much more than the basic fold, there are a number of ways to fold your chosen material! The grace with which Milan men manipulate the silk or linen is represent their character more than any other element in their outfit. Remember to make the accessory your own, experiment, re-invent something you have seen and try something completely new.


Now here are some images demonstrating just some of the ways you can wear this versatile accessory.

Gary Cooper

Fred Astaire

Bandanna as pocket square courtesy of the thesartorialist

Manifesto

Style Salvage has evolved from two friends talking/obsessing/analysing about the way guys dress around us, driven by one of our favourite past times: people watching. However, our addiction has also been satisfied by images captured within all forms of popular culture. We often accept how modern figures within pop culture influence us but we want to show how icons of the past can also play a role in how we dress. One of the key themes of this blog will be to take certain ideas from what we see and evolve them into something more personal. Having spent years practising the above in private we now have the motivation to share our insights, ramblings, grievances and celebrations with you. Why now? Well, we now live apart, one in Manchester whilst the other is in London...so to avoid huge phone bills we needed to find a cheaper avenue to air our musings and Style Salvage is it. Consequently rather than just two people going mad hopefully a few more of you can join in.

We have been influenced by many of the fashion blogs out there but primarily by thesartorialist, who is everything we want to be when we grow up (yes we know we're probably meant to be grown ups by now). However, as a whole within this arena men's style is neglected but it will be neglected no more.

Overall there will be two (at times very different) opinions on the style we see around us, yet we are always united in a shared good taste. With regards to men's style we believe that there are a few simple facets to remember and sadly a huge proportion of men neglect them or just don't know about them so this blog aims to explore and discuss them.

This isn’t about laying into peoples’ clothing choices or focussing on the negative. This is about looking at what we admire and questioning that admiration: what is it that I like and how can I make that work for me?

Surely no outfit is so bad that nothing can be salvaged from it?
• The colour
• The fit
• The material
• The way the pieces go together
• An individual item of clothing
• The accessories
• The attitude
• The intention

At its very worst, the complete unsalvageable will be a lesson in how not to dress yourself.
Look at people around you: people you know, celebrities (alive and dead), look at photos of yourself. Even with the most dreadful outfits, you may be able to find something worth salvaging. It may look awful on them, but if you changed the shirt, pulled up the trousers - could it look good on you?

Above all, we believe that it's important not to carbon copy someone else’s style. Always make it your own. Don’t be ‘that guy who dresses like so and so’; make it something different. Make people guess your influences. Keep it fresh and wear it well; look good but even more importantly look like you.

Something else we hope to cover is vintage shopping for men. Given our love of past fashions and, of course, the particular style icons we will be talking about, men’s vintage is of special interest to us. This interest has been increased by our inability to (so far) find any decent, extensively stocked, well priced vintage shops for men. Certainly that is not to say we haven’t found some, but by and large the men’s sections are vastly inferior to the women’s, frequently just a rack of ill fitting suits in a dark corner. Hopefully over time we will be able to compile a directory of the best vintage shops. THIS WILL NOT BE LONDON-CENTRIC (largely because half of us live in Manchester). Any suggestions of your favourite menswear shops in your area will be welcomed and we will make an effort to check them out on our travels.

We do not claim to be experts on… well, anything, including the styles and people we write about. This is largely our way of documenting any information we find and sharing our tastes and opinions with you. Hopefully one day it will be extensive and in the meantime we hope that it is interesting and useful. Feel free to email us with any comments and suggestions, or let us know if you think that we’ve made any mistakes. Be polite though or we’ll tell your mum.