The Driving Watch: How Motorsport Created a New Category of Timepiece
The driving watch emerged in the 1960s as motorsport transformed from a gentlemanly pastime into a global spectacle.
Sebastian Cole · 2026-07-16
The Vault
Archival features, deep reads, and enduring perspectives.
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Showing 21–40 of 166 articles
The Crombie Coat and the Mill That Clothed Victorian Britain
The Crombie coat takes its name from J.
Thomas Nakamura · 2026-07-16
How the White Sneaker Became the Most Democratic Shoe in Menswear
The white sneaker's ascent from gymnasium floor to fashion runway is one of menswear's most improbable stories.
William Ashford · 2026-07-16
The Hublot Big Bang and the Controversial Fusion That Divided Watch Collectors
When Jean-Claude Biver took the helm of Hublot in 2004, the brand was a modest Swiss outfit best known for its 1980 Classic Fusion, the first luxury watch to combine gold with a rubber strap.
Daniel Hurst · 2026-07-16
The Seersucker Suit and the Southern Summers That Demanded It
Seersucker, a fabric of alternating puckered and flat stripes created by varying tension in the weaving process, arrived in the American South from its origins in British India, where the Persian words shir o shakar, meaning milk and sugar, described its characteristic textured surface.
Daniel Hurst · 2026-07-16
How Smythson of Bond Street Made Stationery a Luxury Object
Frank Smythson opened his stationery shop at 133 New Bond Street, London, in 1887, positioning himself at the epicentre of British luxury retail.
William Ashford · 2026-07-16
The Harrington Jacket: Baracuta's G9 and the Subcultures That Adopted It
The Harrington jacket is not technically called the Harrington by its maker.
Thomas Nakamura · 2026-07-16
The Girard-Perregaux Laureato and the Forgotten Third Entrant in the Luxury Steel Watch Race
In 1975, three years after the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and one year before the Patek Philippe Nautilus, Girard-Perregaux introduced the Laureato: a stainless steel sports watch with an integrated bracelet and a slim, tonneau-shaped case.
Catherine Avery · 2026-07-16
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How the Silk Tie Knot Evolved from Four-in-Hand to Full Windsor
The four-in-hand knot, the most common tie knot in the world, takes its name from the Four-in-Hand Club in London, a nineteenth-century gentlemen's driving club whose members reputedly tied their reins in a similar configuration.
Marcus Wei · 2026-07-16
The Norfolk Jacket and the Country Estates That Inspired It
The Norfolk jacket emerged in the 1860s on the estates of the Duke of Norfolk in the English county of the same name.
James Alderton · 2026-07-15
The A. Lange and Söhne Lange 1 and the Rebirth of German Watchmaking After Reunification
When the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989, Walter Lange, the great-grandson of Ferdinand Adolph Lange who had founded the original A.
Daniel Hurst · 2026-07-15
How the Ascot Chang Shirt Became a Quiet Status Symbol Across Asia
Ascot Chang was founded in Hong Kong in 1953 by Chang Chen-Ming, a Shanghai tailor who had relocated to the British colony during the Chinese Civil War.
Sebastian Cole · 2026-07-15
The Motoring Glove and the Era When Driving Required Dressing for It
In the early decades of the automobile, driving was an act of genuine physical engagement with machinery.
Catherine Avery · 2026-07-15
The Tudor Black Bay and How a Brand Stepped Out of Its Parent's Shadow
Tudor was founded by Hans Wilsdorf in 1946 as a more accessible alternative to Rolex.
Catherine Avery · 2026-07-15
How Lobb of St James's Has Measured Feet for Over a Century
John Lobb, a Cornish farmer's son who walked to London in the 1850s, established himself as a bootmaker of extraordinary skill.
Oliver Ramsey · 2026-07-15
The Chesterfield Coat: An Earl's Legacy in Velvet and Wool
The Chesterfield coat takes its name from a nineteenth-century Earl of Chesterfield, though precisely which earl is debated.
Catherine Avery · 2026-07-15
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The Cartier Santos and the Aviator Who Couldn't Check His Pocket Watch Mid-Flight
In 1904, Louis Cartier's friend Alberto Santos-Dumont, the Brazilian aviation pioneer, complained that checking a pocket watch while piloting his experimental aircraft was impossible.
Oliver Ramsey · 2026-07-15
How Brooks Brothers Dressed American Presidents for Two Hundred Years
Brooks Brothers was founded in 1818 by Henry Sands Brooks on the corner of Cherry and Catherine Streets in lower Manhattan, making it the oldest clothier in continuous operation in the United States.
Catherine Avery · 2026-07-15
The Gurkha Trouser and the Military Silhouette That Found New Admirers
The Gurkha trouser takes its name from the Gurkha regiments of the British Army, Nepalese soldiers renowned for their courage and their distinctive uniforms.
James Alderton · 2026-07-15
The Longines Lindbergh Hour Angle and the Transatlantic Flight That Inspired It
On May 20, 1927, Charles Lindbergh departed Roosevelt Field on Long Island in the Spirit of St.
Marcus Wei · 2026-07-15