The best of menswear

This book celebrates the craft that goes into the best items of menswear produced anywhere in the world, from the basements of Savile Row, London to the island of Kailua, Hawaii.

Each chapter highlights the artisans, workshops and factories that produce real, timeless pieces of luxury rather than the designer branding that frequently passes for luxury today.

The finest cashmere from Mongolia is woven into featherweight sweaters in Italy; the best calf leather from Germany is lasted into bespoke shoes in England.

These materials are manipulated, largely by hand, into a complete, classic gentleman's wardrobe.

Each of the 14 chapters walks the reader through the process that creates the item, taking in their histories and showing behind-the- scenes pictures of the manufacture.

The stitching of a briefcase, with its intertwining needles, is revealed to be remarkably similar to the technique required to attach the welt to a bespoke shoe each being versions of the lock stitch that keeps leather bound for generations, and cannot be replicated by machine. Equally, there is much to be learned from comparing the way patterns are cut on the fine worsted wool of a suit and the panels on a T-shirt produced in Switzerland.

Not to mention the delicate hand that turns the edge of a silk handkerchief and inserts a slip stitch into a fine neck tie.

Each chapter also includes advice on how to recognise quality in luxury menswear, and buy appropriately; learn how to look for the size of a jacket's armhole and the gently pitched heel of a bespoke shoe.

More technical points, such as the tools used in a particular piece of construction or an explanation of why a certain shape produces such distinctive comfort, are featured in breakout boxes.