Jeff Banks Savile Row

Craig of That Dapper Chap introduces Jeff Banks of Savile Row and details the career of this much loved fashion icon.

About Jeff Banks

The 6th September 2014 marked the 50th anniversary of Jeff Banks in the fashion industry. He opened his first shop 'Clobber' in Blackheath, London on that day in 1964.

He has since gone on to be Womenswear Designer of the Year twice, Menswear Journalist of the Year and Retailer of the Year.

The Brand New Topman Store

Craig of That Dapper Chap visits the brand new Topman store in London's Knightsbridge on its opening day

The brand new Topman store in London's Knightsbridge

I was super excited to be invited to the opening day of the brand spanking new Topman store at 70 Brompton Road in London.

After seeing the people at Tom Ford in Harrods it was just a skip across the road to see exactly what the new store had to offer. Situated in the lower ground floor of the existing Topshop, which has stood there for a while now, the guys at Topman told me that men would often come out of Harrods and into Topshop while on a shopping spree and were disappointed to find only womenswear on offer. So, not wanting to miss a trick a new Topman opened it's doors.

The Dashing Tweeds Catwalk Show

The Dashing Tweeds team take on China and show off their latest collection in a stunning catwalk show.

To say that the folk at Dashing Tweeds conquered China in a single week may be a huge exaggeration but they certainly met with a great deal of success and delighted everyone they met with all things Dashing.
 
The government of garment manufacturing city Ningbo very kindly invited them, and the newly formed tailoring firm George Brummell to show at their 19^th international fashion week. An action packed event at venues around the city supported by TV coverage, newspaper articles and numerous influential blog posts and social media chats.

The guys said "We were honoured to be opening the week with our Catwalk show in their beautifully designed shell shaped show space"
 

Whilst in London the red carpet was being rolled out for chairman Xi Jinping, their venue in Ningbo was similarly bedecked as the social elite, designer glitterati and manufacturing leaders headed towards the show of British Style.
 
The Chinese have become increasingly fascinated by English tailoring and the nuances and history of our style, so to feed their appetite and simultaneously educate the Dashing Tweeds team decided to put on a history show starting with relevant garments from the last two centuries and ending with the modern fusion of technology and styles of their Lumatwill cloth.

"Over the last 3 months we worked exhaustively with Savile Row cutter Frank Byars of George Brummell to design and tailor the entire catwalk show for this event, so it was with some in trepidation that we started the initial fitting of our 20 Chinese models the night before the show"

They went on to say "Thankfully due to Franks many years of experience the fits were nigh on perfect requiring only a few minor turn ups from the team of tailors we had in the wings. Having finished the fittings at past midnight Holly and I then had to design the choreography and communicate our novel English poses to the Chinese models to prepare for dress rehearsal the following day. Thankfully the technical staff could not have been more helpful and by 1.30 am in the morning we were feeling more confident about putting on this huge event"
 

The day of the show the team expanded to well over 40 people as the makeup team and fitters arrived to practice the rather tricky task of fitting a perfect looking white tie tails, shooting suits and plus 4s in a matter of minutes as would be required to show all 40 looks on 20 models. 

Whilst that took place Holly ran though the visuals and music she had selected to illustrate their story and tweaked the lighting design accordingly. The humid afternoon flew by and in no time with a faint trickle of perspiration and the tickle of anticipation they were making final adjustments to their lineup of ice cool models swaggering in their new found delight in Norfolk Jackets, top hats, double breasted blazers, Inverness capes and reflective tweed.

The lights dimmed and to the opening strains of an orchestral version of greensleeves an immaculately dressed tweed coated top hat wearing Chinese gentleman stunned the audience in a contemporary look that would not have been out of place 200 years ago. 

Closely followed by a couple of sportsman in plus fours, leather padded jackets and a country suit in our new British wool collection as the audience gasped in delight. As hunting horns cutting through the auditorium they delighted the assembled congregation to a full hunting pinks complete with horsewhip and riding hat. 

The show progressed with the traditionally dressed country folk journeying in time and distance to London clad in Inverness capes and car coats in a preview of the Dashing Tweeds AW16 cloth collection. The scenes of London where accompanied by the models pacing in perfectly cut business suits in sharp pinstripes and grey flannel, showing the eager Chinese audience the correct attire for international business meetings.

A taste of the English summer then delighted, as short suits in the new SS16 fabrics frolicked down the catwalk, and their best selling cotton jacquard was shown in a fabulous one show one double breasted jacket of Dashing Tweeds original design. 

Party clothes in stripes and elegant checks then proceeded to pace down the catwalk, as Frank & Holly were busy readying models for the change needed to attend a British wedding. Seven immaculately clad models then stepped out simultaneously as the pomp and circumstance of the penultimate scene unfolded. 

Finally 3 Lumatwill three piece suits in navy, yellow and red sharply cut with a fabulous rope shoulder construction and strode down the catwalk to bring what was later voted a by far the most popular show of the whole festival to a close.

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The Marks & Spencer Christmas 2015 Press Day

Craig of That Dapper Chap attends the Marks & Spencer Christmas 2015 Press Day and shows us what's coming our way this festive season.

Yours truly at the M&S Christmas Press Day

Arriving at the London, Oxford Street store for the press day there was some initial confusion about how I actually got to the press office, but when we eventually found the right place we were greeted with friendly smiles and a gin cocktail. 

Beautiful leather brogues

Seasonal suiting. Party perfect

Just as we'd expect we're seeing some nice seasonal suiting coming through, including tartan patterns and velvets, which are perfect for that Christmas party. Brogues finish the look as do a good high shine shoe. If it's a more formal affair don a bow tie, these are again very big this year and there is a good selection on offer at Marks & Spencer.

Patterned and textured knitwear

Knitwear continues to be textured and patterned rather than simple and plain. This adds interest and personality to a garment that, lets face it, could be a tad dull. Muted colours prevail in teals, moss greens, blues and reds. 

A welcome gin cocktail

David Gandys collection was on display

Luxury leather bags are perfect for a weekend away

Looking for a look for Christmas. M&S has it sorted

Tartan and bow ties. Superbly festive

Everyone needs a good bobble hat right?

Not just for dapper days. M&S offer a collection of casual togs too

Heritage style leather brogue boots. Great for winter walks

Line them up please waiter!

Beautiful blazers in traditional fabrics and paterns

Marks & Spencer continue to support British manufacture with their Best Of British collection using fine british tweeds and wools and we'll see some of this in stores and on line in the coming weeks. The blazers continue in a heritage theme with traditional pattern and fabric but in a more tailored modern fit, keeping things bang on trend.

Keeping out the cold with great accessories

Of course we also saw hats, scarves and coats but again these all feel a little more luxurious than others I've seen, particularly the 100% cashmere scarf which is a real must have, if only so you can feel its complete softness.

Roll necks are also big news and are a nice thin knit so that they can be worn under other garments without creating bulk. M&S are offering us roll necks in merino wool with added silk for a great feel.

The dog tooth wool coat over a basket weave sweater

A textured velvet blazer worn over the merino & silk roll neck

All set for that formal festive event

I hope you all keep warm and stylish this festive season, and with this collection from M&S in sumptuous fabrics I'm sure you will.

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Fathers Day - Mini Me

That Dapper Chap shows us his 'Father & Son' styling for Fathers Day with clothing provided by Next Menswear

When my Son was born we dressed him as we wanted to dress him, usually in cute dungarees and hand knitted sweaters . A few years later and he had his own ideas (not always good) and as he got older our styles differed incredibly. As I donned my tweed blazer and bow tie he was reaching for super skinny black jeans and scruffy oversized sweaters. 

Harry, suited and booted in classic navy

A champagne celebration

As he got older he became more interested in classic styling. While he still wears his skinny jeans he does like to dress up too and will now often borrow my bow ties when he goes to work in our local Topman. 

In a classic navy blazer and printed trousers

Boats bobbing on the historical marina

Classic tailoring from Next.co.uk

So for this Fathers Day, a table was booked at our favorite local seafood restaurant and wanting to look the part we styled ourselves using clothing from Next for a 'mini me' shoot.

Watching the world go by and enjoying the sunshine

Harry was adamant that he wanted a three piece suit. Sticking with classic navy he chose a skinny fit suit available in a full suit or to buy as separates. With the suit we wears an aqua slim fit shirt with floral tie and pocket square and a classic tan coloured leather brogue shoe.

A close up of Harry's floral print tie and pocket square

Harry in his three piece navy suit

The classic tan leather brogues

For my look I wanted separates that could look good as a single outfit but that can also be worn other ways for more formal or more casual looks. Next have some great printed blazers and trousers in stock for summer and I've been wanting to get my hands on some printed trousers for a while now. 

Chilling out at the historical marina

A look at the pattern on these printed trousers

The skinny fit printed trousers are really versatile as they can be dressed up for a smarter look as I have done today or dressed very simply with white pumps and white T-Shirt. I initially chose some navy brogues to wear with this look but switched at the last minute and went for a simple black leather saddle loafer. I think I made the right choice as I think the brogues may have looked a bit bulky.

A close up of the black leather saddle loafers

Father and Son share some quality time

The patterned trousers add individuality to this look

While our sunglasses are not from Next, the brown holdall is. The perfect size for a weekend away, they have a very good range of bags and holdalls available covering a wide range of styles and prices. My navy knitted tie is also from Next and is a great staple item at just £10.

The roomy brown holdall

A versatile look for work or for play

My blazer is again classic navy and has a two button fastening with elbow patches, in a slim fit it is well cut and I know it's going to be a 'go to' item time and time again. The watch, from Harding watches continues the navy colour scheme.

The blue Jetstream watch from Harding

Like Father, like son in navy tailoring

Harry's aqua coloured shirt lifts his look and adds colour

Boats on the marina

Time for dinner at our favorite restaurant

A great Fathers Day, thanks for my Son Harry

So, thank you to Harry for a great Fathers Day, I'm now going to put my feet up and let him make me a nice cup of tea while I watch my favourite movie. I hope all you Dads out there have had a great day and that you are just as proud of your Sons and Daughters as I am of mine, whatever their personal style.

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