Luxury Watch Straps on Video

Watch this great new video from luxury watch strap maker Bianca Mosca showing how their alligator bands are made WATCH NOW

 

Sartorial Sneakers

As many of you are aware I’m particularly partial to sneakers especially the rather wonderful alligator sneakers from ultra-lux brand Bianca Mosca.

So I was very interested to see the wonderful new designs from the collaboration between Sutor Mantellassi and Scott Schuman’s fabulous Sartorialist blog.

£385 www.sutormantellassi.com

Bianca Mosca Alligator Watch Strap Promo

Check out this great offer for Bianca Mosca  alligator watch straps LEARN MORE

Alligator Watch Straps For Summer

New Alligator Watch Straps That Are Designed Especially For Hot Weather

When the temperature is rising the last thing you need is a padded alligator leather watch strap sitting on a sweaty wrist.

The result is that many people stop wearing their smart dress watches in hot weather. But this Summer there’s a new option on the table.

Bianca Mosca’s alligator watch straps have a proprietary lining that’s made from a high performance antiperspirant vulcanised rubber compound. This is how it works:

Moisture from the wearer’s wrist is automatically evaporated. The skin regulates the temperature under the strap to offer greater comfort than traditional bands. The result is that you can carry on wearing your favourite watch throughout the Summer months.

The wearer no longer worries about rising temperatures, causing them to perspire, and ruin their precious alligator strap. At the end of the day the lining can simply be wiped clean with a damp cloth, avoiding any damage to the fine leather surface. No other alligator watch strap can match the endurance of Bianca Mosca’s hot weather watch bands.

Bianca Mosca alligator watch straps can also be customised from a selection of eighteen colors. Customers can select contrast stitching and get the exact width, fit and padding height they require. The straps are entirely handmade in the company’s workshop in France and can be ordered online from www.biancamosca.com They’re priced at $275 with machine stitching which includes free delivery worldwide. Hand stitching is a $50 option.

 

 

 

 

Jeff Goldblum On Dressing Right

The ‘Independence Day: Resurgence’ star shares his tips for looking good—from choosing top-notch polo shirts to finding a stylish alligator wallet READ NOW

 

Bespoke Reverso From JLC

I’m a sucker for any type of customisation so when I heard that Jaeger-LeCoultre were introducing a new bespoke service for their iconic Reverso watch to celebrate 85 years since it’s introduction I was very excited.

A touch screen device has been installed in their Old Bond Street boutique, where customers can choose between three case sizes, 48 different dials (from mother-of-pearl to lacquered) and 80 custom watch straps (from ostrich to alligator). The ordering process takes about eight weeks to delivery and prices start from £3050. Get your order in.

It’s No Sweat: Best Watch Bands For Summer

When it’s 90 degrees outside the last thing you need on your wrist is a padded exotic leather watch band. It’s a bit like wearing a parka in a sauna.

During the Summer months I tend to abandon my fine watch collection and strap a simple Swatch on to my wrist.This Summer I may have to change my mind.

I was recently sent one of the new alligator watch bands from Bianca Mosca that has a lining made from high performance antiperspirant rubber. Moisture is evaporated and the skin regulates the temperature under the strap to offer greater comfort allied to the elegance of the fine square scaled alligator leather.

The other great thing about the Bianca Mosca watch straps is that you can customize their bands from a selection of eighteen colors, select different contrast stitching and get the exact fit and padding height you require for your watch. The straps are handmade in their workshop in France and can be ordered online from biancamosca.com They’re $275 with machine stitching. Hand stitching is a $50 option.

Sneaking Up

It seems as though it was only yesterday that Wall Street was running round in Church’s, Alden’s and Crockett & Jones’. The ubiquitous black shiny shoe was the only way to dress the foot of the elegant male professional or successful executive for the working week. Weekends were spent in leisured suede versions of the same design. Yet how it all changes.

Enter the sneaker. From their sporting and street wear origins, sneakers are now seen everywhere-worn by Hollywood actors and celebrities on the red carpet and paired with formal evening wear. Even billionaires are wearing them to work. If you watch Showtime’s Billions TV series you’ll know that Bobby Axelrod, the fictional billionaire hedge fund owner portrayed by British actor Damian Lewis wears a pair every day from his wardrobe full of sneakers along with his regulation hoodie.

Everywhere you look there are more and more new sneaker brands emerging such as New York’s FEIT and Amsterdam’s ETQ to join the more established Common Projects, Lanvin, Y3 and Converse. Available in a wide variety of materials from suede, leather and nylon the latest trend to emerge is the pure white sneaker epitomised by Common Projects Original Achilles model. Another trend is towards the use of exotic materials like python and lizard and even alligator sneakers for men.

 

 

 

I’ll Do It My Way

Mass customisation is on the rise. But it’s nothing new. For a couple of hundred years bespoke tailors and shoe makers have been plying their wares in the so called “Carriage Trade”.

Today’s fashion consumers are looking for greater degrees of personalisation than merely the ability to add a monogram of their initials. Nike, Adidas and RayBan are proving in the mass market that the ability to mix your own combination of colours and options is highly appealing to a broad swathe of their customers.

In the luxury market there are still only a handful of brands beginning to innovate. Late last year Salvatore Ferragamo the legendary Italian shoe maker introduced a MTO (made to order) programme for their classic men’s Driver loafers. The initiative has been highly successful and Ferragamo are considering extending the concept to other parts of their product line up.

In the small leather goods and accessories field Bianca Mosca which specialises in bespoke alligator wallets, card holders, Apple Watch bands and iPhone cases offers a full custom service on its website. Customers can choose leather colours, stitching types as well as having their initials embossed on their product. The finished product is made in their workshop in France and delivered around the world inside 28 days.

“The key thing is service and listening closely to your customers to ensure that you’re delivering what they want-not what you think they want,” said Tim de Rosen from Bianca Mosca.

Well I know what I want and given the choice I’d love to have a stab at designing my own shoes or wallet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Noel Coward Look

The 1920’s heralded a sea change in fashion, music and lifestyle culminating in the smooth refined aesthetic of the 1930’s much in the same way that the epoch of France’s Louis XV produced a richer and more sumptuous version of luxury living than that of his grandfather the Sun King, Louis IV.

Nobody epitomises the mood of the 1930’s more than the actor, singer and playwright Noel Coward known by the soubriquet-The Master-who was by then at the height of his powers and described by Time magazine as possessing “a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise”.

When one conjures an image of Coward it is inevitably of him lounging in a silk dressing gown engaging in rapid fire repartee surrounded by a coterie of bright, young acolytes and fellow wits.

Silk is enjoying a moment with the recent arrival of decorative patterns on lavish silks, modern satins and even fine linen shirting heralding a sea change in men’s style.

Dolce & Gabbana, Hermès and Gucci have launched new designs in silk including light weight jackets and flamboyant geometric patterned shirts inspired by Corbusier in the case of Berluti.

These louche peacock patterns chime with the vibe of 1930’s Berlin androgyny and call for accessories that fit the piece.

For me Boucheron’s deco shaped Reflet watch with its striking alligator watch band and gorgeous white and sapphire dial is the epitome of androgynous statement. Paired with a bee-incrusted pyjama two-piece set it might seem a bit outré for some of us chaps, but – mark my words – it may well prove to be the ultimate evening wear at this Summer’s most elegant parties.