Laurie Hopkins Menswear Blog

This morning saw the arrival of Philip, an agent we have dealt with for a number of years now since we opened an account with Heinricks (Club of Comfort) trousers via the now defunct Sigi Man Agencies of Manchester.

Over the years, Philip has shown us many collections including trousers, shirts, knitwear, suits & jackets and coats. Today he presented his Spring Summer 2009 ranges for:

• Club of Comfort (Trousers)
• Redford (Shirts)
• College (Knitwear)

As well as 2 other ranges which we chose not to buy (only because we have bought elsewhere), today really was a busy buying day and we saw some quality garments.

Club of Comfort trousers have always provided superb quality trousers made from the finest fabrics, their 2009 season was no different, we bought a stunning range of Pima Cotton trousers. These are without doubt, some of the lightest weight cotton trousers we have ever bought and should prove very popular with anyone looking for lightweight trousers for traveling.

Spring Summer 2009 will see a great mixture of checks and stripes from Redford shirts (part of the Seidensticker group), they produce some terrific value for money shirts with 100% cotton shirts starting from as little as £24.95.

For anyone who likes their knitwear to have bold patterns, then College Knitwear is a range to look at, it combines bright colours with unusual patterns and ultra light cottons for comfort. With patterned knitwear being harder and harder to find these days, College knitwear makes a refreshing change.

So thanks Philip for showing us such a well balanced and quality collection, I look forwards to seeing it on our shelves next February and March.

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Some years ago, we decided that we would start closing on Bank Holidays here at Laurie Hopkins Menswear, the reason behind that decision was that we were never really that busy on the previous occasions when we had opened and the chance of having a day off together with our family is always welcomed - so this year saw no exception and we closed for the August Bank Holiday.

This morning when the alarm went off, I would quite cheerfully turned over and fallen asleep again but thankfully I didn’t.

As I arrived for work at 8:55am there was already someone waiting on the doorstep, then we had a flood of Wedding Hire Returns from the busy weekend previously as well as the post etc.

Just when it started to quieten down again, Mick said ‘we could do with some deliveries’, the bell went and in walked 2 delivery drivers with 60+ pairs of trousers & 24 Sports Jackets for the Autumn Winter 2008.

There’s never a dull moment on a shop floor!

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WOW, today was busy for us, not only were we busy in the shop but we were also busy buying product for our Spring Summer 2009 collections.

First thing this morning saw the arrival of Frank who represents Douglas & Grahame. We have been dealing with both Douglas & Grahame as well as Frank for over 15 years now, although not always together, Frank used to represent Farah.

As usual, we bought a wide range of garments from him, including Sports Jackets, Casual Jackets, Trousers and knitwear.

This afternoon, Jayne and I (Michael) had to go to Leeds to visit another agent who we have dealt with for many years, Andrew Howie. Andrew now represents Claudio Campione, Digel Menswear and Milestone Leather Jackets amongst other products (don’t mention the Herbal Life!).

We started with Claudio Campione last year and the product went down well with our customers, their use of colour and fabrics is outstanding and their range of Linen Shirts is without doubt on of the best we have seen in a long time.

Jayne and Claudio Campione

Summer 2009 looks to be following on from 2008 and we are expecting good results from their garments.

Jayne buying Claudio Campione in Leeds

Sorry for the quality of the images, they were taken using my Mobile Phone.

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As Elton Johns said in his now famous song ‘Its cold as Christmas in the middle of the year’, well this summer really has been a shocker hasn’t it?

If your feeling the cold, then why not get in early this season for your new Winter Coat? We have just taken delivery of 2 ranges of Cabano Winter Jackets.

Last season saw us selling most of our Winter coats very early, obviously the cold weather had a lot to do with it but we also believe that the smoking ban in public houses was also a contributing factor. We had many people buying coats who had never previously had a true ‘winter coat’ - so our advice to you this season is to get in quick and keep warm this coming winter.

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A few years ago, we had what can only be described as a true Yorkshireman come into our shop here at Laurie Hopkins Menswear.

We offer an alteration service (if you buy the garment from us its FREE of charge - but that’s another story!) and an elderly man came in to see if Lauire could taper a pair of trousers he had that went with a Jacket to form a suit.

The Suit was over 30 years old, the jacket still fit him and despite the lapels being wide, the customer said he could live with that. It was the trousers that were the problem, they were flaired trousers and very obviously, they were not of the fashion of the day.

The customer asked Laurie if he could taper the trousers so that he could wear the suit again and not look out of place.

Laurie told him that he could and there would be no problem.

Our customer then asked ‘Only, can you leave the material on the inside when you taper them, just incase flared trousers make a come back!’

On an already 30 year old suit, a true Yorkshireman if ever I have met one.

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“It was a long trip but at least the coffee, trousers and service are good!” said our first customer this morning after he had made a round trip of 86 miles to come to our shop and buy a pair of trousers and 4 shirts.

Here at Laurie Hopkins Menswear, we regularly get repeat customers, many who travel some quite long distances to visit us.

We have made to measure customers who come from London, the Midlands and the Potteries as well as North Yorkshire and the Lake District. We even have one customer who comes all the way from the USA for us to make his suits (granted he does it when he’s over on business but none the less, he comes from the States).

We often joke that we are ‘world famous in Lindley’ however as you can see, our service and our products are such that people are willing to travel relatively long distances to visit us here at Laurie Hopkins Menswear, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

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Today saw the arrival of part of our Autumn / Winter Gabicci collection, as usual, we received a selection of mens knitwear and co-ordinating knitted shirts.

This seasons ‘must have’ knitwear colours are Sand and Earth combined with Salmon shirts.

Call in the store to see the full range.

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On Monday we had a rather tall gentleman come into our shop, he needed a hire suit (either a Lounge Suit, Dinner Suit or Tuxedo) but he needed it quick.

So that’s not very difficult is it? I hear you say, well not only was this customer very tall, he was also 54″ chest!

Now whilst that’s not ‘massive’ as such, the hight combined with the chest size meant that we couldn’t fit our customer up off the peg. We had to contract the hire in from our supplier who just happens to be the largest formal hire and Wedding Hire supply company in Europe (and possibly the world.)

So to add to the equation, not only had we got a tall gentleman with a large chest measurement, he required his suit and shirt for today because he was departing for a cruise tomorrow.

48 hours later, in walks the customer, tries on his suit and guess what? Yup - your right, it fit him perfectly. So as the saying goes ‘There you go Cinders, you can go to the ball!’

Have a great holiday.

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Meyer Trousers

The prize for first into store for this coming Autumn/Winter (2009) goes to none other than (as usual) MEYER trousers of Germany.

We received our first batch of Poly/Wool trousers alongside a range of Cotton trousers on Monday as Jayne and I were in Birmingham for the Moda Menswear show at the NEC.

Meyer is one of our best selling trousers, our customers like the attention to detail that they show in their trousers, most of which have an added zipped security area in the right hand trouser pocket. This security pocket is ideal for storing a €20 note and or a credit card should you be traveling abroad and venturing into areas you do not know particularly well.

All Meyer trousers also come with a neat coordinating belt and a loop that us sewn into the waistband where the belt is fastened, this belt stay helps to prevent the ‘dreaded’ belt rise that you can see on many mens trousers when they stand up.

Why not call into our shop and have a look at the exciting new range of Meyer trousers available.

I have just been informed that we have had yet another delivery from Meyer today, a striped 5 pocket western cotton trouser and two ranges of winter weight cottons also.

At this time of year, Laurie Hopkins Menswear has new Autumn/Winter stock arriving daily - there is never a dull moment!

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If you have been searching the Internet to find Big Mens Shirts or King Size Shirts or Shirts for Big Men then you maybe interested in taking a look at our on-line store (Shirtnly.com) where we have a range of Long Sleeve Shirts specifically for Big Men.

These poly/cotton shirts start at size 19″ Collar and go up to 23″ (in 1″ sizes) as standard.

There are 4 designs available, 2 Checks and 2 plains and retail at ONLY £14.95 each or if you buy 4 then our CLICK 4 DEALS comes into play and you would then pay only £49.80 for 4 King size shirts.

We currently have good stocks of these shirts however, they are selling fast so, dont delay, order today. Simply click this link and start shopping for Big Mens Shirts now.

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