A weekend in Racing Green Menswear

That Dapper Chap takes us on a weekend away to the British coast and shows us his outfit created entirely from the latest range from British brand racing Green.

A very British weekend

So off I went to the coast to put my feet up and enjoy the British Autumn by the sea with my two best friends Victoria Sponge and Earl Grey. All week the forecast had promised a dry day, and it was for approximately 30 minutes! I literally just had time to photograph a few items from my outfit before we had to take cover in our beach hut.

Heritage Headwear

That Dapper Chap introduces us to CTH Ericson, a Swedish hat and cap store with an established heritage and a great range.

The History of CTH Ericson

Founded in 1885 by Carl Theodor Ericson who opened their very first store selling hats, CTH Ericson is now a well established hat and cap manufacturer selling its pieces across the globe to men, women and children.

Businessman and founder Carl Theodor Ericson

In the early 1900s the company expanded its business from a single store selling other peoples hats and began making his own. The business grew and in the 1950s the number of employees reached 230 people. At the time, CTH Ericson was the largest workplace for women in Borlänge. Even today, they hear many stories of Grandmothers and Aunts who have been involved and contributed to CTH's history.

The CTH Workforce, at the factory in Sweden

Until the late 90th century CTH Ericson produced all of their hats and caps in their factory in central Borlänge. Today they produce a small number of selected special models in the Borlänge factory.

Quality is key and they strive to use fabrics and other supplies which originate in Europe, in order to offer a product which is as locally produced as possible.

Today, more than 125 years later, they continue to deliver caps and hats to the Swedish people. The difference now is that CTH's hats are now also found in the major parts of Europe, Australia, Asia and the United States. I am sure that Carl Theodor would be proud!

The Range

CTH Ericson offer a very wide range of hats and caps and has something to suit every head and face shape. With some very heritage style hats there are classic examples to choose from but they also offer items with a modern edge.

I now have a few hats by the company and I'll take you through them.

The first is:

The Baker Sr

In multi coloured Plaid wool the cap is 100% wool and is available is various sizes. I am wearing size 57. It fits very well and is very comfortable. This cap also has fold our ear flaps (Pic 2)to help keep your ears warm on cold days. when not in use they are folded very neatly inside the hat and you wouldn't know they were there.

With its colourful design and contract peak its a very nice cap and can be worn with more casual outfits.

The Baker Sr is priced at £45.00

Phillip Sr

Next up we have Phillips Sr in bright blue 100% cotton corduroy. The cap itself is totally traditional but the colour makes it stand out from the crowd.

The Phillip Sr is priced at £43.00

William Sr

My favourite hat is this one, the 'William' It as a very vintage look to it and reminds be of steam train drivers. Again, made from 100 wool its quality is unmistakable. 

The William Sr is priced at £51.00

Alan Sr

Another of my favourite hats due to its vintage feel and look, call it a Bakerboy or Newsboy hat its essentially the same thing. in black and grey herringbone it's made from 45% wool, 35% acrylic and 15% polyester.

Wear it with a suit and overcoat or with jeans and shirt or create a full heritage look as I have done here.

Alan Sr is priced at £50.00

Summary

All of the hats and caps are very good quality and you can buy with confidence knowing that you are getting a piece that will last you years.

As well as hats and caps for men CTH Ericson sell hats for women and children too so the entire family can have great headwear over the coming winter months.

Find CTH Ericson

         

THANKS FOR READING!

Break up the suit

I've written a couple of articles about how to wear a suit and split up the various elements, showing you how to wear them with different items to achieve as many different looks as possible. Doing this  makes your suit more versatile. Today's look shows that I do practice what I preach.

The trousers are a simple pair of navy chinos but the blazer is part of a wool three piece suit that I decided to wear. I've already worn the full suit this week but thought nothing of taking and wearing the jacket and nobody commented that it was the same jacket as the look is totally different.

I went with a bit of a red and blue theme and you can see that I used accessories to create a cohesive look. The nato watch strap, club tie and patterned socks all retain the colour story.

In addition to the watch strap, tie and socks I wore coloured bracelets, pocket square and an apple lapel pin to complete the look. The button down denim shirt making for a less formal but still smart look.

The braces may surprise you as they are a hybrid of new and vintage. They were a gift from a well known brand after I attended their recent press day but they had clip ends which I am really not a fan off. So, I rooted through my collection of vintage braces and found a pair which were a bit tatty. I removed the leather ends and swapped them over to the new pair, disposing of the clips I the process.

Black Leather Tassle Loafers: Monk

Socks: Topman

Chinos: Next

Denim Shirt: Topman

Club Tie: Butler & Webb

Leather Briefcase: Vacation purchase

Lapel Pin: Home Made

Watch: Timex

Bracelets: Home Made

Pocket Square: eBay 

Braces: Next

THANKS FOR READING!

Product Review - Jacamo Christmas Jumpers

That Dapper Chap shows us two Christmas Jumpers available from Jacamo in his latest product review.

Product

Jacamo. What do you know about them? 

They sell clothing for guys that are tall, wide and generally the size of a solidly built rugby player right? Well, in short, yes. 

They do cater for the larger guy and they do this very well, but that's not all they do as they also offer clothing for a more regular sized bloke like me. 

As with all good mens brands, jacamo have stocked up on Christmas sweaters, so I took the opportunity to grab a couple and test drive them for quality and service. 

As well at these two beauties Jacamo have at least ten more to choose from. Some at the more 'tacky' end of the Christmas jumper spectrum (but hey it is Christmas) and others at the more 'sedate' end. I opted for a more classy offering and something that can be worn during the entire month of December rather than just while you're stuffing your face with turkey on Christmas day.

The snow capped mountains on this blue sweater

The first sweater is a blue and white scene of snow capped mountains with good old Santa whizzing by in his trusty sleigh, zooming off to drop those much wished for gifts to children of all ages. I chose this one as it cannot be argued that it isnt a 'christmas sweater' but also because it's not covered with jingling bells and baubles like some I've seen.

The second is a burgundy sweater with a stags head on it. Okay it doesn't scream 'Christmas'  but with stags heads appearing on a lot of Christmas clothing and homeware it's an on trend, and more than acceptable choice.

The burgundy sweater with traditional stags head

Price

At £30 a pop, they aren't the cheapest Christmas sweaters out there. The price is pretty average, and won't break the bank. They have no wool content however and I would have expected some wool at this cost.

Postage and Packaging

The standard delivery cost within the UK is £3.99 and if you're in a hurry you can order before 8pm and get your items delivered to an address of your choice. Order before 12pm on Saturday for Sunday Delivery! They also offer a service where you can get your parcel delivered to a nominated address on a specific day in addition to the 'click and collect in store' option. So, whatever happens it won't be dumped on your doorstep with the risk of it being stolen!

The packing is functional and is simply there to protect the garments in transit. The sweaters arrived in a plastic postal bag, each sealed in its own clear plastic bag inside.

Performance

I was forewarned that Jacamo sizes may be larger than those that I could expect to buy at other stores. For this reason I chose a size small rather than the usual Medium I would buy. Size wise, its a perfect fit showing that Jacamo sizes are set as a size above standard.

The quality is fair for the cost. I wouldn't say they are a high quality knit, particularly as they are both 100% acrylic and have no wool content at all. This has its benefits however in that they can both be thrown into the washing machine at 40 degrees and even tumble dried. No laying flat for days on end while they drip dry and make your home stink like wet dog!

Harry chose a size Medium, as like a lot of teens he likes his sweaters on the larger side. I would suggest this would be a standard size large.

The stag sweater is a very nice design, however due to the way it is knitted it has a line across the top of the garment in the knit itself, this is where the colours are reversed on the inside of the sweater. I did try to iron it out but it's there to stay as you can see clearly from the image below.

Pertinency

If you're in the market for a Christmas sweater check them out, they have a good range from truly tacky to sensibly sedate. There will be a design that you like. Be aware of the sizing though and choose the size below that which you would usually order.

Other sweaters available from Jacamo

Pro’s & Con’s

The sweaters arrived quickly and were well packed. They fit well and look good, aside from the odd line across the top of Harry's sweater ,which isn't great.

The colours are strong as are the designs.

People

The team thought they were both good designs and immediately commented on the sizing. They said the sweaters were soft to the touch and they liked the colours.

It has to be said that none of them noticed or mentioned the line across the top of the stag sweater.

Précis

Overall these are a solid example of a good traditional Christmas sweater. Slightly more expensive that some I've seen and not as expensive as others.

I shall happily wear mine during the month of December but Harry will be sure to wear his from Autumn to Spring due to the acceptability of the design as one that could be worn outside of the season for which it is intended.

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