New Colorful Spring and Summer Wardrobe Polo Shirt and Chino Additions from John Partridge & Co.

It's no secret that we are huge fans of John Partridge & Co. here at the Landless Gentry.  This fine British Company has been making fine country clothes for men, women and even their dogs since 1960.  So when I received a notification that they had just re-stocked on their Spring/Summer casual clothes  - Chinos and Polo shirts in fun colors, I couldn't resist ordering a handful of pieces.  Mrs. Landless Genrtry and been after me to sport-up my wardrobe and pack away some of the tweeds for a while now (I will accommodate her on this if only for the warmer months of Spring and Summer), so this notice was extremely well timed.  In any case, a few clicks of the keyboard and some great looking Chinos and Polo shirts in fresh and perhaps a bit more adventuresome colors than I would normally wear were on their way.

The Polo shirts and Gelato:
Great colors with the Partridge embroidered logo, these will be a great addition for my upcoming trip to Isla de Elba later this month.  This visit calls for bright colors for eating what I consider the best gelato in the world made in the small mountain village of Capoliveri from melons grown only on Elba (trust me it's worth the trip alone).

Pardon the wrinkles, these are fresh from shipping:

Chinos in Yellow and Red:
The color additions extend to John Partridge & Co. chino trousers selection - I've chosen a bright lemon yellow and sporty red.  Both are also nicely embroidered with the partridge logo.  I've been looking for a red pair of chinos that will develop into a nice faded Breton Red for a while so I will see how these work out.  These trousers, look great with my Topsiders and will, I think, add a bit of Preppy/Ivy to my summer wardrobe.  These chinos have a pretty traditional fit with a straight leg finish of about 8 inches at the hem, which is great for a relaxed summer trouser.

Taken together, and mixed and matched with my other Polos, chinos and linen shirts these additions from John Partridge & Co. summer collection have expanded my Spring/Summer wardrobe enormously and with barely making a dent in my bank balance.

I've Found My Summer Hat Right here in Munich at Breiter: Panama Boater by Mayser Hutmacher!

 I've been looking for a summer hat for about the past month since the weather here in Bayern as turned unseasonably warm and the birds song in our garden has become more riotous.  The choices there are surprisingly numerous from traditional flat caps in cotton and linen, straw woven short brimmed trilbies, fine wider brimmed Panama's in beautiful cream white (whom among us wouldn't wish to channel Julian Sands as George Emerson in 'Room With a View').  Also in the running an Old-school straw boater - hard as a cracker-board.  They were all tempting and all have their distinct attraction.  Doubtless, I can envision all of these in my future as some point.

Julian Sands Timelessly romantic in Panama as George Emerson:

On a whim, while in Munich with Mrs. Landless Gentry, we stopped into the Breiter & Mode "Der Hutmacher am Dom", where perusing the almost limitless options, I happened upon the summer hat of my dreams.  Described on their website as 'Mayser circular straw Gondola from Panama straw', this had really has all the softness light weight and comfort of a Panama and in the style of a traditional boater - it's like the perfect blending of the two.  With a wide grosgrain ribbon band finished with a traditional bow tie on the side and a great little Mayer seit 1800 pin, this is excellently done

True 'Panama' hat are actually hand woven in Ecuador (who new?)

Nicely priced within my budget, we bought it on the spot.  Kudos to the staff at the Breiter Hat 'am Dom' store for their friendly and professional service in making sure that I bought the right size and had it perfectly sized.

Made my Mayser hat-makers since 1800, this is one of if not the oldest hat making firms on the European Continent (Lock & Co hatters has them beat by 124 years, but they are not on the continent).  You will find a very interesting history of the firm on their website.  I can't say enough about the quality of this hat.  It's a true Panama, beautifully hand woven in Ecuador, its rather flexible, not stiff and somewhat uncomfortable like the standard boater hats I've tried.

The weave is beautifully accomplished here on the top in nearly mesmerizing 

Best, I think I look rather jaunty in it.  I even looks great with my clip-on sunglasses.  I'm looking forward to wearing my new Panama boater to my upcoming trip to Elba, Italy later this month!

Close-up: Vintage Camelhair Prince of Wales Tweed

This jack is one of a couple of Camel Hair jacket I purchased last year on the good sirs at E & Bay, this time from the US website, that I have absolutely fallen in love with.  I've never owned a Camel's Hair and I can tell you, these are wonderfully soft, beautiful weaves.  This with the classic Prince of Wales check pattern with a beige inter-check, to my eye of the most sophisticated around.

Lined with light grey polka dot lining, which while nicely done and very soft, is a bit too delicate for my liking and snags rather easily.  Never mind, it has working button cuffs and arrived with a perfect fit for me.  If you are curious as to how to buy jackets/sports coats/blazers in ebay with the best fit, please vist my earlier blog post:  Closeup - Harris Tweed - Vintage Green Barleycorn with Over Check and an eBay buyers guide

And did I mention how incredibly soft camel hair is?  It's cashmere soft!

The center back seam is perfectly matched:

The Close-ups: 
Provided for my own enjoyment and for that of my tweed obsessed brethren: Grey Prince of Wales Check with beige inter-check.  This cloth is beautifully woven:

I love my Camel Hair jacket and am sure that it won't be my last.  I actively looking for a classic beige now.

Gentleman's Knife Review No. 3 : Camarguais Knife - Great Regional French Knife

The Camargue is a region in Southern France on the Mediterranean coast famous for the huge Camargue river delta, for it's raising of black bulls, it's white Camargue horses and the cowboys who ride them And more recently it's knife making as well.  The Camarguais Knife knife company or Coutellerie Le Camarguais as it is know was founded in 1993 as a family business making wonderfully handmade knives that have quickly become very sought after among knife collectors worldwide.  

Featured prominently on its bolsters is the Camargue cross and on its spring back.the trident.
CAMARGUE CROSS is an emblem formed with a Latin cross whose upper ends represent a three-pronged fork or “trident” (a working tool used by “guardians” or cowboys) and whose lower end is a sea anchor topped by a heart. The Camargue Cross stands for the three cardinal virtues:
Cross of tridents for F A I T H,  Anchor for H O P E, and Heart for L O V E. 

The Trident is a tool used by the cowboys of the Camargue to control the bulls in a herd.  These are NOT the fish spearing tridents as wielded by Atlantis of popular imagination, but the much less aggressive versions used to prod the bulls:

In addition to the 'Trident' on the back lock (this is not a spring knife, but a locking spring), also features beautifully accomplished file work or chiseled work 'Guillochiert' here and along the back of the blade as well and even along the edges of the liners.  All this work being done by hand meaning no two knives are exactly alike.   

The handle scales of my knife are made from Olive wood, which I really love for its durability and beautiful wood grain pattern.  My knife is the model No. 12 - the blade is made from 12C27, a high-quality stainless steel from Sweden, which is often used by traditional knifemakers for its toughness, edge holding, and easy sharpening ability.   The overall knife length is 22cm and the blade length is 10.5cm.  There is also a model No. 10 available with the identical design but with a smaller overall length of 19.5cm and with a blade length of 9cm.  Both models are available with a number of blade option including a less decorated standard model and blades with various Damascus steel patterning and of course with a myriad of different handle material options including various woods, horn materials, antler and Mammoth Ivory.  I have been very happy with the quality and overall performance of my Olive handled Camarguais Knife.  Although, if I were to purchase this knife again, I think I would go for the model No. 10, for its more compact, easier to pocket size.  

Incedently I was inspired to purchase this knife my knife journalist Stefan Schmalhaus who's done a wonderful review of this knife on his YouTube channel.  If you like knives, I can highly recommend his channel as being extremely well made, entertaining and informative.  Beware, though, you'll be wanting to add to your knife collection, so hold on to your wallets.  I will say in mitigation that many of the French and Italian regional knives that Stefan reviews are not too expensive, so one can typically buy these handmade knives from just under 100 Euros for standard production models.  However, If you have a propensity of Damascus Steel blades and Mammoth handles, prices can mount quickly;-)

As you can see it's just about the same size as this Le Thiers knife by Chambriard with a 9.5cm blade:

I've made a pocket sheath for my knife form our 'Dirty Denim' African Goat leather from the Dangerous9straps Safari Leather Collection featuring Classic Tan Eel skin lining and hand saddle stitched using ecru French milled linen thread, which I think looks great with this olive wood of this knife.