That's handy (or other glove-related puns)

OK, I'll ask - what did someone just do to the summer? I'd have sworn there was this Autumn thing before winter kicked in but the state of these blocks of ice - or 'feet' as we call them in the trade - on the end of my legs tells me otherwise.

So I've been looking at gloves. And I have a new favourite pair - from MacWet.

These are technically sports gloves, and I have been using them in the gym. You need to measure your hands across the knuckle - this is because they are 'proper' fitted gloves, suitable for people doing work with their hands rather than just commuting or something. The grip is stronger than you find on most other gloves.

I can vouch for their efficacy when you're pushing weights up and down, certainly. Not that I'm massively active; people who follow this site will be aware I've been trying to lose weight, though, and part of that has involved reintroduction of exercise into my life. They work.

Mostly, though, I use them when I'm out generally. A snugger fit than most, you can use them when you're operating a phone (mostly) or whatever else you need to do; they're comfortable because of the case you'll take in measuring your hand, and they look rather stylish in my view.

£27.99-£29.99 a pair depending on the length of the cuff. Not the cheapest gloves but for the right context among the most practical.

Bespoke suit, bespoke lining..?

Sometimes there's an idea that sounds fun on paper but when you see it, you just wonder why you would. That was my feeling when I saw the bespoke linings launched by my first tailor, A Suit That Fits (sponsored link, anyone buying a suit through it will be rewarding me indirectly).

The principle is simple. You get measured for a suit in the usual way of course BUT you upload a picture to the website and they put it onto the lining, much as in the illustration on the right. Click on it for a bigger view if you like. You need to click on disclaimers confirming that you own the rights to reproduce the pictures - no doubt sneaky unlicensed Lady Ga Ga or 007 logo pictures (we've all been sloshed at the computer, come on) will be intercepted. Endearingly, the spokeswoman at the launch said "we're trying to avoid comparisons with Boots" or words to that effect - putting us all in mind of Boots, immediately, of course. This is the Boots where you take your picture in and they put it on mugs, tee-shirts, whatever.

But a suit lining? I find my other tailor, King and Allen, a bit restricted in that way if I'm honest; you get a plain lining and that's that. The paisley and jacquard offered by ASTF can be very appealing, but for me this is a little OTT. The spokeswoman said they found it worked well for wedding suits, and if that's who's buying it, fair enough. It's probably not for me, but if people are responding, good luck to them!

Discounts on Smithfield Case

Yesterday I wrote about the success of the Smithfield Case personal shopping service. There was nothing to be gained for me in doing this, I was genuinely pleased to be recommending a service I found useful.

They took payment from my card as agreed - this really is an easy process - and sent me a discount code for anyone else who wants to try it. Feel free to order a case of clothes and add the code "CLAPPERTON-30" at the checkout and they'll give you £15 off your first selection.

This offer will expire on 7 April, and in the interests of full declaration I should say they'll give me a fiver for everyone who orders, up to a maximum of fifty quid. Once again I had no knowledge of this before the two previous blogs on the subject, which weren't written with any gain in mind - but I'd be daft not to mention this discount to you now.

If anyone else orders with them I'd be delighted to hear how you got on in the comments section below.

Genius or idiocy? The Smithfield Case

Just over a week ago I wrote about the Smithfield Box, this idea of ordering clothes from someone who'd choose them for you based on a few sizes and hints on your taste. Was it a good idea or plain crazy? Here's the blog entry and here's the service. As promised I tried it, and here's what I found.

I opted for smart casual clothes, set a budget, put my sizes and a few colour preferences in but deliberately left out the photo. Let's see what they send, I thought.

Signing up was painless. It took them a couple of days to get back to me but then they had to choose the clothes. There were, to be fair, a couple of stinkers - a Boss jacket that was too young on me as well as being too small (they'll replace mis-sized items of course; given that size varies from brand to brand it's no surprise that they allow a bit of leeway and occasionally send something that's large rather than XL as I asked, or XXL just in case). Loads of detailing on the pockets, not my taste at all. A Paul Smith floral shirt was marked XL but also had that appalling slogan "slim fit", and a pair of Paul Smith plimsols - I don't call those trainers - just didn't do anything for me.

Most of the clothes, though, were pretty damned good. I've kept a Polo Ralph Lauren cotton ribbed V-neck and would happily have helped myself to a zip top one as well if I hadn't found it cheaper on the House of Fraser website (Smithfield claims to be convenient, not the cheapest); a pair of brown chinos were not my usual colour but my wife assured me they looked great so they've gone into the wardrobe rather than the returns box, and a paid of Pied a Terre tan Chelsea boots were excellent - no way were they going back, until the tag on the back snapped. Smithfield is of course happy to replace them.

I'm sending a couple of Polo Ralph Lauren shirts back because they were in L rather than XL - it was worth checking - but also because I'm not short of shirts. Had I been in that market then the pink/red stripe shirt and the blue linen they sent would have done very well.

So on balance I'd have to quantify this as a resounding success. Friendly staff - I have a personal shopper called Beatrice on hand anytime I want to order again - no obligation and above all convenience. They delivered free on Saturday morning and collected yesterday evening at no extra charge - they'll simply debit my card with the value of the items I've kept.

I'm going on holiday in a few months' time and depending on what I find needs replacing in my summer wardrobe I'll certainly be in touch with these guys again. Aside from not getting the same discount I found elsewhere - which is absolutely not something they claim to offer - I can't think of a single drawback.

Christmas list 2: Staying warm for Christmas

Now it's suddenly cold. Where did that come from? As Spike Milligan once said, I don't know where that cold wind's coming from but I know where it's going.

Half a century old one liners aside, it is suddenly time to think about keeping the cold out. Finisterre has a nice range of men's clothing and the big thing is it's all made out of Bowmont wool. This is a threatened species of sheep and Finisterre is dedicating itself to keeping it going. We're talking a bit finer than Merino but pretty strong.

The beanies (red one pictured) are as warm as they look and if it doesn't quite lie as flat on my head as everyone else's I expect that's just me. £45 to you and if it gets any colder I can see mine getting a load of exercise while I'm walking the dog.

Clearly it's not a formal dress accessory but when it gets really cold nobody actually seems to mind. A nice scarf is more my sort of thing, and if someone were to be spending £45-odd on me I'd just as soon have a cashmere scarf from The Travelling Souk. These come in at £50 which isn't cheap for a scarf but it's pretty good value for a cashmere. I like the designs - the Indigo stripe is pictured and there's a green equivalent, plus a plain khaki and a plain grey-blue.

They're very warm and a bit of a treat which is probably what you'd want at this time of year. That said I won't be buying one; my wife often has words with me about buying scarves because I like the look of them and then forgetting about them, followed by buying another remarkably similar one the following year. I thought she was exaggerating but I've been through my drawer and guess what, I have too many scarves...

In a few days' time I'll be doing the first ever giveaway on this blog - nothing colossal but freebies nonetheless. It's reached 3000 readers a month which isn't huge but other than the odd mention on Twitter I've done no marketing at all, so huge thanks for reading, commenting, bugging me by email - I'm enjoying writing this.

A quickie on scarves

Just a short entry today. I'm busy being bemused by the video on this link, which is a my-wardrobe video guide on how to wear a scarf.

Obviously the one where you just throw it over your neck is the one which really didn't need a video explanation but the bit that really gets to me is the third one.

In this, the demonstrator tucks the scarf around the model's lapel (serious stuff this scarf-wearing, definitely takes two) so that only a little bit of it is showing.

Call me naive, call me old fashioned - but since this leaves your throat totally exposed, doesn't it take away the whole point of a scarf in the first place? Or am I just naive in thinking that retaining a vestige of their original function, i.e. offering a bit of warmth, would at least not be a bad idea..?

In which I tell knits to get knotted

Look, can we stop this crappy calling a jumper a "knit" thing sometime soon? Autumn's definitely arrived (and guess who's got himself stocked up with only summer suits, oh well done that man) so I've been looking in shops and online for warmer stuff. And suddenly anything that's a jumper or cardigan is called a "knit".

I mean, come on, it's not even consistent. Wool gloves aren't knits, beanie hats are accessories rather than knits and so are scarves. Never midn the fact that they're knitted too.

I take it this is one of those bloke things - women's jumpers are also called knits but it'll have started in a marketing department aiming at men. Probably the same one that decided we'd never buy moisturiser unless they called it "face protector" (as the comedian Sean Locke said so memorably, moisturiser is in case your skin gets a bit dry, face protector is in case someone shoots at it because you're a MAN).

"Knits" has the same air of Gordon Ramsay doing one of his unintentionally hilarious monosyllabic cooking demonstrations ("Eggs...fork....heat...scramble...done" - which, with the addition of a few effing eff words, would be how you'd caricature the bloke if you tried).

So here's the deal. "Knitwear" I'll accept because it's got to cover more than just jumpers. But if anyone - anyone - styles their warmer clothing as "knits" I'm going to assume it's aimed at someone at least 20 years younger who doesn't want to be seen buying jumpers like their dad did (unless they're trying to be "ironic", of course) and I just won't buy it.

OK?