Style

Frances de Lourdes

Frances de Lourdes, a new brand of luxury tees and tanks in ultra soft, lightweight Italian cashmere and silks. The collection, designed and produced in New York City by 36-year-old Alejandra Echeverria, was born out of a desire for a refined classic tee. Echeverria, who notes that the name “Frances de Lourdes” is a reference to her mother and father’s middle names, respectively, was inspired to create an elevated version of her favorite vintage staples – the perfect tee.   A long time lover, wearer, and collector of tees, Echeverria set out to create a collection of timeless tees that she herself wanted and felt were missing from the market. Calling upon a decade’s…

Roger W. Smith – The Cradle of high horology

Horology is a huge part of my life. It’s my biggest passion. So, naturally, it pains me to say that not much in the world of watches blows me away anymore. The truth is, I have been very lucky. Many of the people that I am fortunate to call my friends happen to be some of the world’s most recognised collectors of horology. Living in Los Angeles also helps. With watch boutiques galore and a steadily-growing network of collectors, I find myself attending a watch-related event seemingly every week. Not only do I get to see, play with and wear some amazing watches, I get to do it with a…

Rogues, Strong Women and White Shirts

Alistair Guy is a celebrated Portrait Photographer who is a regular contributor to the likes of British Vogue, Harper’s  Bazar and i-D. With a portfolio of work that covers everything from fashion to portraits, Alistair Guy is known for shooting some of the world’s most stylish individuals. Not your ordinary fashion photographer, Alistair takes a unique approach by choosing to photograph people in the industry itself. His series of black and white photographs showcase exceptional men and women. Celebrated photographer Alistair Guy and Marcella star Nicholas Pinnock have joined forces to create ambitious exhibition English Rogues, which has just launched at London’s iconic Oxo Tower, celebrating Britain and the English pirates and scoundrels who helped build it.  The duo cherry-picked nine models, actors and rockstars who embodied the wild,…

Passavant & Lee

Jon Passavant and Benj Lee are hardly strangers to the layer cake of the fashion industry. This duo have fronted campaigns for Dunhill, Armani, Ralph Lauren and Levi’s to name a mere handful. Whilst on set in New York the two models met having spotted each other at the usual castings and calls and after three years of product development launched accessories brand, Passavant & Lee. Some years ago, we remember being huddled in the office around a No 25. Attache. It was arguable one of the most beautiful briefcases we had ever seen. The outer shell is crafted from aircraft grade aluminium and covered in a full-grain Horween leather finish, while…

Fairfax & Favor

Marcus Fairfax Fountaine and Felix Favor Parker. As the names suggest, we’re talking about a quintessential British brand here. At 24, Marcus and Felix established Fairfax & Favor to create footwear of a classic British style that had an understated, contemporary elegance.  The goal being to ascend to the heights of a leather goods company that were more approachable and ultimately more aligned to their audiences proclivities and tastes. The Norfolk based duo are curating a stable of classic pieces, not producing huge seasonal ranges. It’s the sort of brand that could easily become a wardrobe staple. Arguably every Gentleman should own a casual pair of Chelsea boots and every Lady a pair of suede…

Protest

Established in Holland in 1993, Protest have been going strong since the Americans lost the Mars Observer and Intel introduced the Pentium Processor. That’s right, Holland. One of the flatest places on earth gave birth to Protest Sportswear. They are the first to tell me that the Netherlands is the home to exactly five hills and fourteen waves. Officially. The Protest team is made up of sixteen international designers, each with backgrounds in sports and fashion and my word do they love to slide about. www.protest.eu

The Man Who Would be Stylish

Gentleman readers of The Review, a discerning and stylish audience I’ll wager, will encounter few of the sartorial uncertainties of this midlife clothes horse. Not for you the awkwardness of those ‘how do I stand so the tailor can measure me’ moments; none of that ‘what do I say to the barber after the “I’ll have a short back and sides and leave a bit at the front to gel” intro’; and I do not have to check back with you to deduce that you are unlikely to have blushed and hurried through Duty Free when the staff ask you if you would like any help as you finger a…

The Ed’s Christmas Stocking

Subscribers have been lucky enough to receive the Christmas Gift Guide, but here The Ed picks his best of the bunch. Launer Luxury Leather Wallet From £307, launer.com A beautifully-crafted leather wallet, made from lizard and black calf leather. Using its trademark traditional handmade technique, Launer ensures that every part of this indulgent yet tasteful wallet has been turned by hand to form its elegant finish, with space for eight credit cards.  1968 saw Launer issued with a Royal Warrant by Queen Elizabeth II, bringing the brand onto the global stage. Almost 50 years later, a piece like this is still fit for royalty.  Monitor Audio MA100 £450, monitoraudio.co.uk Monitor Audio continues to do what it…