June
30
2014
By
of Valet.

72 Hours In

London

Dockers recently hosted us in London for a weekend of sportsmanship and style. This is a quick dispatch of the action, from our first cricket game and Pimm's Cup to some of the city's best menswear shopping.

 
The Match

Known as the "garden party of the year," Flannels for Heroes is a charity cricket match benefitting two British military charities. Dockers sponsored the event and outfitted the players in anchor-embroidered caps and sweaters. For Americans who have never seen cricket played in person, it was an eye opening experience. And while we can't say we fully understand the intricacies of the old bat-and-ball game, we can certainly get behind any sport that allows for brief informal breaks for cocktails.

 
 
 
 
Dockers F/W '14

The brand is always influenced by California and for fall, the design team took inspiration from 1930s Hollywood—where the sport of cricket had taken hold and worked its way into the culture's preppy surfer sensibility. The gentlemanly sportsman vibe can be seen in the weather-resistant, reversible mac trench and quilted hunting jacket.

 
 
 
Saturday Shopping

In the morning, we hopped onto the Tube for Notting Hill to check out Portobello Road Market, where block after block is overcome with stalls selling antiques, random souvenirs and all matter of street food. One of the first shops we popped into was Henry Gregory, a tiny but handsomely outfitted outpost stocked with vintage sporting goods, military finds and old school leather luggage. We happened upon Jamon Jamon's popular food tent just in time for an early lunch, right as a sizzling pan of paella was being pulled off a massive gas burner. A few Tube stops later, we checked out Old Spitalfields Market, a bustling collection of shops, stalls and eateries that's been selling to Londoners for more than 350 years. We picked up a blazer at Albam, and poked around Barbour before heading over to the high street in Shoreditch, the happening neighborhood that everyone told us to hit up. There, we browsed around the kitted out new NikeLab, checked out old time-y finds at Labour and Wait and the modern menswear at Present.

 
 
The Pimm's Cup

This quintessentially British cocktail was the unofficial drink of the weekend, showing up everywhere from the kickoff event at Kensington Palace to the local pubs. What's more, the sweetly spiced and refreshing elixir is easy to make at home (either individually or by the pitcher).

2 oz Pimm's No. 1

3 oz Ginger beer

1 or 2 Cucumber slices

1 Strawberry, hulled and cut into quarters

1 Lemon slice

6 Mint leaves

Add all the ingredients to a highball glass filled with ice and stir to combine.

 

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