How to Wear a Hat

I am happy to report that the pendulum seems to be reversing ever so slightly and men are beginning to wear real hats again. Not those unsightly baseball caps with plastic adjusters on the back, but actual fedoras and Cokes, like the ones keeping the sun out of the eyes of the fellows on the left. If only the airlines would give us a place to stow them during flight where they wouldn't be crushed by the next passenger's souvenirs, hat wearing might really take off.

In the past, men usually just held on to their hat or placed it on the back of their chair when there was no obvious place to store it. But I can state from experience that a tray table will not go down if there is a trilby on my lap.

Indoors, a hat is removed most of the time. The exceptions to the indoor hat removal rule are in a public place such as an air terminal or post office, or in the entrance halls and corridors of office buildings and hotels. The rules for elevators are complex but they can be summarized as bare headed is always correct. Emily Post does make an exception in a crowded elevator when there is no place to hold a hat - perhaps we could extend the exception to airplanes.

Outdoors, a man removes his hat while talking or being introduced to someone, during his national anthem or while his national flag is passing, and at a funeral.

In between wearing a hat and removing it is the tip of the hat, which is the act of lifting the front brim and nodding your head to someone. You tip your hat to acknowledge people you know as you pass them by on the street, and in response to a thank you after you've performed a courteous act like escorting an elderly lady across a busy street. When you stop to speak to a lady for a few minutes, the hat comes off.

We report these rules for your own safety. Inappropriately leaving your hat on your head was traditionally interpreted as a sign of contempt. Neil Steinberg writes in Hatless Jack that in living memory men have been killed for leaving their hat on while the American flag passed by on parade. And that would further reduce the ranks of hat-wearing men.

Hawaii's Leather Soul

Thomas Park’s love of shoes began at the age of 5 when he was given his first pair of Nike Air Jordans and that love has never died - Thomas started his shoe retail business, Leather Soul, in Honolulu in 2004. His main goal was and still is to provide Hawaiian business and professional men with a comfortable store for their footwear needs. Today, two Honolulu locations offer a selection of leather shoes from Alden and Edward Green.

Alden shoes are the heart of Leather Soul's walk-in business. Recognized as the leading maker of shell cordovan shoes in the world, Alden is the only original New England-based survivor remaining out of the hundreds of American companies that were making shoes when the craft mechanized in the middle of the nineteenth century. Alden has prospered thanks to its focus on well-made welted shoes, which makes the line a good fit for Leather Soul's customers.

Leather Soul became of interest outside of Hawaii when Park expanded the company's offerings to include Edward Green's shoes in 2006. Green is one of a handful of the best ready to wear shoe makers in the world and Leather Soul is now one of only two U.S. outlets that I know to be actively promoting Green's made to order program (the sublime Ectons pictured to the left were a recent special order for a customer).

Once a man knows his size, Edward Green allows him to specify shoes from thousands of options, including the style, the last, the sole and the type and color of leather. Four to six months later, a shoe arrives that's exactly what he envisioned, at a fraction of the price of bespoke. It's an addictive experience, as a glance in my closet will demonstrate. It's also a necessity as a man's wardrobe expands since retailers carry at most half a dozen models of the best makes.

Successful made to order requires a dealer to be detail conscious and concerned that the customer knows his fit before accepting an order. Part of Edward Green's attraction is their willingness to re-make shoes in the relatively rare case where there is a misunderstanding, but the best way to avoid frustration is to get the order right in the first place. After all, it's hard enough to wait four months for shoes. If they have to be re-made, it becomes an eight month process.

That's why I like the structured form that Leather Soul uses for special orders. Everything is in writing in one place, unlike the email threads that have caused confusion on some of my orders with Edward Green in London and another retailer in the U.S. A $150 deposit is required, with the balance due when the shoes are ready for the customer.

Sources: Louise Irvine

The late Duke of Windsor, when still the Prince of Wales, made an effort to help the economy of Scotland's remote Shetland Islands by wearing a Shetland "gansy" when he played golf at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews in the 1920's.

Later, for a portrait painted by John St. Helier Lander and pictured at the left, he wore another hand knit jumper in the traditional Fair Isle colours of madder, indigo and "scrotie" (a natural yellow dye from lichen) mixed with the natural colours of the local Shetland sheep.

Today, Louise Irvine continues a Shetland custom that began around 1850, offering hand-made knitwear to order in a variety of Fair Isle patterns as well as solid colors. The knitting is done by local women in their homes (mine was knitted by Joan Shewan of Scalloway) and requires as much as 100 hours for a piece, with prices around $200 for a slipover vest and $300 for a crew neck. In addition to the hand-knitted items, Irvine also offers a small range of hand-spun knitwear in natural wool colors. Hand spinning adds an additional 100 hours to the work, and more than doubles the cost.

Whether hand spun and knit or simply hand knit, each piece is made to order and you should allow four to ten weeks. Email correspondance can take a day or two but your efforts will be rewarded. I know of few comparable opportunities to obtain an affordable garment of similar quality, with a personal connection and a hundred fifty years of history woven in as well.

Reader Questions

From Jonathan

"How do I wear a crewneck sweater atop a shirt and tie without appearing as though I have a second Adam's apple? That is, I can't even see the knot on my tie when I've got one on, and then it just looks like there's an abnormal growth protruding from my neck."

One of the great dandies of the world until his death in 2003, Gianni Agnelli was photographed wearing his cashmere necktie's front blade outside his crewneck. Of course, we are not him. If you can't tolerate the bulge, consider removing the invisible necktie.

Longer term, use a different tool. Crew neck sweaters were designed to be worn without a necktie. V-necks, on the other hand, should be worn with one. The one exception should be when you're wearing a lightweight turtleneck or have some other way to close the neck. Consider the alligator shod fisherman in the drawing to the left and note that the vee of his sweater is deep enough to display the necktie. Avoid versions that are trying to pretend they are crews.

Quotation: Dress

"Dress is a trifling matter which might not be raised to too much importance in our own eyes. But it gives also the one outward sign from which people in general can and often do judge upon the inward state of mind and feeling of a person; for this they all see, while the other they cannot see. On that account it is of some importance particularly in persons of high rank. "

- HM Queen Victoria, letter to the Prince of Wales, 1851

How Many Shirts?

There are two important things to think about when you think about shirts. First and foremost, they must fit you. That means you should have them made for you, even if you are the guy they made the ready to wear pattern for (no rational man should be satisfied with the selection of fabrics and collar styles at his local retailer).

Made to measure and bespoke shirts are unique in the world of classic men's clothing in that they are available from a variety of sources for no more than the cost of comparable ready to wear shirts. Any man spending more than $75 apiece on ready to wear shirtings should immediately find himself a shirtmaker.

And that in turn leads to the other important thing to think about, which is how many shirts are required. At the low end, the size of an inventory is determined by the number of shirts worn each week, and how they are laundered. Men who send their shirts out to the laundry usually need a two week supply of shirts so half the inventory can be ready to wear while the other half is at the laundry.

In turn that leads to one of the rules about shirts. There should be more than one of each basic shirt, so there is one to wear that's appropriate for the occasion and season while the other shirt of that type is at the laundry.

Most shirting weaves are fine for year-round wear but some are strictly seasonal. Year-round fabrics include poplin, broadcloth and end on end. Warm weather fabrics, loosely woven to promote air circulation, include voile and linen. Twill, royal oxford, oxford and many herringbones are for cooler days.

But back to how many. In The Man's Book, Thomas Fink proposes that the number of shirts required for a purpose is equal to the square root of the number of days involved. That solves to 19 shirts for a 365 day year. Men can add sophistication to that number by dividing their local year into temperate, cold and hot periods. Count work days to calculate a work wardrobe comprised of spread, cutaway, point and tab collar shirts, and weekend and holiday days for a casual wardrobe. Buttondown collars are useful for casual hours because they stand up better without a necktie, or under a sweater. Round each number to the next highest integer and add them together. The total is your shirt requirement.

Men with wardrobes in excess of a couple dozen shirts can skip this exercise and use the time saved to ponder other mysteries of the universe.

Maintenance: Kent Brushes

Brushmakers G.B. Kent & Sons Plc and its predecessor companies have been royal warrant holders nine times since Queen Victoria and currently hold a warrant from Queen Elizabeth. That usually means that a company is the best of its type in the United Kingdom and Kent has certainly been successful for a long time. It's said that the kit of every English officer in 19th century India held a set of their brushes.

The Kent web site offers a wide range of brushes for grooming, but this essay is principally about clothes care. You need brushes to remove dust and lint from your tailored clothing.

The mainstay of my brush wardrobe is their double-sided (soft bristle for jackets and stiff bristle for trousers) CC20 brush for £29.50. You may wish to complement it with a soft CP6 for cashmere (£20.00), a £13.00 CG1 for travel, and/or an LPC2 brush for removing hair from the other brushes (£2.45). There's also a shoe care set for £26.00.

Ordering from the web site is easy. Kent accepts most major credit cards in dollars or pounds and ships promptly by air mail once an order is complete. Delivery outside the UK takes up to fifteen days.

Brushes are guaranteed against defective materials and workmanship. According to the company, defective items will be repaired or replaced free of charge.

What to Wear on Your Wedding Day

Your first marriage is probably your one opportunity for great wedding photos (if you marry more than once, you're likely to avoid making a spectacle of the subsequent occasions). A charcoal or black morning coat, dove gray vest, gray striped or checked trousers, and either a wing collared shirt with an ascot or a turndown collar with a conservative four in hand is the most elegant garb you can don when your bride will be wearing a long dress.

Whatever you do, try to avoid renting clothes. You don't want to find yourself regretting your decision ten years from now when you notice that the best man's shirt is hanging below his knuckles in his photos. Rental clothes are poor quality and they aren't going to fit.

Much as I like formal day wear, I can't insist that every man spend a considerable sum to bespeak morning dress for his wedding if he's unlikely to wear it a second time before he loses his figure. For those men, a charcoal gray suit is likely to be considerably more practical than a morning coat. Wear it with a white shirt with french cuffs and either a light gray or a silver tie. If you're having it made, order it with a double breasted vest. Nicholas Antongiavanni, author of The Suit, likes his.

If your wedding party members are not suit wearing men, put them in navy blazers. Blazers are a lowest common denominator, and your friends probably own one already (if some don't, buy it for them if budget permits and if that's impractical remember that the theory that members of a wedding party should dress alike was promulgated by the rental companies). Combine them with gray trousers, white shirts and matching neckties and you have much of the look of formal morning dress. The sheen of Irish poplin ties would be a nice touch that you could commission as gifts.

The overwhelming majority of weddings are in the afternoon and when that is the case you must avoid evening clothes at all costs. No dinner jackets or tailcoats before 6PM please, no matter how much your fiance may like the lavender ones at the rental store. You're going to have those photos for the duration of your marriage and that's hopefully a very long time.

The Black Sebiro

Sebiro, after Savile Row, is the Japanese word for suit. In that word is much of the economic future of classic men's clothing.

While marketing deficiences have caused a decline in the number of suits we see on the street in the United States, 125 million Japanese are the world's important opportunity for many quality English and Italian men's clothing makers. As arguably the first Asian country to develop a modern economy, Japan is also very influential. Its every move is watched carefully by its neighbors in Korea, Taiwan, and lately China. And, despite efforts to the contrary, Japanese men wear suits to do business.

In 2005, Environment Minister Yuriko Koike informed his countrymen that Japan could slow global warming by turning down their air conditioners and curbing power consumption. It needed only to ditch the suit in warm weather. Few seem to have followed him.

Journalist Kay Itoi writes that her Tokyo commuter train is still full of dark suits. ""Nobody I know is switching to Cool Biz," shrugs my friend Izumi, a 44-year-old businessman at a software firm. Even Hideaki Tagata, 31, who came up with the catchy "Cool Biz" in a nationwide naming competition, won't doff his tie. "I'll think about it when everybody else does," the sales chief at a Tokyo building-maintenance firm tells me.""

Of course, the suit-wearing tradition did not arrive in Japan without modification. Those dark business suits tend to be black three button models with a high button stance like the one pictured to the left. It's worn with all three buttons buttoned. Fortunately, Japanese dandies have moved well beyond the black sebiro.

I regret that I can't read Japanese to get the full flavor of classic men's clothing there. The country appears to support more bespoke shoemakers than the U.S. and U.K. combined. Magazines like Mens Ex, Men's Club and Leon have more pages of high-end clothing coverage than we see anywhere in the English-speaking world. But even without the language, there are ways to enjoy what men in Japan are wearing.

Buried in Style Forum's Comprehensive List of Links to High-End Shoes thread is a thoroughly enjoyable set of links to Japanese shoe and clothing photography. The text is usually in Japanese but the photos are universal.

In particular, Jun Kuwana's Cobbler's Site has a better collection of photos of bespoke shoes by London's George Cleverley than are on that company's own site. It's got tailored clothing photos as well. I eventually commissioned a jacket from England's Fallan & Harvey after first viewing photos posted there.

Of course, it wasn't black.

Reader Questions

From David

"I have been looking into getting a double breasted suit , and the Mahon picture convinced me! I wear suits mostly during the academic year (September through May). Would you suggest the six button? Are cuffs / pleats suggested for the DB? Is there a decision on peak /or notch lapels? I don't have the deep pockets for custom /bespoke work, any makers I could order from that you would recommend?"

I recommend a six button DB in 11 ounce worsted, with pleated trousers. DBs always have peak lapels and DB trousers are always cuffed. I haven't used them myself but you might consider Hong Kong's W. W. Chan. I've seen some good work from them and they'll be visiting seven U. S. cities in March. Expect to pay about $1300.

From M T

"I was wondering if one can wear "dressy" loafers, i.e. Bruno Magli Remiglio or Allen Edmund Bruzzano with a suit and look professional in a business environment?"

Loafers are what the English shoemakers call casuals. Some of them are fine with suits, particularly the ones that are styled like dress oxfords, and particularly in warm weather, with the caveat that they do not support your feet as well as oxfords. You shouldn't wear them when you have to do much walking on pavements.

In my opinion, and the opinion of others who know a lot more about shoes than I, Bruno Maglis are overpriced and most of the models are not well constructed. Enough said.

Allen Edmonds makes some respectable shoes. I don't like the metal bits on the Bruzzanos with a suit, but the Bergamo pictured to the left is the same price and might be an alternative for you.

Sources: KJ Beckett

The city of Bath is one of England's most elegant places to visit. Set in the Somerset countryside about 100 miles west of London, the World Heritage city sits on the only naturally occuring hot spring in the United Kingdom. Its springs, Roman baths, medieval Abbey and Georgian architecture have attracted visitors for centuries.

A few miles outside of the city proper is the home office of Internet haberdasher KJ Beckett. Here, the three Beckett brothers have brought the 21st century to the area, assembling a selection of contemporary accessories made for the store as well as selected items from modern English designers such as Robert Charles and Simon Carter. I found the site because of its outstanding knit tie collection. There's a large assortment of other neckties, wool scarves and dozens of brightly colored and patterned socks for casual wear.

Beckett maintains inventory of the offered items and generally any order received by noon is shipped the same day. Most UK customers receive their orders by Royal Mail in 2 to 3 days. US and ECC customers usually receive their orders within a week. The company stands behind its offerings with a liberal return policy.

Reserve the Date

Reserve March 2 and 3, 2007 for the Third Annual "A Collection of Sartorial Excellence." at the Regency Hotel in New York. It's an opportunity to spend time with outstanding bespoke artisans from North America and Europe.

In addition to good conversation, the Collection offers attendees the opportunity to be fitted for men's tailored clothing, shoes, shirts and accessories.

A Suitable Wardrobe will be published from the Regency each day, accompanied by photographs of the work on exhibit.

Space is limited and preference will be given to existing clients of the artisans and members of Ask Andy About Clothes. Click to request an invitation.

Quotation: The Jacket

"A suit tells the world you are ready for business. A jacket tells the world you are open to fun. For me the ideal jacket should have soft and natural lines and balanced proportions. It should fit you but not constrict you. I do not believe in stiff shoulder pads. That is vanity, not style. Do not make it too tight. If it's too tight, you will look like a matador. Any time I see a man playing golf or tennis in his jacket, I know he and I could be friends."

-Luciano Barbera

Double Breasted Suits

San Francisco's Four Seasons hotel restaurant is one of a handful of places in the City where men in suits still outnumber their counterparts in more casual garb. As I looked around the dining room the other day, I saw several very nice efforts, including a gentleman in a blue worsted three piece with vest lapels that fairly shouted Savile Row. And then I realized that I was the only man in a double breasted suit.

I'm not certain why we don't see more DBs in the United States. It may be that they are thought of as more formal than a two button single breasted. That might be true but they are less formal than a single breasted worn with a vest and I see those on the street as well as in the Four Seasons dining room. Other men may think that they are a pain because they must be unbuttoned to sit and buttoned again when standing, but that's a myth. A DB that fits can be worn buttoned while seated. Just look at any movie from the 1930's - those guys weren't unbuttoning and buttoning their jackets all the time.

Unlike single breasteds that descended from riding coats, double breasted suits evolved from military uniforms. That's probably why HRH Prince Charles wears them all the time (the suit pictured to the left was made by Thomas Mahon, who cut some of the Prince's suits when he worked at Anderson & Sheppard). About half of my wardrobe is double breasted. I like them in the winter particularly, as the cloth across my chest keeps me warm without a vest. I have the winter versions cut with six buttons, with the bottom two working, and my lighter-weight DBs have but four.

Double breasteds make up a good proportion of the suits I see on the street in London, but the Italians don't seem to wear them much more than the Americans do. The weather is warmer in Italy of course, so suits aren't obliged to perform as much temperature control duty. But mostly, I ascribe the scarcity of double breasted to the economics of ready to wear. Sticking with single breasteds means lower production costs and fewer overheads.

That may work for the manufacturers but it makes life a little less interesting for the customers.

Lifestyle: Cuban Cigars

I recently learned that people I thought of as perfectly proper American citizens are guilty of serious crimes. They've been smoking Cuban cigars outside the United States.

I knew that Cuban cigars are contraband. To buy or sell them in the United States is a felony under the Trading With the Enemy Act and has been since JFK outlawed them in 1963 (according to a biographer, shortly after instructing his staff to fill his humidor). But I know more than one cigar smoker who bought a box of Romeo Y Julieta Churchills immediately after landing somewhere outside of U.S. jurisdiction and consumed them before returning to the U.S. Well, it turns out that in September 2004, the U.S. Treasury changed its regulations to forbid consumption (smoking) or purchase of Cuban cigars by U.S. citizens anywhere in the world.

Good intentions aside, I don't know that it's good policy to pass unenforceable laws. Like Prohibition in the 1930's, the Cuban cigar ban is apparently ignored by more than a few citizens already. A Google search for Cuban cigars turns up a number of suppliers whose business appears to be based principally on their offer to ship genuine Havanas (with the seal of Cuba's authorized importer into Canada still intact) and guarantee their arrival at the purchaser's address in the United States.

For example, Canadian Cigar Company asserts that "In the rare event a parcel is redirected by any agency, regardless of method of shipping, simply send us the letter received in their place and we will replace the order promptly, at no charge." Vancouver Cigar Company has a similar policy.

Fortunately, Cuba is no longer the only source for good cigars. Of the 70 cigars rated 90 or better in the pages of Cigar Aficionado last year, 36 were from places like Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Quality smoke hasn't been so legal since 1962.

Now please excuse me while I light up a La Aurora Preferidos Robusto from the Dominican Republic.

What's in Your Lapel?

According to the author of The Boutonniere: Style in One's Lapel, wearing a boutonniere, or buttonhole, has never been particularly widespread. We see them today principally at weddings and specific occasions like Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth countries. Our days would be more pleasant if we saw them more often.

Some men probably fear the attention that might come with a buttonhole just as they fear the pocket square. To them I say that there's no need to push the envelope. Think of wearing a buttonhole as a replacement for a silk square, to be worn under the same circumstances. You'll be glad you did.

For day wear, avoid showy flowers in favor of blooms like red and pink carnations. Carnations, and their cousin the Sweet William, gained their popularity because they are among the very few flowers that remain fresh all day without water. Perennials, they are easily grown outdoors and bloom throughout most of the year in California. I have them in a box on my balcony in the City so I can cut one whenever the mood strikes but there's no need to go to that much trouble if you only wear a flower once in a while. The majority of florists I've entered have refused my offer to pay for a single carnation and the rest have been happy with a dollar.

Evening blooms need to remain fresh fewer hours, and that opens up your range of choices. The evening combination of white and black is consistent with white orchids, gardenias, and white or red roses.

At a wedding, the flowers worn by the groom should complement what's in the bride's bouquet. That's often a lily of the valley or a small orchid. The bride's father and the best man wear the same flower as the groom, and the ushers usually wear carnations, sweet peas or small white roses.

Of course, to wear a flower, your lapel must be prepared for it. Never pin a flower to your jacket. The lapel requires a buttonhole that's about an inch and an eighth long, so the base of the flower fits into the space and observers will see the top of the bloom rather than the side. The photo to the left shows the back of the lapel of a Fallan & Harvey suit, with the other necessity - a silk thread to hold the flower stem in place.

If you're one of those men who have open buttonholes on your jacket sleeves, make sure your tailor is also preparing your lapel. It's an inexpensive way to add elegance to your day.

The Club Collar

I like club collars on shirts. Also known as the Eton or golf collar, the former because a large version of it was worn as part of the Eton school uniform and the latter because Brooks Brothers designated it that when Brooks still had influence on what things were called in the United States, the club collar isn't seen much today. That's probably because there's only so many different styles of ready to wear shirts that can be inventoried by a rational retailer. Fortunately, they are available from most shirtmakers, with the conspicuous exception of Turnbull & Asser.

I learned that when I bespoke one from T&A some years ago. My first clue should have been when they didn't have a collar template to show me, and I had to sketch what I wanted. So I half expected that what I got would be something other than what I ordered (to their credit, they were kind enough to replace the unfortunate result with something they knew how to make). That failure causes me to believe that the club is worn more on the American side of the Atlantic, to the extent it is worn at all.

The club can be worn pinned or unpinned, like the gentleman in the drawing to the left. Unstarched, it's better with odd jackets and less formal suits in flannel and tweed than it is with worsteds. And like the ticket pocket or lapels on a vest, it says that you pay attention to your clothes without being obvious about it. That's a good thing.

Sources: April in Paris

April in Paris is the San Francisco boutique of master leather artisan Beatrice Amblard. Born in France, Amblard began her career as an apprentice at Hermes, one of the world's finest suppliers of leather goods, and worked there for 15 years before opening her own workshop in 2000.

Amblard’s specialty is working with French calf, ostrich, stingray and alligator. She is best known for her custom handbags, usually finished with the traditional saddle stitch, the same way it was done 200 years ago.

The April in Paris shopping site features handmade leather products such as credit card cases, wallets, business card cases, passport cases and belts. The quality is excellent.

Each item is made to order, in either Grain calf and Millennium Alligator. Amblard favors Millennium alligator because its soft, low gloss finish gives a sophisticated and timeless look. The grain calf is imported from France, and exudes modern and contemporary elegance.

Product prices range from $350 for a grain calf credit card case to $2,400 for an alligator men’s belt with a gold buckle. The pictured business card case in alligator is $675.

Web site orders require about two weeks (completely customized pieces like Amblard's handbags require three months). All sales are final.

Quotation: The Dress of a Gentleman

"The dress of a gentleman should be such as not to excite any special observation, unless it be for neatness and propriety. The utmost care should be exercised to avoid even the appearance of desiring to attract attention by the peculiar formation of any article of attire, or by the display of an immoderate quantity of jewelry, both being a positive evidence of vulgarity. His dress should be studiously neat, leaving no other impression than that of a well dressed gentleman."

- Martine's Handbook of Etiquette, 1866

Bring Back the Vest

Central heating has just about killed the vest, which is a shame. I don't know if anyone has calculated the environmental impact but it strikes me that we'd all be better off if we turned down our thermostats and wore vests and sweaters to keep warm. There's no question in my mind but that we'd look better.

You feel the value of a vest whenever you're walking outdoors on one of those cool days that are too sunny for an overcoat. Jacket and trousers by themselves leave the chest vulnerable, with only a thin layer of cotton shirting for temperature control. And I value a vest's pockets for carrying cigars, cutter and lighter when I plan to sit in the park and smoke.

It's important to note that there's no requirement that your vest, on the days that you wear one, matches the rest of your suit. Cream, buff, and dove gray linen odd vests don't stand out from their accompanying worsted. They add a discreet layer of interest to an otherwise ordinary charcoal or navy suit. I like mine with lapels, like the fellow in the drawing to the left.

In a time when ready to wear suit makers are selling summer weight fabrics all year round because they're less expensive, it's time to strike a blow for elegance and the environment. Bring back the vest!

Maintenance: The Whirlpool Fabric Freshener

The arsenal of home maintenance devices for classic men's clothing has long included steamers and trouser presses. In recent years we've seen two new additions: the steam press and the Whirlpool fabric freshener (pictured to the left). The steam press, which we may cover in a future post if I am ever bold enough to try ironing one of my shirts, is an iron replacement. The fabric freshener is a form of steamer.

The fabric freshener uses steam to relax wrinkles and some ionization magic to remove odors. Insert two garments and some distilled water, turn it on and come back later. In thirty to fifty minutes, most wrinkles will be gone and your clothes will have an unobjectional clean smell. That's both the good and the bad.

Compared to other products, a Jiffy personal series garment steamer does a better job of wrinkle removal on jackets and an iron does better on shirts. Of course, you have to remove the rumples yourself with the Jiffy or an iron. The Whirlpool lets you do something else while it works.

I use the freshener weekly in warm weather for linen trousers in particular. As you know, the knock on linen trousers is that they wrinkle too badly to wear a second day without pressing. The fabric freshener takes care of that - place two pair in the cabinet, turn it on and walk away for forty minutes. It brings them back to about 80% of pressed, which is to say completely wearable, and there's no longer any hint of cigar smoke.

Closed into its storage position the freshener is about a foot deep and 32" long so it stores in a closet or under a sink. It sets up in less than a minute and at 27 lbs. it's easy enough to handle. $199 direct from Whirlpool.

Consider the Black Suit

Consider the black suit. By this, I do not mean the Men's Warehouse "Since you'll only have one suit it should be black so you can wear it to a funeral" suit. Nor do I recommend the City of London black worsted with white pinstripes. But a black suit (similar in style to but hopefully better made than the three button version from Brooks Brothers to the left) has a place in your wardrobe if you're young, urban and plan to spend some of your nights clubbing in less formal places like LA or South Beach.

Know that a black suit worn during the day has been controversial and ideally to be avoided since the lounge/business suit replaced earlier forms of day wear. Charcoal and navy blue are preferred. The place for black is at night.

Night is when people go to urban clubs to see and be seen. And while a man in traditional dinner kit would look out of place, Hollywood has given us an alternative in the black or midnight blue suit, stripped of most of its frills and worn in place of black tie for evening.

Stripped means that the jacket and trousers should not have the silk trimmings of a dinner jacket and trousers. The jacket should preferably be one button with a peak lapel, but could be two or three button and notch lapel. Preferably without flaps on the side pockets and either no side vents or two of them. A sheen of mohair in the cloth adds to the evening look, as do cloth covered buttons.

Wear it with highly polished plain black oxfords and a silver silk tee shirt or polo in summer or a cashmere mock turtleneck in winter. A pocket square shows savoir faire. If you can't stand the thought of going out without a necktie, wear a plain white dress shirt with french cuffs and a Macclesfield or satin four-in-hand necktie. Avoid Clooney style, with an open neck. It just looks sloppy having your collar flapping around and all.

I'd rather you wore something else during the day, but if you can't get home to change for the evening, a black suit can work for you from morning to night. Bring some cologne and a night-time top or shirt and necktie in your briefcase so you can transform yourself quickly at the office. It's not cool to wear exactly the same clothes that you wore all day.

Once the sun sets the black suit is in its element.

Essential Odd Trousers

An odd trouser wardrobe should be a mixed lot of fabrics and weights that suits every season. Depending on how often you wear them, you'll need at least five, and more likely ten, pair for warm days and the same for cooler weather.

I've divided the essentials into casual and dress trousers with the idea being that casuals can take a little dirt. You might wear them with a jacket but they'll be paired with a sweater or a polo more often than not.

Casual Trousers
-Khaki cotton drill. Gentleman's jeans for weekend wear. Olive is another classic color.
-Cotton moleskin. Soft and warm trousers for the cold.
-Cords. In moss and mouse, for cool weather from Fall to Spring, with sweaters or odd jackets.
-Poplin. Spring casuals for golf and similar pursuits. Try a soft pink.

Dress Trousers
-Gray flannels. Every wardrobe needs at least two pair, in mid-gray and charcoal. Aficionados also like them in light gray for Spring (like the hatted fellow in the illustration) , and in weights from medium to heavy. As Alan Flusser wrote, "If you are considering a new sport jacket and are having difficulty visualizing it with a medium gray trouser, move on."
-Fawn and cream flannels. A change of pace from gray.
-Gabardines. Silky smooth trousers are ideal for much of the year in California and similar climates. Wear them in cream, brown and olive.
-Tan cavalry twill. With a navy odd jacket it's the English uniform.
-Linen. Linen breathes, so it's a good choice for hot weather. Get the heaviest linen you can find, because heavier fabric will drape better and rumple rather than wrinkle. Think in terms of half a dozen pair in cream, tan, brown and mustard.
-Light gray and tan fresco trousers. More summer wear. Fresco doesn't wrinkle like linen and it holds a crease. Wear them on unrumpled occasions with a tan or navy odd jacket.

Sources: luxury-scarves.com

Based in Zurich, Switzerland, Luxury GMBH hosts a unique web site specializing in authentic Hermes scarves.

Hermes began making silk scarves in 1937, when the company was 100 years old. It has since printed more than 1,000 designs. Worn folded in the breast pocket of a jacket, the 16" pochette version of the Hermes scarf makes a statement that some men swear by and others swear at.

The key to the Luxury site is its selection. Where the Hermes company site may have six pochettes from which to choose, Luxury has twenty. They range from current designs to the occasional gem from fifty years ago, at prices starting somewhat below Hermes list for a current item and increasing to considerably more for an older model in pristine condition.

The site does not accept credit cards directly but does accept PayPal payments, money orders and wire transfers. Shipping is by registered priority air mail and the cost is included in the price of the item. All sales are final unless an item is not as described.

Quotation: The Well Dressed Man

"The well-dressed man is always a paradox. He must look as though he gave his clothes no thought and as though literally they grew on him like a dog’s fur, and yet he must be perfectly groomed. He must be close-shaved and have his hair cut and his nails in good order (not too polished). His linen must always be immaculate, his clothes “in press,” his shoes perfectly “done.” His brown shoes must shine like old mahogany, and his white buckskin must be whitened and polished like a prize bull terrier at a bench show. Ties and socks and handkerchief may go together, but too perfect a match betrays an effort for “effect” which is always bad."

-Emily Post Etiquette 1922.

Dressing for a Job Interview

Dressing for a job interview has a lot in common with dressing for a public appearance. In each case your goal is to have people focus on what you have to say. If they are distracted by your clothes, you're in danger of failing.

Since different companies have different mores, you need to do some homework to learn the customs of each potential employer. If the interview site is local to you, go there and observe what the people are wearing. You should also call the human resources department and ask about the daily dress in the department you'll be talking to. Don't worry about what the HR person might think of you. S/he is a professional and will be happy that a candidate is doing his homework.

Once you know how to look like you're already a member of the team, put what you've learned into practice. As a rule, it is best to dress one level more formally than the people you would be working with. In other words, show respect without going overboard.

If your interviewers will be wearing suits, wear your own conservatively cut two-piece in dark gray wool. Pair it with a light blue cotton broadcloth long-sleeved dress shirt with button cuffs and a point or button-down collar, a navy blue silk twill necktie, polished black dress shoes with a matching belt if you wear belts, and, at senior levels, a quarter inch of white linen handkerchief in a tv fold in your jacket's breast pocket.

If the people you'll be meeting don't wear suits, a navy jacket and either gray flannel or khaki cotton trousers is a step towards informality. Pair them with a well pressed button-down collar shirt, brown slip-on shoes and a matching belt.

Like your clothes, your grooming should be clean but unremarkable. Have your hair cut a couple of days before the meeting, trim your fingernails, and do not wear any scent. It goes without saying that your clothes should be clean and freshly pressed.

When the first meeting is a success and you're asked to return, you can loosen up just a touch. That could mean a pinstripe suit instead of a solid, and dark brown shoes instead of black, but don't deviate very far from plain, conservative dress. If you wore a navy blazer to the first interview you could wear a wool odd jacket to the second. Stick to city colors, such as a small black and white check. If the environment is appropriate, you could substitute a black mock turtleneck sweater for the dress shirt and necktie this time.

Remember, your objective is to impress people with your qualifications rather than your dress. You'll have plenty of opportunities to express yourself with your clothes after you're hired.

Lifestyle: The Bounty Hunter

Only a few times in life have I encountered a supplier of any kind that consistently surpassed my expectations. Napa Valley's The Bounty Hunter is one such. Founded ten years ago by Mark Pope, The Bounty Hunter offers wines from around the world with an emphasis, as you'd expect, on bottlings from California. In my experience, every bottle on offer is worth tasting.

With wine shipping laws liberalized in many parts of the United States since the Supreme Court ruling of 2005, there's no longer any need to go to a local merchant and attempt to guess which of the hundreds of unfamiliar wines may be worth a try. Bounty Hunter sells only the best. Recent offerings include "single best barrel" Cabernet Sauvignon from Girard and La Jota (from the Premiere Napa Valley auction) as well as staples like the '05 Conundrum from Caymus.

Like other wine purveyors, Bounty Hunter has several Wine Clubs. Their versions feature small production and boutique wines that are not available to the general public.

I like that the company stands behind every bottle. If you purchase a wine that you don’t like, they take it back. You pay only the shipping costs.

Packing for Business Travel

When you travel a lot on business, having the essentials ready to roll saves loads of time and aggravation.

It starts with your luggage. Frequent travelers may need both a roll-aboard bag for overnight trips and larger, rigid sided cases for weeks on the road (I take a case for each week of a long trip).

There are many good luggage makers, among them Mulholland Brothers of San Francisco which made mine. They use a tough canvas for their bags that's light, durable (leather luggage doesn't survive long as checked baggage) and distinctive. Whichever maker you choose, look for trolley style construction so you