The first men’s collection from Mango came out in March. I wasn’t all that interested at the time. Until yesterday, after having lunch with Lola, when I went to have a look in Mango Opéra on her recommendation.

Of course, Mango, for a lot of us, is a girls’ shop which we’ve only been into with our girlfriends or little sisters - until now. And Mango, as you probably also know, is one of Zara’s main competitors: they are both internationally-successful Spanish stores.

Back to my story. So I go into Mango, I ask an assistant the way and she directs me to the back of the store. As is often the case with this type of large unisex store, the men’s section is a lost little island in the middle of a vast ocean of women’s items. And it doesn’t take long to look around it all! If I hadn’t come with the idea of writing an article about it, as I was quite busy, I would probably have left straightaway.

But I decided to take a second, closer, look at what I had barely glanced at the first time. And what seemed, overall, fairly ordinary. To see what the clothes are about, you need to look at the label. This is the way I always work: I look at the price, the material, and only then do I unfold the garment to look at the shape.

And I very quickly made 2 conclusions: it’s all fairly expensive (still comparing it to Zara) but using better fabric! Let’s take the example of the jumpers. You might have seen the H+M jumper that Tony talked about in September, and you’ve probably been and looked at Zara jumpers in store. If you look closely, you’ll see that the jumpers are mainly made of man-made fibres.

Au contraire, a nice surprise from Mango: their jumpers are mostly made from wool. That’s unusual! Some are even 100% wool or 100% cashmere like the jumper above. Another example: their scarves. They are also more expensive than usual for a high-street store but with a much more classy touch: they’re 100% wool!

This men’s collection, called “He by Mango”, also contains jackets and shirts. They seemed good, but nothing special (though I admit I was in a rush and didn’t look at them for very long).

However, I spent longer looking at their black, slightly waxed jeans. They didn’t look too bad for €65! I’ll go back and try a pair on and let you know…And I have since discovered the entire HE collection is available online from www.mangoshop.com. In fact, that’s where I found the pictures to go with this article.

I imagine some of you have also been curious enough to go to Mango, and maybe even try some of their clothes! What did you think?

• Official website: www.mango.com
• Online store: www.mangoshop.com
• See the topic on Mango HE in the forum (in French)

Yes, of course you’re manly enough to wear a cardigan! Yes, yes, I insist, even with a shawl collar. At any rate, you can bet that a lot of your friends will try to steal it or at least won’t be able to stop themselves feeling how soft the knit is with the back of their hands!

And yes, without being the best cashmere style, the knit is chunky, generous and soft, and it shows! What’s more, you’ll be able to get the bus comfortably early in the morning without carrying a bulky jacket (remember: the summer is over, Paris switched to winter timetables on 1 September!).

Which coincides with the opening of three The Kooples stores in Paris. And perhaps you also walked through the doors without noticing the brand. Even thought I knew about the stores’ opening, I completely forgot and I walked into 3 rue des Rosiers without paying attention. Simply because I liked the look of the window display even though the shop itself was empty.

Before stepping through the door, I even looked up to see where I was; at The Kooples store. All of which leads me to tell you about the brand itself.

Their idea is, as often noted, to try to use so-called fine materials and make simple, well-cut garments, and to sprinkle them with details that make all the difference! Overall I find the collection a success. There is a decidedly rock influence and a focus on tailored cuts. The Kooples’ style tends towards androgyny, particularly in advertising where couples are brought together around a theme of sharing clothes.

So we see many unisex pieces at The Kooples such as jackets and cardigans, though it’s not really true of this one. Coming soon: the opening of our online store.

I don’t often go to GAP. But recently, when I discovered the new collection on the American site, I found this cardigan, which made me want to go to their shop and see it in the flesh.

Without being particularly unusual, it’s quite a good basic, and also has the bonus of being affordable (but I didn’t note the price in store, so I don’t want to get it wrong…).

Do you go to GAP?

Cardigans are very in vogue at the moment, and you can match the colours to the season. Here’s a mid-season style (blue for spring, brown for autumn) from Peter Werth. If you like this one, why not check out the rest of the range, let me know what you think! Worth noting: some styles are reduced to £9.99!

£29.99 on Stand-Out