I’ve always had a soft spot for Dunhill – in many ways it should be the flag-bearer for British luxury menswear, but there hasn’t always been something there for me.

Recently, however, things seem to have really improved. I was in the Bourdon House store last month and the quality of the knits, the tailoring and particularly the suede outerwear was exceptional. It felt like what I hope to find at Purple Label, but rarely do. 

There’s a shearling car coat, for example, that looks relatively ordinary in the lookbook – an unusual grey colour, sure, and a slightly unusual length, but nothing to jump out at you. But in person, the shearling is really substantial, almost stiff, and there are great details, like calf-leather trim on the cuffs. 

Design wise the collection seems to sit in the middle of a tricky Venn diagram: pure British traditionalism on one side, defined by someone like Cordings; British fantasy on another, all Polo suede and grey flannel; and that quirky Englishness of florals and bright cords. 

It’s not an easy position to get right, but they seem to be doing it quite well. There’s suede outerwear, for example, but not as lightweight and soft as you’d get from an Italian brand; there are bright cords but they’re dusty pink and citrine, rather than something louder. 

And most interestingly, there are subtle contemporary aspects to a lot of the cuts. Some of the knitwear is a little bigger, a little off the shoulder; some coats are deliberately roomy and flowing. For me this is an area with a lot of potential, because it places Dunhill in a sweet spot between the big fashion brands and the traditional outfitters – a place few people are really occupying. 

Classic menswear often needs a push, but not a big one – and that seems to be what the creative director Simon Holloway is giving it. 

Below are some of my favourites, deliberately selected from different categories. I also got some time to talk to Simon last month, so I’ve added in his comments for detail.

1: Wool pea coat

The material of this pea coat is a thick, English merino, but it’s softer than a more traditional melton, which can get rather board-like. You get the same feeling of substance with the pocket linings, which are done in strong corduroy on the top, hand-warmer set, and with the solid brass buttons.

“The collar on a pea coat has to pop, really stand up, otherwise it’s something else,” said Simon. “We tried so many fabrics, English and Italian, before we got this combination of sturdiness but softness.”

The fit is slightly modernised, with a small drop in the shoulder and big fit in the chest; traditional pea coats are very much straight up-and-down. The only thing I’d change if I could is the Martingale-style belt on the back, but some will probably like that detail. 

2: Cashmere intarsia high-neck jumper

Fit is the first thing I’d focus on here. As soon as you put it on, you realise this is not really a piece of classic menswear – the body is wider and squarer, the shoulders dropped. It’s slouchy yet doesn’t feel overstyled. It’s similar to the kind of thing Connolly do in their shared-wardrobe collection, and the direction Loro Piana has trended more recently with knitwear. 

The colour is real menswear navy, very dark, and the windowpane is satisfyingly unusual yet subtle. It’s also intarsia knitted, so all those checks have been worked in by hand. “This is a slightly more contemporary piece, but it was made in Scotland,” says Simon. 

“I think Dunhill has a freedom in its collections that comes from its varied past. We started with driving clothing and car accessories, but then did ladieswear at one point, were best known for tailoring at another, and starting making in Italy in the early seventies. We’ve sought out the best in different places and tied it to British tradition.”

3: Silk belted evening jacket

This tailored jacket is a case in point, because it has quite a sharp silhouette yet is very light, with soft canvas in the body and very little in the shoulder. The design is a tailored jacket that happens to have a belt. It fastens with regular buttons, but you can put the belt round for a little swagger or even tie it just at the back. 

I’d never really considered silk for evening wear until I tried on this particular printed navy. “That’s an English silk, printed in Macclesfield,” says Simon. “We have fairly subdued colours generally, but I also love how those English prints are more matte than elsewhere.”

The Dunhill tailoring is generally well made: a hand-attached collar, hand-attached lining, one piece of facing around the in-breast pockets. The lapel buttonhole is sewn by hand, which adds a decorative detail, while the rest are by machine. 

4: Wool/cashmere double-breasted coat

“This comes from an archive piece from near the beginning of Dunhill’s history, in the Edwardian era,” says Simon. “The original was in a heavy tweed, but also had a button-out leather lining, to act as a windstopper.”

The modern version is still a big, roomy coat, but the material is much lighter and softer: a fairly loosely woven wool/cashmere blend with Donegal-like flecks in the twill. It’s enveloping but not heavy, and fastens up nicely across the chest and neck. It looks like an archive piece but feels like a contemporary one.

The cut won’t be for everyone, as it’s long and straight and the belt on the back is more decorative than functional. But this is the point in many ways – leaning a little more into fashion means the piece is more distinctive, which also means it’s not everyone’s style.

5: Mount two-piece leather slipper

Grecian slippers have enjoyed a bit of a resurgence both among classic outfitters (eg Bryceland’s) and fashion (eg Lemaire). They fit very well alongside the silk jackets and robes at Dunhill: “A good portion of our evening wear is aimed at the man who doesn’t want to wear a regular tux, so we give lots of different options to play with,” says Simon (below). 

“Again we went looking for the finest in terms of construction and that was more Italian than English – a fine calf, a more flexible construction. We also worked hard on the last shape, to make it comfortable and a little more masculine. 

The padding and construction are certainly very comfortable, and the sole is made to be wearable outdoors as well as in. In fact the one place you get more stiffness than in some makes is in the heel cup, but that makes it sit better around the foot as well. 

The prices of the pieces and exact product names are listed below. It’s all expensive, but that’s what you’d expect from a designer brand. The significant thing for me is that the quality of the products actually lives up to it – this is some of the best-made menswear anywhere.

And the designs are great – I’d love to own all the above, and several more pieces besides. There are very few brands I can say that about today.

Details, full names and prices, in order:

• Wool peacoat, £4,100
• Cashmere check intarsia high-neck jumper, £2,150
• Wool-cashmere twill windowpane archive double-breasted coat, £4,200
• Silk printed bourdon double-breasted evening jacket, £3,100
• Mount two-piece slipper leather, £775