A magazined targeted for +50 years hold readers about lifestyle, fashion and trends

1. Which style does
suit you well?
European
padded shoulders, no
vents, a full-chested and
V-shaped jacket and
“slash”–i.e.,
flapless–pockets
British
padded shoulders,
two vents, pinched
waist, flap pockets
and boldly striped or
plaid patterns
American
natural shoulders, one
vent in the back,
straight-hanging lines and
flap pockets
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1

2. 2

3. 50
Shades
of
Blue
Dare to be bold and blue. Reinvent
your professional wardrobe and
discover why the fashion world chose
on blue. This new trend offers a rich
update to tailoring, looking fresh in
eveningwear by combining blue
shades with colours such as sharp
white or classical blacks to create
timeless appeal.
Blue has a vibrancy that adds energy to
tailored looks, and is ideal for blazers. In
terms of suiting, this colours is definitely
the more on-trend. It works particularly
well for evening and occasionwear looks,
co-ordinated with all its shades from
electric to cyan, or with warm accents of
brown, orange and yellow to give the
optimum colour balance. Each shade has
a different meaning and gives a different
idea about the product and the person
who is wearing it. By now, it is considered
the new black and we will tell you why.
Blue Navy: carries the symbolism of
importance, confidence, power, and
authority (including police and military).
Darker shades of blue are associated with
intelligence, stability, unity, and
conservatism.
Vivienne Westwood SS14 suit has a 19th century
suggestive touch, with the built-in waistcoat,
Vivienne's popular orb jacquard lining, faux Horne
laser buttons and the iconic lion and unicorn button
chain fastening.
3

4. Its slim fit makes the figure slender and elegant.
Different is the approach of Alexander McQueen,
who prefers a regular fit and a lively style with the
100% wool checked suit. Less regal but more
business-oriented, this suit still gives that sense
of “stability” and “cofidence” that we associate
with the colour.
While Vivienne Westwood suit is available from
size 46 to 52, Alexander McQueen offers a slightly
less accessible range of sizes (36-42). Price is the
other main difference between the two: despite
the undeniable quality of VW suit, its price of
£1006 (£765 for the jacket, £295 for the trousers)
although high is slightly different from the
exclusivity statement claimed by Alexander
McQueen with his SS14 suit (£1695).
Indigo: it appears between blue and violet in a
rainbow. Indigo conveys trust, truthfulness, and
stability. It also may have some of the authority
and royalty of purple as indigo was considered a
royal blue.
It does not surprise that this sense of “trust”
could be related to a Marks&Spencer product,
such as this tailored fit indigo suit. Apart from the
syle and the details (like the wool waistcoat), this
particular suit benefits from a
waterproof-processed fabric. The result is a
reasonable priced suit (£198) which make you
look perfectly smart whatever the weather.
Talking about sizes, M&S give you the possibility
to combine the three pieces of its suit (jacket,
waistcoat, trousers) in different sizes and lenghts.
Cobalt: is a medium-dark blue that is soothing,
peaceful, and can also suggest richness. Nature,
stability, calmness are some of its qualities.
Maybe this sense of calmness made Paul Smith
take inspiration for its London Collection (which
this suit is part of) from popular holiday
destinations such as Monaco and Monte Carlo.
This elegant suit is composed by three pieces:
jacket, trousers and waistcoat. It is made from a
wool and mohair-blend cloth which helps
avoiding creases. Paul Smith opts for tailored fit
as it is clearly one of the most demanded by the
consumers. Interesting to notice that this brand
is the only one amongst the brands we selected
that gives information about the country of origin
of these kind of products ( Made in Italy, in this
particular case) on the official website.
Alexander Mcqueen,
£1695
Marks&Spencer,
£198
Paul Smith,
£990
4

5. Another example of “more conventional” suit is the
slim fit new wool suit by Hugo Boss. This time is
Cerulean blue to catch customers’ eyes. In 1999
Pantone named Cerulean the color of the new
millennium. They describe it as "the color of the sky
on a serene, crystal clear day." Cerulean blue is a
soothing, calming color that also evokes feelings of
peace and confidence. And confident is the Hugo
Boss man, wearing a suit that make the figure look
taller and slender in a new wool fabric with an
elegant herringbone pattern. No waistcoat this time
but 2 side vents to give more freedom of movement.
Two flat pocket and three inside to have space of all
you need to bring with you. No country of origin
specified on the website but information about the
packaging (a HUGO BOSS garment bag). Even
though Hugo Boss style and quality is well-known
and highly-valued, its price can almost become its
unique selling point. Paul Smith suit is almost
doubled price but its similarities with the Hugo
Boss one are numerous and sometimes it’s worth
considering whether the effective price is due to the
quality of the product or to its “name”.
Its a less bright but equally relaxing shade of
Cerulean that characterised Ted Baker suit
100% wool. The linings are in polyester, viscose
and acetate, while the pockets are in cotton. We
have got a notch lapel, other feature which
seems to be on-demand by the consumers.
One-button fastening, on the other hand and a
controversial (and honestly not clear) “modern
fit”. After a few researches out team has found
out that what we can define as “moder fit” is the
combination of all the most solid and
advantageous trends that have emerged in the
last few years: we talk about slimmer trousers,
higher armholes and straighter sleeves. This
particular suit is Made in Italy and available
from size 32 to 46. A mid-high price make it
accessible for a larger audience of businessmen.
A half canvas custruction, a centre back vent and
a slim notched lapel define the structure of this
suit. Two-buttons fastening like most the suits
available on the market: overall, a classical suit
right for business or leisure occasions.
HugoBoss,£500
TedBaker,£550
5

6. 6

7. HOW TO KEEP YOUR PROPER CARE
-In 6 easy steps-
Sometimes a good quality suit can be confined
in the heap of the forgotten clothes in a couple of
months. Why? Because “good quality” needs
“good care”. With this article we will give you a
6-steps-guide to keep a proper care of your suit
to wear it year after year.
Step 1: Avoiding the Cleaners
It is common sense not to throw your suit into
the washer but frequent trips to the dry cleaners
are even worse. The right moment to do so is
when the suit is visible good for another go: dry
cleaning will expose your suit to harsh chemi-
cals that will damage the fabric. Furthermore,
some cleaners may damage the internal canvas-
sing of thejacket not practising enough care on
the fabric.
Instead, care for your suit by steam cleaning it
and hang it up with some space between it and
the next item in your closet.
Step 2: Steaming, NOT Ironing
The best way to free your suit of wrink-
les and deodorize it is using a gar-ment
steamer. Steaming is a delicate method
to renew the fibres of your suit and
doing it you will prolong its life. A
good steamer can be quite expen-sive
but it is a long-term investment which
will help you keeping your suit in
perfect shape over the long time.
Avoid steaming the chest area as it
does not get crumpled much and stea-
ming it may damage the internal
canvas. Avoid iron-ing your suits, as a
direct contact of an iron on the suit at a
high temperature could cause damages
and burns. If you have to iron, use a
press cloth to protect the wool.
Step 3: Hanging
It is really important to hang your suit up where
it can have space and air. However, not all the
hangers will give to your suit the required rest.
Avoid using hangers that will leave wrinkles in
the shoulders. Another investment to do, and you
should know how convenient could be the right
investment, is in proper wooden hangers to
preserve the shape of the suit. The right hanger
should be wide enough to touch the edge of the
shoulders and to fill up a portion of them. The
best quality, the best result: go for natural
wood-made hangers as they are known to absorb
the humidity from the fabric.
Ikea,£4.49
www.ikea.com
Domu,£44.99
http://www.domu.co.uk/
Step 4: Brushing and Rolling
A suit deserve care. Natural fibres like wool can
hold dust and dirt when exposed to pollution and
open spaces. A regular use of a suit brush after
each wear will extend the life of your suit and the
quality of its fabric. How to do it in the right way
is a piece of cake: just hang up your jacket and
brush downwards (never perpendicular to the
fibres) gently and slowly.
Kent Brushes, £11.00
http://www.kentbrushes.com/
7

8. Step 5: Traveling with your suit
Suit’s favourite companion when travel-ing is
not you but its garment bag. Don’t get upset and
give to your suit one bag that is not only easy to
carry, but will ad-equately protect it. The best
are breath-able bags, which will keep your suit
cool during the journey.
When Traveling without a Garment Bag
Sometimes, traveling with a garment bag can be
difficult or impractical. For those occasions you
must be ready and aware of how to properly
fold and pack a suit (picture 4) in the less
damaging way. It is not the end of the world:
remember that it is the way your suit was folded
when you bought it. You can do it!
Step 6: Give Your Suit a Break
As always happen with your favourite piece of
clothing, you would like to wear your best suit in
every
single occasion. However, this will bring it to
deterioration and all the effort to keep care of it
will be useless. Try not to wear the same suit
every day because the natural wool fibres need
time to rest and recover like everybody needs
after a long day of work.
delightinbuy, £11.50
http://www.delightinbuy.com/
BREATHABLE
8

9. 9

10. From
Promotion
to
Emotion
When we decide to shop in a certain store we are
not the only person involved in the process.
Even if it is not always obvious, many other
people are responsible of the manufacturing,
marketing and promotion of the product we are
buying. If we stop for a second to write down a
list of the reasons why we bought that specific
product we will probably stuck on price, quality,
colour, shape and so on. Basically, we pay
attention to the tangible and visible aspects of
what we are going to by. However, we don’t
realise that several “intangible” characteristics
bring us to that particular choice and they result
in the way that product and that brand make us
feel.
Let’s start talking about brand awareness: going
in store is not the only way to be informed of the
products available and their quality. The
majority of brands provides a newsletter which
let the subscribed members know about what’s
new in store and the latest offers. This kind of
engagement with the brand and its organisation
make us part of a community, in which we feel
our presence is important. Brands like Hugo
Boss or Alexander McQueen make this service
available and the last one extended the benefits
for the members giving the opportunity to
obtain a faster checkout and a wish list where to
save the favourites products and easily track
their availability just signing up online.
Nevertheless, emails and newsletter could be
considered a bit old-fashioned by a relevant
number of current fashion brands, which too
often focus exclusively on social networks.
However, we still find more down-to-earth ways
to engage with fashion brands. Ted Baker does
not provide any newsletter but those of you who
would like to have chat with the staff about
products or any other topic could find a
telephone number to call Monday to Friday,
from 9am to10 pm on the website. Quite
unusual approach but effective for those
customers who like talking with someone real
rather than sending email which are often left
unanswered.
Apart from the information about the products
and the brands, something which really make us
do the decision to buy is our experience in store.
Sometimes we don’t even realise that a good
customer service and competent advice about
sizes and colours could be the best promotion
for the brand.
What really makes us buy.
Sometimes advice are not enough, and we need
someone to guide us toward the right choice. In
this case, extremely helpful could be the personal
shopping service in the actual store. Selfridges
has selected a few stores where it is possible to
book and appointment (picture above). This is
convenient for all the brands within the store,
because they obtain guaranteed visibility and the
minimum spend make possible for the personal
10

11. shopper to address the customer towards
quality brands rather than mid-market ones.
However, it is hard to find the same service
provided by the individual brands themselves.
Even if a few luxury brands understood its
importance ( i.e Hugo Boss ), we surprisingly
find out that it is a “middle-market trend”
rather than “vice for rich”. It is possible to book
an appointment with a personal shopper in
Debenhams, John Lewis, Topshop and
Marks&Spencer at the following branches:
Kensington High Street in London, Fosse Park
in Leicester, Market Street in Manchester and
Northumberland Street in Newcastle.
Another reason why we select a particular store
amongst all the others could be the presence of
store cards, vouchers we have received by post
or email and also limited offers we can find on
magazine or newspaper. All of us would agree
about the fact that a convenient purchase will
always drive us quicker to buy, no matter what
and (sometimes) no matter where. However, as
it is quiet predictable, it is really hard to obtain
vouchers for luxury brands such as Vivienne
Westwood or Alexander McQueen, which do
not normally use these kinds of promotion to
preserve their exclusivity. Moreover, gift cards
and vouchers are often accepted only in the
licensed store and not in the franchaises, which
are far more diffused.
On the other hand, gift cards are slightly more
popular and widespread even if it is still hard to
get them in luxury brands. Obviously, the card
itself is a way to promote and represent the
brand: starting with basic cards, with poor
graphic and layout, to arrive to finely elaborated
cards presented in elegant folders. Very nice is
the selection of gift cards provided my M&S,
which can be topped up to the maximum value
of £500. This confirms that most of the times
we do not buy the products itself ut the way it is
presented to us.
The visual element could even more relevant
than you could imagine. Let’s take as an
example occasions like birthdays or Christmas.
Not surprisingly the main focus is always on the
presents. Anyway, it is not the present itself
which arouse curiosity but its gift wrap,
dimensions, colours, sound and smell.
Often our first impression overlaps even our
judgement and a poor present could be
perceived as wonderful. This is the way visual
merchandising and in particular shop windows
work. How many times have you entered a shop
just because the windows was absolutely
gorgeous? And while high-street brands usually
captivate our attention with discounts and
offers, for high-end brands it’s all about brand
image and details.
There is still a wide use of mannequins, which
give us a rough idea of fitting and shape and it is
easier to direct our interest toward a particular
shop or department. Quirkiness is the modern
trend about windows: we find skulls-head
mannequins in Alexander McQueen,
baroque-inspired arrangements in Vivienne
Westwood, extremely contemporary layout in
Hugo Boss. All of them gain our attention
thanks to a well-balanced amount of details,
which end with making us focus on thekey
factor: the product.
Along with windows, logos themselves play
their role in our brand perception. Less and less
showed off on the actual products but firmly
impressed in our minds. Why are they so
important? Because the right mix of colour,
name, images, graphic and size works like a
above: Ted Baker
giftcard:
on the left: M&S
giftcard
11

12. statement and give us an immediate idea of
what will get by that brand. Looking at the
conceptual map on the right, we see the
impact of colours and their meaning.
Usually, high-end brands make use of plain
colours and basic fonts and layout.
As we can see, colours like black and blue
give an idea or elegance, trust, which fit the
standards of luxury brands and our
standards in quality and reliability
matters.
Black is the most
popular colour for
luxury and
menswear brands
Below: Alexander McQueen
“Skull mannequin” window
display
Above: Hugo Boss “recycled books” window display
12

13. 13

14. The Right
Price
of Fashion
Fashion always has a price however,
which price is indeed right?
Tailoring for suits can already leave a large price
tag, so choosing suits from the right brand is impor-
tant, in order to look good without having to waste
the cash.
So we have chosen 3 smart, tailored navy suits from
different brands in order to create a dapper look
with the right price.
First we have an Alexander McQueen 2-pieced
Blumed Check suit from their SS14 collection,
costing £1,695 altogether. It is 100% wool, which
are one of the reasons for having such a high price
tag. However the mix of the dark navy blue and
purple, creating a checked pattern across the suit,
makes the SS14 piece fashionable and wearable for
any occasion. The store indeed conveys the middle
market approach by being subtle with the price tag;
however the reason for the high cost also links to
the amount of stock that is in for this particular pro-
duct, which is not many, keeping the exclusivity of
the brand.
£1,695
14

15. Next we have a Silver Blue suit from Hugo Boss,
costing £500 altogether, giving a good deal for
both the suit jacket and trousers. This product is
also made from 100% Virgin Wool. But this suit
gives a more subtle look to the previous one from
Alexander McQueen however, because the shade of
blue is Silver blue, it gives an upgrade to a normal
suit, making it fashionable and suitable for work
and every day wear. This retailer also conveys the
middle market approach by being subtle with their
prices, however there are more available sizes for
this product unlike the previous one, showing that
Hugo Boss is also into competitive pricing as they
want more availability for more customers to enjoy
their products.
The next suit is one from the infamous brand
Marks and Spencer, known for their good qua-
lity and rightly priced products, especially for
suits. The silky indigo shaded suit comes to a
price of £198 being the cheapest suit out of the
3 we have picked. This particular suit is made
out of a mix of polyester and wool, being the
reason for a cheaper price tag as it is not 100%
wool. However this tailored look is suitable for
those that want to look less subtle with the suit
colour (upgrade the look with the combination
of a patterned tie or shirt) but still is rightly
priced. This retailer however conveyed the
price-led approach by having the prices of the
suits everywhere within that particular section
of the store, showing which market within
fashion that M&S target their products to.
£198
£500
15

16. 16

17. Suited and booted?
The tie - A simple yet innovative creation that
has evolved from the early 1900's. Historically
the tie was an item of traditional suit attire,
predominantly associated with business wear
however in today’s 21st century the tie has evol-
ved, becoming that of a fashion statement for
men. Although the tie is seen as a trendy
garment, it is argued that it serves no other pur-
pose than as an accessory, which leaves the que-
stion remaining, what is the origin of the tie and
how did it come about?
The tie is a very prominent feature in today’s
fast paced, money led society where social
status is key, the tie is associated with a profes-
sional and smart appearance, symbolising
power and authority, a belongingness to a
group. Leading business men and women across
the world wear one, and are widely associated as
an integral part of the traditional suit. Although
there appears to be no clear purpose in the tie
other than appearance it is argued that a tie
helps preserve ones shirt from staining. The tie
is assertive and reinforces manhood, anthropo-
logists argue that the tie directs a viewer’s atten-
tion downwards to the wearers genitals (hence
the arrow-like shape) However within the 21st
century the tie has been through many adapta-
tions and is today widely viewed also as a fashion
piece, providing colour and style to what may
otherwise be a simple and plain outfit. The tie
brings identity and character to ones wardrobe
in the same way a lady may wear an item of
jewellery the tie is also an accessory in its own
right, and has evolved equally as a fashion state-
ment piece. But where did the idea of the tie
stem from?
The necktie has its roots in military history so
has always been a symbol of power and strength.
China's first emperor, Shih Huang Ti and his
'Terracotta army' were buried in an under-
ground tomb in Xi'. Each life - size militia
member – replica had a tie, symbolising
togetherness and a sense of being united. Evol-
ving from neckerchiefs roman orators would
wear such items of dress round their necks to
keep their vocal chords warm.
The Croatian scarf which was part of the
country’s military uniform came to France
and was embraced as fashionable attire, the
French term for 'tie' – 'la cravate' was used to
describe the accessory. The 'steinkirke', a
neck cloth with long lace ends and which is
worn in a dishevelled manner, became popu-
lar. It originated at the battle of steinkirke,
when French soldiers tucked their neck scar-
ves into their buttonholes because they were
caught by surprise by the enemy. In the
1920's French fashion designers invented the
first variation of a 'designer tie' which was
made from more expensive materials and
decorated with patterns inspired by the
cubism and art deco movement. Becoming
more wacky and playful, at this point ties
started to become an item of individuality
and personalisation.
In Britain, regimental stripes have been con-
tinuously used in tie designs at least since

18. the 1920s. In the 1940's ties became wider as
well as longer as previously it was popular to
wear high waisted trousers. These ties were
adorned with unique patterns symbolizing
freedom of expression. in contrast in a period
of rebellion in the 1950's ties became thinner
and less decorative, influenced by the likes of
Warren Beatty who starred in the movie
Bonnie and Clyde, which revitalised the Ame-
rican gangster trend of wearing white ties on
dark shirts. In the 70's Elvis Presley introdu-
ced the 'kipper' a tie known for its extreme
breadth and garish colours and patterns. In
the 1980's skinny leather ties became popular
typically worn against striped shirts. Today’s
neck ties come in a vast array of sizes, stripes,
polka dots and designs
So now that we have answered why and how
the tie came about, you’re probably wonde-
ring how to master the perfect tie.
The Four-in-Hand
The four-in-hand knot is probably the easiest
and most popular knot to master since it's
asymmetrical - which in the world of neckties
means it's already crooked, so it's harder to
make it look bad! Some people may also call this
one a "simple" knot, and it is good for most
occasions. "Skinny" and medium-width ties
work very well with this knot.
‘The Full Windsor Tie Knot’
The final knot is the Full-Windsor Knot.
Full-Windsor knots go best with longer and
wider ties. The shape of the full-Windsor is the
same as that of the half-Windsor, but it is just
larger than the half-Windsor. Since the
full-Windsor is larger, it also appears highly
formal and is usually worn with wide spread
collar dress shirts and by men with larger necks.
Full-Windsor knots go best at highly formal
events, such as weddings or business meetings
with highly important or powerful individuals.
‘Half – Windsor Tie Knot’
The second knot is the Half-Windsor
Knot. The half-Windsor knot is a symme-
trical knot that looks like an inverted
triangle with the tip cut off that goes
well on shirts with medium-width
spread collars. Due to its versatility
and requiring less of the tie-length for
the knot, big and tall men prefer it on
a regular basis. It is more formal than
the four-in-hand knot and therefore
worn on more formal events, such
as job interviews and business
meetings.
“The tie is a very prominent feature in
today’s fast paced, money led society
where social status is key, the tie is
associated with a professional and smart
appearance, symbolising power and
authority, a belongingness to a
group
“