Why I like Albam

I've been impressed enough with Albam's simple, stylish collection to buy a few items from their Beak St store recently. Their Cotton Casual Blazer and Regular Leg Jean have impressed me in particular. I already own a number of unlined cotton blazers from places as diverse as Beams in Japan and Margaret Howell in London, so I know what I like when it comes to this sort of functional, lightweight garment. And what Albam has created here, I like a lot. The jacket has a sturdy construction, being fashioned from thick cotton, with narrow lapels, three outside pockets and a small inside pocket. There are nice touches, such as smaller pockets within the lower patch pockets, which are big enough to hold your iphone 4 or a small wallet. Like Oliver Spencer's Portland Jacket there is a small white tag to help you fasten the lapels together, should a chill autumn wind blow in your direction. It's just a good, solid reliable item, as the sales assistant said, "the sort of thing every man should have in his wardrobe". I couldn't agree more. In fact that's why I bought two of them, one in navy, the other in dark green.


Then there are the jeans. These are a similar cut to my Levis 505s, with a regular leg tapering to a seven and a half inch bottom. Actually, the rise is slightly lower than the 505s, which I personally find a lot more comfortable. The rear pockets are a simple design with no stitched adornment. There is a small ticket pocket at the front with steel coloured studs at the corners and the jeans are made from Japanese denim with a red selvedge. As far as denims go, these are simple, classic pants, something you should wear every day and not get too precious about. In a few months I'll keep you updated how they're bearing up to the daily grind.

Lastly, the thing that I really like about Albam is that their clothes are remarkably good value. £135 for the blazers, and just eighty quid for a great pair of jeans. The only downside is that with prices like these Albam tends to sell out their stock very quickly, as their stuff tends to be made in relatively small numbers - once they're gone, they're gone. Maybe I should have kept all this to myself...