SALVE The Good Manual
A manual for dressing, eating, travelling, hosting, working and living well. For Indian men with full lives and no time for homework.
- What to wear.
- Where to go.
- What to order.
- What to know.
- What not to do.
Recommended. We would do it ourselves.
Exceptional. Rarely given.
Avoid. Usually for a reason you will recognise.
Context matters. We will say on what.
The stories
17 stories so far
Very good.
Black tie
What a tuxedo costs, piece by piece
A made-to-measure tuxedo from SALVE is ₹37,500, or ₹39,500 in velvet. With shirt, bow tie and studs, ₹56,000; the complete kit, ₹70,000. Every piece priced, and which ones...
Very good.
Black tie
Midnight, bottle green or rose: choosing a velvet tuxedo
SALVE's three velvet tuxedos and the Velour, side by side: how formal each is, which night each is for, how to wear velvet and how to look after...
Very good.
Weddings
The groom's reception tuxedo
The sherwani does the pheras; the reception is often a tuxedo. Ten judgements for the groom, a table matching his tuxedo to the bride's reception outfit, and the...
Very good.
GOOD / DON'T
GOOD / DON'T: this winter's trends, judged
Brown, double-breasted tailoring, jewel tones, the long coat and the return of the tie. Twelve judgements on which of this season's menswear trends to wear in Delhi this...
Very good.
Weddings
Cold lawns: what to wear to a December wedding
A December wedding starts on a warm drive and ends on a cold lawn after midnight. Twelve judgements on staying warm without hiding the outfit: the cloth, the...
Very good.
GOOD / DON'T
GOOD / DON'T: the wedding guest
Twelve quick judgements for the male wedding guest, from a yellow kurta at the haldi to a tuxedo on the cocktail night. Plus the three mistakes guests make...
Good.
Weddings
What the card means: Indian wedding dress codes, decoded
Indo-Western, festive, cocktail, black tie optional. Every phrase on an Indian wedding invitation, what it means for a man, and what to wear as a guest.
Good.
Wardrobe Rescue
One jacket, five lives
Suits you wear twice a year, shirts that look underdressed at lunch, and nothing in between. One linen jacket, worn five ways, and where it doesn't go.
Very good.
Black tie
The tuxedo: everything you need to know
Where it belongs at an Indian wedding and where it never does, the kit from collar to shoes, how it should fit, and five things that give it...
Very good.
Weddings
The cocktail night: velvet, ivory or black?
Many December weddings now have a cocktail night. SALVE makes four dinner jackets; most men need one. How to tell which, and when to order.
Very good.
GOOD / DON'T
The bandhgala: where it belongs, and where it doesn't
The most useful piece of Indian formal tailoring, and the occasions it does not suit. Where to wear a bandhgala, where a kurta and Nehru jacket are better,...
Very good.
Weddings
Getting married in November? The five-week plan
If the wedding is on 24, 25 or 26 November, there are four weeks left. Every function from haldi to reception, what grooms wear to each, and how...
Good.
GOOD / DON'T
GOOD / DON'T: Diwali, ten judgements
The card parties, the visits, the office and the puja at dusk. Ten quick judgements on what to wear to each, and the date to order by: 15...
Very good.
Weddings
Bandhgala, tuxedo or suit: when each is right
Three garments, one invitation and a family WhatsApp group with opinions. How to choose in under a minute, function by function.
GOOD / DON'TIssue 01 Don't.
GOOD / DON'T
GOOD / DON'T: twelve things
Twelve fast judgements on clothes, from the bottom button to sneakers with a suit. Most men get eight right. These are for the other four.
SALVE NotesIssue 01 No. 1
SALVE Notes
SALVE Notes, No. 1
Short observations about clothes and grown-up life, collected so you do not have to learn them at a wedding.
The regulars
Ten formats. They come back.Issue 01: How to dress now
In this issueOpening
- Editor's note: what changed in men's clothes?
- Bawa: a one-page manifesto
- GOOD / DON'T: twelve things
- GOOD / DON'T: Diwali, ten judgements
Style
- 25 men, 25 uniforms
- Why your trousers are probably too tight
- The shirt at 4:37 PM
- One jacket, five lives
- The bandhgala: where it belongs, and where it doesn't
- What men in Bombay actually wear
- SALVE Notes, No. 1
People
- The Good Shirt: architect, founder, restaurateur, musician
- The best-dressed man who doesn't care about fashion
Places
- 16 very good restaurants
- The 7:30 Table in four cities
- A very good Sunday in Delhi, Bombay and Bengaluru
Weddings
- Getting married in November? The five-week plan
- The cocktail night: velvet, ivory or black?
- The tuxedo: everything you need to know
- What the card means: Indian wedding dress codes, decoded
- GOOD / DON'T: the wedding guest
- Seven weddings, one suitcase
- Dress for the wedding. Not as the wedding.
- Bandhgala, tuxedo or suit: when each is right
Travel
- 48 hours in Goa without resort cosplay
- India in transit: the airport uniform
- What actually belongs in a carry-on
Objects
- Watches that don't require a speech
- Things Men Like: 12 useful objects
- Which biscuit goes best with coffee? A serious investigation
Close
- Wardrobe Rescue
- The SALVE Approved directory
- Back page: Bawa
If it makes you think "send this to him", it did its job.
You can wear anything. You just can't wear that.
SALVE is private tailoring in Gurugram and Delhi. When something in here makes you want a thing made properly, a cutter comes to your home or office. Free to book.
Book a private appointment