For the first time since Spring/Summer stock started to arrive here at Oi Polloi, the sun is shining and the sky is blue. Obviously, that means by the time you read this newsletter it’ll have started to rain cats, dogs and probably budgies too. But it’s been a pretty cold winter so you’ll forgive us for digging out our sunglasses and factor 20.
Quite fittingly then, it’s a cracker of a week for new deliveries. APC and Lacoste lead the way, plus there are sizable deliveries from closer to home, with Fred Perry serving a volley of smashing aces, and lots of other tennis-based puns besides. The denim box is ticked by the ever faithful Lee, and there’s a very nice little drop of Stone Island and a little hint of early Hip-hop from Kangol for those of you who fancy a new titfer.
But we’ll kick things off with APC.
You know what you’re getting with APC, and that’s understated, modern Frenchness. Each of their garments is built to survive as many gallic shrugs as you can throw at it. Enough with the stereotypes though, it’s a consistent performer… they keep their eye firmly on the ball the same reference points shine through in every collection they do, without it ever getting boring. This week, there are three jackets, all of which are very APC but each different in their own way. There’s an archetypal Bomber Jacket in Marine. It’s 100% cotton with a Simon Cowell collar it says here. Oh no sorry, it’s a cowl collar which we’re sure you’ll agree with about a billion times cooler than any collar you’ve seen on the X-Factor. Anyway, we’re getting off the point. It’s the best Bomber Jacket you’ll see all season. You know why? Because it’s APC and APC know the score on such matters.
If a Bomber Jacket ain’t your bag but you still retain an appreciation for something that makes you look like a cool army man, then look no further than the Military Jacket which strangely enough comes in military green. It’s got a 100% cotton outer and a shape that we reckon would make the wearer look very sure of themselves in any situation, whether it be negotiating a set of icy steps while carrying a mocha-latte or chasing after an errant shoplifter, this is the kind of jacket that just says ‘cool’. It might not be cool to use the word cool anymore but in this case, all bets are off. It’s that cool. If you want to go the whole hog (whatever that means) and perfect the ‘French Foreign Legionnaire at the casino’ look there are even some matching shorts.
What else? Oh yeah, there’s a Hooded Jacket in Navy and a very keen Mustard. Two great colours for the summer, which are set off perfectly by the ribbed, striped cuffs. It’s a cotton and polymide mix which should keep you dry when the aforementioned cats, dogs and budgies turn up without a moment’s notice.
In addition to three great bits of outerwear for the nice weather, we’ve got the ever popular New Standard jeans, a dead nice t-shirt with a subtle chest seam, and an assortment of jumper/sweatshirt type things that are all too great and varied to go into right now. Bases touched and boxed ticked aplenty though.
Moving swiftly on, but staying with ‘le thème français’ we’ve had 12 (that’s twelve) new colours in the classic Lacoste Polo Shirt. You’re well within your rights to expect reliable colours like chocolate brown, red, navy etc. But in amongst those, we’ve got a great colour described as Archbishop Purple, which sounds to us like the name of someone who begins his emails with “Dear Sir, You have won fourteen million dollars on the Eritrean lottery”. Maybe we’ve had too much coffee this morning though. Regardless, it’s a top colour, as are the other eleven.
Back home now and it’s Fred Perry’s turn to come under our caffeine-addled microscope. It’s a mixture of the Laurel Wreath collection and the Authentic collection that we’ve got for you this time around. Both are great for different reasons. There are a few nice variations on the polo shirt that made Fred Perry arguably more famous than his tennis. Speaking of which there’s a very summery-looking white tennis bomber jacket, ideal attire for Pimms drinking as well as knocking a fuzzy ball about. The most striking Fred Perry item is clearly their orange deck jacket. It’s a proper strong orange colour, perfect for when the weather perks up, but hooded, ensuring you’re reasonably equipped for an unexpected downpour, or worse still one of those flying plastic pint pots during festival season.
Festival season is where we’ll stay for a moment if you don’t mind, as we reckon the new hats we’ve got in from Kangol are perfectly suited to such events. If you’re fed up of conventional bucket hats but you still need to keep the rays from burning your bonce, these could be just the ticket. Their Bermuda Spey and Bermuda Casual hats have a definite RUN DMC flavour and are made from Kangol’s own Bermuda fabric which sounds like it’s put together using a pretty complicated process which we’ll not attempt to describe. They look great and that’s the main thing.
Stone Island is a brand that really has started to hit the spot once again in recent seasons and pretty much everyone here agrees their Ventile Ghost Jacket is the best they’ve done since, like forever. The patch is present but completely white, which presumably is the thinking behind the name ‘Ghost’. The whole thing is just great, understated and complete with all the technical plus points you know you’ll get from Stone Island.
And finally, Lee have been doing their thing for about a million years or something (ok, since 1889) so it’s safe to say they know what they’re talking about. The Rider Shirt is a cracker, washed and ‘western’ styled. There’s also the 101 Original Sweat, weighing in at a reasonable 75 English pounds and in 100% cotton. There are other t-shirts and shirts so rather than read more of our waffle, perhaps it’s time you went over to the website and checked it all out?
Next week is looking crazy, so you’ll forgive us if we crack on. We might have to start writing next week’s news now, there’s that much to fit in. If you’re looking for something to read in the meantime though, The Ride Journal is a great magazine for bicycle enthusiasts and people who just like nice things. Get on it.
See you in a week,
OiPolloi