Suits and Socks and a Sole Split

I was rubbing the toe of my Gaziano & Girlings with a suede eraser the other day when I noticed that the sole was splitting again. I had always assumed that G&G sources their soles from the same place as the other Northampton makers but this splitting is a phenomenon that I have never encountered with any other make of shoe. I have had it on at least half a dozen pairs, which has been one of the reasons I am replacing my machine made G&Gs (the bespoke are fine) with Cleverleys and Fosters over time.

Gaziano & Girling elastic sided suede slipon shoes worn with a pair of Bresciani dress hose with a contrasting vertical rib and a tan glen check suit. Above the waist, an ecru shirt, a blue on white houndstooth patterned cotton bow tie and a blue and brown foulard print silk square.

And then it was back to vigorous rubbing with the suede eraser.

Lamlana

I have complained in the past that the most difficult cloth to find is that for in between season odd jackets. Tweeds are too heavy, linens too light, and most of the offerings in the ten to twelve ounce (300 to 360 gram) worsteds that aim to fill the gap between them attempt to look like tweed and fail, sometimes miserably.

Two books that manage to do a bit better are the fairly well known Moonbeam from Harrison's of Edinburgh and the somewhat more obscure Lamlana from W. Bill. Moonbeam is fairly plain but Lamlana, a soft ten to eleven ounce (320 gram) mixture of lambswool and Angora has patterns that are a little more interesting than most.

Worth a look.

Time Makes the Best 3 Roll 2.5

Time makes the best 3 roll 2.5 lapel roll in my experience. When a three button jacket arrives as a 3 roll top, the button point is too high for my taste. Fortuntely, after some time the lapels inevitably begin rolling to a point closer to mid-way between the top button and the center. That is of course where a 3 roll 2.5 ought to close and never does when I ask for it to be made that way.

The tropical navy pin dot suit is from John G. Hardy's defunct Rangoon bunch that was one of the best things that firm produced in my lifetime. It is worn with a Drake's necktie from last year, a Simonnot Godard tattersall pocket square and a peach shirt from that same maker's voile.

Tools of the Trade

Tools of the cutter's trade. A bowler hat for the walk to work.

And a pair of shears once he gets there.

Photographed at Leonard Logsdail's New York atelier.

Photos: Rose Callahan

Hoop Striped Socks

Perhaps the hardest to find accessory shown in the Apparel Arts illustrations from what some think of as the golden age are hoop striped dress socks. Oh, there are one size fits all casual socks in a plethora of colors, but something suitable for wear with tailored clothing is a lot rarer on the ground.

I am thinking of over the calf merino wool in classic colorways. Dark green on cream like the socks in the illustrations would be one, if only to pay homage. Dark red on light gray perhaps, and navy on light blue and dark gray on mid gray as well.  What else?

Style Icon: Beppe Modenese

I am convinced that all Italian style icons wear knit ties in warm weather. And in the photo, Beppe Modenese, founder of Milan Fashion Week, reinforces the stereotype.

The photo is also of interest as it may document the only time Mr. Modenese has been photographed wearing something other than a navy blue striped suit.

Photo: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images

Basic Bond

The most basic of lightweight combinations: blue tropical weight suit, white shirt, black shoes and a solid satin or knit necktie.

He may have learned it from Cary Grant. Or was it the other way around?

The Hat Takes Shape

There has been more progress on the felt planter's hat from Leon Drexler, which seems as though it will be ready just in time for the season. We chose the ribbon, an earthy gray around the crown that complements the lighter colored binding of the brim. The brim itself is a little wider than it was on the first go-round, and the crown a little taller to maintain the proportions.

I was frankly so moved by the photograph that I ordered more cigars, breaking a vow I had made to abstain for the balance of the year. But to my eye that hat would be incomplete without one.

Remember Your Accessories

The difference between dressed and well dressed is often the finishing touches, in my opinion. Every man wears polos, trousers and shoes. Too few top the polo off with a square, like the man in the illustration. Hats, scarves and gloves join neckwear as the most often overlooked accessories.

Remember your accessories.

A Half-Hearted Launch of the Shaving Stuff

Sharp-eyed observers have noted that there has been an incomplete assortment of wet shaving supplies in the Grooming section of the ASW store for a couple of weeks. It is incomplete because our search for the highest quality shaving supply makers determined that the English firm of D. R. Harris & Co. had the best rated shaving creams, and no sooner did we place our first order than that firm's only employee trained to complete the paperwork necessary to ship products containing alcohol into the United States departed for long term sick leave. And so the cologne and after shave portion of that line has been sitting in London for some time, only to finally depart for America a day ago if all went well.

Obstacles remain of course. Once the various potions and compounds arrive in Petaluma they will still need to be photographed and PhotoShopped and pre-wrapped and binned and things, but we hope to have the rest of the line up and running nonetheless by sometime next week.

ASW will initially be stocking Harris's Arlington and Marlborough ranges in addition to a selection of razors, brushes and other accessories. Arlington is a lively but subtle citrus scent mixed with hints of fern that is best for daytime and really shines in warm weather. Marlborough on the other hand is a subtle blend of woods including cedar and sandalwood that is better for evening and fall (your mileage of course may vary, which is why we will be offering testers of each fragrance). The advantage of each scent is that it can be layered, with shaving soap, after shave, cologne and other products all working together. And the shaving soap is the finest quality, triple-milled to increase the profuseness of the lather.

All this aside, ASW is not going to become a pharmacy, with a profusion of grooming items. But wet shaving is probably the second best experience a man can have with his pajamas on and I did want to offer a high quality way to enjoy it.

Multi-Colored Shoes

Multi-colored shoes seem to be the thing this year, at least they are at Edward Green which is for the first time in recent memory making an effort to market its products. This may be because that venerable firm has finally decided that remaining invisible while the upstarts in its market get all the attention is not the best business but whatever the reason it is good to see what I consider the best of the Northampton shoemakers join the conversation.

Now I will say that when it comes to this "best" thing that I have not actually seen Alfred Sargent's recent production. But, without question, Edward Green continues to have the broadest set of models, features, leathers and colors of the Northampton makers and a production quality that is with John Lobb (Paris) one of the two best that I have laid my eyes on.

At any rate, as I wrote, EG's new thing appears to be color. The firm collaborated with design firm Hardy Amies to produce four models in a palette of blues, greys and burgundies that are available at Edward Green's Jermyn Street shop in London as well as on display at the Amies studio on Savile Row. They include (from back to front in the photo) a version of the Chelsea in burgundy and slate; the Shannon boot in either midnight and twilight, burgundy and old rose, or slate and black; a Picadilly slip-on in three tones of either blue or slate; and a Falkirk in either midnight blue and twilight or slate and black.

I for one am glad to see them making an effort.

Photo: Edward Green

On Cotton, Cooper, a Bit of Drape and Plastic Buttons

Cotton grows on a man. I have written many times before that it wears out shortly after you put it on for the first time, making cotton tailored clothing about as expensive as clothing gets on a cost per wear basis, but regular readers are aware that I did break down and commission a couple pieces for the suburbs where I spend too much of my life. And in doing so I was joining noted menswear author G. Bruce Boyer (GBB), whose cotton blazer by Cheo Bespoke is showing its stuff in the photograph.

By the way, GBB's new book, Gary Cooper: Enduring Style (with Maria Cooper Janis) is scheduled to be released by powerhouse Books in November, 2011. Cooper of course was one of Hollywood's leading men for decades, and the book will feature 150 never before published photographs of the man and his life, including his under-appreciated wardrobe. It's already being offered at a discount so I recommend you click over to Amazon and pre-order copies for everyone you know right now while you are thinking about it. And now we return to our regularly scheduled programming.

GBB is notably stylish himself, and his blazer is a lovely example of the Scholte drape cut, which is distinguished by the vertical folds of cloth inside the armholes. Seen as a flaw by the uninitiated, a bit of drape gives a coat that nicely relaxed look that keeps so many American customers returning to Anderson & Sheppard, the best-known proponent of the drapey silhouette. But it is obvious that the coat in the photos is not A&S. For one thing, the buttons are horn. A&S uses plastic.

Photos: Rose Callahan

Wear a Bow Tie

The bow tie is really under-appreciated, in my opinion. I guess that is only natural when neckties of any kind are increasingly rare away from the office, for it is on social occasions that the bow tie finds its place. Too idiosyncratic for most professions, bow ties are a perfect change of pace for cocktail parties and the like. They say the occasion is a special one, worthy of a little extra effort.

It is that sort of extra effort that in my opinion separates the well dressed from the rest of us. Cary Grant looks natural in his neckerchiefs and ascots in To Catch a Thief, while those around him are open collared or conventionally four in handed. And that is not because he is Cary Grant, but rather because, done tastefully, those little touches of respect for those around him are well received. 

See for yourself, the next time you are headed to a cocktail party. Wear a bow tie.

Dress Well and Serve Food

Somewhat orthogonal to the usual topics, we gave a party the other day and, leaving the host out of the discussion, the pizza maker was the best dressed male in the group. An interesting man who in typical California fashion cooks to support his life of wind surfing, he has over the years learned that while he is working he is the center of attraction, and dressing the part earns him more new and return engagements than does blending into the crowd.

This economic reward for standing out is the principal force behind the changed dress at most major awards ceremonies and other high visibility events in recent years. Instead of dressing to fit in, men are attempting to stand out and, unlike the ladies, have had a difficult time figuring out how to go about it. Tom Ford's classic approach keeps him visible in an attractive way, but his success is due to the general lack of competition - if the other men were doing exactly the same thing none of them would be magazine material.

That defines the dilemma of course, as since sometime after Brummel the accepted protocol for dealing with obvious attempts to be different has been to disparage the attempter (and who knows how we got there, as Brummel hardly adopted a radically new approach to dress in order to blend in). The society of the time was established. Dukes do not need to compete for attention since they are, after all, Dukes. It is only the poor writers and comedians that must be noticed if they are to eat. And that brings us back to the lesson of the pizza maker, which is apparently to dress well and serve food.

Some Things Don't Change

Trousers are all about line. From the hips they should ideally fall straight to the floor or to any break they may have at the ankle.

In the photo, Sean Connery as James Bond wears a pair of what were known as Conduit Cut trousers that look essentially identical to my Neapolitan trousers of 2011.

Half a century may have passed but some things don't change.

Layer Your Knitwear

He is not recalled for particularly great leadership, but the late John Lindsay, one of the Mayors of New York City during its decline in the 1960s and 70s, was a well dressed man in a preppy sort of way. And one of the things that both American prepsters like Lindsay and the Italian Loro Piana/Brunello Cucinelli set do well, if I may tar both ethnicities with a generalization, is layer their knitwear.

There are two principal ways to use knitwear in the day's clothes after all. One is as an accent piece, like the lilac vee neck worn under a tweed jacket, and the other is as the focal point. And in that latter role, nothing complements knitwear so well as another piece of knitwear, particularly a lightweight single ply rollneck or mock tee. Wear it under a pub jacket for example, like the version on Mr. Lindsay, to add texture and visual interest to a casual day's clothes.

Photo: LIFE



Times Have Changed

I was speaking to Simon Cundey, director at London's Henry Poole & Co, the other day and he mentioned some interesting things about how the Poole customers' interactions with the two hundred year old tailoring firm have changed over the past twenty.

Poole has always endeavored to make itself feel welcoming, like visiting a club, and, whether English, American or European two decades ago the typical customer came to see them about eight times each year. Airport security was less time consuming then, and the Concorde made trans-Atlantic day trips possible, if expensive.

Today's Poole customer orders the same amount of clothing - from one to twelve garments a year typically - but increasingly Poole either interacts electronically with them or comes to the customer. Half the firm’s revenue is generated by its visits to North America, continental Europe and Japan. That has caused Poole to become a lot better at getting its clothes right the first time, as any delay tends to require six months. But delays do not happen often. The fitting process has been routinized to the point where after the first suit’s two or three fittings subsequent orders are placed and the next thing you know it’s a ”Here it is sir” check with changes required fewer than 20% of the time.

Times have changed.

Photo: Henry Poole & Co

Click through to my new post, Ordering Your First Bespoke, on Forbes Lifestyle.

Properly Unbuttoned

It is always with mixed feelings that I begin to contemplate autumn. On the one hand, there is the thought of renewing acquaintance with that closet full of friends that were put away in the spring. On the other, there is the less pleasant prospect of the weather turning dismal. Still, a man must be realistic - it will be tweed weather in Stockholm next month.

When it is tweed weather, of course, it is also time to take out that overlooked fall essential, the knit waistcoat. Luciano Barbera shows us how to wear one under a lovat odd jacket, properly partially buttoned in a bit of harmless sprezzatura. The waistcoat adds a bit of additional color and texture to his ensemble, particularly since it complements without matching anything else the master is wearing.

As to the buttons, one of them buttoned is plenty but if you cannot tolerate the feeling of dishevelment do at least leave the bottom one open.

Photo: Luciano Barbera

Introducing Rose Callahan

I have been thinking about the geographic disadvantages of my San Francisco location when it comes to men's clothing for some time, and have finally taken one step towards doing something about it. Future posts will from time to time be graced by the photography of New York based photographer Rose Callahan, whose other work can be seen here.

Gray chalk striped fresco suit, light blue voile shirt, black knit necktie and my W. S. Foster airplane shoes.

Photos: Rose Callahan

Dire Straits

One of the difficult things about summer is that adherence to proper custom can sometimes place a man in dire straits, sartorially speaking. Take, for example, George Hamilton and Nick Foulkes in their summer suits in Antibes, France last year. The event was in the evening, so naturally that meant black shoes. I have worn them together myself but, sadly, black shoes and cream or white suits are not a match made in heaven. Better a light colored jacket with dark trousers.

Photo: Dave M. Benett/Getty Images

The Cashmere Muffler

New on the ASW store for the season to come is our cashmere muffler, a shorter, 150 cm/60" scarf that looks great worn in a Parisian knot without an overcoat. Just fold the scarf in half, place the open end to the left of your neck and pull the fringed ends through it before tightening.

Woven in Scotland from the finest quality pure cashmere with a luxurious ripple finish and a purl fringe. Try the navy with a gray jacket, the flannel gray with brown or the sand with navy.

Fortunately, the scarves are of better quality than my new video rig, which was supposed to show you how to tie the Parisian knot but refused to cooperate. In turn that set us back and we did not get the new knitwear or the Cappelli cashmere MTO necktie swatches loaded. Expect them next week.

A Planter's Progress

Stephen Tempkin of Leon Drexler sent along a few photos of the felt planter's hat he is making for sunny spring and fall Califonia days in the country. Though the actual hat will be made from the cream-colored silverbelly felt to the right of the photo, the mockup to the left is from a rejected piece of felt that happens to be black. It looks great - my only concern is that the planter's hat is meant to shade the head and the brim on the mock-up hat looks too narrow but we will get that addressed.

Stephen is binding the brim by hand the way it used to be done for bowlers, top hats and other curled brim hats (but which almost nobody does anymore). It is laborious, but it gives the hat a well-tailored look that can't be equalled by a brim binding machine. We originally discussed binding the edge with the same ribbon that would be used for the crown, but I am currently leaning towards a black ribbon around the crown and the cream on the brim. What do you think?

Neglected Options

Perhaps the two most neglected shirting colors are tan and gray and that should not be. We wear blue to death of course, and it works very nicely next to tan and brown jackets but is merely ordinary with gray and is just too repetitive with navy. We do have pink to wear with gray but pink isn't quite right with navy either in my opinion and a grown man can hardly tolerate a steady diet of the adventuresome colors like pink and burgundy anyway. Tan and gray on the other hand are just the thing for guys with compatible complexions. Just try to find them in anything but solid colors. You will begin to think that every shirting fabric in existence is either blue, pink, lilac or green (and who wears green?) with a little black on white thrown in.

The nice thing about shirts with tan or gray patterns on white grounds is that they can be mixed with a jacket from another one of the men's color triumvirate of blue, gray and tan/brown and, though it is still possible to come up with clashing patterns, the colors will always work together. Add a third color in a necktie like the pink one on the gray stripe or the blue on the tan and you have an attractive combination for the day without looking overly coordinated.

In the photo, tan and gray striped shirts sewn by MyTailor.com using cloth from D & J Anderson's DJA Popeline book.

More Blue

Blazers are among the most useful of jackets and a wardrobe should have one for each season. If a winter blazer is a 14 ounce/400 gram hopsack like the one from the other day, then its warmer weather equivalent is something like the 12 ounce/350 gram Finmeresco making up the shell of the double breasted jacket in the photograph. Now I will grant you that a couple of ounces does not sound like all that much difference, but Smith's Finmeresco breathes significantly better than hopsack and wears significantly cooler. Call it a 60 to 85 degree jacket (15 to 30 degrees C) where the hopsack is for up to 65 (18 C).

The shell in the photo is the standard state of a jacket for a W. W. Chan fitting when the firm is on tour. I have written in the past that the pieces of the coat are sewn together with basting thread and the canvas is attached but that is all. From looking at the garment on the customer, the tailor is able to corrrect egregious imperfections and note things like sleeves to rotate so the completed coat is significantly better than it would be without a fitting, even for a near-perfected pattern. And a shoulder did require rotation. Better now than later - if something needs adjustment the next time the coat is in San Francisco it will mean a three month delay and another $150 for shipping to Hong Kong.

The challenge with a fitting at this early stage is that there is no way to tell whether the firm will get the as yet undone details correct on the final coat, but the men at Chan are professionals after all and things have usually worked out so far or the relationship would not have endured. This particular jacket is slated for horn buttons instead of gilt and so will be considerably less flashy than the other. It is meant to be worn eight months of the year during the day and in the evening with gabardine or fresco trousers in cream, gray or tan, patterned shirts with white grounds, simple four in hand or bow ties and either lace-up bluchers, monks or slip-on shoes.

Maintenance: Badger & Blade

Wet shaving is one of those small luxuries that should remain part of a man's life, in my opinion. I still use an electric razor most days, but like to take the time for a wet shave every Saturday at the very least and ought to do it more often.

I wrote about wet shaving several years ago of course and in the comments that followed received instruction from several readers who were more familiar with the process than I. Well, I am still no expert but I did take what they said to heart, progressing, if that is the term, to a double-edged safety razor from a Gillette disposable.

Those same comments also opened my eyes to the existence of wet shaving forums like Badger & Blade online, where personal preferences and technical disagreements support active discussions as they do in other parts of the internet for wristwatches, automobiles, arcane audio equipment  and, yes, men's clothing. From the arcana of shaving soaps to serious talk about technique, a visit or two is recommended to any man who applies razor to face in the mornings.

Late Summer is Upon Us

Late Summer is upon us, that time of year when it is difficult to so much as think about clothes unless it is to calculate how little we can get away with wearing. My body of course is long past its sell by date and keeping as much of it covered as possible is a service to the rest of mankind, which is one of the reasons why I wear a jacket so long as the water outside is not threatening to boil.

Linen safari jacket worn on the weekend with a voile shirt, cotton Simonnot-Godard neckerchief, gabardine trousers and a pair of Sloop slip-ons. The safari seems to me a little better suited to a neckerchief than a conventional odd jacket, and a neckerchief better in the heat than a regular necktie, particularly when one is not headed anywhere particularly formal.