Hormazd Narielwalla's Hat Parade

Hormazd Narielwalla's Hat Parade

There have been many golden eras where a man would consider an outfit incomplete, consider himself naked even, without a hat but now they are rarely even considered in the construction of the everyday outfit. As EJ mentioned in her campaign for hats, 'just look at the street scenes in almost any film made the 50s or earlier to see how commonly the hat used to be worn and how much better it makes almost everyone look.' However, the modern decline of hat wearing amongst men is obvious. I have to confess that despite admiring many hats from afar, I'm yet to fully commit to donning one. There is however, a great deal of inspirational hat donning out there. None more so than the creations of Bernstock Speirs. Inspired by the underground club and music scene, the design duo began creating men’s and women’s headwear which challenged the traditional ideas of millinery. A new generation of hat wearers has since been seduced by their innovative creations. An upcoming exhibition at their Brick Lane store will showcase the work of Style Salvage favourite, Hormazd Narielwalla.

Narielwalla’s fascination with pattern blocks has taken him on a trip up north of the body and drawn inspiration from shapes created for the head. The work features military figures composed of collage, photography and illustration sporting the designers AW10 hat collection. Using hat pattern blocks from Bernstock Speirs’ archive along with uniform drafts extracted from military cutting books and the all important masculine ingredient – facial hair. In his evocative work Narielwalla illustrates a new take on patterns, as they have never been seen. Bernstock Speirs have created a capsule range of hats to accompany the exhibition which will run from 15th of October until the 15th of November. The time for a new era of hat wearing is now my friends.

Discovering Pitti: My Bob

Finding My Bob

There have been many golden eras where a man would consider an outfit incomplete, consider himself naked even, without a hat but now they are rarely even considered in the construction of the everyday outfit. As EJ mentioned in her campaign for hats, 'just look at the street scenes in almost any film made the 50s or earlier to see how commonly the hat used to be worn and how much better it makes almost everyone look.' However, the modern decline of hat wearing amongst men is obvious. I have to confess that despite admiring many hats from afar, I'm yet to fully commit to donning one. However, there is a great deal of inspirational hat donning out there and I stumbled across a wonderful hat brand on the very first morning of Pitti Uomo. My Bob's colourful arrangement of head wear instantly grabbed my attention on the lower level of the main exhibition space. Fortunately, the charismatic owner positively encouraged me to photograph his wonderfully crafted Panama hats while he talked me through his latest collection and how the Belgian brand came to be...

Quite possibly the perfect headwear for a warm Spring/Summer day.

My Bob's story began in 2008 when Geoffroy Moreels decided, thanks to his persuasive friend Hugo Machado, to launch a hat business with the famous panama hats from Ecuador. Moreels, a headdress collector from around the world, was very motivated to promote the spirit of the handmade panama hats. Quickly he convinced a number people about his project and needed to get the hats. He wanted to re style the classic panama hat, to give it a casual yet fun look in order to make it more colourful, sexy even. Now his creations are sold under the smile inducing banner "my bob, use your head!"

An ideal way to shield the sun from your face.

Last weekend John introduced me to the luxurious world of great craftsmanship behind Montecristi Panama hats. I have to concede that I am no expert on what makes a great Panama hat but My Bob's examples are certainly more appealing to my current sartorial aesthetic (not to mention I don't really have a spare $25k). A genuine Panama hat is weaved with "Carludovica Palmata" also called toquilla palm from the fabulous tropical jungle of the Ecuadorian Coast. Harvesters of the toquilla palm split the stem into narrow strands. These are cooked, dried and bleached before being passed to the weavers. They prepare the straw in the lengths they want and weave it to a fine Panama hat. After being woven, the excess straw is being cut. The hat is washed, bleached again and treated before being blocked into a nice shape. The Panama hat is completed with a sweatband and ribbon.

Such a variety of colour of trimmings.

So, despite the name, genuine Panama hats are in fact made in Ecuador, not Panama. The origin of the name is uncertain. However, the Oxford English Dictionary cites a use of the term as early as 1834. When the Spanish conquerors arrived to what nowadays are known as the provinces of Guayas and Manabí on the Ecuadorian coast. They observed native Indians using straw hats which covered their ears and necks. These hats looked like headdresses, similar to those used by the nuns or widows in Europe at the time. It is this similarity that gave the hats the name of "Toquillas" (headdress in Spanish) and resulted in the straw from which they were made to be called "Toquilla Straw". According to legend, the hat became associated with Panama during the construction of the Panama Canal in 1913. During the event Teddy Roosevelt received an Ecuadorian straw hat as a gift. Without knowing the true origin, the American president thanked his guests for the gift mentioning it as a "Panama Hat" and wore such a hat, which increased its popularity. We know today that the "Panama Hat" is made in Ecuador with the secrets for the elaboration of the hat passing from generation to generation. Each hat is unique and totally artisanal! A few seasons in and Moreels has continued to add to his colourful range...

This hat is entirely reversible but I love the baby blue hue of this side.

These examples are a great way to add colour to any Summer outfit.

Just a taster of My Bob's diversity

This collection of hats certainly turned my head at Pitti and I'm sure they'll turn a few of yours but hopefully we'll see a few proudly sitting atop. With the help of passionate hat wearing gentleman such as Geoffroy Moreels of MyBob, the time for a new era of hat wearing is now.

Happy Halloween!

Accessories for the Spring I long for

Just as their Autumn/winter accessories left a lasting impression on me...oh I still dream of having my very own feather tie...Lanvin’s Spring/Summer 2009 accessories collection (as shown on Selectism) comes along and all I want to do is press fast forward and skip the day after day of grey and embrace a new, brighter, warmer season. Lucas Ossendrijver's vision of Spring accessories includes a denim shopping bag (refer to our denim post), a sky blue tote which will hopefully soon be mirroring the sky and a collection of textured ties with intricate detailing. Of course, there are new variations of the accessories we have come to expect from the brand which in my mind and many of yours leads the pack, with new hi tops, belts, hats, belts and sandals to marvel at.

One pair of hi tops in particular have caught my eye. The theme of texture created by intricate detailing is continued from the ties and into the pair on the very left, which come in a mouth watering light purple. All in all this is a smart and varied collection and there really should be something for everyone. Of course the price takes them out of my eager reach but that has not stopped me from being inspired to shop around and even think about a little modification project.


I've never been attracted to straw hats before but the Lanvin SS09 show changed all that. I loved how the distressed and beaten up hats were given a new lease of life dressed up in silk ribbons and flowers. Surely this has to be one of the easiest little modification projects around...the search for a battered straw hat will begin shortly. There might be a small chance of looking a little silly in such a hat but I need to give it a go and I want to be more adventurous this Spring. Even if it is a disaster, I will certainly have fun making it and any embellishment detailing can be re-cycled in to a lapel detail. I can't lose and neither can you if you decide to give this a go.

Advent - Day Thirteen

'ello Guvnor! Today is Dick Van Dyke day. Today is also the day when Style Salvage's partners share a birthday with this loveable but ultimately terrible cockney...Happy Birthday to Rob, Susie and Dick, we love you all!

Here is the man of the moment (back in 1965) on the cover of Showtime after they made him their man of the month following his awesome leading man performance in Mary Poppins.

You beat me to it! Very happy birthday wishes to one and all... and also to Steve Buscemi and Malta. What an auspicious day!

Advent - Day Twelve

Bonjour from Paris. Apologies for not unveiling box number twelve on the Style Salvage Advent Calender but I have been nursing the big daddy of hangovers in my hotel room and I just could not face typing on the worlds smallest keyboards. In the true spirit of Christmas (As a child I remember watching my parents trying to set up my Scaletrix set following a boozy Christmas Eve) I have worked through the pain and present this image from Oily Boy as shown by the Sartorialist and mentioned on Tyler Brule's recent FT.com column...

Advent - Day Eight

Video time again. This time it's Fred and Ginger in the snow singing 'a Fine Romance'. Boys, take note of Fred's winter dressing; he looks wonderful in his bowler hat and black, fur trimmed coat (though please go faux if you want to copy this bit!) complement by pale gloves and scarf. Enjoy!

Bring Back The Hat

Now that I have a bit more time on my hands I'm able to write a lot more than I used to and I'm really enjoying it! As well as inundating you with posts here I've embarked on writing pieces for Fashion156. I wrote the MAN feature in the latest HATS/HEADPIECES issue and within it discussed the decline of hat wearing amongst men (I must admit that I hardly ever wear a hat myself, but this will change over the coming months). Our very first Style Salvage campaign was to get more men wearing hats but not enough has been done so we had to revisit it. There have been many golden eras where a man would consider an outfit incomplete, consider himself naked even, without a hat but now they are rarely even considered in the construction of the everyday outfit. Despite a wealth of inspiration from a number of recent collections (with James Long depicting the hat as an essential facet of the Winter Warrior look during his AW08 collection and Lanvin celebrating distressed straw hats which were reborn with silk ribbons for SS09) this has not been translated into the 'real world'. As always with Fashion156, there is a beautiful editorial containing carefully selected pieces from upcoming designers and these images have inspired me to experiment with head wear even more. Here are my highlights...

Headpieces all by J Smith Esquire

The J Smith Esquire featured headpieces simply steal the show and it is easy to see why Stephen Jones is so excited by the bespoke milliners creations. Following his MA in Millinery at the Royal College Of Art in 2007, Justin Smith continues to develop and push the boundaries of exciting millinery. Since graduating, he has been awarded the iD styling award, the Maria Louisa award at ITS6 and shown at London Fashion Week as part of On/Off. There is no doubt that he approaches hat design quite theatrically, "You can treat hats like sculptures, using any material that you want. I also love that you never wash a hat. So it has its own history that keeps going" remarked Justin in a piece for Interview.

Hat, shirt, harness and tie by Rui Leonardes, Visor by House of Flora

Rui Lonardes is a designer who is constantly questioning gender stereotypes, blurring the boundaries as he goes (typified by his high heels for men) but he is not a designer that ordinarily leaves me salivating, however his creations here do just that. The visor by House of Flora (a fashion label established by designer Flora McLean, who teaches fashion design and promotion at Middlesex University) makes me think that visors could have a place within men's style outside of the golf course...

In short, there is a great deal of inspirational hat donning out there...the time for a new era of hat wearing is now my friends.

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!

Picture postcard: I think holidays may have made me crazy

Heed these wise words, Steve, heed them well.

This picture actually hurts my brain a little. Part of me thinks that this is utterly amazing- it's a freaking hat made of his own hair after all! Look at how much effort must have gone into it! Another part of me thinks 'good grief, that's a lot of effort to make hat hair'.

Still, like it or not, at least it's a bit different. Doing the best you can with what you've got (going by the writing, rather than the picture now) is always to be commended... surely? So the question is: if you could grow a fro hat, would you?

Now this dude has the right attitude. To think I used to look at Will Smith in the Fresh Prince and be amazed...that was nothing compared to this. We need people like him over the coming weeks as we look to explore the limits of blogging. Pure dedication to the cause...persistent, imaginative and crazy (we all need that important mix of crazy).

Monday bloody Monday

I don't know about you, but last week was one HELL of a week for me. Still, changes are afoot here at Style Salvage and now that both Steve and I are fully laptopped we are storming ahead. After the mammoth post that was the Daniel Jenkins interview I'm sure you'll forgive me a quick and dirty links post.

- If there would ever be a celebrity endorsment that's going to encourage me to buy your clothes, telling me that freaking Batman wears them will definitely do the trick. (To give you an idea of how excited I am about this film, this year my birthday is known simply as 'Batman day' as it's the release date)

- Why is it that as soon as it gets towards summer I start longing to wear my winter clothes again? This post by Kempt has reminded me of the loveliness of trench coats, scarves and extraordinarily handsome models.

- Important question time: do I actually like this jacket? I can't tell if it's too much, or just enough.

- I definitely like the chap above courtesy of - who else? - the Sartorialist

Oh, and happy belated birthday Thomas. That's one fine moustache you're growing there.

Oh EJ...I definitely had that Monday morning feeling which continued to stalk me the rest of the day, curses! As EJ and I tinker with the site I keep asking myself why can't I do this more, and work less? I wish. Anyway, back to reality. I have to say that I like Chris Martin's jacket, he certainly has a lot going on but it all worked and it's nice to see him in a bit of colour! The rest of the band (can anyone name another member of Coldplay...anyone?) weren't as fortunate in the styling stakes though.

It might be the Great British weather but I am quite bored of summer right now. All thoughts are on Autumn winter so the getkempt post was most welcome. Last week I was however tempted by a pair of shorts in bstore but realised that I will never get the chance to wear them unless I leave this island!

Congratulations to The Sunday Best's moustache...I wish I could grow one and not look absolutely ridiculous...maybe one day.

Conformist Style

As Friday night was a boozy farewell with my workmates I had to do something different the following night, so off I went to the busy, media centre that is the BFI Southbank to watch one of the most stylish films that I have ever seen, Bertolluci's 'Il Conformista'. It was a visual masterpiece, blurring the lines between photography and art with a masterful display of light, shadow and of course wardrobe! This is the film that made Bernardo Bertolucci's international reputation, The Conformist (based on Alberto Moravia's novel) is equal parts film noir, Freudian melodrama, and political commentary. Unfortunately the volume of quality film stills from the film are few and far between so I will have to use the efforts on youtube to back up these ramblings of an adoring fan.

The opening scenes of the film just made me sit up and listen, the hangover was now long forgotten. We see Trintignant take out his recently acquired accessory (a gun) to complete his new look.

A sensual political period drama, The Conformist (aka Il Conformista) stars the quite brilliant Jean-Louis Trintignant as Marcelo Clerici, a weak-willed Italian who has embraced Mussolini and his Brown Shirts. Encouraged to embrace conformity by his new bride, Giulia (Sandrelli), Clerici finds that his French honeymoon is to double as an attempt on the life of his former teacher (Tarascio), now a political dissident living in exile. Packed off to Paris with a pistol and some great suits, it slowly emerges that Marcelo has a twisted personal history in which sex and violence go hand in hand.

One of my christmas presents was a pair of leather gloves, all I need is a similar hat and I will try and replicate the above look. Obviously the backdrop of Paris and pretty lady as accessory can helps create the stylish scene.

This is a style blog though and in my childish excitement I can stray from the point of this post 'What is the point of this post' I hear you ask, well, the film is a cinemagraphic demonstration of how a man should dress...how I want to dress! One of the most visually striking aspects of the film for me was the perfected shirt length. It is always well talked about when discussing men's style and everyone has their own opinon (I like the Sartorialist's take on the matter), mine is that Jean-Louis Trintignant demonstrates how it should be done. Jean-Louis Trintignant is an actor as at home in spaghetti westerns (The Big Silence) as in human dramas (Three Colours: Red). However, he was never more beautiful nor more brilliant than as Clerici.

As it is Mothers Day today you should use the above example of what to wear whilst walking back home with the gift of flowers. Just look at the amouint of cuff on show, the perfect cut of the suit and the commendable choice in headwear. Why on earth don't people dress like this anymore?

I urge you to go and see this film which is almost Wellsian in its baroque flamboyance, all luxurious lighting and colours, sweeping camera movements and ornate design. The emotionally expressive lighting of cinematographer Vittorio Storaro has attracted much comment and acclaim. Storaro – who would go on to win Academy Awards for Apocalypse Now, Reds and The Last Emperor – describes thus his approach to the scenes set in Fascist Rome: 'I wanted to show through light the idea of claustrophobia, of being caged. I used the idea that light could never reach the shadows, so that there was a distinct separation between the shadows and the light.' . The below clip is one of my favourite parts of the film and beautifully demonstrates why you should see this film.

Picture Postcard: Get well soon

Dear Steve,

I know you're feeling a bit like this at the moment...

but hopefully you'll be back to your old self in no time. Something like this was it?

Both pics courtesy of Square America. Click that link. I promise you will love it.

Lots of love,

EJ

p.s. thanks for not coming up and infecting me. Sounded nasty.

Holding your nerve

I'm not sure if I've said, but I've given up clothes shopping for a couple of months. This is not, however, going to stop me encouraging others. I will share a tip though: now is the time to sale shop. Actually, that's not strictly true. The best time is probably in about another week or so, midweek. Hold your nerve long enough and you can come up with some real gems from the (don't laugh) Topman sale.

Not tops and jeans really, as there will only be bizarro sizes left (unless you're bizarro sized, in which case go crazy!). Saying that, I have noticed that there are some of those Topman Design white shirts left on the Topman website... Richard Nicoll in S,M and L and Deryk Walker in M and L, both reduced from £50 to £15 which is pretty decent. There's also this one by Carolyn Massey in S and L for £20. Not bad.

Deryck Walker white shirt

But anyway, what you really want to focus on is their accessories section. While nothing's really going to set the world on fire, it's a good opportunity to stock up on bright coloured belts for a quid and maybe experiment with some blue braces?

At the princely sum of £1 you can't really go that far wrong. What do we think about this zipper bowler hat though?

Even at £3, this is a bit much for me. Could be good for fancy dress though...

Instead of being up there in Manchester with you I am a patient at Susie's house! Oh well. there is always next week. There are some great finds. The shirts are a particular bargain. They were a bit thin for me, but the this factor aside the quality of them are great and a real bargain at £15! The real find for me are the blue braces. I have been toying with the idea of braces for a while now, ever since I watched This is England really and this desire was heightened further by the Beckham Arena cover. Sales in the high street are an opportunity to experiment with different looks...or as EJ suggests you could always stock up on fancy dress. In answer to your question, yes that hat should only be adorned in instances of dress of the most fancy kind. I too am cutting back on shopping and my bank balance is thanking me profusely but this is only temporary as i intend to buy quite a few things in New York. That said if I am well enough I might pop down to the Jumblist massive sale at 93 Feet East where I could pick up a few interesting accessories on the cheap!

Picture postcard: goodbye internet

Image courtesy of Fak! (their exclamation mark, not just me being overexcited)

Dear Steve,

Greetings from the floor of my living room! I am surrounded by boxes with my life (well, mostly my plates) packed in them. Moving at last! This does of course mean that I will be without proper internet access for an unknown period of time, but never fear as I shall try to comment/take over other people's computers.

Anyway, back to the pic. I (of course) really like this lovely, casual androgynous look. It's the kind of outfit you make up of stuff you haven't worn or thought about in ages, then realise that it looks pretty good and, hey, I should wear this hat more often. That bag is wicked too and so DIY-able. Mostly, though, I just wanted to draw your attention to this website. I think it's Ukranian, though correct me if I'm wrong. while some of the outfits are a little outlandish for me, I just love the photos. Also, I love the fact that it puts the total cost of the outfit... I get a bit jaded with certain street style sites that only seem to show people dressed in expensive labels (or blatently expensive vintage) .

Oh, I just remembered a question I meant to ask you. Do men compliment other men on their clothes or is it just not done? I'm always telling random women that I like their shoes or their top or whatever, but always hesitate to do the same to men. Agony aunt, help me!

EJ

Hello there EJ,

It's saturday Morning and I'm in a funny moody. I'm so pleased that I'm not at work but then I've lost my gf for 10 days which also means that I've got no internet access either. So the next few days (other than arranging the internet for my own home) will include frequent trips to the internet cafe down the road. I hate those places! Anyway, back to your post. I've not come across this site before but it's cool. I like how it contains many facets that other street style blogs just don't offer. Such as the elaboration of the outfit and the various shots of key components of it. I love the case that your chap is holding and I agree that it would be fun to create something like this. My instant favourite on the site was this chap who is doing a fairly common look within the realms of Brick Lane and Shoreditch but is doing it really well. This chap would certainly be snapped by the likes of facehunter. He seems to possess something though that many others featured on the styleblogs that I regularly consult. Yes the squash racket case is a little unnecessary but I like the style conscious humour of this outfit. Most of all i love the tie and the contrasting autumnal tone of the entire thing. Good find EJ!

Now onto your agony aunt query. As your well informed Agony Aunt I can tell you that quite a few men do comment on each others style but the level of dialogue contained within this conversation can range from 'Nice shirt' to a lengthy discussion about rare trainers (which I have done after a few drinks). I'm not sure how many men would discuss this with random men though, I'm a little shy about it personally, I normally just look and admire. Overall, the style dialogue between the majority of men is nowhere near the levels of that between the majority of women and I'm not sure that it ever will, at least not in my lifetime. Unless of course I succeed in revolutionising how men think about clothes. I do think though that more men are thinking about clothes and of course thought leads to discussion (well hopefully). It's a little too early for this pseudo-social science exploratory investigation as I've not even had a Lady Grey this morning. It is an interesting question though and I'd like to open it up the readers...because amazingly we have readers now. What do you think J, Dustcakeboy, Stephen and friends?

Time for tea. Much love

Steve xxx

Launching the first campaign: Hats

I think it’s about time the everyday hat made a comeback. It completes an outfit, rounds it off so nicely. What better time is there to start a hat habit than summer? A hat in summer can protect your scalp from burning, keep the sun from your eyes (squinting and the crows lines you get from squinting are not a good look) and cover your hair in summer showers.

I am talking not of the cap, trucker, baseball or otherwise. I feel no campaign is needed for these. Nor am I talking of bowler or top hats, which I feel are resigned to history, fancy dress or weddings. I am talking more of the trilby, fedora or similar. Something a little dressy, a little structured but not too much so.

Just look at the street scenes in almost any film made the 50s or earlier to see how commonly the hat used to be worn and how much better it makes almost everyone look. Something to point out, however, is that this is not something that should be worn with jeans… somehow it jars too much for me to see someone wearing a trilby with such a casual and usually scruffy piece of clothing underneath. I am sure people will disagree with me here, so feel free to send me pictures to change my mind. For me, a hat should be worn preferably with a comfortable looking day suit, some casual trousers or maybe, since we are starting in summer, some nice shorts.

This is just a beginning: a theme we will pick up again as I know Steve is intending to begin this (yet another!) clothing habit and therefore this discourse will continue anew. In the meantime, here are a few pictures:

Sinatra

James Stewart looking a little shifty

Bogart- cigarette optional but love that coat

Picture postcards

Dear Steve,

Check this one out! I don’t think we could ask for a better picture to cheer us up after this week of unrelenting rain. I absolutely love the expression on their faces and the fact that it looks like they’re about to high five. Love that crisp white shirt on Fred and the shiny shiny shoes. The sleeves rolled up to that length just above the elbow always adds a nice casual air I think. Is it bad that those super high waist bands are starting to grow on me? I think I may have been watching too many musicals lately. In Brigadoon Gene has the highest waistband I think I’ve seen him wear in any film yet still looks so dapper. How does he do it? King of dares you to try it out.

How has your search for a hat been going? We shall have to continue it when you come to visit.

EJ

Morning Eliza,

This has to be one of my favourite photographs of all time, just look at Gene's face! I like to think that we are mere moments from THE best high five ever performed and it seems by his smile Gene knows it. You just don't see men dress like this anymore. I particularly like Fred Astaire's look, Gene Kelly looks a bit like he's on safari. Plus this is a great shot of Astaire's trademark mixed accessorising, see the tie/neckerchief as a belt. Awesome! I am still on the look out for the perfect hat but as yet have not found it. The weather has made this search a little less important as in my head the hat I want is a summer hat. The same goes for the shorts I wanted to buy...it is getting to the point where I might as well just think about autumn/winter clothes.

Don’t get me started on white shirts as I adore them and are their biggest champion. I do have four now and find myself drawn to them whenever I shop. This will be the subject of the next blog and my not so secret love for them will be clear to all.

During a recent window shopping trip (I did end up buying things, so technically it wasn't just window shopping but that was my intention) I was very tempted by similar shiny shoes. They were black patent shoes but I was unsure if I could get away with them at work. I think I could though. What do you think?

Now, the super high waist bands are interesting. As I was telling you the other night, ‘Edi’ is no more at Dior and the new chap, Kris Van Assche, has created a very different silhouette to the skinny clothes of Edi with tailored tops and loose, high waisted trousers - http://men.style.com/fashion/collections/S2008MEN/review/CDMEN. I quite like it but I am not sure why and doubt i would feel comfortble wearing them. Maybe because it’s a nice change from the tight jeans.

I am now off to enjoy the weekend

Steve