It’s now February, and as is the custom, new Spring/Summer collections are being dished out across the world.

Major brands take on their quest to include whatever is depicted as this summer’s must-have looks and items, and slightly tweak those looks to create something different, but yet accustomed to what everyone else is doing.

As the phrase goes, everyone wants to be different like everyone else.

Energie, to their risk, are ignoring what the market depicts what they should be offering, and completely going their own way, and unlike many other labels, Energie are championing the denim look.

As a brand who channels their vision soley towards the quality of their own produucts, Energie are delivering this season a sharp, charismatic feel to the table, with a rugged vibe. A completely refreshing gulp of Red Bull to awake us from a coming season filled with weirdly-shaped ¾ shorts combined with matching blazers for a geek-chic culmination.

Not only have Energie refused to ignore denim this season, but they have become masters of the much-loved material, bringing to their SS11 range FIVE designs, including the skinny CATCH, a slim-fit RALPH and the worker design ROOSTER.

Energie have encaptulated the feelings of consumers that although change is good, and risk is great for the industry, the tweaking of a classic is much more appealing. Click Here for more information

For far too long now, the stroll through the shopping centre has been tainted by the arctic-style aesthetics of Swarovski. The crystal panels and elegant interior sparkles in the corner of your eye, as the shimmer even uses the floor to which you fix your sight of ignorance.

Although we moan about the choice that women get in terms of fashion, such quality should never be gender specific.

These feelings are soon to be absent, as Swarovski are about to launch their first ever men’s range to be released for Spring/Summer 2011. As the world’s leading brand of Crystal offerings, the realisation of the desire from the male half for high quality accessories has been long overdue, but as we were planning a sigh of relief, the sight of the items took our breath away, which left our initial plan of action hard to accomplish.

As we mentioned above, we have have been fully ware of Swarovski for a long time now, and even though the company has always empowered female sophistication and embodiment, the brand has always commanded a strange air of respect, and indeed jealousy, from the modern man.

The new collection takes shape through six ranges, catering for all events and moods, from business efficiency to weekend wildness. “Unlike our women’s jewellery collections which are characterized by bright colours and bold crystals, we have focussed here on a cleaner, purer interpretation of brilliance. Secretive, mysterious and metallic, the men’s collection celebrates the timeless elegance and beauty of black tones”, interprets Nathalie Colin, the creative director behind the transition.

The new collection will be available across 1900 sales points around the world by the end of January, so make sure you visit Swarovski, an area where your own debit card formerly had no business.

Unlike 99.9% of fashion brands who have attempted to back-track drastically in their attitudes towards
a more eco-friendly Earth, Simple shoes would never be so candid.

Launched 20 years ago, Simple Shoes took the form of a reflex-action, caused by the frustration of over-marketted, over-priced and over-hyped products that formed the trend of Modern consumerism, and the fickleness of its own nature.

Angered  by the  market, as well as the industry’s approach to a healthy planet, Simple Shoes walked up to the crease with eco-bat in hand, ready to launch whatever the major brands bowled straight over mid-wicket to the motorway.

Amid all the difficulties of running a successful clothing label on a mind frame based on wholesome products, Simple refused to crumble, and as the determination to sculpt a different pathway for the industry continued, the companies success began to escalate. 20 years ahead of the birth, Simple are now starting to become a global brand themselves, with stores spanning from Canada to China. I am pretty sure that isn’t really what they wanted when they started out, but that’s what comes with a great brand, forward thinking and lovely items.

The launch of the new Spring/Summer 2011 collection is upon us, as is the message that putting on a pair of greener specs to take in the world doesn’t always come with the sacrifice of substituting style for ethics. With convenience being the vital issue in changing the planet, a transition to an eco-friendly environment is not only made easy by Simple, but is much preferred.

Investing in a pair of Simple shoes could be compared to purchasing a ticket for a comedy showcase for Comic Relief. A purchase fruiting a fantastic experience with the side-order of doing some good. We’ll attach this season’s look-book so you can see for yourself.

Click here for more information on Simple Shoes.

When it comes to organising your life into wallets, document holders and securing you key to travel; your passport, into a holder, nothing compares to dressing them in leather. Slick, stylish and dam right uber cool, leather accessories are definitely the way forward. If Mulberry, Mont Blanc, Loius Vuitton and the likes are out of financial reach, don’t despair, N.D.C. are here to pepper your man bag with affordable cow hide. Desired by some of the worlds most infamous fashion boutiques, NDC are going from strength, hence their branch into men’s accessories. Made by hand, the accessories are super dapper, luxury pieces. Read more →

Like a lobster being plunged from the relatively cool lodgings of a tank into a pan of boiling water, it seems that as soon as the scarves and gloves come off our bodies this season, we are being advised to have the shorts at the ready.

Shorts are going to figure prominently next season in the majority of SS11 collections, as many of fashion’s biggest names are turning to the influences of ‘Prep School’ fashion and ‘Uni-Chic’ styles to form the basis of their lines. The release of Harrod’s SS11 look book has, within it, many extravert ranges that include Acne’s offering of Kevin Keegan-esque brown shorts coupled with a pair of Electric Blue ankle boots, and Thom Browne’s design of knee-high black socks leading up to a pair of grey shorts that match a rather elegant suited top-half.

To combine any pair of shorts with something other than a t-shirt, in our eyes, takes a man of a certain ballsy-ness to pull off, but for a gent to take these risky looks under their wing and into their wardrobe will require the traits of a man who defies the tide of regularity, and conforms only to their own wanting to express.

If current trends are anything to follow, this Spring seems to be calling for a certain creativity from the consumer, as designers test the waters for approval from their followers to progress into unknown territory. Over this last year, we have seen, yet been apart of, the growth of a more timid, even geeky, sartorial sense within the high street and high-end designers. It will be extremely interesting to see if the current wanting from designers to impress and push the boundaries will fall on intrigued or deaf ears.

Click the images for more information

Usually, in most cases, I would suggest that to spend any sizeable amount of money on improving an area the size of a 1 pence piece on any of your garments, would make exactly the same sense as donating that same amount of money to a successful stock broker. Those lunches don’t pay for themselves, you know.

But, amid that definition, your favourite shirt is pretty much made redundant without the right piece of sartorial elegance planted on your cuff.

For a modern man, the cuff link should always be a staple figure on your shirt, as your suit jacket slips upwards, as you lift the mug of coffee revealing an accessory to attract second glances of jealousy. Such is the quality of the offerings from Tyler and Tyler, these green-eyed stares will be in absolute abundance with an investment in even a single pair.

The company, created by brothers Richard and Jonathan Tyler, is one of the few accessory companies that really do hold true the British trail of fashion, as they successfully install within their catalogue of class the sharpness and charm that is affiliated with bespoke English elegance.

Whether it’s a gift for a deserved dad, or just an indulgence in something quite special, Tyler and Tyler have a wide range of cuff link and collar stiffener sets, ranging from the wonderfully witty to the aesthetically orgasmic. So if you do truly value yourself as a bit of a style sultan, an acquisition from the Tylers boys will only solidify such a statement.

Click Here for a full list of the Tyler and Tyler sets.

Some will call this a gift that will offer benefits for both the giver and the receiver. Others may just label it as a bit of a novelty. We at Sartorial Male will describe Letetia Schulenbergs creation as a gift from Santa Claus himself, as he has finally been reading his Christmas wish list for pretty much every Sartorial straight man who graces this fine earth.

For decades, actually sod it, for Centuries, men have been given a subliminal exam just moments before they delve into the beast with two backs. The hard work has already been conducted, and now she is there, and she’s yours. You slowly caress and devour, as you imagine yourselves entwined in a waterfall of seduction, with passion sprouting through every breath. You reach your hand down around her back, and……..THE MAGIC STOPS!!!

You spend the next 2 minutes trying to negotiate the bra clasp, or anti-male device as I like to call it, as you try your hardest to work the fiddling of her underwear into your master plan of ecstasy. “What are you talking about? The whole putting my foot on your back and tugging at you bra strap was all part of the magic baby, jump aboard.”

She turns around, faces you as she flicks it off herself, undermining you in every possible way, as you try and carry on with the act without feeling completely useless. End result- she doesn’t call you back, because you’re an oaf.

Well thankfully, Selfridges will be stocking a collection that will, if the world is as nice a place as we think it, catch on and spread throughout the whole female population before the new year.

The Dement collection holds all the luring, sexuality that you would want from the underwear that your partner/whomever choosed to wear, but with just a few minor alterations that make life a lot easier for all concerned.

Although said females can be quite unsympathetic to us when it comes to such a travesty in engineering, one woman who does understand is, luckily for us, head buyer for Selfridges, Helen Atwood.

““While fumbling to unhook a bra strap is a romantic comedy cinematic cliché, it can actually be quite a passion killer. This new magnetic lingerie is not just easier touse, but also the biggest innovation in the underwear market for years. Those moments wasted with the bra fumble can now be put to much better use”

Our words exactly, Helen.

Schlumberger’s Dement Magnetic range will be available at all stores, and also www.sefridges.com, later this week.

Got some last-minute Christmas shopping and can’t think what to fill your special someone’s stocking with? Try a festive splash of body cleansing gel from US grooming brand Anthony Logistics for Men…

In a duo of red- and green-coloured Christmas-themed gels, you could choose between a peppermint-scented stocking filler and a green-coloured bottle of mint and eucalyptus gel.

The beauty behind both super-sized gels is that they are a two-in-one: on the one hand you’ve got a bottle filled with natural botanical extracts – on the other hand you’ve conditioning extracts ready to soften and smooth your skin.

Those natural botanical extracts aren’t your run-of-the-mill additions either. Key ingredients include Glycerin (a natural, plant-based humectant that attracts and retains moisture), Wheat Protein (which nourishes, tightens and strengthens skin) and Aloe Vera (this stuff calms and restores the natural PH level of the skin).

It’s a terrific idea for a small – or not so small! – stocking-filler that will have you or your man smelling and feeling festively fantastic.

As an institution that always supports any moves to showcase upcoming talent, how on earth could the Sartorial Male ignore the opening of a  new store that looks to channel the latest offerings of the British fashion world.

The new concept store will be the hub of the forward thinking, as the space will be crammed with various lines and collections catering to all the needs of the various specifications that we, as consumers, are accustomed to.

British Designers Emma Cook, Felder Felder, Jean-Pierre Braganza amongst others will now have their own specific location where they are not only able to influence their customers in their garments, but also lead the example for the various new talents that will also be using the floor space.

In a business that thrives on numerous breakthroughs on prettty much a weekly basis, the store will operate a rotation policy, so the store represents the industry as an ever-changing, ever-enhancing world.

Rubbing shoulders with the best will only enhance the quality of emerging talent in the capital, and as London is pretty much the epicentre of this universe, you could say that this new move offers an exact insight into what the future holds for British fashion.

You can find British Designers @ Fashion Capital at 2 Seymour Place, W1