From the after-work clubs of DIFC to the boardrooms of Al Maryah Island, gentlemen in the UAE are accessorising with more than just a tie these days: the pocket square is back in vogue.
Established in Dubai in 1956, Parmar Tailors, now based in Jumeirah Lake Towers, started stocking men’s handkerchiefs five years ago. And sales of the item have tripled in the past three years, according to their Indian director Bharat Parmar.
“Just as women accessorise with handbags and jewellery, men have started accessorising as well and pocket squares are the best way to do that,” Mr Parmar says. “Men want to be individuals these days.”
The cloth handkerchief was invented by the English king Richard II, who said to have been used it to wipe his nose. But these days, no reputable gentleman would be seen putting their carefully folded handkerchief to their nostrils.
It was during Victorian times that donning a protruding handkerchief became synonymous with the debonair gentleman. “One should either be a work of art or wear a work of art,” said Oscar Wilde, a notoriously flamboyant pocket square devotee.
But it's not just suave Hollywood types such as the English actor Benedict Cumberbatch who sport pocket squares these days – Justin Timberlake sings his tune Suit & Tie while wearing a classic crisp horizontal white stripe in his breast pocket. His is the most popular fold, known to devotees as "the presidential".
Using bolder colours and experimenting with different folds enables the wearer to add their own personal style to an otherwise uniform-like suit.
“In the boardrooms men are wearing lighter, plain colours, whereas in their social circles, the louder the colours the better,” says Mr Parmar.
“Pinks, oranges and parrot greens – very bright, fluorescent colours are in fashion. Men are using the pocket square as a way to stand out from the crowd.”
Dipesh Depala, 46, the managing partner of The Qode, a PR company in Dubai, has been a fan of pocket squares for as long as he has been wearing suits.
“Pocket squares have almost become staples in men’s wardrobes. My friends all wear them, although some just pull them out for special occasions,” says Mr Depala, who has 40 in his collection.
“For me, certain jackets and occasions warrant a more casual cotton look, whereas an evening look will suit a more luxurious silk or velvet pocket square.
“I am a very detail-oriented person. Pocket squares are an elegant detail that finishes off a polished look. In fact if I’m wearing a blazer or a suit, I feel naked without one.”
Mr Depala’s pocket square fold varies according to his mood and what fits well with his jacket, but he doesn’t spend time fretting over it. “The moment you spend too much time on the fold it is no longer elegant,” he says.
Tailor Mr Parmar is often asked by customers to teach them how to fold a pocket square.
“Most of them prefer the fluff fold, that’s the fashion now,” he says. “It’s a big piece just popping out of your pocket, without any particular shape – so it looks like you’ve trampled on your pocket square, put it in your pocket and pulled a little out.”
Tapping into the revived interest in pocket square folds, the Dubai event supplier Transformers now provides a “Pocket Square Guru” available to hire for special events. The British fashion designer Charlotte Hudders, 28, educates gentlemen in the history, etiquette and art of folding pocket squares and also started creating her own line of hand-drawn silk pocket squares three years ago. She has since sold about 200 in Dubai.
“There are so many ways of folding pocket squares, from immaculate formal folds to more flamboyant statement folds,” Ms Hudders explains.
“You can go really crazy with the Bird of Paradise, which I’m still perfecting. Among my favourites is the Flower Fold, which looks like a beautiful rose.”
The Briton Adrian Bell is the executive director of brand experience agency Action Impact. He is inclined towards the presidential fold – and, when he has time, the three-pointed square fold.
“My pocket square always draws a comment, particularly if it’s well chosen and crafted within the pocket,” he says. “I wear it increasingly day-to-day. You see the pocket square being worn now in most of the swanky new restaurants and bars in DIFC and Media City.”
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
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Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
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LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
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Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
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Sunday
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The years Ramadan fell in May
Company info
Company name: Entrupy
Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist
Based: New York, New York
Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.
Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius.
Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place.
Iraq negotiating over Iran sanctions impact
- US sanctions on Iran’s energy industry and exports took effect on Monday, November 5.
- Washington issued formal waivers to eight buyers of Iranian oil, allowing them to continue limited imports. Iraq did not receive a waiver.
- Iraq’s government is cooperating with the US to contain Iranian influence in the country, and increased Iraqi oil production is helping to make up for Iranian crude that sanctions are blocking from markets, US officials say.
- Iraq, the second-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, pumped last month at a record 4.78 million barrels a day, former Oil Minister Jabbar Al-Luaibi said on Oct. 20. Iraq exported 3.83 million barrels a day last month, according to tanker tracking and data from port agents.
- Iraq has been working to restore production at its northern Kirkuk oil field. Kirkuk could add 200,000 barrels a day of oil to Iraq’s total output, Hook said.
- The country stopped trucking Kirkuk oil to Iran about three weeks ago, in line with U.S. sanctions, according to four people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because they aren’t allowed to speak to media.
- Oil exports from Iran, OPEC’s third-largest supplier, have slumped since President Donald Trump announced in May that he’d reimpose sanctions. Iran shipped about 1.76 million barrels a day in October out of 3.42 million in total production, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
- Benchmark Brent crude fell 47 cents to $72.70 a barrel in London trading at 7:26 a.m. local time. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was 25 cents lower at $62.85 a barrel in New York. WTI held near the lowest level in seven months as concerns of a tightening market eased after the U.S. granted its waivers to buyers of Iranian crude.
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BMW M5 specs
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Power: 727hp
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Famous left-handers
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The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
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Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
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