Consumer advocate: What can you expect from an expensive shirt?


While in Edinburgh this summer I happened to stop by Harvey Nichols and found their sale was on. I scored a cracking deal on a pair of Red Wing boots, and found an interesting shirt as well. The shirt is green, in a slightly military cut, and made from “Tencel“. This grabbed my attention, as I’d not come across it before.…

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A week in Scotland: Edinburgh (part one)


So, I know you’ve been waiting for me to report on the second half of my Summer holidays. My trip to Barcelona (really Sitges) can be read here, here and here. In stark contrast to the sunny excess of Spain, the second week saw us head off to Scotland, home of the brave and eternal rain. Or so we were…

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Lane Fortyfive, the small-batch gin of clothing?


One of the aspects I enjoy most about being a blogger is getting to know interesting people and this week I had a long chat with the chap behind new label “Lane Fortyfive“. The chat, as it turned out, was very much a coming together of minds, as Tan is ticking a huge number of checkboxes when it comes to…

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False-memory syndrome – The Hip Hop family tree


Remember back when you were a kid? There was no Internet and the closest you got to the wisdom of Google was your dad? When information came by way of newspapers or TV and libraries were awesome, though not so much on the sort of important breaking news that was the lifeblood of being a hip teenager? Today we’re so utterly…

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Is the Ruc-Tote the Kinder chocolate or Swiss army knife of luggage?


Combining features has long been a way for products to innovate. The Germans do the Kinder Eggs, promising three distinct joys for a single purchase. The Swiss army have, by way of Victorinox, Wenger or whatever, introduced the world to the sheer joy of combining an increasing number of tools in one (now barely) hand held piece. I’ll not hotly…

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Approved running gear for dads by Iffley Road


A number of years ago I took up running. I came to it late in life, and until then I’d quite frankly avoided it, so I was more surprised than anyone that I ended up rather enjoying it. Very much more so than most other forms of exercise that I’ve tried. If you’d like to know how I got started, I…

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The scent of the apocalypse


We’ve all been there. Squeezed up against the window in some public transport or other, jammed solidly in place, no possible means of dignified escape. It’s not the physical restraint that is the main issue, more a matter of olfactory lockdown, if you get my drift. We’re talking about the terror of a woman of advanced age (and no, I’m…

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Blue Blooded, just another denim book?


Is it just me or has there been something of a deluge of denim-related books the past couple of years? And none of them really all that good? Like this really bad one or this slightly better one. At least from where I’m sitting there has been more enthusiasm than actual content, more styled and curated photography than actual words…

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Winding up the Barcelona trilogy – the savories


You’ll no doubt have paid due attention to the first two instalments of my Barcelona trilogy, where I discover the most singular shoes I’ve ever seen and where I go on a pilgrimage to the awesome Companion Denim, so this is where I mention the rest and wind things up. So, if we are to delve into the rich heritage,…

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A pilgrimage to Companion Denim


This summer I decided to go on a pilgrimage. Not in the traditional sense of seeking out a holy place of note and walking there, mind you. More in the way of a growing awareness of going to be quite near a destination of note for enough time to allow me to saunter by to say “hola!” kind of thing. You…

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