New year, new you  

 

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Women's Coats

Every year there are countless new coat designs and colours that make real fashion statements and we all troop to the high street to get the latest one. However, a really great coat can be a real investment if you opt for a timeless design. Spending a little more on quality will ensure you have a coat that lasts and always looks good.

This winter there are plenty of styles that will see you through more than one season. Longer coats are great as they will go with almost anything, chic during the day with work wear and glamorous in the evening with a floor length dress.

Statements lapels will ensure you stand out and look sophisticated as well as a classic colour such as navy, grey, beige or black. Patterns look great but won’t necessarily see you through all future trends so choose a plain colour for versatility. 

Belted styles are also key, a great way to maintain your shape and not be swamped by your coat. Choose a style where the belt is optional so you have more ways to wear the coat, with or without or even substitute your own!

 

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Men’s overcoats

It is that time of the year again when one needs to put on slightly more than a suit and shirt before leaving the house. If you spend time and money making sure your suit is right then it is a crime to cover it with something that makes any less of an impression. 

Single-breasted

Single breasted are clearly the most popular style of overcoat, usually in a dark colour and knee length. This is mainly due to it’s versatility, wear it with or without a scarf or turn up the collars for extra protection from the elements. Single breasted suits also make you look taller and slimmer and often have more professional connotations. 

Double breasted

This is not to say that double breasted are not a great choice too, there are lots of double breasted styles around this winter. The neck break will generally be higher and usually the coat is worn shorter than a knee length single breasted style. Typically the collar will be much higher too, often worn standing up, James Dean style. These are often more casual coats.

Pea Coat

The pea coat is another classic coat that will stand the test of time. Again these tend to be double breasted with high collars but with much more detail which makes the look a lot more casual. These originate from military use so they vary massively in style and you can also now find them with hoods. 

Chesterfield coat colours

Colour is key this Autumn Winter, rich reds and burgundys in particular but for a classic overcoat that will stand the test of time why not try a stylish grey or charcoal. Navys are great too as well as camel colours if you’re feeling brave.

 

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Fashion Faux Pas

When it comes to men’s fashion, trends and styles will come and go but some things will always remain the same. Whilst we believe that you should try to experiment with new looks and ideas there will still always be some staple rules with how you dress that should never be ignored!

For instance, probably the most common fashion faux pas is socks and sandals yet you still see so many men who fail to notice how truly awful this looks. As soon as the sun comes out the shorts go on, and so too do the socks and sandals. Although it has to be said that this is better  than the catastrophic shorts, socks and dress shoes!

Another rule that seems to go unnoticed by the male population is colour. Getting the balance right is crucial, too many different ones and you’ll look like Krusty the Clown, but too few and you’ll be as beige as your grandad. Generally stick to the rule of 3, no more than 3 colours or shades will ensure you have the balance just right.

Wearing the wrong size is a mistake made by the majority of the population, not just men. Know your size - wearing clothes that are too big or small for you will only make you appear larger than you are. Wearing the right size will make you appear smarter and more together, you’ll also feel more confident knowing that you look good.

Similarly, scruffiness is simply unforgivable, unless you’re at home cleaning the bathroom. Never go out in public with crumpled shirt collars, stained trousers or a wonky tie unless you want to risk an embarrassing ‘standing out from the crowd for all the wrong reasons‘ moment. Have a bit of pride in how you look, iron the shirt before you wear it and put clothes in the wash if they’re dirty so you don’t wear them again!

Also, Simon Cowell is not a style icon. High waisted may be a trend for women but unless you want to commit a serious fashion crime stay away from anything that sits too high on your waist. Similarly, steer clear of ‘ankle swingers,’ the hem of your trousers should sit in the middle of the heel of your shoe. You’ll also know if they’re too long because they’ll sit lower than this and have more than one crease or fold at the front.

Finally, although it doesn’t involve getting dressed, grooming is something that should never be skipped from your daily routine. You can wear a great outfit and get everything else right, but ruin it all by not considering your body. Have regular hair cuts, spend a few more minutes shaving so that you don’t miss a patch and ALWAYS clean your teeth. Clean and tidy nails is another area missed by many as is body odour. Before you leave the house, imagine meeting yourself for the first time, would you be impressed? If not, go back indoors and finish getting ready!

 

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Fashion Shows

Head & Griffiths have recently taken part in some fashion shows alongside Midlands networking group Friday 13th. The fashion shows were designed to be fun events for networking group guests, an opportunity to enjoy an evening of champagne and canapés and see some of our latest designs.

It was great for us to be able to showcase our suits, especially as our models were our customers - the best people for the job! It was difficult keeping their identities under wraps in the run up to the shows but it was all worth it on the night and everyone had a great time. 

 

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Wedding Suits

Getting the right suit for your wedding day can be a headache. You want to look fantastic on your special day but can't find what you're looking for in the shops, or maybe you're not sure what you're looking for?

If you like the idea of having some matching elements to the look of the Groom, best men and ushers some options that have come up include:

- Matching ties
- Matching cloth
- Matching details
- Matching waistcoats
- Matching embroidery
- Matching shirts

It is so important to make sure that everyone looks just how you want on your wedding day. If you want people to match then it can look really slick.

The best thing about getting personalised for your groomsmen is you can keep the garments for  pleasure/work/special occasions in the future.

Why waste money on hiring.

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The Shift Dress

An essential part of any woman's working wardrobe should be a shift dress. Simple, elegant and stylish, it not only looks good but it's a time saver too - you don't have to spend ages in the mornings trying to find something that goes with it - just chuck it on and you're good to go!

As you walk to work you'll notice just how many women have taken to the shift dress as their work outfit of choice. They are everywhere. Understandably too as it's so versatile. Pair it with a smart jacket and heels for an ultra professional look and then lose the jacket and add some quirky accessories and you're ready for an evening socialising. 

The shift dress is the ultimate in timeless style. Choose a simple design, quality fabric and classic colour, and you'll have a dress that will last you a lifetime and will be wearable all year round.

 

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Personalised Garments

 

At Head & Griffiths we pride ourselves on offering a very personal service. Cutting every suit by hand means we can provide you with a garment with personal touches, which are unique and special to you. Stepping into a suit, which is exclusively yours, is quite an incomparable feeling.

Personal embroidery inside a suit or on a shirt cuff can really express your personality. It may be a simple as your name or initials. It could be a phrase, quote, company name or whatever it is that defines you. This instantly distinguishes your garment and makes it that little bit more special. But, how much does personal embroidery cost? Well, at Head & Griffiths we like to offer it to our clients absolutely free, because we're nice like that.

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Silk Linings

The beauty of having a made-to-measure suit is you'll have a garment that fits you perfectly.  Having the opportunity to create something using the cloths you have selected can be a proud moment for any customer.

As well as being able to choose from a variety of suit cloths, you may also choose from a whole wealth of lining options in silk. Choose from a range of plain silks or perhaps one of our silk pattern linings to give your Head & Griffiths suit the wow factor.  

If you wish to book an appointment with us to view some of our suit and lining cloths simply click the links below.

Personal Fitting Service

Traveling Tailor Service

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Silk Tie

Socks, pants and ties. Think of a Christmas present to get your Dad or uncle Dave and these are the three items, which usually crop up such is the stereotype. Patronising socks for each day of the week, underwear with jingle bells on and a tie with a snowman on. Yuk.

However, Head & Griffiths are doing their best to break the taboo of giving ties for Christmas with their new range of 100% silk ties. The quintessential item to complete any suit not just for Christmas....but for life.

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Wool cashmere overcoat

 

With the recent freezing temperatures we can bet your overcoat is coming in handy at the moment. Our fully made to measure overcoats use wool cashmere cloths and you have the opportunity to add your own personal touches to them in the same way you do with our made-to-measure suits. Wearing a good overcoat is very much like putting on your favorite suit - if it's something a little special and unique, you'll want to wear it again and again.

For more information regarding our overcoats please contact us

Or if you wish to book a fitting simply click one of the links below

Personal Fitting Service
Traveling Tailor Service

 

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Luxury Leather Bags 

For the man who does a lot of traveling, these leather bags make carrying your belongings easy and classy.

Contact us on 0116 361 2097 if you are interested in purchasing these bags

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One Made-to-Measure Suit

At Head & Griffiths we offer the wearer the opportunity to create something that is just about him....a garment that looks and feels unique.

Here are some useful tips to keep an eye out for when you're purchasing your tailoring 

 

Is your suit fully canvassed? Semi-canvassed? Or not canvassed at all?!

Canvas in a suit gives it structure, shape and strength throughout a suit jacket. If your jacket isn't canvassed it may be 'fused'. This is where glue is used to fuse (as you can see these names took ages to come up with) the fabric together and so make it appear a lot stiffer. The glue is water resistant so on a hot summers day, all the moisture coming from your body has no where to go and so you can literally stick to your suit. This makes fused suits quite uncomfortable to wear. A semi-canvas jacket will still give it this structure but merely around the chest area and the rest will be fused. This sounds appealing, however it is a little like having Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton driving for the same team. It doesn't work together properly so a full canvas suit will always look, travel and drape better. 

 

Is your suit hand cut?

If you are fortunate enough to have your suit made-to-measure it will be hand cut. Cutting every suit by hand means we can match up all the pinstripes and patterns in a cloth. This gives itself a much cleaner finish. It may appear to be a small detail, however it is something, which will separate your suit from the rest.

Made-to-measure suits give you choice

Whether it be when buying food or a brand new car, we like to have choice don't we? Along the high street you can be limited to just navy and grey cloths. Having a suit made-to-measure gives you choice from a whole range of premium cloths and lining fabrics.

Practicality helps to give a suit longevity 

There are little extras within a made-to-measure suit to improve your suits life, which you can sometimes struggle to find when purchasing a suit on the high street. Padding in the trousers and around the armholes, tapering around the hem of the trousers will reduce wear and tear.

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Off-the-peg or made-to-measure suits? 

For the average man it seems logical that an off the peg suit should fit. So why have I not found one person that says this is so?

I spend most of my time meeting people who wear suits regularly and most say that they usually buy a suit that is off the peg. M&S have the autograph collection which often gets a reasonable response, but still people find that they are settling for a jacket too big just so the sleeves fit them correctly. Even a few people who say “I am pretty lucky I can walk into an off the peg suit and it fits perfectly” could often look better with having some adjustments made to their current look.

However, is it worth it? You can get an off the peg suit from Tesco for around £50. You'll wear it two or three times and chuck it - it's certainly not going to like being dry-cleaned. Topman offers suits for £125 to £225. The more expensive suits from Topman coming from other brands. The Suits on the cheaper end of the scale are over 50% polyester and will certainly not last the same length of time as a suit from a quality cloth. However, the suits on the top end of the scale are a collection from Ben Sherman, which look fine for the job hunter who doesn't want to look cheap. So, a good off the peg suit for the aspirational gentlemen is likely to cost you around £250 yet still may not fit correctly. More than anything, a good fitting suit is what will separate you from others so it is paramount that this is right.

What about our designer friends Hugo, Paul and Ted? Paul Smith’s suits start at £479 off the peg, they’re well made and will take a bit of a battering however, they are often semi canvassed. This sounds appealing however, a fully canvassed suit will give it better structure, shape and strength, and so will always drape better. Ted Baker and Hugo Boss are similar in their construction to suits from Paul Smith. They're not better than a suit from M&S, the cut may be preferred, or even the brand name for that matter.

Gieves & Hawkes start at £695 and going up to £1,895 for off the peg. These suits are going to be well made and have good fabric and last but they still may not fit. Like designer suits, here your money is going towards the Savile Row reputation. It’s easy to say that if you pay more it will last longer and if you pay less it doesn’t matter. Isn’t the most important thing about a suit to look and feel great? If you know you look fantastic this positive energy is passed on to the people around you. I know I would prefer this to knowing that you have paid a lot for a suit and it should look expensive. 

If you could get something that looks great, but be safe in the knowledge that it fits perfectly, surely this makes sense?

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Branding Your Tailoring

Head & Griffiths appreciates the importance of making a good first impression. You reflect your company, so it is important to dress to impress and have a team around you that likewise, shares your ambition for looking good, whether it’s when meeting clients, giving a presentation or just having a few drinks after work. It might be that your company wants to adopt a uniform or a particular corporate style for a team of employees and there are few ways in which to do that.

Cloth

Cloths have various personalities and connotations so it is important to choose a cloth that communicates your brand in the right way. For example a wide rope pinstripe has associations with bankers and high flyers so it's important to think about what your suit cloth says about you. There might be a particular colour pinstripe or Prince of Wales check which links in with your branding.

Style

Like the cloth what does the style of your jacket say about you and your company? If you offer financial services is a double-breasted jacket appropriate? Or if you're in a creative industry perhaps you want a single breasted jacket with a neat trim to best portray your creative style. A waistcoat in a contrasting cloth may be the way to give your tailoring the brand treatment.

Lining

It may be hidden away but one of the more obvious places to incorporate your brand in your tailoring is with the lining colour. We have a whole wealth of colours to choose from so you can be guaranteed to find something that is right for you and your employees. This can then be linked with nice subtle details around the suit like coloured buttons, button hole stitching on the sleeve or lapel, lapel stitching and so on.

Embroidery

Typically embroidery is reserved for just the name of the owner of the suit. However, it is very much open to interpretation and more importantly what you want to have embroidered on the inside or outside your suit jacket. It could be the name of your company or just the initials of your company. Or it could your company's memory hook - 'Live well, feel great', 'Profit from good advice' or 'Law in your language'.

 

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Mark Selby

Around Leicestershire in your local pubs and cafés you should be able to spot the latest issue of Soar Magazine. If you can't then there is a link here so you can download it. Inside you'll find an article on Snooker's Mark 'The Jester from Leicester' Selby who we made a suit jacket and shirt for his interview with the magazine. The jacket worn by Mark is a shawl collar with contrasting trim and patch pockets. It's been an absolute pleasure dealing with Mark and we were very fortunate to have a small editorial in the magazine which we have to thank Mukesh for making possible. If you haven't done so already, make sure to read our article with Mark now!

http://www.soarmagazine.co.uk

 

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Plus size tailoring 

Tailoring is for gentlemen of all shapes and sizes with the real aim being to highlight your assets and hide what you don’t like. If you often have to buy plus size clothing then there are some hints and tips that can help to make you look and feel better in the clothes you’re wearing. 

Cut 

It’s important that the cut is flattering and not overly baggy. It may be more comfortable to have extra space but this wont make you look as good as you can do. To have fabric snug around your stomach and arms can work to create light between them, giving the appearance of a more slender physique. 

However, this does not mean that the tighter the better, having pull lines from the buttons is not a good look for anyone.

Shoulders

Having broad shoulders on a jacket can draw attention away from areas you want to hide. This is something that a good tailor will highlight with you. Considerably larger shoulders would not be suitable but squarer shoulders can make your waist appear smaller.

Trousers

Baggy suit trousers can give the impression that you are bigger than you actually are. Having fitted trousers with a suitable hem, will not only feel comfortable but will make you look great too.

Colour

Choosing colours that will improve your figure is important. Black has always had the reputation of being able to hide your physique. However, a charcoal, dark grey or navy colour is equally as flattering. Most importantly wear a colour you feel comfortable in as feeling good will make you look better.

Length 

The length of the jacket should be enough to cover the largest part of your bottom. A jacket which is too long in length can make you look drowned in fabric and appear bigger. The length of a traditionally cut jacket should reach your thumb when your arm is relaxed. If you are below 6" it is important not to have a jacket too long as it will make you look smaller and larger. 

 

The combination of these tips will hopefully help you to get the best fitting suit. Sometimes just by doing one of them can make all the difference. The next time you purchase a suit, why not have it made-to-measure to ensure you are always looking your best.

 

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What kind of party doesn't have a DJ?

 

You can picture it now can't you? Sitting down on Christmas day - you've got you're huge turkey in the oven, wrapped Head & Griffiths presents are under the tree, copious amounts of booze chilling in the cellar. But wait - what are you going to wear to all those glamorous events you've been invited to?

Well, a dinner jacket naturally. It is perhaps the quintessential item for any man's wardrobe. Whether you hire or have purchased a dinner jacket, ready-to-wear items can all look very much the same. However, how about a made-to-measure dinner jacket?

Although there are some rules to black tie dress, there is considerably more room for variation unlike white tie dress, which is typically worn at banquets, balls and if you're in the mood, the opera. Why not choose a wool cashmere black cloth with a subtle birds eye pattern? Perhaps a black silk trim or collar? It could even be double breasted. No one said the lining had to be black so why not opt for a rich purple silk lining?

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Double breasted jackets

Double-breasted jackets are back again this winter. The intention of the double-breasted jacket originally was to hide a fuller figure. However, now the cut is much has been brought right up to date. 

Now, its all about broad shoulders and slim cuts - highlighting the ideological masculine physique. Opt for a longer lapel line that extends into the waist. This will create height and a slimmer waist. This more contemporary cut paired with some traditional cloths - pinstripe, herringbone and houndstooth - will give your jacket that 'classics with a twist' look.

You’ll also be pleased to hear that you can revive your waistcoat from the depths of the wardrobe this season as we see more and more men in three-piece suits. Similarly with the double-breasted jacket, in order to highlight a slim waist you want to have a waistcoat with a deep v-shape. However, for the style conscious individual, waistcoats with more than five buttons and a shorter v-shape are really big this season.

 

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Shirt cuffs

Whether it be a single or double cuff there are a number of ways you can inject some personality into your shirt cuffs. Monogramming shows that your shirt is made just for you. Some people don’t like to have it however there are other ways to show character as well. 

A flash of colour or an alternative pattern or fabric inside a double cuff offers interest. Together with a set of colour co-ordinated cufflinks works really nicely. Why not go one step further by cutting away some of the outer fabric to reveal more of the colour beneath? Either at the corner or even a strip along the top can be a unique twist depending on your preference. You could even have your silk jacket lining inside the cuff.

Buttons are such an understated part of any shirt but can make a massive difference turning a plain white shirt into a personalised garment that you’re proud to wear. Why not match the buttons on the cuff with a tie you like? All off this can be achieved with a little thought and the right tailors.

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Castro's Dumb & Dumber Suit

 

We don't just make suits for work. One of the great advantages of having a Head & Griffiths suit is that we can pretty much cater for everything . All of our garments are completely made-to-measure, so it doesn't matter whether you're as thin as a stick or built like a rugby player.

Martin Castrogiovanni who plays for local rugby team Leicester Tigers, came to us with the idea of getting a made-to-measure suit which replicated the style of Jim Carrey's infamous orange suit in the film Dumb and Dumber. It was worn over the summer, so we opted for a much lighter orange linen cloth, complete with linen cummerbund and bow tie. His orange sorbet cotton shirt with linen ruffles really completed a look I guess only Castro could pull off!