The Guides

What to wear. Why it works. What to avoid.

Maison Jones guides are written from lived experience where I have it, and proper scrutiny where I do not.

This is not trend reporting or recycled fashion advice. It is practical judgement for the occasions where getting dressed properly matters.

Where I have worn, bought or commissioned something myself, I will tell you.

Where a recommendation comes from editorial research and scrutiny, I will tell you that too.

The distinction should always be clear.

An olive embroidered agbada and fila worn in the doorway of a London townhouse
A navy overcoat over tailoring outside a British parish church on a wet winter morning
A navy agbada arriving at a London hotel for a Nigerian wedding reception

The Definitive Guide — 22 min read

Dressing for a Nigerian wedding in the UK

Everything I have learned across a decade of Saturdays in Peckham, Dagenham, Manchester and Milton Keynes — the dress codes nobody explains, what aso ebi actually asks of you, what to have made and what to buy, and how much it really costs.

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A rust agbada worn to an owambe in Britain

The Definitive Guide — 18 min read

What to wear to an owambe in Britain

The registers nobody explains, aso ebi and where you sit in the room, cloth that survives a British hall in February, three complete looks by budget, and the timeline that saves you.

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A midnight dinner jacket and bow tie worn to a black tie event in London

The Definitive Guide — 19 min read

Black tie, Nigerian-style, in Britain

What the invitation is actually asking, the two correct routes — dinner jacket or native — detail by detail, cloth for cold ballrooms and hot ones, and four routes by budget.

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A groom in agbada and fila at a Nigerian traditional engagement in Britain

The Definitive Guide — 20 min read

Dressing for a traditional engagement

Read your role before the dress code, aso ebi across two families, who wears agbada and who does not, cloth for a British hall in any month, and the twelve-week countdown.

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A man in a stone senator set at a morning naming ceremony in Britain

The Definitive Guide — 16 min read

Naming ceremonies and thanksgivings

The morning register, and why it is quieter. Father, grandfather, godparent, guest. Church-then-hall dressing, three looks by budget, and six weeks of notice at most.

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A man in quiet tailoring seated before a Sunday service in London

The Definitive Guide — 15 min read

Church, christenings and Sunday best

The register most men in Britain actually dress in every week — what the building is asking for, native or suit, cloth for a cold nave and a warm hall, and a four-Sunday rotation.

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Reference

The practical pages

Shorter, and meant to be used rather than read once — the material, the calendar and the conversation. These are the three things I wish somebody had written down for me.

Reference — 12 min

Cloth for British weather

Ten cloths ranked for heated halls and summer marquees, the weight in grams to ask for, lining, and what fails under a photographer's flash.

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Reference — 10 min

Ordering timelines — Lagos or London

Two week-by-week countdowns, the stages that always slip, remote measurement, shipping and customs, and what is still possible when you have left it late.

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Reference — 11 min

How to brief a tailor

What to send at first contact, eighteen questions before you pay a deposit, the fitting checklist, and how to ask for a change without fighting the cutter.

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Reference — 14 min

What to change for your build

The whole Build Filter™ matrix written out — four builds against four garments, the named alterations, the cloth, the houses, and the three height corrections.

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Written, not automated

The House Letter — one letter, one occasion

I write it myself, once a month, to the men planning something. No offers, no forwarded press releases, and nothing you cannot unsubscribe from in one click.

Recently sent

  • “A stone senator suit to a Park Lane owambe — and the button I should have undone”
  • “Cloth that survives a British October wedding”
  • “Commissioning for December: the week the good hands stop taking work”
  • 01One occasion, worked through — what I wore, what it cost, what I would change.
  • 02Houses and tailors I have actually used, with the honest caveats.
  • 03Timing warnings before the season closes, so you commission early enough.

Join the House Letter

See our Privacy Notice.

One letter a month. One click to leave. Your email is used for the letter only — never passed to a house, a tailor or anyone else.

If you have a date in the diary, the letter is the cheapest way to avoid the two mistakes almost everyone makes: commissioning too late, and choosing cloth for the photographs rather than the room.