Sources: Cape Madras

Madras, inexpensive yarn-dyed cotton from the Madras region of India, was in the summer wardrobe of every American preppie fifty years ago. And then it disappeared; I am told because it was too inexpensive and Indian weavers were moving upmarket.

I'm happy that limited quantites of Madras are back again, as it's an excellent hot weather fabric. A Maine company, Cape Madras, is offering reasonably well-made patch Madras shirts, shorts, skirts and blazers in a variety of colorways online and through about 600 retailers in North America. Price points are $75 - $130.

Of course, one of the characteristics of the original madras was that it ran and faded over time. The current stuff is "improved" to be colorfast so it doesn't age as well. That said, it still adds grace to the summertime wardrobe of sun bleached sunbathers. I'll be wearing mine to taste wine this coming weekend.

Sources: Breanish Tweed

For twenty years, Savile Row tailor Anderson & Sheppard was the only well-known source for lightweight (11 ounce) Harris tweed jacketing. Hand woven in the Outer Hebrides, Breanish tweed, as it is known, was a classic artisanal product. That's their lambswool Howard of York pattern in the photograph.

With the recent retirement of founder Ian Sutherland, the Breanish Tweed company is now operated by Anna Murray and Iain Finlay Macleod. The pair have added a new web site and are offering cloth online, without changing the qualities that have made Breanish tweed popular with men who enjoy wearing their tweed jackets in the shoulder seasons.

In addition to the online offerings, the Breanish folks will endeavor to weave cloth to a customer's specification, with a minimum of 48 meters single width - enough cloth for ten odd jackets. I am currently working with them to design a length of lambswool in a gray herringbone with sea foam green accents. Anyone interested in participating in this project should email will at dynend.com.

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.

Sources: Lawrence & Foster

I was pleased to learn that my formerly invisible-on-the-internet capmaker, the Yorkshire firm of Lawrence & Foster, has launched a website. Summer or winter, linen or tweed, if you're in need of head covering that's between a fedora and a baseball cap on the spectrum of clothing formality, this is a good place for it.

The L&F site is limited to four men's models (£38.00 to £40.00 ex VAT, or about $80) and four styles for women (£39.00 to £45.00 ex VAT, or $80-$90) in a variety of tweed, but the firm is not. I have cloth sent there and confirm the details by email. A few weeks later, hats appear. Each time, the execution has been flawless.

The great thing about a tweed cap of course is that it sheds a lot of water before it soaks through, a useful characteristic during the rainy season.

Recommended.

Sources: Cable Car Clothiers

I have to admit that I've been conflicted about Cable Car Clothiers for many years, and I've begun several essays about them only to delete them each time before publishing. That's because Cable Car arouses strong emotions in me, both positive and negative. On the one hand, it's got one of the more interesting merchandise offerings of any store in the United States. On the other, its pricing policies are actually pricing atrocities. Everything I've ever price checked there has been at least 30% higher than I could obtain it somewhere else without much trouble.

I mean, how can a retailer expect to sell much when its goods are priced higher than the identical articles on the manufacturers' web sites? Do they think potential customers don't look at the home pages for Kent brushes, George Trumper grooming products and James Lock hats? Even their Atkinson's Irish poplin neckties, which can't be purchased directly, are tagged at $125 each when The Andover Shop and other North American retailers sell the same items for $75!

On the other hand, I walked around the store the other day with a couple of friends and we were impressed with what may be the best selection of tweed suits and odd jackets West of the Appalachians as well as a variety of wool challis neckties like the ones in the photo. And I've been known to pop in there for a package of linen handkerchiefs when I didn't want to wait for UPS to bring them across the country.

So in the end I'm just conflicted. I'd like Cable Car to prosper, but I can't recommend buying anything there unless you are in town and you need it right now. One thing that's certain, if you're a man who loves classic clothing it should be the first place you visit in San Francisco.

Sources: J. L. Powell

Once the pollution from Indiana's steel mills was cleaned up a generation ago, Chicagoans began to seek out the dunes of Southwestern Michigan for their country houses. Today, in a century old former New York Central Railroad station, leisure and adventure wear purveyor J. L. Powell sells them apparel for outdoor activities ranging from walking to wingshooting (an edited version of their inventory is also available on the World Wide Web).

Inspired by Willis & Geiger, a great name that Lands’ End purchased and then shut down, Powell's tasteful selection includes some of my favorite suppliers, such as Inis Meàin knitwear and Edward Green shoes. Indeed, two of the site's better values are EG's Belgravia casuals in Edwardian for $735 a pair and Warwick half boots in dark oak for $835, about 25% below current prices elsewhere.

The way the firm appears to be integrating itself into the community bodes well for its longevity. I've seen photos of a long abandoned gasoline station on the main highway that's been re-purposed for merchandise display. And last month the company sponsored a Side by Side Classic shooting competition with exhibits by Barbour, Filson and Fieldsport. This is similar to the way that James Lock and John Lobb London remain visible to their British customers in the countryside.

To my taste, Powell is one of the more interesting new purveyors in North America.

Sources: Four In Hand

I discovered Jonathan Fischer's Four In Hand site when I was searching for one of Begg's paisley cashmere scarves for my wife. Alex Begg Scottish cashmere scarves are among the very finest I've ever seen but the patterned versions are hard to find. FIH had several.

That led me into a series of emails with Jonathan, the entrepreneur behind the site. I like his assortment of linen pocket squares with hand rolled edges ($24), the selection of Marinella neckties ($155) and the variety of short (56") neckties that accompany the more common regular (59") and long (63") lengths.

My first order was processed the same day and sent by DHL, Four In Hand's preferred shipper, with a tracker.

The company will accept neckties back within 14 days of receipt for a full refund of the merchandise price. Suits and outerwear can be returned within ten days for a full refund of the price paid for merchandise, and up to 14 days for a store credit. Unless otherwise arranged shipping costs are not credited.

Summer Socks

Last week, Alex Kabbaz and Joelle Kelly of CustomShirt1.com launched a major upgrade to their shopping site with a new checkout system that includes a member rewards program. Each purchase earns reward points equal to 10% of the purchase and once a member's account reaches 1,000 points they can be exchanged for merchandise.

Rewards are all the more reason to be pleased that the selection of cotton socks for summer has expanded dramatically this year. Readers may recall that I've complained about the dearth of striped socks available to those of us who have to do much of our shopping on the Web. Kabbaz and Kelly have eased my pain with new offerings from Pantherella and Marcoliani.

I don't generally care for many of Pantherella's color combinations, but their Sea Island stripes (the center photo) and solids are just fine and the quality is excellent. The Marcoliani offerings (top and bottom photos), on the other hand, are made from a humbler cotton and nylon combination but whoever designs the line has a great eye for color. In fact, the Bordeaux and the pine green colorings in Marcoliani's Merino wool dress hose are as close to perfect as I've seen in a sock and it doesn't get better than that.

Sources: Tuttle

Connecticut's Tuttle Sportswear started in 1990 as a golf clothing specialist and over time has expanded its offerings to include most types of ready to wear sportswear. The company's offerings reflect its original golf orientation, with lines such as Oscar Jacobson, Bobby Jones and Ben Hogan side by side with Dore Dore socks and Majer trousers.

I am not one for logos, or for someone else's name sewn conspicuously on my clothing, but I do like Tuttle's private labeled goods, such as their Alpaca V-Neck sweater vests ($125) in eleven colors and the single ply cashmere mock turtlenecks ($325). I wear the mock tees under odd jackets when I'm visiting a Silicon Valley business that may not have seen a man wearing a necktie since the previous millenium.

The company has been successful because it does things right. Shipments are sent next business day by Fedex at reasonable prices (the default is ground service) and there is a convenient order tracker screen built into the site.

There is also a reasonable refund and exchange policy. Refunds are issued in the original form of payment and there is no shipping charge on exchange orders. Original and return shipping, handling and insurance charges are not refundable.

Sources: Derek Rose

No facts buttress my opinion but I believe that most men wear cotton shorts and a tee shirt to sleep in for much of their lives, if they wear anything at all. And that is probably a perfectly adequate approach until one begins living en famille and more modesty is required if one is not to terrify one's children in the morning.

Now when a man first decides that he needs some pajamas, he should ideally consult with his shirtmaker. Pajamas that fit, in a variety of shirting cottons, should cost no more than quality ready to wear versions. But that alternative is not available to everyone and may not be worth the trouble to some men if it is.

When ready to wear night clothes fill the bill, consider the UK's Derek Rose. Three generations of the Rose family have been making high quality pyjamas, gowns and nightwear under the label since 1926. The family added an ecommerce site to their web presence in 2004.

The Derek Rose web site is another case where the global reach of the internet helps keep prices in check. I probably get four or five catalogs each month that offer Derek Rose products for more money than the company sells them for directly (though the worst offense may be committed by Sierra Trading Post which offers items from the value priced Savile Collection at full retail while claiming "savings" by comparing the STP price to the much more expensive, and better quality, Derek Rose product line).

Of course, shipping and customs duty play a part in the prices we pay, and I was initially sceptical of the Derek Rose value proposition when I saw that the company had elected to make UPS its exclusive shipping parter (the same UPS who recently told me they wanted $150 to return a 3 lb. umbrella to the UK for repair), however the price is a fairly reasonable flat rate of £14.99 per package.

The company offers roughly the internet's standard return and exchange policy. Buyers have 14 days to return goods in unused and re-saleable condition for any reason. Returned products are credited to the original purchaser's credit card including sales taxes for all European Community (EU) country shipments but excluding packaging and shipping charges. Refunds of international customs duties and sales taxes are excluded on shipments outside the EU.

Sources: Cravate Royale

There's a lot of ordinary product around these days but it's rare to find new sources for the good stuff. For very high quality bow ties ($90), ascots ($135) and pocket squares ($60), add Cravate Royale to your web favorites.

Bow tie wearer Anit Patel realized a life-long dream in 2006 when he opened his virtual doors. He started with a limited selection of excellent silks that are sewn in England, and he's currently working to expand his offerings with a line of cuff links based on Indian designs from the time of the Moghul Empire.

Patel's bow ties are made as 2 ¾ inch width butterflies, adjustable to fit neck sizes from 14" to 18". I'd stayed away from butterfly style ties my entire life as I found them difficult to tie, but I was won over by Cravate Royale's web site video on bow tie tying. It's the most useful instruction on its subject that I've ever seen, and now I'm a convert.

Orders received by 3PM are shipped the same day. Customers may return any product for exchange or refund within 30 calendar days provided that the merchandise is in its original condition.

Sources: James Lock & Co

Family owned for more than 300 years, hatters James Lock & Co were founded in London in 1676. One of the quintessentially English clothing purveyors, Lock is built into the culture - it exhibits, for example, at horse trials throughout the country.

I like Lock's cotton Monaco (pictured, £79.00) for sunny days on the golf course but the company's range is one of the more comprehensive in the world, from top hats to trilbys to velvet smoking caps with leather flying helmets and chauffeur's caps scattered along the way.

Lock complements its product range with a 'no quibble' money back guarantee. This means if a customer is not completely satisfied with a purchase for any reason, it can be returned in its original condition within 14 days of the purchase and Lock will refund the item's price. When returns are caused by an error on Lock's part or because a product is defective, the company refunds the shipping in both directions as well. I was happy with the guarantee after I ordered what was advertised as a linen cap and was sent a cotton one. Lock gave me a refund and then told me to keep their mistake rather than return it - making a customer for life.

With a new web site up and running this month, James Lock & Co appears ready for another 300 years.

Sources: Maus & Hoffman

A five store Florida chain that specializes in "classic sportswear," Maus & Hoffman also operates a useful web site offering good quality lines from makers such as Brioni and Oxxford. I am particularly fond of the company's Lemmermayer Links Alpaca Cardigan sweater.

The selection of online merchandise at first appears limited, however, much like Paul Stuart's set-up, customers can use an online form to order items from the M&H catalogs. A pdf version of the latest catalog is on the home page with an interesting selection of expensive but unique polos and other light-weight clothing for summer and resort wear. It's also worthwhile to periodically visit the Clearance section where quality Scottish cashmere items are currently 25% off.

The M&H terms of sale are more than fair. There is a thirty day exchange or refund policy for any item returned in good condition.

Sources: Paul Stuart

Paul Stuart is one of America's very best clothing store chains. For many years slightly more adventuresome than Brooks Brothers, Paul Stuart's New York store (there are also two in stores Tokyo and individual ones in Chicago, Kobe and Seoul) was described by Alan Flusser as the place where a man went for an interesting necktie after buying his sack suit at 43rd and Madison.

Unlike its neighbor, Paul Stuart has remained true to itself over the years and the web store's merchandise reflects the company's updated traditional approach. There's a selection of interesting neckties, an assortment of fairly refined pocket squares like the pictured yellow cotton Fleur De Lis iteration and some fine socks, including summer argyles in the best colorways I've seen anywhere. Most if not all of the merchandise is unique to the store.

Unique in my internet shopping experience, Paul Stuart's catalogs are online in addition to the featured collection of "Essentials." It isn't immediately obvious but customers can shop from both selections of merchandise, subject to availability of the catalog items.

The company has a very good return policy, offering credit or an exchange for any unused item that doesn not meet the buyer's expectations. When a return is due to a Paul Stuart error or merchandise quality, they pay the shipping costs.

Sources: J & J Minnis - John G. Hardy

If you want one of the world's best trouser makers, such as Naples' Salvatore Ambrosi, to make for you, you have to provide the cloth. Unlike most of the suppliers to bespoke tailors and high end ready to wear clothing manufacturers, royal warrant holders J & J Minnis - John G. Hardy sell some of the best cloth of their types directly to retail customers.

Minnis and Hardy are the two trading names for English cloth merchants Hunt & Winterbotham of Huddersfield, England. Though they have many other offerings, Minnis is particularly known for its flannels and frescos (the term fresco was patented and trademarked by the company in 1907), and Hardy holds up its end with a range of 12 ounce Venetian, Gaberdine, Whipcord, Bedford Cord and Cavalry Twill fabrics. The two also offer good quality tweeds and worsteds.

Retail pricing for this stuff is steep. A pair of my high waisted trousers requires two meters of cloth starting at £30.00 per meter for cottons and £60.00 per meter for gabardine and fresco (including VAT that is deducted from the price paid by buyers from outside the UK). Customers can order directly off the web site, which has photos of all the cloth.

On the negative side, the photos are dark and don't show detail. A 3% surcharge is added for credit cards, which I believe violates the Visa and Mastercard merchant agreements. The company doesn't respond to emails (I had an answer to one inquiry out of four). And what I dislike most is the company's insistance on sending parcels to the States by UPS. Unlike the Postal Service, UPS adds to the shipping charge an exorbitant fee for clearing the parcel through customs. But the flannel, in particular, is probably worth dealing with those irritations.

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.

Sources: Belgian Shoes

Strictly speaking, the Belgian Shoes web site does not offer online ordering and, for that, we apologize. In our defense, the web site is more convenient than the Manhattan store, which still maintains genteel hours of 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for its one of a kind merchandise. It's worth the inconvenience, for Belgian Shoes are great house shoes and probably the best thing you can have on your feet for air travel.

Designed by Henri Bendel in the 1940's, Belgian Shoes are typically canvas affairs that you could pound to destruction in a few months of outdoor wear. But that is not their calling, for they are chic, comfortable and don't set off alarms at the gate. Mine accommodate the usual in-flight foot swelling with ease because there's no reason to remove them even during a sixteen hour marathon to the Far East.

Five different styles in various colors range from black velvet evening shoes to fuzzy faux leopard slippers. $325 a pair and worth every penny.

Sources: Alwyn Gloves

Gloves have been part of a man's wardrobe for a thousand years or more. The Worshipful Company of Glovers of London, whose coat of arms is depicted to the left, is one of the City of London's ancient Livery Companies. According to the Company's web site, the guild existed well before 1349, the date when the company's first formal ordinances were made.

Alwyn Gloves of Worcester, England was founded in 1963 by Les Winfield, a third generation glover and a Liveryman of The Worshipful Gloves.

I found Alwyn after several less than succesful attempts to have gloves made by Italian glovers who shall remain anonymous here. I will only report that the better of the two sent me a pair lined in cashmere when I ordered them unlined and then wanted me to pay the shipping cost to return them for exchange. And they were the better of the two.

Mr. Winfield, on the other hand, charges a fair price, delivers what was ordered and makes gloves that fit. His traditional men's gloves are hand felled at the wrist and have three hand-sewn points on the back. They are available in white, black, brown and tan leather, unlined, or with silk, wool or cashmere linings. The company uses only Pittard's cabretta glove leather, which is hand washable for easy care. And though I know very little about ladies' gloves, Alwyn offers them in lengths that go from the wrist to the elbow and beyond.

All is not perfect, however. Men used to wear a wider variety of gloves than can be found today. Yellow chamois gloves seem to have disappeared entirely. And, for day wear, I prefer gray gloves to black for the same reasons I prefer charcoal suits to black. It's a better look, but try to find a glover that offers them. The only one I know is the unmentionable Italian maker that insists on shipping them lined with cashmere.

Sources: Hwa Seng Textile

Men who have their clothes made tend to be on the lookout for cloth, particularly men like me who live in a city without much access to it. Singapore's Hwa Seng Textiles was one of the first online sources I came across, in fact they may have been the world's first ecommerce site for quality shirt and suit fabric. The operation is an offshoot of the company's retail tailoring business.

Though it doesn't have all the world's premier suppliers, Hwa Seng has a useful product line. Offerings include Acorn's Sea Island cotton shirtings in Super 100, 120s, 160s and 180s, some Scabal Super 90's 9 oz. pinstripe suitings, Heild (a Scabal subsidiary that specializes in traditional cloth designs) 13 oz. Super 100 suitings, and Dormeuil gabardines and flannels. With the dollar weak against the pound, the prices compare favorably to prices in the UK. Two metres of gabardine was $170 recently, versus $240 for slightly heavier cloth at John G. Hardy. Bargain hunters will also find a smattering of end bolts in 2.2 meter lengths for U.S. $64 apiece.

Hwa Seng understands both English and Chinese and the service is as good as it gets. The company is happy to send sample cards of its cloth (a photo of a sample card is at the left) for a nominal charge. Whether samples or cloth, my orders have been acknowledged and shipped the day I placed them, helped by the time zones (Singapore's morning begins during my afternoon).

Tell Mr. CP Goh that A Suitable Wardrobe sent you.

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.