As the days of Summer come to a close and the temperature begins to cool, men everywhere are looking to re-shuffle their wardrobes and beginning to browse the Autumn/Winter collections for what they’ll wear in the colder seasons. We here at The Male Stylist love this time of year and the styles it brings with it. From elegant coats to smart boots and from smart tailoring to warm knitwear, this is the season of layers and charismatic styling.
To celebrate this time of year and its fashion, we’ve put together 5 of our favourite British menswear designers and what areas of their A/W14 collections we love the most.
Oliver Spencer – Outerwear
Since the brand launched in 2006, Oliver Spencer has become an icon of British designed fashion and this year’s A/w14 collection does not stray from this trend. The entire range is inspired by Lucian Freud, according to the designer himself, and focuses on elegant styles with simple colours. The outerwear has already been slated as a hallmark for this season’s sharp gentlemen with their gilet, jacket and long-coat styles all featuring heavily in the fashion show coverage.
The above 3 are our favourite pieces from their current collections and well worth investigating if you’re looking for sophisticated outerwear in the Winter months.
Nigel Hall – Tailoring
We have only recently been made aware of Nigel Hall as a designer, yet already we’ve found ourselves perusing their stores, researching their designs and becoming obsessed with their styles. We particularly love their tailoring as it is elegant and classic, yet manages to maintain a contemporary feel through minor details (such as the white buttons on the blazer above). The two pieces pictured are combinations that we feel fit perfectly with the Autumn season by being both smart and durable. Definitely worth checking out if you haven’t heard of them already.
Hawes & Curtis – Accessories
The renowned shirtmakers who have been open since 1913 grabbed our attention when we started looking at their accessories sections. Their ties, pocket squares and winterwear all bear the “gentlemanly” traits of their other ranges whilst at the same time incorporating darker colours to deepen their winter style. The above 3 items are just a few that we’ve found and loved on their site, and each is versatile enough to suit a range of looks and outfits.
Don’t dismiss this brand as a shirt maker only, as they have a lot more to offer those who are willing to explore.
Paul Smith – Shoes
A famously iconic British brand, Paul Smith has been delivering timeless designs for over 40 years and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon, thankfully. Whilst their clothing range has been a staple for gentlemen’s wardrobes around the world, their footwear collections show off beautifully subtle designs and materials. At The Male Stylist we love a good pair of boots for Winter and Paul Smith seems to have plenty to offer this season, our 3 favourites are above (with the navy suede pair currently sitting in our basket online). If you want to look sharp from head-to-toe this season, Paul Smith is certainly a brand that has the latter area covered.
John Smedley – Knitwear
By far the oldest brand on our list, John Smedley was established in 1764 and continues to stun us to this day with beautiful knitwear designs for both men and women. Renowned for their contemporary designs and high quality wool, Smedley’s wealth of knitwear styles demonstrate the best in home-grown British fashion. We have a particular soft spot for their cardigans which are beautifully elegant and looks perfectly at home when worn with tailoring in the colder seasons.
Well those are our 5 favourite menswear designers for Autmun/Winter 2014, so go check them out and tell us what you think. As usual if you’ve enjoyed the article then feel free to comment, like and/or share with your friends/followers. If you have shopped with them before and want to share your positive experiences then leave them in the comments below. Don’t forget to subscribe for new posts and competitions as they go live!
By Adam Walker