Tuesday, 15 October 2013

Might As Well Have The Best

It must have been about fifteen years ago that I first came across Filson. 

I was in New York at the time and whilst in the Eddie Bauer shop, I spotted this really heavy duty luggage and when I saw the label with the strap line, "Might as well have the best" I was smitten. 

I bought a couple of the bags made from an incredibly tough canvas and trimmed with bridle leather. I have travelled the globe, and these purposeful bags have never let me down. They are the ultimate man bags. 

A couple of my old Filson bags and hunting cap
I am thrilled to say that we are now stocking  in our Hackett Spitalfields store examples of  this illustrious luggage in the classic tan and dark green. They are the perfect bags to complement tweed jackets and heavy brogues. 

I particularly like the travel dog bowl, a great Christmas present for your hound.

Muffin showing Impeccable table manners
Muffin attacks her Filson Dog bowl

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Monday, 14 October 2013

Prince of Wales Check

A while ago I was invited to a luncheon at Highgrove hosted by HRH The Prince of Wales, to discuss one of his many initiatives, The Campaign for Wool. 

Prince Charles was very concerned that sheep were not being sheared because the price for wool had diminished substantially. 

If you look around the Hackett shops you will notice a great number of woollen products, so the quandary for me was how could Hackett help to raise awareness of this important issue. It struck me as I sat opposite the Prince resplendent in a Prince of Wales check suit that perhaps it was time to revive this most quintessentially of British cloths. 

Inspired as I was by Prince Charles I felt the need to express my gratitude, which prompted me to contact The Prince's Trust, a charity that is close to the heart of the Prince with the purpose to help disadvantaged young people.


We came to an arrangement with the Trust that for every product that bore the Prince's Trust emblem we would make a donation to the trust. So last week we launched The Prince of Wales Check at the Hackett Sloane Street store.
Prince of Wales Check Suit with Muffin
Appropriately, all the product is made in the British Isles; the P.O.W. tweed was woven in Scotland, the P.O.W. flannel came from Fox Bros in Somerset and the P.O.W worsted from Huddersfield. What could be more British?


Prince Of Wales Check Cornflower Button Hole
We have made the cloth into suits and jackets and added caps, picnic rugs and scarves. At the last moment I added P.O.W. tweed slippers, after reading that at the time that the Duke of Windsor was P.O.W. he owned a Cairn  terrier called 'Slipper', so I couldn't resist including them in the collection.

During the evening at Sloane Street, several speeches were made but one that shall remain with me was from one of the Prince'sTrust ambassadors, a young man named Kevin, spoke movingly about how the Trust had supported him and enabled him to start his own gardening business which is now flourishing. Having begun with only one customer he now has 70 regular clients. 

So anyone making a purchase from The Prince of Wales collection will also enjoy the satisfaction of helping what is an incredible charity.

Jeremy Hackett



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