There was a fairly protracted correspondence recently in both The Times and The Daily Telegraph, generally bemoaning the difficulty of finding a shirt these days with that ever-useful breast pocket attached to it, as used to be the norm. Well at Hilditch & Key it has always been the norm, and still is - the proviso being that the shirt in question has a single buttin cuff. This is, of course, sartorially quite correct. If you are sporting the more casual button cuff, it is entirely possible that you may not be wearing a jacket - and so where else to stash those essentials such as spectacles, pen, cigarettes and lighter, credit cards, mobile, elevenses... though not, fairly obviously, all at the same time. For that you would need what I believe is termed a 'man-bag', and as such deserves no comment from me whatsoever.

So, to be clear: while many inferior shirtmakers offer the breast pocket as a paid-for extra, on a single cuff Hilditch & Key shirt, the pocket always comes as standard. And the cuff itself is worthy of discussion - one button only. Handy, wouldn't you say? Not so fiddly and a good deal less gimmicky than the two or even three that may be found on shirts from elsewhere. And - as always with a Hilditch & Key - that gently rounded cuff. This wholly identifiable design feature really comes into its own with the double cuffs, my own personal favourite. Truly weighty and elegant - French cuffs, they call them in America, or maybe they don't any more (along with French Fries, they could be off the menu). And of course with the double cuff you can let rip with all manner of cufflink, to be forever ringing the changes. Hilditch & Key always have a good and very reasonably priced selection, including those brightly coloured and very jolly elasticated silk knots, which not only weigh nothing and have a very easy give to them, but are so cheap that you can afford to match every shirt in your collection. Incidentally, H & K also sell those hard-to-get armbands, also in a nice range of colours, for when your sleeves are a little on the long side (although of course, for a nominal fee, Hilditch & Key are very happy to alter them so that they fit precisely).

Now to collars: the standard H & K collar is perfectly shaped to be filled by a tie knot (what it is designed for, after all) and comprises an incredible fourteen pieces assembled with enormous skill and including a couple of acetate collar stiffeners - spares, along with buttons, are included with every shirt. The single cuff shirts are also offered with a button-down collar option, in a more limited range, including the ever popular Oxford cloth versions. The double cuff number has the choice of a flyaway collar - slightly deeper, with the blades cut away: very racy, and suitable for a larger tie knot such as the Windsor. Occasionally, I try to persuade the management to look into the possibility of providing the further option of a collar with rounded tips, to echo the famous cuffs. I'm convinced it would be a winner: what do you think...?

Joseph Connolly

Joseph Connolly's ten novels are all available, the latest being JACK THE LAD AND BLOODY MARY (Faber and Faber £12.99)