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A man in a navy suit and striped tie buttons his jacket at the foot of a stair. Film

To film Slow push-in up the stair as he fastens the jacket button; rain on the glass behind him, cloth catching the light.

LookbookNo. 01

October Navy, and brown

The month the cloth turned soft and the shoes turned brown.

October is when a navy suit stops looking like work. The worsted gives way to flannel, the tie to a knit, and the black oxford goes back in the box until the evenings ask for it.

This issue follows what the shops had this month: navy tailoring, brown shoes from Northampton, Italy, and Spain, the loafer for the weekend, and wool for under the coat.

  1. The cloth
  2. The shoe
  3. The weekend
  4. After six
A navy check three-piece suit, the hands fastening the jacket over the waistcoat.
Check, three pieces. The waistcoat comes back in October.

I The cloth

A navy suit in flannel reads differently from the same colour in a summer worsted. The nap takes the shine off, the drape is heavier, and the jacket looks right with the collar of a knit under it.

Look for a soft shoulder and a lapel with some belly to it. Italian houses cut for exactly this: a suit you can wear without a tie and not look as if you forgot one.

A man in a navy suit and open white shirt walking through a glass lobby. Film

To film He walks toward camera through the glass lobby, jacket open; the trouser breaks once over a brown shoe. Tracking shot, waist height.

Open collar, brown belt, no tie.
A man in a black jacket and black shirt, wearing sunglasses, on a city street.
The dark suit, for the evening that comes early.
Close view of tan calf derbies, the toe of one resting over the other.

II The shoe

Brown in town

Three brown lace-ups on a pale wooden shelf by a window.
Three browns: dark, tan, and the one between.
A brown full brogue on a worn wooden block. Film

To film Half a turn on a turntable under raking light, so the brogueing and the burnished toe catch it in sequence. Macro, locked off.

A pair of polished brown oxfords on a warm oak floor.
Mallorca, on oak.

The rule was never “no brown in town”. The town had simply not seen a good one.

Dark brown penny loafers on a pale stone floor. Film

To film Ankle height on a stone floor: a foot steps into the loafer, the heel settles, he walks out of frame. Natural light.

III The weekend

Off duty, still dressed

The penny loafer does the work of a lace-up on a Saturday: grey flannel, a knit, no socks to speak of. In dark brown calf it goes to dinner too.

Spain makes the most honest ones for the money. Italy makes the softest.

Dark brown double monk straps on a table in a dim room. Film

To film A match is struck off frame; warm light rises across the buckles and the toe. Static wide, then a slow push to the shoes.

IV After six

The buckle, after dark

A box tied with brown ribbon on a stone counter, beside a brown wingtip.
Wrapped, tied, and sent on.
Black cap-toe oxfords resting on white linen.
And one black pair, for November.

Everything in this issue

The October edit

A brown wingtip resting on a wooden block in low light. Film

To film A hand sets the shoe down on the block; the camera pulls back slowly until the room goes dark. Ends the issue.

Next month

Until November

The archive

This is the first issue. A new one follows each month.