With such sloppy wet weather all around, I look forward to bright sunshine and the clothes that go with it. For example, just back from the tailor come these gabardine trews:
The perfect shade of tan, smooth to the touch,
With inverse pleats and side tabs, sans-belt loops. Now might be the time for a side note on pleated pants:
I used to only wear pleated pants, no exceptions. In those days, I was smitten with a 1940s aesthetic, and it worked for me. Then, for a time, pleats were strictly forbidden. I had become obsessed with classic American (read: 1960s college campus) style clothing. Then one day I became old enough to realize that it as silly to marry oneself to some kind of book of rules for clothing as it is to insist that only the French know how to make wine. These days, I favor flat front, narrow leg about 95% of the time. But there ain't nothing wrong with some sharp British style inverse pleats. ( I still maintain, however , that conventional outward-facing pleats make most men look like they have a diaper on under there).
Ralphie Purple Label...the expensive stuff...
made in Italy. $4.99 for the pants plus $15 to have old Mr. Lee let them out a bit and give them a proper pressing.
Someday, if I ever have money, I'll pair them with these white wing tips from Crocket and Jones...or if I'm lucky, they'll turn up for a couple of bucks at a thrift somewhere...wait and see.
Ralphie Purple Label...the expensive stuff...
made in Italy. $4.99 for the pants plus $15 to have old Mr. Lee let them out a bit and give them a proper pressing.
Someday, if I ever have money, I'll pair them with these white wing tips from Crocket and Jones...or if I'm lucky, they'll turn up for a couple of bucks at a thrift somewhere...wait and see.These might just be the items to save the green double breasted blazer from it's formidable totalitarian connotations (read the comments...thanks a lot, Tin Tin).
I actually have a pair of Florsheims very similar to those that I bought like-new at a thrift about 12 years ago for about $5 (not nearly as good as C&J, but they were $5) -- and I live somewhere with much fewer deals to be had than the ones you get in Boston. So don't give up hope!
ReplyDeletePleats have their place, and its been 15 years since designers started screaming for men to stop wearing them, so they'll soon start pushing them again.
ReplyDeleteTotally dig what you say, Guiseppe. Only those not brave enough to look completely out of order sometimes (that´s what you´re up to every once in a while when developing individualistic style) do stick to so-called fashion rules...
ReplyDeleteI like those pants. I think one of the keys to pulling off the pleated look is to wear the pants at the natural waist, (i.e., at the belly button). Guys who wear them around their hips are the ones who end up looking like they have a diaper on.
ReplyDeleteJust my two cents.
I have become a huge fan of your site and have begun thrifting here in Dallas, Texas. I have yet to have the success at the huge finds you have but I'm doing well. I decided to write to you this time because I found a pair of never worn wool trousers with a herring bone print that look EXACTLY like the ones you have pictured here.
ReplyDeleteInverse pleats, sans belt loops. I live in mostly affluent part of Dallas near the Dallas Cowboy practice facility and lots of Cowboys live in the area. I live modestly however. I found the trousers at Goodwill. They had a "purple tag 50% off sale"...so the trousers cost a whopping $2.50. They fit almost perfectly in the waist but were too long. I'm paying my tailor $10 for the hem and cuff. I pick them up today.
I've purchased about 7 shirts and 3 pairs of trousers from this Goodwill totaling maybe $60. I found another resale in which I waited too long to decide on purchasing a Land's End plaid blazer. It was 6.99 and fit perfectly. Except the sleeves needed shortening. Who ever purchased it first never bothered to have it tailored. I was sick about it. But I'm encouraged I can still find good deals - somewhere. I love the site!
Those pants are amazing. AND MADE IN ITALY!! Brilliant, my friend.
ReplyDeleteI found a pair of vintage "Fingerflex" Florsheim's from 1957 on Ebay. Can't wait to get them.
Take care,
Dennis Cahlo
I'm liking those shoes. Last year, some manufacturer (don't remember who) had a pair of white-on-white saddle shoes available (which, of course, I couldn't afford).
ReplyDeleteWhite shoes can be quite the thing. Can they save the off-lime jacket? Hmm... you'll just have to show us.
P.S.: My grandfather and his friends wore "ice cream" shoes and belts (i.e., shoes and belts in the color bone) with pastel-ish pants in the summer. We always made fun of that "old man" fashion, but now I'm looking forward to white bucks with seersucker--and it's all your fault! (Not that I mind, actually.)
We'll see about the white belt.
nice style, i love that pair of pants
ReplyDelete