Fashion accessories & designer ties Here you will find historic anecdotes about fashion, accessories and silk ties, textiles and the progress of silk weaving in England. Plus current news on emerging & established textile and fashion designers, Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 0 385 0 2367

Articles from Fashion accessories & designer ties

An Abstract Silk Tie 2007-06-22 05:12:00 As a stylist Vivienne Westwood has remained peerless for decades. From co-founder of the punk style to DBE, it’s been a long road out of Tintwistle to the international fashion arena and back again. She managed to tuck some big names under her belt along the way, like Wedgwood. And picked up a few best designer awards as well. Vivienne doesn’t waste breath giving lip service to originality and individuality, she lives them. Just a glance at her credentials will reveal this to be true and allay any doubt of her ability. Incorporating historic elements into contemporary styles has been the hallmark of Vivienne’s many successes over the past 30 years. Her label is recognised worldwide as an icon of British style. It’s a home grown classic with a proud heritage and a distinct provenance. Since its founding in England in the early 70’s, Vivienne Westwood has been synonymous with quality - as defined by the endurance, classicism and functionality that characterised its histor ...

A Short History about an English Madder Silk Tie 2007-06-13 00:56:00 The English madder silk tie is recognised worldwide as an icon of British style. It’s a home grown classic with a proud heritage and a distinct provenance. The “madder” part of this lovely phrase refers to a natural dye from a Eurasian herbaceous plant, Rubia tinctoria. Its continuing success through decades of rise and fall owe much too scientific intervention. The colouring agent in madder root called alizarin was in fact first chemically extracted and then synthesized in 1869 by two English chemists. Although the dyeing process, even today, requires a variety of painstaking steps, synthesized alizarin brought the price within the reach of commercial producers. Testimony to the significant part science plays ensuring the longevity of styles and textiles. Silk dyed in this manner is characterized by a dusty-looking finish and a feel (referred to as a chalk hand by the experts) very much like fine suede, and a matte finish. Continuing, madder ties adorn the necks of Englis ... History

Why choose a Michelsons Silk Tie? 2007-06-08 03:00:00 Michelsons was founded in 1937 and is the UK's leading manufacturer of silk ties and menswear accessories. Based in Sittingbourne in the County of Kent, Michelsons employs a workforce fully versed in the traditions and craftsmanship of fine neckwear manufacture, skills which they pride in the quality of their product and the fact that it is made in England. So far, so good, one reason to buy a Michelsons silk tie, at least you know where it comes from, wait there’s more reasons. If you’re going to expel energy searching, locating and purchasing a silk tie, it makes good sense to ensure that you’re getting something worthy of your efforts. Hastily choosing a cheap tie will mean repeating the whole process again far sooner than necessary, because the tie you got for a ‘bargain’ starts falling apart at the seams. £29.00 will get a high quality silk tie made in England by Michelsons from imported silks. Properly cared for it will last you many years. A lot of men would b ...

Katherine Hepburn’s Tailor made Blue Denim Jeans 2007-05-23 02:28:00 Katherine Hepburn famously epitomised the head strong career woman starring along side Spencer Tracey in “Adams Rib” one of the best romantic comedies ever made. She portrayed similar roles in other movies teaming up with Cary Grant on numerous occasions. She was famous for her love affairs with men like Howard Hughes and later Spencer Tracy, which lasted until his death. But there is one thing she’s not famous for, which slightly overshadows her roles and romps on and off the screen. In 1971 Katherine took the extraordinary step of ordering tailor made blue denim jeans from her late lover's Savile Row tailor. Hepburn's commission foreshadowed bespoke denim collections launched in 2006 by Timothy Everest and Evisu. Now, other famous celebrities like Jude Law are taking the step and ordering bespoke denim jeans at £180 a pop. Thirty years after the fact, denim has been elevated to a new level of acceptance. It’s not hard to imagine the possibility of denim suits appeari ...

Bolo: the Tie that won the west 2007-05-14 01:39:00 Have you ever seen Texans or Arizonians wearing what looks like a thin leather thong around their necks leading from a buckle at the shirt collar? If so you’ve probably thought it dates back to the Wild West. That’s what I thought until a little research revealed quite a surprise. It’s called a Bolo or Bola and proclaimed the official neckwear for Arizona. This must be one of the most original American styles, the Converse All Star being another; ironically its advent was the outcome of an accident. Had it not been for the loss of a hat in the wind and a quick thinking Arizonian, the style would never have come to fruition? It’s a bit like the story about the advent of the first school tie, another accidental style, which also involved hats and hat bands.In the late 1940s, a silversmith named Victor Cedarstaff went riding with friends in the Bradshaw Mountains outside Wickenburg, Arizona. When the wind blew his hat off, Cedarstaff removed the hatband, which had a silver buckle ...

Savile Row Anecdotes 2007-05-07 01:58:00 Savile Row has survived as the number one tailoring precinct in the world precisely because it has changed with the times. In fact, no other precinct is instantly recognisable by name anywhere else. Many styles that we take for granted today are embryonic of Savile Row. Here are a few examples of how Savile Row has remained at the forefront of sartorial innovation and how its new generations’, one after the other have set new standards through instituting change and at times causing a little controversy along the way. 1860Bertie, the rakish Prince of Wales, ordered a short smoking jacket to wear at informal dinner parties at Sandringham from his friend, the tailor, Henry Poole. It was the first dinner jacket on record and was cut in midnight blue cloth. In 1886, a Mr James Potter of Tuxedo Park, New York, was a houseguest at Sandringham. He consequently ordered a similar dinner jacket to Bertie's from Henry Poole & Co. It was this dinner jacket that Mr Potter wore at the Tu ...

SAVILE ROW PAST AND PRESENT EPISODE TWO 2007-05-02 01:39:00 In 1971 Maverick screen actress Katherine Hepburn, whose long-term lover Spencer Tracey was a customer of Huntsman, takes the extraordinary step of ordering bespoke denim jeans from her late lover's Savile Row tailor. Hepburn's commission foreshadows bespoke denim collections launched in 2006 by Timothy Everest and Evisu. Timothy Everest has launched a new service, where he is applying the same standards and techniques to his jeans as he does to his suits. The whole process takes four to six weeks, with three fittings by his tailors to refine every detail. Evisu was one of the first Japanese denim labels to become famous outside of Japan in the early Nineties. The brand’s founder, Hidehiko Yamane, bought vintage Levi’s looms to produce his artisan denim using traditional methods. You can even buy bespoke jeans. Katherine Hepburn created a style that elevated denim to a new level of acceptance. Thirty eight years later the style continues its climb up the ladder. ...

The Old School Tie, a style creation 2007-04-27 01:39:00 It’s well documented that in 1880, the rowing club at Oxford University's Exeter College, invented the first school tie. After an emotional win over their rivals, they celebrated by removing their ribbon hat bands from their boater hats and tying them, four-in-hand around their necks. When they ordered a set of ties, with the colours from their hatbands, they had accidentally created the modern school tie. School, club, and athletic ties appeared in abundance. Some schools had different ties for various grades, levels of achievement, and for graduates. Thanks to historians and their method of accurate documentation all the original college colours are still available from archived samples and replicate ties can be made to order. The four in hand knot used to tie their hat ribbons, which later became one of the most popular ways to tie a tie has its own unique origin. Coachman who lead a team of two horses en route would take the four reins, two for each horse, and tie them in ...

SAVILE ROW PAST AND PRESENT EPISODE ONE 2007-04-25 01:46:00 It wasn’t so long ago when Savile Row cabled information back and forth; one example can be evidenced way back in 1921, when, Crown Prince Hirohito of Japan commissioned Henry Poole & Co to create Westernized suits for his state tour of Britain. One of Poole's representatives sailed to Gibraltar with pattern templates where he met The Crown Prince aboard his destroyer. The final measurements were cabled to London so the order would be accomplished three weeks later when the Prince reaches the UK. Cabling as with email and online shopping has helped flatten and shrink the world. So no matter where you are in the world you can go to Savile Row by going online and purchasing some fine English made products. Shirts, suits, silk ties, hats and gloves are available for your pleasure and convenience. And just like in 1921 when Savile Row went to Crown Prince Hirohito in Gibraltar, online shopping comes to you no matter where you are. Have things changed all that much? Or just got ...

LONDON SQUARE MILE AND ITS MOVEABLE STYLE 2007-04-18 04:33:00 London’s square mile is the most affluent square mile in the world. Out of a total city Workforce of 336,000 there are 80,000 millionaires. Every year, city bonuses amount to around £20billion. The city of London is one of the most competitive, successful and vibrant places on earth. ‘London swings like a pendulum do, Bobbies on bicycles two by two’ It’s the third most popular destination for young travellers, the first being San Francisco USA and the third Sydney Australia. Style has billowed out of this city like smoke did from its factories during the industrial revolution, now it’s the style revolution. All roads lead to London, forcing cultures foreign and native to mingle. From this melting pot styles emerge representing all classes. The cockney cabbie occupy the same square mile as the millionaire, the cockney shares little in it’s takings but much in its fame and glory. His stereotype has been characterised in many famous West End and Broadway plays, and Holl ...

Cufflinks for collectors 2007-04-11 03:33:00 If Simon Carter is proclaimed “King of Cufflinks” then Ian Flaherty must certainly a contender for “Universal Monarch of Cufflinks” Visit Ian at his studio in Lavender Hill Clapham and you’ll find him working at the coal face with his subordinates, unafraid to get his hands dirty. A Scouser by birth and the son of a builder he chose a different career path that lead him out of working class Liverpool and into London, the fashion capitol of the world. After designing for many prestigious brand names Ian thought it was time to harness his energies and direct them toward developing his own brand. It’s been a long road from Liverpool, now his delightful cufflinks are displayed in some of the most famous department stores around the world, including Selfridges and John Lewis (UK), Nordstroms (USA) David Jones (Australia) plus stores in Japan with un-pronounceable names. The cufflink market is becoming more crowded as designer brands try to cash in on the growing populari ...

The price we pay for silk 2007-04-09 03:30:00 In Lao villages obscurely remote from the world we know an age old process continues with Loa women at the helm of wooden looms. Producing sublimely raw silk fabrics, they live and work in harmony with their environment supported by sustainable industry. In stark contrast to China where the silk industry is booming like never before, it’s bursting and the seams, spilling into the Yangtze River and polluting the moon and stars. China’s production of silk products has outgrown their ability to produce enough fabric, forcing them to source supply from international markets. It mirrors the nursery rhyme about the hare and the tortoise. Can China sustain its growth? Can Lao villages sustain their industry? We rely on our environment to support us, so protecting and nurturing our environment is essential to sustain life. Mr Robert Hawke Australian Prime Minister 1983 to 1995 once quoted “The way to global economic stability is through protecting your environment” he was immediate ...

From Genoa to Jeans and from Nimes to Denim 2007-04-02 06:30:00 I was going through my evening rituals, which amongst other things includes laying out a carefully planned set of clothes for the next work day. This saves me the hassle of clumsily fumbling through my mind in the early morning while the engine is still cold. The final selection accords to pre-planned activities for the day ahead. With this in mind I chose a denim shirt by King Gee (Australia), silk tie by Timothy Everest (Savile Row London), a pair of grey flannel trousers by Jaeger (England), for the feet, a pair of blue and white Converse All Stars (America), dark lightweight Harris Tweed jacket (England) and a leather belt by RM Williams (Australia) this is the gear you need for working at the coalface, functionality rules the way. I call it the lean-clean style, it’s casual by framework, loose and comfortable, but formalised enough with the introduction of neckwear. So I can get into action, throw off the jacket, roll the sleeves up, loosen the tie and get it done. Each item ...

Fashion or Style? 2007-03-20 02:07:00 Try to chart the course of fashion and you’ll need more than a sexton, compass and telescope, to navigate to its beginning. The rise and fall of fashion is like waves in a storm filled ocean. Charting the course of style is much easier, it has a known beginning, its progress can be documented and unlike the turbulent fluctuations of fashion, style dictates a constant theme that has the ability to cross cultural barriers and oceans. One prime example of style to note is Harris Tweed; it’s been constant through many decades of fashion fluctuations. The dark business suit dates back to the early nineteenth century, initiated by Beau Brummell, this style continues today. The tie dates back thousands of years. For the past eighty years the tie as we know it has remained pretty much the same. So let’s drop a few names of individuals who initiated styles, Coco Chanel, Jean Patou, Beau Brummell, Amelia Bloomer, Jessie Langsdorf, Tommy Nutter, Vivian Westwood, Oxford University, and Camb ...

Women in Uniform 2007-03-19 03:17:00 Although women have probably always adorned their necks, they did not wear neckties until the later 1800s. Feminine versions of men's neckties began to appear along with the more tailored clothing women wore while bicycling, skating, hiking, or boating. A pioneer of the Rational Dress Movement, Englishwoman Amelia Bloomer, invented a pair of long, loose woman's pants, which bear her name.Even more women began wearing ties, and trousers, during World War 1, as millions of women headed to offices and factories to fill the vacancies created by men at war. Women in uniform are so appealing, even more so in a suit and tie. A tie draped down a woman states the obvious on both sides and points the way, such a handsome package. ...