The case against John McCain

The rebirth of Anderson-Little and the coolest shirt on the planet…

Hello hello hello!  It would seem that I am at my desk for a full week for the first time this summer.  My sister told me yesterday that since I’d had most of the summer off, it should be a relief to get back to work.   My friend Brandon wondered in an email if I ever actually worked.  All kidding aside, I am back and you all can now sit and enjoy more frequent, and substantive posts.  Things are new, things have changed, I am different.  I will explain now.

First, I have new glasses.  This can be easily seen in the photos below.  I really like them, although, I’ve since had them adjusted because they hurt my ear, and now they fall a bit down my nose.  This forces me to push them back up in a very “1950’s nerd” manor.  I suppose that’s fitting.  Today I decided to wear something of a conservative prep look.  As it turned out, my boss arrived wearing almost the same outfit.  He had a tie on but it was pretty close otherwise.  I guess what I’m saying is that we are equally awesome.  I’ve got on a pair of charcoal flannel trousers and a shirt with some green and blue vertical stripes in it.  The shirt is from JCrew and fits like a cardboard box and has about the same texture and resistance to wrinkles.  I don’t recommend their dress shirts if you don’t like to iron them after every time you sit down.  The jacket is a vintage piece from Anderson-Little which I bought at the Salvation Army in Newport.  I’ve written about it before but am too lazy/stupid to link back to it.  Needless-to-say, my boss’ blue blazer is much nicer, however, it does not have a bright red liner.  Our walls are a burnt orange color called “Pinata” and they look more orange because of the red liner and the red liner looks more orange because of the wall.  Alas.  I’ve come to realize that button-down shirts are becoming my favorite since you can wear them with both a tie or just open and they don’t flop around like straight collars do.  If I’ve got the jacket off with this shirt, it looks like the shirt doesn’t fit because the collar is all floppy.  PS:  Just my belt is crooked in this photo, everything else lines up so don’t make fun of me too badly.

And that’s a nice segway to Anderson-Little; which has made a comeback as of late.  Visit www.andersonlittle.com to grab yourself a new Blue Blazer.  They are only $139 with free shipping and if they are made anywhere close to the level of quality of their forbears, its a steal.  They don’t make my size but if they did, I’d order one toot sweet!  Although I don’t condone behavior of the man in the photograph wearing jeans and some sort of squared-toe, slip-on, house-slipper, bullshit shoes.  A true stylistic atrocity, he doesn’t even have his shirt tails tucked in.  What is he a farmer?  The chap in the smaller photo on the right is much better attired.  I suppose it shows the versatility of the garment, from a nicely dressed preppy look, to every asshole you know, the blue blazer really runs the gambit.

Through my travels over the summer I attended the Brimfield Fair.  This is an event that everyone should go to at least once.  It maybe that you only go once, as a woman died of the effects of the heat, exhaustion, and old age, whilst perusing antiques.  I digress.  I purchased the coolest shirt in the world there and I ate some great fair food.  The shirt is new-old-stock (NOS), which is essentially something that is new but was made a long time ago and never put into use.  This shirt was only from the 1980s but it is still awesome as you can see for yourself in the photograph below.  It is made predominately of cotton and polyester and has embroidered roses and accents, it looks black, but it happens to be navy.

I’ve also been taking some time to do something I love; repair motorcycles.  My father wrecked his Honda Shadow last October and almost died (well, not really, but kindof), so I decided that I’d put the bike back together and have been referring to it as the “death-trap” scooter.  Anyway, I’m just waiting on the forks from the shop and then I can start re-assembly.  This is the bike after I took the front end off and awaiting new bits.  I figure it will be just about 100% once I’m done, if not for a couple annoying scratches and a bent windshield brace.

I, myself was involved in a little motorcycle accident over the summer but my body and my bike were no worse off for the wear (well, mostly).  I was sore for a week and I had to buy and install a new shifter, but aside from that, everything’s aces.  A testament to a heavy leather jacket, gloves, boots, and a now ruined favorite pair of Levi’s 501s in premium finish.  They are now in a holey sort-of design and have a small amount of my blood and my skin on the inside.  Now that I think about it, they may be collectors items now.

By-the-way, you all should check out Fidget Finds both on the web and at their bricks-and-mortar store in Newport.  They can be found here on the web and for all you females that read my blog and are fans of vintage and all around awesome clothing and accessories will enjoy perusing and shopping.  Tell them who sent you, Nicole, the owner, is a high-school mate of mine and she has excellent taste in all things vintage and inspired.  I thought of her this weekend while at the Brimfield Fair.  Not only do they have antiques, but they also have vendors specializing in vintage fabric, clothing, jewelry, and sartorial accessories.  They come to town three times over the summer and its worth checking out.  I’ll see you there next year!