The High Cost of Accessories

The accessories we carry are as important to our image as the rest of what we wear, and I need a new credit card case. Not that there's anything seriously wrong with mine, but I've had it for a decade and it's very dark brown where it once was tan leather.

Most men carry a wallet unless, like me, they worry about the drape of their jacket. I make do with a credit card case in a trouser pocket. And a key case (to prevent keys from abusing the pocket lining). Usually a pen and a wrist watch. Perhaps cufflinks and a money clip. And that's about it. Unfortunately, nothing in the pockets of a well dressed man is exactly inexpensive.

Watches, of course, cost like crazy, but so does the rest of the gear. That credit card case that I need, for example. It's just a little thing but April in Paris asks about $200 per slot for the pictured alligator version that holds six cards. It's certainly beautifully made, and comes in my choice of seven colors, with another half dozen choices for the contrasting interior.

Fortunately for the contents of my card case, I think alligator is just too showy (even when I wore belted trousers I left my alligator belts in the closet) and the price drops in half for those customers willing to tolerate the daily compromise of carrying calf instead. So Christmas is coming and I'll probably go for a new case. In calf. But I'll be dreaming about dark brown alligator with a tan stingray interior.

April in Paris, by the way, is the one world class must-see craftsman I know of in the Bay area.

Not So Cheap Sunglasses

Sunglasses certainly made a large contribution to the decline of the hat, fulfilling as they do the hat's keeping the glare from one's eyes duty, in an easier to carry form. Their popularity took off after aviator's glasses were worn by thousands of flying men during the Second World War.

Perhaps the quintessential pair were seen on Cary Grant. He wore the rectangular frame style from France's Francois Pinton. You can too. $330 from Ben Silver.

Pinned Shirt Collars

In his day, columnist Herb Caen was arguably one of San Francisco's best dressed men (I say arguably only because of his penchant for unfortunate neckties) and a good customer of Savile Row's Henry Poole. As I leafed through a collection of his work last week I was struck by how often he was photographed wearing pinned collars. Good for him.

Like a tab collar, the virtue of a pin is that it raises the necktie knot. Though some deem it a little fussy or a little flash, it's better than a tab because when you remove the pin and necktie, you're left with an ordinary shirt collar. At least you are if you haven't indulged in one of those shirts that's got little holes sewn so you don't have to put the pin through the cloth. I consider that unnecessary as the weave will close up again during laundering, whereas pre-sewn eyelets mean a shirt is unwearable if you don't feel like pinning it that day.

Collars for pins come in two styles. There's the straight collar, usually about 3" long, and the rounded corner club (Brooks Brothers calls it the golf). I like to pin my club collars if I'm wearing them in the city, and I leave them unpinned in the country. That means I probably pin an individual shirt perhaps twice a year, so any damage caused by the pin is hardly a factor in the shirt's longevity.

If you're looking to acquire a pin, the safety pin style should be about 2" long or a little longer. Broderick has them in 14 carat gold for $180, and in gold plate or sterling for less than $30.

Artistic Links Tie Tacks at CSE

Jerome Goldfischer of Artistic Links has brought the Collection of Sartorial Excellence a remarkable assortment of cuff links, dress sets and tie tacks made from antique Japanese porcelin buttons that have been mounted in gold settings. All the links are antiques collected over the course of the past twenty-five years (a number of the cufflinks are made from buttons from the estate of General Douglas MacArthur). The dress set on display, comprised of three studs and a pair of cufflinks, was fit for a duke and at $8,000 also requires a ducal income. To the left is a photo of a selection of tie tacks.

There is no web site but information is available by emailing Goldfischer.

Walking Sticks

Walking sticks were first used for support and a bit of protection by men who couldn't afford swords. Later, they served the same function after swords were banned in cities. A century ago, no man of quality would leave his home without a cane.

The automobile began the cane's slide into obscurity, and, according to Esquire's Encyclopedia of 20th Century Men's Fashions, canes had essentially disappeared on city streets in the United States by 1970. But they are still useful in the country.

There are three levels of cane formality: the country stick, the city stick and the dress cane. The standard city length is 36" but they are, or were, routinely made in one inch increments ranging from 34" to 38". When standing with your arms at your sides, a properly sized cane comes up to your wrist just above the palm.

Dress canes tend to be of rosewood, maple or ebony, and are frequently adorned with silver or ivory handles. They are beautiful things, and I've collected a couple in the hope that they will be useful in my old age (perhaps I'm overly optimistic to think that I'll still be attending formal affairs when I need a stick to get around).

City sticks tend to be polished lengths of wood such as ash, bamboo, rattan and Malacca with crooked handles. There is a version with a built-in flask that could be useful on cold days when a quick nip would be appreciated, like any day this week in New York.

In the country, canes may have rustic decoration, like the curly rams horn topped stick carried by the Prince of Wales in the illustration, and are often made of root wood such as blackthorn (Swaine Adeney offers a horn topped stick for £300). The shooting stick variant with a folding seat comes in handy at spectator sports where seats are scarce, like PGA events and polo matches. UniqueCanes.com offers a couple styles as well as a versions with built-in flasks.

Carrying a stick in the country is an aid in rough terrain and a knobbed end can help beat off the odd rabid dog or, in California, mountain lion. In the city, they are a nuisance to carry as few establishments offer a place to put them once you've arrived. And the protection afforded by three feet of wood is minimal in an age when any serious threat on a city street is probably carrying a Glock.

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.