Gentlemen, If you are reading these words, you are probably among those for whom there is more to life beyond the useful, and even the necessary, two horrible concepts that corrupt our society and tend to pull it downwards. You may have noticed that mainstream thoughts – and matching television and radio media coverage – [...] Read more – ‘On the value of things’
Gentlemen, We have been following the work of Riccardo Frecci Bestetti very closely for some time now. This surprising and mysterious Italian cordwainer works from the small city of Vigevano, not too far from Milan There is no doubt that Bestetti surprises. Case in point: just take a look at his creations that often infringe [...] Read more – ‘The surprising world of Riccardo Freccia Bestetti’
Gentlemen, You probably have noticed that gingham is coming back with a vengeance of elegant gentlemen’s shirts. In the past, it was considered as a “popular” fabric, only existed in three colours: black, blue and pink, and was mostly used to make blouses and garments for young children. Up until about two years ago, it [...] Read more – ‘The great comeback of gingham’
Gentlemen, In the last few weeks, I have been happily spotting a few gentlemen in Paris whose accoutrement was particularly well assembled. I must admit that spotting bespoke suits in the wild has become a habit, borderlining obsession. Nevertheless, even in the best weeks, I rarely see more than 4 or 5 gents in bespoke… [...] Read more – ‘Naples, the other Mecca of Bespoke’
Gentlemen, A few months ago, I shared an interesting video (here it is: KNOT IT LIKE AN ITALIAN ) which, to say the least, threw a bit of sand in some well-oiled habits pertaining to wearing the necktie. It was perfectly in line with the recommendations contained in a text by Michael Drake, which we [...] Read more – ‘On the small blade of the tie’
Gentlemen, Today, exceptionally, we shall venture past our true field of expertise to explore design and contemporary art. Hats off to Australian artist-designer Sonia Rentsch, whose latest series of so-called “table” compositions definitely caught our eye… For more information: SONIA RENTSCH A true feast for the eyes… “The Butler” “Mad Men” “Great Gatsby” “Beau” “The Dandy” [...] Read more – ‘Parisian Gentleman selection : Sonia Rentsch’
Gentlemen, we are more than happy to forward to all the PG community the following message just received from Gustav Temple of “The Chap”. Of course we invite everyone who feel concerned by this attempt of A&F (probably the most vulgar mass culture megabrand in the world) to colonize one of the most important Bespoke [...] Read more – ‘Save Savile Row from Abercrombie & Fitch !’
Gentlemen, Today, we shall discuss the results of a surprising study by the “Style Pilot” website and relayed this morning in the Daily Mail. It clearly shows that the vast majority of men rely on the advice (and even diktats) of their female companions when choosing what to wear. The article explains that men [...] Read more – ‘Surprising study reveals that 2 men out of 3 are “dressed” by the women in their lives’
Gentlemen, The so-called military style has always inspired designers and masculine bespoke houses. The current times are no exception, with a –rather fortunate- return of uniform inspired garments, essentially very structured, with many buttons and pronounced shoulder padding and epaulets. Personally, I have always liked this type of clothing, which I prefer to wear casually, [...] Read more – ‘Military inspirations’
Gentlemen, As you have often read in these pages, watches (focal point of elegance for many of you) and luxury timepieces are not regularly featured in PG. Indeed, not mastering its very fundamentals, we leave it to others to cover this highly specific domain in many blogs and websites, hosted by genuine aficionados (to say [...] Read more – ‘The supremely elegant Parmigiani Fleurier’s Tonda 1950 timepiece’
Gentlemen, today, we are glad to share with you two finds which particularly caught our stylish attention in our perpetual quest for new sartorial thrills. Here are two sport jackets we find very original because of the fabrics as well as their assembly, which oozes the Sprezzatura spirit (the famous elegant Italian nonchalance). The first [...] Read more – ‘PG sunday picks : two original sport jackets’
Gentlemen, No, this shall not be an umpteenth article on the diversity and wealth of cultural difference, but more prosaically a piece praising shirts with contrasting collars and/or cuffs. In the last few months, I must admit to having become quite fond of such shirts, which I used to consider as the exclusive stuff of [...] Read more – ‘In praise of contrasts’
Gentlemen, One of our female readers (yes, more and more women read PG every day) has forwarded us this Pierre-Henri Tavoillot interview with Gilles Lipovetsky conducted in 2003 following the release of his book “Le luxe éternel”. Of course, the concept of luxury is not our first priority in these pages, but the interview is [...] Read more – ‘The anthropological nature of luxury : interview with french essayist Gilles Lipovetsky’
Gentlemen, As you know, our columns heartedly defend the now undisputable return of the double breasted suit and jacket. We have had the opportunity to write several articles on the subject and are constantly on the lookout for new interpretations for this staple of classic masculine elegance, as it is undergoing a full blown renewal. [...] Read more – ‘Variations on the theme of the Double-Breasted jacket’
Gentlemen, As we have just celebrated our third anniversary (in January 2009, unaware of where it would take me, I had the unexpected idea to write the first PG article to circumvent a night of insomnia), we wish to let you in on the various – and numerous- projects we are actively working on. First [...] Read more – ‘Parisian Gentleman update : news, events, projects…’
Gentlemen, Today, we wish to salute the initiative (and very high precision work) of our friend Juhn Maing, globe trotter emeritus and publisher of a blog we very much love here at PG, and with whom we have been having an excellent long term relationship : SLEEVEHEAD His eBook is the first of its kind to [...] Read more – ‘A Guide to Sicilian tailors, a very commendable initiative’
Gentlemen, You know we follow very closely the work of Tony Gaziano, who we think is, along with Pierre Corthay, Dimitri Gomez, Anthony Delos and a few others including Lazlo Vass and Kojiro Suzuki only to name a few, one of the best bespoke shoe maker worldwide. His work is pretty easily recognizable to the [...] Read more – ‘Gaziano & Girling Bespoke’
Gentlemen, Since the ubiquitous yet gifted Tom Ford has brought back windowpane patterned suits in 2009 for a publicity campaign that was quite hard to miss (see below), the pattern is more and more often seen in quality ready-to-wear and made to measure collections, and of course, in bespoke. For history’s sake, this very particular [...] Read more – ‘Windowpane pattern : worth trying’
Gentlemen, For almost two years, PG has been advocating for a full force return of the double-breasted suit in your closet, and to convince you to try the very elegant and flattering DB suit. In the last edition of The Rake, Bruce G. Boyer, who we consider the safest author in terms of taste and [...] Read more – ‘How to wear the double-breasted suit’
Gentlemen, The most knowledgeable among you have certainly heard of the “famous” drape cut, allegedly designed by Frederick Scholte, tailor to the Prince of Wales who had noticed that adding an extra amount of fabric to the shoulders of a jacket could create a more casual and athletic look. This type of cut is translated [...] Read more – ‘The Scholte Drape Cut, you like it or you don’t…’
