SIX shops where I shop.Bop and pop( Guest Post by Harry King)

The thing bout Hackett is the fact that its tywhitt with concept but theres little between the quality that I can see as regards a lot of things, they certainly have crap shop staff (stuck up little gay ponce in Jermyn Street more or less ushered me out of the shop, what had I done ?Merely asked for a Hackett polo with the number on the back : he anaswered "No  we dont do those here best get them online" as he walked me to the door: so in reality I don't shop at Hacketts anymore as I never go back to shops where I find a totally rude shop assistant and its not the assistants fault but Mr Hackett's fault cos he hired the bloke.Maybe it was becauzse we were wearing T.shirts and jeans me and my mates but we were not causing any problems whatsoever. Ive noticed though that a lot of gays have an hysterical side and Im not saying that cos Im anti gay because Im not. My thing is whatever two consenting adults wanna do behind closed doors is up to them.

 And to be honest I didn't buy much due to the huge price tags in comparison to something similar at Tywhitts  , but what about the quality?I have been purchasing Charles Tyrwhitt clothes and accessories for the last couple of years now and I must say that I think there clothing is decent. The jackett above is about 160 notes, compare to the Hackett, in reality Tywhitt must know that its in direct competition with Mand S and Hacketts and T.M.Lewin .Their prob is that unlike the old take six of old when you never knew what you'd find week by week (great shop) chas is very predictable.  The trousers are nothing special, they are ok , the chinos are fine but not out of this world, Hackett wins here but you got to pay another 100 notes for the Hackett so fine is better  ,the trousers I bought last time out were to be honest fine and a bargain at the price! Worked out at £32.50 each.  The Monk shoes that I bought creased up straight away on the instep so no moreew shoes from Chas.

 The  jackets look like  they are designed more for the  fat gay rugby types (or those that like to row boats up the creek  on the weekend) but they are ok . I bought a chalk stripe casual jacket bit like this idea.

However, the Charles Tyrwhitt shirts are excellent and at a great price too for that sort of quality.  I am really into fashion   and I  like a good shirt to wear, no matter what the occasion.The only trouble is that they always do the same collars.About 3.

, I have spoken to many of Charles Tyrwhitt’s  staff and they are a nice bunch.  I have even complained to them about their lack of constant change but they say little.The fabric is ridiculously luxurious, and the collar cuts are hard to find on this side of the pond. I have several of these, almost all with French cuffs. My only complaint with them is the actual construction of the collars and the lack of choice in collars. It seems like sort of a two-piece I like mine a little stiffer than what they build. The solution: ask for a little heavier starch at the laundry, and all is well.

'

Whenever an Italian or Spaniard adopts 'the English look', he looks far too smart and glossy; could you imagine him climbing into a dusty skip to rescue a strip of 18th-century dado moulding or striding along a thorny bridleway, mud lapping over his leather uppers and dog slathering at his side? And when did you ever see a Continental or Japanese 'Englishman' dressed in anything other than the smoothest cottons and tweeds? Not for them the thick worsteds of the native species.But we never see people in tweeds anymore do we?But the Continental? Are they smart? Maybe?
Thats if they dress up cos most look shite in downtown Milan.Hackett have opened in Milan but they won't last there and thats for sure as they have overpriced themselves.

The question for Hackett must be this: if the company is to appeal to the would-be English gentleman abroad, will it feel forced to refine its sturdy cloths and to water down the genuine English look that has made its shops so popular at home? Will Hackett have to 'theme' the English look to meet foreign approval?

Mr Hackett says, 'No.' Honestly? 'Honestly. The point is that men from different countries buy different clothes from us. We won't compromise, we'll just let them choose from what we have to offer.' And this opinion of Hackett  is why they will close or alter.Italians wont be buying Hackett but they might well be buying Tywitt if they opened as Tywitt got their prices right.
The t.shirt 60 and chinos 100.

 An Italian will pick up a suede brogue and enthuse ecstatically over the suppleness of the hide and the quality of the stitching; the Englishman will grumble about the price.But if you think Italians like shoes think again and take a ride on  the Milan metro to see the shittiest shoes you ever saw.Again Italians wont be rushing to buy Hackett shoes.

'Continentals tend to buy two or three identical suits at a time, while Englishmen wear the same suit day after day says Hackett but how does he know.
jackect below  hackett 400 notes
 Latins - especially Latin Americans - are obsessed with smart casuals, so we've developed a line of these. It's not 'leesure' wear - perish the thought - but English sporting classics made a little more colourful."Says Hackett . Not true, Italians lounge around in jeans and any crappy polo that comes to hand.

Hackett continues 'What foreigners still find surprising is that Englishmen like more than a splash of vibrant colour: Eton boys and their fancy waistcoats are an obvious example. Another is the fact that when we sell at events such as Henley and point- to-points, our red corduroys outsell the olive and straw cords that foreigners associate with the English look." Again wrong , the great majority of Italians associate the English with skinhead wear and hooligan type bombers .Hackett is dreaming, he's still in the 70's.

'We also sell rather loud waistcoats, ties, slippers, dressing gowns, smoking jackets and accessories. Englishmen like to customise a basic and serviceable wardrobe, while Continentals have a large collection of conspicuously neat and really rather conservative clothes." This is code for the English look shite and them from over the pond are boring. Er when did you last see an englishman in a loud waistcoat?

'Hackett is not quite 10 years old, so we're often thought of as a part of the fashion business. In fact, we're not at all fashionable; we make traditional Englishmen's clothes and our concerns are all to do with cut and cloth and detail.' says Hackett. Not so true, the polos for instance are more or less like any other polo but are priced at 70 notes.You can get a similar polo to the basic same colour Hackett one at Asda for a fiver.

But when Mr Hackett set up shop, selling second-hand Englishmen's clothes, shoes and accessories in Fulham, west London, in 1983, he found he was running one of the most fashionable of English clothes shops. It struck a chord with the sort of Englishmen who wear cords, a sturdy suit for years, and shoes as timeless as he can find.hackett plain dark blue polo 70 notes

Hackett cashed in, fortuitously, on the Brideshead Revisited-Merchant Ivory gay boom for tweedy stiff-upper-lip nostalgia in the early Eighties and then found himself dressing ex-public schoolboys about to enter the City at the time of the 'Big Bang' as bankers,gingham jacket hackett 400 notes brokers, analysts and lawyers. Their mark of distinction was to wear magnificent three-button suits (many of them ex-Savile Row) with thick and crisp white or striped cotton shirts (double-cuffs and links), discreetly loud silk ties and ancient brogues (Lobb, Maxwell), creased and polished.This is what Hackett thinks but to be honest I never saw any of this so it must be a select group.

Hackett suede jacket 450 notes
One believes him when he says that Hackett will not slip into the world of ersatz Englishness when it roams abroad. There will still be the soft suits with their Savile Row 'floating canvas' between cloth and lining, three-inch waistband adjuster and trouser pleats that reach the waistband. Overcoats will still be cut from 30oz cloth (20oz is the norm) and the staff (including 'gels') will still look fresh from the Upper Fifth Remove.So according to Hackett the clothes are real quality and maybe they are and should be supported.hackett field jacket 170 notes

Sleek Spaniards, elegant Italians, streamlined French and squeaky-clean Japanese (do they exist)will see reflected in the mirrors of Hackett's overseas shops an image of the English gentleman they want to be. They will, however, never look like the real, doggy, horsy, leather-on-willow thing who stinks a bit and doesnt wash that much; and, if the secret be told, they don't really want to.The truth is people like Hackett and people like the shoe snob want to put nations into brackets and divisions but it seems like theyve never actually looked at the way people are dressed, for reality check , Parisians look like mushroom pickers in a 50's Gabin film, Italians look shite in general apeing the American Kurt Cobain look thats long over in septictankville and germans if its flashing pink they'll fockin wear it.Everyone looks shite .  Hackett Jackett 400 pounds

ENTER THE DRAGON

 I hate Asda as they've treated those  that live near them really badly (trying to get night deliveries, wandering trollies, store events with loud, awful music) and Tesco are just as bad. The traffic that all these parks including the Retail Park generate mean that nearby residents only leave the house on the motorbike, walk or bike - you can't use a car at the weekend unless you want to join the massive traffic queues. I've tried farmers markets, the one in Cambridge is great but can't justify the cost. However I feel guilty contributing to the takeover of our cities by the supermarkets. The waiting to pay at Asda is horrendous and they have very little in stock as regards clothes, its well shite. You'd be better off buying stuff from Warrior on the net because the prices are similar and you'd at least look working class bizznezz if you bought warrior.I looked through whats for sale on their site and this is about it for the style conscious

  Primark   queues  are horrendous and believe it or not the clothes are well crap , worse than crappy asda. I have been in the  Southgate town branch three times and each time walked out without buying anything because the lack of stock and queues put me off. Even at christmas when the queues in Asda are horrendous I've  given up and walked out just looking at the shit from the entrance but  the staff are speedy and courteous in my experience. The quality is better than primark as I said ( in the sense less crap)too definitely worth waiting a little longer for when you have to if they happen to have one of their things thats worth buying, once a year.As regards food I  have recently stopped shopping at the supermarket except for stuff I  can't get elsewhere (or at least can't get elsewhere without a trip ). All my meat comes from the local butcher, fruit, veg, spices, tea, coffee from the market, cheese either from the market or from Cambridge Cheese Co... TBH it doesn't cost much more (if anything) than shopping at Sainsburys or asda or tesco, I still spend about the same each week and the food is so much nicer, plus you're supporting local businesses and producers. Everyone wins!As regards Clothes in supermarkets I did buy Asda jeans at a fiver a throw because they were really a bargain but you have to buy two sizes smaller to get a sleek look as otherwise you'll look like a tesco bomber. 

They sell that crappy label GEORGE which exploits people in India for 6 pence an hour, and moreover their three pound tea shirts and 5 pound jeans are worn by the lowest of the low. (me)

 . The place is full of gross fat people loading up their trollies full of unhealthy crap food. These poor beggers can't resist the two for the price of one offers on the Cadbury Minnie Rolls, and scoff the lot as soon as they get in the door. ASDA is just the American Walmart. Shop at a Quality shops and leave the plebes where they belong - trolling the aisles of ASDA., Tesco, Morrisons and maybe Iceland...Iceland!!!!?????...But hey if you don't care bout exploitation and are a poor sod then the look above ain't too bad, bit Hackett? 

red asda harrington is 18 pounds, the linen shirt 12 and the linen trousers 18.shoes 25 notes

Pure Cotton Hairline Striped Jacket 99 pounds. Below are M and S Chinos which are the super light weight ones£99.00

and here are the white linen trousers , both would go good with the sky blue jacket above, maybe the white better.The Chinos are really great in hot weather although a bit baggy, you can get slimmer ones I believe.I couldnt reccomend any of their polo tops to go with this, they are all pretty dire and asda like but not a fiver if you get my meaning. Remember also that M and S buy loads of their stuff from abroad now so exploitation looms.here is their Mark wenders flat cap, bit Monet.Basically firms like asda and M and S are always going on about anti rascism but in the death its just moving their lips as they must be exploiting cheap labour somewhere.lots of stuff from all the shops mentioned could actually be on sale in Asda because a whole lot of the stuff is well ordinary and crap. Marks and Spencers plus asda should take note of Hacketts website, its much better than M and S and obviously Asda.
BARRACUTA
Barracuta were the people who did the first Harringtons, the best Harringtons as well. Theres a great shop in Covent Garden run by my mate Dave who gave me some great discounts on stuffBarracuta has been taken over by Italians so this may put the Ky-bosh on brilliant casuals gear and great prices, I can see that coming as these Italians have done a deal with some Jap to redesign the clothes so forget the great online discounts is my idea on that.Last but not least
DELICIOUS JUNCTION, great name isn't it and the people behind it are great, full of passion.