White Bucs Strike Again

This time, with APC New Standard Jeans and J. Crew outlet gingham shirt.  The belt is a navy thing from Polo and didn't quite go, but it was subdued enough that I didn't worry much.  Also picks up the navy in the socks.  All in all, a very purple look.  But I liked how the white shoes and the white in the shirt tied the whole thing together. 

The next time you're thinking about pairing a loud shirt with bold shoes, remember words of wisdom from Hamlet (admittedly, talking about a slightly different subject): "My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!"  (Admittedly, you, unlike Hamlet, should actually put your bloody thoughts into action.)

Sartorial Power Move: White Bucs

The menswear blogs like to talk about "sartorial power moves."  (I know you don't read any other menswear blogs, since why would you, as a DD reader, need to?)  They usually mean something like a tie with lobsters on it (almost bought one at the J. Crew outlet the other week; regretting that I didn't) or tucking your necktie's rear blade into your waistband.

Based on my trepidation this morning, I could tell these Johnston & Murphy clearance/outlet bucs (a generous gift from Mater, who visited the other weekend) were a power move.  This brown suit sports a white chalkstripe windowpane pattern, and I wore a white shirt with white knot cufflinks, and the tie has a bit of white in it, and the soles coordinate with the brown pattern in the suit and the tie.  So it's not like the white was all alone in the outfit.  By all rules of coordination, it was in good company without being super matchy.  But since the bucs look like sneakers from afar, and they are white, I hesitated.

Yet onward I pressed.  I think the biggest issue, in retrospect, is that the mood of the suit doesn't match the mood of the shoes.  The suit is kind of autumnal, while the shoes are vernal or summery.  Still, a valuable experiment.

Punctilios: Toe Length And Shape

On the left, my burgundy wingtips; on the right, my black bluchers.  (Yes, I know, I said I was looking for a replacement.  And I am!  I just haven't found it yet, so I gave them a good polish to fill in the gaps.)

This picture was taken with the heels of the shoes perfectly aligned.  They are both sized men's 10 1/2.  The burgundies win on every front for me, aesthetically.  Setting aside the stippling and pattern, their toe is elegantly elongated, not by much but by enough.  They make the bluchers look stumpy by comparison. 

Maybe it's just me, but a toe that's a little bit longer and a little bit more pointed just has a nicer shape to it.  N.B. Don't read this and go out and buy square-toed super-long moccasin loafers with no laces and then say, "But DD told me they were cool!"

Parting Shot: Tweed and Madras

I've often sung the praises of this madras/seersucker bowtie from The Cordial Churchman, and of this tweed suit from eBay, but only in the dying embers of the 2010-2011 winter did it occur to me to combine them. 

I had struggled with the proper tie for this suit.  The thick, quilted material seemed too disparate to match with silk or shimmery ties, and my wool Welsh ties (sent from Wales!) had not yet arrived.

All along, the perfect coordination awaited me, waylaid only by my oblivion with respect to the obvious.  Tweed, a textured country material; madras, a textured country material.  Together, with a silk pocket square in dark blue for contrast and to pick up the indigo in the madras, and I was unusually pleased with myself.

Moral: Keep looking for the perfect combo.

Relatively Timely Pop Culture Style Dissection: Doctor Who

I have been watching Series 5 of the Doctor Who reboot, with Matt Smith as the Doctor.  It's, well, fantastic.  But this is not a television blog--it is a style blog!

The premise of this outfit is, when his old clothes get scorched, he grabs some clothes out of a random closet and throws them all together haphazardly.  But there's a lot to like here--specifically, tweed blazer with red bowtie that brings out the dark red in the tweed.  Try this at home.  Likewise, the shirt, which is fairly unremarkable except for its texture and the skinny central placket.  The skinny placket has been having its day in the sun as custom shirtmakers pop up all over the Internet and try to give themselves a distinct style.

On the other hand, suspenders (the kind with alligator clips on the ends)?  This is a nod to his eccentric character, presumably, though the suspenders are at least the same color as the bow tie.  Do not try this at home!  Braces only, people!

Finally, the hardest question to address--the black bottom half.  Of course, black boots and black pants go well together.  No problems here.  It's the coordination with the upper half that creates issues.  The underlying color in the tweed appears to be black, so in that sense, the pants pop.  But the black pants have no connection to the red in the shirt.  There is some darkness in the burgundy on the bow tie, but overall, you end up with two uncoordinated halves.

Then again, he's quirky, so we forgive.


[Image credit: this link; BBC America. If you are the rightsholder and want me to take this photo down, simply ask.]

Patterns: Houndstooth

This is a houndstooth dress shirt from Paul Fredrick.  I got it for $20 on clearance.  (If Paul Fredrick has a shirt--any shirt--on sale for $20 in my size, I almost always will buy it.)  You may have seen this type of print blown up large on women's coats in the past few years.  The pattern looks like a whole lot of Space Invaders to me.  You can also get such fabric on a suit, often in black-and-white, which can look sharp and give you a relatively neutral base to work with.  It's kind of a high-contrast look, though.

Feast Your Eyes: Texture Bonanza

Another eBay snag, for the price I'm accustomed to paying for ties at Filene's: Welsh wool ties, sent across the pond from Wales.

Dapper District: doing its part to speed spring's arrival by buying clothing that is appropriate for winter only.