Pyjamarama - Rod Stewart in Rolling Stone Images of Rock & Roll (Little, Brown)

A study in men’s bed-head chic.

Tired of ‘cheesecake’ pictures, Rod Stewart appeared in a pair of pyjamas that his old mum had just bought him for this portrait taken by Ian Dickson at the Royal Garden Hotel, London in 1974 for another book on our shelves: Rolling Stone Images of Rock & Roll (Little, Brown; 1995).

It’s not a standard service, but contact the Bespoke shop if you’re interested in a pair of bespoke pyjamas or two (made with all the know-how that goes into a bespoke Savile Row suit) in whichever of our many, many exquisite cotton poplin shirtings takes your fancy.

And (see below), talking about other uses for cotton poplin shirting, we also have a limited number of very nice, light, ready-to-wear dressing gowns.

Richard James cotton poplin dressing gown

I See A Darkness by Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. From the Now Here’s My Plan EP.

From Helmut Newton at the Grand Palais in Paris

An easily yet deferentially elegant look (below) for taking in the Helmut Newton retrospective at the Grand Palais in Paris.

Provocative, seductive female domination. You know the drill.

Until 17th July.

Jacket, shirt and trousers all available from Richard James Online.

A sharply cut English made three button jacket jacket in a lightweight taupe twill

A contemporary fit summer blue Prince of Wales check shirt

Timeless, tailored, slim fitting cotton canvas trousers in a subtle chalk white

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as you won't be seeing her at Richard James Savile Row

No Ma’am: two arresting images of HM The Queen that you won’t be seeing in the window of Richard James Savile Row to mark her 60-glorious-years-on-the-throne-and-counting Diamond Jubilee.

These are two of a number of concept drawings of our Monarch that have been produced for us by the artist Danny Mooney. The image we eventually select will be reproduced in neon (with all the care and attention that goes into making a bespoke Savile Row suit) by our whizz lighting man Philip Oakley at his workshop in St Leonards-on-Sea and installed at the Savile Row shop as our humble contribution to the celebrations.

Give us a wave. HM The Queen as you won't be seeing her at Richard James Savile Row

Sunporch by Walls. Hear a new version on Coracle Remixed soon.

Richard James pop-up sale shop in Covent Garden

Final reductions at the Covent Garden pop-up sale shop.

Monday 7th May is the final day.

Richard James Savile Row suits and much more. Up to 75% off.

The address is 3 The Market, The Piazza, Covent Garden, London WC2E 8RA. That’s on the north side of The Piazza, opposite the Apple shop.

And the hours are 10am to 7pm, Monday to Saturday and 12 noon until 6pm on Sundays.

First sight of a smoking coat in the making at Richard James Bespoke

First sight of a traditional smoking coat in the making, frogging and all, at Richard James Bespoke.

A customer called to request one and our head cutter Chris sketched it in cutters’ chalk (that triangular object, bottom left) as they talked.

You can see the frogging (hand woven cord) detail on both sides of the jetting of the pocket, the sleeve (right) where it takes the form of an Austrian knot and at the front, where, along with a silk covered wooden toggle, it will fasten the coat.

The coat is to be made of midnight blue silk velvet with midnight blue silk satin facing on the shawl collar and cuff. And it will feature side vents as one wouldn’t be able to sit down in it without any vents. The frogging will be of the same blue.

This is a classic piece of Savile Row tailoring. And it doesn’t really do to go overboard with the frogging. As Chris says: “You don’t want to look like you’re going on stage at the London Palladium.”

Robert Redford is Joe Turner in 3 Days of the Condor

A bad day at the office for Joe Turner (Robert Redford) as he returns from popping out for a sandwich to find his entire staff has been shot dead. Then, when he meets with his boss J. Higgins (Cliff Robertson) to tell him what’s gone down, someone takes a pot shot at him too…

Turner runs The American Literary Society, a bookish CIA front, and 3 Days Of The Condor (Sydney Pollock, 1975; Costume Design by Joseph C. Aulisi) is a superior post-Watergate conspiracy thriller of the same genre as All The President’s Men and The Parallax View.

Helping Turner get to the bottom of things is the ever stunning Faye Dunaway as Kathy Hale, a good if slightly neurotic sort of few words, each of which she manages to deliver with an unnervingly sexy poignancy.

Turner, in what must rank as one of the greatest ever men’s wardrobe moments on film, effortlessly pulls off a very cool academic look throughout in a peacoat or herringbone tweed jacket, chambray shirt and wool tie, faded jeans and sneakers. And then, of course, there are the shades, which are just the thing for those moments when everyone’s out to get you.

Vintage Persol, Cazal and Metzler sunglasses at Richard James Savile Row

Nancy From Now On by Father John Misty. From the album Fear Fun, which is out today.

Monica Vitti in Modesty Blaise

Richard’s latest addition to our bookshelves: London In The Sixties by Rainer Metzger (Thames & Hudson), a rare, unsentimental, outsider’s perspective of the decade that continues to define our home city.

The book is the latest in a beautifully illustrated series on cities and their dynamic moments (‘twenties Berlin, Paris between the wars…), that German historian Metzger has contributed to.

London in the Sixties by Rainer Metzger (Thames & Hudson)