Goodsouls Men's AW11 Collection at Very.co.uk

Underlining the satorial smart look here with contrast tipping on both jacket and waistcoat:

Goodsouls single breasted suit jacket with contrast tipping on collar and pockets. Single back vent £85
Waistcoat with contrast tipping and back waist adjuster £52
Both 85% polyseter 15% viscose. Colour: taupe
Underneath Goodsouls men and shirt tie set £28. slim fit shirt with skinny black tie. shirt cotton, tie polyester

Chunky knits are always a hit for AW.This shawl collar cardi from Goodsouls adds a touch of military with its epaulettes to the shoulders. Price £48.
35% wool, 35% acrylic and 30% polyamide. Colour: khahi
Underneath is Goodsouls double faced cotton shirt with contrast check inner. £30 Colour: blue/brown

Or just go for the simple shawl neck collar jumper with its button detailing around the neck. £42.
85%acrylic 15% wool. Colour: Black and white mix
Underneath Goodsouls flannel cotton shirt with fine soft cord to inner collar, elbows and cuffs  £30 Colour: red.

The ski/alpine pattern is still on trend;

Goodsouls Intarsia design shawl neck jumperwith button details to neck  £60
35% wool, 35% acrylic and 30% polyamide.Colour: grey marl
Underneath Goodsouls black and white check shirt with small round collar £30

And for those Xmas parties:

Goodsouls peak sating lapel suit jacket with jetted pockets and sinlge back vent. £85
75% polyester 25% viscose Colour: black
Underneath Goodsouls printed t shirt £18
70% cotton 30% polyester. Colour: grey marl

Sibling AW11 collection went 'Darn the Boozer' at London Fashion Week

It was ‘Darn the Boozer’ for the Sibling’s presentation in the Portico Rooms at Somerset House, taking their inspiration from a knitted pub crawl around East London.  Yes their inspiration came for the names of pubs. 

There was the Golden Heart – an embroidered tattoo style heart graced the front of a grey crew neck sweater

and the back of a cardigan whilst spider webs decorated the elbows. 

 The Bricklayer’s Arms’   insignia was emblazoned on the back and front of a zipped grey cardigan 

and again with spider web elbows.

The Red Lion was a thickly embroidered (with wool) lion’s head (in red of course) on a grey sweater.

But my favourite was the George & Dragon in a black and white Fair Isle style pattern with images of St George, the dragon and beer bottles plus crossed cigarettes. This came in a tank, cardigan jacket and scarf.

George, himself, was represented in a suit of woollen armour - the Pauldron sweater with knitted shoulder pieces and leather buckles. 

And you see him again in all his armoury splendour in the hooded scarf with its feathery fur emmulating his helmet.

Plus the George drape hooded jacket with detachable zip hood. This is teamed with an Italian made all in one with full lengthe legs and based on army underwear.

There is also the short length with rib detailing and cinch back. to be worn under jeans or dare to wear on its own.

Not to be outdone, the dragon is also here as a sculptural and aptly named dragon stitch hoodie.
Now you may be wondering why the panda balaclava earlier on. Well Sibling always collaborates with an artist every season.

This season it was with the artist named Pure Evil who created 'Panda Rocks' - pandas with sequin Kiss make up.

The collection was very gimmicky so probably not everyone’s cup of tea, or should I say pint of beer.

The Chunky Hunky knits - lastly the fairest of them all; Fair Isle

A Scottish hunk from the Shetland Isles, although it is said he did get some of his good looks from the Spaniards when a ship from the Spanish Armada was wrecked near the Islands in 1588 and the islanders fell in love with the Moorish patterns the sailors wore. But his striking colouring is all Scottish from local plants and lichens.
In 1922, the Prince of Wales made Fair Isle designs the must-have when he wore an authentic hand knit Fair Isle jumper on the golf course.

Today the Fair Isle looks are emulated by wannabe Fair Isle knits and have become the trend for this season, especially on the chunky knit. Pictured above: New Look Fair Isle-style shawl jumper with gloves. www.newlook.com

The placement of the pattern is important as this will draw the eye towards that area. For those with a larger tummy go for the yoke pattern as in this chunky Republic Soul Cal jumper (pictured above ); it will draw the eye up away from the middle.www.republic.co.uk

Not all the Fair Isle hunks are chunky; even in the finer knits, wearing the pattern along the top will give the illusion of broader, hunkier shoulders. Pictured above: New Look red Fair Isle style jumper. www.newlook.com

But for the fairest Fair Isle of them all and ‘the real MacKay’, you have to look to the Shetland Islands. At Thistle and Broom the website introduces you to the actual knitters.  This ‘Eas a’ Chual Aluinn’ knit (pictured above) is hand-knitted by Agnes in blues, greens and aqua to represent its namesake – the highest British waterfall. It takes her approx 100 hours to create and costs from £245 to £525, depending on what you are buying.  A bit more expensive than the wannabees, but here you are getting a 100% Shetland wool item lovingly hand-knitted which will last, so the cost per wear will work out to be reasonable, if not cheap!
www.thistleandbroom.com

And if you want a very similar pattern to that worn by Edward, Prince of Wales, then Mary Williamson (the actual niece of Maggie Simpson who knitted the Prince’s jumper), is your knitter! She knits tank tops, waistcoats and cardigans in the pattern and even skull caps modelled here (pictured above) by her son-in-law John.

 Full article on http://www.eclipsemagazine.co.uk/NewEclipse/Joomla15/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=48&Itemid=74

The Chunky Hunky Knits- This time the Cable Guys

The Cable Guys look hunky in the chunky knits, but more of a ‘geek’ look in the finer yarns.

French Connection

Both are a good trendy look, but if you’re going for the hunky look it has to be a chunky knit. This is good for the slimmer guys but for the more rounded guys -why add unnecessary bulk the cables will create?

Musto Summer coast knit- www.musto.com

So either go for a sweater which isn’t all cable stitch. Musto’s Summer Coast knit just has the cable stitch around the shoulders and upper arms, taking the bulk away from the tummy area and drawing the eye towards your shoulders. www.musto.com

Jackson jumper - www.qualityknitwear.co.uk

Or avoid the cable knits all together. Quality Knitwear’s khaki/orange Jackson jumper shows a hand knitted plain stocking stitch is just as effective. Price £60.www.qualityknitwear.co.uk

Ashton & Logan www.am-golhar.com

Specialised textile knitwear Designer Am Golhar shows you can be a double chunky hunk proving that layering is not just for the finer knits. Here we have the hand knitted ‘Logan’ cable crew neck sweater in camel at £238 and the angora blend ‘Ashton’ rib cardigan in dark chocolate at £136. www.am-golhar.com
At the moment her collection is only stocked in Milan (those lucky Italians) but you can email for sales enquiries on info@am-golhar.com

Chunky hunky knitwear - the Aran

Aran – The typical ‘hunk’ of the chunky knits.

www.qualityknitwear.co.uk

Originating from the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland, the Aran is the younger more enterprising brother of the Gansey. Not as hard working, this sweater relies on his rugged blond looks and thicker wool to attract outside buyers to give the families on the island more income. He probably never went out to sea with the fishermen as his bulkier and stiffer style restricted movement, leaving this to his leaner and more flexible brother the Gansey. The traditional blond colour was due to the sweater being made from undyed sheep’s wool.
He does have one party trick – he can absorb 30% of his weight in water before feeling wet. And also draws water vapour away from the body keeping the wearer warm and dry.
This style with its pattern stitch and worn in a light colour will add bulk so good for the skinny guy.
And it may not make you more rounded guys in to hunks but what’s wrong with the soft cuddly teddy bear look? Go for the Aran cardigan in a darker colour which will be more slimming with its v neck front.
For one off vintage knitwear pieces visit www.qualityknitwear.co.uk .
They only stock retro and vintage knitwear including the classic Aran. This cardigan called ’These Loving Arms’ is selling at £45 and comes in large with tortoise shell buttons. But don’t worry if you are pipped at the post with this one as they do have other Arans online.

Full article on http://www.eclipsemagazine.co.uk/NewEclipse/Joomla15/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=48%3Amens-fashion&id=2262%3Aknitwear-for-men-chunky-hunks&Itemid=74

Chunky Hunky Knitwear - First in line The Gansey

Gansey – The original hunky fisherman.

This hunk has always worked hard for his living, keeping the fishermen warm and dry, allowing easy movement so he can get on with his work and unfortunately sometimes providing ID for those who drowned and whose bodies were washed up on the shore.

The Gansey from www.ganseys.co.uk

 Always in shades of moody dark blue with the grease (lanolin) left in the staple for better protection against cold wet winds, these workaholic sweaters were never washed. Luckily the fishermen had a Sunday best sweater that smelled more eau de sea spray than from the everyday fishy collection.

The sweater is seamless and has the patterns front and back – this allows the sweater to be reversible- a good trick to keep those areas such as the elbows from wearing out so soon.  Another trick was to leave the lower sleeve plain so it could be unravelled and re knitted.

The neck and cuffs were tight to prevent water from seeping in but the actual torso was looser to allow freedom of movement

Although looking good , the intricate stitch patterns were there for a reason – to provide extra insulation from the cold winds, plus the way they were tightly stitched helped the water run off the sweater.  These creative patterns of ropes, diamonds, cables, ladders, herringbones and anchors symbolised the fishermen’s daily lives. The knitters would also add initials or mistakes to indicate their village and sometimes their family which is how they could identify the drowned bodies

Not as popular now, this sweater is hard to find but can be purchased through: www.ganseys.co.uk

And glad to report, the Gansey has relaxed a little with a selection of colours other than navy and no more grease!

This sweater is great for the outdoors due to its warmth, freedom of movement and some water resistance. 

A good chunky for the shorter guy because traditionally the sweater is shorter in the sleeves (so they wouldn’t get in the way when hauling in the catch) and in the torso length, so this style will not swamp you.

And good for the more rounded guy as this chunky is not too bulky.  Go for the dark colours and the vertical patterns such as the Filey, to slim down the torso.

For the full article read: 

http://www.eclipsemagazine.co.uk/NewEclipse/Joomla15/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=48%3Amens-fashion&id=2262%3Aknitwear-for-men-chunky-hunks&Itemid=74