Two Shirts

This blog, like so many others these days, is still ostensibly about clothing. I would like to get back on the subject. We frequently see writing on the men's blogs centered around some manner of dress clothing, but a post about good honest casual clothing for a rainy spent working around the house and performing other mundane tasks can add a healthy bit of perspective. No one lives in a suit 24/7, after all.

Lately I've been toying around with the old preppy two collar look. Though admittedly something of an affectation, dare I say tres Muffy Aldrich, I find it comes into it's own late Spring/early Summer. I find it handy on warmish days of variable temperature, where the outer shirt can act as more of a light jacket over the tennis shirt. I generally stick to solid, light colored tennis shirts under soft old dress shirts. In this case, a well worn pink tennis shirt from Lands' End (bought new four Summers ago, see here) and an old Brooks Brothers oxford with an unlined collar (thrift shop, $5.49). Remember, this is about dressing comfortably, not like a slob. There is a difference.

I know this may cause a bit of wailing and gnashing of teeth among the hard-liners, but I think it works best with the top shirt untucked, jeans, and a ball cap. Like I said, this way the top shirt is more of a light jacket. Shorts or khakis work as well. (I hope nobody out there is zooming in on this picture and keeping a detailed journal of the books on my shelf, what time the clock reads, and the presumed provenance of my furniture ...snark,snark,snark. Sorry).

It can work dressed up a little too. Here, a white tennis shirt and university striped oxford are worn tucked into khakis with a navy blazer and surcingle belt for a parade on Memorial Day weekend. The flag was given to me by an old lady in the VFW women's auxiliary.

In either case, bare ankles and moccasins are de rigeur. Camp mocs with the jeans, penny loafers with the blazer. Of course boat shoes work as well.

I must admit to having some trepidation not long ago about my, or anyone's, ability to pull off the two shirt thing. It always seemed to smack of some mean spirited spoiled character from some bad movie from the 80s. But I've grown to enjoy it, and I've found that the trick to wearing it is, as with so many other sartorial "moves", confidence. It's kind of like jumping in cold water at the beach: once you just go in and dunk, it gets easier. It helps not to have to much concern what others think of you. 

Of course, to be fair, I do live in a liberal place full of arty college kids of every stripe, so most likely I'm just perceived as a Dad whose becoming more and more of a fuddy duddy the older he gets.

p.s. lots of great new Summer stuff in the Shop.

Basics: Honest Shirts

A few weeks ago, while ironing a shirt, I noticed that the collar was getting frayed enough to have gone past the level of "shabby chic" into to plain old shabby. The same thing has been happening to a number of my shirts. You may remember that desperation drove me to the outlets, an experience that can only be described as sour at best. But what to do? I still needed some new shirts.

Enter Lands' End, my favorite online source for honest and simple items like these. I picked up two recently, for less than $25 each.

One in soft pink royal oxford, a dressier version of the sturdy old oxford cloth, with a touch of sheen. It's a well made shirt of good fabric with thick buttons and a knock out collar roll. Certainly as good as the standard shirts offered at Brooks Brothers these days, and probably better than many of the shirts at that awful outlet store.

The other is a navy and hunter green tattersall check in soft twill, a bit heavier and great for Fall with a tweed jacket or wool sweater, Again, the collar roll is a huge selling point.



Shirts can be surprisingly hard to come by if you're like me and shopping regular retail is out of the question. Brooks Brothers frequently offers $3/$200, which isn't bad, I guess. But $200 is a big chunk out of my weeks wage. Mercer makes a great shirt, and so does the Andover Shop, but again, those are not even on my financial radar. Off price stores like TJ Maxx might have something, if you're lucky, but then you have to suffer the experience of shopping there. Not my thing.

Of course, there's always the thrift shops, which we all know have served me well, but that can be a crap shoot. Besides the randomness factor, there's the wear and tear. Shirts are made of thinner fabric that most other clothing and suffer more wear, being close to the body. Additionally, they get washed frequently in hot water, starched and pressed.Old shirts are great, and thrift stores offer the possibility of getting old styles that are no longer available But the shirts will already be worn, and likely won't last that long, certainly not as long as a new one. Thrift shops are great for finding a wonderful old tweed jacket or well made pair of shoes, but shirts get worn, get worn out, then get tossed.

 The shirts I got from Lands' End are honest good shirts. They aren't especially spectacular, but they're well made and styled traditionally. Sure. they may be made in China, but they also only cost a fraction of what some other makers are charging for similar quality. If you're a man of modest means who wears dress shirts with some frequency, these shirts are a steal. Save the big money for long lasting tailored clothing you can hand down to your sons. Shirts should always be good, but they don't need to be so precious.

p.s. Shop News. Occasionally, I get an item to sell that is rare enough that I will auction it rather than sell it through the store, such as the vintage morning suit I recently acquired. Items like these will be listed on Ebay. Any current Ebay auctions I'm offering will be visible through links in the sidebar at right Thanks.