Portuguese Delights
Portugal has well and truly started to throw off the mantle of being Italy’s poor relation when it comes to clothing
Article by Nicolas Payne-Baader
Two years ago my best friend and I were in something of a slump, it was early summer, we’d both had absolute emotional nightmares that had dragged on for weeks and really we needed a proper break. So we looked for a cheap flight somewhere with good food and that was going to be warmer than London. After deciding that the flight to San Sebastian was too expensive and debating for around four minutes and thirty seconds about whether we could really go completely rogue and head to Magaluf, we decided that Porto would be just the place.
Apart from discovering upon arrival that port served cool in the afternoon is delicious and hashish is cheap and decriminalised we realised that we’d happened upon a massive hidden gem.
However this article is not about some sort of absurd Baudelaire type ramble through blue and white tiled streets and nefarious retreats; it is about one of the other things that Portugal excels in: its clothing.
Long unfairly thought of as a bit of an ugly sister to Italy for suit and shoe manufacturing, people have slowly come round to the realisation that there is a long and impressive tradition of garment making in that part of the Iberian Peninsula. It has probably also helped that the general menswear aesthetic has shifted to something a little bit more rough and ready which has played to the strengths of Portugal’s traditions and chimes well with its maritime history and mountainous hinterlands. In the back streets of Porto we discovered some of the best leather shops I’ve ever seen, every colour in every width with choices of buckles all for around 20 to 30 Euros, old fashioned ateliers and cobblers that made me wish we’d gone for longer. What I only discovered a little later was the fantastic menswear label: La Paz.
Based in Porto La Paz has been around as a concept since 2004, first as a multi brand concept store in Porto and then as the shop’s eponymous label La Paz specialises in Knitwear although has branched out in the last few seasons with impressive results. As we have started to become accustomed to Portuguese manufacturing, the clothing is rugged and well put together. A really nice use of harsh Portuguese yarn makes a nice change from lambswool and the garments feel genuinely utilitarian and the prices reflect a practicality that feels integral. The shirting is also thick and simple, not another button and flap brand but rather one who utilises good local manufacturing and simplicity.
Jumpers are around £140 and the shirts around £110. Still a fairly small brand but with a handful of good stockists in London including Aida in Shoreditch and The Content Store as well as everything available online it feels like La Paz won’t be under appreciated for much longer.
Enquiries: http://lapaz.pt/ London Stockists: The Content Store, 28 Lambs Conduit Street, London WC1N 3LE / 0203 4115703 / [email protected] / http://www.contentstorelondon.com/collections/la-paz/knitwear