Warp & Weft

What is warp and weft really? It’s just the way they name the woven threads that make up textiles. I would tell you more but there is a danger of you hitting your face on the keyboard as you loose conciousness.

The next time I see this suit the backdrop will have changed to the streets of Venice.

Brown suits are often maligned in NZ exposing a seam of childhood horror as we recall our fathers polyester/wool nightmares.

Those days are gone. Embrace brown, better yet, prove your enlightenment & let brown embrace you. 

Matt sent me this just as the wedding season draws to a close for 2012. Making garments for weddings really is a privilege and seeing the wedding images is always a delight.

Sometimes it can be hard to justify the expense of tailor making but most are surprised to learn that it isn’t that much more than off the rack. The extra cost goes to ensure fit & cut plus a wide choice of cloth, not just in terms of colour/pattern but also in weight.

If you wear a suit to work every day then you can likely justify one of life’s more pleasant experiences.

Photographer: Anna Kernohan.

Earl & English appears on the cover of the new industry magazine Mr & Mrs. I am told there is a mention within as well, but I will have to wait until I get my copy.

Many thanks to Alex & Peggy.

Earl & English  is excited to announce a new relationship with The New Zealand Whisky Company. “Who?” I hear you ask.  Don’t worry, even they hadn’t heard of themselves until only recently. It seems that a large stock of superb whiskey has been unearthed in a long forgotten cellar in Oamaru.

We have several bottles of their finest in the studio for tasting including the amazing 1987.  Please visit their excellent website and discover for yourself just how surprising and exciting this is.

http://thenzwhisky.com/

Blue suits are big. Again. After many years in the wilderness they have made a strong return, particularly if the shade of blue tends toward the shade royal. The names of shades of blue are many and various and can cause confusion. Over the years I have myself become slightly confused about the variation between shades. Consequently I found this chart rather useful, just to reset my mind to the differences between them.

Are we witnessing a superstar in the making? Lately I have been wondering about the man this chap has yet to become. At age 26 it seems so much is possible. Only time will tell.

Alex donning his Earl & English 3 piece merino/cashmere suit. 

I love the drama of this photo, the grooms tension might be similar to the matador except Alex faces something infinitely more beautiful than a raging bull.

Look at this, just look at it. 8.5oz wool/mohair (16%) sharkskin.

I rest my case your honour.

Having difficulty concentrating on work? Hardly surprising, these are exciting yet troubled times. Still, no matter what is in store for us being well attired remains paramount. Look at Barrack for example, that man must struggle to concentrate on just buttering his toast, let alone anything else. Yet he still turns out immaculately doesn’t he? I think there is a lesson in there for all of us.

The first thing I did this morning was instruct my broker to sell everything and put the money into ostrich farming. I have swapped my worked up Hummer for a bicycle. There were no bidders on the yacht so I had the captain abandon her in the Virgin Islands.

There is one thing I won’t be doing and that’s letting myself go. I will be doing just the opposite and I suggest you do the same. Personal grooming & wardrobe will remain my number two priority after proper bicycle maintenance.

Ties are beautiful and you are mistaken if you think you don’t need them. I predict that in the not too distant future no tie may mean no job. Mind you, what does that mean? Doesn’t seem to have bothered anyone from Lehman Bros. I think one of them is bidding on my Learjet.

So, in conclusion, I encourage you all to liquidate your assets and re-invest in your appearance. After all, appearances are everything.

I grew up in this house. It’s in Takapuna, Auckland and the phone number was 492 985. Recently it sold for $825,000 which in 1977 would also have been a phone number.

Back then the house was divided into two flats. My brother and I shared a bedroom which featured ornate plaster work, a fire place and a built in cupboard & drawers. There was a dunny outside that Kerry & I had to use no matter the weather. Mum was always super fastidious and the inside toilet was all hers. We were about 5 or 6 when one winter we tired of the midnight trek outdoors and took the initiative to designate our built in cupboard as a urinal. To this day I have no idea why we thought this was such a good idea.

This innovation ended suddenly a few days later when Mum noticed the smell. She checked our beds first and finding nothing amiss she slowly swivelled her nose around the room, stopping only once it pointed directly at the cupboard. Kerry and I lay rigid in our beds, our optimism that she would be impressed faded like the end of a song.

That the house still stands is in itself, a miracle. We once attempted to light a small campfire under the laundry, which is now the kitchen. Looking back that doesn’t seem like a particularly good idea either.

I still love this house and I think about it all the time. Fortunately most of my ideas are a little more sound these days.

Images courtesy Ilse Evans, Harcourts Takapuna.

I saw this image on the net and was transfixed. When I came to I immediately knicked it from the excellent Style Salvage blog and posted it up. What is so special about this photo? Look at the colours. Autumnal orange & brown mixed so beautifully, the perfectly matched checks on the sleeve head and breast welt, the roped crown (the puffed up bit where the sleeve meets the shoulder) the rounded shirt collar under a schoolboy knotted tie and that spectacular kerchief so perfectly placed. It adds opulence to such a vintage look. I am in awe of this.