The plain navy suit…a staple of the american male

I have had this suit for a while now. I initially purchased it on sale at Professional Image Clothiers in Fall River in order to wear to my friends’ springtime wedding but I didn’t get it tailored in time. Its a lighter weight wool. If I had to guess I would say its probably 8 or 9 ounces, but the pants are lined so its relatively warm. The suit is on the medium side of navy and it is as simple a suit as it gets. Two button, single vent, notch lapel with double reverse-pleat pants and cuffs. I’ve wore this suit to a number of meetings and an event or two and up until recently was the suit I wore most often.

The navy blue two- or three-button suit is a must for any modern, well-dressed man. I prefer two-button suits and blazers and in fact I only have one blazer in three-button closure. Its a pretty modern Michael Kors number in a green tweed with a double vented rear. I find that I look stupid in a three-button suit. There is no better way to describe it; I don’t know what it is but I just look like an idiot in three button suits, and sunglasses too. This tie I am wearing is actually orange. It reminds me of orange sherbert and has a white and cream tick in it that is visible in the photo below. Its from JNY and is supper smooth 100% silk and the tag says it was made in the USA; which is rare. The shirt is from Van Heusen and has a nice woven texture to it. I really like the cuffs because they are just the right diameter and have double buttons. However, if I were to wear a watch I may run into a problem with the left barrel.

The shoes I’m wearing are the same J&M boots I wore in the post on February 13, 2008. I am happy to report that they are getting much less slippery as the soles break in and get some roughness to them. Stay tuned next week because I’m going to post about shoe polishing which I will photograph this Saturday morning.

A Failed Attempt, but check out Kate Micucci

First and foremost. Check out Kate Micucci.

One of the benefits of a blog like this is that it helps me better understand what outfits look good and what outfits don’t.  This is one that I know doesn’t work.  I really like all the parts of this outfit but they just don’t work well together.  The red cords are from Lands End and have a pretty wide wale to them and look best with simple oxford shirts in white or stripes with a blue blazer.  I don’t have a blue blazer that isn’t corduroy so that will have to be something I pick up before the summer comes round.  I have been looking for a blue moleskin blazer but haven’t been able to find one.   The shirt is also from Lands End and its a glen plaid design with a tan base and green, blue, and pink checks so its a pretty flexible shirt.  The sweater also has some beige and green ticks in the wool weave and makes it one of the more unique items I own.  However, together, the ensemble doesn’t work because there is not enough flow throughout the outfit.  I should have just wore a pair of khaki chinos or some earth-tone cords.

I’ve had these shoes since senior year in high school. I’m going to have them resoled soon.  They are Tommy Hilfiger cap-toe oxford bluchers with “commando” soles.  They are my oldest shoes and are a regular in my dress-casual rotation.  They are chocolate brown and are pretty well worn but I still love them.

Here’s that “swatch” of the shirt.  Its got so many different colors in it that it can pick up tones in various outfits and I should just wear it without a sweater more often.  Its labeled as a blazer shirt and thats really what I should wear it with.

Trailer Park Boys and Canada

I just want everyone to know what a funny movie The Trailer Park Boys is and that the Canadian TV series is even funnier. I’ve found a site where I can watch most of the episodes and I’m now on the 7th and final season. So if you can, check it out. The NYT review said the movie “is like a feature-length version of the television sitcom ‘My Name Is Earl,’ only Canadian — and not funny.” But what does Jeannette Catsoulis know.

I think I want to go on a trip to Canada this summer. I went once when I was in college but it was damn cold and snowed almost every day. We still had a good time though. It seems like Canada might be the new American frontier, the last of the open space. Maybe Minnesota too. I want to go to the state fair and the Mall of America so Minnesota fits the bill. I should make a list of places to visit and then just go there. I’ve been talking about riding my motorcycle to Maine for years now and I’ve never done it. This summer though.

My friends and I have already planned a trip to Chicago to see the Cubs play at Wrigley Field and a trip to Baltimore to watch the Orioles play. I go to Laconia Bike Week and York Bike Week every year with my dad, and we now have an annual FLA trip planned in mid-December. See post from December 19th. I’m adding Maine, Nova Scotia, and Minnesota to the list for this year. Anyway.

Today I wore a brown ensemble that was based on a combination of two outfits I saw in a Brooks Brothers catalog. I’ve got on plain-front wool pants in a chocolate brown from JCrew, A simple blue university stripe oxford under a brown, tan, and blue Fair Isles v-neck also in wool. The shirt is from Van Heusen, the sweater is from Target I think. I never shop at Target, but my sister does and I went along with her one day and this sweater caught my eye and at the price I figured, “what the heck”. The sport coat is pretty new and I still need to have it tailored because its a little bit blousey in the wrong areas and the shoulders bunch at the back. It is a tan glen-plaid with medium brown and blue checks throughout.

My shoes today are from G.H. Bass & co. and are chestnut brown half-brogue, wing-tip, bluchers. They haven’t always been chestnut, they started life out as tan and I’ve tried my best to antique them slightly with some brown and black shoe polish. Now that I’ve got them to the color I want, I just use neutral or tan shoe polish that way they don’t get any darker. Shoes take on the color of the polish over time and they also age darker so if you want to keep them their true color, use a shade lighter on the polish or just use neutral polish. Mink oil will also darken your lighter leathers so either use a specialty waterproofer or just don’t wear them when its wet out. I haven’t minked these but I should, maybe this Saturday I will. I heard that Clark Gable used to take Saturday mornings and polish his shoes from the previous week. I find it very therapeutic and that sounds like a good habit to get in.

The color and softness is not quite right yet on these guys but hopefully after a few more treatments they will give in a little bit. They are just a hair too big but if I wear heavy socks its fine. They’ve taken a long time to break in and are still not quite there. I bought these over Thanksgiving and they still aren’t soft. They have rubber sole inserts in the center of the shoe which I like better than full rubber soles. It also means that these are an easy resole to leather. Socks are just brown argyle in a few shades of tan too.

On a side note, I’ve been anxious as to how this new blog format would be received. I figured that no one would care what I looked like on a daily basis and at best it would just be a place I could go to reference outfits that work and fine-tune ones that don’t. However, since the new style section has started I’ve had a record number of hits per day so I guess some people like it. I’m going to make an effort to publish entries about other stuff too when I can. Please feel free to leave comments.

Happy Presidents’ Day

I think I may be the only tenant in our building that showed up to work today. I am certainly the only one on the floor who came to work. That’s fine with me. It makes for a quiet day without distractions. I have a bunch of work to catch up on and the phone probably won’t ring once today. Because of that and because its raining and the wind is blowing something fierce, I decided to dress down today. Good thing too, because I got soaked on the walk in from South Station. I am darning brick red flat-front chinos from Lands End that I usually don’t wear in the winter months but who cares. Its just a simple Bengal stripe pinpoint oxford with a button-down collar from Van Heusen, and a yellow v-neck sweater vest in cotton. The vest is also from Lands End. The coat is a thrift-shop item, although I can’t really remember which one. It is a fine-wale corduroy in deep blue with blue leather buttons. I feel like a college professor when I wear anything with leather buttons. I also haven’t shaved or trimmed my “beard” in a while so I fit the part even more. I think I might shave it off tonight; who knows. It rained so hard this morning that my hair is still wet (along with my pant legs).

The shoes I’m wearing today are the pair I would say that I wear most often. Reason being is that they match with many outfits and are dress-casual shoes. In cordovan and tan, these are Nunn Bush saddle shoes in a balmoral style; which refers to the closed-lacing feature. They have rubber soles and are good in the snow and rain and I don’t feel too badly about getting them wet. I can’t remember where I got these socks; maybe the GAP.

The GAP is where I do most of my everyday shopping. They have good quality stuff and their sales are unreal. This weekend I got a wool sweater in a red and grey horizontal stripe for $5.97 and last weekend I bought a brown moleskin blazer for $15.97. Crazy. Their jeans are good too when I can’t find 501s in my size. Although more often than not, their color selection is poor; blue, grey, black, and brown. A hundred outfits in those colors. I buy a lot of western shirts at Aeropostale because they also have crazy sales and you can get shirts for $5. That is the only thing I buy there though. I walked into Hollister for the first time on Saturday. HA! That place is great. There is no sign outside the store and they don’t have enough lights so you can see anything and everything they have is the same. Ripped jeans, hoodies, t-shirts for $35 and flip flops. No wonder teenagers look like slags.

This will be a first for lunchtime scrappaper; outerwear. I wanted to show this coat I bought on Ebay for $18. It is NOS (new old stock) and had never been worn. I did have to have the sleeves taken down about an inch and a half and I had the buttons taken off the sleeves. Its wool and right now smells like a wet dog, which is considerably better than Perc (dry cleaning fluid) which is what is has smelled like since I got it back from the cleaners. If you care, I use Cleanorama in Tiverton, RI because they have the coolest name of any dry cleaner on earth. The coat has a nice plaid detail inside and also has leather buttons on the outside. It falls about 3/4 length to around mid-thigh and contributed to my wet legs this morning. In the future I my inquire about getting the collar re-shaped to look more like Cary Grant’s coat in this picture.

You can see it is indeed raining still. Sheesh!

Casual Friday and Sartorial Links

Friday is an opportunity to dress down a little bit and throw on a pair of chinos and some topsiders. However, its also an opportunity to dress like you do every day and look better than everyone else in your office. So that’s what I do.

This suit I bought in a Salvation Army thrift shop back when I was in college. Initially I thought I would just wear the coat with jeans but I ended up bringing it to my tailor and he juiced it up and now its part of my regular rotation. The suit was new when I bought it, the hems weren’t even done. Its a dark navy wool pinstripe suit with two buttons on the front and two vents on the sides. It is a vested suit which makes for a particularly warm wear. I take the jacket off when I’m sitting at my desk and the waistcoat keeps me warm. The suit has a faint pinstripe about 3/8″ apart and has a nice wooly texture to it. The pants have frog-mouth pockets and I’m not too crazy about those because I like to put my hands in my pockets and its impossible to do that with this suit. You end up looking like a 10-year-old with his hands in his pockets. Aside from that the suit is tops; its got a real English silhouette with high armholes and a sculpted middle. The shirt is just a Van Heusen poplin blend cotton and polyester shirt so its wrinkle-free. It has a modest spread collar and fits relatively well. Its also a fitted version, which is necessary for a slender bloke like me. The tie is a Jones New York silk tie with a nice heft to it. Its a pale gold background with a medium blue and copper plaid. Its a pretty simple tie and it works with a lot of outfits.

The shoes are Allen Edmonds’ Bond Street model in a chestnut brown calf. I like them for the most part but they are a hair snug, but they should break in with additional wear. They have a full leather sole and they have a rope-stitching detail to them. I have a pair of black split-toe oxfords that are geometrically similar and I’m not a huge fan of this style last. I dislike squared off designs and would have rather had them come to more of a rounded point. I like them none-the-less. I didn’t have a pair of chestnut shoes that I could wear with this suit and now I have the flexibility of wearing either black or brown shoes with this one. Although belt color is irrelevant since the pants don’t have loops, which I dislike very much.

Onto some links that gents may find useful for various sartorial affairs.

A Suitable Wardrobe – This is probably my favorite blog regarding men’s fashion. It gave me the idea to start blogging about what I’ve been wearing lately and he has some great ideas about fashion. He’s got a great deal more money than I do so he has bespoke suits made and the like but its pretty neat to look at his photos and historical segments.

Ask Andy Fashion Forum – This is a great forum for questions and photos. The perfect shoe shine entry is particularly good for those who need some advice in taking care of their footwear.

Esquire – Esquire has been at the helm of men’s fashion for decades and you can read a lot of their articles for free and they aren’t just style topics.

That ought to get a good foundation for men’s style. I like to find pictures on the web of outfits I like and just try to understand why they work. Ideally, I like to be able to go into a store and see an item and if I like it, buy it, and then figure out what to do with it later. I rarely shop with an intended purpose or specific article.

Today’s Atire and My New Favorite Band

Today is a pretty conservative day for the office. I had to leave the house at 5:30 because one of my carpool mates had an early meeting. Last night I realized that my new brown suit with a blue windowpane design doesn’t go with any of the ties I own. Or rather, none of the ties go with the suit. I did find one that I was thinking about when I purchased the suit and I wore that. Its a white, blue, and brown rep stripe with a bit of a sheen to it. Its the only tie that works with the suit’s pattern so I’m going to have to look out for some other colors and patterns that might work. Too much brown doesn’t look good, and too much blue gets lost and looks dull. I might have to settle on lighter shades of pale blue and white derivatives.

Anyway, this is a new Tommy Hilfiger suit that I bought on a whim at Burlington Coat Factory during their red tag clearance. Although this particular suit wasn’t on sale. What’s neat about this one is that the sleeve lining and the inside pocket details are done in a very cool and summery blue and white university/Bengal/banker’s stripe; like a seersucker but without the wrinkles. The buttons are neat too, they are a shade lighter than the coat and set off as a nice detail. It is a medium brown with a faint triple windowpane pattern in medium blue. Its a two-button, single vent coat with double reverse pleated trousers which have 1 1/2 cuffs. The shirt is a simple two-ply 80s cotton pinpoint oxford with a spread collar from Paul Fredrick’s trim fit line. The shirt is great and I love it, however, the sleeves are just a hair too short and don’t come out from under the jacket enough, so next time I’ll order the one-inch longer sleeved version. The tie is a generic silk tie I bought at Burlington Coat Factory about 200 years ago, well, maybe it was more like five years ago. I don’t have much call to wear it that often.

The shoes are my old workhorse Nunn Bush bull nose, cap-toe oxford bluchers. They are pretty old and I might have them resoled in a year or two, depending. They have the flat rubber half-soles designed to flex better, but it makes them flex in odd places and are slippery when wet. I’ll have half-soles done in leather which should stiffen them up a bit and make them less dangerous when it rains and won’t wear out as quickly. Socks are brown cotton with a light blue and white check. You can see the suit pattern in the photo below, Its quite nice.

My new favorite band is Spoon and you should check them out. So far I like “Don’t make me a target”, “The way we get by”, and “I turn (my camera on)”. www.spoontheband.com is where you can listen to a handful of their songs from each album for free.

Sartorial endevors

I like to think I am somewhat of a gourmet. I like good food, good drink, nice cars, Gilded-age mansions, and fancy watches. Now, I also like corn-dogs, Schlitz, junky cars, studio flats, and my old manual-wind Timex my father gave me when I was 10. I have taken to diving head first into learning more about haute couture and I’m divided on my opinion of the whole subject.

I have a tailor. I’ve had the same tailor since I’ve owned an adult suit (5 years or so). I know his name, and he knows mine. He also knows what I expect of tailored goods and appreciates my style. However, he does not speak English. Thankfully, its a family business and both his son and daughter work there and speak both English and Polish; which is necessary for translation. I have been other places to have work done and it always ends the same way, with a headache and a trip back to my old tailor. I strongly encourage any fella to find a good tailor and get to know him and let him get to know you. I recommend Mr. and Mrs. K’s Custom Tailoring in Fall River; they are my tailors and I’ve never had a bad experience with them. I’ll admit, at first, trying to tell a 65-year-old Polish man what you want to look like is not easy, but it gets easier every time I visit.

So, I’ve seen a few blogs about what people are wearing on any given day and I thought it might be an easy way to keep track of what I’ve been wearing and how I look in outfits. So I’m gonna start posting what I’m wearing if I like the outfit and hopefully will inspire me to dress better on a daily basis. I can also get some feedback on what looks good and what doesn’t.

Today I am wearing my “Internet Suit” which I purchased online at AHFashion.com for a song. This was my first online suit purchase and I am quite happy with it. It was tailored at Frank’s in Boston and fits nicely. Its a two-button, high gorge Super 150s suit with double side vents and double reverse pleated pants with 1 1/2 inch cuffs. It looks deep navy in the photo, however, it is in fact charcoal and looks charcoal against almost all colors, except blue. The shirt is a new acquisition; a 100% cotton shirt from Brooks Brothers’ Purple Label range in a blue stripe; which I also got for a song on the internet. The tie is new and this is the first time I’ve had it on. It is a Van Heusen 100% silk tie in a gold paisley pattern. I’ve been into paisly lately and I also bought a peach one and a red one; I like this one best and it was only $9.99 in the clearance bin.

The shoes, or rather, the boots are a new purchase. I desperately needed something dressy that would keep my socks dry and my feet warm on wet and wintry days here in Boston. They proved to be a good purchase when I stepped into a 3″ puddle getting out of the car this morning. Dry and warm. They are Johnston & Murphy cap-toe bal(moral) boots and my only complaint is that they have a sueded leather sole, which can make one look suave when he wants to and fall down like an idiot when he doesn’t. They are extremely slippery on carpet and dusty tile, not to mention ice.  Socks are just cotton and nylon over-the-calf black socks with a slight argyle.  No watch, pocket square, or tie clip…actually, no accessories of any kind; I need to work on that.

Vitamins – vit-uh-min(s)

It has come to my attention over conversation this weekend, that many of my friends take vitamins, supplements, and other such oral substitutes. They also make a conscious effort to eat better. I am fundamentally adverse to change or anything that requires entry into a new “market”. It takes me forever to buy securities, a car, or try to break into a new routine. It took me about 10 years to switch to boxer shorts and I’m still back-and-forth on them and haven’t completely come over.

So to hear my friends rattling off their culinary strategies made my brain hurt and I immediately got panicky. As it happened, the next day I was in the supermarket and found myself in the vitamin and supplement aisle. I looked over their wares and settled on Melatonin, which was two-for-one. I must tell you first that I take a multi-vitamin and zinc on a daily basis already and I generally regard frivolous supplements to contribute somewhat to one’s health and and also to one having very expensive urine. However, the bottle of Melatonin promised to aide in the maintenance of healthy sleeping patterns. It does this, as well as giving me the most vivid dreams I’ve ever had.

After only four days I sleep better, wake up on time, and have the trip of my life in between. We shall see how this keeps up but I am hopeful for the future.

That being said; I still like SPAM. I know it will kill me, but I like it no less. I also like Scrapple, which if you haven’t had; you really need to treat yourself. It doesn’t sound like it would be good, like cracklin, but its really something. Until I wake up 100 pounds heavier, I’m gonna keep eating what I want and drinking as much dark English beer as I can because I’m just not happy without it, and thankfully I can afford to eat and drink what I want with little consequence.