OFFICIAL Simon Crompton thread (PermanentStyle.com)

[breakaway01]

But in general, we're not trying to be so high-minded or even to "appropriate;" we're just trying to stick to easy Franco-Germanic sounds that our colonizers can pronounce.

there was enough overt and unconscious racism directed at Asians when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s that I was very glad to have a ‘normal’-sounding given name instead of an actual Chinese given name.

 

[maxalex]

"Free speech and all..." seems to justify about anything these days. Some opinions are just best be kept by oneself. It usually reflects more on the writer than oth the person assaulted. While I do not agree with everything Mr. Crompton says and does, I find his articles informative and his style more often than not to be very wearable. If you can't afford his pricing, just take the style advice and source elsewhere. There are many options these days to dress smart within almost any budget. PS caters to those who can afford it and like their style. Why bother? Seems like the OP has a personal issue with PS he is taking to market for reasons unbeknownst to me.

Telling a stranger on the metro that she’s too fat to wear a skintight minidress is an example of an opinion one should keep to oneself. Commenting on or reviewing a public blog is fair game. I have no problem with Simon or PS, nor a problem with his critics.

 

[FirstFormula]

This thread is for commenting about Crompton's Permanent Style (PS) site, as & whenever anyone feels compelled to critique its content

I feel he won't allow negative comments to his articles or the products therein
Too many asskissers who view Crompton as 'can do no wrong'.

I've been itching to make this post over the past few months, couldn't hold back.
I want to puncture holes in its increasing pomposity & surrealism
($200 T-shirts, $700 linen shirts, $500 tote bags etc)

1/ It seems like PermanentStyle has run its course as of recent.
It's become a parody & out-of-touch with the core readership where it now reviews (unnecessarily expensive) items, style over substance.
After all, most of the readership are multi-millionaires. LOL [sarcasm]

2/ In addition, there are only so many reviews of bespoke suits from bespoke suit makers before the major ones are exhausted.
It's not like reviewing cars where a new make or model comes out regularly so reviews naturally continue

In addition cost of a bespoke suit is not cheap.
The cost of the item reviewed is essentially the cost of that content.
It's not cheap; one review of an expensive bespoke suit, one-time content, basically.

3/ Also as of recent PS has moved to reviews of casual wear as well as more retail from the PS shop.

The items on sale are largely just plain old staples, nothing special.

4/ In addition with all the recent bag reviews, how many damn bags does a man need?
Tote bags?
Small crossover/messenger bags to carry cellphones/keys/mobile?
It's becoming more bizarre...

5/ These days I log on expecting to have a chuckle at the posters who clearly need a lot of help & will never find their own style.

Typical autistic questions: "Should I tuck this tshirt ihnto my underwear when wearing this shirt?"

6/ Crompton won't say aloud, but I bet 90% of the bespoke suits and/or jackets commissioned at big cost are now either sold, given to friends or sit at the back of the wardbrobe in storage.

He - like most of the readers/flaneurs - don't truly have the lifestyle to justify giving each of them a good wear.

Certainly not with the trend of being more casual - outside a business/formal context.
Hence more recent reviews of these "chore jacket" & similar things..

So much for the flaneur's adage of "buy bespoke because it will last longer to justify it's cost" blabla.
It only holds true if you keep the damn thing for a long time

7/ Anyone carrying a posh/expensive looking bag these days is asking for it, advetisng to theives that the contents being carried are likely to be expensive.
No thanks.

Anyone smart would be carrying something more inconspicuous

Tote bags?
No thanks.
An unnecessary extravagance especially if they have no shoulder straps.
No shoulder straps means no hands-free as one hand is encumbered holding the damn thing.
Plus it doesn't have a lid so not suitable when it rains.



Feel free to add any comments...



PS let the flames start.
"Don't like it, don't read it" - I'll say what I please. Free speech & all that.

That’s an awful lot of vitriol for a man you appear not to know, not to have met, who does you no harm, who appears to enjoy what he does and whose work appears to be enjoyed by many others.

Did he run off with your wife?

In all seriousness, I’ve found his writings about suits and tailoring hugely useful. Similarly some of his writing about shoes and shirts. I’ve been a casual reader over the years.

It does seem to have lost its way lately and I can’t say I dip in particularly regularly or find anything I read in any great depth these days. I can’t believe those facts alone didn’t prompt me to engage in a public character assassination of the man. I feel I’m perhaps too sane for this crazy world of the Internet.

 

[GabrielJF]

That’s an awful lot of vitriol for a man you appear not to know, not to have met, who does you no harm, who appears to enjoy what he does and whose work appears to be enjoyed by many others.

Did he run off with your wife?

In all seriousness, I’ve found his writings about suits and tailoring hugely useful. Similarly some of his writing about shoes and shirts. I’ve been a casual reader over the years.

It does seem to have lost its way lately and I can’t say I dip in particularly regularly or find anything I read in any great depth these days. I can’t believe those facts alone didn’t prompt me to engage in a public character assassination of the man. I feel I’m perhaps too sane for this crazy world of the Internet.

There is an unholy amount of goodwill and decency in this thread! I thought it was created with the express intention of slating permanent style!

 

[DorianGreen]

I don't know why, but it's clear that Simon Crompton is a highly polarizing figure, who raises a lot of hate in the web.

Personally, I always read his and others' articles on Permanent Style with interest and have to say that in the course of the time they have often added something new to my sartorial culture and raised curiosities and interests.

As for his style, I certainly appreciate it, although it looks often too conservative for my taste. It also seems to me that he tries too hard to casualize the classic menswear with rather questionable additions and combinations (baseball cap with tailoring).

Nonetheless it remains a pleasant and useful read, as long as one is able to take what is good (for himself) and discard what is not.

 

[DorianGreen]

I really like this pinstripe suit made by Fred Nieddu. Very pleasant too, the overall look.

Until recently I considered black no option, besides formal evening clothing, thanks to Simon Crompton I began to appreciate its use also in daily wear, like in this example.
I think that black matches well with brown, beige and earthy tones, even with some muted greens, besides greys.

 

[Knurt]

Very nice, relaxed style. I think a crisp white shirt would improve the overall impression, though! And a tie, too, but it can be worn without. This suit seems to fit current standards.

 

[DorianGreen]

Very nice, relaxed style. I think a crisp white shirt would improve the overall impression, though! And a tie, too, but it can be worn without. This suit seems to fit current standards.

It's a very classic look and you can certainly dress it up with a white shirt and a tie. I just love this relaxed look though.

 

[Texasmade]

Simon is for 39 year old white collar workers who have a bit of disposable income mostly because they don't have a lot of kids, mortgages, or real hobbies to spend their paychecks on.

Checks self...
Just turned 40 white collar worker with a bit of disposable income, no kids, cheap mortgage, and only hobby is weightlifting and F1. Neither really cost me a lot of money. Sh1t...

 

[jellyroller]

Checks self...
Just turned 40 white collar worker with a bit of disposable income, no kids, cheap mortgage, and only hobby is weightlifting and F1. Neither really cost me a lot of money. Sh1t...

37 year old w/ similar lifestyle... this feels like a strangely personal attack 🤣

 

[rossyl]

I've been reading Permanent Style since I was in my mid 20s back in 2008/9.
Back then, I was finding my "smart/formal look" and Simon was a very different animal.

Back in 2009, Simon was only at the point of "discovering" Graham Browne. He wasn't not commissioning £8k suits and £1k trousers every other week. It was more affordable, open to getting things wrong, and was very much there's "not a right way".

I loved it back then, it was a far more down to earth, open, helpful, finding bargains, finding discounts, finding things that look right for you, rather than things looking right because they are expensive.

Nowadays, it can be a little too high-brow, expensive for expensive sake. A little bit ... "Gianmarco sleeps with his alpaca sheep, shears them himself, a blind man spins the thread, and Gianmarco uses a 2000yr old blunt needle and takes three hours to do a single stitch". Ok, I exaggerate, but it's niche.

You do not NEED bespoke in order for clothes to look good on you. That's simply not true, yet, I feel that's unfortunately the message that Simon now stands for, far from his 2009 self.

He should set himself a challenge. New suit for a 25yr old, with rent to pay, travel to pay, a life to pay for and just starting out - ie so not a lot of money. I think that would be far more interesting.

 

[mak1277]

He should set himself a challenge. New suit for a 25yr old, with rent to pay, travel to pay, a life to pay for and just starting out - ie so not a lot of money.

They recently had an article on the best suits under $1000

 

[rossyl]

They recently had an article on the best suits under $1000

That's not much of a challenge.

 

[mak1277]

That's not much of a challenge.

Perhaps, but what else would you expect someone to do in regards to the guidelines you set up? I mean, if your fictional 25 year old came to SF with that question I guarantee the answer would be “Spier, Natalino or SS” and it would be the right answer. What other options are there (don’t say thrifting or eBay)?

 

[Kingstonian]

I've been reading Permanent Style since I was in my mid 20s back in 2008/9.
Back then, I was finding my "smart/formal look" and Simon was a very different animal.

Back in 2009, Simon was only at the point of "discovering" Graham Browne. He wasn't not commissioning £8k suits and £1k trousers every other week. It was more affordable, open to getting things wrong, and was very much there's "not a right way".

I loved it back then, it was a far more down to earth, open, helpful, finding bargains, finding discounts, finding things that look right for you, rather than things looking right because they are expensive.

Nowadays, it can be a little too high-brow, expensive for expensive sake. A little bit ... "Gianmarco sleeps with his alpaca sheep, shears them himself, a blind man spins the thread, and Gianmarco uses a 2000yr old blunt needle and takes three hours to do a single stitch". Ok, I exaggerate, but it's niche.

You do not NEED bespoke in order for clothes to look good on you. That's simply not true, yet, I feel that's unfortunately the message that Simon now stands for, far from his 2009 self.

He should set himself a challenge. New suit for a 25yr old, with rent to pay, travel to pay, a life to pay for and just starting out - ie so not a lot of money. I think that would be far more interesting.

Yes. Graham Browne off Bow Lane etc. SC was a small time blogger then with another job as well.

When he left that job and went independent there would be extra money to find. High end bespoke with high margins was an area of discussion without too many other bloggers. I am not sure of his income sources but I imagine some suits might be offered free in exchange for an article.

Now there are changes that mean bespoke may not be so profitable as in the past. So SC concentrates on more casual items but at the very expensive end with high mark up.

He seems to have an established readership who adapt to the change in emphasis.

I am not sure I would look to him for a basic wardrobe though.