Simon Crompton

For those that might have them, those previous Neapolitan posts were Solito (the modern Neapolitan cut), Ciardi (the traditional cut) and Rubinacci (an English-influenced cut). You can see those and the rest of the posts in the Style Breakdown series in the menu next to this post, or the Guide page here

But given Prologue’s price point (suits start at £950) and stated approach of catering to those on a lower budget, or just starting on their bespoke journey, I have no such hesitation. In brief, Prologue was founded by two guys, Jerry and Chris, who wanted to work with a tailor in Hong Kong to produce suits in the style they liked - but at a lower price than the visiting Europeans they’d bought from on trunk shows. Little things on that jacket, like the height and angle of the collar, make a big difference in turning it from something that looks like a very traditional Chinese jacket into something much more modern. It’s not a fit to rival the best tailors in the world, but that shouldn’t be surprising given the way they’re working from blocks, with a remote workshop.

Long-time readers may remember The Underwear Project in 2011, which involved trying every major producer of luxury men’s underwear to see which I preferred. They do two stretch-cotton grey-melange trunks, in a long and short leg, for £28 (above). It’s similar to other natural alternatives like bamboo and modal, but has zero waste processes, requires no chemicals or pesticides, and uses 20 times less water than cotton. There is a pair in grey melange (above) for £35 in a mix of 64% Tencel (lyocell brand), 32% cotton and 4% elastane.

This means the reverse side buttons-up left to right, rather than right to left, but the only alternative is to have a line of buttons on both sides of the jacket, and this doesn’t look great. Travel in a navy Valstarino, pack a navy blazer, and you’ve got the great foundations of a great travel wardrobe. In the pictures here, taken around Fitzrovia, I’ve deliberately worn the Valstarino with the same PS Oxford shirt (just restocked by the way) and Saint Crispin's brown-suede boots - but swapping between flannels and jeans. Indeed, if the navy blazer were a casual, small-shouldered Neapolitan cut, and therefore worked with the jeans as well, you’d have four different levels of formality and style: blazer/flannels, Valstarino/flannels, blazer/jeans and Valstarino/jeans.