100 years of style

in a few seconds. But then, London is, in Lord Bassington-Bassington's opinion, the style capital of the world.

Tartan Tuesday hankies

Speaking of pocket handkerchiefs, to make his Tartan Tuesdays a bit easier Lord Bassington-Bassington thought he would invest in a tartan pocket handkerchief. Luckily, ScotClans.com carries some very nice woolen handkerchiefs (a nice change from His Lordship's ever-expanding collection of silk hankies).

But the problem, gentle readers, is the selection. With 500 tartan patterns to choose from, it's hard to decide. Perhaps it's best to go for a scarf instead. With those, one only gets 210 tartans to choose from. And fall is approaching, after all.

Puff Doggie

Lord Bassington-Bassington endorses of the wearing of pocket hankies. But His Lordship usually approves of more traditional folds, such as the fold on the black paw power hankie shown underneath.



But in the somewhat revolutionary spirit of that hankie, it's time to shake things up a bit. It's time to try some puffed folds.



Luckily, that stalwart of revolutionary style, Brooks Brothers, has a good course on how to do a proper puff fold.

Neofolk lookbook: Engagement edition

Hans Rosenberg is a Swedish gentleman who has, through his publishing activities, already made an appearance in the Lord Bassington-Bassington Chronicles. But when word reached Lord Bassington-Bassington that this friend had gotten engaged, His Lordship decided that the time was severely overdue for a new neofolk lookbook. For not only is Mr. Rosenberg an all-round superb character, he is also one of Sweden’s snappiest dressers. And as this little lookbook will show, his bride to be is in the same class.



Uniforms look best when one is actually entitled to wear them. And as Mr. Rosenberg is a Home Guard officer, his position certainly carries this privilege.



On the other hand, if one is a charming lady, uniform etiquette is less important.



And while a professing Christian, Mr. Rosenberg – being a sensible fellow – has of course realized that the followers of the Prophet Muhammad has the upper hand when it comes to headgear.



And as with many people interested in neofolk, one can suspect that the couple have seen a Laibach video too many.



Well, there's little more for Lord Bassington-Bassington to say, except to howl a heartfelt congratulation.

Real beauty

There is of course a long tradition for Basset hounds stealing the show, but rarely has the Basset's natural charm been more apparent than in this picture by legendary pin-up artist Gil Elvgren.



And when Lord Bassington-Bassington finally finds the buried treasure of the Bassington-Bassingtons, perhaps His Lordship will be able to afford this.

Suede Cinema

As someone with a certain interest in British street style, Lord Bassington-Bassington has long wanted to see the film Bronco Bullfrog. And yesterday this was finally possible, thanks to kind assistance from The World's Coolest Librarian.

On the surface, Bronco Bullfrog is a quite run-of-the-mill kitchen sink social realist film about mixed-up kids trying to find their place in the world. Only a bit better than most films of its ilk; the fact that all the actors were street kids themselves adds a realism most films about youth lack.



What really makes the film a gem, though, is the way it sheds light on one of the great, lost style subcultures: Suedeheads. A short-lived youth cult that grew out of the smarter end of the original skinheads, Suedeheads mixed all the dressier bits of skinhead clobber, such as suits and covert coats with longer, more conservative-looking hair. This style is perfectly captured by the film, which of course went on to popularise it.

As such, Bronco Bullfrog can be considered one of the great youth cult movies, on par with This is England, Quadrophenia and This is Spinal Tap. And like those films, the soundtrack is great, too.

On the streets: A flick of the ears, Brighton

As fashion blogging seems to be where it's at these days, Lord Bassington-Bassington continues His shameless imitation of The Sartorialist by further looking at ear trends in cities across the world. And on Lord Bassington-Bassington's recent visit to Brighton, His Lordship was impressed by the this impossibly stylish young lady.

"You listenin' to me?"

Lord Bassington-Bassington's beloved Of the Wand and the Moon are hard at work on their new album, it seems. Here's a small taste to wet our appetites. His Lordship is already drooling uncontrollably.

Tartan Tuesday in Brutus Trimfit

Lord Bassington-Bassington has had an interest in Brutus shirts ever since reading the book The Spirit of '69: A Skinhead Bible more than 20 years ago. And now, this 1966 Tartan Trimfit model has been relaunched, at a very affordable price.

This is not only some good tidings for dark times, but also a natural choice for a Tartan Tuesday.



Perhaps it could even be worn with a knitted tie? Well, it can't hurt to try. For such a shirt as the Brutus Trimfit, customarily worn unbuttoned at the neck and perhaps even untucked(!) violates several of the rules of shirt-wearing, as helpfully explained by Mr. B the Gentleman Rhymer.

A melancholy welcome back

It’s been hard to know what to put in this first post after the summer hiatus. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will know that Norway was hit by an instance of terrorism, the worst act of violence in this country since World War II.

The terrorist from Utøya is a megalomaniac, interested in bizarre ideas and obsessed with European style and European culture. In other words: superficially so similar to us here at the Chronicles that to make us very uncomfortable. This nearly made us kill off the Lord Bassington-Bassington Chronicles altogether. Things that were fun on July 21st feel less fun now.

But then again: If terrorists manage to make us queasy about what we love, then the monsters have won. And we refuse to let terrorists win.

Norway feels different now. There’s a new respect among citizens, a new community among people who have different ways of being Norwegian. Some of this will pass, like the roses that still adorn Oslo but are in advanced stages of decay. But some of this community will be indelible. Nations are forged in tragedy. This is one of the experiences that will forever be a part of what it means to be a Norwegian.

Once the shock that the acts were not perpetrated by Islamists had passed, it made a lot of sense. As anyone with any insight into the Norwegian far right will know, they are pretty much useless at organizing, writing, recruiting, debating or doing things that normally go with political activity. What they are quite good at, though, is murdering defenceless kids. Whether these kids themselves help far right groups, as the victims of the 1981 Hadeland killings, or happen to have a skin tone not to the liking of the far right, like Benjamin Hermansen, seems to make little difference. And let’s not even begin to discuss the sexual proclivities of some of these far right leaders. Any young person the far right has access to seem to be at risk.

This murder of Norway’s youth by the far right was the third instance in the last decades. It is the responsibility of every Norwegian to make sure there won’t be a fourth time. This we know, even if we are still unsure about what this will mean in practice.

But to begin with, we'll just welcome you back to the Lord Bassington-Bassington Chronicles.