Week 17- Recommendations from smaller brands

In this newsletter I cover and give an overview of some great niche brands such as Cold On A Sunday which produce high quality, well-thought out clothing with all the process takes place in the UK. As well as slightly bigger but still pretty small brands such as Phingerin that are producing some great pieces such as the bow shirt and their double knee shorts. Tefkit and Foundfeatherism, both of which i’ve featured on the newsletter before have got some great new releases and in general are some of my favourite brands right now. Then there’s Pennon, which are producing some super high quality and unique shoes/ boots. That being said they’re pretty pricey at £250-£350 but I would still say its still well worth it. And at the end of the newsletter i’ve included some great outfits by Oli for you to take inspiration from.

Phingerin

Phingerin is a Tokyo based brand founded in 2009 that started out with a focus on handmade pyjamas made from premium Italian fabrics, now they’re a streetwear brand making some great stuff.

You can buy straight from their website, however, if you want to avoid any extra fees Phingerin is available in the UK at:

Rivet Work Shirt Sax (Top Left) £208: Made from a really interesting coloured duck fabric, which, if i’m honest i’d never heard of, so I went and did some research… It’s a type of heavy canvas with a super tight weave, making it sturdy and durable. The pricing is pretty expensive on these but I think its worth it because of the high quality in fabric and so I still think it counts as reasonably priced all things considered.

Double Knee Shorts Sax (Bottom Right) £168: These are a super refreshing take on carpenter shorts, as you don’t often see them made from duck fabric. You could style these with all sorts, from smarter shirts and jackets to something more casual like knitwear making it a super versatile short.

Pipe Top Skipper T-Shirt (Top Left & Right) £133: Big on the fit of these, i’d pair these with a shorter pair of shorts and give those thighs some sunlight.

Pipe Top Shorts (Botom Left & Right) £116: If you’re looking for some colourful shorts, these should do the trick.

Bowtie Workshirt £139: I don’t know about you guys but i’ve never seen a workshirt with a bow tie, in fact you’d probably consider them opposites in terms of what they stand for. But I think it works, you’ve gotta have a certain level of confidence to pull this off, but sometimes opposites can mix to make something great.

6PK Denim Shorts White (Worn by the model) £93: With jorts feeling quite overworn now and a little basic, I think nows a great time to go for white denim as it feels refreshing and looks great in my opinion. Also super versatile, they would work great with a summer knit, shirt or casual t-shirt.

Cold On A Sunday

Cold On A Sunday’s inspiration comes from the lost history of English craftsmanship, something many forget we were very good at before the whole globalism thing. They pay homage to this with the whole process taking place in the UK, a nice touch. I spoke with the owner and he is super passionate about the brand and his mission which is to make clothes that are practical, non-trend led and that feel right.

This is the Shep Jacket, releasing soon. It’s a hybrid of a Japanese mandarin cut with the structure of traditional English workwear, staying true to the brands identity. When buttoned up it’s meant to look smart and clean, but when buttoned down its very relaxed falling into a deep break at the front like an old English blazer. I think its a really original, unisex piece that can suit all sorts of occasions and be styled in loads of different ways.

Felix Vest £140: Super unique silhouette on this one, I really like the look of it especially with a button or two undone as it sits nice and relaxed. You can see Japanese inspiration in the asymmetry of the piece and it can be worn in many ways in part because of this.

Elliot Jacket (Left) £220: Secured with three industrial-grade zinc alloy clips meaning it can also work seamlessly as a straight jacket! Jokes aside, industrial-grade clips shows the level of quality put into the clothing.

Davina Trousers (Right) £220: Hand tailored just like everything else, made from a lightweight poly-clotton blend so will be good for the summer season as well. Now I don’t think these would necessarily be the easiest to style but if you pull them off they’re going to look great. I could see them going well with an aviation style bomber jacket or perhaps a bulky leather jacket.

New Releases by Tefkit

A couple great recently released jackets by Tefkit (i’ve put the embroided versions of the jacket to the right)

Sward Jacket (Top) £220: Nice baggy fit to this, I really like a semi-casual blazer and this one strikes a nice balance. Super easy to style, I would focus on wearing something that compliments the green well, whether it be a nice beige/ cream pair of shorts or trousers or go full on with the colour and maybe pale blue or red trousers.

Whatever Jacket (Bottom) £250: Another baggy fit, more a of a Smok though which I reckon will be a silhouette we start to see more of. You’d probably have to style this with something pretty baggy, balloon short os trousers would be a good option.

Pennon Shoes

Pennon are making some of my favourite shoes right now, across all sorts of styles. They’re pricy, at around £250- £400 but if you’re looking for something high quality then these are a great option. There’s lots of small details that make the difference with Pennon, for example, the High Boot shoe (top right) is made out of waxed cowhide which over time will wear off slightly giving a purposefully vintage feel. Or the Yeti shoe (middle left) is made out of shaggy Japanese textured fabric and some pretty odd but great laces.

Viga-Paraboot Michael Alternatives

I’m always on the hunt for Paraboot Michael alternatives, since its one of my favourite silhouettes. These are priced at £47.70 or R$ 1,150.00 (South African currency) which is so cheap that you can get these and pay shipping + import fees and still get them for significantly cheaper then the Michaels and many other alternatives.

Found Feather

I’ve featured Found Feather before on this newsletter and they’ve come out with a great selection of hats for SS25 and so they’ve only gone and got their second feature making them part of a prestigious group of brands! But yeah i’ve got to say that if you’re looking for hats with a little bit of flare to them, with cuts that you’re not going to see everyday (not to say that their designs are insanely out there or anything) then these guys are well worth having a look at. Most of their stuff is really well priced between £30 -£50 despite really high care and quality throughout the manufacturing process. You can order straight from their website without occurring extra fees for items under £150.

Available in the UK at: This Thing Of Ours & Lost & Found

Kapital Bandanas

Came across these Kapital bandanas and I really liked the artwork on them, and so I bought one for £29 despite not being someone who wears bandanas. This is because I thought they’d work great on my bedroom wall, and with the price of buying art being very high, these are a cheap and unique alternative to brighten up your room.

Service Works Part Timer Shorts

Nothing too crazy here, but I always like to recommend stuff that I thinks reasonably priced, as at the end of the day even if I may do it myself, spending all your money on clothes is a bit silly!

Some Outfits By Oli

I really like the way Oli dresses and its great to see someone smiling in their fit pics. One of my favourite things about the way Oli dresses is the way he contrasts colours. I think he’s got the fit and the cut of his trousers, particularly of his jeans really spot on. With super baggy jeans having had their wave we’re going to see people go back to skinnier cuts. Though the jeans he’s wearing aren’t exactly skinny, or perhaps even straight leg as they remain some what baggy I think they strike a nice balance. And rolling them at the bottom works really nicely, for me its small details like these that I like to pick up on and implement into my own style.