This week, it's me who sticks to the nugget exercise with two very different atmospheres.
Lovers of Italian casual chic and Japanese brands (yes, I combine the two), this selection is for you.
Avino denim shirt from L’officine Paris
Why this brand?
Avino is a very, very beautiful Italian shirt house, with magnificent hand finishes.
It's difficult to talk about Avino without talking about L'Officine Paris, this super nice Parisian boutique , run by Victor, who distributes this brand with the possibility of tailor-made or personalization.
Why this room?
The 8 hand loops on this shirt are simply exquisite. Between the hand-mounted collar, the travettos on the sleeves, the hand-turned shoulder, etc., it's the great thrill of the Italian shirt.
One of the travettos of an Avino shirt. Photo: Permanent Style article on Avino .
If these finishes don't mean anything to you, don't panic, Victor will be happy to explain them to you with a lot of teaching.
Please note: our colleague Very Good Lord has done a very detailed review .
Aizea half-lined sneakers
Why this brand?
I just talked about it in my last Let's Talk About Clothes , I like this small leather goods brand created by a Basque, specializing in taurillon, this leather with undeniable charm.
He produces luggage that makes you want small, charming hotels on the seafront, and a bit of "footwear" that you want to wear to have an aperitif with friends by the beach.
In any case, that's how I imagine myself wearing his pieces.
Why this room?
Joakin, the founder, wanted to solve a real problem that everyone knows…
Namely, which elegant sneakers to wear in summer? This is why, with the help of a podiatrist, he developed “semi” lined sneakers, therefore lighter and more breathable than a leather sneaker with a lining (also in leather).
The taurillon model, from a Basque tannery, I really like for its very high-end finish, and because it's a material that we're really not used to seeing on sneakers.
I'll let you read the Ulule page where he explains the product from top to bottom.
Cadot olive cotton suit
Real “soft tailoring” Cadot version.
Why this brand?
Cadot is a recurring brand in our columns, because it offers an elegant and relaxed wardrobe
Guillaume Cadot has great taste and a very precise vision of masculine style: there are Italian influences.
Why this room?
I wasn't particularly convinced by the cotton suit (from Brisbane Moss), but I tried it out of curiosity and I really liked the comfort and relaxedness of the whole thing.
Where I agree with Guillaume is that cotton allows you to considerably relax a blazer, to give it a more “relaxation” side.
This relaxation is also accentuated by shoulders without reinforcements.
Now, let's radically change the atmosphere with two Japanese brands...
Teatora pants
Step 1.
Why this brand?
It is a Japanese brand specializing in “packable” clothing.
The clothes are simple at first glance, but with quite a few features that make them very practical for frequent air travel. More generally, they like to claim that they make the best clothing suitable for sitting.
(be careful, the ergonomics of their website is a little… tense)
2nd step.
Why this room?
You see me coming, slightly technical clothing made in Japan, sold in France, is normally expensive, very expensive.
But while I was walking through the very confidential 1LDK store , what was my surprise to see that they had Teatora pants (the last one) on sale for €180 instead of €300.
And I'm going to be clear with you: the French price is very expensive, at this price, you might as well get super comfortable pants from Lululemon's "Lab" range
But on sale, it's starting to be very interesting pure made in Japan.
So what is this coin worth?
The cut is very "Japanese", therefore with a lot of width and comfort to be able to eat on your knees in a Tokyo restaurant
The material is a well-crafted 100% nylon, which actually looks like a "crispy" cotton. The particularity is two large zipped pockets with strategically placed openings, so that they are easily accessible even when you are seated.
And it works pretty well!
As for the integrated pocket to store the pants, it can also serve as a secret pocket when the pants are worn.
Now, between our Schoeller pants (one of the most comfortable I've ever worn), my Caldus Cargo from Lululemon Lab, and these pants from Teatora, I'm now well equipped for very long trips.
The Descente x DSPTCH “packable collection”
Why this brand?
We continue in “packable” clothing with this collaboration between Descente and DSPTCH.
Descente is a Japanese brand of technical clothing that I really like, especially after going to their flagship store in Shinjuku, which is absolutely crazy.
I'm particularly a fan of their high-end line called "All Terrain". In short, consider this brand as the Japanese Arc'téryx.
They therefore collaborated with DSPTCH, an American bag brand, on a collaboration of clothes which each have their own integrated storage pocket.
Why these pieces?
Having EVERY piece fit into its own integrated bag is the ultimate fantasy of the frequent traveler that I am!
More seriously, it allows you to have a perfectly organized suitcase, where each item of clothing takes up as little space as possible. Basically, it is not possible to fold it even more compactly.
And obviously, if you have clothes that take up less space to fold, you can also take a smaller bag! And therefore travel with a smaller bag.
