The London Lounge

I also find a plain silver tie a bit dull. They work best when they have an interesting texture or when, as Culverwood suggests, there is some black and white mixed in. For the most formal occasions, I wear a black/white/silver tie. When I'm a guest at a wedding, I usually go with something slightly...

Do you have your outfit picked out for the Revival?

You cannot go wrong with Swaine Adeney for bridle leather. You should note that they offer their bridle hide briefcases in both hand-stitched and machine-stitched versions. I recently attended an event where SA&B had someone demonstrating the hand-stitching of briefcases - the level of workmanship i...

It depends what you are looking for. I am a big fan of Barbour jackets and wear my Border with both casual clothes and suits. The waxed cotton jackets are great in the wind and rain, but there's no insulation in them at all. Alternatively, if you want something with a bit more warmth (although not a...

Collarmelton - Loden Frey still carries an excellent selection of traditional clothing, but you have to go up to the top floor. The lower floors are full of international designer brandnames, but if you go upstairs, you will find all the loden and Lederhosen you could possibly want.

Thanks for reposting, Alex. This is hugely informative.

On the subject of waterproof country clothes, has anyone had experience with teflon-coated tweeds? The Thrie Estates mill in Hawick has produced some fantastic looking tweeds in which the wool is given some sort of teflon coating. The result is that water just beads up on the surface of the cloth an...

Thanks DDM. I had assumed that some sort of waterproof lining would be needed.

Either that, or we don't have many plutocrats here.

They were very much the plutocrat's choice.

Thanks for the clarification on the French grading system, RJMan. It's gratifying to hear that they have not fallen prey to Anglo-Saxon grade inflation.

I like the Eagle on Farringdon Road - possibly the first gastropub in London and still a great place for food and drink. I also enjoy the Jerusalem Tavern, as recommended by Leon. At the other end of the spectrum, the Enterprise on Walton Street (one of London's poshest pubs) is always reliable for ...

The finished shoes look wonderful, Rolf. Thanks to you and Tony for the sneak preview at our last meeting in London.

Like le.gentleman, I'm also curious about how best to care for pigskin shoes. Do you use ordinary polishes, or do they need something special?

As another suggestion in London, I highly recommend Flittner's, located on Moorgate in the City. It's a larger, busier operation than Trumper's or Taylor's, but it's a very traditional, old fashioned place.

All good advice. However, I would go even further than TVD and strongly recommend against using a tailor who has never made a morning coat before. As he explains, it's a very specialized garment to make and you really need to find someone who knows what he is doing. Even a very skilled tailor may ha...

That's exactly it, andrei. Thanks very much for posting the photograph. I had been looking through books for a photograph to cite -- I have not yet reached the stage of technological advancement to post a photograph of my own trousers with this style of waistband.