Earn your stripes

It seems to have got somewhat chilly outside there in the real world away from The Established Man towers, where rest assured it's as toasty as can be, but we can't help thinking about the summer. One hope's its only a mere turn around the corner and we're there but this being the Great British Isles who knows really?

As soon as the air starts to get warmer here we're the first ones to perform the grand swap and jig our wardrobe towards shorts, espadrilles and plentiful lazy shirts and tees. A sure fire staple of our day to day wardrobe is the venerable and classic that is the Breton top. Here's a favorite with the girls at Vogue when they're not writing features on Poo..weird that one no? But it's a unisex, ageless garment that anyone can happily whip on; and no you need not a drop of French blood in you to wear one, trust us.

There are so many guises of this shirt of the sailing fraternity that you'll be spoilt for choice and especially this coming season, its a fan for the buyers of both ladies and menswear. For the true original head to Arthur Beale on Shaftsbury Avenue who stock the Saint James' version but on the fashion front there's no let up with A.P.C, H&M, Uniqlo and Topshop all putting there versions out there. Reiss did a fine red and white version last year we grabbed in duty free en route to the South of France, we like a winter version in the Albam chunky knit with shoulder buttons and how can we forget the Prada take on breton several seasons ago with their fish print shirts and accessories. Crown on the fashionable front must be to the Comme De Garcons PLAY version...perfect for Valentines too what with the little red heart keeping its beady eyes out.

Welsh Rarebit

After spending a fair amount of time behind the wheel or being driven of late we've become hooked on a host of songs whilst sitting in the gridlocked streets of London town. One such band is Band of Skulls, whilst sounding like they've been touring the States for years and have a heritage in Nashville these plucky young songsters hail from a more modest Wales...who'd have thought? We love 'I know what I am'. Catch them on tour this month.

www.bandofskulls.com

Staying in is the new going out

We love a good interiors moment here at The Established Man. World of Interiors and Elle Deco are always a must read and we care about our homes as much as anything else and quiet possibly a damn sight more. So its no wonder we spend a fair amount of our time also reading the Man Make Home blog. Here's a stylish, yet modest, take on chic living. We're sure its authors are as high on the sartorial barometer too. Go maketh immediately!

manmakehome.com

Flatlands

The Established Man has been having some downtime the past week or so and much needed it was. We ventured to new lands when it comes to places we've not been and pottered up to Norfolk for a couple of days sampling some fine local auctions brimming with all manner of oddities and vintage this, that and the other. We also found time to pop into the infamous Hare Arms and sample their award winning Steak & Peppercorn pie and it was mmmmmmm dreamy! But now we're back, and whilst longing for country air and long walks expect some more entries soon.

Watch it!

A fine bit of wrist wear should never be scourged upon and The Established Man's favorite timepiece of the moment must be the Limited Edition watch in collaboration with Japanese retailer Beams and Tyler Brûlé's current project Monocle. With a run of only 200 you won't see too many others on your travels and we speak from experience when we say it gets a lot of looks. A hefty number of people have mistaken it for a Rolex or just grabbed our wrist and said 'oooh where's that from?'

Coming in a livery of olive or dark green this is a light little number but very hardy with an underwater range of 30 meters yet spares you the task of having to behave like Rambo to match its capabilities!

Don't be such a tease

Those boffins at the Audi secret underground bunker in Bavaria..spoken 'Bavaaaaariaaaaaaaaaaaa' are not content with just designing a nice motor, now they're playing the joker with us. Who'd have thought that German car designers had a sense of humour? But they've been having a wail of a time of late with all their teaser videos on YouTube of the soon to be released A1. Think of it as Audi's answer the the Mini and the oompa lumpaa's at Audi might be the car equivalent to Edna from The Incredibles with all their hush hush talk and darkened lighting.

We're all up for being teased but we've already seen the car they talk of so secretly and light so carefully so to only highlight its flanks. Justin Timberlake was papped filming his commercial as the Ambassador for the Audi A1. We won't be opting for the wasabi green interior trim Audi seem to be very proud of and we're not convinced by their current obsession with 'running lights'. Yes they might mean little Hubert see's Mummy in her Q7 outside Hill House at school pick-up time but there's an element of Chav's on a night out at your local B&Q car park for some tyre burning. Not something most A4 Estate drivers will be doing anytime soon surely...unless our fathers have taken up a new pastime beyond shooting and reading the Racing Post?

Final judgement on the A1 can only be passed when we see it in the flesh and get let loose in one but for the moment we have our reservations on boot space and image, who will buy this car? The motor of choice and Established Man stablemate is a filth covered A3 that has done us proud for years. It's the sort of car one can pull up outside Scotts and Sean the Doorman will greet you and happily park yet after your slap up fish supper you can tootle off to that party in Hackney between a crack den and a whore house and it will sit happily amongst the delights of the East End attracting no unecessary attention. If the A1 can prove itself we're in but for the meantime we're sticking with 2 notches higher.

Jersey Boys

Mondays are always a quiet day here at The Established Man HQ. Long weekends in January are de rigour to deal with the onslaught of depression and debt..my oh my its bleak times here. So this afternoon we thought we'd perk ourselves up with a staff outing to the Kings Road a mere hop, skip and jump from our 42nd floor office resembling Dr. Evil's lair just lacking in mini-me and silver latex; perhaps we can work on that in the future?

Needless to say there's not an awful lot left on the Kings Road that inspires anymore. Gone are the days of Rock and Roll, sixties swingers and Dandies walking Tigers along the pavement. Thankfully we're at the less glamorous end of this long London street and at the section that has remained as independent as possible. A sure stop shop is the aptly names Shop at Bluebird. Think Collette comes to Chelsea with a bit of English eccentricity swirled in for good measure. It might be owned by Belle Robinson..that's Mrs. Jigsaw to you and us but don't expect a hint of that malarkey going on here. This is the concept store model to a tee, choice cuts of menswear jostle with some prime womenswear and there's some ripe bits of homeware to be sampled too...we LOVE the John Derain decoupage pieces and Jonathan Adler ceramics. We left the credit card at home for this very reason.

Having a good rifle through the menswear we noticed some touchy, feely, we want you NOW sweaters. The jersey thing has been going strong for a long long time but in past seasons thanks to the likes of Alexander Wang, NY's fashion dahling of the moment its having a real moment right now. The high street does it well occasionally with classics from Gap and H&M. COS do their thing but we're never sure about the fit despite loving the retail experience. Kitsune had some fine French fancies on the jersey shore in grey and navy with a little emblem on at waist height depicting the Eiffel Tower naturellement!

The gentlemen have been given a slight back seat at The Shop at Bluebird since its inception a few years ago but through clever buying and careful curating of the space its still a visit worth while. Alexander McQueen's McQ label is aimed at younger, more casual gentlemen yet we rather lusted after his text sweat in a faded blue. All rather pricey but very nice, in the same vain as the Peoples Wardrobe sweater we bought when it was still around that blew our student loan...oh those were the days.

Whilst we're quite happy to Lord it up in SW10 wafting around like a Hedge-funder's bit of stuff on the side with a Black Amex in her hand the truth is we love a good bargain at heart. So we crossed the street and did a bit of charity shopping too, much more our price range. Jersey and slouchy sweats are items we come across on the charity shop circuit all the time and its cheap and often just what the Doctor ordered. We love our 80's Dash-style ski number in grey with Miami mint green and pink t0 complement the true hideousness. If that's not enough our Desert Orchid kids one from a charity shop in Sussex is a treat, always a winner much like its motif! And both were 50p. Alistair Darling will be proud