In this meeting within the Readers' Mail, I talk to you about brands. And each time, three brands in particular:
- Favorite : a brand that I really like at the moment, whose collections I look at with envy.
- Spotlight : a brand that has not been mentioned or barely mentioned on BonneGueule. A discovery in short.
- Brand news : discuss recent news about a brand regularly mentioned in our columns, which you probably know.
The previous brand review can be found here .
1. ❤️ Current favorite: Nigel Cabourn
Lookbook Spring/Summer 2017. Heddels
Nigel Cabourn is a brand that I sometimes come across on high-end multi-brand e-shops, as well as on the Marrkt platform, which I presented to you here .
I recently took a closer look at the collections, the DNA, the style statement and I admit I was amazed.
What I like most is this vision of the workwear style with beautiful, very raw materials, very well-chosen colors, beautiful volumes.
An example:
This Nigel Cabourn patchwork hunting jacket inspired blazer is pretty amazing.
The work is sharp, almost obsessive about detail , with many references to the clothes of yesteryear.
For example, you will regularly find a central rear tightening tab on the brand's trousers. , a detail that I have seen very little in contemporary trousers.
This tab was present on the original Levi's jeans and, combined with the wearing of suspenders, served to keep the pants in place at a time (from 1872 to 1922) when belt loops did not yet exist. :
A stylistic, practical detail that pays homage to the very first jeans.
You will find four ranges at Nigel Cabourn:
- Authentic , which is the classic range, English made
- Mainline is a small capsule using Japanese materials and manufacturing specifically
- Lybro , a little less expensive thanks to Chinese manufacturing. Lybro is a heritage workwear brand created in 1927 and taken over by Nigel Cabourn.
- Army Gym , a more sportswear range
A rather short sweatshirt with a boxy cut and wide ribbed edges.
Prices are high at Nigel Cabourn (count €200 for a shirt or €200 to €400 for trousers for example), a consequence of the sharp search for style, the high-end materials used and the manufacturing, which is mainly English.
However, you will find discounted brand products at various retailers without too much hassle.
And in any case, it is in my opinion a brand to follow , if only for the style, to take in a bit of eye candy.
2.💡 Spotlight: Rewoolution
I've been spending a lot of time on Yoox lately, looking for new pieces for my spring/summer wardrobe.
I admit that I like getting lost in these thousands of sometimes strange clothes, and managing to extract good deals or make discoveries, as is the case with Rewoolution .
So I was looking for merino t-shirts on Yoox and then I came across this brand.
Intrigued, I did some research and discovered that it is a brand owned by Reda with a complete range of clothing made exclusively from Reda Active fabrics: t-shirts, leggings, shirts, liners, jackets... there's everything.
The essential merino t-shirt available in a wide range of colors, material weights and sleeve lengths.
What is Reda Active? To learn all about this range of fabrics from the Italian weaver Reda, I invite you to see:
The brand's message is generally quite sporty , but if you dig a little deeper, you can find pieces with designs that can fit well into city outfits:
Here, the style statement is interesting. A green shirt with a vertical zipped pocket. 100% Reda Active merino, of course.
You will also find some pieces with a more advanced design:
I wouldn't wear this jacket, but I find its design well studied and its proportions harmonious. Still 100% merino wool.
The entire collection of the brand is made in Italy.
Thus, the mid-range prices are consistent with the place of manufacture and the quality and traceability of the materials used: expect to pay a little less than €100 for a t-shirt or leggings, for example.
The more exterior pieces (jackets, windbreakers) logically cost more but have real added value: padded jackets equipped with a waterproof membrane and a 100% merino wool exterior, it's a very niche product and you don't really see them every day.
In any case, if you are looking for high-performance clothing with ultra-traced merino fibers: this should satisfy you.
3. 📰 Brand news: ABCL Laboratorio
We regularly mention the ABCL Garments brand in our columns: the collections are always very beautiful, carefully made in Japan or Italy, with beautiful Italian or Japanese materials.
The prices are accordingly: for example, expect to pay between €150 and €200 for a shirt.
What you probably don't know is that Mattia recently launched a parallel range to ABCL Garments called ABCL Laboratorio.
The promise is simple: beautiful shirts at affordable prices. €69.99 to be precise.
At this price you have a small selection of white shirts in poplin, oxford or Giro Inglese.
Find the history of the Giro Inglese here .
What I find interesting in the approach is that in addition to the fabrics and the price, there are four variations:
- Two cuts: one regular and one slim
- And two collar constructions: classic and soft constructed . While the so-called classic collar will be a little more structured, rigid, for a more formal look, the so-called soft constructed collar will be more flexible, soft, with a lighter iron-on and interlining, for a more casual, nonchalant look.
For your information, the manufacturing is Chinese.
I couldn't find a lookbook or photos showing the product worn. However, you can count on a precise size guide, allowing you to get a very good idea of the differences between the two cuts.
In any case, I'm curious to see the continuation of this project, perhaps with other shirt colors or even other pieces?
