Divine Providence

It takes dedication and an iron will to hunt down the good stuff in the junk like I do. With practice comes skill, and the more you do it, the better I you develop an eye for things. As my friend Bobby from Boston has been heard to say, after a while, the clothes have a way of finding you. Such was the case with my latest acquisition:

A hefty but soft tweed jacket in black/white/grey district check with a blue over-check, from the late great Rogers Peet Co. I spotted this number nearly a week ago while out on the hunt. The thrift shop wanted $19.99 for it. Apparently, someone there has gotten a little wise to the game...probably learned it fro AAW, dammit. Being the spoiled cheapskate I am, this was too rich for my blood, so I passed. Within an hour of leaving the place,I was
kicking myself for leaving it behind, but alas, you can't win 'em all.

Yesterday, I returned. I found a lot of other stuff. As was getting ready to leave, I spotted a corner of district check tweed poking out from a bundle of cheap acrylic ski hats. Lo and behold, it was the elusive jacket, only half price for having a white tag that day. The signals this time were too clear to ignore, so I snapped it up. Call it divine providence, the jacket found me. I left it, and it found me again,  it was meant to be mine. Seen here with a vintage Brooks Brothers white oxford, iconic "rolling" unlined collar and all ( $5.49), an English regimental tie from the Andover Shop ($1.00), and a silk square heisted from my dad when I was in high school, it's a cinch for the kind of bracing cold we've been missing in these part these last few months.

Below, some heavy weight light grey flannels by Polo ($7.99) finally see their debut for the season. Finish with my new favorite cordovan longwings ($7.00) and some yellow socks ( perhaps a bit much, but that's what I do, no?)
A reader recently pointed out the lack of the old full body shot of late. So, with the addition of a tan cashmere coat, cashmere scarf in very muted Black Watch tartan, brown leather gloves and a Tyrolean hat, the overall effect was thus:

Not bad for approximately $100 total, outerwear included. Come to think of it, I passed on that coat at first, too.  Lesson learned, twice: the time to buy a beautiful old thing is when you find a beautiful old thing.

p.s. the Tyrolean hat has undergone a bit of reshaping:

achieved at home with steam from a tea kettle. After having knocked some of the "Pinocchio" off of it, its become a Winter favorite.