That Dapper Chap: SS16

Wednesday, 18 May 2016

Summer Smarts With White Stuff

Craig of That Dapper Chap looks at smart summer wear from White Stuff and shares his top five items.

With summer within reach why not take the opportunity to reassess your wardrobe and bag yourself some smart new clobber. Think of those parties where jeans just won't cut the mustard! White Stuff have some great smart wear online and in stores for just that situation and I'll take you through my top five items.

The patterned shirt

We all need a well fitted patterned shirt in our armoury and the blue micro floral Lilo shirt is just the ticket. Wear it with some navy chinos and a great pair of brogues for a smarter look and even add a knitted tie for some extra formality. Yours for £49.95

Look Of The Week With Peter Werth

Craig of That Dapper Chap teams up with Peter Werth for their 'Look Of The Week' campaign and shows us what he's wearing from their latest range.

The last time I wrote about Peter Werth was to tell you about their SS16 collection and prior to that it was all about their 40th birthday bash, held at their fresh new Eastcastle Street store in London. A few months on and they're still going great guns and getting their AW16 collection ready.

In the meantime I've chosen a look from their SS16 collection for you as part of their #LookOfTheWeek campaign. Read on for the full details.

The flatlay as seen on my Instagram page

The Dune Summer Collection

Craig of That Dapper Chap attends the Dune SS16 Press day and gets an exclusive look at the new styles for the coming season

The pink and blue suede brogues

Dune have come a long way from their small concession in a fashion store on London's Oxford Street. They now have over 50 stores across the UK, not to mention the 169 concessions in other high street stores such as Topman, House of Fraser, Selfridges and John Lewis.

Shelves full of new footwear for summer from Dune

The Next Summer Press Day

Craig of That Dapper Chap attend the Next Summer press day to see what trends and styles are coming our way this summer.

What do I pick for that forthcoming city break to Marrakech?

The new range for Summer 2016 from Next

It admittedly felt a little odd perusing rails of summer clothing on a cold and wet February afternoon, but it did get those memories churning of hot summer nights, and city breaks to warm and wonderful places, of sipping cocktails with the sun on your face, and al fresco dining. Roll on Summer!

Straw hats are still big news this summer

As always next have considered all options for us and have created a great collection of classic menswear. The big trends from Spring continue into the summer months and lightweight cloths are key here.

The colour palette is warm but muted in stones, khakis and greys. A splash of vibrant indigo here and there adds that summer element and reminds us of cloudless skies over the Med.

A lightweight stone grey suit, perfect for warmer days

Loafers continue to be a hot trend as are knitted ties

There's a military look creeping in a little too, yes, I know that a lot of menswear has it's roots firmly planted in military soil, but Next are offering us a more 'obvious' look with khaki fatigue pants and shirts with twin breast pockets. Attention!

As always the food at the Next press day was delicious!

A casual look that I styled ready for an evening walk on the beach

Rails of menswear for the new season from Next

Tailoring from next is a bit more relaxed this summer. Fabrics are textured and lightweight so look for something with a more interesting fabric to be totally on trend next season. Add in a knitted tie or a fine gauge knitted or jersey tee and your relaxed but elegant look is complete.

A textured blazer in a warm muted natural colour

Rails of summer, just waiting for you

Tones are paired back and natural

Don't forget to accessories to complete your look

Mannequins dressed for warmer months

The stone coloured denim jacket is hot this season

Textures loafers reign supreme in footwear

Sumptuous sandwiches at the Next Press Day

Footwear sees the loafer reign supreme for another season, whether tasseled, apron front, or plain, choose a textured material. Something in suede will look great or an embossing on the leather is very cool too.

Alternatively choose a trainer to wear with your suit. These are looking a touch more formal this season and are coming in interesting fabrics, and can look great when added to a less relaxed outfit.

More loafers, this time in indigo suede

My favorite suit from the collection, styled for summer. Marrakech maybe?

So, whatever you choose to buy for your summer wardrobe make sure you take a picture and add it to Instagram and tag that_dapper_chap and NextOfficialMan. Or add it to Twitter and tag thatdapperchap and NextOffical

Thanks for dropping in! :)

The Primark SS16 Press Day

Craig of That Dapper Chap attends the Primark SS16 press day and gets a sneak peek of what's coming our way in the new season

The menswear area at the Primark SS16 press day

This time around the Primark SS16 Press Day was held at the Swiss Church in Londons Endell Street. An architecturally beautiful building, it made a perfect location from the next seasons collections from primark.

The White Stuff SS16 Press Event

Craig of That Dapper Chap attends the White Stuff SS16 Press event and enjoys a great meal and gets a peek at some of the new collection.

I'm relatively new to White Stuff, I've been into their shop in my local town a few times and have fallen in love with their style! I am converted and I'm a huge fan. So much so that I recently did a shoot for their Hidden Havens campaign dressed head to toe in White Stuff menswear.

I was therefore really excited to be invited to their SS16 press event, a three course meal at the swish Carousel restaurant in London.

Mannequins proudly wear the new spring range

the beautifully decorated table

As I often do I arrived early and the guys were still setting up, as I made my apologies I realised that it was a great opportunity to take a few pictures before everyone else arrived. And before you ask, yes I was dressed in White Stuff!

The table was beautifully dressed in a rustic botanical theme and each guest had their own animal egg cup delightfully inhabited by a little succulent which I thought was a great touch. There was a bit of swapping going on very early which cats being swapped for bears and polar bears being swapped for foxes (that was me)

Various animal egg cups. These were the rejects!

Yours truly, browsing the SS16 White Stuff range

Scrumptious canapes. I could easily have eaten every one

wine poured and ready for guests

As guests arrived, the wine and conversation flowed. There were various magazine fashion editors and freelance writers, all enjoying the collection and taking notes. The photographer snapped away and we enjoyed a few delicious canapes before we were ushered to our seats for our meal.

the quirky decorations and mis matched chairs are perfectly on brand

My personalised place setting, complete with swapped out fox!

deep in conversation with a member of the White Stuff team

I have to say the meal was amazing! We started with prawn and chorizo risotto with crusty bread. This was followed by slow cooked pork belly on a bed of dressed lentils and for desert there was chocolate meringue. Every course was delicious and all helped down by one or two glasses of wine.

After the meal we talked some more and I chose my favorite pieces from the new range. Anyone out here who knows me knows that I'm a sucker for a quirky printed shirt and the SS16 range doesn't disappoint. My particular favorites (and I couldn't choose between the two) are the bicycle print shirt which has small colourful images of people riding their bikes dotted on a cream background, and the and the drinks shirt which is a busier print covered with bottles and glasses. A perfect party shirt (for me anyway, judging by the amount of wine I consumed that evening!)