Ley Clothing is Ollie. Just Ollie, operating out of the spare room in his flat, self-taught and dedicated to his art. He first came to my attention when I noticed the shirts he was showing on Instagram. In a fantastic looking brown deadstock vintage corduroy. I’m not sure which of those hashtaggable words it was that caught my attention, but I added him to my follow list and became intrigued.
Then Ollie brought out his variant of the chore coat, probably the most recognisable silhouette in menswear in recent years. Classic boxy workwear with plenty of pockets and a high shrugability factory. Can a one-man operation bring something new to the table in a game with so many players already? Well, most of the chore coats you see are canvas twill, so going for wool fabrics is an instant way to be different. Most are also unlined and pretty lightweight, so adding in a proper lining also makes a big difference.
Add in the raglan shoulders, 7 pockets and an splendid attention to detail and I reckon Ley Clothing is on to nothing less than a success. Seven pockets, you ask? Yes, indeed. There are two handy, deep pockets on the front, and a chest pocket, and even a ticket pocket. On the inside is a regular pocket, and also two more hidden side pockets. The attention to detail is apparent in such features as the choice horn buttons, and the smaller buttons on the inside, to make it nice and strong. Did I mention the workmanship is very impressive as well?
Oh, and then make it in a quite splendid tweedy wool fabric and a really distinct colour. With a natural linen lining. That will get you noticed. And this really does get noticed. So much so that WDW has requested her own jacket, just like mine. Around here praise doesn’t come much higher than that.
So, small scale, hand made, slow fashion. What’s not to like?
And while you’re still undecided, let me mention that Ollie only charges 160 pounds a jacket, which must surely be the bargain of the year for a made to measure and made to order jacket like this.
Contact Ollie at leyclothingco@hotmail.com or check out his Instagram.
Lovely jacket and a fantastic price, but what a pity he puts the labels on the outside. That sort of thing is very offputting to me and I presume others must feelthe same?
Easily unpicked, or just order it with the badge on the inside. No dealbreaker. I di agree about branding though, I tend to avoid anything that appears to be more about promoting the brand than just being a quality design and garment.
Excellent jacket. Fantastic colours. Would never go out of style. And yes, no labels outside – you can’t find a good pair of eyeglasses these days that haven’t been “compromised” (ruined?) by the branding all over the temples.
One of the reasons I buy my opticals online (the other being that you don’t pay the inflated price of the branded gear).
Yes. a new “trend”. My wife was an option for years. High-end. She’s wiser than me, as to where these avenues exist!
Great blog, by the way.