EDITOR'S LETTER

This season is about a certain renewed upper level of elegance. It is about a finely tailored jacket or a beautiful floor length coat. It is about impeccable pieces. The best dressed friends in my life are very particular about their clothes. Bradley Cocks shops for his finest pieces in Italy because he says they are unsurpassed for expert tailoring and the best quality of fabric. He is quite the connoisseur. He travels in a razor-sharp suit and changes into Pangaia for the flight. It is all about standards. My dad wore a smart suit, shirt and tie for most of his working life. His were sourced from all over the world on his travels.  He had a process and was meticulous.

Tony Glenville whom I have known forever is always impeccable. During the Paris couture shows he takes a table every night at La Belle Epoque, known as Tone’s table and entertains the very best dressed there too. People, among others, who have been seated - David Downton, Casey Spooner, Elie Top, Darren Gerish and Catherine Baba. He writes for us about the importance of a good closet in this issue. It is a joy to be with people who love looking good.

The smell of elegance, notably ‘perfumed wood’, is written about most eloquently by Tony Marcus in this issue. His responses to the word “elegance”: “Le Smoking. Romaine Brooks’s paintings. Certain Lou Reed songs. Specifically, Pale Blue Eyes (which has already inspired a perfume) and Coney Island Baby…” The issue has much to enjoy although do not panic, easy elegance is also to be found within the pages.

My response to elegance is thoughtfulness, space, honesty and fearlessness. Love this quality. And Prada too. So many facets. I had a friend called Fred, one of whose favourite lines was “an elegant sufficiency,” dating back to the poem of Spring, penned in 1728 by James Thomson. Can you ever have enough though? Sadly, Fred is long gone but the memory of his love of words lives on. He too loved good clothes – particulary Margaret Howell; Jean Muir and Paul Smith. He bought me incredible vintage pieces. He took me to the Savoy for my 18^th birthday and gave me a super soft, pale dusty pink Turnbull and Asser shirt from Jermyn Street. Class.

Alison Veness

Editor-in-Chief

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Above: Tobias wears Celine, photographed by Jo Duck and styled by Abby Bennett

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