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Our trends in the North
They've got better personal hygiene, and better haircuts. They're good at ironing, but would never wear pink. James Anderson on why the cutting edge of men's fashion has moved way beyond Watford
This is not some dog rough pub in Don-caster, circa 1986. It is, in fact, Mother - currently one of the most fashionable bars in London.
Gazing about the elegantly-battered Hoxton pub, it's hard not to feel puzzled by what the twenty. and thirtysomething men of this East End venue are wearing. They seem to fall into two broad categories. There's the Ironic Fashion Brigade (see above) or, more typically. there's the bogstandard Media Professional/Wannabe Posse, playing safe with low-slung baggy jeans (Evisu, twisted Levi's and so on) and hard-to-get sneakers, procured in the US or; erm, Oxford Street.
Given the rather dull state of both camps, it is hard to fathom why London males are generally still perceived as more stylish than their Northern counterparts. Of course, there are many other gents in the capital who veer towards sleek designer labels. But London's hipper hangouts tend to be Prada- and Gucci-free zones.
Jamie Huckbody, a fashion features writer and stylist for i-D and Vogue, originally from Rotherham, believes this occurs because "men in the South take it all for granted, because it's on their doorstep. They've got access to every designer label going, thanks to stores like Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Browns and Jones. The result is that a lot of them have now shunned it, and gone more downbeat. In fact, it's become more of a statement now in fashion to not make a statement."
Hence, on a recent trip to Leeds - his first in three years Huckbody was "amazed at how refined the men looked. It was freezing cold, yet they looked as though they were on the French Riviera. They had nicely pressed trousers, loafers, short sleeved shirts - all in labels such as Dolce & Gabbana - showing off nicely tanned bodies; And everyone reeked - it was fragrance overdose. They looked very groomed, tanned and manicured. Then there was me - this "fashion person" from London - and I looked like an absolute tramp".
This North-South style divide is partly down to the long-held London-centric attitude of style magazines such as The Face, i-D and Arena. Only in the past five years or so have these publications really begun to assess what men north of Watford are wearing and discovered home grown Northern labels such as Elk (Manchester), Bent and Corrupt (Leeds) and One True Saxon (Nottingham).
Manchester-born Jayne Roberts, senior buyer for thing-is.com, the much-trumpeted new online fashion site, says: "Boys in Manchester have never been very influenced by those sorts of magazines anyway. They do their own thing and make it up as they go along. When the whole "baggy" look was happening 10 years ago, that was something which evolved from the streets - thanks to bands like the Happy Mondays - and from clubs like the Hacienda.
"It wasn't something that people suddenly started wearing because they'd read about it in The Face - which had to get in on the act quickly, because they were suddenly made to look a bit out of touch."
These days, she feels that men in Manchester are "willing to buy into clothes that are part of a "lifestyle" if that lifestyle is something to do with music, for instance. But not if it’s seen as just another London, media-created trend".
Indeed, the menswear label One True Saxon has bypassed the notion of the South being home to the best-dressed blokes by simply refusing to sell their beautiful, hand-finished denims and reinterpreted classic sportswear pieces anywhere in London. The label - with promotional lingo stating "Only Available In The North"- is the brainchild of three former Paul Smith employees, Mark Bailey, Ian Paley and lan Bergin. They have not so much declared fashion war on the capital, as opted to give Southerners a taste of their own elitist medicine.
"When I was growing up, it was about the "look" and the garment not the brand", says 32-year-old Bailey, "and you would be willing to travel somewhere, and make the extra effort, to get what you wanted." So they thought they'd turn the tables. "But we're not anti-South, we're just pro-North." The result? Hype and desirability now surround the label (which Bailey notes is being teamed with other non-fad brands such as Duffer, vintage Lee and [?]
Paradoxically, this hype avalanche has been created in part by the London style press, with magazines like Sleaze Nation, Arena and The Face recently giving glowing write-ups. Hence, One True Saxon's HQ and its 20 North-based stockists have been fielding increasing numbers of telephone enquiries from frustrated Southerners desperate to get their legs inside the latest and best breeks going.
Josh Sims, associate editor of Arena Homme Plus, reckons men in the North are "more willing to spend a lot of money on clothes, and they're more loyal to brands. But they're not so big on fashion in terms of seasonal trends". And One True Saxon's Mark Bailey - who is also a freelance consultant for Levi's, believes: "People in the North are far more interested in the origin of a garment, and in the detail, whereas if you go to the South, menswear brands that tend to do very well are the ones that have an air of superficial glitz about them. And so many shops there are selling the same old stuff there's a lot of disposable fashion. In the North, the cost of living is so much cheaper, and people live for the weekend. It sounds like a cliche, but they live for fashion much more."
The big stores have been wise to this Northern fashion nous for some time. London fashion mecca Harvey Nichols opened a branch in Leeds in the mid-Nineties, and has plans for more outlets in Manchester and Edinburgh. Selfridges now has a store in the centre of Manchester.
Fiona Firth, buyer for Harvey Nichols in both London and Leeds, is hugely impressed by the male customers Up North. "The men there want well-made clothes," she reveals. "They're very knowledgeable about designers. The customers love Gucci and Prada and they can't get enough of Burberry, but more adventurous labels like Margiela and McQueen are also selling very well now. Men in the North are very meticulous in their appearance, but they like to look like men - they will never buy pink garments."
A final - and brutal - verbal assault on the assumed superiority of men's dress sense in the South is offered by Mancunian fashion expert Jo-Ann Furniss, a contributing editor to i-D magazine. "Men in Manchester just have this innate sense of style and arrogance - they walk around thinking they're it, and they have enough confidence to carry it off. They always have better haircuts and better personal hygiene. And for some reason, they're always really good at ironing- which means they look sharper and neater. Men in London just don't wash properly - and, I'm sorry, but shambling around Hoxton with a mullet and an old pair of Converse trainers just doesn't cut it, frankly."
This is not some dog rough pub in Don-caster, circa 1986. It is, in fact, Mother - currently one of the most fashionable bars in London.
Gazing about the elegantly-battered Hoxton pub, it's hard not to feel puzzled by what the twenty. and thirtysomething men of this East End venue are wearing. They seem to fall into two broad categories. There's the Ironic Fashion Brigade (see above) or, more typically. there's the bogstandard Media Professional/Wannabe Posse, playing safe with low-slung baggy jeans (Evisu, twisted Levi's and so on) and hard-to-get sneakers, procured in the US or; erm, Oxford Street.
Given the rather dull state of both camps, it is hard to fathom why London males are generally still perceived as more stylish than their Northern counterparts. Of course, there are many other gents in the capital who veer towards sleek designer labels. But London's hipper hangouts tend to be Prada- and Gucci-free zones.
Jamie Huckbody, a fashion features writer and stylist for i-D and Vogue, originally from Rotherham, believes this occurs because "men in the South take it all for granted, because it's on their doorstep. They've got access to every designer label going, thanks to stores like Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Browns and Jones. The result is that a lot of them have now shunned it, and gone more downbeat. In fact, it's become more of a statement now in fashion to not make a statement."
Hence, on a recent trip to Leeds - his first in three years Huckbody was "amazed at how refined the men looked. It was freezing cold, yet they looked as though they were on the French Riviera. They had nicely pressed trousers, loafers, short sleeved shirts - all in labels such as Dolce & Gabbana - showing off nicely tanned bodies; And everyone reeked - it was fragrance overdose. They looked very groomed, tanned and manicured. Then there was me - this "fashion person" from London - and I looked like an absolute tramp".
This North-South style divide is partly down to the long-held London-centric attitude of style magazines such as The Face, i-D and Arena. Only in the past five years or so have these publications really begun to assess what men north of Watford are wearing and discovered home grown Northern labels such as Elk (Manchester), Bent and Corrupt (Leeds) and One True Saxon (Nottingham).
Manchester-born Jayne Roberts, senior buyer for thing-is.com, the much-trumpeted new online fashion site, says: "Boys in Manchester have never been very influenced by those sorts of magazines anyway. They do their own thing and make it up as they go along. When the whole "baggy" look was happening 10 years ago, that was something which evolved from the streets - thanks to bands like the Happy Mondays - and from clubs like the Hacienda.
"It wasn't something that people suddenly started wearing because they'd read about it in The Face - which had to get in on the act quickly, because they were suddenly made to look a bit out of touch."
These days, she feels that men in Manchester are "willing to buy into clothes that are part of a "lifestyle" if that lifestyle is something to do with music, for instance. But not if it’s seen as just another London, media-created trend".
Indeed, the menswear label One True Saxon has bypassed the notion of the South being home to the best-dressed blokes by simply refusing to sell their beautiful, hand-finished denims and reinterpreted classic sportswear pieces anywhere in London. The label - with promotional lingo stating "Only Available In The North"- is the brainchild of three former Paul Smith employees, Mark Bailey, Ian Paley and lan Bergin. They have not so much declared fashion war on the capital, as opted to give Southerners a taste of their own elitist medicine.
"When I was growing up, it was about the "look" and the garment not the brand", says 32-year-old Bailey, "and you would be willing to travel somewhere, and make the extra effort, to get what you wanted." So they thought they'd turn the tables. "But we're not anti-South, we're just pro-North." The result? Hype and desirability now surround the label (which Bailey notes is being teamed with other non-fad brands such as Duffer, vintage Lee and [?]
Paradoxically, this hype avalanche has been created in part by the London style press, with magazines like Sleaze Nation, Arena and The Face recently giving glowing write-ups. Hence, One True Saxon's HQ and its 20 North-based stockists have been fielding increasing numbers of telephone enquiries from frustrated Southerners desperate to get their legs inside the latest and best breeks going.
Josh Sims, associate editor of Arena Homme Plus, reckons men in the North are "more willing to spend a lot of money on clothes, and they're more loyal to brands. But they're not so big on fashion in terms of seasonal trends". And One True Saxon's Mark Bailey - who is also a freelance consultant for Levi's, believes: "People in the North are far more interested in the origin of a garment, and in the detail, whereas if you go to the South, menswear brands that tend to do very well are the ones that have an air of superficial glitz about them. And so many shops there are selling the same old stuff there's a lot of disposable fashion. In the North, the cost of living is so much cheaper, and people live for the weekend. It sounds like a cliche, but they live for fashion much more."
The big stores have been wise to this Northern fashion nous for some time. London fashion mecca Harvey Nichols opened a branch in Leeds in the mid-Nineties, and has plans for more outlets in Manchester and Edinburgh. Selfridges now has a store in the centre of Manchester.
Fiona Firth, buyer for Harvey Nichols in both London and Leeds, is hugely impressed by the male customers Up North. "The men there want well-made clothes," she reveals. "They're very knowledgeable about designers. The customers love Gucci and Prada and they can't get enough of Burberry, but more adventurous labels like Margiela and McQueen are also selling very well now. Men in the North are very meticulous in their appearance, but they like to look like men - they will never buy pink garments."
A final - and brutal - verbal assault on the assumed superiority of men's dress sense in the South is offered by Mancunian fashion expert Jo-Ann Furniss, a contributing editor to i-D magazine. "Men in Manchester just have this innate sense of style and arrogance - they walk around thinking they're it, and they have enough confidence to carry it off. They always have better haircuts and better personal hygiene. And for some reason, they're always really good at ironing- which means they look sharper and neater. Men in London just don't wash properly - and, I'm sorry, but shambling around Hoxton with a mullet and an old pair of Converse trainers just doesn't cut it, frankly."