Toggled Savoir Faire

I am a traditionalist of sorts. Give me a classic piece of clothing that never dates any day! This is especially true when it comes to outerwear. These are investment pieces that are meant to last, and never go out of style. The Duffle coat is one of these. Usually where the classics are concerned I am a purist and do not like designers or manufacturers to mess too much with the original design. However lately I have been seeing some modern interpretations of this British classic which I am particularly warming to. With the number of designers that are featuring them in their collections I am glad to see that it is here to stay in one form or another.

A duffle coat, or duffel coat, is a coat made from duffle, a coarse, thick, woolen material. The name derives from Duffel, a town in the province of Antwerp in Belgium where the material originates. Duffle bags were originally made from the same material. They have several distinct features that set them apart and are usually characterised as being a hooded coat with distinctive toggle fastenings.

The duffle coat owes its popularity to the British Royal Navy, who issued a camel-coloured variant of it as an item of warm clothing during World War I. The design of the coat was modified slightly and widely issued during World War II. Field Marshal Montgomery was a famous wearer of the coat, as a means of identifying himself with his troops, leading to another nickname, the "Monty coat". Large stocks of post-war military surplus coats available at reasonable prices to the general public meant that these coats became a ubiquitous and popular item of clothing in the 1950s and 1960s. The British firm Gloverall purchased surplus military supplies of the coats after World War II and have continued to still make the Monty ever since and in 1954 started producing their own version of the Duffle coat.

Every Duffle coat you see today in the classic style is a copy of the original made by Gloverall. Now being redesigned with a more fitted silhouette it is a perfect style to adopt if you want something with classic appeal but with a modern edge. New lines, lengths, proportions and hardware are seeing a resurgence of the coat with the fashionably hip.

Colours are no longer restricted to the dark and dreary, and we are seeing bright primary colours with other bold shades, to ensure that one is in no mood to let the winter grays get you down. Rich Tweeds and careful tailoring ensure that you are not wearing the equivalent of a box.

Wooden toggle-fastenings were made to be easily fastened and unfastened while wearing gloves in cold weather at sea. Toggles are now coming in variations of shapes, sizes, designs and materials, to give the coat a more modern updated look.

I know that winter is almost over for some of us and just starting for some so if you still have time embrace this quintessential winter solution.

One Week to Go!

Well, followers it is a week today that Savoir Faire leaves on vacation. Needless to say we cannot wait to be tramping the Great Wall of China and experiencing the countless other delights that China has to offer, chicken feet and all.



Of course, one asks the question what do I pack for a whirlwind 10 days in China? While I have the basics planned, Catherine over at The Fashionable Traveller has at least solved the problem with her post Fake Bags. I have always considered myself a good packer; however Catherine gives some great tips, which I will definitely be using.

Have a wonderful weekend all!

Cultural Thursday!

Tonight Savoir Faire is off to the Ballet! The Mariinsky ballet is here in Toronto this week presenting Swan Lake. With all the hype over “The Black Swan” movie and also the fact that it has been years since I have seen Swan Lake, it is going to be a nice break from the craziness that is hovering over my desk at work.

Of course there have been many interpretations of the work since its original inception by Tchaikovsky including the serious and the comedic.

One production of which I am itching to see is that of British choreographer Matthew Bourne. Bourne seems to push the envelope with his interpretations of classics, creating incredibly stylish, visual productions that challenge our already pre-conceived ideas. See my post on Bourne’s Dorian Gray.

http://david-toms.blogspot.com/2010/11/whos-pretty-boy-then.html

Bourne's Swan Lake radically reinterprets the original myth. The focus of the ballet is turned away from the Ondine character to the man – the Prince. It is the Prince who struggles against repression and hopes for liberty, and who needs love to make him safe. However, as in the Ondine myth, the sin of betrayal cannot be expiated except in death. Bourne’s scenario is an unofficial interpretation as he does not believe in scenarios for his productions and prefers the audience to interpret the story for themselves. Stylistic inspiration also came from the Alfred Hitchcock film The Birds.

One of the most noticeable changes Bourne has made has been the replacing of the traditional female corps de ballet with a cast of menacing male dancers. We have a preconceived idea of swans as somewhat fragile creatures and this is exemplified in the traditional staging of the ballet. The original ballet also creates a highly romanticized version of conventional heterosexual love. Placing a male in the lead role puts love between men in centre stage. According to Bourne, "The idea of a male swan makes complete sense to me. The strength, the beauty, the enormous wingspan of these creatures suggests to the musculature of a male dancer more readily than a ballerina in her white tutu."

The good thing is, while there have been several radical changes in Bourne’s interpretation, there are central themes that have not been changed. Both are about doomed, forbidden love, and both feature a Prince who wishes to transcend the boundaries of everyday convention through that love.

Bourne has also commented that "I could see an opportunity to create a human story, with the

potential for great dramatic power and range, indulge my satirical and humorous ideas”

Bourne has created an intense psychological drama. His choice of male swans is exactly what Tchaikovsky’s music requires. These are menacing bare chested dancers (and the black leathered version of The Swan at the party) are the perfect medium for the Prince to discover and celebrate his sexuality.

And although the Prince is unashamedly gay, Swan Lake is universal in its appeal and accessible to all persons who know what it means to be misunderstood, confused about sexuality and love, and long for intimacy and relationship.

Trotting the Globe!

As a schoolboy growing up in Australia and going to Boarding School we all had ports in which to carry our belongings in, to and from home for the holidays and also smaller versions to carry our books between classes and back to the dorms. They were also used extensively by schoolchildren until the advent of back packs to carry their books. What is a port you ask? Well basically it is a suitcase, as to why it is called a port I can only guess. I think that it was a small suitcase designated as hand luggage to be carried when disembarking off an Ocean Liner when travelling.


Invariably these small suitcases were made by Globetrotter. Going about its business since 1897 this British company has been quietly creating luggage of distinction, to become one of the best luggage companies in the world! They really do not subscribe to trends or fads, as their reputation has been built on good solid craftsmanship and design.


These are for the man who wants the perfect piece of solid reliable luggage. Carried by the solidly rich and famous from Douglas Fairbanks, Captain Scott, Sir Edmund Hilary to Winston Churchill, they are a travelling staple, having been to the ends of the world and back.

Each case is handmade with just the handles taking 5 days to make in antique Victorian presses. Cases themselves are made out of heavy fibreboard with multiple layers of bonded paper.

Of course over time they have updated some of their designs to move with the times, however the craftsmanship and general overall savoir faire of these cases styas the same. Recent lines for JCrew and Hackett have retained classic British styling and workmanship while remaining classic.

I wonder what has happened to my old Globetrotter port? I have a feeling it is in a barn at home in Australia, hopefully being discovered by an over inquisitive nephew!

Knot a Bowtie!

They say “never trust a man wearing a bow tie” however I am inclined to do just the opposite. Being a wearer of bow ties myself I consider myself to be one of the most trustworthy people I know! Delving into the meaning of this phrase was a little frustrating and I could not come up with a reasonable explanation. The explanations that did come to light I am not going to record on Savoir Faire as I will let my readers investigate for themselves.

As with my previous post on Bowlers, here is a little history on this staple of my wardrobe.
The bow tie originated among Croatian mercenaries during the Prussian wars of the 17th century: the Croat mercenaries used a scarf around the neck to hold together the opening of their shirts. This was soon adopted (under the name cravat, derived from the French for "Croat") by the aristocracy in France and thus flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries.

It is uncertain whether the cravat then evolved into the bow tie and necktie, or whether the cravat gave rise to the bow tie, which in turn led to the necktie.

Now we have all worn a bow tie at some stage in our lives, whether as a child, to our high school formal or to a wedding. I remember the huge dark blue velvet number I wore to my high school formal which seemed to have eclipsed everything in sight.

Public opinion equates the bow tie with formal evenings and weddings. Now however I notice the opposite. Neckties are slowly encroaching into the foothold that bowties held in this area, and bowties are venturing into day to day wear.

After a hiatus of about 30 years I have taken to wearing them again. Inspired by the Lanvin bowties available from H&M last year (of which I finally hunted one down on ebay), I cannot seem to get enough of them now. I am still having trouble tying my own and must confess I do have some ready tied ones; however I am not going to get into the argument of self tied against ready tied.

Warren St John of the New York Times wrote “To its devotees the bow tie suggests iconoclasm of an Old World sort, a fusty adherence to a contrarian point of view. The bow tie hints at intellectualism, real or feigned, and sometimes suggests technical acumen, perhaps because it is so hard to tie. Bow ties are worn by magicians, country doctors, lawyers and professors and by people hoping to look like the above. But perhaps most of all, wearing a bow tie is a way of broadcasting an aggressive lack of concern for what other people think."

Does the wearer perceive himself as the embodiment of intellectuality or eccentric? Or both?
Whatever the reasons for wearing a bowtie these days, the item is experiencing something of a comeback with men, for a variety of reasons. From young hipsters who disdain conventionality to the man about town, they are now available in all shapes and sizes from a variety of retailers.

And to travel with your bow ties? The ultimate accessory from Goyard!

If wearing a bowtie is not ‘your thing’ there is no reason you cannot use them as below and bring a bit of the savoir faire into everyday life.