Harris Tweed

I've had the pictured stack of Harris tweed swatches sitting in my office for a couple of years and thought it time to do something with them. So, here they are (click on the photo for a close-up that shows the colors better).

Beloved of American trads, Harris designs are relatively generic. Unlike the district checks, Harris tweed is not intended to disappear into the background "on the hill" or to identify a particular estate. This particular batch is 14 ounce (I know the tags say 7 ozs but Harris is woven on single width looms so that number is doubled to make it comparable to most cloth on the market) tweed from Harrison's of Edinburgh, in a variety of colorations. I especially like the lovat solid at the bottom but I don't know if I'll ever get around to having a jacket made from it.

Harris is distinguished as the only tweed with a brand. It's defined by law as "hand woven by the islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebrides, finished in the islands of Harris, Lewis, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist and Barra and their several purtenances (The Outer Hebrides) and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides."

Perhaps the biggest contribution of the Harris ecology to the world at large is not the tweed so much as the employment that the cloth provides for so much of the population of these remote islands. A substantial cottage industry of weavers works on looms at their homes to produce lengths of tweed in weights ranging from 12 ounces up to 20. While the looms are 'pedalled' by the weavers with no external power source allowed, the cloth provided to the weavers has been machine dyed and spun using methods similar to those of any other textile operation. And after the weaving is complete, bundles of cloth are collected for machine finishing at a processing center before they are sent on to be turned into all the variety of jackets, caps and other goods that the stuff is known for. The cloth is fine but the "hand woven" bit is over-hyped.

In the United States, Ben Silver among others offers a variety of ready to wear Harris tweed odd jackets (the cloth is too loosely woven for trousers) for the not terribly outrageous price of $595 each.

The G9

Fall might be time to investigate another enduring classic, the Baracuta G9, an English outer jacket that's been around since 1937. Wear it for weekend leaf raking with chinos, bluchers and, as the temperature falls, a sweater.

The much copied G9 has:

• Elasticized banding at the cuffs & waist
• Raglan sleeves
• 2 front button pockets
• Zippered closure and a button neck closure

Fully lined in a Fraser tartan plaid, the cotton version is $245 plus $5 shipping from O'Connell's in Buffalo, New York. Ben Silver offers it in Melton wool for $375.

Changing Seasons

We've entered the final weeks of summer in the Northern hemisphere and our active wardrobes will change with the new season. Autumn's country clothing, like Spring's, takes its coloring cues from nature. Tweed jackets were woven to blend into the terrain during the stalking season in Scotland, and sweaters and corduroy trousers share that same palette.

Shetland sweaters, like these Jamieson's at Ben Silver, are one of the reasons that Fall is my favorite time of year. Wear them over a checked flannelette shirt.

Men with compatible coloring who haven't already taken advantage of rust and orange in their Fall wardrobes should trying adding an item or two to their closets. As the photos illustrate, either color will complement sky blue, bottle green, or mustard corduroys.

I've always enjoyed the way city clothes reflect the colors of man, while country clothes blend with nature. Autumn sends me to the country side of my closet.

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.

Father's Day is Coming Up

Father's Day is just around the corner in the United States and U.K., and it used to be a difficult day for me. That was when I used to break my own rule and let the women in my life shop for me if they chose. It just seemed mean spirited to stop them, even though all clothing gifts were automatically recycled to Goodwill with the tags still on.

That was because, much as I love women, most of them can barely clothe themselves and, despite their sex's genetic assumption that they are shopping goddesses, they know nothing about clothing for men. Naturally, this point of view caused a certain amount of friction over the years.

I'm pleased that after several false starts I've arrived at a reasonable compromise. It wasn't even that hard once I got the idea, which is kind of a guy's version of a bridal register. I pick a menswear catalog with a selection of things that I like, such as the pictured Arnys Forestiere jacket at Maus & Hoffman (I should be so lucky). I mark ten or twelve acceptable or desireable items at various price points and give the catalog to any interested woman. She can get me any of the marked items knowing I'll be somewhat surprised and truly greatful (this is quite a change - for years I would behave badly to any woman that bought me clothing as a matter of principle). Of course, the same approach can be taken with sports gear, alcohols, and other good stuff.

Now if you've got one of those rare ladies who knows instinctively that the best gift she can get you is a bottle of single malt or two seats behind the first base dugout, you don't need my help. But if there is still stress in this part of your relationship, try giving them a catalog. If you're in the same boat I was, things can hardly get any worse.

The Necktie Wardrobe, Part 2

Yesterday's essay discussed solid colored neckties and today's will consider patterned versions.

We'll start with stripes. A man probably needs at least four two-color striped neckties, and at least one of those ought to be Irish poplin for its sheen. Block stripes (above, from Ben Silver) and ribbon stripes (as shown below, from O'Connell's) are flexible styles that coordinate easily with patterned suits and shirts. Navy and gold, navy and pacific blue, navy and red, and red and gold are classic color combinations.

For serious occasions, there should be two Macclesfield ties. Mini-dots are discreet and fairly easy to find. White or silver dots on black and the same on wine are useful combinations.

There should also be a couple small checks, either shepherd's or houndstooth in navy on cream and gray on cream like the one below, from Brooks Brothers, as well as a paisley or two (get the paisleys in gummed silk if you can find them but I haven't seen one for about ten years) in a large print.

Next, there should be a couple of non-directional foulards or club ties, one of which should have a ground that complements navy suits. The other should pair well with gray suits. Sportsmen may choose prints featuring ducks or Labrador retrievers but most men will be better served by heraldic symbols, like the pictured tie from Henry Poole, or small flowers, like the tie at the bottom from O'Connell's.

Finally, most men should have four seasonal ties, two linen (or silk and linen) with tan and blue grounds for summer and a gray and a blue ground cashmere or wool challis for cooler weather. The patterns should be similar to the styles discussed above. These ties are to provide some different textures with which to vary your look.

So that's it, a dozen neckties that, combined with the dozen solids and semi-solids from yesterday, comprise a fine basic wardrobe for a well-dressed man.

The Necktie Wardrobe, Part 1

A suit-wearing man needs a minimum of about two dozen neckties. About a dozen of those should be solids and semi-solids with textures that add surface interest. Solids make the most flexible neckties because their relative inobtrusiveness makes them amenable to frequent wearing, and they make it easy to complement a pattern in a suit, shirt, or both.

Knitted silk neckties, like the ones shown above from Paul Stuart, are a wardrobe staple in warm weather, and on less formal occasions (their square bottoms make them more casual). Black, navy and dark red are the most useful colors.

Grenadines, which are also knitted silk but in a tighter weave, are more formal than knits. Pictured above, and also from Paul Stuart, they may be worn where-ever a man might wear a lounge suit. Consider black, navy, burgundy and silver.

A few more solids should round out the collection. A man can never have too many navy neckties and an oxford weave solid (shown above in Pacific blue, another useful color, from Ben Silver) should be one of them.

Finally, there should be a couple ribbed solids in steel blue and in charcoal with a blue tint, either ottomans (the latter have a more visible stripe, as pictured above, from Paul Stuart) or twill (below, from Ben Silver).

Tomorrow we'll look at a selection of patterned ties.

Reader Questions

From Jonathan

"Do you have any advice on removing stubborn wrinkles from neckties? I have a number of ties (from respected makers) that seem permanently "scrunched" after being untied. I've heard that some roll them after a wear, others may steam--might it have to do with the interlinings?"

Try steaming them from the back (that way if you get a water spot on the tie it's not visible).

As you wrote, some men swear by rolling them. Unfortunately, it's never done anything noticeable for me.

From Lee

"What types of wool pants would you buy for year-round wear? I think tropical wool wrinkles and wears, and am aware of various weights, but since I am forced to buy most of my clothes online, it is often hard to guage seasonal wearability."

There's nothing that's really suitable for year-round wear in a temperate climate The closest you might get would be to wear tropicals under a coat in the winter, however your legs will be cold and tropical weight cloth doesn't wear as well as the heavier stuff.

Compromises that are suitable for most of the year include gabardine. The RTW fabric sold at sources like Ben Silver is fine for all but the hottest weather. Not ideal for freezing temperatures, but better than a tropical.

Consider also medium weight twills like whipcord and cavalry twill. The stuff wears like iron and the weights you are likely to find are going to wear warmer than gabardine but still be nine month cloth.

To the left is a photo of some of the late Duke of Windsor's odd trousers. It has nothing to do with the question, but I couldn't find anything else that did either.

Sources: Ben Silver

Operating with the motto "Classic Style has always been our business," Charleston's Ben Silver is among the largest catalog and online providers of quality clothing. Indeed, the company is so well known, mailing to over four million customers around the world, that that I've wondered whether writing about them is even helpful to my readers.

But then I needed some socks, and Ben Silver has more patterned dress socks for wear with suits than any other source I know of (the Alan Flusser Custom shop in New York always has some nice ones but I can't buy their stuff on the Web in the middle of the evening when I usually "shop"). I depend on Silver's over the calf cotton and wool herringbones, birdseyes and houndstooths from Milan's Sozzi Calze (Silver doesn't offer horizontally striped versions in classic colors but no-one else does either).

Other interesting merchandise includes hard to find Francois Pinton sunglasses as worn by Cary Grant and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Trumper and Acqua Di Parma toiletries, and what may be the world's largest selections of enameled blazer buttons and cufflinks.

The company processes orders daily and ships in-stock orders within 2 working days of their receipt. They do a fine job of keeping customers informed about back orders and have a fair returns policy (exchange or refund within 30 days of receipt, as long as it is in saleable condition). That's classic style.

How to Shop for Men's Clothing

Legend has it that men dislike shopping for clothes but I don't agree with that. I think men are happy to do their own shopping once they learn how to do it efficiently so they can get on with life. They don't want to spend their Saturday afternoons shopping, and I don't blame them.

In my opinion, there's no reason for a man's clothes shopping to require much more than two hours a year unless he wants it to. As with most things, the key is get a proper foundation in place. Once that's done, buying a season's garb is principally a matter of picking up the phone or writing a couple of emails. Of course, there are worse things than a morning walking around the 7ème Arrondissement in Paris and browsing at Arnys.

Shopping is simplest when you don't have to think about where to shop. For example, for most of the first half of my life, I, like many American men, did essentially all my shopping at Brooks Brothers. The problem with that approach is that there are very few places that can serve as a single source any longer (including Brooks Brothers and the mens' sections of department stores with one or two possible exceptions in Manhattan). There may be a life-long U.S. partner among the stores in Esquire's list of the best men’s specialty stores if one is close by. But most men will have to use several providers.

Men's clothing providers tend to specialize in shoes, tailored clothing, shirts or haberdashery (some shirtmakers are also great haberdashers but more often the two are a separate category). Though specialists usually dabble in other categories, they tend to do a great job in only their primary area. That means each man may need a source for shoes, one for suits, a third for shirts and perhaps a fourth for everything else.

The benefit from having established providers comes when it's time to shop. Men who want to spend only the minimum necessary time need do little more than see their tailor (that's Rubinacci's location in London to the left) twice a year to confirm the fit of that season's clothes and select swatches for delivery in six months. Shoes and shirts can be ordered with emails specifying the styles and colors. A periodic visit to an online haberdashery source like Ben Silver or Kabbaz-Kelly will take care of any remaining needs.

Spring and Fall
Just as seasonal clothes arrive in the stores before the season begins, bespoke clothing must be made in advance of each season. For example, I order my clothing for cool weather each Spring and in the Fall I order warm weather gear. When the clothes are ready the season then is just around the corner.

Ready to wear items follow a similar pattern and you may even be able to shop last season's sales while you're taking care of the coming season's necessities.

Finding Sources
The hard part is finding a set of relationships that satisfy. New bespoke and made to measure sources require a lot of trust, and it takes months before a man knows if his faith is going to be rewarded (as I've written elsewhere, the only time to have new clothes made is when you don't yet need them). Reputation helps, but personal recommendations are even more important when, as I've learned on more than one occasion, a great reputation sometimes lags behind a more ordinary reality.

Spend a year establishing relationships with a set of providers and there'll be no more reason to dislike shopping.