Alan See’s Menswear 10 Commandments
Ten years ago, Alan See and a cosmopolitan posse of fellow sartorial aficionados established The Armoury in Hong Kong. Classic menswear was then in the first bloom of a global renaissance and The Armoury’s offering seemed to capture the zeitgeist perfectly.
This bijou haberdasher’s blend of fine apparel from Britain, Europe and the Far East both reflected and helped define the character of the contemporary sartorial movement that arose in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
The Armoury’s 10th Anniversary ‘Decade Twill’ sports coats, photographed in New York.
With tailoring from Italy and Japan, shirts from Hong Kong, silk accessories from Britain, shoes from Spain or the States, and assorted handcrafted miscellanea from all over, The Armoury’s array of goods was international, eclectic, but utterly cohesive. ‘Sartorialism sans frontières’, if you will.
The original shop in historic 1920s structure, the Pedder Building in Central HK, quickly became a mecca for men of particular predilections (namely, a dark unquenchable desire for beautiful custom garments and genteel accoutrements — ‘The Secret Vice’, as Tom Wolfe called it).
It soon spawned an additional outlet in Hong Kong and another two in New York. There’s now also an extensive e-commerce operation for those who can’t make it into the stores — the vast majority of us at present, sadly.
See recently told me he was probably a little too zealous about following the rules laid down by Messrs Flusser and Boyer back in The Armoury’s early days, all those years ago. He’s loosened up in the decade since. Nevertheless, there are still some guidelines he finds useful in approaching matters of style. To wit, herein, Alan See reveals his Menswear Ten Commandments.
10. “Quality, not quantity. As with everything in life, let’s edit our choices and make each one count.”
9. “Learn to walk before you run. You can’t go wrong with a navy suit, white shirt, and navy tie. As you get comfortable in the basics, and learn about things like fit and proportions, you can easily blend different colours into the mix and add layers of complexity like new tones or textures. One of Liverano’s customers in Florence has an enormous wardrobe solely of navy suits, but he is one of the most stylish men I have ever seen!”
The Armoury co-founder Alan See sporting a bespoke three-piece suit from Liverano & Liverano.
8. “Pocket squares should have some life. If your pocket square fold looks like it’s a printout, with calculated exact angles and measures, you should stick to a pocket protector instead.”
7. “Be nice! The internet has enough trolls as it is.”
6. “Keep your sprezzatura in check. If in doubt, don’t.”
5. “You can look elegant regardless of your shape and size. I am tired of people coming into the store and telling me the only reason certain suits and jackets look good on me is because I am tall and skinny. That’s such a disservice to our tailors and what we do at The Armoury. Some of my style icons, such as Antonio Liverano and Pier Luigi at Loro Piana, show us what it’s like to be at the top of your game regardless of what size you are.”
4. “Love your tailored jackets. One of my pet peeves is seeing jackets bunched up on a couch or table when someone has taken them off. The minor effort it takes to hang it up, or lay it down nicely, would show a bit of respect to the tailor who took hours to iron it into shape for you.”
Dress for the season, Alan says.
