That Dapper Chap

Sunday 26 April 2015

What I Wore Today - A Sunny Wednesday

That Dapper Chap takes us through his look for Wednesday.

Enjoying the spring sunshine

The outfit laid out and ready to wear

Wednesday started like any other average Wednesday but I was pleased to see that the sun was shining. I wast pleased however with how my hair decided to collapse in the light spring breeze the second that I left the house!

The stroll to work, bags packed with goodies

I was styling a photo shoot on Wednesday afternoon so I had a couple of bags with me, filled with various shirts, blazers, ties and accessories. It's a project that I've been working on with a local hair stylish and a local award winning photographer so I was excited that we were finally getting around to the shoot, after a few delays. You can expect the first blog story on that very soon.

A closer look at the handmade lapel pins

So, to the outfit. As you know chinos are a staple items for me and I haven't worn theses camel coloured ones for a while. I like blue and brown as a colour combination so chose a denim shirt and blazer. I've hopefully avoided that 'double denim' look here!

To give the look a bit of a vintage twist I opted for some button on braces and some two tone brogues. The vintage paisley scarf also goes to maintain this look and also keeps in with the colour theme.

Floppy hair, not the look I was going for

Time to get to the office!

As for accessories, I went for a striped knitted tie and added some home made lapel pins to the denim blazer, throw in a pocket square and you've added enough personality to ensure the look come across as considered.

The full look, complete with scarf to keep out the chill

A close up of the tie and tie clip

Yes, those bags were as heavy as they look

The red and blue paisley pocket square

The two tone brogues give a vintage look

Where it's all from

Two Tone Brogues: London Brogues

Navy Ribbed Socks - CNYTTAN

Beige Chinos: Next

Button On Braces: Next

Denim Shirt: Topman

Denim Blazer: Ebay

Knitted Tie: Ebay

Vintage Tie Clip: Ebay

Vintage Scarf: Thrifted

Lapel Pins: Home Made

Pocket Square: Primark

Vintage Suit Carrier: Thrifted

Brown Holdall: River Island

THANKS FOR READING!

The Next Shoebox Jukebox Event

That Dapper Chap tell us about the glittering Shoebox Jukebox event hosted by Next and Company Magazine in London's Shoreditch and shows us his top five favorite shoes available from Next

Enjoying a cocktail at the Next Shoe Box Jukebox event

The burgundy tassel loafers that I wore to the event

The Shoebox Jukebox Event

The sun was high in the sky with promises of summer when I walked along Bethnal Green High Street in London's cool and funky Shoreditch on my way to the venue.

We were promised music, food, drink and dancers as well as a preview of the shoes available from Next, and we were not disappointed!

The entrance to the venue in London's Shoreditch

Shoes and tunes at the Next Shoebox Jukebox event

As the doorman checked my invitation and ticked me off the list, music played and guests mingled, sipping their cocktails and prosecco. No sooner was I through the door when I was greeted by waiters offering a much needed refreshment, which I of course accepted!

The event was hosted by one of fashions giants; Next and Company Magazine, home of daily fashion, travel and beauty. The walls were graced with all kinds of shoes and in the center of the venue sat a Jukebox surrounded by even more shoes. Guests were asked to photograph and instagram their favorite pair of shoes and #ShoeboxJukebox @NextOfficial for their chance to win the shoes!

Shoes and selfies and the Shoebox Jukebox event

Bloggers and fashion aficionados mingle at the event

Providing necessary refreshment

Delicious canapes at every turn

The Next Shoebox jukebox

Yours truly snapping some shoes

As guests nibbled on delightful canapes and sipped their drinks, they snapped away and uploaded their pictures. The winners were announced on a big screen and many people were rewarded for their efforts, myself included!

Guests snap their favorite shoes for a chance to win

Enjoying a celebratory drink after winning some shoes

The jukebox in full swing

More tempting delights

With Prince Cassius and other guests at the event

Cocktail anybody?

Dancers kept us full entertained throughout the evening

Even the dancers were wearing Next shoes

It was a great night and a good time was had by all. A huge thank you to Next and Company Magazine for the invite and also for the fantastic shoes!

My top five favorite shoes from Next

In at number five we have a grey suede lace up. Perfect for summer with shorts or rolled up chinos.

Available HERE at £42.00

In at number four are a pair of brogue tassel loafers. Wear them with tailored shorts or a linen suit during the coming months.

Find them HERE at £48.00

At number three I've gone for a pair of navy brogues. Team these with a skinny fit blue suit and get suited and booted.

Available HERE for £75.00

In at number two we have a clean and classic Oxford Brogue in a rich brown. Wear sockless with pretty much anything and they'll look great.

Buy yours HERE for just £48.00

And the top spot goes to these classy fellas. These Italia two tone brogues will see you look just right for that party or special event.

Find them HERE for £75.00

If you do buy any, please make sure you post a picture on Instagram and @That_Dapper_Chap & @NextOfficial and #ThatDapperChap.

THANKS FOR READING!

Nautical Prep

Craig of That Dapper Chap shows us today's preppy look accessorised with items by Paul Hewitt

I've been really keen on the preppy look for a while and have occasionally erred towards that genre of styling in my daily look.

After receiving a great little parcel from Paul Hewitt, who sell some really great preppy accessories, I thought I'd use them to build a look to challenge the preppiest prepster.

Getting my preppy style on

The preppy preperation

I chose items in the same colourway and all with a nautical theme. The bright red bow tie is printed with lobsters, the red, white and blue bracelet fastens with and anchor and the nato strap on the vintage style watch is also adorned with anchors. The red and blue belt and pocket square help to bring the colour theme together.

If you like the Paul Hewitt accessories, check back on the blog again soon as I'll be carrying out a product review on their vintage style watch.

What I Wore Today - Grey Check Three Piece Suit

That Dapper Chap shows us what he wore today and tells us about this grey check three piece suit on this bow tie Tuesday.

Todays look, rolling up my sleeves to feel the sun

What a beautiful day today was! Spring is most definitely here! With daffodils and tulips bobbing their colourful heads in the light breeze, and the warmth of the sun tempting us into removing our blazers. It's now that the warmer weather gets us hunting for those sunglasses that were put somewhere very safe last September! Have you managed to locate yours?

The suit jacket and todays bag

I've only worn this suit once before, actually that's a lie, I have only worn the trousers and waistcoat once before. That's because I have only very recently bought the matching jacket. I wore the trousers and waistcoat for my shoot with Antoni Manuel and I'd totally forgotten how well it fits and how much I liked it! You can see an image from that shoot on the blog banner above.

The entire look with the three piece suit

The suit is 70% wool but it isn't a heavy suit, in fact it's quite light and very easy to wear. It is predominantly grey with a brown windowpane check. While I do not generally champion mixing grey and brown as I feel that they come from different colour families and don't compliment each other, I'm happy that this works.

A close up of the vintage bow tie and lapel pin

As the orangey brown check is quite prominent I decided to embrace the colour clash and chose a vintage clip on bow tie in a classic paisley design. It gives a very vintage look, particularly with a three piece suit and matches the colour well.

Taking time out to enjoy the delightful spring weather

Continuing with the vintage theme I wore my vintage pocket watch with a new chain. It's just a cheap replica but it does the job. It was just £7 from Ebay. I'd been looking for a more elaborate chain for sometime and while I could find plenty they were a little out of my price range! I'd love a genuine vintage silver chain, maybe that will go on my Christmas list!

My new pocket watch chain with elaborate charm

Stepping out in style

Again keeping with that slightly orangey theme, I went for orange socks. This adds a real shock of colour and a bit more personality to the look. I continued that colour story with the bracelets.

Todays shoes are a vintage style brogue, again this maintains that overall theme. While they look good, they are not leather. They're now a bit worse for wear, particularly as I tripped on these steps and virtually ripped the heel off the right shoe! Time for a new pair I think!

Todays sock, shoe combo

The orange and brown bracelets pull the colour theme together

A vintage look in a new three piece suit

A look at my vintage army edition pocket watch from 1953

WHERE IT'S ALL FROM

Grey and brown check three piece suit: Next

Plain White Slim Fit Shirt: H&M

Vintage Clip On Bow Tie: Ebay

Vintage Pocket Watch: Ebay

Pocket Watch Chain: Ebay

Orange Socks: Next

Vintage Style Brogues: Goor

Leather Briefcase: Rocha John Rocha at Debenhams

Moon Lapel Pin: Ebay

White Cotton Pocket Square: Next

THANKS FOR READING!

That Dapper Chap shares the latest collection by 'Man of the Moment' and fashion icon Darren Kennedy

What a couple of years its been for style icon Darren Kennedy! Not content with presenting on the UK's top rating TV show, he has made critically acclaimed documentaries and landed a role with the Telegraph writing their menswear column.

2013 saw him win the VIP Style Award and also launch his first menswear collection in collaboration with master tailor Louis Copeland. And things just keep getting better for the 30 something Irish gent, as little did I know when we met at an event earlier this year, that this weekend would see him making his debut on the UK X-Factor discussing the contestants style, and launching his third collection of incredibly sharp suits, again working directly with the highly talented Mr Copeland.

Darren models his Burgundy Brushed Wool Overcoat €850

This latest collection consists of a small range of well thought out, stylish and sharp suits and two overcoats, one in burgundy being this seasons most sought after colour.

Darren is clearly a fan of a double breasted suit and is often seen sporting one at various events and photo shoots. So, of course his collection was going to include at least one and he doesn't disappoint by giving us the 'George’ suit, a beautiful burgundy, double-breasted 3-piece suit and my absolute favourite from the new collection with is double breasted waistcoat completing a most dapper look.

The 'George' double breasted three piece suit

As well as grey, blues play a pig part in the collection and the Ferguson suit delights the eye with its bright blue hue. Again with a double breasted waistcoat the suits gives a very sophisticated look and a clean sharp silhouette. The 'Ferguson’ is named after Irish engineer and inventor Harry Ferguson, and this is the theme throughout the collection.

The beautiful 'Ferguson' three piece suit. €1,180 / £930

Darren clearly wanted to create a top end product here and has made a point of only using the finest fabrics. Luxury is a key word here and with soft flannels which will keep out the chills on our daily commute during the coming months. Adding a fine coat will add that additional layer and Darren has given us a choice of two.

The Italian wool herringbone coat and the 'Tom'
windowpane check suit

The first of these coats is made in an Italian black and white herringbone wool fabric and has a contrasting black velvet collar. Seen above with the 'Tom' double breasted suit in a stunning grey windowpane check €890 / £820. The second of the coats and one that's now on my wish list is the burgundy brushed wool overcoat as seen below with the the 'Holland’ three piece suit in grey & burgundy check flannel.

Other suits in the collection include the 'Brendan’, a blue flannel 2-piece suit and the 'Ernest’ which is a navy box check flannel 2-piece Suit.

Talking about his latest venture Darren said, “Our Spring Summer DK x LC ‘14 collection went down a storm both here and in the UK. I got a chance to wear every suit from the collection and the reaction I received was phenomenal. I feel confident that our new Autumn Winter collection is our strongest to date. Both Louis and I have put a lot of work in to this collection, making use of the highest quality Italian fabrics, our combined experience and knowledge to create what I believe is, the quintessential must have winter wardrobe…each piece is a future classic in its own right"