スティーヴン・フライのインスタグラム(stephenfryactually) - 6月7日 13時07分

This is a story of a whole human enterprise that – even in the age of the internet, cloud storage, universal archiving and instant knowledge retrieval – has completely disappeared. All because of its name.

Once there was a retail menswear chain called Blazer. None of what follows would be true if they had called themselves Blennerhasset and Jones, or Popjoy and Co, or Wheedon and Weekes, or even Blaizer, but no, they called themselves Blazer and so they have disappeared.

I liked Blazer. You might regard them as a kind of forerunner of @ハケット (of whom more on another episode of #fryties) – they sold slightly preppy menswear, not overwhelmingly Sloaney as we used to say back in the 80s, but with a definite air that mixed Fulham-Chelsea urban with Home Counties rural. They aimed their merchandise at a wider audience however. The clothes were not too pricey, and their stores were in Covent Garden, not Knightsbridge or the King’s Road. At least, that’s how I remember it. As companies do if they misplay their hands, or if the cards don’t fall right for them – Blazer disappeared. One day they were a feature of the High Street, the next they had gone.

And because they called themselves Blazer they are an absolute BASTARD to search for online. I have tried to glean something of their history, but type in “Blazer stores”, ”Blazer Ltd”, “Blazer and Co”, “Blazer Covent Garden” - anything like that and you are returned hundreds of pages of links to shops online and off that sell … well, yes – blazers.

Maybe someone reading this once worked for Blazer, or knows something of their history. All I can say is that they sold damned fine gear in their day and I miss them. Maybe they were taken over. If only they’ve been called Hipkiss and Welch or Winklefoam and Beadle, be so easy to check their history. Ah well – as the poet Whittier sighed “Of all sad words of tongue and pen, The saddest are ‘It Might Have Been.’” Still, this cream and maroon dogtooth item in knitted silk wouldn’t shame anyone’s collar. Would go well in the summer months with … a blazer.

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