24 November 2009

The Haberdasher




A threatened species to say the least. Especially in smaller towns. But when you find one they're like digging up truffles. Not that I've ever dug up truffles but I sure like to eat them. Wright & Simon sits in an odd part of downtown Wilmington, DE. I feel like I can get a line of credit and mugged all at the same time.

W & S been around since 1935 and I'm guessing my old journalism teacher, Jack Hunter, shopped there. Jack was in the PR department at DuPont and wrote the Blue Max on legal tabs late at night using a pencil so as not to disturb his wife. The lead character, Bruno Stachel, was based on a Nazi officer Jack turned informant during the war when he worked undercover in military intelligence.

Jack's first novel became a film starring George Peppard as Bruno, Ursula Andress as Kaeti and James Mason as her cuckolded husband. The movie killed off Bruno but Jack kept him alive and there were two more novels with Herr Stachel. A trilogy I really enjoyed written by a man I respected. One of the better dressed faculty members at my school as well so I can only assume some of his kit came from Wright & Simon.

I found a short sleeve Hathaway button down made in 1986. Priced at $24, Len Simon let me have it for $12. I'm not a short sleeve dress shirt kind'a guy but I've discovered the shirt works great with sweaters when you push up the sleeves. The Pringle sweater was in that heavy gauge plastic that makes a crinkly sound and reminds me of so many old haberdashers I've been in. Len knocked the price from $140 to $88. "Lets just call it a hundred." Len said.

Oddly enough, St Michael the Archangel is Patron Saint to paratroopers, policemen and haberdashers. Huh... I've been all three.

Anyway, We talked about the HBO documentary, Schmatta and before I knew it Len was measuring me for custom shirts. I ordered four. He's good. Two of the shirts are pop over oxfords sans pocket with lined button down collars. I can't even remember what he talked me into for the other two. Made in Perth Amboy, NJ. What a great experience. I can't wait to go back and see what else I can find.

21 November 2009

Pop Up Flea w/ Mr. Mort

Mordechai's Tie
Mordechai

Mordechai's Camera

You meet people in your life and sleep through most of 'em. And then you meet people who wake you up, make you laugh and you share a connection...no matter how embarrasing. Mordechai from, Mr Mort and I shared laughs over pink shirts and photography. Mordechai is a brilliant shooter and a damned fine tie designer. I bought his Chipp inspired, "F**KYOU" tie because it's one of the best cussin tie designs I've ever seen. The man is a genius.

The Pop Up Flea was so much better than last year. Congratulations to all involved in putting it on. I think I made out like a bandit-- Lots of beat up crap that makes life worth living-- and what they sell is pretty neat too.

Blog Cards



I feel horrible about going the budget route for cards but screw it. I'm not made outta money. Lee's Art Shop on West 57th Street did 500 for a hundred bucks. Mrs. Strong, when they were in business, wanted $1,600 for 500. I was a fan of Mrs. Strong but I was told Crane's was doing their work. I have them in time for ACL's flea market today. Giuseppe really nailed it with the most creative cards I've ever seen. Well done, sir.

I didn't want to mention this last year but a fella working one of the booths got confrontational when I took a couple shots of his wares. I would have asked permission but people everywhere were using cell phone cameras and point and shoots. I guess when you whip out a D70 with a hurking lens people assume you know what you're doing and getting paid to do it. How wrong they are. Next time I'll whip out an 8x10 view camera.

Anyway, the fella asks me who I am and who I'm working for. Who I'm working for? That's rich. Should a had Lee's knock out another order of cards engraved with,


'Nonaur Besnes'

20 November 2009

Friday Belt: Foxy Cider...

This just in...
Eljo's Feeds My Fox Fever


"It's my turn," said Badger, taking the jar and tilting his head well back. The cider gurgled and bubbled down his throat. "It's ...like melted gold!" he gasped. "Oh, Foxy, it's...like drinking sunbeams and rainbows." Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl

Cider plays a big role in Fantastic Mr. Fox. In the book and the movie and I'm a fan of both. Wes Anderson took a charming story and I think he turned it into a charming movie. The animation has a familiar look about it and I have to admit...I was a little turned on by Meryl Streep's, Mrs Fox. I wasn't expecting that.

And when I go to one of the best wine stores in the country I don't expect to sell staff on a product they're supposed to be selling. But cider is a toughie. I remember cider taps in London pubs and thinking, "Who drinks that crap?" I associated cider with 'sweet' and 'little old ladies' sipping a half pint. So did the wine expert who told me, "I've meet the folks from Farnum Hills but I'm not much for cider. Too sweet." says the expert. Convert time.


I let go, "Man, I felt the same way but this stuff is different. Not sweet at all and it's great with food. I had it with roasted chicken the other night and it was perfection. And... at 7.5% alcohol I can drink a bottle and not feel like I was hit by a truck." The wine expert looks at the cider bottle and hmmmms. "Maybe I'll give it a try." he says. "Whadaya got to lose?" I says. "It's 12 cussing bucks." By the way, here's a great NPR story a reader sent me on Farnum Hills.


Earlier in the week I was in the middle of a fox 'buzz' thanks to the movie. I've accumulated a lotta fox stuff over the years. Fox cuff links, fox prints, fox sweaters, fox ties, fox in laws and fox belts. How many fox belts can a man have? Not enough I say. I caught this good looking number at Eljos. Called them up and spoke to the one of the owners. Really nice fella who worked a stint at J Press back in the day and knows Trad. He sent it out priority mail and I'm still waiting - - so no belt snaking up a bottle today.


Belted Cow Belts are made in Maine and have a unique look about them. The design is almost needle point like but the price is much more affordable. Check out the Eljo's web site. Great stuff from an authentic source and you'll feel good about supporting a small business. I have this sport jacket in the cross hairs for when it warms up. 'Tasty' as the insufferable youth of today would say. Actually, I think Mrs Fox would dig it.

18 November 2009

Christmas Cards

Option One

Option Two

Two years ago I took pictures of these Napoleonic figurines in the Scully and Scully window on Park Avenue. At $575 and up, I can't afford 'em and even if I could there's too much of the midwest in me that says not only, no...but asks, "Who would?" Still, the pictures look great for a cell phone camera and so I'm thinking custom Xmas cards this year. Which one do you like? If folks don't like them I can always blame you...

17 November 2009

Luggage Labels 1910 - 1960











These luggage labels are $20 to $70 and I think they'd make great Christmas presents. Grab three or four and frame them. Cheap, creative and very thoughtful. My mantra.

16 November 2009

Duke's Shoes & Socks


Gimme a pair of Caucasians in a 7.5 D.

13 November 2009

Friday Braces For A Fanatastic Fox

The Saturday Book & Stuffed Rats


Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout & Fox Braces from 1987




I'm looking forward to Wes Anderson's, "Fantastic Mr. Fox." I saw the trailer and immediately thought of this bizarre British taxidermy from an even more bizarre volume in the Trad library, The Saturday Book published in 1953. My friends in London sure like to knock Yanks...but...as far as I know, playing house with stuffed rats is all their own.

I bought those braces in Lord & Taylor years ago. And like the Duke, I paid handsomely but expected a long life in return. Twenty two years isn't bad. They're a little narrow, which was the style then, but who cares - - They're unique, good looking and I've never seen them on anyone else. It will be my mission in life to insure they don't wind up in some hipster's closet who had $2 to spend in a thrift store. These will go to an appreciative home I already know.


Stouts always remind me of a fox and Brooklyn Lager's, Black Chocolate Stout is no exception. Whether it's sitting by the fire place at the Red Fox Inn and being surrounded by more fox art than you can shake a riding crop at -- or -- whether it's seeing a red fox in the woods...amazingly small, deceptively agile and seemingly always up to no good...kind'a like me. At 10% alcohol- it's deceptive alright and dangerous. Huge creamy and thick. More body than my old favorite Imperial Stout by Samuel Smith ... this Stout goes down far too easily but, like a good vintage Port, I can't think of anything better to savor by a fire on a winter's night with Stilton and walnuts while I listen to 'The Fox' by Odetta.

12 November 2009

The Duke's GTH Pants Trousers

Hard to believe the Duke was pressed for room in his closet but there you go. Three... maybe four pair of trousers on one hanger. Although, those kilts are taking up a lot valuable hanging space.

I have a love of GTH pants. That's what I called them until I was corrected in London. "They're trousers, mate. Never pants." But Go To Hell trousers just doesn't sing like Go To Hell Pants. Not to me. They were also called 'Jack Ass Pants' when I was in college. Probably a more apt description of my wearing them.

The Duke was an avid golfer. Consequently, there's some golf related lots in the auction. Couple sets of clubs. What is it about old golf clubs always looking like crap? They just don't patina very well. And there are some odd lots of golf caps. Most of them look like they could be purchased today at any pro shop. One Lacoste bucket hat looks like it came with a free bowelbowl of soup.

I hope this blog does for you what the Duke's closet has done for me. To expose you to articles of clothing you may never have considered. Hey, you may have even said, "Not in a million years." But when you see it - - and you see it a lot - - like those GTH pants...they're not so bizarre anymore. Especially if you see them in Palm Beach where they're worn with style and strangely enough...restraint. Fortunately, I didn't see a Bolo tie in the catalog.

11 November 2009

The Duke's Closet


I try to keep my other blog separate from The Trad but did want to share something on Veteran's Day. You can see it here.

There were many influences on my southern sartorial upbringing. A golf pro cousin in Hilton Head. The Cowan's Ford Country Club on Lake Norman. Chapel Hill. The Ft Monroe Officer's Club. But nothing comes close to the effect my enlistment in the army had. Your appearance was everything and rarely did a good soldier dress like Joe Shit the Rag Man... although I was a good example of a poor soldier dressing well.

The Duke was a soldier, sailor and airman. Certainly there was an affection for uniforms but this love of the cloth -- and of the very best military tailoring -- must have influenced him for the rest of his life. Tailoring in my army consisted of $10 to the cleaners for pegged trousers and buying jackets one size smaller. I guess you have to start somewhere.

10 November 2009

The Duke's Smoking Jacket



A friend who works for an auction house attended Sotheby's Duke and Duchess of Windsor Sale. His three volume set of catalogs are noted with his impressions of lots - - mostly silver and clocks -- and on the last page of the catalog he scrawled, "...it would appear all these two people ever did was play cards and eat."

As much as I would like to have made off with his catalog set...it's far too large to stuff down one's trousers (Perhaps if my trousers were pleated and made by H Harris I'd a gotten away with it), I finally secured my own set of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor sale sans any thievery on my part. Should you be inclined to do the same ... a word of warning. If, like me, you find yourself in a tony upper east side book shop and see this volume for sale...fend off any impulse to purchase it for $250. Rather, go on line to Alibris or Abe and secure a copy for $30. Which is probably what the owner of that book shop did.

If you, like me, enjoy peeking into other people's medicine cabinets and poking around in their sock drawers looking for methods of birth control - - You're gonna love this catalog. I can pretty much guess which readers of The Trad already have this catalog. But I would offer it up to anyone, with sartorial interests or not, as one of the most perplexing, interesting and beautiful books I have ever owned. Not bad for thirty clams.

This week I'll post photos of the Duke's closet. After the winter of 1936, the Duke had a lot of spare time on his hands. And he threw that spare time at his closet. Sotheby's reports in 1960 he had, " ...fifteen evening suits, fifty five lounge suits and three formal suits." There's no mention of Odd Jackets, Smoking Jackets or Blazers. One can only guess.

I own two Smoking Jackets and I'm not sure why. One reason may be cost. I didn't pay full freight for either one. The second reason may have to do with my natural inclination towards being an asshole. One Christmas I wore a Smoking Jacket at a home dinner party with the Golf Foxtrot's family. Black Watch tartan trousers, monogrammed black velvet slippers, double cuff shirt with enameled fox head links, a Black Watch ascot and a black velvet Smoking Jacket trimmed in quilted green silk and tied with a tassel belt. What a hit I made.

Lesson 57. Just because the Duke of Windsor wore it doesn't mean you can.

06 November 2009

The Friday Belt Sans Belt - Sting Ray


"Pick up the color?"

I can't get a regular flu shot in Manhattan. Everybody is out of the vaccine. And that's okay because I have a page from the Trad Dad Playbook. His advice to stay healthy during flu season is to consume lots of hot and spicy food. I grew up going to a lot of Mexican restaurants with my family. I assume we went to Mexican restaurants because that's where Dad wanted to go. He was driving. We were along for the ride. In more ways than one if you get my drift.

I remember one place had a Mariachi band. Had they been playing when we walked in... we wouldn't have stayed. While Trad Dad certainly likes music -- he does not like it table side. I remember his expression when the first chords were plucked. In our world... his stress was our stress. The Mariachi Band made their way to our table... big smiles on everyone's faces while a guitar player lead the way. Suddenly the leader's smile turns to a frown and he makes a hard left and moves clear to the other side of the restaurant.

Feeling relieved, I turned to Trad Dad and caught the last second of, "the look." You can see it here. I was tying my tie one morning when I was a 30 year old newlywed and was having an argument with my then wife. I turned to her and said something I shouldn't have. When I looked back into the mirror I saw that very same look. It frightened me then and to be honest - it still does. Who needs to spend money on Saw VI when you can scare yourself.

No belts today. I'm traveling and hate packing belts. You generate a wardrobe beyond cargo shorts and golf shirts and the belt thing can get maddening. The trousers are a traditional English cut with side tabs and buttons inside the waist band for braces. If you're traveling through an airport - leave the braces in your luggage unless you enjoy being taken aside and "wand-ed."

When I worked at Brooks Brothers, I often encountered men who brought their wives or girlfriends. I doubt they brought them along when buying tires. Women are about as useful in selecting men's clothing. If I heard, "...you need to pick up the color of the tie in the shirt..." once - I heard it a thousand times. "That really pops" seemed to have been in vogue then as well. And while I've always loved contrasting colors rather than matchy match - I admit to looking for a turtleneck sweater the color of that spicy Sting Ray Bloody mix. You know...to pick up that color in the trouser so that it really pops.

I'm thinking a cable knit, wool not cashmere, turtleneck. Like the U Boat commander in Das Boot wore -- but in a deep rust. That Bloody mix really nails the color and man is this mix good. There was concern 10 years ago that the owner was giving her product away. At $9 a bottle she ain't giving away anything but it's wonderful stuff. I love it in the morning all by itself. It'll certainly wake you up. And it's one more spice to fend off the flu. You can even use Sting Ray in a turkey chili recipe. It looks a little white bread but I'm betting some folks here have some ideas of cranking up the heat.

05 November 2009

Princeton 1962


Front Row - 1st from Left - Frank Deford of the Tiger Staff


Key and Seal Club

The Colonial Eating Club
The German Club

That Other Club

"Come join us! We're having sherry with Dr. Tucker and discussing combinatorial mathematics within a finite system. Of course, the sherry is gratis..."

04 November 2009

Washington & Lee 1965 1964











Come on in. Grab a brew. Don't cost nuthin.

03 November 2009

Banacek & Frayed Cuffs

The Riddle - McIntyre Custom Shirt

Frayed Cuffs & Laundry Mark







Mr Mort is a blast. I've mentioned before that The Trad started as a street fashion blog but I didn't have the guts to ask people for a photograph. Mort is a great street photographer and has fairly catholic taste so you won't see just the hipsters and fashion elite. You'll see a little bit of everything. Like this fellow.

When most folks here in the US of A see a worn cuff or collar - out it goes. And why shouldn't it when it was $30 at the Gap. When you pay $200 and upward for a custom shirt...there's another mind set entirely. As a kid, I loved the NBC mystery series, Banacek. George Peppard starred as an independent insurance investigator who worked for 10% of whatever he recovered for an insurance company. He was erudite, sophisticated, wealthy and hated by the Boston police and insurance companies alike. When he extinguishes a cigar and puts the short remaining half in his suit pocket, a cop asks, "Why do you keep those?" Banacek replies, "Because they're expensive."

Frank at Riddle McIntyre is the lone 'bespoke' shirt maker left in Chicago. The rest are, and will admit when pushed, made to measure. I returned to Riddle McIntyre to have the cuffs replaced. Frank remembered me because I requested a monogrammed laundry mark (my last name) on the tail of each shirt. Frank told me the fabric was lost in a fire and reminded me the shirt was seven years old and it was time to place a new order.

Not so fast, Frank. I continue to wear these but admit they are now hand washed and ironed. That's extended their lives greatly. The original order was for four and I have three left. The fourth didn't make it. Kind of like a puppy - - it met an early end thanks to a Cesari Sangiovese.

During WWII, Churchill had his cuffs replaced with the fabric from his shirt tails while the tails were patched with cheap fabric. I'm thinking of having Frank do the same and using blue and red bandanna cloth for patching the tails. Or, perhaps a Pierre Deux fabric for some contrast. I figure they have another ten years. I just wish somebody would ask me why I wear shirts with frayed cuffs. Which reminds me of an old Polish proverb, 'Read the whole library my son... but the cheese will still smell after four days.'

01 November 2009

The Straight Arrow






From "M" The Civilized Man August 1987

I meet my first Straight Arrow in Chicago. We were working on the same 'account' team and he was running it. Not that he'd ever point that out. He was everything on that list up there - - even the Buick. Always a Buick. And he came from more money than God.

I never heard him utter a bad word about anyone except a co-worker who tried to steal an account of his. When she quit, the company threw a party...to celebrate her leaving. So she didn't really count. I sat next to him at a black tie event and noticed he was wearing a belt with a monogrammed Tiffany buckle. "Huh?" I thought. That's odd. No cummerbund. And then I realized he was wearing black trousers with belt loops. I later learned his tuxedo trousers had worn out years ago but the jacket was perfectly fine and for him - so was this arrangement. He pulled it off with an old-money panache that was all his own.

We traveled together often and I could not walk through an airport without him running into a cousin. Sometimes two. He was from a large Irish Catholic family and when a friend pointed out the North Shore house he grew up in... I remarked it looked like a private college in Vermont. You don't meet a lot of Straight Arrows in life. But it's something to aspire to. I may be getting old but that new Buick Lacrosse looks pretty damned good.

31 October 2009

Hermesween



30 October 2009

The Friday Belt: CDP For The Thrifty




Giuseppe over at An Affordable Wardrobe has always offered up some great advice on thrifting. And for a guy who likes to break the 'rules' he always has an opinion about my glasses and my beer. No sweat. The most interesting people are full of contradictions.

And while I like a good Chateaneuf Du Pape (CDP) as much as the next guy - - I find it does not pair well with pork rinds. Better a Puligny Montrachet.

CDP does pair well with steak au poivre and last night my nephew treated me to both at La Veau d'Or. I love an elegant Burgundy. I love a big Bordeaux. But they're best consumed at home where you can afford them. The Golf Foxtrot and I stopped in a favorite wine bar last month and I was shocked to see my favorite Rose going for $55.00 a bottle while it retails for $15. I understand a profit but that ain't right. So, when I'm in a restaurant I go straight to the Rhone.

You cannot get a better value and more bang for your buck than a good Rhone. That bottle up there is really two. A magnum is always fun for a 4 person dinner but it can also be a deal. Usually selling for less than two standard bottles and for me...wine out of a large format bottle just seems to taste better. The Chante Cigale is easily found but that belt is another story.

My first thrift was a tuxedo somewhere on the Main Line outside of Philadelphia. As a poor park ranger with an invitation to a black tie party it seemed like the logical thing to do. I skipped the patent leather slippers and wore black calf tassel loafers - - like almost every other straight guy at the party. I don't know anything about the maker of this belt but for a thrift store find I was happy with it. Giuseppe might have an issue with the price -- as I did -- but I'm desperate for more belts. Not booze, Giuseppe. Just belts.

29 October 2009

Polo Porn

1970's Polo from Bloomingdales:










1980's Polo via Brittons of Columbia, SC







It is said that behind every successful salesperson is someone with a really big shovel. I think they're a bunch of shovels behind Polo but I wanted to look closely at its early history of marketing, advertising and especially photography.

Ralph Lauren's first employee was a clothes loving salesman from Norman Hilton, Anthony Edgeworth. According to Mr. Edgeworth things didn't work out and he was 'politely' fired with this advice from Lauren, "...find what it is in life that's yours. I did. You need to." Edgeworth had a Leica M4 and decided to take classes at the School of Visual Arts while apprenticing for Pete Turner. That was the reality of photography years ago. You could apprentice for the royalty of the art. I apprenticed for a photographer my senior year of high school. He was no Pete Turner. He sure as heck wasn't royalty. He was shooting canned pecans, in B&W, for a Georgia mail order catalog.

So how did he do it? Lauren -- not the guy I apprenticed for...I think he did it with a photographer and stylist. He didn't go with Edgeworth. Not right away. That was to come later. Instead, he hired Bruce Weber. And while I've never understood Weber's bandannas and the whole sailor-soldier thing...I respect his photography. But look at Weber's photography outside a Polo shoot and some thing's missing. And I think that something was Sandy Carlson Tarlow.

The photographer I apprenticed for had two cases of Hassleblad bodies and lenses along with a 8x10 view camera. You couldn't find better equipment anywhere. But he had no idea how to make pecans look good in B&W or in color for that matter. He spread them around a can and I listened to the clunk of the Hasslblad and the pop of the strobe and thought to myself, "...he's in trouble" which is what I think everytime I shoot the Friday belt.

Ms Tarlow may well have been the secret behind it all. Despite more than 30 years having passed -- these images still tell a powerful story. Sure, there's the money, class and inclusion stuff going on -- huge. But these were quality goods. Much of it simple and basic like Shetlands, khakis and oxford button downs. And it was all priced out of this world.

The images above are from Jam Good. A man who knows more about the apparel business and those who work in it than anyone I've ever known. He knows the story behind that Shaker Knit sweater (seamless and made by some guy in a Brooklyn basement), who did the suits in 1977 (Lanham Ltd of Lowell, MA until 1994) and who made the shirts (Ike Behar). Polo eye wear was handmade in France , the Polo blanket was made in Switzerland and Corgi Hosiery made the Shetlands.

I didn't really notice Polo until the late 70's. If I recall, my first love was a pair of khakis. I picked them up and immediately knew they were something special by the heft and finish. Almost like a British sports car. I took a look at the price and couldn't believe it...just like a British sports car. I thought, "Who the hell gets this kinda money for a pair of khakis?" Little did I know. The button down oxfords were next. Perfectly cut and priced for the rich. In college I was lucky and skinny enough to wear a boy's size 20. At $5 or $10 more than a man's Gant I could barely afford them but I had to have them.

The photography did it to me. I was putting myself through college on the GI Bill and I had a Fiat that was keeping me broke. I juggled a college work grant job and two other part time jobs off campus. I was taking out college loans from anyone that would give them to me and still - - I managed to scrape the bucks together for Polo madras trousers, some khakis and a handful of oxfords.

Someone told me a long time ago that people buy two things: Solutions to problems and good feelings. Polo went beyond good feelings. With those carefully styled settings and a talented photographer-- they sold me more than just pants. They sold me Ektachrome visions of an Anglo - American fantasy that I couldn't afford. But toss in the amazing quality and I convinced myself I wasn't a total fool for dropping over $100 bucks on madras pants. I was really buying quality... and slides.

28 October 2009

Bell - Ah - Monte!

Bell-Ah-Monte (in the cool sweater) & The Eiger

Bell-Ah-Monte and ...Hey! How did she get the sweater?

Malaga Station, Spain

Lake Jump

Garden City Beach, SC

San Juan Ferry

Unlike Alice Olive--I've known Bell-Ah-Monte for years. Since high school. I was the first to develop slide film and remember showing him the results in class. He ooh-ed and ah-ed. I had a home dark room and could borrow the old man's Topcon RE Super with a battery of lenses-- my favorite being a 58mm 1.4 lens. That was a hunk of glass. Like always, I was all hat and no horse.

Dave was shooting with some total piece of crap but he knew his camera's limitations. And he had the eye. He had the eye I wanted. Seeing what no one else can and catching it in a split second. He could also do an amazing imitation of a fly with two halves of a tennis ball. He's still shooting and today makes a living at it. I don't know if he can still do the fly imitation.

Back in the late 70's, I came home on leave and Dave showed me his Kodachrome slides of the Swiss town, Kleine Scheidegg and the north face of the Eiger. I remember staring at his shots open mouthed while the only sound came from the soft hum of the projector. I was amazed and jealous at the same time.

A quick note regarding tradition. All of these photographs were shot on film. Expensive and difficult to process. You never knew what you had for days...in my case...years. I still have eight rolls of unprocessed Kodachrome from the early 90's. No anti - shake control on the camera either. That's what a tripod was for. It was damned difficult back then. Some months ago a reader emailed me and said I was, "a reminder of good stuff lost." I was flattered. But, while I don't know about Dave -- I never want to see a roll of film again. A sheet of Panatomic X and an 8X10 view camera is another story.

26 October 2009

Up With An Olive...

That's Alice Olive.

I've been a fan of Alice for a couple of years. I was amazed with her unique images of Chicago... a city I lived in for almost 20 years and had just left when I discovered her blog. I knew Alice's vision was unique because she saw something in what I walked by every day without a thought. She posts once a week. Usually on a Wednesday. Few words. That's it. But was it?

I clicked on her Flicker link and discovered another world. Funny, touching, intimate and shoes. Lots of shoes. It was like sitting with a friend and watching a slide show with their entire family. And not a bad photograph in the hundreds, if not thousands, I've seen.

As I studied Alice's photographs I was always impressed with her range. Portraits, cityscapes, still lifes, apparel, travel, food... not to mention cats. I'm not so crazy about the cat stuff but everything else is a joy. I've learned to jump start her Wednesday posting and check out her new additions on Flicker. It seemed odd at first. Checking out a stranger's photographs. But it wasn't long before I felt I knew her in some way. Connected by her look at the world. I would give my right arm for her eye.

24 October 2009

Chelsea - Last Week







23 October 2009

Friday Belts: If Willis & Geiger Can...You Can Too





I love this commercial. Tasteless? Without a doubt but then so is the beer. I remember Bud Light being introduced when I was in college. I wanna say '82 or '83...I dunno. The goal was to convert Miller Lite drinkers. That kinda boils life down to its essence. Two crappy beers and the people who fight over them. You were a Ford or Chevy man. You were a Miller Lite or Bud Lite guy. You're a, "Dude" or "Awesome" guy.

And while I hate to admit it - - I like it in the can. This is mindless drinking. The lime flavor could easily be replicated with a squeeze of lime but sometimes all you can do is open a can. Especially after you've had seven or eight of these. I prefer a Lemon Lager. I remember the first time I had one was at Twickenham and the Wasps were playing the Saracens. I was new to Rugby and London friends were showing me the ropes and the beer. A lemon lager is simply light beer with Realemon squeezed on top. By Realemon I mean fake lemon. You know...that concentrate in the plastic lemon? It's very refreshing. Very drinkable. "Give it to me with some plastic lemon." I dunno. Not a great advertising line.

You can probably find this belt as easy as finding Bud Lite Lime. While I was looking for the authentic Springfield sling belt - - I kept running into this adjustable belt. I finally gave up the hunt for authentic and ordered the belt from the Willis Geiger catalog some 15 years ago. Here's some advice...whenever you see an adjustable belt...buy it. You may be 30 years old with a waist size to match but trust me on this. If you like beer - - buy adjustable belts.

On Sunday afternoon it's the belt for a pair of wide wale cords, a flannel tartan button down and a pair of suede chukkas. Grab a bag of BBQ pork rinds, pop open a can of BL Lime and you're living large. Turn on the game or, if you're like me, settle into something black and white from the 30's on Turner Classic Movies. Just be sure to keep the pork rind crumb dust off the suede shoes. That can get expensive.

22 October 2009

Joe Raico and Schmatta

Joe Raico from HBO's, Schmatta


Anon,
Do you still think $300 for a pair of shoes made in the US is too much to spend?

21 October 2009

Garment District Rally


Great Signage

Even Better...






Some jobs are never leaving

20 October 2009

A Message from The American Wool Council

Esquire Magazine - September 1960

18 October 2009

Save the Fashion District

New York Elegant Fabrics


Hertling - Made in NYC


Garment District?

I do have a thing about "Made in the USA." I'm not crazy about Thom Browne's fashion sense but his quality is beyond question . I've been told my Thom Browne shirt was not only made in the USA but made in NYC. There's been a push to have labels reflect New York origins. It can't come fast enough.

The HBO film, Schmatta, Yiddish for rags, airs tomorrow night and reports that today 5% of American clothing is made in the United States. In 1965, 95% of American clothing was made in the US. The motivation for this statistic is greed. A 100% mark up, once thought outrageous by Leon L. Bean, who kept the lid on his profit at 37 1/2% -- is now chump change. A shirt purchased at retail for $60 cost $1 or less to manufacture in Macao, Hong Kong, China or Honduras. Look, I'm not naive. I get over head and operating costs. Hell, I even understand EBITDA. But these numbers are obscene...not to mention those profiting from them.

One vulture begets another - - The real estate owners in the Garment District want the rent protected fashion tenant o -u -t. So does the mayor. You know, that guy Bloomberg who wants to protect city jobs? True to a politician's nature - - he's worked out a compromise. I learned in Chicago that political 'compromise' means, "Bend Over Here It Comes Again" or BOHICA which is a phrase I learned in the Army. Big institutions have always contributed colorful phrases to my vocabulary.

So, Mayor Bloomberg's compromise is to give the Garment District 280,000 square feet of consolidated warehouse space...for 250 apparel factories. Not a lot of room to sew much less grow. In the mean time, the real estate owners in that nine block area defined as 34th to 40th streets between Broadway and 9th Avenue, will be free to lock and load with as many Starbucks, Red Lobsters, CVS drug stores and Walgreen's as they like, all while madly humping the very industry that helps to make this city the fashion center it is. It won't be long before living in NYC will be no different than living in Des Moines. Except Des Moines will have a lot more diversity.

Many in the industry see this consolidation as laying the corpse in the coffin. They believe it won't take long before the lid on that coffin is nailed shut and the garment industry in NYC is buried. Designer, Nanette Lepore has called for some big names in the industry to take a stand. So far, Ralph Lauren has ignored her calls along with the other usual suspects. The mayor has refused her request for sit time for over a year. I see the guy on the subway all the time. He's hard to miss with the 12 man security entourage. Can't he meet Nanette on the Lex line for five lousy minutes?

There will be a rally this Wednesday the 21st at 39th St and 7th Avenue to save the Fashion District. No one seems to know when it starts and I can't find a time anywhere. I guess that's what happens with creative types. You can bet your trim and buttons I'll be there. I'm not in the business but 10 years ago I had a client who was a shirt manufacturer in North Carolina and another client who manufactured children's clothing in Georgia. They're gone now and I wonder how many of their service providers like me went with them.

You may not be able to make the rally but you can always shop for a Made in the USA label. You might even save your own job. As they say in the Schmatta trade, "It couldn't hurt."

16 October 2009

Friday Belt - A Suspended Norteamericano

Playboy's New Host & Bar Book 1971


Norteamericano Braces

Norteamericano Cocktail

I have an old Bar Book of cocktail recipes that is either gonna break me or bury me. I mean really...who needs 10 bottles of bitters. But when a recipe calls for simple syrup... I move on. I don't care how simple it is - - I'm not cooking sugar. I suppose that doesn't make me a good barman.

What I am getting a feel for are the simple concoctions I've never heard of. Take the 'Norteamericano.' The recipe is up there. Tequila and Manzanilla Sherry stirred (I haven't tried shaking it yet) and served in a Martini glass with an olive. Now, I do have a favorite olive but for this drink I recommend a big green olive with the stem still attached. We've covered Manzanilla before but I've never mixed it. Sure as hell not with Tequila - - I'm a fan.

There's a 'dryness' best compared to gin but with a rounded depth - - not nearly as sharp but with a very long finish. Probably the Manzanilla doing it's job. The measurements up there will give you a small puddle in today's oversized Martini glass but that's okay. Keep it small because you don't want this drink getting warm on you.

Old Bar Books and Braces. I couldn't kick my ass outta 1986 if I tried. I still wear them. I heard someone opine that a man should match his shoe color to the leather tabs of his braces. The tabs on these braces are grey. I always wondered where a man could find grey shoes ... other than Philadelphia. Never believe people who tell you what to wear. Including me. These are Trafalgar braces. Purchased at Paul Stuart. I've mentioned before Paul Stuart cuts the Trafalgar tag off the braces they sell. I'm surprised Trafalgar lets them do it.

I still love them. Almost like wearing art. And best kept under the jacket. Nothing worse than a man showing off his braces. Norteamericano or not. The president of the local PBS station here in NYC shows off his braces ala Larry King. Never ask me to contribute money if you're wearing braces without a suit jacket. It sends a very bad message. But if I'm on my third Norteamericano -- it really doesn't matter.

14 October 2009

My Sexy Hostess - Fanny Green

The Challenge
The Robert's Radio




The Sexy Hostess

I was usually cut from any team sport I tried out for in school. I still don't know if I'm over it. So, it was really depressing when a story I wrote for The Blushing Hostess was cut. She had asked for something about, "a sexy hostess." The other boys wrote stories and they all made the cut. I guess I can see why my story didn't make it. It's a tad earthy. With apologies for the length. This was, after all, not supposed to be here:

Years ago I discovered, what I thought, was the Paris - London difference. Leaving Paris and bound for London on a train, I was thinking how elegant Parisians are. Their appearance on the street is nothing short of perfection. It's a style I've tried to copy and mannerisms I knew not to imitate. Mulling over these thoughts, I looked out my train window and was surprised to see elegant apartment buildings with their balconies piled high in...garbage. Old refrigerators, cardboard boxes and junk stuffed everywhere. Building after building. It seemed Parisians were using their balconies as large trash cans. Does the typical Parisian put more effort into their appearance than in the appearance of their home?

The train exited the tunnel and I noticed the English homes and gardens were perfect in every way. Yet, in the city of London I was amazed to see streets filled with dowdy dress, cheap men's suits, women's shoes designed by Nazi Gestapo Lesbians and a personal unkemptness. Did the English put forth efforts in their home's appearance at the expense of their dress?

Understanding this is all a huge generalization - - I'll move on.

She was English on her father's side. French on her mothers. She met me at the door of the home she shared with her husband in South Kensington. A beautiful head of blonde hair contrasted against black leather jeans, suede paddock boots and an Hermes looking silk blouse. She brought me to the living room where cigarette smoke hung heavy over the dinner guests. A BBC news reader in her revealing tube top, a classic car dealer with a shop in a London mews, the wife of a London film director and a fella in the shipping business with a wife who said she was related to Pocahontas. Music came from a wood and green leather Roberts radio.

Conversation was erudite and sophisticated. Two drinks on an empty stomach and these people were my new best friends. An elegant dinner table with two silver candelabra was outside on a small flag stone terrace. Candle light and a white Burgundy made all of us beautiful. I remember sitting next to 'BBC' and having a chilled white port after dinner. Later there was a drinking game of 'Kermit' and I was losing badly while the Robert's Radio played Symphonie Fantistique from under some box wood.

I looked across the table at the hostess. She was laughing at something Pocahontas had said and reached over to a silver box lined in cedar where she pulled out a Silk Cut and after the elegant ping from a Cartier lighter... she exhaled the most beautiful slip of thin blue smoke. And it hit me like a lorry. I was looking at Fiona. You know? Kristen Scott Thomas in Four Weddings and a Funeral. The profile. The mannerisms. The way she smoked. It was all Fiona.

BBC interrupted my staring and asked me about an American actress. I mentioned the actress had a rather large - - I didn't say ass, or butt, or derriere but said...fanny. The conversation stopped. BBC gave a, 'You poor dear' smile and sat back in her chair. Fiona was laughing and she said, "Tintin, I'm afraid 'fanny' here means something very different than what it means in the states." She put her cigarette out. "You see, while a fanny is something you sit on in America...here...it's the ladies..." and she proceeded to explain it was a ladies 'hoohah.'

Some of life's earlier mysteries now made sense. Marianne Faithful's song, Why'd Ya Do It, "She had cobwebs up her fanny and I believe in giving to the poor" made sense. Garbage's, Shirley Manson's, "I bought a new guitar. It's the same color as my fanny." made sense. A whole new world opened. And then, at the urging of the dinner guests, Fiona told me the Fanny Green joke. And now that you know - - I'll tell it to you.

Somewhere in a small village - - a man enters a confessional and says to the Irish priest, "Father, it's been one month since my last confession and I've had sex withFanny Green every week for the last month." The priest tells the him, "You're forgiven my son. Now go out and say three 'Hail Mary's'."

Soon, another man enters the confessional. "Father, it's been two months since my last confession and I've had sex with Fannie Green twice a week for the last two months." This time the priest asks, "Who is this... Fanny Green?" "A new woman in the village," the man replies. "She just moved here. The most beautiful red head you've ever seen. In fact, she's coming to church this Sunday." "Very well," says the priest. "Go and say ten 'Hail Mary's'."


That Sunday the priest is standing at the head of the church next to an alter boy when a beautiful woman enters. A red head dressed from head to toe in green-- Green blouse, green mini skirt, green stockings, green patent leather shoes. She slowly sashays up the aisle and sits in the first pew in front of the alter boy and priest. She looks at the priest and spreads her legs. The priest turns to the altar boy and asks, "My God. Is that Fanny Green?""No Father," the alter boy replies. "I think it's just the reflection off her shoes."


I wonder if the French get that joke? I went to Harrods the next day and bought this Robert's radio in wood and green leather. 19 years later it reminds me of that night on a London terrace when Fiona told me about Fanny Green and everything in my world shifted an inch.

12 October 2009

The Most Fun You Can Have With Your Smoking Jacket On



I've smoked everything. Lucky and Camel cigarettes. 1Q pipe tobacco by Lane. The Cuban Punch Punch and the 1926 Padron. No more. The consumption of tobacco came to a screeching halt when the Doc found something on the lip. All is well but for a few months there was a great deal of reflection on the leaf and nothing has ever had the effect on me like a doctor saying, "...it may be cancerous." It wasn't but it was enough to quit. All of it.

So in smoking's place -- I've consumed myself with something else to do in a smoking jacket. Shaving. So far I've tried razor blades made by Astra, Feather, Shark, 7A.M., Sharp, Merkur and Derby. They're cheap. No more than $2 for five and they come in the most amazing and colorful packaging. Just like European cigarettes.

I was happy to use my Santa Maria shaving cream in a can ($25) and even happier to buy it from Phoebe Cates at Blue Tree. Her shop's web site is here and be sure to watch the film clip on the home page. Funny stuff with Kevin Kline. I had been to the shop a couple of times without a Phoebe sighting. My luck, the one time she was there I had Kim Chi for lunch.

While Santa Maria is good stuff and lasts for donkey years...I swear I get a year out of a can...it doesn't come close to lather spread on with a badger brush. The luxury of this is hard to describe. Let me try. While I was in the Army, I spent a week in the jungles of Panama without a shower save getting rained on almost every day. I had an itching jungle 'crud' everywhere and I wanted two things. A woman with very long finger nails to scratch my feet and a hot shower. Back at Ft Sherman, I did get a hot shower and I'll never forget that feeling of being reborn as hot water washed off seven days of jungle funk. Slathering warm lather on your face with a badger brush comes very close to that -- without having to endure the jungle part.

I strongly advise against slapping cologne on after shaving. The slow and careful shave with a heavy safety razor is a radical difference from the plastic Quarto razor that vibrates and the blue - green gel that smells like a J Crew store in an outlet mall (what is that smell?). I like to use what's known as skin food. Trumper's makes a nice lime and coral skin food I've tried but I really like the glass bottle D.R. Harris comes in. It's also cheaper.

After skin food comes cologne. I want to explain how I feel about men who smell like a perfume counter on the street. It's not attractive and I associate it with men who wear lots of Gucci, a black t shirt with a closed vent sport coat and affect an Italian accent even though they're from Ft Wayne, Indiana. I'm not saying you can't. I'm saying you shouldn't. For me, cologne that wears off quickly is A-Okay in my book. The scent is just for me. Perhaps the last bit of pleasure I treat myself to before going out into the world of pissed off clients, homicidal bus drivers and odors wafting through the 59th Street subway station. Odors so bad --I don't even want to know where they come from.

By the way, Herzfeld cognoscenti may be smiling at the label with the old 509 Madison Avenue address. That's where the shop opened in 1949. It moved to 507 Madison in 1984 and then to 118 E 57th in 2005. Great history, a wonderful staff and a beautiful tailor's ruler they refuse to sell me.

09 October 2009

The Friday Belt - Sir Rose Single

Castello di Ama Rosato & J Press

That rather plain Jane belt up there was purchased at J Press almost 10 years ago. I thought it was perfect for khakis. I've probably worn it twice in the last five years because of the word, 'contrast.' A tan and navy surcingle almost disappears on a pair of khakis. Rather, it should be worn with a navy or olive chino. Matchey - match, for me, is the hallmark of boring. I saw ex mayor of San Francisco, Willie Brown on television recently and while I was amazed he was wearing a tie that matchey -matched his pocket square - - Brown's reputation of a sophisticated dandy is legend - - I was even more amazed he was defending a man who raped a 13 year old girl. There's contrast for you.

I suppose Rose' should be put away with the seersucker and white bucks but I can't just yet. There's been a week of perfect Indian Summer days here in New York and as I share a bottle of Castello di Ama with the Foxtrot on the roof deck ... the chatter of TV news readers screaming NYC was, is and always will be the target of terrorists disappears as a third glass is poured and I look out at the Hudson. Most Rose' is pretty weak but well chilled it can hit the spot on a hot Summer day. This Rose' is big. Almost like a big Italian red from Umbria. It's $14.95 at Sherry Lehmann, where they've never given me anything-- free or discounted-- but where they'll happily take back a bad bottle for a refund or exchange.

So, I don't wear that belt anymore but I can't stop drinking a wine meant for Summer. I'm living in a city that has cross hairs on it but I'd rather ponder David Letterman's future. And I just can't understand - - for the life of me -- what Willie Brown is talking about. But I do have three more bottles of Rosato. Maybe they'll help me make some sense of it all.

08 October 2009

University Stripe - Two Buck Luck




The top two images are of a shirt I found in a Florida thrift store a couple of weeks after seeing Mr. Davis. It was $2. I found the RN number on the tag (31104) and entered it into a data bank that tracks apparel manufactures located here. It came back as a Belk product. It's not exactly what I had in mind... but what do want for two bucks?

Oddly enough, the third picture is also a University Stripe Oxford seen in a Brooks Brothers window on West Broadway. Better seen here, it's an imported, no iron, S,M,L,XL sized oxford for $79.50. By the way, that blue sheep looks cheap. Had I gone with Tom? A Made to Measure in the Heritage 100% cotton (ironing required) would have run me $130.

I still like the idea of a panel stripe shirt. And I like the idea of ordering it from Mr. Davis. That tells me something I think retailers overlook. The importance of a domestic made product with historical provenance sold by a sophisticated professional in an appropriate setting. Is that so hard?

Wise Words from Carrie Fisher...


Carrie and I shared a typist, Miss E, back in the 90's. Miss E was referred to me by a friend who was friends with Ms Fisher. I never got to meet Ms Fisher but Miss E took me to the cleaners for a little over $900 for typing a screenplay. One of my late lessons in life. Learn to type.