Four-wheeled Friend

Having an interest in cars is not really the done thing these days, its not terribly eco-friendly let's face it but when one needs to escape for a while to bumbleville it's certainly not going to be served by this country's rather inadequate public transport system. So therefore the mind wonders to what might be the best motor for the job? With a long drive along the M4 in store tomorrow afternoon and a weekend of muddy lanes what would be the perfect mode of transport?

For many years now The Established Man office have been lusting after a Range Rover, big, comfy and a schoolboy dream but they now tread a fine line between rap star and Sloane, obviously ours would be filthy as our current car collection is, and it wouldn't be a 'Chelsea Tractor' of sorts. We would actually take it off-road, a rarity these days and they have gotten more eco-friendly of late with cleaner diesel engines. In town it can sometimes like be steering an oil tanker in the small streets of Hampstead but in the hills it is the beast of choice. Farmer Giles would have a Land Rover Defender but on a motorway run it's still not refined enough and can resemble doing power plates in a motor car.

But what else is there to choose from for the hermit like existence that we here lust after on regular basis? Audi is always on the tip of our tongues whenever a motor-esque debate kicks off, we love our compact yet prestigious A3 but for a longtime have been thinking an Allroad is the perfect urban/rural mode of transport. Its a normal A6 estate but one with four-wheel drive..quattro is in Audi's blood after all. It looks more meaty than the average A6 and is a delight to drive in and out of town, particularly with a 3.0 litre diesel engine. There's also the Audi Q7, the enormous 'proper' four-wheel drive, it's the closest thing to driving a Hummer in this country and we're not convinced. A smaller Q5 launches soon so expect a report when someone here manages to blag one for the day!

What real tickles our tastebuds is the prospect of crossover four wheel drives, much like the Allroad. Audi is planning a smaller Allroad based on the A4 which has us alight with excitement and MINI also have been testing a car in Germany which could hail the first ever 4x4 mini, if that's the case our order will be one of the first.

Down South

Not an afternoon for nipping about town as the hail fell when we left HQ but with something as special in store as there was Arctic conditions needn't cause a hindrance. Artangel create site specific art commissions and an unlikely part of South London just near Elephant & Castle provided a blank, or in this instance disused canvas for British artist Roger Hiorns. A former tenement block, this low-rise derelict development greets the visitor with boarded up windows and a rather harsh atmosphere. But a huddling dozen or so individuals gave a clue that something interesting lay behind the graffiti plastered walls. 

After putting on a pair of rather fetching blue Dunlop wellington boots, Artangel think of everything...we had a look. This little flat has been covered in copper sulphate resulting in a chemical reaction. This mythical and fantasy like realm of vivid blue crystals of all manner of shapes and sizes was like stepping into a different land. Many an awe-induced face explored this little warren whilst we were there and definitely one to see before it ends next week. 

www.artangel.org.uk

Country Gent

Image courtesy of Barbour A/W08

Image courtesy of D&G (A/W 08 Ad Campaign)

It seemed rather apt that during our lunch break today the BBC's iplayer should provide the entertainment; meanwhile Jonathan Ross was being suspended and Russell Brand was enjoying his sudden free-time no doubt. But away from Radio 2 and those now infamous telephone messages the BBC still produces some very good quality TV and what with many a supper both attended and hosted this week The Established Man missed "British Style Genius" earlier this week and needed a necessary catch up.

The subject was perfectly timed what with our trip to the country looming tomorrow afternoon, the theme this week was By Royal Appointment - The Country Look; and what a look it is, classic British fashion at its best and some of the most important British fashion and attire makers were all featured, Aquascutum, Burberry, Luella and Barbour to name but a few. What started with the Royal Family gradually transcended the fashion chain and from Sloane Ranger to Hoxton Hipster British country style can often be seen in both obvious and subtle dress statements, you only have to look at the D&G A/W08 collection and ad campaign to see the influence of dressing in the shires.

Barbour is a brand that we here at The Established Man towers love and always have done. Its an item of clothing that one seems to grow up with, many a school in this country make it clear that a Barbour is part of the uniform and from trips to the Scottish Highlands to scooting around Paris they are the best kit of the job. A recent addition in our wardrobes earlier this year was a Barbour International A7, we had to ring around the entire country to source one as every hipster worth their weight seemed to have snapped one up as seen at music festivals all summer. Thankfully our friends at Harrods were able to track one down. It really has been the perfect jacket, a more fitted Barbour with a subtle biker edge seen in the snugger fit, belted waist and angled pocket on the left breast, it harks of the outerwear Barbour designed specifically for the off road biking fraternity. It certainly gets many a comment too out an about too. A worthwhile investment.

www.bbc.co.uk/britishstylegenius/

www.barbour.com

 

Culture Vulture

Photo: Todd White/White Cube

A trip to the East End seamlessly entails a visit to one or two galleries these days, despite many an East End gallerist deciding to up sticks to the nether regions around Oxford Street in Fitzrovia there are still galleries lined up like Mini-Marts.

 

White Cube triggered this migration to the East many moons ago and their large airy gallery still holds court in Hoxton Square. The current show almost seemed like a Christmas display at Harvey Nichols but on closer inspection and a quick scan of the press release there appears rather more to it. Artist Josiah McElheny has created what might appear as a mini solar system but it is in fact a play on the lighting at the Met Opera in New York..the opera he went to see can't have been that interesting then...yet it also articulates the Big Bang and society's handling of modernity.

On the other side of the square resides the latest new addition. It's so new that by the looks of things that the gallery's overly smug London Director appeared as if he had not even taken his GCSE's yet, the Sales girl we liaised with appeared like some sort of robot in her lack of ease.  Yvon Lambert keep galleries in New York and Paris so it was only natural that London should come a calling. Their airy, meandering gallery had sadly been targeted by thieves the day we popped in; not the art one must add but some rather expensive Apple Macs. It wasn't a show that had us reaching for our wallets but an interesting one all the same. Artist Carlos Amorales has created a body of work that deals with what might happen when one is lost in a major urban centre, a reoccurring dream he has himself apparently. Downstairs there is a rather harsh installation of a conurbation and upstairs appears a shattered black bird, something Eagle like about it. 

Josiah McElheny: Island Universe

Until 15th November

www.whitecube.com

Carlos Amorales

Until 5th November

www.yvon-lambert.com

Behind the bikeshed

We boarded The Established Man's trusty steed..a black Vespa and headed to the East End for a long lunch today. Our favorite lunch spot there is Rochelle Canteen, something of a hidden gem in the old bikeshed of the former Rochelle School. You have to buzz to be let in and there sits this little treasure. Today the school is converted into studios filled with such talented names as Giles Deacon, Luella and Katie Hillier and you'll often be sitting next to them in the canteen, if not it will be another artist, fashion-type or interesting soul. 

Today we feasted on the most enormous and succulent pork chop with a swede mash as well as smoked haddock in a wonderfully rich sauce on toast, our fellow diners had delicious fish and lamb's neck with chickpeas. Expect a seasonal British menu and some of the most hearty puddings in town. 

Let's keep this gem between us...

Rochelle Canteen

Old School

Arnold Circus

London

E2 7ES

Check it

From top to bottom

Red Check £6 Cancer Research, Chichester

Blue&White £120 APC Madras

Turqoise Check £19 Uniqlo

Red&White £9 H&M Kids

Green  $14 Beacon's Closet, NY

Blue Check $3 Salvation Army, NY

Red&White £15 H&M

Everywhere one goes at the moment there appears to be a veritable barrage of plaid, we all knew it was going to be a huge trend when it was paraded down the catwalks of NY, Paris and Milan during Men's fashion weeks a while ago resulting in what one might mistake as a Lumberjack convention. Go to any gig, party, hell...everywhere and it's there in a host of multicoloured checks, rather a cheering sight in these soon to be austere times.

The simplicity of a plaid shirt or jacket must be one of the reasons why it has exploded and it really is a very cheap trend to encapsulate, go to any charity shop, thrift store, vintage store and there always seems to be a bit of check peeping out from amongst the rails. The closets here appear to be spitting plaid shirts out of every orifice, the majority of them second-hand finds that have not cost more then a few pounds. On a recent scout of the high street the best we found were Uniqlo and H&M Children's section...we picked up a couple of shirts there for £9.00, a steal.

The Right Gear

Its always a treat to have a trip out of town and this weekend an invitation to the Cotswolds is not to be turned down. The thoughts of long walks amongst the autumn leaves and fresh air is enough to make anyone clamber from their desk to the nearest train destined for greener pastures. 

However one needs to be suitably clad for such jaunts away and it appears that wellington boot supplies here at The Established Man HQ have diminished significantly since the wash out that was Bestival in September; the smell in the car the other day would lead us to think they are still in the boot...or still in a field in the Isle of Wight. Either way not an option for the weekend coming!

So with a wellington boot crisis in full swing this morning there appeared to be numerous options online and in the stores. Marc Jacobs on Mount Street always have a good selection and they are ridiculously good value but they are 'fashion' wellies I am always assured when I pop in so think of them as a sort of soft-roader car as opposed to the wellington boot of choice, The Hunter, which is very much the Range Rover of the rubber boot world.

The place to purchase such highly esteemed wellies is Mole Valley Farmers, a chain of stores catering to every need one might have in the country beyond sheep dipping, I've still not quite got my head round this pastime, and hedgerow cutting, the girl on the telephone was a joy to deal with and there's a pair of hunters; cheaper than everywhere else it must be added, in the post just in time for a swift exit out of London on Friday afternoon..that's what I call service.

www.molevalleyfarmers.com

Nothing like a freebie

There happened to be enough spare time today to hop on my bicycle and meander down to Covent Garden to the Nickel Men's Spa and use a voucher that happened to appear in a goody bag from the MAN show during London Fashion Week a month or so ago for a free rescue facial. Normally these would be passed along to whomever but after a busy September and October it was the ideal remedy and there's now a very cleansed face to prove it; the perfect way to relax and it appears there are all manner of treatments on offer at this centrally located spa.

www.nickelspalondon.co.uk

Introduction

Welcome to a new blog for the very dapper man about town in modern times. Think of this as a sort of notebook to record one's thoughts and images of anything that intrigues both the eye and the mind of The Established Man of today. So that could be all manner of things; fashion, transportation, travel, food, culture and magical snippets. 

As I sit here typing this in London on a crisp October evening it appears the pound slips even further against the Dollar and the word's on everyones lips seem to be "Credit Crunch" and "Recession". Henceforth expect a fair few posts over the coming days of thrifty ways to stay contented and stylish without the need to splurge.

In a week or so I'll be in New York for a while to see what gallery and museum shows are on, some good old New York Street street style and general fashion and style posts.