Being able to buy top class stuff via mail order and the internet is a relatively recent development. Historically, mail order catalogues used to be aimed downmarket, with subscribers required to stump up highish monthly instalments for decidedly inferior merchandise - with little if any comeback if the article in question turned out to be even more loathsome than the blurred and tiny photograph had suggested. These days, though - as Hilditch & Key Sale by Mail regulars all know only too well - the very best things are available at the click of a mouse or by way of a telephone call or letter. As to comeback, I have been assured by Hilditch & Key that all complaints would be dealt with immediately, though no one could recall offhand when any complaint had been made... such is the fruit of stringent quality control, and an unwavering commitment to manufacturing the finest shirts possible.

For me, though, the shops are the thing. Browsing through a catalogue is easy and convenient, no doubt about it, and for those who find it already quite dificult enough, thank you, to choose between this lovely thing and that lovely thing, the comparative compactness of the brochure, compared with the full and glorious range in the shops, can be something of a comfort. But me, I like to grope and ogle the stuff.

There are two shops in London - a tiny and lovable two-storey shop in Jermyn Street, and then the flagship store, my own personal favourite. Also in Jermyn Street, on the corner of Bury Street, in the very stylish area of St.James's, Hilditch & Key is surrounded by the most ancient and venerable gentlemen's clubs - Boodle's, White's and The Athenaeum among them - and some of the Capital's most fashionable restaurants, such as The Wolseley. 300 year-old Fortnum & Mason is just around the corner, as are London's oldest bootmaker, milliner and wine merchant.

Hilditch & Key is a large and airy shop, oak panelled and very chic. Many old customers will swear that it has never changed - apart, of course, from the endless rolling out of fresh and fabulous stock - this accounting for a good deal of why they like it so much. But not much more than five years ago, the shop was actually half the size. Next door was the respected hairdresser and seller of associated luxury accessories - Taylor of Old Bond Street [confusing, I know, that it should actually be in Jermyn Street, but there you are]. When the shop on the other side of Taylor became available, Hilditch & Key offered Taylor the rather bizarre opportunity to move sideways and into it, undertaking to precisely recreate the interior and facade of their existing premises down to the very last detail. This then happened surprisingly quickly [at what sort of cost I quiver to imagine] allowing Hilditch & Key to knock through into the old Taylor shop and spread themselves rather luxuriously - once more taking the greatest care to match the original panelling and shelving, and not to detract from the essence of the place. Looking today at the seamlessness of the whole endeavour, it is all rather hard to believe.

It is a shop quite filled with a large array of excellence, softly and thickly carpeted, with shelf upon shelf of gorgeous plain and patterned shirts, the best pyjamas I have ever worn, silk as well as wool and cotton dressing gowns - a generous low and circular table is covered in a fanned-out and rich display of beautifully made silk ties. There are also racks of jackets - tweed, corduroy, cashmere and linen, according to season - with coordinating trousers. Evening dress accessories are there, as well as scarves, cravats [remember them? I think there should be a campaign to make them triumph again], bow ties, socks, cufflinks, braces... just everything a gentleman could ask for, really. Also here is a very good selection of ladies' shirts, blouses, wraps and nightwear, often in tremendous colours and patterns that I occasionally have a go at persuading the management to press into service for the men's versions: sometimes they oblige.

The staff is just right - helpful, knowledgeable and attentive, but they're never going to chase you round in circles, telling you that everything you touch or even glance at would suit you right down to the ground [like they do in some other places, believe me]. The shop is presided over by the very professional and congenial Roger and Tony, each of them with several decades of Hilditch & Key employment under their belts [and oh yes, belts - they sell those too]. But it has to be said - there is one great and mighty thing wrong with this shop: it is impossible to leave it without having caved in completely and succumbed to impossible temptation. One always walks away with a bundle of their rather cool and distinctive sky and navy carriers: it really is that seductive. And do you know, the only shop I can think of that might just possibly be even more so is the branch of Hilditch & Key on the Rue de Rivoli, in Paris. Soon, I'll tell you all about it.

Joseph Connolly

Joseph Connolly has written ten novels, all of which are in print. The latest is JACK THE LAD AND BLOODY MARY [Faber and Faber £12.99]