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Rampley & Co pocket squares

Sunday, June 19th, 2016

A new supplier of high-quality pocket squares is always a delight to meet. When the products are made in the UK, I am even more pleased. So it was a happy day when my Inbox received a message from Rampley & Co. 

Simon Cranston and Elliott Rampley, who previously worked in online marketing, decided that too many pocket squares were nice but predictably “classic”. Their take on this men’s accessories niche is to use historic artistic images for the prints. At the time of writing, there are only 18 selections on their transactional website, but I find most of them very attractive.

The one they sent me shows a hummingbird painted by one William Swainson, a new name on me. The Rampley website informs me that Swainson (8 October 1789 – 6 December 1855) “was an English artist, naturalist and ornithologist and is often best remembered for the quality of his zoological illustrations”.

As well as being attractive in its own right, the square has a selection of colours that means it works well with a variety of jackets, as can be seen in its outings with my linen-silk Magee three-piece suit and my Polo Ralph Lauren brown corduroy jacket.

In the 18 months or so of trading Rampley & Co has partnered with a number of prestigious galleries, including the Wallace Collection and the National Gallery, for its illustrations. It uses lovely 16oz twill silk woven in Como, Italy or Macclesfield in Cheshire, and all the digital printing is done in Macclesfield. Most of the squares measure a generous 42cm x 42cm (17.5ins x 17.5ins) and sell at £55, £59 or £69. As an alternative from silk, the company also has a small selection of Harris Tweed squares measuring 20cm x 20cm (8ins x 8ins) at £45; these would be a welcome addition to my pocket square box.

 

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