Lord Trousers still worries about the British male. Of a certain age.
“He’s always been rather repressed with his clothing choices, I’m afraid. But getting better, slowly but surely. We’ll get there!”
A graduate of Liverpool’s Bluecoat School, Nick Alderton is the MD of Peter Christian, the UK largest on-line gentlemen’s outfitters which delivers worldwide. The company is based in Sussex.
Lord Trousers’ genes are in plus-fours. His uncle ran eight menswear shops in London which were all destroyed in the Blitz during the Second World War. British men too often restrict themselves to navy blue and dull greens. We encourage more adventurousness in middle-aged man. Be that brick red trousers or Green Harrington jackets. Getting men to express themselves more is the overriding mission.
“In my younger days. I was a total Deadhead. Sartorial elegance wasn’t a priority for me. I was happy as a dog with two tails in grubby jeans, T-shirt and Bob Weir ponytails. My wardrobe was pretty limited. At one point I’d been wearing the same jumper for nearly three years and my dear wife, Miranda, threatened to divorce me if I didn’t go out and buy myself some new clothes. I discovered Paul Smith and Demob and, together, we founded Peter Christian in 2004.
“We started off selling footwear but that didn’t go according to plan so we settled for menswear in which my wife had worked. As a mail order and e-commerce business, we were inspired y Boden’, concentrating on higher-end garments of distinction. We are now dressing American males with our curated cache of quality apparel. The US represents of 30% of our market. The eccentricities of British menswear have plenty of appeal in America. Ou son, Max, ,was mobbed by fashionistas over there. They were enamoured by his top hat. His flamboyant sense of style went down well and resulted in some serious web traffic. We received an order for eight pairs of corduroys from a F. Coppola. It turned out to be the film director. Peaky Blinders helped a lot.
“When I was growing up, there were independent gentlemen’s outfitters in every town. Complete with polished parquet floors and mahogany cabinets with gleaming glass tops, where old men in suits would fuss over you. I loved those shops, but gradually they were pushed out by department stores and then by the online market. I look back with nostalgia at such times and wanted to recapture that magic. Albeit on-line. But on-line doesn’t have to be impersonal. We are everything you’d expect of a traditional top gentlemen’s outfitters. We have a plethora of cuts for any lumber.
“Although I’m not one for counting my spring chickens, I am looking forward to the summer and finding out what colour will be modish and what not. You can’t beat a good decent pair of season-straddling chinos. I’ve been wearing chinos since they landed in UK military surplus stores in the 60s. Then, they had a shabbily glamorous whiff of the Beat Generation, the hint of a rebel without a cause. Over the decades they sharpened up, the pleated military baggy giving way to a slimmer line favoured by modernist and Ivy League fan. In recent years they have become our universally popular default cotton trouser of choice – suitable for work or play. Michael Portello did well for us.
“We find our customers wear them just about all year round these days. We carry a rainbow of colours over a panoply of styles, heavier weight for summer, light, tropical drill for the warmer months. We offer a pleated front for the gent who likes a bit more trouser room, or a flat front for a slimmer silhouette. Paired with shiny penny loafers or suede desert boot, they will always be in. Hopefully our Nantucket pink can become a staple evergreen.”
My fundamentals, or “ essentials” as some call them, are important to me. I like them to hang down to my toes and feel proud of my pair and the way they hang. I like to feel tapered, well-hung and well-cut. And not too pared-back. And not “How does my butt and genital definition look in these?”
My Lumsdens, as I also like to call them, are close to my heart. Not just my crotch, waist and thighs. I demand a lot from my chinos ( as most people known them as). I don’t want to look too colonial, too collegiate, too New York, too L.A. or too fashion forward. Nor too high street, too minimalist and COS, too Ripley, too America’s Cup and enley Royal Regatta.
And above all, too all sad Dad ( no style, all elasticated, forgiving waistband) or so obviously clearance sale. Sturdy, flattering, smart, good-with blousons-cardies-windbreakers-hoodies, dress-coded business events and social gatherings where you are expected to have tried but not too conspicuously. But still be seasonally-apt and stylishly co-ordinated.
British Army officer, Sir Harry Lumsden, is credited with creating khaki in 1848. Stationed in India, Lumsden wanted to camouflage his white uniform. So he concocted a dye made from curry powder, coffee and mulberries. Khaki is the Hindu word for dust.
Basically, chinos are American khaki. At the end of the nineteenth century in the Philippines, American Armed Forces fighting in the Spanish-American War, wore khaki sourced from hard-wearing Chinese twill cotton. Local Spanish speakers called them “Chinos”. After the war, army surplus chinos flooded the market and became popular with students. Especiallly on the East coast.
What would Sir Harry have made of brands changing the name of his khaki to shades of shitake, clay, capers, fog and timer wolf?
And the tsunami of flat and pleated fronts, Charles Tyrwhitt non-irons, Mangos, Dickies, high-waist shrunken-style Son of Mutes, rugby clubhouse Raging Buls, Nikes, Percivals, L’Estranges, Fatfaces and narrow thigh Spoke Heroes.
And huge waves of relaxed fits and slim legs, vintage laundereds, Loewe mid-waist flares, Stone islands, patterned jaxcquards, Zegnas, Gallery Dept, Kotns gabardine twill cuffeds, Carharrt WIP Masters, Italian stretch Bonobos, lustrous sateen, button welt pockets, Prada five pockets, bootcuts and Superdry core slims.
And a new generation of vain men obsessed with rotating their legwear.
Men and their trousers. It’s such an XL Subject….
There is such a massicen choice of chinos so a massive amount of chances to make a massive mistake.
Some make you look like an Oxbridge swot , nerdy ivy Leaguer or someone who is something in IT. The conservative choices. Some make a man come over as trying far too hard to be out of a suit.
If you don’t choose correctly, if you aren’t trousered properly , it’s easy for people -men and women- to say “ Here is a man desperately trying to elongate his form with a straight-leg silhouette and ankle-length cut.”
Or : “There is a person in his too obviously go-to-polo deliberately gone high rise to show off his shapely ankles and Alpha Male socks.”
You have to be careful about Chinos. Especially the colors. But whether it’s called sage, olive, dark forest, wild ginger, tawny , warm taube , English mustard , mellow Cotswolds stone or plain sand , its basically khaki which is basically combat which is basically military. So people will either think : what is this man fighting against and why? Or that you are on the way to a regimental dinner.
Choosing the right pair of chinos is a battlefield. It is dangerous country. A man must be brave or cowardly. It is the survival of the best fit.
Now . we see guidance from LuluLemon about about four-way-stretch Warpstreme fabric and ABC ™ (anti-ball-crushing) technology. Different shapes require different chino gurus“We find our customers wear them just about all year round these days. We carry a rainbow of colors over a panoply of styles, heavier weight for summer, light, tropical drill for the warmer months. We offer a pleated front for the gent who likes a bit more trouser room, or a flat front for a slimmer silhouette.
“Sockless with a pair of deck shoes or navy blue or stone with shiny penny loafers or suede desert boots, whichever way you wear them Chinos are the strides for all seasons! But, when considering which to buy, it must be remembered at all time that they are just as important as a suit. One must always put on a good front.”
Color comes before fit. Only a few can carry off Etro plaid or an Etro floral print. Some men can’t be camels. Some feel rusty is ageing. A tan can be risky. Charcoal and asphalt gray too. Oregano is always a safe call and khaki, in whatever manifestation. won’t let you down. But ivory and cream require a brave heart and a steady hand.
Taking your time over a pair of new chinos will reward you. So think : “Payback”
As well as “Splashback.”