Male Muse: Patrick Grant.

Although I seem to make it my life's mission to rail against it during the year, it's at Christmas that tradition seems bearable, if not entirely embraceable. Patrick Grant, he who's credited with the revival of the once great, then stagnant, now great again London tailors, Norton & Sons, is not only a learned and suave man but also consistently turns himself out impeccably.

With an EMBA, and a thesis on luxury British heritage brands therein, Grant knows a thing or two of the outfitting of the modern gentleman. His passion for the sustenance of the art of tailoring and his preoccupation with the provenance of both his clothing for E. Tautz and Norton & Sons (cloths derive mainly from the British Isles) marks him apart from contemporaries.

His style is both preened and subtly playful so as to not appear austere in its sophistication. It's quintessentially British, it's conservative and it's out-of-my-cash-league but its old-world allure is undeniable. This is not a manner of dressing I'd ever attempt to emulate but this time of year, I believe, demands such a harking back.

Read more on and from Mr. Grant here, here and here.

Images from Wayne Tippetts, The Sartorialist and Swipelife