My Visit to Ruffians: The New Barber Shop in the Heart of Covent Garden

You might have noticed I have been really bad at posting from the beginning of June. I had two of the  busiest months of work ever, which included partly enjoying the fun and mayhem of fashion week in London, Milan and Paris and partly being locked up in an office trying to cope with endless piles of work.
On the first day I allowed myself to take a breather, I could not think of anything more pleasant than to take Ruffians up on their invitation to try out their services at their new Covent Garden outpost. The new barber shop, which follows the success of its established brother in Edinburgh, is yet another clear sign of the well-deserved attention us guys are finally paying to grooming. Far from the overdone, pretentious and somewhat self-important barber shops that first opened in London, Ruffians has a welcoming and relaxed vibe. Their staff are friendly and attentive and the decor nods to all the heyday elements of the golden age of barber shops we love without the overwhelming stale vintage feel others are so keen on. It is a cool and welcoming place.
During my visit, I went for a beard trim and reshape, much needed after weeks of seclusion from the world. As a grooming freak aficionado, I am usually pretty good at judging people's skills right from the start. At Ruffians, it seemed quite evident that I was in extremely skilled hands. An idea confirmed by the few other gents who arrived after me and who were clearly regulars – the ultimate sign of a good barber shop.
Needless to say, I was very happy with my new fresh face. The whole experience is extremely relaxing – I will never again be able to visit a barber without getting an upper body massage – not to mention instructive, as your barber talks you through all the steps so you know exactly why they do what they do.

You can visit the Ruffians website for more information, including a list of services. Also there you can buy their full range of grooming products so you can carry on your hair and beard maintenance at home.

Ruffians

27 Maiden Lane

Covent Garden

London WC2E 7JS

Telephone: 020 7240 8180

Email: coventgarden@ruffians.co.uk

PS. A big thank you to Adam for organising and for taking these great pictures!

Fashion, Frankly and Courtesy of Ruffians

My Grooming Experience at Dolce & Gabbana

A man's relationship with his barber is, or should be, one of the most important in his life. This has been clear to me since I was as young as 7 when I first started to visit the hairdresser's on my own. Over the years, I've realised that an essential part of a great grooming experience is how comfortable you feel with your barber. Working on this post, I also realised how sort of intimate the whole process is. Having a familiar face taking these pictures felt a bit like letting them in on a personal secret.

I first met Stefan some 2 years ago at a chic barber shop on Saville Row and, as they say, I never looked back. He is now one of the excellent grooming experts at the new Dolce & Gabbana menswear flagship store, which opened back in June. The barber shop, hidden away at the back of the ground floor, welcomes its guests with a beautiful sitting room that might feel like you've just walked into an Italian-flavoured luxurious version of a gentleman's dressing room. Should you need to wait for your barber, an up-to-date selection of the latest men's magazines can keep you entertained and informed. Passing the deep green velvet curtain that opens into the grooming room, a larger green space opens up framed with dark carved wooden details and what is probably the highlight of the room – a sultry picture of Scarlett Johansson that sometimes makes it hard to concentrate on the conversation.

Before Stefan even addresses the issue of my hair, I am always offered a drink. Regardless of what day or time it is such elegant surroundings ask for nothing less than champagne or whisky – if there ever was a chance for you to think you're Don Draper, this is definitely it.
The best part of what follows is that I barely have to elaborate of what I want for my hair. Stefan knows what I like and, in my years of trying different barbers, I have never met someone better at it. In the 45 to 60 minutes this process takes (cutting a man's hair requires close attention to detail) there are no more references to my hair, it's almost as if you were just having a drink with a pal who happens to be excellent at cutting your hair.

Visit Dolce & Gabbana at 53-57 New Bond Street, London W1S 1DG.

Big thanks to Stefan Avanzato, Rana Toofanian and Alessia Bossi.

All images Fashion, Frankly