Montague Burton: The High-street's Best Heritage.

Chances are you're all approaching a level of immense boredom re: the heritage revival that's been brewing for at least the past year but has come all out guns-, boots- and elbow-patches-ablazin' this AW11 season. As much as I appreciate the finer sartorial details of yesteryear (sharply cut tweed, suede patches, leather-work), the British (and, by extension, Irish) high-street's adaptation of the trend has seen some conceptually brilliant, but horrifically executed designs go on sale in the past couple of months.

Though it seems there's an exception in the form of British brand Burton. Previously synonymous, for me, with fairly crap slogan tees and sub-par suiting, Burton has really upped its game with a recently launched collection entitled Montague Burton, named after the label's founder.



^ A smart but not staid slim fit gun-patch blazer in 100% British grey tweed (£125)

^ Not usually a fan of the duffle but this verdant model has me changing camps, also 100% British wool (£150)

Taking inspiration from the company's 107-year-old archives, the collection centres on all things Brit, with British mills and British fabrics being used to create pieces that are perhaps best described as re-workings of the label's past fashion successes.

^ 100% British wool cable-knit jumper with leather elbow patches, comes at an awe-inducingly reasonable £60

^ Wool slouchy hold-all with leather trim and removable strap (£100)

Although - as an Irishman - the brand's descriptive statements like "The range [...] builds on the resurgence of national pride as we approach the 2012 Olympics" are just that bit too imperialistic to whet my appetite, the clothes, luckily, do a good enough job on their own.

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Shop the above selection and much more either online or in selected Burton stores.

Stone-Dri: 35 Years On...

We're all familiar with the fashion big-boys who, since the luxury of the concept of legacy has started to be highly prized (i.e. since the onslaught of fast fashion), have turned to touting their heritage to boost sales even further/ensure they're recession-proof (Burberry, Vuitton, Farah, Bally etc.), but it's not all that often we hear about fashion's comebacks...

^ Salford's Stone Brothers

Stone-Dri, a Salford, Manchester-based brand was born in 1948, when the four Stone brothers banded together to revolutionise their father's coat and costume manufacturing business. Starting off with a modest collection of outer- and rainwear, Stone-Dri went from strength to strength during the 50s, eventually expanding into a retail empire under the subsidiary company name of 'The Direct Rain Coat Company'. The brand continued to produce until 1973 when it was bought out and eventually fizzled out, subject - as all labels are - to the fickleness of fashion.

Now, though, some 35 years after the brand's last AW collection, owner Joel Brown unveils a fresh offering for AW 2011 which harks back to Stone-Dri's heyday but doesn't get stuck in the mud there. Attentive to the brand's original signatures - utility, functionality, comfort and style, the revamped Stone-Dri's AW11 collection blends waxed cottons with Italian wools in a spectrum of season-appropriate but far from drab colours.

^ Drayton black-hooded spray jacket (€95.20)

^ Milmoor charcoal sweatshirt (€72.80)

^ Eastway brown overhead jacket (€106.40)

If only all comebacks were this successful - looking at you Duran Duran...

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Shop Stone-Dri (they also do a range of polos and shirts) exclusively at ASOS Marketplace.

55DSL Footwear: CRI55 CRO55 X 55TOP.

It's recently come to my attention that I currently have one pair of shoes in my possession. The rest, friends, are boots, and funnily enough, I'm not all that bothered. Since discovering what's often deemed the men's equivalent of the heel (albeit a hell of a lot easier to walk in...), I've never really looked back, content with the durability, versatility and comfort that they offer. Yes, it's led to one or two odd (and unfortunately permanent) foot markings but that's all part of the semi-masochistic boot-breaking-in process, something that assures you this type of footwear demands your respect, rather than attempting to earn it.

And yet, variety is the spice of life and I'm reasonably sure that I'm causing permanent damage to general anatomy, so, you know, I've begun to think about exploring other avenues. 55DSL, Diesel's Italian sister brand which I penned a piece on a few weeks back, makes change all the more enticing with a line of decidedly chic sneakers; yes, I know that sounds oxymoronic but look below for yourself...

^ The 55TOP - a high-top sneaker inspired by 80's skate style mixes nylon with leather and suede accents for sexy results.

^ The CRI55 CRI55 - a two-tone, suede-and-nylon mix running shoe

The line is all about imperfections according to 55DSL i.e. each shoe is unique, varying in some stitch or detail, which they seem to think cranks up the 'beauty' caché. I'm not entirely convinced by the jargon but provided they don't fall apart after a few wears, consider me sold.

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Available from 55DSL and selected Diesel stores this month.

Hab' noch einen Koffer in Berlin.

Back from Berlin and ready for a week of Absolut Mode, absolute essays and absolute dissertation research. Since time's somewhat scant today, there's less of my verbal meandering and more of my shoddy photography to keep y'all entertained...

Check back soon for a new Q+A, a way overdue giveaway and general musings...

And in the meantime...

^ Mauerpark in the wintry mist. Stark contrast to everyone blissfully off their heads singing karaoke on a Summer's Sunday afternoon.

^ One of my favourite Berlin streets (Oderbergerstrasse), unsurprisingly detested by the anti-Establishment, anti-capitalist, uncomprosingly leftist population of the city for its wealth of sexy shops and cafés.

^ Free GQ Style! Who cares who may have urinated on it...

^ Impala is an incontestable must for tea and coffee fans. HRH E. House recommends their extensive chai selection.

^ Berlin playgrounds - for an eclectic mix of cute children and ranting junkies. This is just one of a series I drunkenly stumbled through with visiting friends.

^ Happy Shop on Torstrasse! The place to blow your month's rent on some Meadham Kirchoff before promptly taking your mind off your wrecklessness with a €3 cocktail a few doors down at BR 101.

^ Good Morning Vietnam on Alte Schönhauser Strasse in Mitte is both affordable and delicious. Ditch slavish followers of hipster rhetoric who frequent Monsieur Vuong down the road, Good Morning Vietnam is a damn sight better and you won't feel the need to preen and pout.

^ Haarwerkstatt (also on Alte Schönhauser Strasse, Mitte) do a wash-and-cut incredibly schnell and for no more than €12. Just remember the German practice of selber föhnen i.e. styling your own hair - don't look surprised if your stylist hands you a hair-dryer.

^ The launch of this Rosa-Luxembourg-Strasse Mykita store was one of the v. few I attended during my sojourn in Berlin. Whilst there myself and some Irish friends watched little girls try out the free make-up samples by applying generous amounts of mascara to their lips and engaged in our favourite activity of marvelling at how impossibly attractive Berliners can be.

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To explore more, check out 032c, I Heart Berlin and Stil in Berlin. Diejenigen, die Deutsch können, schlage ich euch vor: Les Mads, René Schaller und Zeitgeschmack.

Up In Arms.

You might recall I suggested camo for Halloween attire a couple of weeks back. Now I'm proposing it for everything from your work-wardrobe (depending on your profession, of course...) to occasion wear to down-the-pub/club apparel. Granted you may receive a few sniggering 'G.I. Joe/Action Man' remarks but that's a hell of a lot better than Ken, right?

^ Tee from ASOS Vintage; jeans from Topman; boots from Dr. Martens Triumph 1460 range

Thread: A Fashion Magazine for Dublin.

To Berlin this morning to spend a few days with fellow red wine and Evelyn Waugh enthusiast and good friend, SMP. In the absence of normal post frequency, here's a little something to tide you over...

^ Thread Issue 2 - 'One Thing Leads to Another'

Thread Magazine is a fashion magazine for Dublin, one apart from the celebrity-worshipping, pink-hued bibles of tack, which aims to bring the finest of the Irish fashion community - both at home and abroad - to the fore. Launched earlier this year, the arrival of the sophomore issue was toasted (a little too enthusiastically by myself...) Friday night last at Dublin's Block T.

I interviewed London-based twin designers Tata Naka for the issue but there's lots more to keep you rapt from a feature on Ireland's arguably most significant photographic export, Boo George, to an interview with London-based designer and Gaga favourite Sorcha O' Rachallaigh.

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See Thread for an online version of Issue 1 and stockists of the current issue.

On a balcony in...Dublin.

Considering it's been an eon since I last posted something vaguely personal style-ee, and seeing as the new wintry snap has given good reason to cover up that bit more, I thought it was high time I took the opportunity to show off my...er...wares...

^ Beginning to think that all of my kind of fast-fashion buys always turn out to be my investment purchases. I snapped this New Look jumper up for a mere €5 (using a generous friend's v. generous 50% employee discount) during last year's colder months and save for a bit of washing-induced warping, it's still looking pretty fine.

Green joggers from Topman, and boots by Wolverine at Urban Outfitters.

^ Reason enough, I suppose, that I'm not set to be the next David Gandy...

^ Major thanks to Urban Outfitters who kindly invited me 'round to their place to select some AW stock to share with y'all. As well as these unfathomably comfortable, impeccably crafted boots, I picked up a Farah peacoat and a Cheap Monday shirt (more on these in the future...).

Tote bag from ASOS

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Thanks to housemate HRH E. House for the photos. We took these on our apartment balcony/roof-garden (hence the Kate reference in the title) in a hungover haze after a sizeable brunch post last night's Thread Magazine Issue 2 launch. How did you spend Saturday?