08/04/2022
This week I have the pleasure of talking to someone I’ve enjoyed countless hours of seeing on tv, Patrick Grant. Known to many as one of the judges of The Great British Sewing Bee, Patrick has many more things going on, such as owning a traditional Savile Row tailor and a Lancashire garment factory. He’s also working to revitalise manufacturing…
25/03/2022
After getting busy writing during the lockdown, Holly Swinyard returns to talk all things cosplay. We get into the history of cosplay and how while the name is recent, it has much older origins, how humans have maybe always been into dressing up, the potential benefits of taking on a character, the work that goes into costumes, how things changed…
18/03/2022
Following up on last week’s Japanese theme, this week I’m joined by Ian Haydock, Lancashire born, Tokyo resident. We talk about his family history in the Lancashire textile industry, the joy of sifting through the Tokyo second-hand shops, especially finding forgotten British brands, how the ecosystem of vintage and secondhand garments works in Tokyo and the collector mentality. You can…
04/03/2022
This week we venture down a more scientific route with Dr Joshua M Bluteau, aka @anthrodandy, and his field studies within menswear and social media. Adopting the persona of @antrodandy, he went deep into the field to study how we present ourselves on social media, what we might gain and lose from it, what it does to us and how…
25/02/2022
My guests this week are Marie and Will from Old Town, micro makers of contemporary clothing with references to the past. We talk about the Blitz scene of the ’80s and the twisty way Old Town started off, why they’re not about nostalgia, where the inspiration comes from, how their customer base has evolved over time and the celebrity gardener…
18/02/2022
My guest today represents tradition, resilience and doing what you do well. Hillary Bacon is the marketing director of Cordings of Piccadilly, a clothing establishment that has been basically unchanged since 1839, although the world around has changed fundamentally. We talk about how Cordings started and those important first products, how society has evolved, appreciating that some things don’t have…
11/02/2022
Today’s episode is another insight into the world of vintage, courtesy of John Gluckow from New York. John got into the world of vintage sourcing and selling at a young age, moving on to working for Ralph Lauren, sourcing vintage for RRL, studying menswear and starting a vintage-inspired menswear brand in Japan. Some interesting tangents are taken, and we even…
04/02/2022
In this episode, I take a trip down to Dandy Avenue with my guest Nathanial “Natty” Adams, journalist, author, suit designer and gentleman of taste. Natty is the author of the acclaimed books “We are dandy” and “I am Dandy”, documenting distinctive gentlemen across the world, with photos by Rose Callahan. We discuss what clothing can mean, the reasoning and…
24/12/2021
By popular demand, the garmsmen gather again for the now traditional Yuletide festive episode. Shaun and Jon join Nick for a wide-ranging chat about men’s (lack of) fashion, bungled costumes in TV drama, finding rare tweed in Russia, Jons obsession with leathergoods, Shaun’s obsession with comfy shoes, when a brand loses its way, what real farmers vs faux country gents…
17/12/2021
Today Norwegian journalist and sustainable fashion advocate Tone Skårdal Tobiasson guests the pod to talk about wool, other fibres, the issue at hand and the initiatives pointing forward. Tone’s career has seen her quite dramatically change sides of the fashion table, going from being a fashion magazine editor to being one of the countries most vocal critics of the industry.…