Life at the apex of modern menswear is not without its challenges.
New shoes that start to rub ten yards out the door. Realising you’re the only one dressed like a Pyrenees goat herd at the leaving drinks. Stuff on websites that is clearly wrongly priced — £190 for a pair of £40 socks, sort your life out Très Bien. And of course, as recently discussed, the crushing obligation to buy something in an austere boutique.
The Raisin Bran of style always has a couple of flies in it.
I know I’m grinding my teeth. My eyes are darting about like panicked flies. I can’t stand still. My head is boggling with mental arithmetic. I want to boot up the HSBC app, but I can’t. Not here.
I’m in a small but expensive shop and I’ve been strolling around for a while. A while turns into a dawdle, then a linger and it now feels like a loiter. A loiter with intent? How did I let this happen? I now feel obliged to buy something. I don’t want to buy anything. But I know it’s going to happen.
For me this is the only shirt that matters. I won’t call it the shirt of the season, as the very concept of weather is now cryptic and any day now Putin or Xi Jinping will probably drop a dustbin of nukes on Leicester Square — seasons as we know them may fucked. I’ll simply say that in my opinion this is the best shirt for this minute and leave it at that.
Something about a nine litre bottle of Whispering Angel. Someone says, “calanques.” An endless coach ride. Irregular paving stones. A fountain chatters in the darkness. Waiting for the lift. Why is the carpet covered in Tyrells?
There’s a nobility in drunkenness. Particularly in France. But it’s a lot harder to get absolutely conkered than you might think. It requires serious commitment.
Before we get started, it would be remiss of me to allow the country’s deep sadness to pass without comment. I confess, it hit me quite hard. When the news reached me of Studio Nicholson’s collaboration with Zara well… Perhaps we all just need to take a moment.
Today we’re looking at Japanese brand Softhyphen who produce clothes that look a lot like Sacai. They’re more affordable than Sacai, but virtually unheard of in the UK.
I’m not sure if that makes Softhyphen cooler than Sacai or not? But let it never be said I’m scared to tackle the big questions.
