The Dappertude show kicked off on 26 October at the Jackalberry (Hyatt Regency) in Sydney. The purpose of the day was to educate, inspire and network like minded men together and to see what is out there in the Australian men’s fashion world.
Big hats off to Jackalberry for providing the venue and Johnny Li for organising the event. I’m looking forward to the next one in Melbourne already!
Jeff Lack was the host of the seminar and he talked about many tips about styling and interviewed many of the keynote speakers for the day. He’s a really charming and funny man!
The seersucker cloth stood out the most.
Thomas George Collection
I was there with Ben Atkinson and James Seaford representing the Thomas George Collection. I recently signed on as fellow co-founder and Director (Business Strategy) and it was an absolute pleasure to be there talking about quality shoes and shoe care with other people.
Yeah the boys
We show cased our prototype shoes that will be launching in January 2020 and the response that we got from many gentlemen and ladies there was overwhelmingly positive.
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Networking
Throughout the day I had the opportunity to meet many influencers in the industry, other smart looking men, women in the industry and got to hang out with a handful of them after the event. It was also heartwarming to be greeted by many people who knew me through Welted Shoes Australia!
It was a fun day to just get to know new people and share a similar passion for looking dapper with them.
The best dressed gentleman at the seminar. He loved the Fox Umbrella that I brought along and checking out our shoes over at Thomas George Collection! Starstruck ๐
Guest speaker of the day on made to measure and bespoke suiting. Really knows his stuff.
It’s A Wrap!
The main thing that stood out to me from all the talks was the need for men to take care of their skin and hair more. I’m going to need to start looking into pre-shave oil and use a hair conditioner.
As for shoes, James Seaford spoke really well to the audience and his anecdotes were engaging and educational. Was great to reaffirm what I know and also for our team to share that with everyone else.
Took some of them out after dinner to The Barbershop, The Baxter Inn and Lobo Plantation. Fun night!
I had the pleasure to attend the relaunch of M.J. Bale’s line up of Kingston single-source Tasmanian merino wool suits on Thursday. This event was held at the Martin Place store in the city. I was glad that beer and platters of food were provided while we perused the store and checked out the new offerings of Kingston suits.
Free refreshments are the best.
Kingston is a fourth generation family run wool-growing farm in Tasmania that dates back almost 200 years to the mid 1800’s. M.J. Bale is working with them to bring superfine merino wool with great thermal regulation properties, warm in winter but cool in summer, to their line up of suits. There are 5 Kingston fabrics that you can only get if you order from their custom tailoring program, something that I can personally attest to as a great experience! Their custom specialist in Sydney is genuinely a great man to do business with.
The custom fabrics are really nice but theyโre all blue!
Iโve been looking for a brown fabric for some time now and for some reason, this versatile colour for a jacket is scarce in Sydneyโs suit shops without breaking the bank for a MTM option. The new Kingston fabrics are really beautiful and well milled but the lack of colour options is the only criticism I have. Hopefully more options will come as time goes on.
These arenโt the Kingston suits but the RTW ones are hanging on the rack to the right of the photo.
In addition to attending this event, it was great to hang out with my mate Frank. We met through the Welted Shoes Australia page when he wanted a pair of his Cheaneyโs shined and it was overall an enjoyable evening. I would post a photo but I had a beer and Asian flush makes me look like a beetroot…
In Sydney, the access to Japanese artisanal expertise is rare.
In today’s globalised society, we often don’t think about where things come from, how they were created or who made them as long as they look good. Such is the case with men’s fashion with items such as suits, ties and shoes. To the untrained eye, the marketing ploys and beautiful model photos distract us from asking the questions that matter. What is the quality like?
Choose Something Different
In 2019, Australia’s suit market is littered with many affordable brands such as M.J. Bale, T.M. Lewin and Suit Supply before you hit the echelons of Ermenegildo Zegna or Tom Ford. They’re the names that everyone brings up when a discussion about suits is brought up.
However, just because something exists doesn’t mean it’s the best.
So when I find myself in these discussions, I like to recommend someone different to the usual: Japanese expert in all things sartorial, Kaz of Kazuna. With over 30 years experience in the industry and hailing from a Japanese background and work ethic, he is a hidden gem of Sydney. You can read more about his bio on his website. We are lucky to have him operate his business in Sydney instead of somewhere else like Melbourne.
With Kaz’s services, I am assured of the utmost quality. He knows where things are made, how they’re made, who they’re made by and most importantly, he doesn’t lie about how you would look. He genuinely wishes the best for his customers and all questions about his products is met with full transparency.
Services
Kaz mainly offers a made-to-measure service for shirts, denim jeans, suits and shoes. He also sells leather goods such as wallets and business folders. This post will focus on the products that I have personally ordered.
As of right now, he has temporarily moved his services away from a brick and mortar store. He meets his clients who make a booking in person for fittings and consultations.
Suiting
Like many made-to-measure suiting services, the journey starts with a measurement, leads into the joyous process of choosing your personal style of fabric, types of functional buttons, lining, colour – you name it – and ends with a final fitting process when the suit is made. This is not to be confused with Bespoke services.
From Kazuna I have a midnight blue three piece suit that is fully canvassed with purple lining made with fabric from Kuzuri Keori, est. 1912. He offers other options as well, but I opted for the Japanese fabric. Getting this anywhere else will require a flight to Japan!
Kuzuri Keori
Three piece suit from Kazuna with Kuzuri Keori fabric.
Shoes
Kaz offers two services for shoes: a made-to-order option from Spain or made-to-measure option by Miyagi-Kogyo of Japan. I have personally ordered two pairs of shoes from his Miyagi-Kogyo option and if you read my previous post on how I got into shoes in the first place, you’ll know that this was one of the brands that got me started!
He uses the proprietary measuring system designed by Miyagi-Kogyo that caters for 17 lengths and 6 widths to measure the feet. This is followed by a trial walk in a test shoe of that size. With these shoes, there are also some customisable options that you can have fun with.
You can choose the type of leather (kip, d’Annonay calf, reptile, python, cordovan), the colour, the style of welting, the profile of the welt, the leather lining colour, the type of shoe laces, the sole and heel, and of course the style of the shoe.
Here are the shoes that I have:
d’Annonay calf leather, medium brown wingtip brogues.
Kip leather, dark brown cap toe oxfords.
The kip leather is tougher and more durable than the calf leather but there is also a price difference in the two. When shining these pairs, they both take in the polishes well and it is relatively easy to produce a nice, reflective shine.
