Oxford strip OCBD shirt, Chinos and Grey Crew Neck Sweater from Arket

Some items in a traditional man's wardrobe are simply essential, must have staples.  The Oxford strap Oxford Cloth Button Down (OCBD) shirt, a quality pair of chinos and an Oxford Grey crew-neck wool sweater are unquestionable such items.  I'm convinced that given these wardrobe staples are in heavy rotation, they needn't be super expensive items with diligent shopping, one can find great quality clothing generally for prices that won't break the bank.  Having been referred to Arket via a post I saw on Instagram, touting their chino work trousers sent me to their website where I found these 3 pieces which appeared to be extremely well thought out and executed and at prices that even my rather frugal budget can afford. Arket is a Swedish company which specialized in high-quality clothes for man, women, and children as well as housewares at reasonable prices.

Oxford Stripe OCBD:

I had been shopping for a good quality OCBD shirt for a while to add to my rotation and the shirt from Arket seemed to fit the bill nicely.  I know there are a hand full of old-line companies which are famous for these shirts such as Brooks Brothers, Mercer & Sons, J. Press, and Japan's Kamakura, all of which, I'm sure making excellent quality shirts, but their pricing with import duties into Germany make these options price prohibitive for me.  Arket's Shirt 3 Oxford has most of the details I was looking for including 100% organic cotton content and genuine Trocas shell buttons for a fraction of the price.  Made from a nice heavy weight Oxford cloth, this really feels like a quality item that will last years and break-in nicely and become softer with wear.

Kahki Organic Cotton Chinos:

Arket Cotton Chinos are made from high quality 100% Organic cotton (these in dark beige) medium-weight twill are pretty Ideal in terms of fit and finish made with a slim, but not too slim, these chinos while not high waisted, these just about have the ideal fit

Merino Crewneck Sweater in Grey Melange:

This Merino sweater again in nicely made with large ribbing at cuffs, neck, and waist, and knitted using a wonderful multi-hued melange grey yarn. I purchased their size large, which fits well my 44-inch chest and 6-foot,2-inch frame.

Knitted in a plain jersey knit, this jumper is made of RWS certified merino wool. RWS stands for Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) which makes it possible to trace the material all the way back to the farm.  For full details, I recommend a visit to the Arket website.

Bravestar Selvege Denim Fade Update

While I know that many traditional dress gentlemen are not lovers of denim, I dear readers are not one of them.  I think that a good pair of jeans can look great when combined with tweeds of all sort and they are a staple of my wardrobe.  The ruggedly built selvage denim trousers from BraveStar Selvage made up from Cone Mills 15oz denim cloth in their 'Slim Taper' cut are my favorites.  You'll find an earlier review from a little more than a year ago and in that review, this pair was a bit over 2 years old and had a nice fad going.  I thought it would be useful to do an update on how the fad has progressed.  I think that perhaps these have been washed a couple more times.  I wash them inside out using a short wash in the machine and hang them dry. 

Denin Maintenance and Repair: 

Additionally, I have had some repairs done to the back crotch area a common failure point for my denim for some reason and a minor repair has been done to the front right of the denim due to thining wear through wear my pocket knife sits in my pocket.  One thing to note about denim jeans is that they can over time develop holes in certain wear spots.  I prefer to have these professionally repaired as soon as possible (ideally before a hole fully wears through) with reinforcement and darn-stitched in a way which renders the repair nearly invisible.  Many alteration tailors or denim specialist can do this work for you and thereby substantially extend the service life of your beloved denim. 

Areas of reinforcement and darning repair in the seat: 

Reinforcement and darning repair in the pocket area:

Wonderful, Top Quality Shirts from Cordings Piccadilly, London

 

  

I received these 3 wonderful shirts from Cordings Piccadilly a couple of months ago, but I am so far behind with my posts here in this blog, I am only now able to make this blog post.  Please don't for a second think that it's because I am any less than completely delighted with them.  I purchased these shirts on-line of the Cording Piccadilly website just a little after my trip to London this past autumn, where I was happy to make the pilgrimage to their wonderfully historic old store just a block or two down the street from the famous Piccadilly Circus.   On that visit, I also purchased a navy blazer for my wife as well as a necktie and pocket square for myself (these shown here as well).   One thing to know is that Cordings has special shirt sales a couple time per year where you can purchase their wonderful shirts at a great discount, so it is really worth signing up to their Newsletter to request notifications of their ongoing specials.  These shirts are of a quality that at full price they are still very much a bargain, but who doesn't like to save a little hard earned money!

 Packing is top notch and shipping very fast to me here on the continent as well, whichalwayslway appriciated!

The Light Blue and Green shirts are made from a really nicely weighted herringbone cloth, which while 100% cotton, have a flanneled finish which gives them a very welcome softness and warmth for the cooler months.  The Tattersall shirt is a blend of 80% cotton and 20% fine merino wool (not a hint of scratchiness) which also offers a great layer of warmth during our cooler Bavarian 3 season weather.  Of course, the excellent detailing such as mother of pearl buttons are what you would expect from a premium heritage brand such Cordings.

The cut of these shirts is generous, while not being too full by any means - the result being great freedom of movement without the slightest blousiness  (in neither the body or the arms) that I had worried about before their arrival.  The sleeve length is perfect at about 36 inches.  And, what I especially like is that these shirts are cut extra-long about 1 1/2 inches in the front and 2 full inches in the back - the result being that once they are tucked, these shirts stay tucked.  Finally no more tucking and re-tucking my shirts throughout the day - an inconvenience I find with every other shirt I own.  They are as advertised designed by Cordings to be used for hunting and to allow for freedom of movement and I must say that they really do know their business in that regard!  Once again, bravo Cordings.

(Pardon the wrinkles, these photos were taken with the shirt right out of the box)

Upon my visit to their store this past autumn, as I mentioned earlier, I picked up necktie and pocket square for my self, both of which I am very happy with.  The necktie is made from a high-quality 100% silk strip weave with a 'Ducks on the Wing' motif embroidered, the silk pocket square features animal depictions along the perimeter with a lovely paisley patterned center - just absolutely wonderful with a hand rolled and stitched edge.  Best, it is oversized from my other pocket squares at 45cm, which allow for its use as a neckerchief or bandana as well.