A Wee Bit of Local Fame

Seems someone at Boston Magazine has been reading the musings of yours truly. How exciting.

You can't buy a phrase like ...'reeks of Cary Grant'. I am humbled by the compliment.

Thank you, Miss Sheppard.

For the Last Time, Hems

Men's fashion icon of the 20th century, the late great Duke of Windsor.

Seems he didn't like his pants all bunched up at the hems either.

That's the last I'll say about it, promise.

Winter Wardrobe

Regular readers will note that the header of "Affordable Wardrobe" has officially changed into it's winter clothing. Who ever said that loud patchwork was for madras only?

One of the weirdest, and coolest, thrift finds we have is this odd lap blanket from the Andover Shop that my wife picked up a couple of years ago:

It measures about four feet square, and is made up of bits of some of the finest tweed and flannel cloth I've ever seen, getting a dash of color from a few swatches of corduroy embroidered with such things as strawberries, tennis rackets, lobsters and my personal favorite, the drunken-turtle-top-hat-reveller:

Then there's the back, which consists of three strips of shirt cloth, one blue oxford, one viyella and one tattersall, so soft:I can't think what purpose this blanket was intended for, other than for an old man to drape over his legs while smoking his pipe in a big leather chair in front of the fire with a dog at his feet. We use it to wrap the boy's legs when we're out walking him in the stroller on a particularly cold day.

If it were bigger, I'd seriously consider having it made into a pair of pants. Now that would be something. After all, when you shop thrift for everything, its nice to think that if you ever were to spend a lot of money on something as extravagant as custom made clothes, it would be something as outrageous as that.

p.s. isn't Thom Browne over yet? I know its been awfully cold in Boston lately, and I'm guessing it's been cold in New York too.

The Jams

Clothes are not the only thing I obsess over and feel compelled to pontificate over, so I've decided that "The Jams" may become a fairly regular feature here too.

I recently made a comment on our man Toad's blog which brought up the question of Best Movie Soundtrack record. My bid was for 'A Man and a Woman' (Un Homme et Un Femme), music by Francis Lai. Both the record and the movie are great, and I stick with my choice.

The movie is about a widow and widower, who meet and fall in love because their children go to the same boarding school. He's a race car driver, and there's lots of cool clothes, cigarette smoking and general dramatic Frenchness. The big Denouement comes when, after winning some sort of race across France (in a Ford Mustang of all cars), he receives a phone call at the black tie after party, rushes out of the place in his tux to the muddy Ford (which he apparently drove to the party from the race without stopping) and drives all the way back across France to be with her, on the beach no less,'she' being Anouk Aimee, so maybe his behaviour is justified.

The music is what sells it for me. The theme song is a little goofy, but it is certainly classic. Besides that, we have a little bit of French Samba Jazz, a melodramatic sort of spoken word broken heart song, lots of tympani and strings, and a creepy little number called 'In Our Shadow'(a l'ombre de nous), a softly sung lilting melody accompanied only by an electric organ, piano, and persistent human heart beat.

Plus, if you're looking for romance, you could do worse than this record+candlelight+leg of lamb with roast potatoes+a bottle of Gigondas. A clean house and 'the good dishes' also help.

Rent this movie if you have the chance, but definitely get the soundtrack. For those of you who have turntables and shop thrift, this record has a habit of turning up for a dollar quite a bit.

p.s. the cover artwork alone is worth a buck.

p.p.s. a goofy thing called Genderanalyzer says it is 82% likely that this blog is written by a female. Serves me right for posting about French romance films I guess.

D.I.Y. Cuffs

So, after arguing with the tailor and resorting to D.I.Y. cuffs, here is the result:

A 29 inch inseam, with a 1 1/2 inch cuff just touching the top of the shoe with a slight 'break'.

Seriously, whats to argue about? Do my pants really need to be 3 inches(the amount of cloth removed from this pair) longer?

The Big Boots

Today I wore the Big Boots:

The Big Boots are an anomaly in my wardrobe, sort of. They are very rugged and western, and they only go with jeans. I actually find it difficult to put outfits to them. And I don't ride horses. But they are so nice and so inherently American that I can't bear to part with them.

Today's attempt was to pair them with the Big Sweater, an article of clothing I handle more adeptly:

I know it looks in these pictures like the outfit made no sense, but in the bright sunshine of a 28 degree New England afternoon, under a brown goose down vest and my ever present Barbour jacket, somehow it did.

I like these boots. They're the kind of thing Ulysses Grant,

and Teddy Roosevelt might have worn. And with shirts and ties at that.

Bully!

Bass Weejuns? No. Traditional American? Most certainly yes. It's good to step outside the boundaries now and again.

The Rumpled Professor

Today it was cold, blustery and windy as hell. The perfect weather for 'the rumpled professor':

Usually I crop the books out, but today they make the outfit.

Thick tweed, vest sweater, knit tie and button down collar. Doesn't get much more East Coast than that.

Dark green 'Elf Shoes' and stripey socks, for a bit of the old 'devil-may-care'

And the best part is: flannel lined khakis. What an invention! We all owe the guy that came up with this idea a drink... at least those of us in the bitter cold Northeast.

I should have mussed my hair for the final touch, and spent the day in a dusty office in an obscure corner of some basement in some university.

My apologies for yesterday's sappy post, we all have our weak moments.

In other news, there is a new sidebar devoted to our ladies. Whereas the men like acquisition and kvetching, the girls tend to prefer crafts and children. Check them out.