I finally was able to get myself some new clothes today! Antonio mentioned how navy is one of his go to colours, which heavily influenced me buying this navy jacket. It was £56 from a thrift shop and I love it! It was actually part of a suit but the other 2 suit pieces weren't in my size unfortunately, so I just will use the jacket as a sort of sports coat. The light trousers are really smart, I love those too and I think they go well with the navy jacket. But they were £50! That's a lot for me! But I was desperate for new trousers! The shoes were new from a thrift shop. A bargain at £26! And I fell in love with this waistcoat! £35, again from a thrift shop. It meant I really stretched my budget thinly this month but I just couldn't go home without everything! What do you think, do you like the colours??

I’ll start by owning this one… cigar smoking is absolutely one of my guilty pleasures. 😎 I know it isn’t for everyone, and I certainly don’t pretend that it is. For me, though, cigars have become about much more than simply smoking tobacco. I love the history behind handmade cigars—the agriculture, the blending, the craftsmanship and the generations of people who have learned how to create them. But I’m equally fascinated by the history of the gentlemen who smoked them. Churchill is obviously one of the most famous examples, but cigars have been woven through politics, literature, business and culture for centuries. And perhaps most importantly for me, enjoying a cigar forces me to do something that I’m frankly not always very good at: Slowing down. A good cigar can take an hour or two. You really can’t rush it. I sit down, put the phone away for a while, have a strong coffee or a drink, think, read, talk with someone, or sometimes just do absolutely nothing. In a life that seems to move increasingly fast, I’ve come to really value that ritual. So when I was planning my London trip, one stop that was very high on my list was James J. Fox on St. James’s Street, where I arranged a private Cuban/New World cigar class for my friend and me. The history of the place is pretty incredible. The business on St. James’s Street traces its roots to 1787, when Robert Lewis began trading fine tobacco there. James J. Fox itself was founded in Dublin in 1881, expanded into London in 1947, and eventually acquired Robert Lewis in 1992, bringing the two historic tobacconists together. Among the customers associated with the St. James’s Street shop over the generations were royalty, Oscar Wilde and, most famously, Sir Winston Churchill. Churchill’s relationship with cigars began early. During his 1895 visit to Cuba as a young army officer and correspondent, he developed what became a lifelong affection for Havana cigars. He later became so closely associated with the large cigar format that we still casually use the word “Churchill” to describe that style of cigar today.

I almost didn't make this suit. Turns out it became one of my favorite pieces I own.