Jan 23

Whilst its still only January and no doubt we have a fair bit of bad weather still to come (especially if this summer is anything like last years!!) its always nice at this time of year in a menswear shop to see the new season stock coming in.

Spring is always exciting in clothes retailing, we see the dark colours associated to the winter months gradually give way to the brighter, lighter colours of spring.

Our banks of trousers (Have I told you we have over 1000 pairs of trousers in stock at any one time?) are the best indication; the arms that hold the trousers gradually get lighter as we fill up empty spaces with new stock that is arriving daily, gradually over the next 6 - 8 weeks, the whole shop will change colour - just like the countryside does as the spring bulbs first emerge from the ground and then start to flower.

Oh, I do like the spring!

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Aug 27

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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Aug 22

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

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

Jayne buying Claudio Campione in Leeds

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

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