 Wishing all here in India a Happy Republic Day! We hope you enjoy this sartorial post on “buttoning etiquette”.
Interestingly and lesser known, the "sometimes, always, never" rule for jackets also dates back to King Edward VII.
It was during his time that the modern day lounge suit started to appear, originally as a 3 button single breasted jacket as a more comfortable dress for riding. As it was a riding jacket the bottom button had to be undone as it fell below the waistline. This new style of jacket became hugely popular during Edward’s reign and he decided that it “looked common” to wear with the top button fastened, thus leaving just the middle button to fasten his coat. And so began another trend that goes on to this day. For more fun facts, suiting advice & impeccable tailoring book an appointment with one of our tailoring experts today!
2 Comments
Through the ages storytelling has taken many forms; including the written word, song, dance, painting, couture looks and designer collections. Every human culture has a method of storytelling, each is uniquely special and beautiful in a myriad of ways. Nearly all share a common theme, passing on the history of a culture to the next generation.  To share a couple of interesting examples: Native Hawaiians passed their values, traditions, history and cultural practices through chants, song, hula and verse. ‘Mele Hula’ meaning song and dance are chants performed with dance and/or musical instruments. What is really interesting here, is that the Hula dancers don’t dance to the beats of music but to the words of tales of mythology and creation. Without the words the dance means nothing. The Bayeux Tapestry in all it’s beauty captures a historical event that changed a country, the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. Interestingly it is neither tapestry nor was it made in Bayeux.  It is eight strips of linen with embroidery work in different coloured woolen threads (to be a tapestry it would need to be woven not embroidered). The tapestry depicts a military invasion from the perspective of the victors, (history is always written by the winners!) It is a spirited telling of the story featuring nude figures & corpses, blood & gore, birds & beasts as well as scenes from fables, agriculture and hunting. No wonder it has been imitated by cartoonists in recent history, especially by political satirists. After relocating Vanguard Bespoke’s HQ to Delhi, Mighel has been fascinated with the rich Indian culture that uses textiles and surface ornamentation to tell stories; from everyday scenes to epic tales. The techniques used themselves are as diverse as they are marvelous.
Supporting local craftspeople Vanguard Bespoke are now creating unique and modern scenes to adorn our suits and Bangladhalas. Rich in colour and decoration these fabrics create special pieces for special days, that will be cherished for a lifetime. The pictures below will end up making a wedding tuxedo jacket. In midnight blue velvet, (made ever popular for tuxedo's today by Daniel Craig's James Bond) the jacket will feature an intricate scene in black and black metallic embroidery. This colour combination is a classy option for someone who wants to show an appreciation for this fine art form but still abide by some suiting norms; such as colour codes in tuxedo's.
In work with Vanguard Bespoke's craftspeople is another piece which has a little more pazazz. Based on an Indian safari theme it features lions, tigers, peacocks and cheetahs in a rich colour palette. Individually designed for one of our patrons this cloth is heavy with Zari-Zardosi hand embroidery, a single jacket can take up to three months to create. Once finished our talented tailors will sculpt the fabric into a perfectly fitted Wedding Bandhgala.
Should you wish to create such a special bespoke piece get in touch with our tailoring experts. As with every Vanguard Bespoke piece we will create something truly unique for you, just leave plenty of time for our the craftspeople to create their magic!
As we move into 2020 let's look back at 1920’s, the fashions and more importantly the suits that defined the era.  The roaring twenties, as they are known, had a lot going on; economic growth, jazz, art deco, androgyny and women's rights movements. A period of decadence between two world changing wars, the 1920's were one of the most influential in changing the fashion scene. Men and women started abandoning century old norms and embraced more comfortable styles. 
A classic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald that was turned into a film, first in 1974 the again in 2013; an epic movie by Baz Luhrmann. The movie particularly exhibited the best of both casual and more formal twentie's styles. The formal diversity of men’s twenties style DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby showcased the best of neutral tailoring. Joel Edgerton’s (as Tom Buchanan) style displayed the sporty influence of the twenties and Toby Maguire’s (as Nick Carraway) hinged on a more playful aesthetic. 
It was in 1923 that was the launch of the first ladies suit by designer Coco Chanel. The Chanel Suit was a collarless, boxy jacket and a straight or A-line skirt; the suits would often be decorated with braid trim or metallic buttons in jersey or a tweed made of boucle yarn which has a distinctive nubby appearance. Coco herself started sporting trouser suits in the 1920's but it took two more decades for trousers to become everyday acceptable wear for women.
One century on we find ourselves at a turning point in suiting norms not dissimilar to what we saw in the 1920’s. The 2020 modern man continues to embrace this formality but with playfulness of textures and colours and always keeping comfort in mind. In 2020 Women’s equality and parity in the workplace is still not where it should be. Yet as more women break through the glass ceiling, the Women’s Power Suit is still a wardrobe staple, continuing the legacy started a century ago by the suffragettes & Coco Chanel. So in 2020, what roaring bespoke pieces will you be adding to your wardrobe? Discuss it with our tailoring expert today  We all have friends that we 'benefit’ and enrich our lives from. You would ask a friend to help you pick out an outfit for an important day or if you had to pick a restaurant, wouldn’t you go by the recommendation of a friend rather than a flashy advertisement? The reason we do this is the trust we hold in our friends and loved ones. So if you love our impeccable tailoring and trust us, you can help us get the ‘Vanguard Bespoke’ word out. As a special thank you, for every recommendation passed on (and we receive an order for a bespoke suit) you will receive a bespoke chino or a bespoke shirt from our luxury range, absolutely free! We have been running this promotion for the past three months and have given away over 50 rewards to date. To show our ongoing appreciation for you; our valued patrons, we are extending this promotion until the end of November. Everyone ‘benefits’, hence the title! :-) There is no better advertisement than a recommendation & our happy patrons wearing more Vanguard Bespoke creations than before.  T&C's
 In our ongoing ending quest to curate and bring the best tailoring fabric library to our customers, we are very excited to start carrying some books from another UK mill, Bateman & Ogden.
Nowadays, for the traditional gentleman these make great blazers for sporting events such as regattas and cricket matches. For the more fashion-savvy, these would make statements pieces that can easily be teamed up with chinos or jeans. For women especially these would make excellent business and semi-formal dress. These striking stripes would make a bold statement and the stripes would add an elongating appearance.
Blazers in these luxurious British fabrics are available from:
25k INR, 30k BDT, 350 GBP As the new season approaches we are receiving a number of new & updated books in our vast library. Mighel continues to visit the top fabric mills around the world to ensure we have an unrivaled selection of fabrics for you to choose from for any occasion. Today we would like to highlight an exciting new range of linings we have added to our library for a mill in north Italy. This collection of 50 designs inspired by nature, life, hobbies & travel. Printed on a lightweight silky, satin cloth these are great for summer and winter suits alike. Below is a selection of some of Mighel's favourite designs from the book, with such a variety to choose from we are sure there will be at least a few that will speak to any of our patrons.  These may not be for the fainthearted, but do remember the lining of your suit is rarely seen by anyone but you, so it is a great way to express your personality; even inside a very classic work suit.
Book an appointment to see these and some of the gorgeous new fabric designs, colours, patterns & ranges we have to offer.
If you have a suit that you love the fit of bring it with you. We will look at it together and deduce if the style, silhouette & cut is the most flattering for you. Even if there are some things you don't like this is a great starting point. If you are buying something for a special occasion and you already have the shoes or shirt that will be worn with the suit, it's great to bring these so we can make sure we create something that will compliment.
Ultimately, we want you to be comfortable throughout our consultation. Though you may wish to wear something that shows your personal style and the tailored look you’re hoping to achieve with your next garment, there’s no rule to say this is necessary. Because, of course, we will be able to visualize and create your perfect suit whatever you wear for you consultation.  We are excited to announce some new, Vanguard Bespoke exclusive ranges to our extensive fabric collections. We have sourced some sumptuous new shirt fabrics for our in house ranges. 100% giza cotton, in light to medium weights, imported directly from Italy, these are in house exclusives and strictly limited. We will only import enough of these fabrics to make ten shirts per fabric design and once finished we will not be replenishing our stocks. So reserve your lengths today and don't miss out! Every month we will be taking delivery of new limited edition designs, so keep checking our blog for the latest collection.
In addition to these fantastic new shirt fabrics we have also up'ed our chino game. We now carry 2 in house ranges and 3 mill bunches of chino fabrics which come in a myriad of weights, finishes and colours.  Click here to book an appointment today.
5. Weight of cloth is not the most important factor.
This may seem wrong but refer back to points 1-4. A tightly woven, light-weight, fully lined, black suit in a wool blend is going to be much hotter to wear than an open weave, mid-weight, pale coloured, unlined suit in a pure wool. That said, you don't really want to go over a 12 Oz fabric for summer time even if it ticks all the above boxes. Here at Vanguard we have carefully curated a selection of over 6000 fabrics from the world's best mills. Within our range we have specifically sourced fabrics that would be perfect for tropical weather. Book an appointment today, we are now in Delhi, Mumbai, Dhaka, London. Traditionally the reserve of bankers on wall street, the striped navy suit is extremely adaptable and doesn't have to look overly corporate. These are some of the ways you can adapt this wardrobe staple for different occasions and to show your personality.
|
Vanguard Journal
Welcome to the Vanguard journal. Here you can find some great suit tips & learn about our products. Archives
September 2023
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed