The Apres Ski boots from Ludwig Reiter: A Review

December 23rd 2022

By Tony Sylvester. I used to travel to Oslo regularly for a decade or so. A beautiful city, but not one abundant with window shopping options for those interested in menswear. One of the exceptions was Cavour; slap bang in the well-heeled part of to...

The Apres Ski boots from Ludwig Reiter: A Review

Match in comments:
Agnelli was wearing special boots because of a medical issue after an car accident...

ShoesDecember 23rd 2022

Moulded Shoe, New York: Home of the modified last

December 5th 2022

Moulded Shoe in New York is a charming shop. A family-run business now in its third generation, It’s narrow and tall, with shoe boxes stacked way up to a double-height ceiling. There are newspaper cuttings, customer photos and a Japanese cart...

Moulded Shoe, New York: Home of the modified last

Match in comments:
At least with the two 20 years old cordovan shell derbies I own the original double soles were rather shoddy (been after few years replaced by Rendenbach oak tanned double soles that are still going strong). And the heel...

ShoesDecember 5th 2022

Doek tennis shoes: How great things age

October 19th 2022

I have had these Doek canvas trainers - what could usefully be called tennis shoes - for five years. They have been worn once or twice a week, every week, during that period. So hundreds of times. With bare feet in the summer, they've occasionally ...

Doek tennis shoes: How great things age

Match in comments:
Without the red stripe, yes I probably agree. There is something more tennis shoe and plimsoll-like about the low profile of the Doek though...

ShoesOctober 19th 2022

Wear loafers with jeans

October 10th 2022

In the hyper-casual world we’re living in, any opportunity to add a little smartness to everyday clothing should be grabbed with both hands. One of the most effective ways to do this, I’m finding, is wearing loafers with jeans. Jeans ar...

Wear loafers with jeans

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Do you have a recommendation for a Slightly slimmer loafer with a wide toe box. I am currently wearing the Boston, in a EE fitting, and it still pinches my little toe....

Denim - ShoesOctober 10th 2022

Seiji McCarthy bespoke shoes: East Meets East

September 23rd 2022

Seiji McCarthy is someone I've wanted to cover on PS ever since we hung out in Tokyo some six years ago. But with no prospect of travelling to Japan soon, I turned to local writer and friend Christopher Berry to visit Seiji and report - on Seiji's A...

Seiji McCarthy bespoke shoes: East Meets East

Match in comments:
Yes, absolutely...

ShoesSeptember 23rd 2022

Bocache & Salvucci, Rome: Bespoke shoes and ...

August 19th 2022

Bocache & Salvucci was a bit of a surprise when I visited last month. I’d come across the shoemaker at Jean-Manuel Moreau, in Paris, and had assumed that in Rome I would find a small (because relatively unknown) bespoke craftsman. Wh...

Bocache & Salvucci, Rome: Bespoke shoes and ...

Match in comments:
Excellent, many thanks Peter. Wellies starting the week after that late summer I guess :)...

Knitwear - ShoesAugust 19th 2022

How Florence changed with the pandemic: Abbarchi,...

August 8th 2022

“It was really eerie, Simon, with all the tourists gone." “I know that was the same everywhere," says Simone Abbarchi (above), "but seeing the Piazza della Signoria empty made it feel like we’d gone back in time. Like the Medici co...

How Florence changed with the pandemic: Abbarchi,...

Match in comments:
Not yet, sorry Tim, but I will try and take one for the site some time...

Shirts - ShoesAugust 8th 2022

La Manual Alpargatera: How espadrilles are handmade

July 8th 2022

By Manish Puri I’m sitting at a round wooden table in the back office of La Manual Alpargatera. The owner, Joan Carles Tasies, is holding a chilled bottle of ratafia in his thick right hand and pours a measure into a glass in front of me. &ldq...

La Manual Alpargatera: How espadrilles are handmade

Match in comments:
Hello Eric. I just bought my first pair of Black Espardenya in size EU 43 / US 9 / CM 26,7 https://diegos.com/collections/men/products/black-espardenya-for-men. My feet size is 27 CM and I had heel slippage out of the bo...

ShoesJuly 8th 2022

Summer Top 10: Polos, more polos, and espadrilles

July 6th 2022

I wasn’t going to do a ‘high summer’ version of our seasonal Top 10. After all, the spring edition back in April included such things as panama hats and boat shoes. But everyone’s stock has been arriving so late that the int...

Summer Top 10: Polos, more polos, and espadrilles

Match in comments:
A late comment on this, but... When you're paying for a small, niche brand like Rubato, part of what you're paying for is the quality and design. Quality here doesn't always mean durability or hand finishing (though thos...

Casual clothing - ShoesJuly 6th 2022

Reader profile: Cedric

June 17th 2022

Cedric works in the art world, and as such is rarely formal. But he retains an interest in tailoring, has childhood memories of going to Huntsman, and is even talking to Fred Nieddu about his first bespoke. He also has a depth of interest in Americ...

Reader profile: Cedric

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I have seen and tried them Jim, but don't own any. They are very big in the body compared to most regular shirts and I found that too much personally...

Casual clothing - JacketsJune 17th 2022

Acme split-toe shoes: Review

June 15th 2022

Everybody loves a bargain. I think one reader referred to it as the ‘siren song’ of cheaper-but-quality clothing. The reference is often apt. Enthusiasts of anything expensive are drawn to the idea - like hypnotised Greek sailors - that...

Acme split-toe shoes: Review

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Thank you! That confirms my feeling that they can somehow be rather smart (black, stitching on the top of mine even finer - less visible, elegant sole). For me they seem even a little more conservative than a plain derby...

ShoesJune 15th 2022

Rain: Cap and cordovan, or felt and suede

May 9th 2022

This may be a little niche, but it’s something that often stresses me out in the morning, so hopefully it will be of some use to others. My plans for what to wear on a particular day usually don’t account for rain. I might be going int...

Rain: Cap and cordovan, or felt and suede

Match in comments:
I wish trucker/ball cap wearers (actually ALL hat wearers) would google "hat ettiquette" and learn that gentlemen remove their hats when indoors. Pet peeve of mine to see men in a decent restaurant sitting eating with th...

Coats - HatsMay 9th 2022

The Spring Top 10: Fun, paper and lavender

April 20th 2022

It’s that time of the year again. Brands have been receiving all the spring clothing they ordered last year, even though they weren’t quite sure whether it would arrive, or be swallowed by an unexpected lockdown. So rejoice, there are n...

The Spring Top 10: Fun, paper and lavender

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Thank you for pointing out carrier company. The jacket was not for me but I came across the fisherman’s jumper. A robust navy roll neck with raglan sleeves - I has been looking for one like this with raglan sleeves for...

Casual clothing - CoatsApril 20th 2022

Le Vif: A vintage shop like a regular shop

April 11th 2022

Le Vif in Paris is one of the most curated vintage stores around. What do I mean by that? Well, it has a particular view on the clothes it offers - in terms of quality, style and origin. It sells Americana, normally American-made. There’s no...

Le Vif: A vintage shop like a regular shop

Match in comments:
Thanks Alan. To be honest there are very few now, since The Vintage Showroom and Hang-Up Vintage both closed. There's Levison's, off Brick Lane, and there are lots more 'fashion' vintage places around there that are some...

Knitwear - ShoesApril 11th 2022

The Alden modified last, and Anatomica sizing

April 1st 2022

Alden has this particular shape of shoe, on what is referred to as the ‘modified’ last. It’s unusual, almost orthopaedic in appearance, with a narrow waist that hugs the middle of the foot and rather bulging sides to fully accommo...

The Alden modified last, and Anatomica sizing

Match in comments:
Sure. I had it done by Tom at The Valet, and I'd say it's 95% the same. If you look closely it has suggestions of the tan around the edges, but it's very subtle. I can also see how it might need to be redone in a year or...

ShoesApril 1st 2022

Reader profile: Andy

March 25th 2022

This is Andy. A long-time reader and customer, Andy had led, shall we say, an interesting life. Currently a hydrographic surveyor, he has also been a pilot, a mountaineer, and dabbles as a model (fashion and life). He is passionate about clothing, ...

Reader profile: Andy

Match in comments:
Thanks Willie my man. Appreciate your comments mate, I'll have to give you a big hug as you are sitting only about 10 feet away from me in the offline room just now. Top hat and goggles - Its the way to go and of course,...

Coats - HatsMarch 25th 2022

Anatomica, Paris: The clothes and the history

March 23rd 2022

Anatomica is one of my favourite shops in Paris. It’s unique, with a range of menswear that’s often exclusive to them - whether under their brand or others’ - and always centred around quality. In fact it has such a reputation - of...

Anatomica, Paris: The clothes and the history

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I realized that my shoe tree issue might be due to the Alden being my first pair in a B widths. I would be thankful for any idea on how to deal with it. I could not find special narrow shoe trees online. J...

Casual clothing - Hanks and scarvesMarch 23rd 2022

A view on emerging Chinese shoemakers

March 16th 2022

Over the past two or three years, a group of mostly Chinese shoemakers has come to prominence for making high quality, usually hand-welted shoes at relatively cheap prices. I’ve experienced some of these, and talked to those in the industry ab...

A view on emerging Chinese shoemakers

Match in comments:
Hi David, There are very few in the US, but in the UK there are some. Not sure when all of them got into the business, but with most of them it would still have been fairly young, as it's an unusual trade to take up late...

ShoesMarch 16th 2022

Why buy ‘modern’ vintage?

February 25th 2022

Rag Parade in Sheffield sells quite a lot of ‘modern’ vintage clothing (let’s call it 1980 onwards, for the sake of argument) as well as more standard militaria and workwear from earlier decades. I was interested to know what the ...

Why buy ‘modern’ vintage?

Match in comments:
Hi Everybody, I wasn’t go to join this discussion but feel I may need to dip my toes in the water. Firstly some of the most durable and best made jackets Belstaff ever made actually came out in the 1990’s/early 2000â...

Coats - JacketsFebruary 25th 2022

Would you (could you) wear a cowboy boot?

February 16th 2022

A friend once told me that he gets a kick out of finding an unusual piece of menswear, and working out a way to wear it. Like a challenge: how can he make this esoteric bit of clothing wearable. I’ve never really taken that approach to clothe...

Would you (could you) wear a cowboy boot?

Match in comments:
If you want the best cowboy boots, I'd contact D.W. Frommer at https://www.bootmaker.com/...

ShoesFebruary 16th 2022

A day out at Rag Parade, Sheffield

February 11th 2022

When you stare at a shop enough on Instagram - seeing new stock highlighted every day - it can seem bigger than it actually is. That was the case with Jojo’s General Store (or Rag Parade) in Sheffield, which myself, Alex and Lucas visited las...

A day out at Rag Parade, Sheffield

Match in comments:
Yeah, it could be easy to miss. Isn't it weird how years do that? When I meet someone born in the 90s it used to freak me out. Now I meet people born in the 2000s....

Casual clothing - CoatsFebruary 11th 2022

Tonal dressing – with new Indulgent Shawl C...

January 21st 2022

Our Indulgent Shawl Cardigan doesn’t need much introduction. Indeed, since this new grey colour was released to the waiting list yesterday, half have already sold. Quite a list had built up. Thank you everyone for your patience, and for ridin...

Tonal dressing – with new Indulgent Shawl C...

Match in comments:
Amazing, thanks Paul. I'll add that to this year's post announcing the restock if that's OK...

Knitwear - ShoesJanuary 21st 2022

Reader profile: Mattia

January 17th 2022

I met Mattia during our recent pop-up shop on Savile Row. A Permanent Style reader, he is also a fashion student, which gives him an interesting perspective on classic menswear. I enjoyed talking to him, and his friends, about their studies and the...

Reader profile: Mattia

Match in comments:
I loved reading this and I love Mattia's style. As someone who doesn't earn a lot of money most of my reading here is pipe dream stuff. But me and mattia are on the same boat - there is a way to dress well for under 3k! ...

Denim - JacketsJanuary 17th 2022

Resoling sneakers and trainers: RforPeople and en...

January 3rd 2022

People did different things over lockdown. Talking to Tommaso Melani, owner of Stefano Bemer shoes , it turns out he started resoling trainers. Stefano Bemer has a talented in-house team of shoemakers. They’ve made me three pairs of beautiful...

Resoling sneakers and trainers: RforPeople and en...

Match in comments:
Thank you Russell...

ShoesJanuary 3rd 2022

Christmas gift list 2021: Shawls, soap and Swan S...

November 17th 2021

It’s that time of the year again. So, with both apologies and thanks to readers that bemoaned the lack of this list last year, these are just a few of my favourite things... In these lists we try to go beyond menswear into other beautiful, cra...

Christmas gift list 2021: Shawls, soap and Swan S...

Match in comments:
Hi Julian, I didn't end up buying one myself I'm afraid, so I can't help. I have since bought two though - from Budd and New & Lingwood, which I can comment on if helpful. Thanks...

Casual clothing - HatsNovember 17th 2021