The origin of the pea coat goes back to the 17th century. English sailors were the first to adopt this coarse woollen garment, warm enough to face the elements. Later on, the coat was reserved for pilots, which gave the coat the English name of P-Coat and then Pea Coat The pea coat is recognisable […]
HUSBANDS JOURNAL
Author: Husbands
THIN-RIB CORDUROY
Velvet is neither a material nor a fabric, it is a particular type of weave – and a complex one at that. Consisting of a simple weave (which constitutes its basic structure) to which is attached an additional thread, called pile yarn. This pile yarn is cut to give the fabric its satin appearance. Velvet […]
PICCOLI BY SAUTET
In the early 1970s, Claude Sautet met Michel Piccoli. For a whole decade, the director filmed the actor in The Things of Life, Max and the Junkmen, Vincent, François, Paul and the Others, and finally Mado. Sautet met Piccoli through the composer Philippe Sarde, who composed the music for most of his films. The director […]
BLACK IN MEN’S WARDROBE
In Latin, black is designated by two terms: niger, a shiny black, and ater, a matte black – that of a fresco or a flannel, which is not the same as the shiny black of a wool twill. Sometimes the colour of mourning, sometimes the visible manifestation of a Puritan spirit, black appears to us […]
V-NECK AND CREWNECK SWEATERS
Sweaters have long been considered as humble pieces of men’s wardrobe, coming from common origins and of simple confection. They still entered the wardrobe of sovereigns, intellectuals, painters and singers throughout the 20th century. Sweaters for sports and leisure of the aristocratic classes In 1921, the Prince of Wales and future Edward VIII wears a […]
PARIS’ RIGHT BANK ELEGANCE
If there is a Paris’ Left Bank elegance, nourished by the irreverence of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the omnipresence of publishing houses, the Faubourg’s Proustian aristocracy – a syncretism once so well embodied by Arnys – then there must be an elegance of the Right Bank. On the left bank, the settled men ; on the right bank, […]
WALL STREET STYLE
In 1975, the industrialised world witnessed a rapid deterioration in the main economic indicators: inflation, falling growth rates and unemployment. At the time, few economists understood that these indicators heralded the entry of the industrialised countries into an economic crisis that would last more than 20 years. A statutory and flamboyant wardrobe On Wall Street, […]
MEN’S SMALL ACCESSORIES
The 1960s and 1970s marked a kind of apogee for men’s accessories. At first purely functional, these everyday objects borrowed increasingly sophisticated know-how, creating an elaborate aesthetic which transformed them into “jewels” for men. THE BELT thin belt from Old England, Sulka or Lanvin with a gold buckle, exotic or patent leather. THE WALLET/CARD-HOLDER made […]
IRISH LINEN
Linen was introduced into Europe 2000 years ago. Originally considered as bad weed, its cultivation developed very early on to be transformed into textiles. The manufacturing process has remained unchanged through the ages: the plucked flax stalks are first spread out in sheets on the ground and then treated to extract the fibres (this is […]
CASUAL FRIDAY
Casual day, casual Friday or dress-down Friday is a custom that allows employees of a company to dress down on Fridays. In France, the false anglicism of “Friday wear” is used. Employees are invited to leave their suits at home and loosen their ties. Instead, IT people, bankers, HR managers and accountants put on a […]