Tweed Twice

A brown and tan herringbone tweed jacket in soft. luxurious wool, natural shoulders, two button darted front, braided leather buttons, half lined, and a tie in brown tweed with red, yellow, and orange flecks, square end, vintage 1960s Rooster for Yale Co-op. The leftovers of the Top Shelf Flea. (No one bought these??? C'mon fellas, get on the stick.) Seen with a brushed twill shirt with spread collar in rust, hunter green, and black tattersall check on cream ground by Ralphie ($4.99), collar pin worn as tie pin from the Andover Shop, and an ecru pocket square I've had since Simon's.

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Below, 8 wale cords in "cinnamon" and brown cotton socks with olive and rust checks, both by Lands' End in some crazy end of season feeding frenzy,  Brown suede split toe Allen Edmonds "Bradley", had for a song.

You can't beat Autumn for richness of texture and color. Dress for the season. It's more fun that way.



Mixing It Up (Quietly)

You hear a lot about pattern mixing in menswear blogs. The ability to bring numerous patterns together to create a harmonious whole is considered one of the marks of the "expert dresser", whatever that may mean. I play this game all the time myslef, sometimes succesfully, sometimes not. It's fun. But too much pattern mixing can make a guy forget that sometimes a combination of solids can be more striking. Sometimes, only one pattern will do the trick. In order to keep things interesting, yu have to mix things up sometimes. This can mean turning it down as much as turning it up.

Brooks Brothers "non-iron" shirt, $5.49, mohair and wool knit tie, $1.99,
vintage Italian wool knit vest, $cheap

Here, my well loved guilty pleasure of a non-iron shirt is paired with a yellowy buff vest in fine merino knit and a very nubby and fairly wide burgundy knit tie. The color combination of navy, white, burgundy and gold, is a mainstay of classic menswear. The shirt gives us pattern, while the two wool elements give us texture, two ways: fineness in the vest, roughness in the tie. We've also got an eclectic mix of periods here: a recent shirt, a 1970s tie, and a 1960s vest. And so, for all its simplicity, this combo is plenty interesting. The balance of the outfit remained relatively staid: a Brooks Brothers navy blazer (recent), charcoal worsted slacks (1960s),  and dark brown cordovan wing tips. Hunter green socks and a muted paisley square provided just the right dandy whiff.

As for the tie, we'll call this one currently another guilty pleasure. At nearly four inches wide, you'd almost call it huge, but I like it. Vintage mid-70s "Heathernit" by Rooster, 65% mohair/ 35% wool. Its not the only one, as I've been inexpicably drawn to wide knit ties lately. I think I'm ahead of my time. Any day now we'll be swamped with a retro 1970s look: wide lapels, nipped waists, broad ties, buckle shoes. I think we'll be spared the polyester and overall "brown" ness, but we might not be so lucky in the longhair and moustache department. Mark my words. Tom Ford has been nudging us into it for years, and this everything-a-little-too-small trend is bound to be replaced with everything-a-bit-too-big. After all, without exagerated proportions of one kind or another, fashion couldn't exist. How else could they make last years stuff look so hopelessly outmoded?

In any case, don't be too afraid of a wider tie every now and then, or pleats, or not, or pattern mixing, or a bunch of solids. Don't be afraid of your clothes at all....unless you're concerned with fashion, in which case your clothes should scare you to death. Mix it up, but don't let it mix you up.

In other news: Don't forget that I will be joining forces with Newton Street Vintage for a live appearance at the Drill Hall Flea Market this Sunday, 26 Feb. Details in the side bar. The Shop will go into vacation mode Friday to return on Monday. Many Winter items on sale plus some new stuff you haven't seen yet. I invite you all to come down, grab a beer, and get nerdy about menswear.

The Abominable Plaid Dress Shirt

Given the unsettling lack of any kind of snow throughout November, December, and now January, I guess we need to find something other than a big wild snow man abominable this year. How about a plaid "dress shirt", made all the more abominable by the un-buttoned button down collar...somebody, please smack some sense into me. I am fully prepared to use my Italian-ness, and the fact that G. Bruce Boyer does it all the time lately, as a full cop out.

Brooks Brothers USA made poplin shirt in "Dress Gordon" tartan: $8.99

Cricketeer tweed jacket, made in USA : $6.99

Mohair/wool blend knit tie, very wide, very '70s, by Rooster: $1.99

Silk pocket square: I've forgotten

Skirt pin as tie bar

Below: charcoal flannels with forward pleats, cordovan wingtips, and bottle green socks.

I may sometimes complain about not having the kind of life that requires a man to dress well, but really it can be a blessing in disguise. What kind of job that required a jacket and tie would allow me to get away with these kind of sartorial shenanigans? Dressing well by requirement is one thing. Dressing well through a combination of a sense of manhood, occasion, dash, respect and sheer enjoyment is far more fun. All the more so if the less creative and brave among us find it "abominable".

The Perfect Casual Tie

A tie, despite what the world in general may think today, is not always a dressy thing. A knit tie and button down collar is a great way to look put together and casual at the same time. I recently acquired what I think may be perfect casual knit tie:

Navy blue, the stripes end before the knot, a nice touch. While my shirt is pressed, I opted for no starch in the interest of softness. A tweed jacket, khakis and tassel loafers finish the job.

Vintage 1960s wool and mohair "Heathernit" by Rooster. Rooster was the maker of choice for square end knit ties in their day, a great brand to look for at the thrift shops. $1.99.
p.s. the Shop is brimming with new goods, including shoes, tweed jackets, flannel trousers, leather, suede, and a ton of ties. Check out the new "Most recent items" feature in the side bar for a quick look.