Romney’s debate triumph has thrown open the presidential campaign October 4, 2012 IN THE annals of presidential debates, it’s unclear whether Wednesday night’s showdown between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will go down as a classic. The match-up failed to spawn any memorable Reaganesque one-liners, evocations of Clinton-style empathy or knock-out blows. And yet the winner was largely uncontested. Through sheer consistency, Romney emerged as the clear [...]
How the EU could slash regulations and go for growth October 4, 2012 EUROPEANS are shooting themselves in the foot. In the middle of recession, there have been no attempts to roll back the EU’s massive regulatory burden. Yet regulation is just as much an obstacle to recovery as unsustainable debt. The Eurozone’s structural problems can seem hopeless. But there’s plenty of low-hanging fruit and European leaders could [...]
As UK universities slip down world rankings, is private higher education the way forward? October 4, 2012 YES Carl Lygo So how do governments respond to educational demand in a time of austerity, when there’s estimated to be 300m students globally by 2025? Enter the private sector, which provides quality higher education on a large scale. A major plus is that programmes tend to be career focussed, closely aligned to the world [...]
Rapid Responses October 4, 2012 Contract failure [Re: Lessons from the government’s rail franchise fiasco, yesterday] The ownership of the rail system is not the issue at stake. The problem is the unserious attitude that many civil servants take when managing government contracts. There has been a consistent failure to realise that there is a more to business and than [...]
The man who changed Savile Row October 4, 2012 THERE are times when Edward Sexton could seem straight out of a Guy Ritchie movie, with his wizened pink features, shock of punkish white hair and thick cockney accent – especially when he says, of the suits he’s created with ready-to-wear specialists Chester Barrie: “It’s a steal really, one of these suits, a bloody steal!” [...]
Add some textures to your wardrobe October 4, 2012 Look to invest in fabrics that bring out the best in a grey colour palette, says the buying director of Mr Porter THE first and most important thing to note right now is that the cut is still slim fit, single-breasted and two-button. There are occasional moves away, but the overriding look is still that [...]
Killer threads: suiting Mr Connery October 4, 2012 IF you were being bold, you might argue that the 5 October 1962 – 50 years ago today – was the most important date in the history of Hollywood’s love affair with men’s style. It was the day Dr No opened in cinemas, giving the first glimpse of 007 as he sat at the baccarat [...]
Four other blockbusting suits from the movies October 4, 2012 Cary Grant: North by Northwest (1962) A clean-cut classic, cut by Kilgour French & Stanbury of Savile Row, makes this Grant’s most stylish appearance. Robert Redford: The Great Gatsby (1974) Redford sports a series of sublime suits in the film, of which this dandified pink number with lavish waistcoat, is the best. Steve McQueen: The Thomas [...]
Bond remains as cool as ever in latest outing October 4, 2012 Since Daniel Craig’s tenure as Bond his wardrobe has been the domain of Tom Ford, working with the films’ costume designers. From the few Skyfall snippets we’ve seen, Ford is keeping things strictly on the straight and narrow, with slim, light-grey suits lifted by a mere hint of white pocket square. Maybe even Bond watches [...]
London’s other sartorial street October 4, 2012 I LIKE to get round London by Boris Bike because it’s quick. simple and cheap – but it brings me an additional pleasure. Given the distribution and popularity of bike stops, when I come west from the City I always park in St James’s Square and walk up along Jermyn Street. And it’s such a joy. [...]