Hardy Amies Brochure AW14 by Show Media Ltd

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VO L U M E 3 – G H I

F O R E W O R D : M E H M E T A L I , D E S I G N D I R E C T O R AT H A R DY A M I E S , P AY S T R I B U T E T O T H E A B C O F M E N ’ S F A S H I O N

G IS FOR GROOMING 16 G E N E R AT I O N A L G R O O M I N G : T H E I M P O R TA N C E O F H E R I TA G E 21 G I S F O R G R O O M I N G : H A R DY A M I E S V E S Q U I R E ’ S B I G B L A C K B O O K 24 T H E G E N E S O F J E A N S : T H E C U LT O F D E N I M

H I S F O R H Y D E PA R K 33 H Y D E & S P E A K : D E M O C R A C Y I N A C T I O N I N T H E R O YA L P A R K S 39 T H E A R T O F H A B E R D A S H E RY : T H E C R A F T S M A N S H I P O F M E R C H A N T & M I L L S 41 H I S F O R H A R M O N Y : H A R DY A M I E S V M R P O R T E R

I IS FOR IPCRESS FILE 51 I N T H E T R E N C H E S : T H E H I S T O RY O F T H E I C O N I C O U T E R W E A R 55 I D E N T I T Y P A R A D E : T H E B R A I N S B E H I N D T H E H A R DY A M I E S M O N O G R A M 59 I I S F O R I N F O R M A L D R E S S : H A R DY A M I E S V T H E T I M E S 60 I G N I T I O N O F A L E G E N D : T H E RO OT S O F J AG UA R C A R S

71 W H AT I S M O D E R N B R I T I S H M E N ’ S S T Y L E ? A V I E W F R O M H A R DY A M I E S

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THE ABC OF MEN’S FASHION – VOLUME 3

W E L C O M E TO T H E T H I R D E D I T I O N O F H A R DY A M I E S ’ T H E A B C O F M E N ’ S F A S H I O N , A C O N T E M P O R A RY H O M A G E TO T H E 1 9 6 4 BOOK OF THE SAME NAME.

are very much a part of our lives and should be used to make our lives easier.’ In the same way that he collated The ABC over an extended space of time, we keep adding to our own ABC, albeit on a digital platform, via blog posts, articles and videos. But when you strip it back, we’re speaking to our clients in the same way as he did to his – it’s just a different medium. The relationship between old and new is something that will continue to be a part of our collections. Whether it’s through Hardy’s original designs, his work in cinema, his relationships or just his evocative photos, that will always be an element in the way we style and shoot collections. Hardy said, ‘A man should look as if he had bought his clothes with intelligence, put them on with care and then forgotten all about them.’ His advice, on the other hand, is never less than memorable – the ABC is not about outrageous statements, but aims to help men curate a wardrobe that is easy to dress from – and it is the basis of the Hardy Amies ethos to this day.

Anything written about fashion or trends has a tendency to fade in relevance as time goes on, so it would be fair to assume that Hardy Amies’ The ABC of Men’s Fashion, first published 50 years ago this year, would be outmoded. In truth, it’s still widely relevant, but perhaps that is indicative of the timeless nature of men’s style. The most interesting thing is how engaging it still is. The ABC is an insight into Hardy’s life, personality and wit, and it’s quite clear that the process of collating the various tips and guidelines was very important to him. I was aware of Hardy Amies long before I joined the company. Working in the industry, you hear about his approach and method. He was unconventional. Yes, he worked on Savile Row, but he was a pioneer of modernity and he viewed design through progressive eyes. I love that, as a ready-to-wear menswear designer, he dressed the likes of Peter Sellers, David Hockney and Ronald Reagan. The ABC helps us to understand his outlook: he believed there was a way of doing things, and his approach to menswear was that it should not only look good, but also be beneficial. He said, ‘Clothes

M E H M E T A L I , D E S I G N D I R E C T O R AT H A R DY A M I E S

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G H

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I I I N 1 9 6 4 S I R H A R DY A M I E S P U B L I S H E D T H E A B C O F M E N ’ S F A S H I O N . T H E M O D E R N - D AY H A R DY A M I E S I S C O N S TA N T LY I N S P I R E D B Y T H I S A N D H E R E , IN THE THIRD OF OUR SEASONAL SERIES WE EXPLORE LETTERS G, H AND I.

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G G IS FOR GROOMING

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Toffee cotton gabardine unlined single breasted belted mac

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G E N E R AT I O N A L G R O O M I N G

In a world where even your dog can get a manicure and Botox and plastic surgery are no longer the preserve of suntanned Californians, grooming products for men seem to be multiplying. Time was when a grooming routine would have consisted of little more than a shave, an occasional haircut and some cologne for special occasions. But there has been a generational shift, prompting a new language (‘manscaping’ anyone?) and a plethora of new creams and pastes, lotions and ointments designed for the male of the species. While this progress is fine and dandy, the Hardy Amies approach to grooming is to recognise those firms that have put in the hours to be classed as true experts in this field. One such company, with a notable heritage, is DR Harris, which first opened as Harris’s Apothecary in 1790 on St James’s Street. Despite being given that Mediaeval-sounding name, the shop was founded by two men of post-Enlightenment science: surgeon Henry Harris and Daniel (DR) Rotely, one of the first early pharmaceutical chemists.

The company’s offering of both the latest medicines and the accoutrements of aromatic style, such as lavender water, cologne and English flower perfumes, made it a popular shop to visit for the denizens of fashionable Clubland – it is likely both Beau Brummell and the Prince Regent were customers. The connection to the Court of St James continued till more recent times, with royal warrants issued by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and the Prince of Wales. DR Harris still maintains a state-of-the-art chemist and its shaving items are highly prized even in these bearded days.Whether clean-shaving or tidying around facial hair, the tactile pleasure of applying a triplemilled shaving soap – from a mahogany bowl and with a badger-hair brush – should not be underestimated. The firm’s traditional aftershave milk soothes the face afterwards, and a final touch of Arlington fern cologne gives you a literal aura of timeless Englishness. From this summer, Hardy Amies will stock selected DR Harris products at the store at 8 Savile Row.

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H A R DY A M I E S V E S Q U I R E ’ S B I G B L AC K B O O K

G IS FOR GROOMING It is fashionable to be well groomed. There is more money spent today on soap and water than at any other time in our history. Although many people may dislike the look of long hair on some young men, it is usually shampooed at least once a week. Again, it must be stated that all men are well shaved, helped by the efficiency of modern razors, electric or otherwise. Many men like the sharp bite of an after-shave lotion. I personally like one with a little grease in it. I do not like my skin to feel tight as it does with an all-spirit lotion, and, as with many men past their first flush of youth, my skin is inclined to get dry. Good grooming today means more than a clean face and body, although these are essential. It means a complete athletic look; hence the increasing popularity of gymnasia and health clubs. H A RDY A M IES , F ROM T HE ABC O F M EN’S FASHIO N, 1 9 6 4

A well-groomed man today likes to have a slight tan. This is achieved best by outdoor exercise – sunlamps and self-tanning lotions are rather frowned on now, their use considered a bit caddish. Though the concept that we men require little more than a splash of water to look good in the morning is an appealing one, the world of men’s grooming has changed irrevocably since Sir Hardy’s day. It all began with the rise of the metrosexual male in the Noughties (and we can thank Mr Beckham for that). Since then, men have been spending more money than ever on grooming products and services. A study conducted in 2013 revealed that British men in their thirties admit to spending, on average, £100 a month on grooming products. While we’ve moved on considerably since the days of Sir Hardy, we’ve also developed a great deal from the threestep cleanse, tone and moisturise regimes proposed by men’s grooming brands until recently. These days, men are savvier than ever when it comes to investing in products, and we’re buying them by the bucket-load. From serums to hair treatments, our bathroom cabinets are starting to resemble those of our girlfriends – and judging by the well-groomed results, it’s no bad thing. T E O VAN DE N B ROE K E , DE P UT Y E DI TOR , E S QU IR E ’ S B IG B L AC K B OOK

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Blue herringbone wool double breasted waistcoat with knitted shawl collar detail Grey diagonal herringbone wool tie Navy check cotton shirt

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Indigo denim slim fit jeans; Made in the UK Brown suede and tan leather belt Black grained leather lace up boots

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THE GENES OF JEANS

‘I wanna die with my blue jeans on,’ said Andy Warhol. Singer Kenny Rogers (‘I had holes in my jeans well before it was fashionable’) and Barack Obama (‘The truth is, generally, I look very sharp in my jeans’) also swear by denim. And not only as jeans: all three have favoured a blue denim shirt at some point. Who hasn’t? Denim is a fabric that effortlessly crosses age, class, career and ethnic boundaries, as democratic as a textile can be. More than Coke, burgers and rock’n’roll, denim is the American icon that conquered the world, be it in the form of shirts, jeans, overalls or the kind of Storm Rider western jacket that Marilyn Monroe wore in The Misfits. Denim is a hardwearing cotton twill that was first popularised in the French town of Nîmes in the 17th century – serge de Nîmes giving us the word denim. The blue dye was originally derived from woad, the plant that made Toulouse rich. Later it came from the indigo plant (Indigofera tinctoria), cultivated in India and on slave plantations in the American south, before a synthetic version became widely available in the early 1900s. Put the two elements together – a tough hardwearing material and a blue dye that fades (rather attractively) over time, and you have the classic

combination that, thanks to tailor Jacob Davis and textile supplier Levi Strauss, would from the 1870s onwards become the default work fabric of the American West. So how did these ‘waist overalls’, as jeans were known until around 1960, a weapon of the Cold War and stalwart of the catwalk, worn by pimps, pin-ups, pop stars and presidents, become so ubiquitous? Two names figure strongly in the denim myth creation: Marlon Brando and James Dean, whose appearances in the early Fifties movies The Wild One and Rebel Without A Cause represented rebellion an sex appeal, with a curled lip and whip-smart aperçu. Both were a powerful force in showing disaffected youth how to stand out from the older Sears Roebuck generation, adopting as they did the uniform of the dirt poor – denim, the cloth that built America. Six decades later, denim is as culturally robust as it is physically durable, and it has survived being shrunk, ripped, distressed, designed, acid-washed, as well as numerous obituaries in the fashion pages. It looks like the blues are here to stay. But talking of obits, poor Andy Warhol never did get his wish – he died in hospital, not in his blue jeans.

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Chocolate wool bomber jacket with shearling collar Bone cable knit crew kneck wool jumper Navy chambray button down shirt Navy speckled wool tie

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Bone and chocolate openweave wool scarf Large check charcoal and faded grey wool trousers Navy blue nubuck double monk

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H H I S F O R H Y D E PA R K

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HYDE & SPEAK

It is only a park regulation – on a par with ‘No Ball Games’ – not even a law of the land, but the right to assemble in the north-east corner of Hyde Park and to declaim on any subject is, as the late Tony Benn put it, ‘an important symbol of democracy in this country’. The reason Speakers’ Corner is situated in Hyde Park is because the park was traditionally where disgruntled workers knew they could find royalty and nobility. At the time of Charles II, one observer noted, ‘Nothing was so much in fashion during the fine weather as a large enclosure [in the park] called the Ring, which was the rendezvous of fashion and beauty.’ William III had 300 lamps hung between Kensington Palace and St James’s, which was the first road in England to be lit at night. The monumental Grand Entrance, now called the Queen Elizabeth Gate, with its fluted Ionic columns was erected in 1824-5 to afford a suitably majestic passageway for Victoria to access the park from Buckingham Palace. So, when the workers wanted cause a bit of a stir among their betters, they knew exactly where to find them. In the 1840s, the Chartists protested in the park for political reform, including a vote for every man

over 21. In 1855, thousands demonstrated there against a Sunday Trading Bill. These events featured fiery rhetoric and often arrest by the police for causing an affray or inciting civil disobedience. Public pressure demanded a place where people could gather and exchange views without fear of incarceration. Eventually, in 1872, the Parks Regulation Act allowed assembly and free speech (with some provisos – no insulting the monarchy, for instance). And so the institution we call Speakers’ Corner was born and, over the years, the likes of Marx, Lenin, Orwell, Marcus Garvey and Sir Winston Churchill have mounted soapboxes and faced listeners and hecklers in a noisy display of democracy in action. Now the only real restriction is that speakers mustn’t incite violence and the Royal Parks police are on hand to make certain heated debate doesn’t tip over into physical confrontation. The area is currently undergoing a facelift, but when it is completed it will continue remain what it has always been: an abstract concept, a tourist attraction that depends on a gathering of people – rather than physical bricks and mortar – and a home for free speech, as Tony Benn also pointed out.

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Faded grey wool Prince of Wales check single breasted suit with peak lapel, in fabric exclusively woven in the UK for Hardy Amies Navy and white cotton fine houndstooth shirt Grey diagonal tonal stripe wool tie

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T H E A R T O F H A B E R D A S H E RY

There is strange aura around the word ‘craftsmanship’. It seems to describe something that other people do. We might all try our hand at making things – an edible cake, a bench you can sit on, a passable self-portrait – but does that make us craftsmen? Well, yes, it can do. The culture of making things for ourselves has waned over the past few decades, and it’s down to a number of things. Firstly, the advancement of technology has meant that goods that formerly cost the earth are now widely affordable, which has led to built-in obsolescence – that is to say, products that are designed to fail after a predetermined period, urging the owner to invest once again. Another element is the unadulterated access we have to everything. Rather than scrimping and saving and heading to the shops, we can buy online, pay in instalments and have what we want delivered by lunchtime. The joy of fixing something is absolutely alien to the vast majority of us, but there are a few people who are bucking the trend – promoting an art of basic engineering that allows us to engage with the material world around us once again and reappropriate craftsmanship as a part of everyday life, as it used to be. Based in the cobbled idyll of Rye in East Sussex, Merchant & Mills is the ultimate modern haberdashery. The brainchild of Carolyn Denham and Roderick Field, a sewing advocate and aesthete respectively, it sells

all manner of sewing accessories and supplies, with everything boxed or wrapped in wonderfully stark, utilitarian packaging. There are needles, pins, threads, patterns, cloth, measuring tapes, hardware, software and a range of beautiful Sheffield steel scissors that are not just fit for purpose but a joy to hold.The goal is to get people back in touch with the pure satisfaction that one can get from making rather than buying. Beyond that, Merchant & Mills promotes an outlook of logic and patience – to make or fix something for one’s self takes time, calmness, concentration – three things we could perhaps all do with more of. With any luck, the good work of Carolyn, Roderick and others like them will inspire the next generation to become aware of the need for quality and function over quantity and form, but there is a body of people who understand it well already: the community of craftspeople on Savile Row. Clients now, as they did 100 years ago, visit the street knowing that their tailor can be trusted to advise, placate and deliver a perfect, lovingly made garment, that given the right care and attention will last a lifetime. This shared philosophy is why Hardy Amies will stock Merchant & Mills products in the curated goods section of its new store. Although everyone knows tailors have a penchant for a good pair of scissors...

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N O TA B L E H A B E R D A S H E R S

WIL L IAM ADAMS 17TH-C ENTU RY LONDO N HABER DASHER WHO FO UNDED ADAMS ’ GR AMMAR SCHO O L IN 1656

ROB ERT ASK E – A PHIL ANT HRO PIST

C AP TAIN JAMES CO O K 18TH-C ENTU RY B RITISH NAV IG ATO R AND EXPL O R ER , APPRENTIC ED TO T HIS JO B IN HIS YO UT H

DANIEL DEFO E THE AU THO R O F RO BI NSO N CRUSO E

JOSEPH MER R ICK ‘ THE ELEP HANT MAN’ , WO R K ED AS A HABER DASHER ’S ASSISTANT B EF ORE B EING A FR EAK SHOW ACT

GEO R G E NEWNES F OU NDER OF T IT-BIT S N EWSPAPER ( 1881) AND T HE PO PUL AR T HE S T RAN D MAGAZINE, O F SHER L O CK HO L MES FAME

PAAVO NUR MI F INNIS H DISTANCE RUNNER

C HAR L ES TAZE RUSSEL L F OU ND ER OF THE B IB LE S TU DENT MOV EMENT WHICH, AFT ER HIS DEAT H, U LTIMATELY LED TO THE FO R MAT IO N O F JEHOVAH’S WIT NESSES

HAR RY S T RUMAN PRES ID ENT OF THE UNIT ED STAT ES FRO M 1945 TO 1953

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H A R DY A M I E S V M R P O RT E R

H I S F OR H A RM ONY Harmony in clothes, as in marriage, is a matter of adjustment. Each item in your costume should have a degree of sympathy with the others. This is not a matter of matching colours or patterns. Contrasting colours can harmonise much more effectively than matching ones by setting each other off. The opposite of harmony is conflict. You may not be gifted with the artistic eye for colour, but the simple way to avoid conflict is to see that no one item of clothing stands out by itself. If you can do that, you can achieve, at least, a basic harmony. H ARDY A M IES , F ROM T HE ABC O F M EN’S FASHIO N, 1 9 6 4

In most instances, the advice in Amies’ famous book is helpfully to the point. However, when it comes to the subject of harmony, his advice becomes challengingly vague, because he is addressing a subject so wide as to almost defy guidance. It’s worth remembering that, for him, what constituted harmony was so intuitive as to seem obvious. To extend the musical metaphor, when it came to clothes, Amies had perfect pitch. However, for those of us less gifted when it comes to style, his advice can still be turned into a useful checklist: His belief that clothes should have ‘a degree of sympathy with the others’ means you need to consider how the different elements in an outfit interact. Of course, as he notes, they mustn’t match; wearing a matching tie and pocket square remains one of the most grave sartorial sins.

Faded grey wool Prince of Wales check trousers Black monogram embossed leather iPad case French navy monogram embossed leather iPhone case

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Grey brushed wool reversible bridgecoat with chocolate brown technical cotton internal

The elements need to stand out from one another without the contrast being turned up so high as to be jarring. As an example, a white shirt worn with a navy suit looks less pleasing than a pale blue shirt (except in the evening, but, even then, cream is preferable to white). When it comes to patterns,the key is to keep them distinct – a houndstooth tie shouldn’t be worn with a gingham shirt.

The final piece of advice is to avoid wearing one garment that leaps out from an outfit, crowing for attention: a very loud tie or garish socks are obvious examples. Ultimately, Amies’ advice – to demonstrate just enough good taste in your attire – is as invaluable as it is intangible. Learning what constitutes good taste is a lifetime’s work. MANS E L F L E T C HE R , F E AT UR E S E DI TOR , MR P ORT E R

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Seasonal chocolate brown brushed wool double breasted overcoat

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I I IS FOR IPCRESS FILE

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Weathered bone cotton gaberdine double breasted trench coat with contrast collar detail

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IN THE TRENCHES

There was a time when a trench coat could get you shot. Although developed before World War l, the classic gabardine trench coat, with its D-rings (for maps, medals and swords, if required), belt, epaulettes, sleeve straps, storm pockets and wool lining, came into its own in the war. It was not official issue – officers ordered theirs from the Army & Navy catalogue or bought them at Simpson’s or West End stores in London. The problem was, German snipers had been told to save their bullets for officers. So the higher ranks of British army slowly discarded any obvious signifiers of rank when at the front. However, many a new, young subaltern, perhaps promoted from the ranks (‘a temporary gentleman’), having spent a good few pounds on a dashing new khaki trench coat, kept that on. Bang. No wonder the average survival period of a junior officer was just six weeks. By World War ll, the trench coat had become a signifier not of army rank but of moral ambiguity, mainly thanks to Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, whose Rick Blaine favoured a particularly crumpled, un-military version. The trench coat soon became the preserve of men who walked on the shadier side of the street – private eyes (see The Big Sleep), or the kind

of reporter who made their excuses and left. And, of course, spies. In The Ipcress File, Michael Caine’s Harry Palmer wore a trench coat, accessorised by a Walther PPK and heavy, dark rimmed glasses… or did he? In fact, Caine wears a smart three-button, Prince of Wales check topcoat throughout the film. So why do we often think of Palmer in a trench coat? What the makers of The Ipcress File were desperate to get across was that Palmer was no suave James Bond. In one scene, Dalby (Nigel Green) reads out Palmer’s personnel file. ‘Insubordinate. Insolent. A trickster. Perhaps with criminal tendencies.’ In order to catch this anti-authoritarian streak, for publicity stills and some posters they put Caine in a trench coat. It was a clever move – the outerwear he sports in Ipcress just did not carry the cultural baggage of a trench coat. When worn by a good-looking guy like Caine, the ‘trench’ suggests a ‘shop-soiled Sir Galahad’ (to quote Raymond Chandler) – a Bond with his own moral compass to consult. Caine would eventually get to wear a trench coat on screen, in Get Carter, but this time it was black, like Jack Carter’s soul. But that’s another coat tale.

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I can only tell you this, I would rather have taste than either love or money. WILLIAM HAINES

Identity Parade The Hardy Amies ‘HA’ monogram was the brainchild of Sir Hardy’s friend William Haines. Haines had been a matinee idol during Hollywood’s silent era, but the arrival of talkies and his reluctance to toe the line at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer led him to quit motion pictures and become, instead, one of the great West Coast interior designers.

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He was introduced to Hardy Amies by Hardy’s first investor, Virginia, Countess of Jersey (formerly Mrs Cary Grant), and he was in the habit of occasionally visiting the designer. It was Haines who told him in 1946 to introduce an Eastern flavour to the house – and that’s when the Chinese Chippendale chairs, tables and small dressing tables came in. These are still in the house at 14 Savile Row today. During the early Sixties, William Haines brought Nancy Reagan to visit, accompanied by Betsy Bloomingdale. Haines had just created a ‘JC’ jacquard for the movie star Joan Crawford and talked about it endlessly. Hardy loved the idea of having his initials displayed in his office space, in the salon and on all the soft furnishings, so asked the American to create something for him. He obliged and that’s how the monogram came into being in around 1969. Sixties fashion and interiors often took inspiration from the Art Deco period and quite often people mistake the decade’s designs for pieces dating from 30 years earlier. Certainly the geometric HA monogram has a Deco spirit. The monogram was used extensively throughout the house – the gold salon chairs used to have the HA jacquard on their seats, for example – and there are still some original carpets and wallpaper that survive. This gave the current design team the idea to revive the pattern for new, 21stcentury products. They like it, they say, because it is so elegant and subtle – the initials not readily apparent. Today, then, William Haines’ design and Sir Hardy’s initials live on, reimagined on leather goods and fabrics for a whole new generation. There are even plans to upholster leather furniture in the store in embossed hides displaying the signature motif.

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H A R DY A M I E S V T H E T I M E S

I IS F OR INF O RM A L D RES S It would, I think, be incorrect for a formal invitation to state that informal dress is required. It is more usual to state the degree of formality required, usually evening dress when decorations, dinner jacket, or black tie. It is not usual to send out formal invitations to evening parties, which are so informal that evening dress is not required. There is therefore no correct form of informal dress. There is day dress, which means a suit. H A RDY A M IES , F ROM T HE ABC O F M EN’S FASHIO N, 1 9 6 4

Black leather and suede contrast double monk

Well, thanks for clearing that up, Mr Amies: ‘informal’ attire was a misnomer in 1964 and despite the alternative uniforms of Silicon-prefixed start-up zones and certain media-friendly, check-your-tie-in-at-the-door private members’ clubs, for the majority of the white-collar workforce it still means ‘a suit’. Of course, there has been a blurring of the lines since Don Draper-types felt under-dressed without their fedoras – hats have long since been dispensed with and now, even in the most conservative workplaces, the tie is fighting a rearguard action. These days there are myriad ways to stretch established sartorial boundaries, including revealing a fancy sock or no socks, carrying a tote bag or sporting quirky T-bar cufflinks, wearing monk-strap shoes or burnished-leather brogues, a woven leather belt or a flower-print silk pocket square, or even a knitted-silk tie with an engraved tie clip. And, for the man willing to do so, the most likely outcome is not that he will be admonished by a superior for not conforming to the house style, but taken aside and solicited for fashion advice. S HAUN P HI L L I P S , AS S OC I AT E F E AT UR E S E DI TOR , T H E T IME S

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I GNI TION OF A LEG END The roots of Jaguar Cars go back to Swallow Sidecars, founded by Bill Lyons (later Sir William) in the Twenties to produce sidecars for motorcycles. From tiny beginnings – he claimed the staff consisted of ‘three men and a boy’ – SS Jaguar emerged in the midThirties as manufacturers of coach-built automobiles at mass-produced prices. They came complete with the famous leaping cat mascot by Frederick Crosby. After the war, the SS was quietly dropped for obvious reasons and Jaguar began a run of astonishingly innovative and often gorgeous cars – the sporty XK120, the C-, D- and E-Types and the Mk II, VII, VIII, IX, and X saloons. Although Malcolm Sayer designed the C-, D- and E-Types, all models were closely overseen by the famously autocratic

Lyons who, in truth, considered the saloon the core business of Jaguar, rather than the racers. He was to approve one of the best loved of all Jaguar saloons, the elegant XJ6 Mk 1 (1968). It was the final car Lyons had the last word on, before British Leyland swallowed the company. The XJ6 embodied the essential values of Jaguar – smooth, quiet, fast, a fabulous ride and plenty of room in the back. Little wonder the XJ soon became the ‘barge’ of choice for politicians and, later, a favourite of flash villains. But then Jaguar has always counted ministers and minders, cops and robbers, golfers and grandees, footballers and fashionistas among its admirers – the church of the Big Cat is a very broad one indeed.

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Bone and navy jaquard woven silk and wool single breasted evening jacket Black silk bow tie White cotton poplin bibbed evening shirt

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Black wool and mohair evening trousers Navy monogrammed slipper

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Bright navy monogram jaquard silk and wool single breasted tuxedo jacket; features contrasting black grosgrain peak lapel Black silk bow tie White cotton poplin bibbed evening shirt

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VOLUME 3 – GHI

Bright navy monogram jaquard silk and wool trousers Black velvet monogrammed slipper

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THE ABC OF MEN’S FASHION

VOLUME 3 – GHI

W H AT I S M O D E R N BRITISH MEN’S STYLE? A V I E W F R O M H A R DY A M I E S

What is modern British men’s style? As a Savile Row brand, Hardy Amies comes from the home of tailoring and is informed by an impressive heritage. And yet, Sir Hardy himself was a new figure on the ‘Row’ in the Forties, not encumbered with years of historical baggage. With a reputation for wicked wit and design flair, he embraced the spirit of the times and played his part in the seismic changes that were taking place after the war. The Sixties were characterised by a cultural revolution in which the established codes of British society were challenged and blurred. Sir Hardy championed youth, saying, ‘As regards taste and styles, I am not sure that the young man today does not know more than his elders.’ He also democratised the idea of style, promoting ready-to-wear for men; he stated: ‘I feel that some of the success I have achieved in designing clothes for men… is because I have been able to become a bridge between men of the established classes and those who shop in the High Street.’ In 1964, his influential The ABC of Men’s Fashion

was published, a style guide that established his credentials as a fashion expert and opinionated arbiter of good taste. Although Sir Hardy is himself no longer with us, his spirit lives on in the collection that today still bears his name. And arguably, the second decade of the 21st century is seeing developments in British lifestyle that in many ways echo those that Sir Hardy was catering to some 50 years ago. Today, Britain – and London in particular – is genuinely cosmopolitan in terms of the people and cultures it embraces. In terms of men’s style, there is an interplay between the generations, between town and country, between heritage and technology, between tailoring and casualwear, which means British style for men is more fluid and dynamic now than at any time before. Hardy Amies reflects this by making smart, functional menswear that is as at home in Mayfair as it is in Dalston. The look is modern and stylish, without being overtly ‘designed’. As Sir Hardy said, ‘A man should look as if he had bought his clothes with intelligence, put them on with care and then forgotten all about them.’

‘ A M A N S H O U L D L O O K A S I F H E H A D B O U G H T H I S C L OT H E S W I T H I N T E L L I G E N C E , P U T T H E M O N W I T H C A R E A N D T H E N F O R G OT T E N A L L A B O U T T H E M ’

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H A R DY A M I E S 8 S AV I L E ROW L O N D O N W W W. H A R DYA M I E S . C O M