Turnbull & Asser - Mr Benn

Mr Benn - Impeccably Turned Out

Mr Benn is quite simply the best-dressed British children's character of our times. Renowned for his sartorial elegance, Benn is never without his banker's 'black and stripes' suit, with black jacket and grey-striped trousering; sensible, polished black shoes; and well-placed bowler hat — unless, of course, he's whipping out of his clothes to begin another fantastic adventure from the Fancy Dress shop he frequents in the books and animated series.

The conservatively-dressed have more fun

Benn knows that the conservatively-dressed have more fun and get away with more. When he comports himself in his timeless assemblage along Festive Road, no one would imagine the earlier craziness. Mum's the word.

Turnbull & Asser

Turnbull & Asser celebrate and recognise the distinctive British style of Mr Benn in their limited edition series of silk pocket squares. The squares feature four Benn designs, which are hand-printed and made in England. That's Street above.

The squares are limited to fifty of each. Actually, I'm looking now and I think one of the designs has sold out, so you need to be quick if you want one.

Max Normal pocket square

Who next? Max Normal the smartly-dressed rebel 'normalist' from the 2000AD comics? I should coco.

A Song About Benn

Good old Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy for writing a song about Mr Benn called Festive Road [Amazon]. It's from Liberation [Amazon], a favoured album at Tweed Towers.

The album has much to recommend it, not least a sample of dialogue from Merchant Ivory's Room with a View ("My father says there is only one perfect view, and that's the view of the sky over our heads." "I expect your father has been reading Dante.")

Neil makes something of a hash of Festive Road at the start of this video, but recovers nicely.