Years ago when Labour and Wait were in their old shop they stocked some surplus stock french workwear jackets. They always sold out instantly and it was good luck if you could nab one. I got a few. So began the endless search for the perfect, work+work jacket.

A jacket that looks like you can do work in at home, plumbing, and gardening. But is enough of a jacket you can go to work in, meetings and wireframes. For a while I though Old Town held the answer. Great fan of their Borough jacket in a navy twill. Embarrassingly when I joined Seren, the head creative, Justin Stach, had an old town delivery on his desk, as I walked into the office in my twill jacket and trousers. At that point I thought it just made me look like Monty Don the amiable BBC gardener. But once in Hoxton I noticed a lot of ‘workwear’ dressing going on. I think this peeked when Hickoreees started selling ‘Blue de Travail’ for a lot of money. And apparently we were actually all dressing like an elderly american photographer called Bill Cunningham.  I left Hoxton for Canary Wharf where every one does think I look like a french car mechanic, which is pleasing. Again the blue jacket struck again when I met my old old boss Jesse Lewis who is now at Reuters on Canary Wharf for his sins, and we were wearing the same blue jackets. So maybe its now a shorthand for creatives trapped in management.  But the search goes…