When Mr Norton met Mr Jenks

In which G.M. Norton rabbits on about silk hankies.

As you may have discovered through reading this periodical, I enjoy collecting things.

I've always been this way. It's my inner magpie.

One of the collections that I'm most pleased with is my apparant stockpile of pocket squares. After all, any self-respecting gentleman needs plenty of options for peacock preening purposes.

Yesterday I counted my square collection and discovered that I had 33, including two new additions from a Dublin-based men's accessories company called Mr Jenks.

Introducing Percy Le Moo Moo

In which G.M. Norton receives a big surprise.

I recently made the acquaintance of two frightfully good eggs, Percy Le Moo Moo and Binty Bagshot. They make all sorts of things from bags, cushions and aprons to cravats and boxer shorts. What’s more, they are in Bury in Greater Manchestershire, which is only a few short miles from where I reside.

As they seemed so lovely and unable to resist a liberty print cravat and the prospect of a tweed coin purse complete with Tintin lining, I fired off an order on Etsy. The cravat and coin purse was posted out the very same day and arrived quickly and beautifully presented.

The wonder of the fake tweed jacket

In which G.M. Norton reveals his ruse to wearing tweed when it's warm.

With Spring now here, it really is time to consider what to wear when the sun decides to show its face.

I must admit to being something of a forward planner so such thoughts have been whirling around my over-active, confuddled and extremely warped mind for quite a few months.

You see, I simply despise putting away the old tweeds. That’s where the fake tweed jacket comes into play. 

Now, fear not chumrades. I’m not about to encourage counterfeit and illegal wares and risk the good Norton name. I’m referring to a cotton jacket that looks like tweed. Lighter, cooler and unlined.

At this point, I can almost hear mouths dropping open and teaspoons dropping in shock that such items exist. Well, yes they do.

Odds stacked in my favour

In which G.M. Norton wins on the horses. 

I had a flutter on the horses this week. I don’t usually partake, other than the Grand National but I arrived in the office to be told that a horse was running in the Cheltenham Cup called Fox Norton.

Well, that was too much of a coincidence to pass up. Not only is there the obvious Norton link but my beloved’s family name is Fox and I’d had a meeting was a fellow with the surname Fox only the day before. What’s more, the red moleskin waistcoat that I was wearing features a fox on one of the buttons. By this point, I was convinced that I would win oodles of money and was already planning what to spend my winnings on.

New life, new adventures

In which G.M. Norton takes pleasure in the little things.

If you were to ask me what my favourite season was, I’d always plump for autumn, followed by winter. Although spring doesn’t officially start for another week or so, it is definitely starting to feel like it’s spring. And I must say, I am absolutely loving it.

The seersucker might even make another appearance soon

I put something on the Twittering Device on Thursday about a moment I enjoyed on my walk to the office. I was idly walking along, at my usual slow pace, when the random thoughts in my mind were momentarily paused by one of the most beautiful things that I’ve ever had the good fortune of hearing. A symphony of sparrows in full song, high up in a nearby tree. I literally stopped in my tracks, and looked up to see where the noise was coming from. Almost every branch was occupied by one of our two-footed friends, as they entertained me.

Fair Isle and Tintin

In which G.M. Norton brings two loves together.

When I was a young boy, my uncle gave me his copy of a Tintin hardback book, The Calculus Affair. 

From that moment on, I fell in love with the characters, stories, humour and artwork. I found myself consuming absolutely anything I could find that was Tintin related, which included getting up very early to record radio shows onto tape (well, I was an '80s child). 

Recently, I acquired some Tintin pin badges from Messrs E&Bay so have been wearing them frequently ever since.

Bow ties are cool

In which G.M. Norton takes a bow.

I do love a bow tie and over the last few weeks, I’ve found myself wearing them more and more. It all started when my five year old daughter asked me to wear one as it made me look “handsome and smart”. I now find that both my daughters seem to appreciate them, and generally, the world at large.

Four shades of grey

In which G.M. Norton declares that grey doesn't need to be dull.

Over the last few days, I’ve found myself wearing a great deal of grey. But far from being dull or bland, I’ve found it to be the perfect canvas on which to get some of my more lavish paints out.

I have a grey suit from M&S that I enjoy wearing. It’s double-breasted with super sharp lapels so usually attracts plenty of compliments. As well as this, I have a grey tweed suit from Messrs Walker Slater of Edinburgh. This is a three-piece suit and is a joy to wear. Perhaps it’s only downside is sometimes, it’s too hot to wear. And that’s coming from somebody who loves being warm and lives in a very wet part of England.

Commander of keeping warm

In which G.M. Norton plays toy soldier

There’s something indescribably comforting about pulling on a warm jumper on a cold day.

At the moment, my personal style is evolving towards two looks - university professor and gentlemanly explorer. For the university professor look, it’s all about the tweed, bow ties and glasses with lots and lots of texture. The explorer look is about thick jumpers, coats and a sturdy pair of boots. Of course, there will be crossover from time to time.

As part of the adventurer chic I’m going for, I bought a Woolly Pully commando style navy jumper from a UK company called Outdoor Knitwear. Based in Leicester, Outdoor Knitwear produce the Woolly Pully for the military and government.

Double silk

In which G.M. Norton coins the term ‘double silk’.

‘Double silk’ is a phrase that I now claim ownership of (oh go on, you can use it too). Like most things I come up with, this was dreamt up on the spot when I was wearing a silk cravat and pocket square.

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, my beloved secretly ordered me a pocket square from Cravat Club’s new Japanese Ukiyo-e collection. Then my generous chums at Cravat Club decided to surprise me themselves with one of their cravats. They sent me their INDIANA cravat, which perfectly complements the orange hues in the pocket square.