Cheltenham-based clothing brand &SONS have opened a brand new ‘Experiential Store’ in the town. 

&SONS Trading Post is located 60 Clarence Street, Cheltenham, GL50 3LE and will carry all of their latest garments in every size and colour.

The store is filled with curiosities, original vintage pieces and feels more like a home from home than a retail space. They encourage customers to pop down, grab a coffee and just unwind. They have installed a record player with a collection of vinyls, a coffee machine and even a few musical instruments for the occasional jam.

What’s also unique is that you can browse, try on and get to know the products, and once purchased, they will ship directly to your doorstep. This combines the experience of traditional retail with the convenience of online shopping. The customer will receive a brand new garment, still wrapped and unworn without the need to carry it around whilst they continue shopping. 

&SONS was created just over 5 years ago to forge vintage inspired and timeless garments for the modern man, designed by and for craftspeople, artisan makers and creative pioneers in their chosen fields of endeavour. Since then they have seen significant growth and have a handful of stockists around the world. 

As they move to become a more sustainable brand and with a strong belief in circular fashion, the principles for the new store will be built around reuse/repurpose/recycle. They will be offering our customers the chance to buy repaired and altered stock along with the old season and discontinued items from their archives at a reduced price to take away. 

In the future, they plan on offering repairs as well as one-off screen printed garments mixed with open evenings, live music and get togethers. 

Founder Phil James said

“There’s something very special about bricks and mortar stores, a three-dimensional environment where we can interact with customers and they can interact with our clothing. One of the hardest things about being an online business was demonstrating the quality of our clothing and the attentional to detail. Seeing first hand our customers pick up an item, try it on and feedback is incredibly rewarding and insightful. 

As a concept, we wanted the space to showcase our existing lines but also to give customers the chance to buy old / repurposed and discontinued stock. This concept will give our garments a second chance and avoid anything going into landfills and as a growing brand we are very aware of the environmental impact of the fashion industry so this is our way of helping. 

We live and work in Cheltenham so the location was an obvious choice for our first ‘concept store’. We can hang out there, meet our customers and learn so much before opening more stories in the future. If the concept works, we hope to open more across the UK and overseas such as the US and parts of Europe."

The store will be open 7 days a week from 9am-5pm

www.andsons.co.uk

The Gunpowder Gimlet was conceived as a way of showcasing Beaufort Spirit's ‘gunpowder proof’ gin in a traditional context - a drink originally issued by the Royal Navy - with a contemporary twist:

This isn’t a ‘true’ gimlet as it does not include Roses lime cordial (originally conceived as a way of preserving lime juice onboard ships); instead Beaufort have created a ‘smoked lime sherbert’ by gently cooking lime juice, pulp and husks briefly with sugar, then smoking in a closed vessel with a smoking gun. Also, in this version, they have lengthened the drink slightly with a gunpowder tea cold brew infusion, made with Temple of Heaven teas. Garnished with a smoked rum / cane syrup reduction with added black food dye.

GUNPOWDER GIMLET
- 40ml BeauFort Spirit Fifty-Seven smoked sipping gin.
- 40ml Smoked Lime Sherbet
- 15ml Cold Brew Gunpowder Tea

Serve in coupette / no ice
Garnish with ‘Squid Ink’ rum reduction
Shake & fine strain

beaufortspirit.com 

Beaufort Spirits are based near Broadway in the Cotswolds and produce a delightful Smoked Sipping Gin and a stunning Smoked Demerara Rum.

The wait is almost over. The new John Lewis & Partners Cheltenham opens this week and we popped into today and had a mooch around. 

Shoppers will find over 49,000 products from more than a thousand brands as well as John Lewis’s first ever Men’s Personal Styling Lounge and The Discovery Room that will be showcasing workshops, talks and events every day. 

The new store opens to the public this Thursday 18th October at 10am. 

Are you heading to the slopes this winter? Well you can leave your fluorescent ​salopettes and North Face jacket at home as Cirencester based Barrington Ayre have got your snow style sorted. 

Using fabric and a design of your choice, the bespoke tweed ski suits are waterproof and breathable with full working shoulder pleats to allow for full movement as well as special arm pit pleats to create even more movement whilst leaving room for air to circulate inside the jacket keeping you comfortable and dry all day.

The extended rear of the jacket also provides added security and comfort and with the lapels being able to button up around the neck you will keep dry and warm even in the wildest white outs!

The trousers have extended fishtail back to keep any air or snow out and the wider bottoms fit perfectly around the boots.

The tweed ski suit will set you back a tidy £1,250 but you will definitely look the most stylish on the piste and for après-ski.

barringtonayre.co.uk/products/tweed-ski-suit

Stocking more that 41,000 products and laying over 90,000 metres of cable, the new John Lewis store in Cheltenham is just eight weeks away from opening its doors, and it's going to be pretty special!

Set over two floors, John Lewis Cheltenham will provide a range of exciting services and experiences, alongside the latest and best products in fashion, beauty, home, electricals and technology. Located at the heart of the shop will be an Experience Desk - John Lewis’s concierge-style service which will see Partners introduce customers to everything that the shop has to offer. Service Partners will be on hand to help customers plan their visit to John Lewis, from booking a personal styling session at the Style Studio to securing an appointment at the Nail and Brow Bar. 

The shop will boast John Lewis' first ever men's personal shopping and style area as well as two cafes seating 200 people at the back and front of the first floor. 

There will be daily events in the Discovery Room, from workshops to wine tasting. 

Doors open on October 18th.

Cirencester based tailors Barrington Ayre have launched a brand new website. 

Founded in 2009 by Tom Wharton, the website showcases all of bespoke offerings including suits, tweed jackets, blazers and shooting wear, and their new golf and equestrian ranges. 

Famous faces such as former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan, Radio DJ Greg James, BBC's Dan Walker and cricket star Jos Butler can often be seen donning a bespoke piece, all of which are British made. 

barringtonayre.co.uk

Are you coming to the Cheltenham Festival and struggling on what to wear? Whatever you do, leave your shiny suit in the wardrobe and let me help you..

There is NO dress-code at Cheltenham although smart is recommended and you won't get turned away if you do choose to rock up in jeans, trainers and a hoody.. You will however look a bit of a dick.

​It is very rare that you see anyone dressed like this at Cheltenham, but what isn't rare, are the amount of shiny suits! Why would you wear one of these? Or own one for that matter? Are you going to work? Or perhaps even court? No. You are coming to the Cotswolds countryside to enjoy the Sport of Kings. Can you imagine royalty of past and present donning a shiny suit at Cheltenham? No, neither can I!

Now let's get something straight.. This isn't about snobbery, class, money or even fitting in. This is purely about style.

We are not saying that you shouldn't wear a suit. Look how dapper Eddie Redmayne looks when attending the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury in a grey tweed suit, navy coat and brown shoes. It ticks many boxes. Smart. Stylish. Country and simple.

​Are you one of these people who are "frightened" of tweed? I know some of you who mock people who wear tweed. "You look like the Toad of Toad Hall".. Well it is much better than looking like you are just about to go up in from of a magistrate.

​You don't have to go "full tweed". A nice jacket, shirt (and jumper depending on the elements), with some nice chinos and brown shoes is a great look and one that I will be wearing on one of the days.

​Again, this isn't about money ad you can pick up a decent tweed jacket for around £60 if you shop around but why not treat yourself to one that you can wear for years to come?

​Obviously the weather has a part to play in what you choose to wear although, with all the money spent at Cheltenham Rcecourse in the last 5 years, you have an abundance of places to shelter from the elements. If it does happen to rain, buy yourself a tweed coat or waxed jacket, a nice umbrella or perhaps even a trilby.. We would probably avoid wearing anything on the head unless it was a trilby or a nice tweed cap. The shopping is superb at The Festival and is well worth a visit.​

I've scoured pinterest for some pointers.. Stick to greens, browns and blues. If you want to add some colour this should be with the jumper or perhaps some lighter colour trousers.