GET THE LOOK

Sartorial

RIVIERA STYLE

Digby Fairfax ambles down to the Cote D’Azur (or Bognor Regis if it’s raining) to show readers how to decant themselves into the Riviera Look

£180.00

£116.00

£89.00

SHOES

A word of warning to the travelling chap, whether to foreign climes or the English Riviera: you are very likely to encounter the shoeless. By this we mean the flip-flopped, or, even worse, those gentlemen who feel it appropriate to don the ghastly Birkenstock sandal. While exterior temperatures will, it must be admitted, preclude the full brogue boot on the beach, there is no need to allow standards to drop so low. Besides, one would aver that there is no known trouser that looks good with a sandal.

However, Grenson have produced the Quincy Sandal, priced at £180, based on those available in most traditional shoe shops in southern Europe, which at least covers the toes and the heel. Upon your next visit to Spain or Portugal, snap up a pair of these ‘halfsandals’ for the next jaunt. In the meantime, a more economical pair, the Angulus, is available from www.footway.com at £116 (they will cost you around half that ‘in the field’).

Saddle Shoes are another light option, for a shoe that you could actually enter a restaurant in. Rocket Originals and Collectif make them for men, priced at £99 and £95 respectively. Loafers, obviously, also cut the mustard, but not ones with bits of metal sticking out of the saddle: Jones the Bootmaker make an acceptable Penny Loafer for £89, and don’t forget to stick a penny into the upper for that preppy detail.

TROUSERS

Lightness of cloth is paramount when strolling about during the passagiata hour, but so too is lightness of colour, especially if wearing a dark blazer: although one’s trousers should usually be darker than one’s jacket, the Riviera Look is the exception and obeys the light chino/dark blazer diktat.

For the vintage look, Darcy Clothing offer a Lightweight Cotton Moleskin Cricket Trouser at £86, while those unafraid to clothe their pins in a more contemporary silhouette can head straight over to Spoke London for a pair of their ‘Cotton Lightweights’ at £99. The edge that this brand has on many others is that they put one through a highly accurate size chart, with some rather penetrating questions about body shape, to prevent you from buying the wrong size. Walker Slater’s linen pantaloons are also worth a try, especially their Edward Trousers at £95, for which the matching jacket may also be acquired. Beware when washing the trousers of a pale coloured linen suit, however, as they £99.00 can sometimes end up lighter than the jacket. Linen jackets, contrary to popular opinion, can actually be washed in the machine, but turn it inside out first.

£45.00

SHIRT

If (or rather, because you are) wearing a jacket or blazer, this is likely to be removed when the sun is high in the sky, so opt for something that tells its own story, such as a Navy striped linen shirt (£95) from www.sirplus.co.uk. This company also makes short-sleeved shirts, which may be necessary in the tropics, such as a yellow Tencel Cuban Shirt in cotton (£95). If heading for a Latin American flavour, it would be preferable to seek an original Mexican Guayabera from a reputable vintage outfitter such as Bobby & Dandy. Under no circumstances is it acceptable to wear a Hawaiian shirt, unless you have been invited to a fancy dress party while on your hols.

£95.00

£35.00

JACKET

This will be your most essential item, as you will need it for the journey abroad, so as many pockets as possible is prerequisite, for all the millions of forms, vaccine certificates etc you will need to present at the airport. For a lightweight cotton twill jacket, Universal Works present the most favourable option, their London Jacket (£175) boasting a total of five pockets, including one for a pocket square. It comes in colours ranging from cream to dark navy.

Walker Slater’s William Jacket, in navy hopsack linen (£265) cuts a sharper line, in case you are in Nice (or Bognor Regis) and fancy your luck at the roulette tables. They also make a fetching cream linen jacket, The Jamie (£245), originally designed by this publication and also available from www.thechap.co.uk.

£245.00

NECKWEAR

It is around the throat that a chap may display his dandy credentials most effectively, and the least sweltering neck adornment is of course the cravat. The new Chap Cravat (£35), based on the Peacock Pocket Square, will liven up any plain shirt with its splashes of purple, aquamarine and burgundy. The more sartorially adventurous may wish to brave the foularde, or neckerchief, for a slightly more playboy look. Geoff Stocker has turned his pocket square skills to what he has named a bandana, in 30% silk and 70% cotton, measuring 24 inches on each side. It is designed to be thrown around the throat carelessly, so that it flaps in the breeze and pretty ladies can spot one from a distance, and is appropriately called ‘The Waking Dream’ (£85).

£85.00

HEADWEAR

Panama is clearly the only acceptable £60.00 option for sultry climes, and Pachacuti make the highest grade, peddled from a web site called www.panamas.co.uk. Prices for their ethically produced Ecuadorean Panamas range from £85-£320, but their prices reflect a product built to survive the fierce summers and tropical downpours of equatorial regions. Olney’s panamas, available from www. hatsandcaps.co.uk, are more affordable, starting at £60 for this white one with a traditional black band – a tradition that began with the death of Queen Victoria and never stopped. Of course, the main purpose of wearing a Panama is to advertise to the other tourists that an Englishman is in town, but if you wish to rule out every last shred of uncertainty, then wear a straw boater (see CHAP Spring 21).

SOCKS

Last, but £9.90 certainly not least, are the all-important undergarments for your trotters. You can certainly strut about in a pair of loafers or deck shoes with no socks, but this will not mark you out as a man of style, and certainly not as an Englishman. The lightest socks we could find were from Dueple (dueplesocks.com), who also make rather fetching ribbed socks for the winter. Their Fine Gage 220 Needle Socks (£9.90) come in a huge range of bold colours, as well as plain white or black, and are quite simply like walking on air – although it must be admitted we have not tried them out while stalking across the beach at Cannes in the midday sun.

SUNGLASSES £60.00

Probably the most important accessory to pack is one’s lunettes de soleil, for without these you will be so blinded by the sunlight that admiring glances from the local populace will go unnoticed. Why are decent sunglasses, and spectacles for that matter, so darned expensive? No-one knows, but the answer is not to grab a cheap pair from Boots at the airport. What if I lose them on the beach? We ask ourselves anxiously. The answer is quite simply that you won’t if they are your pride and joy. Go swimming in them if necessary, or avoid the beach altogether. Kirk Originals’ Warwick in Amber Tortoiseshell with dark green lenses will set you back £225 but you will never grow out of them. The more economical option comes from Dead Men’s Spex (www.deadmensspex.com), whose range is so vast – and helpfully categorised by decade – that you are likely to find something similar to those you covet elsewhere, at a much more affordable price. Their Classic American Atomic Age Frames in black acetate frame with metal brow detailing are £60.00, plus £45 for non-prescription polarised lenses.

£225.00

ERRATUM

In the previous edition we published a photograph of a University of Bristol Rowing Club blazer and badge, with a price of £199.00. This was in fact a bespoke garment made by Clifton Suits (www. cliftonsuits.co.uk) using bespoke woven fabric, exclusively for the University of Bristol Rowing Club, and the price was incorrect. This product is not available to the public.