Mako Magellan Menswear

Although 'modern' refers to a look that was more prevalent fifty years ago than today, today I release an outfit in four parts: dinner jacket, trousers, bow tie and shirt. This is a look popularised in the early James Bond films: white or cream-coloured jacket, white shirt, and contrasting trousers and bow tie. All items are available in my shop in Caledonia, but you may have to look hard for the bow tie. Because of its small size it is quite hard to see, but rest assured it is there in the space below the shirt, and just to the right of the trousers.

There is huge variability in the design of dinner jackets. They can be black or white, single- or double-breasted, have 1, 2, 4, or 6 buttons, have notched, peaked or shawl lapels, be vented or unvented, and even button right-over-left as well as left-over-right. You can see from the picture above just which design decisions I took. Mine is a very simple jacket - pocketless, without buttonhole and with only two buttons, both on the breast and at the cuffs. The buttons are made from a dark polished stone. The bow tie is also simple, an unpatterned black velvet. The trousers are pleated at the front, and have a black braid side stripe running down each leg. The shirt is a close-fitting type, with black studs that match the jacket buttons.

The new clothing system in Blue Mars has made this outfit possible. In earlier days it was necessary to combine jackets, shirts and ties, but they can now be separated, which certainly allows for greater flexibility. Note that the tie can sit over the lapels of the jacket, if it has been positioned that way in the valet system.

Here I have taken an excursion into contemporary fashion, with a small range of business suits. This is in response to the evident increase in interest in Blue Mars among the more serious corporate and education sectors. It has been refreshing to exercise a bit of artistic license and to throw off the fetters of historical accuracy. Indeed, with these suits I have done things just a little differently. While double-breasted, the suits have four buttons instead of the more common six, one has horizontal stripes, and the way they button at the front and the cuffs is quite unusual. I am therefore pretty confident that within the limited sartorial repertoire of the business crowd, wearers of these suits will stand out.

I have finally overcome colour discrepancies caused by an image compression bug, and have been able to create these three styles of morning trousers in something resembling their true intended colours. The three pinstripe patterns are taken from actual morning trousers and have been created from scratch.

If you already have a pair of these trousers, please just contact me to arrange your upgrade.

Up until about 200 years ago, men wore breeches instead of trousers. They were worn with stockings, and were ideal in combination with high boots. Today their use is limited to highly formal events and riding.

Here is the first pair of breeches I have made for Blue Mars. They have a buckskin texture, a buttoned drop-front, tortoiseshell buttons at the knees, the fly, and on the waistband for use with braces. There are no seams on the inside leg, as a means of avoiding chafing while riding. These make an ideal combination with my Hessian boots.