STYLE & ERROR

Here’s the thing, am on deadline for The Telegraph, so all bets are off, including full entourage drinks last night with him off the telly. Know abstention will have gone down quite badly, but what can you do? Here’s the good thing, am sharp as can be after three days sobriety, and can finally lay down some proper lyrical shit for The Telegraph style page. Except in the style/tone of The Telegraph, which of course have been practising, mainly on Dennis and Khan up the Turkish. Lady McKay, if you’re tuned in, obviously I’ve written (nearly) everything and today is about honing, right. Meanwhile this is the big style operator on the page, the A.P.49 by Van Cleef and Arpels. Absolutely love this kettle.

Pierre Arpels designed this for himself in 1949. The idea is a circle suspended by only two points of contact. He pared the whole design down, “Beauty is what remains when the superfluous has been stripped away”, he would declare. Was he applying that concept to his moustache one wonders? The sans serif geometric purity of four roman numerals, thin baton markers and hands are a testimony to this. The strap is alligator, glued not stitched. For this year’s model the central circle is in a honeycomb pattern like that or a Marcella front dress shirt. The case is bevelled off to a delicate curve at its sides so as to fit ergonomically under one’s cuff. This one is in white gold and 38mm, and it’s the best option, there is a 42mm. He only allowed this to go into production in 1971, as he liked just dropping it himself, (plus a couple of his privileged inner circle). Don’t blame you Pierre, am like that if come up with a really ground breaking outfit.

Think best actually finish the piece for the paper. There will be more about this, for now here’s a picture of Pierre wearing this watch at work with choreographer George Balanchine and his star ballerina Suzanne Farrell.

It’s a lovely scene, look. Something tells me that young Miss Farrell was completely safe in these fellas hands, no? There’s so much to say about Pierre. He set a new power-ascending record in 1963. And he liked gardening. Loads.

Stubbs out.

-COLOURED WATCHES PASS THE OLD GREY WHISTLE TEST-

At the fancy SIHH show last week (well, a glorified aircraft hanger) in Geneva I did spy some coloured watches. Rather liked them, especially having arrived from Milan where the strongest constructed menswear and suiting was monochrome grey and black, yet quite empiric or haughty . Wonder would they go? Doing a page of watch style for The Telegraph, aren’t I. Am encountering resistance to publishing one example of face colour from a brand who want to sit on it till end of year. Naming names, Piaget, er, bad luck, I took pictures with my new camera. Strange. There’s this Red Reverso for starters by Jaeger LeCoultre, likey. Really likey the bit of Colour Field on the end of this post, do you?

Then there’s this bloke that I met from Libya, Abubaker Sheikh, who likes a colourface watch face too. We immediately made plans for some watch fusions.

This next one is by Piaget. The one that’s secret. I’ve forgotten the stone. Wait! It’s malachite. (Thanks Lotte/Vincent). It’s lovely, no?

And here’s a cheeky review from The Basel (not happened yet watch exhibition) of The Hermes Arceau ‘Paille’, which is cunningly made from compressed straw. A herringbone watch made from horse food! Whatever next?

This clip if from the Old Grey Whistle Test, ironically. Charming little track.

Stubbs out.

PS. For those that think this is a watch blog (click)

Color Me Bad.

KETTLE-HEAD S.I.H.H. PREVIEW

Was looking for something horo-stylistic to herald the coming S.I.H.H thing and here it is. The Miramar is one of five new models in IWC’s Big Pilot ‘Top Gun’ collection (click). They’re pilots watches and they get their moniker from the popular Tom Cruise film of the same name. The film ‘legend’ has it the elite Top Gun pilots train in Miramar, California. Regardless of that rather flippant reference the new Chronograph version is very covetable indeed. The dark grey ceramic with metallic finish has a lot to do with this. It looks really smart, a chic change from black, and with the slightly dulled shine is particularly fanciable.

The smooth bezel shows this off nicely, and the case sits well on the webbing ‘action’ strap. Buff coloured markings are interesting and dramatic red central hour ring is another strong but subtle detail. Quite a big case still at 48 mm, but it is called a Big Pilot, not a Quite Big Pilot, so there. There’s a flyback function, well handy for cooking complicated stuff while tinting your hair too. Its protected from magnetic fields. I hate it when I get naused up by magnet fields. Really hate it, which is why I wear the IWC Big Ingenieur Vintage (click) whenever I’m styling it up near any massive magnets. Maybe its the mood at the moment, but the non-flashy finish on this and the original sort of 1940’s spirit and styling is dropping nicely. Smart work from zi boys at zi Schaffhausen.

Stubbs out.

PS. Just to get some perspective on things I just wanna recall this moment from the iconic film

“Iceman: You can be my wingman any time.
Maverick: Bullshit! You can be mine.”

Those outrageous pilot guys, what can they mean?

Couldn’t help the headline, just wanted to read it. So regardless, next week, cunningly placed during Milan Men’s fashion week, is The S.I.H.H*. The grande, off-the-hook, invite only, serious Geneva watch fair. Am gonna do a couple of days of Milan shows then get my annual airlift to the safety of Hotel De La Cigogne Hotel. An ancient and elegant gaff where smoking is still encouraged, sort of, while breakfast is of kippers, snuff and brandy. It has mystical back stairs for night sneaking, and an antiquated clockwork lift for up the front. Gotta love them Swiss guys..Enough about the hotel, wanna know about watches?

Got a top piece of wrist action in mind as a preview, the new IWC Big Pilot (see below), first thing to come out of the fair, but will be right back at you watch fans, after this short pause. Great image, no?

Stubbs out.

*S.I.H.H stands for Salon of Indecent Hiatus Hoxton Haters.

PS. Actually, its Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, but you knew that.

Jimmy Savile is being buried next week. It’s ’cause he’s dead you know. He will be remembered for many reasons. Aside from charity work and running marathons, he achieved all manner of stuff, not least in the world of men’s styling.

After being a Yorkshire coal miner for a spell, he got into the entertainment caper. He was the first disc jockey to play original American recordings of Rock’n'Roll and R&B tracks. He actually paid bands not to play cover versions from sheet music, as was the way in the  late Fifties and early Sixties, thus championing modern DJing as we know it. He wrestled. He broadcast. He ran running races and simultaneously smoked cigars. Pretty, pretty cool. The style community will remember him as the pioneer of status leisure and sportswear worn for prestige stylistic motives. Savile was also a prodigious collector of fine watches and jewellery. On these levels alone he predates similar street styles by decades. I have asked my jewellery and watch correspondent Toby McLellan to write a eulogy for Sir Jimmy. Over to you Stretch.

“Track suit wearing, Rolex rockin’, big chain droppin’ Jimmy Savile will be missed by many. Some more than others, me more than most. The Fixer himself had magnetic personality and dress code that drew you in, out of fascination and/or disbelief. I am of the age (touching 30) where Sir Jim’ll Fix It was a part of my childhood, (more so than I knew at the time).

Throughout my late teens early 20’s I could be found rolling round town sporting a Lacoste shell suit (which I owned in abundance), accompanied by all gold Rolex Day Date (Jimmy’s kettle of choice)and a gold chaps of such a size that it would jangle even when still. I was aiming for more of the ghetto-non-glam Camorra  look, (See character from Gomorrah fresh out of Naples). Turned out my only reference point people picked up on is that of 80-somthin’, long distance runnin’ DJ Jimmy Savile. Fumin’! And he usually was too, often while still runnin’ marathons. Cigar fixed in hand, jewellery and kettle out on display. RIP Jimmy Savile, jewellery Don and tracksuit hero.”

Stretch-out.

Thank you Mr. McLellan. Respects are due to the departed style-merchant.

Stubbs er.., hang on, thats my sign off. Stubbs off.

Forever Flossing : Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile OBE

1926-2011