THE AGE OF MONOCLE MAN.

If the late 90′s was all about Mondeo Man, then maybe this decade will be all about Monocle Man.

You might know him well. He shops at Borough Market and Columbia Road. He listens to Radio 4. He might grow his own veg or at least get a vegebox, drink wanky coffee and listen to Mumford & Sons (whose name actually sound like a countryfied clothing label). And, of course, he reads ever-so-slightly po faced magazines like Inventory, A Continuous Lean. and, of course, MONOCLE.

There are so many Monocle Man clothing labels popping up right now that is has almost become a genre in itself. Take a vaguely old-fashioned sounding name, maybe put a waxed jacket in there and a pair of Quoddy boots and play some Seasick Steve in the background.

Aubin & Wills, Universal Works, Bamford & Sons, Folk, Norse Projects, SNS Herning, The Hill-Side and the recently launched Percival all trade upon workwear silhouettes, authentic-style branding and a modern reworking of a certain halcyon-ised aesthetic. That’s not forgetting the originators of the trend; Margaret Howell, Oliver Spencer, Hartford, Anderson’s, A.P.C., Engineered Garments and Woolrich Woollen Mills, Labour & Wait’s smattering of clothes and bags and the grandaddy of them all, Albam.

At first it was fun, but Monocle Man has homogenised the high street, in a rather backwards-looking way. It’s easy to think that this is a wholesome, original aesthetic but a company like Albam is as much about clever branding and marketing; as off-the-shelf and prolific as the Emo, WAG, Balmain or Boho looks were last decade.

Though it’s impossible to condemn Monocle Man entirely. The new Metrosexual he may be, but the look has a basis in long-standing, hand-made and sourced product as opposed to disposable fast fashion; it’s also a comfort zone for men I know who usually wouldn’t wear burgundy, chinos or knitted snowflake cardigans to express themselves a little more. Just spare me from the po-faced magazines (and the coffee).

THE SHIRTS.

Do you remember what it was like shopping as a kid? Or more accurately, how it felt to be bought a new piece of clothing? Something you loved and wore to death?

The earliest memory I have like this is being dragged reluctantly into H&M Wimbledon, and coming out bedecked in a squiggly polo shirt, some kind of nautical jumper and (I think) yellow shorts aged about nine. I got that first buzz, that first tingle of clothes being more than just something to stay warm in. There were trips to Gap (when Gap was good) for anoraks, flares and a certain orange plaid scarf I had right through to university. Late 90′s Uniqlo provided me with oversized merino knits and TK Maxx with a brown cord jacket. I listened to bad folk music. I wore ironic badges. Again, it was the late 90′s.

Now that I’m a man and I buy clothes for myself, much more often, the buzz has dispersed.

But today my SS 10 shirts by Martine Rose landed and, in my skint, praying-for-an-end-to-February fug they made me feel like a kid again. Wrapped in a paper bag with my name on, I hastily tore open the packaging on the tube and felt, well, elated. In fact just like a kid with a bag of Woolworth’s pic’n'mix (naturally).

For SS 10, Rose’s designs are head-spinningly clever. One shirt features a woven, green/grey coloured cotton through the body; the sleeves are waxed navy cotton and the collar’s waxed orange; and then the brightest shade of searing hot pink in circles under the arms, and a zip on the neck. The other is pale pink with an orange waxed front and, again, that HOT HOT pink-coloured sleeves.

Maybe it’s the colour that’s got me excited. Both the shirts look like Fruit Salads wrappers compared to my almost head-to-toe navy/denim/grey/black wardrobe. Wearing crazy colour after so much black, for so long, feels like an act of rebellion.

Maybe it’s the fact that one of the singular best things about fashion is the clothes that you get bought for you, given, inherited, lent or received through osmosis. Being single a few day’s after the annual hell that is Valentine’s Day, it felt good to get a present for myself. It’s also the fact that these are well-made, unique and escapist items of clothing far removed from the everyday.

Either way, I definitely got that feeling back.

Today’s Pick: The Fred Perry Blank Canvas x Stussy polo shirts have dropped at oki-ni!