The raiding of the past has been a general design trend across the board for the last few years...

As has the trend for micro-connoisseurship...

It can be viewed as a good or bad thing depending on your perspective.

It's clear to me that T&A want to be seen as the cutting edge of the street, whilst maintaining its traditional credentials as the discerning eccentric English gentleman's choice. No bad thing, IMCO and likely the two roles are mutually attainable. But have to say, that Informalist range of shirts are a dreadful attempt to capture the hipster clientele. Also there are a lot of downright misses in their ties. But I suppose it comes with the territory.

Celebrities? One hopes not, I was of course referring to Prince Charles, James Bond, Winston Churchill, Prince Michael of Kent and Jim Kerr in 1981.

Rue the day when we shall see fitball pundits and Saturday morning brunch-cookery show presenters sporting the distinctive T&A collar.

A modicum pinch of eccentricity shows flare IMCO, and I agree steam punk and the curious twisted silhouettes of Pitty Homo are good for a laugh, but ultimately they deserve our pity.

^Is that fad back? Was all the rage over here about 10-12 years ago, also having several top collar buttons.

I went out at lunch time primarily to get a biography on Aleister Crowley, but also managed to slip-in a pink and grey Hermes tie clone on the way - nice one. Walking past the Dutch parliament there was a gaggle of people and some newsreaders interviewing some VIP of some sort another and there he was in that signature style of the last six years: a tight fitting grey suit and a pair of light brown, scuffed and unpolished, pointy shoes which is a strange Dutch statement of "I'm not really working for the man - at night I light up a spliff and watch the The Wall by Pink Floyd in concert on Blu-Ray". Perhaps that's not the intention, but it looks utterly shite and is too common to go unnoticed as a trite trend.

Last edited by 4F Hepcat (2016-01-19 10:19:27)

T&A are sort of hapless but its quite charming in a way. The informalist is shocking although I actually bought one of the ties, didn't realize until I took it home and looked at the label.

About 10 years ago I interviewed for them in London, didn't get the job, the interviewer thought I was too smart and wouldn't like carrying boxes around......dressed up too smart for an interview at Turnbull and Asser, unbelievable.

Contrast collars, at least in my work experience, were traditionally always worn by accountants, money men and those in financial disciplines including quantity surveyors. My uncle who had is own successful business use to wear them too with dashing stripes and they may have been T&A as he did a lot of dealings in London. In short, I always considered them old fashioned, fuddy-duddy-ish and a red line I would never cross.

Times change and I haven't travelled this far by being stuck in my ways, I've reached an age and level of road travelled that I can sport these shirts with impunity and with dapper style. A T&A contrast collar on a peacock shirt and dark blazer looks rather splendid from my perspective now, with or sans tie, it's a look of rugged urbane individualism and success. Why not enjoy it?

Still, when the missus has seen you spending a grand on shirts in one hit, it's always going to ignite a row. Along with shoes, despite all the pretensions of women being fashion or style led, they just don't get it.

Old geezer here...
A contrast collar shirt with a tie bar?
Lord, who on earth....?
Googled it and saw a few from "fashiondopedealer" or some such title and "ask andy about clothes".

Strictly for clowns, certainly not for old geezers. Well, perhaps for skinny 20something clowns.

I'm almost offended by tie clips, tie pins and collar bars or those safety pin things. As for arm bands...my god.

A good tie pin is a thing of beauty.