Unsubtle Subtlety

I like to peacock a bit from time to time, meaning the hours of the day when I am awake and not in the house, especially as the weather turns and the darker suits come out of the storage closet.  Not-really-hidden red at the neck and ankles makes a great pop and acts as an in-joke between you and yourself and which you are constantly telling to relative strangers at parties.

Scarlet socks from Dapper Classics, a Christmas gift from Dapper-in-Law, a professional scrapbooker.  Bowtie by Cinabre, a gift from Dapper Spouse, nice muted almost-olive color on the front, crimson on the back.

N.B. The socks also coordinate with the red highlights in our VW GTI's upholstery and steering-wheel thread.  Are you detecting a pattern? 

(Shameless plug: if you or someone you know likes scrapbooking with top-notch production values, this scrapbooking retreat at the Hyatt Dulles next year, organized by Dapper-in-Law and other scrappers, should be, well, epic.)

Shutdownomics: Caveat Emptor

Had a recent run of good luck finding knitted silk ties at JAB.  Found another one at Nordstrom Rack at Potomac Mills, a few times more expensive than JAB clearance, but you figure store-brand at Nordstrom, must be pretty good, right, so you buy it on the spot.

Get home, discover that it's 100% polyester.

Books, covers, etc.  To Goodwill!

Shutdownomics

Burgundy briefcase: $20 on ebay, shipped.  Real leather.  Functional locks.  Multiple pockets.  Suede lining.

Black briefcase: gift from many years ago. Clasp stopped working. Emailed the manufacturer, Aaron Irvin, who sent me a replacement clasp free of charge.

Belt at top of image: the rats (pet rats...) chewed on the leather at the end, which caused the fabric underneath to start to unravel a bit. I tuck or fold it so it doesn't show.

Shred of dry-cleaners tag on the left edge: laundering and ironing my own shirts for the time being. Got tired of how fast they shrink, stain, improperly flatten, and otherwise wear out at the dry cleaners.

Entire image: meant to just photograph the briefcases. Accidentally photographed belt and tag.  Rather than re-take photograph, used it as is.  Money saved: $0.  Still, it's the principle!

Do your part!

Big Watches

Pater asks for help resolving what may be a generational dispute.  You may have noticed the trend toward giant watch faces--these Stuhrlings, for example.  I bought one on overstock.com a while back and found that the diameter of the face was almost as large as the width of my (rather elfin*) wrist.  Each individual link was larger than my thumbnail. I have commented on the giant gap between my wrist and French cuffs before, but the Stuhrling plus my wrist meant my sleeve could barely cover any part of the watch face.

Styles come and go in watches as in everything--how else could we move product without building things to break down in a year or two?--but the median size, adjusted for time, appears to be much smaller and thinner than at present.  40mm is quite rather big.  We may well be living in the wristwatch equivalent of 1980s shoulder pads or 1970s lapels.

Pater has a bigger bone structure than I do, so a large watch-face might look more correctly proportional on him, whereas a watch that would look normal on me might look comically small on him. 

Anyway, blah blah, how about practical advice?

1. Go to the store to pick one out.  This is the only way to get proportion right.

2. If you can't be bothered, timeless styles are better.  Obviously, we can't all solve the problem by throwing money at it, so how about a Timex Weekender for wearing with odd jackets and an Invicta Pro Diver for suits?

3. You've decided to ignore my advice.  Congratulations--you're smarter than you look!  May I convince you to go with something simple like this (42mm diameter...! must you?) rather than a mess of complications like this?


*Legolas, not Keebler.

Integral

My very favorite collar shape is a spread collar with a bit of an s-curve to it.  Not all shirts will do it properly, and not at every stage of their life cycle.  Here, on a Charles Tyrwhitt shirt.  On my right shoulder, from the front, it looks like the calculus symbol for taking an integral.  The pocket for the collar stay still leaves about 3/8" for the tip to bend.

There are way too many cheap opportunities to pun or riff on the word "integral" here, so instead, I'll name-check the Heisenberg principle and go to bed early before I make any such mistakes.

Or is that too derivative?

Words To Live By

"Everybody knows you never go full Euro."  -Kirk Lazarus, Tropic Thunder (2008) (paraphrased).

"When in Vienna..." -Saint Ambrose (paraphrased)

We honeymooned in Austria.  European guys are known for being more fashion forward than American guys, and the reality matches the reputation.   It was the hottest summer on record in Austria since the 1500s, so everyone was sweating and equally miserable, but we made do. 

The alley to my left leads to the Bierhof, a fabulous little biergarten where the servers wear stylish lederhosen.  Take the Herrengasse exit from the Herrengasse U-bahn station and just keep walking forward when you come off the staircase.

Sunglasses by asos.com, $20

French boater shirt by J. Crew, $40 or so

Blue suede rubber-sole bluchers by Florsheim, $60 from Nordstrom Rack (!)

Timex Weekender, gift ($34 list or so)

Mustard chinos, Gap outlet

Reader Inquiry: Grizzlytendent

Montana Grizzly writes:

I found your blog this morning when looking to see how long a tie should be. I am likely going to be moving into a Superintendency position here in rural Montana. Not exactly the fashion capital of the world. My question is what is the best way to go about buying a new suit. Should I go to a tailor what material is best, most comfortable, what type of suit etc. I am not looking to spend $3,000 dollars but would like a nice one. Thanks in advance.

I'm delighted! 

This is a great time to state my current (and frequently evolving) view on value/material/intangibles.

You absolutely must find a dedicated alterations tailor with menswear experience.  One Weird Old Tip: google ["ask andy" alterations _______ montana"] filling in a place near you.  If that doesn't work, [styleforum alterations _______ montana].  Or Yelp.

I've written on alterations before:
A Brief Guide: A Suit That Fits


When you're just starting out re suits, I remain convinced that Jos. A. Bank is the way to go, with caveats.  Never pay full price for anything--effective 66% discount or better.  Scrounge in the clearance stuff.  Never have them do your alterations. 

Material? 100% wool, no question.  You should have one suit for each day of the week on which you regularly wear a suit.  Obtain in this order: mid gray, navy, charcoal.  Not black.
Social considerations as well.  If you're a superintendent of schools with a lot of public-facing time, you have the same problem that politicians have: they can't look way richer than their clients (the parents, the teachers) do.  Until you get a better feel for your constituency, you may want to stick with the Signature line.  Signature Gold is a huge step up in quality by various measures, but it stands out in a way you might not want. 

Grab an Atlantic magazine with the buy 4 for $80 deal (full-page coupon somewhere in there) on shirts at Paul Fredrick.  They have some good ties as well (only buy on sale), but it's hard to tell from online.  JAB also has some good ties.  Go to the store if possible so you can feel the material.  The more texture it has, generally speaking, the better.  Shoes--Allen Edmonds, from eBay.

Finally: You cannot ever buy anything from Van Heusen ever again.  Sorry.

Let me know if you have other questions.