16/06/2023
Today we head off to rural Northern Ireland to talk to Mario Sierra, third-generation weaver at the family-owned Mourne Textiles. While Ireland has long been known for its linen, Mario is concerned that after some parts of the linen industry were closed down around 30 years ago, the skills and technology to process flax are on the verge of being…
16/09/2022
For the first episode of season 5, and the milestone 100th episode, my guest is Aoife Long, a slow fashion writer from Ireland. Aoife is dedicated to seeking out the stories and craftspeople of her country, putting the spotlight on mainly small, independent makers with a conscious approach to their surroundings and what they produce. We get into the situation…
26/09/2018
We’re pretty much all in agreement that fast fashion has to be taken out and put in the trashcan. The one for recycling, naturally. We all know that the current pattern of consumption is ludicrous and damaging to the environment and not sustainable at all, on any level. Producing clothes that are so cheap that you don’t even care if…
22/10/2016
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…
19/08/2015
So, Hansen Garments, tiny Copenhagen-based maker of classic menswear. I would say menswear with a flavour of Nordic Heritage, or perhaps more than a nod to vintage styles, but really Hansen is firmly out there in the left field, doing their own thing. No revolutions, just making things better each season, like sensible people do. And Hansen is quite sensible,…
02/08/2015
In 2 weeks time I’ll be back in Delhi for another 9 days visit. Sadly, most of my time will be spent in a modern office building training Indian engineers, there will be some downtime at either end of the visit and evenings underway. So while the climate outside will be tropical, most of the time is spent in climate controlled…
22/04/2014
Well, what do you know, it’s Tuesday again, and on Tuesdays we talk about trousers! Today I want to talk about one of my most recent additions to the Vault of Two-legged Garments here at WellDressed Mansion, the “El Americano” by Mister Freedom. I’ll admit that until I visited Maritime & Antiques in Copenhagen, I’d not really paid that much…
13/03/2014
Cotton shirt, cotton boxers, cotton denim, cotton t-shirt, and let me bless your little cotton socks as well. Cotton everywhere, cotton all over and cotton everything. Is cotton the be all and end all, the perfect fabric for all uses? I’ve mentioned a few times how cotton is a huge environmental problem and that you should, whenever possible and practical,…
15/01/2014
Those of you following me on Instagram will already know that version 2 of the Waistcoat Project has been completed and approved. In fact, the comments posted on the sneak photos have been incredibly encouraging and gives me the motivation to continue the project, with yet more variants! Due to the winter darkness it’s bee a little tricky to take…
03/07/2013
This week sees me bringing out yet another Nigel Cabourn waistcoat from the Closet of Many Waistcoats here at the mansion. I’ve previously presented two variants of the Mallory in Harris Tweed, and a cheekily checked madras linen Notch Lapel version. This weeks could be considered a variation of the previously presented linen version, though stripped of the peacocking patterns…