How Grenson Became Northampton's Most Fashion-Forward Shoemaker
William Green founded his shoemaking company in Northampton in 1866 under the name Green and Sons, later abbreviated to Grenson.
Marcus Wei · 2025-10-13
The Vault
The Camel Hair Coat and the Polo Grounds Where It First Appeared
The camel hair coat entered Western fashion in the 1920s, when polo players at matches in Long Island and Buenos Aires began wearing long, loose-fitting coats made from the soft underhair of the Bactrian camel during breaks between chukkas.
By Marcus Wei · 2025-10-13
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The Piaget Altiplano and the Pursuit of the Thinnest Watch Ever Made
Piaget has been obsessed with thinness since the 1950s, when the company introduced the calibre 9P, a hand-wound movement measuring just two millimetres thick.
Thomas Nakamura · 2025-10-12
How the Baseball Cap Infiltrated Every Corner of Men's Fashion
The baseball cap's ancestor is the Brooklyn Excelsiors' round-topped cap introduced in 1860, which evolved through various brim shapes and crown structures before settling into the modern six-panel, structured-crown format in the early twentieth century.
Catherine Avery · 2025-10-12
How Globe-Trotter Has Made Luggage from Vulcanised Fibreboard Since 1897
David Nelken founded Globe-Trotter in Saxony, Germany, in 1897, using a material that was revolutionary for its time: vulcanised fibreboard, a compressed paper product treated with heat and pressure to create a lightweight yet remarkably durable material.
William Ashford · 2025-10-11
The Double Monk Strap and the Monastery Sandal That Inspired It
The monk strap shoe traces its lineage to the enclosed sandals worn by Alpine monks in the fifteenth century.
Thomas Nakamura · 2025-10-11
How the Duffle Bag Went from Belgian Army Surplus to Weekend Staple
The duffle bag takes its name from the same Belgian town, Duffel, that gave the duffle coat its name: a centre of heavy cloth production whose textiles were used by military forces across Northern Europe.
Daniel Hurst · 2025-10-10
The Tweed Jacket and the River Tweed That Gave It a Name by Accident
The word tweed is widely believed to be a misreading.
William Ashford · 2025-10-10
The Fair Isle Knit and the Tiny Scottish Island That Named a Pattern
Fair Isle, a three-mile-long island lying halfway between Orkney and Shetland in the North Atlantic, is home to fewer than sixty permanent residents and the most famous knitting pattern in the world.
Sebastian Cole · 2025-10-09
The Chopard L.U.C and the Watchmaker Who Insisted on In-House Movements
In 1996, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, co-president of Chopard, launched the L.
Oliver Ramsey · 2025-10-09
The Bucket Hat: From Irish Fishermen to Hip-Hop and Back Again
The bucket hat's origins are humbler than fashion mythology sometimes suggests.
Sebastian Cole · 2025-10-08
How Ettinger Supplies the Finest Leather Goods from a Workshop in Walsall
Gerry Ettinger founded his leather goods company in London in 1934, initially producing wallets, billfolds, and small leather accessories for the British market.
James Alderton · 2025-10-08
The Seiko Diver's Watch and the Olympic Timing Legacy That Followed
In 1965, Seiko introduced the 6217-8000, its first purpose-built diver's watch, rated to 150 metres.
William Ashford · 2025-10-07
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