Buy my old scooter! – SOLD

I’ve got my old scooter for sale on craigs list. You should most definitely buy it. It is an Innocenti Lambretta TV200 scooter from 1963, 1964, or 1965. It is currently light blue metallic, however, the original color is white and can be seen under seals and whatnot. I have all the bits and pieces including some new parts. I started restoring it and then lost interest, however, it ran well when I started taking it apart three or so years ago. The bike is in relatively good shape without any major rust or rot on the frame or body parts. So seriously…

I’m not wearing a tie for the entirety of Summer

I have decided that for the rest of the summer, I’m not going to wear a necktie; or any other type of tie for that matter.  I know what people are thinking, but, yes, I am that wild and crazy.  Unless absolutely necessary, I’m going to avoid it at all costs for a number of reasons.  1.  They are hot.  Its like wearing a scarf tied tightly around your neck.  Plus, you have to button the top button of your shirt with a tie and that doesn’t help with the heat thing.  2. There are really no good colors or patterns to wear in a tie for the summer months, and I refuse to wear anything with little sailboats or lobsters on it.  If you are going to wear a tie that resembles the napkins at a seafood restaurant, why even bother?  3.  Its more casual to wear an odd jacket and trousers or no jacket at all.  A nice button-down shirt (referring to the collar, not the body of the shirt) in solids or subtle stripes/plaids can look just as good as a full suit.  I think everyone knows that you aren’t guaranteed success with a suit.  Most people screw it up big-time.

So, no tie in July and no tie in August.  I don’t own any bow ties, but I think those would be passable for the summer.  Although you run the risk of looking like an idiot if you don’t do it right.  There are three major errors in bow-tie judgment.  I’ll call them the Tucker, the Redenbacher, and the Swayze.  A bow tie can look good if you do it right and if you don’t know what’s wrong with those three examples, then you’re doing it wrong.  Winston Churchill wore a bow tie with great elegance and style, Louis Farrakhan wore a bow tie often and even though he’s a little crazy, he looked damn sharp.  Arthur Schlesinger was famous for wearing one and he gave a very academic look to the style.  The Duke of Windsor looked good in just about anything , although I can’t find a photo of him in a bow.  Anyway, you get the point.

I doubled up on outfits this post since I didn’t have anything two write about when I took the first photo.  The first outfit is a simple summer ensemble that I quite like.  Its just a pair of cotton twills in a medium red that looks more like raspberry sorbet than anything, with a cotton oxford which has a faint blue stripe in it, and finally a brown moleskin blazer.  I’m not sure what season is most appropriate for moleskin, but I like the coat and its not too heavy.  The sleeves do need taking up a bit.  The second outfit is what I’m wearing today and is not exactly season-appropriate, but I work in a pretty cold office with little exposure to the outside so its best to be comfy all day.  Charcoal flannel trousers, a blue gingham button-down from the Brooks Brothers load last week, and a new grey glen plaid wool and silk blazer that I just got in the other day.  The shoulders are too hard and the back needs taking in but for the most part I like it.  I’ll have to make a trip to the tailors on Saturday to get this started along with some other bits I need doing.

Also, per request of a number of people I know and some I don’t, I’m trying to smile in these photos.

Brooks Brothers Sale! Go NOW!

So, there is a sale at the Wrentham Brooks Brothers outlet. I swung by last week to find that all of the Original Polo Shirts (Red Label) and Slim Fit Oxfords (Blue Label) were on sale, two for $69. These shirts sell in the Boston store for $79.50 each or 3 for $159. So I stocked up while I was there and bought two of the no-iron button-downs and two of the Slim Fit Oxfords. I don’t know how I’ve lived without regular trips to Brooks Brothers all these years. The first major purchase was at their outlet in Maine and there I purchased two of the Original Polos; which look more like a pinpoint oxford with a button down collar and are not “Polo” shirts at all. They fit great, they don’t need ironing, and they last for a long time. Not to mention, they regularly carry size 14.5″ x 33″ shirts and 36S blazers/suits. Although their selection of 30″ x 30″ trousers is not as exciting.

I am going to try and dispel with some of the myths of Brooks Brothers in this paragraph. When I was younger, I was of the mindset that there were certain things that were off limits, even to browsing, but I am now realizing that so-called luxury goods are public as much as they are private to their owners. I found out that there are people within the service industry that don’t care if you can’t afford the items you are looking at. They provide their service just as though you do and hope that when you indeed can, you come back and see them. I went to a jeweler in Boston last year to have a necklace appraised for my sister and while I was waiting, I perused their display cases for watches. I have always loved the Rolex Air-King and fixated on the case where they had a half-dozen or so. The very nice gentleman that was working the Rolex counter asked if I had any questions and almost demanded that I try at least one watch on. So I did. He darned the white gloves and put the watch on me and left me with it for a few minutes. He wasn’t pushy and he was most-accommodating with my requests. Now, I can’t afford to spend the $3,600 the watch cost on a timepiece, and I assumed he knew that. But don’t you know, as soon as I can afford that watch, that is the first place I’m going to go. I’ve been back a number of times for repairs and other maintenance things, and it helps they are located across the street from my office. But most of all it helps that they make me feel like a millionaire every time I walk in the door. Its the same feeling when you stay in a hotel and the people at the front desk remember your name, or the hostess at the restaurant knows your coming before you even get there and greets you by name at the door.

I’m no different than anyone else, and neither are you. The way I look at it is that if the people at the hotel, or shop, or dealership, or restaurant, don’t provide you with a level of service and respect that aught to be shown as a matter or course, you should take your business elsewhere. I walked into a shop last week and although I had never been there or bought anything there before, they fixed the button on my suit jacket free of charge, while I browsed. I appreciated that immensely and now, will go in that shop and maybe in the future, buy something. That’s why every year we get a call and a post-card at the office from Dege and Skinner. I’ve never commissioned a suit to be made, but my boss did 30 years ago and they invite him and me to see them when they visit Boston twice a year. I got the call this year and spoke to a lovely English chap who invited me to come down and chat about clothes if I wanted. Not buy clothes. Not order a $5,000 bespoke suit. He wanted me to know that if I just wanted to talk about clothes and whatnot, I was welcome to do so.

There really is no reason not to assume that every person is a king or president and show them a level of respect and service becoming civilized people. Its simple really. When I go to Viti Mercedes Benz tomorrow to look at S550s and the Maybach; the folks there know I’m not going to buy it, but when I come back in 20 years, it might be a different story. And that’s what anyone in the service industry should understand and make a way of life. I can’t tell you how many stores I don’t shop at or products I don’t buy because of that simple little element. I don’t shop at Target anymore because when I asked a customer service representative where the hangers were, she told me, “over there” and then pointed across the massive store in no particular direction and then walked away. I didn’t even bother trying to look for them in the half of the store she narrowed my search down to, I just put the stuff I had in my hands on the nearest shelf and walked out of the store. I realize this as a simple truth in service and also as an essential element to the trade. I think there is something in that.

Anyway, here I am wearing the white Slim Fit Oxford I bought for a song with some Express pants in a glen plaid. The shirt fits well enough for off the rack, although I don’t have much to compare it to. I have never had a shirt made so I guess I don’t even know what I’m missing. It rained today in Boston like it rained in the Bible and has been gloomy all day. That fact is apparent in this photo.