Lookbooks

Probably the closest I have ever come to wearing an outfit that might appear in a catalog for a menswear company tailored to Brooklynites happened this week when I wore a seersucker dress-stripe bowtie (The Cordial Churchman) with a poplin dress-stripe shirt (Charles Tyrwhitt).  I accidentally left my artisanal axe at home that day.

I wouldn't wear this to court or for a first-time client meeting, but the folks at my office have gotten used to, and mostly tolerate, my eccentricities.

Difficult Difficult Lemon Difficult

This is a close-up of a 2-2 keystone navy double-breasted Gieves and Hawkes that I got on eBay. The colors of the overchecks are slightly cooler than they appear here. Anyway, you see the difficulty. What amounts to turquoise and somewhere between maroon and magenta isn't easy to coordinate.

Cool, muddy colors like muted gold and blue seem to work reasonably well. Paying attention has made me better at color, but this is still one that I can't figure out without physically holding the potential tie up to the suit in good light. You're never too old to get back to the basic skills.

eBay

Been digging pretty hard into the eBay menswear universe recently, waiting for a miracle.  It ain't easy.  You see things like J. Press 3-roll-2 jackets that have been pressed into oblivion as 3-button-two jackets.  Secondhand John Lobb Chelsea boots for $700.  A seller with a ton of tweed suits, all described as "MOD VINTAGE INDIE."  Obvious misdescriptions of fabric.  Shawl-collared brown suits.  Brogued Norwegian toes.  It's about as pleasant and life-affirming as mindlessly scanning Facebook.

But for lightly used specimens of any brand you trust implicitly--such as Allen Edmonds--it's hard to go wrong.  Much like thrifting (according to the menswear bloggers with the patience for it), you have to put in a lot of time to get a good deal.  But the deals are good.

Breaking Down and Acquiring a Classic

I resisted desert boots for quite a long time.  Then, a little over a year ago, right as I was about to get a pair, they underwent a renaissance among the bro crowd.  I correctly judged this to be a fad--in certain segments of the clothed population, good taste can only last so long and by accident--and they're more or less back to normal prevalence.  So when I saw these Clarks at DSW for 34% off or so, I knew the time was right.  Not suede, but a soft leather that takes temporary markings the way suede takes permanent ones.

Fan though I am of minimal socks, the leather around the mouth is emphatically not yet supple.  I therefore wear my soccer socks under them to protect my delicate shins.  Plus, those socks are tres comfortable for wet winters.  It's been since I was in the Boy Scouts since I appreciated the joys of warm, dry feet.

Brown

And more of it.  I once read that crewneck sweaters are more preppy than v-neck sweaters because crewneck sweaters only incidentally show the necktie, as compared to v-neck sweaters, which are designed to show it.  The thinking goes that only the nouveau riche feel the need to go out of their way to show off how fancily they dress.  Me, I have them in both styles and like them for different reasons.  V-neck is more appropriate for wearing with a suit anymore as it's pretty much bog standard among lawyers and probably bankers, so much so that wearing a crewneck with a suit and tie would possibly look like an error to someone who didn't know you.  There be dragons.

Quick Reference Guide for Suit Fitting

Posted to an image blog here.  At least they preserved the watermark.  Not sure that the "real men" branding is necessary, but if it gets people dressing better, I guess it's fine. Faux men, surreal men, realist men, and everyone else are welcome to dress like a man.  I wouldn't mind decoupling clothing from gender.

Review part two: MISTER.duvall

This is the MISTER.duvall fox tie I referenced last post.  h/t my phone camera for accurately detecting the colors.  The piping has a velveteen look to it, basically the same color as the fox's eyes, or close enough that nobody at an appropriate distance will be able to differentiate.  Anyone at an inappropriate distance will probably be about to kiss you and will not, one hopes, be looking at your bow tie at that point.

It's far too easy to run aground when printing little animal images on your neckwear.  For example, my alma mater offers this rather than a nice repp-stripe tie in the school colors (one that does NOT include the logo in 1.5" letters at the bottom of the front of the polyester tie like this I mean seriously polyester for a necktie? I clearly need to go back and sort some things out in Norman).

Anyway.  The fox is in low enough resolution that it's sort of impressionistic. It's got nice colors.  It's a piece that demands to be used in fun and interesting ways.  I am thinking I would build up a winter ensemble of dark denim and gray coat, white shirt--standard neutral palette--but stick some green in it somewhere subtle: maybe socks or shoelaces.  Then stick the tie up top.  Bam.  Step 3 is walking out the door and smiling, as usual.

Thanks to MISTER.duvall for giving me the chance to review this stuff.  I may post on some of their other samples in the future if inspiration strikes.