Tee Focus: Patagonia Mountain Frame

Patagonia, we're big fans of them here, from classic outerwear to fleeces and in this instance t-shirts. Their Mountain Frame designs are ace, a nice simple design, in really versatile colours, perfect for the summer months. And as you'd expect the quality is top notch too. The design is pulled out of the archives and appeared in one of the first ever Patagonia catalogues. 100% organic cotton, a very strong and hard wearing, yet comfortable and soft tee - a winning combination. Priced under £25, its a lot of tee for your money.

We picked ours up from the ace SecretSpot shop. Stocking a variety of brands we like including Patagonia of course, Carhartt and Poler Stuff. A proper cool, well stocked shop - well worth a look and top service too.

Available here: http://www.secretspot.co.uk/Brands/patagonia/

Mundial Magazine: A very special World Cup mag

It's always exciting to receive a package from our pals at Trickett and this latest purchase from their store was an absolute gem. We like magazines here, so as soon as we spotted the World Cup magazine for "people like us" Mundial was a must buy. It certainly didn't disappoint, packed full of interesting features, and pretty pictures, we've barely put it down since it arrived. Fascinating tales of old World Cup trips, words on football boots and an extract from the new Pirlo book - Mundial have covered everything and there's some garms on display via Oi Polloi and Classic Football Shirts. Oh, and I don't think we've mentioned them ace Connoisseur x O'Toole World Cup legends trading cards you get free - and you thought it couldn't get better. Limited to just 2014 copies, each magazine is named after a World Cup player - priced at £6. 

Wednesday Shirt Pick: TukTuk Classic Check

It's that time of the week again - our Wednesday Shirt Pick. What? You've never heard of this feature before! Well, neither had we until we just came up with it. Anyway, our pick is a Classic - no it is quite literally a Classic by TukTuk. Featuring some real nice subtle colours - the TukTuk Classic Check L/S Shirt is a magic piece of shirtage. Navy and Red in colour, regular cut, 100% cotton and finished with those lovely things that are Corozo buttons - the Classic Check is a versatile shirt, that is perfect for all year wear. Bit mad we're writing about a long sleeve shirt on such a nice day, not entirely - we think they look ace with shorts. You ought to go check this shirt out - it is a classic after all. As with all TukTuk, good value too.

Available from: http://shop.wearetuktuk.com/product/classic-check-l-s-shirt

Steeple Pine - Top 3 picks

It's good when you find a new shop stocking ace brands, but when you then realise it is run by people who run another of your favourite stores, well, I challenge someone to tell me that isn't amazing. What we're trying to say is that the chaps behind a firm favourite shop of ours "Distant Echo" have recently opened a new shop "Steeple Pine". Stocking a variety of brands we like such as the ever reliable K-Way, Marshall Artist, Armor Lux, Superga and Tuk Tuk - we could spend a fortune with them. But for the purposes of this feature, we've decided to limit ourselves to only three items. Here they are:

Item No. 1: Tuk Tuk '68 Chino Shorts in Navy

Tuk Tuk do great things. Shirts, tees and other cool bits and pieces but these shorts are beauties. A nice clean simple design, in an ace colour - made from 100% cotton and finished with high quality corozo buttons. Based on an original 60s short style and finished with a floral print pocket lining - these are a bit lovely aren't they? Why we've included them then.

Price: £49

Available here: http://www.steeplepine.co.uk/products/tuk-tuk-68-chino-shorts-navy

Item No.2: Armor Lux Doelan T-Shirt in Navire/Nature

A Breton style tee should be a staple piece for any chap and when it comes to these designs Armor Lux certainly know what they're doing and they do it well. The Doelan in Navire/Nature is a classic tee, no unwanted extras, just nice subtle branding which lets the beauty of it do the talking. Just perfect for summer.

Price: £35

Available here: http://www.steeplepine.co.uk/products/armor-lux-doelan-t-shirt-navire-slash-nature

Item No.3: Marshall Artist Work Jacket in Navy

Work jackets are cool. You don't have to wear them to work, you can just wear them anytime and they'll make you look cool. Marshall Artist have produced a really nice version here, named simply the Work Jacket and in a classy Navy colourway, it's a lovely jacket, perfect for everyday wear but it'll not look out of place in a more formal setting - ideal, eh?

Price: £80

Available here: http://www.steeplepine.co.uk/products/marshall-artist-work-jacket-navy

It was a hard task to come up with just three pieces and there's plenty more ace garms on the Steeple Pine that just missed the cut - take a look for yourself at http://www.steeplepine.co.uk/

Wigwam Socks

Continuing with our sock vibe we thought we'd write a few words about Wigwam. A "performance sock company" based in Sheboygan, USA, where all of their socks are made. They create a varitey of socks but the ones we are most interested in are the "Cypress" socks - a nice looking, outdoor type sock, perfect for teaming up with a number of different footwear options. They look particularly good with a nice pair of shoes, Clarks, Mephisto, take your pick and in no time at all you'll have an urge to head up to the Lake District and get rambling. 

These are real nice socks, that'll last a long time, look good and are made with an ace Cotton and Stetch-Nylon blend. And those colours - well, look at them. You can pick them up for about £12 from various sock shops and menswear retailers. We purchased ours from Priory Menswear, a really cool retailer based in Bridlington - stocking Carhartt, Edwin, Saucony, Penfield and various other brands - as well as an extensive collection of socks including Wigwam (of course) and Burlington. 

Available from: http://www.thepriorymenswear.co.uk/collections/socks

A chat with: The BSFC

The British Sock Fetish Council (BSFC) are, if you don't already know, a group of like minded folk with a liking for nice socks. At Garment, we are very much appreciative of decent socks and will definitely be looking into getting our BSFC membership. We managed to secure a chat with R from the BSFC and the words from our chinwag are below:

Firstly, what socks are you wearing today?

I am wearing a pair of trusty old Burlington, in orange. I can't remember the exact type, Preston or Manchester at a guess. They were given to me by a good friend who I hope will be reading this and chuckling!

Could you explain a bit about what the BSFC is? And how it all got started?

The BSFC began as a joke after a meeting over a pair of socks I had just bought at Oi Polloi in Manchester en route to a football match. Socks were compared in the street as we walked between pubs, I was in a pair of Burlington in brown and the other sock enthusiast was in Scott Nichol fairilse. I thought little of this exchange after the game, however, fellow BSFC founder Matt Wright got in touch via twitter the next week and we continued to joke about our "sock fetish", suggesting we should form the "British Sock Fetish Council". Photos of sock and shoe combinations started to appear on twitter and one day someone asked if they could join the group, amusing at the time as there were two of us. Now there are 600 plus across the world! We took it from there really, producing membership cards and stickers and sending them to people for free, started a blog, and things just went from strength to strength!

What are your favourite socks?

Favourite socks, hmmm. I don't have a particular brand per se, I would say I am a big fan of argyle socks, something that compliments the trainers or shoes I am wearing. I have a lovely pair of Chup socks too, some Pantherella Cashmere. Lots of people on the @sockcouncil twitter come up with some amazing socks and I am often jealous of what I see there! The socks don't have to be expensive, I've seen some great home made socks and combinations people have put together themselves, the socks are only part of what we're about.

When did you start to take socks more seriously? Can a pair of socks make an outfit?

A few years ago I was sat in a pub in Newcastle with my then girlfriend, and some old friends one of whom commented on the trainers and sock combo I had on. I had a few decent pairs and was well chuffed my mate had noticed them. I spent a lot of time travelling with work and in airports and was always looking at socks they had. I just kept buying them, probably through boredom, and built quite a collection. I bought some Belarussian socks in Russia when I had failed to pack for a work trip properly and started picking up unusual socks then. Since the early 2000's I have been a bit more careful about socks. I don't know about them making an outfit to be honest, if you can do something a little bit different and interesting then I suppose so. It's down to the individual. 

There's more to the BSFC than socks though isn't there, could you explain a bit more about that?

There certainly is, if we were simply sock obsessives then I don't think things would have gone this far! A big part of the BSFC is the social aspect. Generally if you 'get' the BSFC you're of a similar mindset to the rest of us There's a lot of cynicism and negativity in the world, I feel like I am writing a song here, and what we did was bring like minds together under the premise of socks. We started to meet, firstly in Newcastle, then Edinburgh and then as membership grew individual members started to meet. This all culminated in our first Party Conference last year where members from Bournemouth to Aberdeen met in a Newcastle pub. 

We're a broad church, there are lots of football fans but also people from other walks of life. We welcome anyone, the only rule we have is that you accept that people might be different to you be it football allegiance, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexuality, we're just not bothered about putting up barriers.

We've raised money for charities and good causes, a testicular cancer charity called "Check 'Em Lads" and a food bank. The BSFC is about camaraderie and people treating each other with respect, it is nice to do something positive out of shared interest and sense of community. I personally have met some incredible people though the BSFC and challenged some of my own prejudices, that's really the best thing about it for me, it's brought people together. There are some fantastic words on this from members on the blog section of our website entitled "What the BSFC Means to Me".

Could you use 3 words to summarise the BSFC?

Socks Beer Stickers

or 

Friendship Community Hosiery

or

Daft Sock Bastards :-)

How many members and counting? When do you think the membership, if ever, will stop growing?

There are 600 members and counting. At the moment I don't see it stopping in terms of growth, it has really taken off in he last year and are growing internationally in Australia, the USA and Holland in particular. 

What plans do the BSFC have for the future?

Firstly we have our second annual "BSFC Party Conference" in Newcastle upon Tyne on the 28 June 2014. Details are available through our website www.sockcouncil.com.  We'll have music from Manchester's Soul Twins, a rumoured attempt by the venue to make the world's biggest scotch egg, and we will be raising some money for a good cause as we usually do.

Other social events and gatherings are planned too so it is best to keep an eye on the website for those 

In terms of the BSFC 'brand' we have just released a series of socks made for us exclusively by Corgi Hoisiery in two designs. We are also working with Marko John's socks and Tricketter on collaborations going into the summer as well as planning for the release of our "Paninaro" Italian made socks in June.

We want to keep things moving, original and interesting for our members, be it new pin badges, tees hats or even stickers. People like to reflect their membership through the things we produce and keeping them limited in number and collectable is important so we will be doing more interesting and unique things in the future. And socks, lots of socks. 

We'd like to thank R from the BSFC for taking the time to answer our questions. The BSFC also have an ace website www.sockcouncil.com where you can read interesting articles and find their store which has some really cool bits and pieces available to purchase - including membership, beer, tees, badges, stickers and of course socks.

Outfit pick #1: "A summer trek"

A new and occasional feature we have decided on here at Garment is an "Outfit Pick" series. This is the first one and is named simply: "A summer trek". Trekking where? Well, anywhere the wearer of these ace garms wants - be it mountain or simply the pub. 

Headwear: Charcoal Ventile Porkpie Hat by S.E.H Kelly

If it's a summer day, then for headwear we're looking at a bucket hat (or a porkpie hat), right? Well, we are here, and this fine example from the ever reliable S.E.H Kelly is spot on. Made from Ventile fabric - yes Ventile - this an extraordinary bucket hat. Due to its Ventile fabric, it's waterproof, which means your head won't get wet if you get caught in out in a shower. As if thats enough ace fabric in one hat, you've got some nice cord action on the reverse. Ventile and Cord, its a match made in heaven. We've picked out the Charcoal colour but its also available in an ace dark green colour.

Price: £65 
Available here: http://www.sehkelly.com/shop/caps/charcoal-grey-ventile-porkpie-hat/

Top: Sinfield Shirt by TRiCKETT

A nice rugby shirt is essential for summer. Smarter than a tee, less formal than a shirt - it's the answer and if you don't like revealing any arm, its a nice alternative to a polo. This - the Sinfield - from Lancashire brand TRiCKETT is quality. It features colours that work so well together in a hoop formation - grey and blue - with a subtle white trim. As with everything these chaps do, you know the quality will be there and that's why it edges the other choices out there for us. Plus they're really nice folk, that have an ace shop - you should check it out, for not only do they just sell their ace clothing range but neat bits and pieces from both the UK and the USA.

Price: £65
Availabe here: http://trickett-england.co.uk/products-page/trickett/sinfield-shirt/

Legwear: Navy Flanar Tailored Shorts by Casual Connoisseur x Newfangle 

So you want shorts but you want pockets as well? Not always easy that is it. Don't get us wrong a nice chino short is a vital option to have but there's times you need the pocket space and they can't offer that. Connoisseur teamed up with Portugese based Newfangle to bring us some shorts that can offer this room and the Flanar was born from that, or so we're guessing. Featuring no less than SIX utility pockets, these are a real nice cotton twill short that will serve you well. We've opted for the Navy but you can (if you're lucky) pick them up in a nice beige colour too. Made in Portugal.

Price: £57
Available here: http://shop.casualco.com/product/the-flanar-tailored-shorts-navy

Footwear: Blue Ensign by Walsh 

We're a bit obsessed with trainers here and we like versatile, well made ones. Throw in a Vibram sole and a selection of ace colourways and you have the Walsh Ensign. These are beauties, properly made, using top quality materials, in Bolton. We weren't quite sure which to include in our Outfit #1 but the Ensign just made the cut in this blue colourway, as it is quite possibly a perfect summer shoe - a nice blue and white combination, a summer classic. A bit of a history lesson before we finish: the Ensign was initially created back in 1981 for the Bolton Harriers members who were competing in the 1981 New York Marathon. So they're perfect for running, or trekking. 

Price: £100
Available here: http://www.normanwalshuk.com/products/Ensign/Ensign-Blue-Blue-White-13.html