#497 My favourite Zambesi Man collection, period.

I just about peed my pants when I saw this red suit on the catwalk in Sydney. In that good way.

It's been a few weeks since I tried on some clothes, so I was rather pleased to get a call from Dayne Johnston at Zambesi on Monday asking me to come up to the workroom to check out the new menswear collection that they'd just shown in Sydney. What was supposed to be a quick half hour look-see turned into a two hour extravaganza of creating outfits and parading them in front of the lovely and very patient ladies from House of Aroha in Napier. I had buckets of fun. Giving me free reign with an entire collection to try on whatsoever I please is like sending one of those kids whose parents make them eat everything organic, like all the time, to an all you can eat McDonalds party.

All the looks after the jump.



I think I can safely say that this is the first time I've ever gotten my legs out on Isaac Likes. You know what they say, if the shorts fit...



These clear plastic raincoats really stood out to me in the show, they're practical and so fricken cool looking. Perfect for Auckland - god bless living in a city that rains everyday of the week.



You might have to click on this one to enlarge it and see all the details. The jacket is made from a really thin wool voile so you can see the lining underneath. The inky blue teeshirt has gauze strips across the front of it that just show up in the light. I love all these pieces individually but might have put them together in a different way if I tried it again.



I call this one the priest assassin. The trench is made from that same thin wool voile as the previous jacket so the white shirt shows up underneath, and the oversized extra high collar reminds me of a priest's habit. A murderous priest's habit.



One of the reasons I enjoyed today so much was that I got to try things on in a really different way than how most Zambesi guys would probably wear them. I'm not the typical Zambesi Man customer, I never wear dark, conceptual clothes, all I ever wear are v neck sweaters and button down shirts, so I had a great time putting my preppy twist on this really, really non-preppy stuff. The above outfit reminds me of a kind of jet setting Burberry look, but done in quite a vintage way - the jacket is a bit oversized in the shoulders and the singlet has this great man's tie print. And I just cannot bring myself to wear pants without rolling up the cuffs these days. It's like I'm allergic to full length pants.



When I originally put this on I was really into the light purple shirt and the red waistcoat with the elastic band, but looking at it here, something's just not right for me - maybe the shorts and shoes. Does anybody else think this looks a little like what a slave might have worn picking cotton in 19th century America?





I'm pretty obsessed with Huckleberry Finn so I loved this outfit as soon as I tried it on. All I needed was a long piece of straw hanging out of my mouth and I'd have been set for the Mississippi.



I can't try on anything these days without putting together some form of nautical look, so here's my best effort at yachtwear by Zambesi Man. Maroon is my favourite colour in clothes and I absolutely love this extra fine knitted shirt - the open neck is everything I want in a polo and how good is the really low pocket?

I wasn't sure when I saw it on the catwalk, but after seeing it all in real life I've decided that this is definitely the best Zambesi Man collection I've ever seen. There are so many pieces I'd get in a flash - the polo, the pants, the red suit, the oversized man blazer, the see through wool voile suit and trench, the rain coat.....

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