Quotation: I Think I'm Turning Japanese

"Analysts estimate that 20 percent of all luxury goods are sold in Japan and another 30 percent to Japanese traveling abroad - meaning Japanese buy half of all luxury goods....

The Japanese love of Western luxury goods is a relatively recent phenonmenon, In the 1960s and 70s, the Japanese economy flourished, giving birth to a newly flush middle class that wanted to live a more ostentatious life. Grand homes or vast real estate holdings - generally the most blatant way to enjoy as well as exhibit one's riches - was a near impossibility in the densely populated nation of Japan, Instead, the Japanese chose to show their wealth by dressing richly, and, for the postwar generation, Western luxury items such as leather goods, silk scarves, furs and jewels were the ultimate status symbols."

-Deluxe: How Luxury Lost its Luster, by Dana Thomas

The photo, from Cobbler's Laboratory, is of a bespoke Fallan & Harvey tweed suit made for a Japanese customer.

Sources: On The Fly

Part of the process of building customer loyalty is the creation of a unique experience that brings people back again and again. On The Fly founder Ami Arad set out to create that unique customer experience on the World Wide Web, a stylish online men's store where the modern gentleman can browse for a carefully edited selection of merchandise that complements his lifestyle.

That stylishness starts with the company's warehouse. Behind a steel door on an alley in a nondescript neighborhood is a space that would be laid out like a retail store if other retail stores had comfortable chairs and large flat panel video displays. The stuffed grizzly bear, walrus head and array of exotic autos (On The Fly shares space with a sports car timesharing firm) add to the atmosphere. On The Fly uses it for promotional events that, not coincidentally, sell merchandise.


Like the modern gentleman he is, Ami hosted me over whisky and a cigar. He explained the On The Fly is three years old and doing well with its mix of brand name clothing and stylish accessories that may or may not be brand names. The brands, like the complete line of Bill's Khakis limited editions, bring in people from Google searches and represent the largest part of On The Fly's sales. The lifestyle items, ranging from Mulholland leather furniture and accessories and Truefitt & Hill shaving supplies to caviars and rare cigars, keep customers coming back to browse.

The newest edition to the On The Fly site are blog posts written by author and fashion journalist Richard Torregrossa. Pay the place a visit. There's a lot there to like.

City Shoes

We will be placing the Suitable City Shoe order with Gaziano & Girling this week. So far, five men have said they'd like to own a dress shoe that evokes a more elegant era. Consider this the last chance for anyone who's been on the fence to get off of it.

For more information, email will at dynend.com.

Public Appearances

Successful men in many walks of life find themselves periodically in the spotlight. And men who care about the image preserved in their newspaper clippings or YouTube clips need to look their best on those occasions. In general, the best looks are the simplest.

Simplicity begins with the avoidance of distracting patterns. Pattern can appear to jump or vibrate on video. Men in the public eye should choose matte fabrics in solid colors, unless they're making a courtroom appearance during the 1930's like the man in the illustration. Video hadn't been invented yet you know.

Those matte fabrics should be impeccably pressed, as well. You probably can't steam away wrinkles before you're the center of attention, so make arrangements to change into wrinkle-free clothes.

It's also important to remember that reflection is the enemy of flattering visuals (RIchard Nixon may have lost the Presidency of the United States to John Kennedy by refusing make-up for a televised debate in 1960). Eschew the glare of white shirts during the day. When on camera or speaking from a podium, wear a leather wristwatch band instead of metal to avoid distracting flashes of light. Choose cufflinks that don't reflect. And forgo eyeglasses or replace them with contact lenses for the same reason.

Once properly attired it is a good idea to rehearse in front of a full length mirror. Rehearsal may seem awkward to the uninitiated but they should be assured that the actors they admire know exactly what to do to look their best on camera. Practice builds confidence that the details are under control, so it's easier to forget about appearance and focus on content.

Casual Friday

Leaving for the country garb on a Friday. Black and white wool odd jacket, cashmere and linen vest, blue twill shirt, Drake's pocket square and a Hober necktie. Below the waist, dark gray flannels and brown slip-ons.

Pocket Square and Boutonniere

Jack Buchanan (1891-1957) was the British Fred Astaire (or perhaps Astaire was the American Jack Buchanan). Debonair, and always well dressed, he shows us here that pocket square and boutonniere, sometimes deemed too busy in combination, can look fine together. The key is to keep the square simple.

Gray Hair

A man may spend a lifetime learning how to complement his coloring with shirts and neckties, only to see that learning become useless in a matter of months when his hair turns gray. But gray hair is fairly easy to work with. It responds well to a palette of pastels as well as grey, beige, red and white. Indeed, men who always looked washed out in white shirts may find that a bit of white to the face is quite complementary once they've grayed.

There is little to like in this monochromatic cast photo from AMC's Mad Men television series, but it does illustrate a white shirt working with white hair on the man in the double breasted. If only he had swapped neckties with the guy on the far left before he drowned in that marine blue suit. Oh well, I shouldn't get started.

Country Weekends

Times have changed since today's illustration was drawn. In an interview on Men.Style.Com, Varonique Nichanian, menswear designer for Hermes, tells us a man needs only a shirt, two cashmere sweaters, three polos, and one pair of jeans for a country weekend. Plus whatever sandals or moccasins he happens to be wearing.

We have weekend guests frequently and most of them seem to intuit her advice. I guess no-one ever told her (or them) that jeans are not permitted on most private golf courses. Including the one I play (perhaps it's a conspiracy by the pro shops to sell more clothing). I've grown accustomed to the awkward conversation as we get ready to depart for the round. "Do you have any other pants? Well, you'll need to buy some if we're going to play. Do you mind?"

Now, casual day wear is fine as far as it goes but it pleases me when the men make the effort to wear something dressier than jeans to dinner. The standard is not that high. In summer, which is much of the year, I try to strike a casual note myself with a white polo, black gabardine trousers and black slip-on shoes for meals at home.

I'm hoping without much optimism that a guest will surprise me with a white dinner jacket one of these days.

Gray Flannels and Green Socks

The skies were sunny but the temperatures reverted to wintry these past few days. And so I got another day's wear this season from the pictured pair of gray flannel trousers. The socks are to complement the ground cover. Well, perhaps not intentionally. I think they do a reasonable job of it nonetheless.

Comfort

We're a self-centered bunch today. We dress for ourselves rather for others, which is why I hear over and over that clothes must be comfortable and easy to wear.

Many of the details of dress that were a mark of elegance are condemned today as uncomfortable or too time-consuming. Loafers replace oxfords, and sneakers replace loafers. Returning home from work, men in what were once considered white collar pursuits change from their jeans into their more comfortable sweats. On vacation they transform themselves into backwoodsmen or tropical islanders.

Now some of this is because many men have never had the opportunity to wear good quality clothes that fit. I had a colleague once that refused to wear wool because the little of it he'd worn was scratchy. He apparently had an intimate experience with unlined tweed trousers.

Men who seek comfort above all will eventually find they have become slaves to trainers and sweat suits. Pursued as a goal, comfort is the enemy of elegance. And the rest of us are the poorer for it.

Economy

Good times or bad, few of us can have everything we want and we must each establish our own priorities. For me these days, sales hold few bargains. My needs, or rather my desires, are highly specific and unlikely to be found on sale.

It's important to remember that the cost of clothing is not the initial cost, but the price divided by the number of times it's worn, plus some arbitrary amount of bonus points for the pleasure it provides. A bespoke suit worn for twenty years can be a bargain. Conversely, I own a cotton Luciano Barbera suit that had a retail price as high as most bespoke suits. I bought it for 70% off on a whim and have worn it only twice because the collar just does not fit properly around the neck. It may be the most expensive item that I own.

That said, I have my own ways to economize. For example, I buy my own cloth for odd trousers and send it to a factory where it's made up. Trousers are principally straight seams and I don't see enough difference between MTM and bespoke in this instance to warrant paying twice as much per pair. I do the same with overcoats and most of my shirts.

The best economy is a wardrobe of simple, obviously high quality items that give you pleasure every time you wear them. The uncomplicated odd jacket and gray flannels to the left can be dressed up or down with changes to its accessories, so it can be worn repeatedly without becoming tiresome.

Dressing for the Evening at Six AM

Can a suit-wearing man be appropriately dressed all day and into the evening without changing his clothes? Absolutely, so long as the night's event doesn't require either jeans or black tie. It's just a matter of choosing adaptable clothes in the morning.

Emulate the civilian in the illustration by starting the morning with a plain dark gray or dark navy suit, white shirt with french cuffs, white linen pocket square and black calf shoes (much as I like suede, shoes should reflect light at night). Carry a more formal necktie with you during the day and don it before the evening begins. Personally, I prefer satin in shades of maroon, light blue and gold. And voilà.

Advanced students may choose to carry a change of shirt in addition to a necktie, forgoing the white shirt in daytime for something more flattering. But it's not required.

Peter Harvey's Coming to Town

He's come and gone actually, but Peter Harvey of tailors Fallan & Harvey brought a jacket with him for fitting and that always feels like a visit from Santa even though I pay for it.

I didn't bring anyone with me to take a photo this time so we laid the jacket on a sofa. It's an 18 ounce gun club tweed with crescent pockets and a two button front that will be ready in the summer. Peter makes quite a few crescent pocket jackets for Japanese clients who, like me, are looking for something that evokes the late Duke of Windsor.

The visit also provided the opportunity to start a flannel suit for Fall. It will be made from the London Lounge triple check cloth that's been written about here before, in a three button single breasted that rolls to the center button, with a shawl collared double breasted vest. All in all, a bit of holiday spirit in the midst of Spring.

Prep Gone Wild

The madras shorts suit from Ralph Lauren. Just the thing for a Fourth of July clam bake. I think the necktie might be a bit busy, don't you?

Reader Questions

From Franklin
Recently some of your essays have shown spectator shoes. Can you recommend a source for an affordable version?

The problem with inexpensive specs is that they tend to be made entirely of leather rather than the originals' leather and suede or canvas. The all leather look leaves a bit to be desired and, in my opinion, you should save your money until you can afford a mid-range spectator from a company like Crockett & Jones.

From Simon
I am about to get my first made to order shirt (either a key largo blue stripe with Windsor collar or a blue herringbone with white Windsor collar and white cuffs). As I will only wear this shirt with a suit or when I wear a tie, the question is regarding cuffs with links or buttons. I feel that buttons on a nice well cut shirt could look cheap. But I dislike a French cuff or oversized cuffs. What would you advise?

If you respect tradition, contrast collar shirts should always have turnback cuffs. I prefer that the cuffs are also white but that's optional.

Button cuffs are fine for everyday wear otherwise. No-one will think your shirt looks cheap because they see a button on your sleeve.

If you do get buttons, I recommend two of them on the cuff parallel to your arm. They hold the cuff a bit straighter and the look, in my opinion, is a bit more finished.

Maintenance: The Hanger Project, part two

When I was writing about The Hanger Project's suit hangers a while ago, Kirby Allison sent me a selection of his other hanger styles to put to use. They're really terrific - good looking and more effective than anything I had in my closet. I've been using the clamp style (above) to hang the ghurka shorts I wear on the golf course.


At first I didn't see much need for Kirby's shirt hangers (above), but the shape and the width of the shoulders treats my knit tops better than the wire hangers the dry cleaner provides.


Probably the most useful of the three are the felted trouser hangers. The felt keeps trousers from slipping, and the width of the bar means the trousers don't crease when they hang for a while.

Recommended.

A Semi-Formal Shoe for Day Wear

Two weeks ago I wrote about A Suitable City Shoe, a collaboration between myself and shoemakers Gaziano & Girling. Today the shoe is reality.

Polished black calf under gray suede, the City Shoe is a sophisticated look with navy or gray suits as well as strollers. The discreet contrast is noticeable but not at all flashy. I'm wearing the shoe to receptions, cocktails, and other dress-up daytime events. I'll also wear it into the evening with a lounge suit.


The City Shoe's beautifully shaped waist and Cuban heel have the look of a hand-made bespoke shoe, but the price, $1,000 plus shipping, is a third of the bespoke cost. The scarcity of appropriate gray suede makes A Suitable City Shoe a limited edition that will only be made one time.

If you think you might like a pair, email will at dynend.com.

Gray Suits and Black Shoes

Gray suits are the best accompaniment to black shoes, and vice verse.

As I've written many times, I don't like black with blue before six o'clock. That's the time for brown or, better yet, cordovan-colored shoes. But I've half a dozen pair of black oxfords in my closet and gray suits give me the opportunity to wear them.

Gray suits and black shoes. Even Italians like Luca di Montezemolo pair them.

Gabardine is for Spring

It's a month early in the season for the hat in the illustration, but if you are in Northern California and happen to see a man attired like the guy in the illustration, say hello. It's probably me.

I probably over-do solid tan odd jackets. Tweed patterns in mid-weight worsted for warm weather wear have always seemed like a bit of a perversion of purpose to me, so solid linen, fresco and gabardine make up most of my Spring and summer odd jacket wardrobe.

And when I'm looking for something to wear in a weight between a heavy tweed and a warm weather jacket, I reach for gabardine. It wears too warm for hot days, but it's perfect for temperatures in the 60's and 70's (farenheit). Add a shirt and a light-weight pair of gray flannels and I'm almost ready to walk out the door.

Everyone Has Off Days

Everyone has off days, even the Duke of Windsor. The short sleeve shirt and matching necktie just don't work together.

No One Wore Evening Clothes Better

Men's clothes change slowly but they do change. Every century or so, the most formal clothes in the male hierarchy disappear, to be replaced by what had been the second most formal. And what we're seeing today are the late stages of the replacement of white tie with black tie, and black tie with the suit.


And so I thought it appropriate to recognize the epitome of formal and semi-formal evening clothes. No-one wore them better than the late Duke of Windsor.

There is little variation permitted in formal dress but even so the Duke's waistcoat was a bit better than everyone else's. And of course he popularized many of what were the innovations in black tie itself, from midnight blue as black to the double breasted dinner jacket.

I understand that we don't change for dinner any longer but the general disappearance of evening clothes leaves the world a poorer place.

Summertime, and the Loafer is Easy

As the cold and wet recedes, it's time to put away our double soled norwegians and think of warm weather things. Like loafers. House shoes in winter, summer is when loafers move out of doors.

The loafer of summer is a light slip-on made from unlined calf (cordovan's water repellent properties, so useful in winter, are undesireable in summer). When there's no lining, shoes are lighter and allow the foot to breathe a bit more.

It's common to see loafers paired with summer's shorts or casual trousers - with or without socks - but their low profile and light appearance can also be compatible with summer's light-weight suits. Linen suits and cotton suits, certainly. The bold man might even go sockless with those suits in casual settings.

Compared to oxfords and bluchers there are surprisingly few types of loafers. The most common of course is the penny. And perhaps that's all we need.

Irish Idylls

A young Desmond Guiness photographed in County Kildare in 1963, with Leixlip Castle in the background. The castle dates from the Norman invasion of 1171 with the round tower added in the 14th Century.

But for the five sleeve buttons on his blazer, perfection.

The Summer Blazer

The illustration shows us how to wear a summer blazer. The jacket itself should be a lighter hue of blue than winter's navy and in a breathable fabric like fresco or linen. Three buttons is best, rolling to 2.5, and there should be patch side pockets so the jacket can have the minimum of interior lining. Personally, I like sterling silver buttons for a change of pace, with two of them on each sleeve.

Wear the jacket with light gray fresco trousers and brown and white spectator shoes. A panama hat tops off the ensemble with flair.

And there you have the summer blazer. If you can manage to be tall and thin, so much the better.

Quotation: Masculine Elegance

"Masculine elegance being synonymous with conservatism, a well-dressed man should NEVER WEAR:

- flashily striped suits.

- shirts in aggressive shades.

- jewellery, including metal bracelets - not even a gold band on a wrist watch (which is correctly worn only in the daytime).

- trousers that are too tight when slender ones are stylish, or too wide when the fashion pendulum swings to the opposite extreme. The same principle is valid for hats, coat lapels, overcoat lengths, etc.

- a polka dot tie with a striped or plaid jacket.

- a handkerchief that literally floats from the pocket, or one that exactly matches the necktie.

- suede shoes in the city, or a cloth cap, both of these accessories being reserved for country wear along with their companions, the tweed jacket and corduroy trousers.

- on the beach: printed shorts and ultra-short shorts (if he is no longer under twenty years of age), socks and closed shoes. The seashore is the only place where a gentleman may wear sandals or espadrilles."

-A Guide to Elegance by Genevieve Antoine Dariaux

Air Travel Shoes

On days when either a man's schedule or his sense of propriety require him to wear a jacket and necktie on a commercial air carrier, shoes can be an issue. Air travel shoes must slide off and on easily, so they are easy to remove at security, don for the walk to the gate, remove again for the flight, and then put on again before landing.

Regular ASW readers may recall that I like Belgian Shoes for long flights. Those unfortunately aren't meant for the street, so another form of shoe is required before after the flight. And that's when elastic sided slip-ons come into their own.

Elastic sided slip-ons, like the pictured Edward Green Kibworths, are appropriate with either suits or odd jackets. And, unlike other slip-ons, they are made on the same lasts as an oxford, so the fitting is the same. This is a significant advantage over other casual shoe models (casuals are notoriously quirky to fit) when the buyer is not able to try on the precise shoe he wants. And with hard to find shoes like these, that's often a challenge.

By this point I'm sure someone is muttering to themself that I should just wear a pair of regular loafers. And I may, when I'm on holiday or travelling in an odd jacket. But ordinary loafers, with or without tassels, aren't formal enough to pair with most suits, and that's when I pull out the elastic sided shoes.

Consider the DB Vest

Consider the double breasted vest. There are a variety of styles for a man's vest but we generally see just the single breasted (the upper right panel in the illustration). Once in a rare while that single breasted model will have notched lapels in a more conservative version of the vest at the lower right, but that's usually as adventuresome as contemporary clothing gets.

Well I'm here to to talk up the double breasted shawl collar model (center left) as a change of pace for a dark single breasted city suit. The double breasted vest is a bit harder to make and fit and I assume those are the reasons it fell out of favor on the ready to wear racks. That rarity makes it a nice choice for a bespoke change of pace.

Consider that a DB vest is not flashy like slanted pockets, which have run their course as London's version of a "my suit is bespoke" symbol now that they are found on off the peg garments. The owner of a DB vested suit can just leave the vest hanging at home and wear the jacket and trousers when the occasion calls for discretion. The rest of the time he's got something interesting to wear to a cocktail party. And that's a good thing.

Dry Comes at a Price

Overcoming its longstanding prejudice against shell cordovan, Northampton shoemaker Edward Green has begun to offer made to order cordovan shoes and boots.

The most common material for men's shoe uppers is aniline calf. The shell cordovan alternative originates not from cows but from the muscle (or shell) beneath the hide on the rump of the horse. It is harder to work than calf leather, which was the customary reason that English shoemakers offered to explain why they refused to make cordovan shoes. That's been an unfortunate decision for years, as cordovan is a more water resistant shoe material that makes better boots or shoes for the wet. Not that it ever rains in England.

Reflecting cordovan's extra cost and higher wastage during the production process, Edward Green cordovan shoes are $1,500 a pair at EG reseller Leather Soul, a $200 premium over MTO shoes made from calf. Dry comes at a price.

Style Icon: Willie Brown

Before he became Mayor of San Francisco, style icon Willie L. Brown Jr. served for 30 years in the California State Assembly, half of that time dominating California politics as its Speaker. The photos in this post are in a rough chronological order covering the last twenty years.

Brown loves clothes, and has more than 100 suits in his wardrobe, including the light gray three button that he wore on a visit to Hong Kong. In his recent biography, Basic Brown: My Life and Our Times , Brown devotes several pages to his dress. One of his recommendations is that the first advisor chosen by a man starting a political career today should be a wardrobe consultant.


That's because he believes that public figures should be aware that they are on camera around the clock, and ought to pay constant attention to how they look (a lesson that the current Mayor, Gavin Newsom, has taken to heart). Brown, who often wears blazers like the one in the photo, frequently changed his clothes four times a day in order to be dressed correctly for each occasion. I do not at all doubt his belief that the photos of the one time he looked bad would be certain to be the ones chosen for publication by an unfriendly editor.


Are there flaws in his look? Of course. I wish, for example, that he didn't tie a half Windsor. But overall, Willie Brown adds considerable style to the City of San Francisco, which can use all it gets.