Keep It Simple

It's a lot of fun to wear clothes that you know are a little bit crazy. Mixing brightly colored argyle, plaid and stripes all in the same outfit takes a lot of skill and practice, but it can be fun once you learn how to pull it off. And though we all like to bemoan people staring at us and having a reaction to our form of dress, I (and my readers) must admit that we secretly love the attention.

But, as with all things, an opposite, a foil, must be present for contrast and meaning. Envelope-pushing style cannot exist without classic simple style. One must be adept at both to pull either off with any degree of aplomb. To that end, today's ensemble:

J. Press 3/2 sack blazer, $7.49; Harvard "Coop" grey slacks, $3.99; pink J.Press oxford shirt, $3.99; Mr. Sid necktie, $0.99. Very Cambridge.

No outfit is a better example of the perfect American style than navy blazer, grey pants, button down shirt and simple, clean tie.Add wing-tipped shoes and argyle socks for a pinch of insouciance.

But don't dare call this get-up boring. Color and pattern are not the only elements of a man's wardrobe that lend visual interest. Don't forget texture and small details:

A drop of scrimshaw doesn't hurt either, though this detail does play better on the East coast. If you don't live in a sea-faring town, at least make sure to tell people that your scrimshaw was purchased on vacation near the beach, preferably in New England.

Spring Basics

Even though Mother Nature has decided to hold Boston in the grip of a windy and wet Spring, with temperatures striving toward a scant 40 degrees, I am looking forward to warmer and sunnier days...and with them a different heap of clothes in the closet.

To that end, a few new pieces have recently gained membership to the Affordable Wardrobe...at the usual impossibly cheap prices.

A tan sack suit in lightweight wool. Note the two button cuff and 3/2 button stance, from none other than:good old (as in good because its old) Brooks Brothers. $9.99. A perfect fit, in need of nothing more than cleaning and pressing. A friend of mine is getting married on in the daytime on Memorial Day weekend. I think I just found a suit to wear.

These old Brooks Bothers suits were the best. The three quarter lining makes them very comfortable, and I find their take on the sack cut jacket to be slightly loose fitting without being frumpy. In fact, I've trained my eye to hone in on the 2 button cuff when sizing up a rack of suits at a thrift store. Too bad they don't make them anymore, but I suppose that's what we have J.Press for. I actually found a J.Press poplin sack (with an incongruous 4 button cuff) in my size at the same store, but it had a big stain on the shoulder, so I took a pass.

I also found a very nice pair of medium grey pants in a lightweight wool, for $3.99.This is something I've actually been hunting down for a while. Thrift shopping is fun because you never know what you might turn up,but it can be frustrating when you actually need something. In menswear, the basics, like these grey pants, are the hardest thing to find. Why? Because most men will wear their stuff until it's trash, and then throw it away (or the wife will), so there's often not much of it in good second hand condition. It's the same reason you see so many suit jackets with the pants missing in these places. A guy goes to work, takes of his jacket, then carries it to the car and drives home. The pants get wrecked and the jacket, like new, gets donated. I never buy the top half of a suit, that's chump stuff.

These pants are from the Harvard Cooperative Society, or "the Coop". (that pronounced the same as in Cooper, not 'co-op').I have some vague memories of the old Coop. The first two floors were the bookstore, a really great place, where all the textbooks for Harvard were sold, in addition to a lot of other cool stuff. Above that was the men's shop, which sold sack suit, striped ties, Harvard scarves and sweaters, penny loafers, the whole nine. In back at the annex, was the music department and all the Harvard souvenir junk, sweatshirts and coffee mugs. Now, the men's department is gone, and the bookstore has become a Barnes & Noble with a Starbuck's in it...yet a sign outside still calls it "The Historic Harvard Coop". Kinda like all those stores called "Filene's Basement" that aren't in basements and don't have 6 floors of Filene's above them. Go figure.

Also acquired, not pictured: a pair of Brooks Brothers 'Hudson' chinos in brown, $5.99; a pair of J.Crew chinos (can't have too many of those), $4.99; and really cool Rooster necktie in real Indian madras, square cut at the bottom, $3.99.

Right now, the thrifts have a lot eighties vintage traditional stuff, if you can find it. I wonder what I'll do ten years from now when they're all full of sweatshop junk from the nineties. Better get me a real job and start forging a relationship with the boys at J.Press and Andover Shop, quick!

p.s. In browsing the Brooks Brothers website to find the link for the Hudson chinos, I came across this photo where the model is wearing both buttons closed on his two button jacket. For shame! Can it be the truth?

Casual Dress (100 years ago)

After reading this recent post on Archival Clothing, I was inspired to strike a decidely 1920's pose today:

My big cable knit, shawl collar sweater, in a weird belnd of silk, linen and cotton, paired with a Brooks Brothers vintage 1950's black bow tie with white dots, black watch slacks, blue oxford, brown longwings, and a tweed cap (not shown)
If only I had a hound, and some countryside in which to walk him.
I realize that I am often prone to complain about the current laxness in adult dress, but it does have its advantages. While its true I enjoy wearing suits and ties, I also like the look of a nice sweater instead sometimes. In the old days such a thing would have been completely unacceptable, but having the freedomto work these kinds of things into my daily attire is refreshing. Besides, even dressed like this I'm still likely to be the most "dressed up" person many of the people I come in contact with will see in a given day.

And truth be told, when the baby's kept you up all night and you're running extremely late, it's comforting to know that you could throw on any damn clothes and leave the house without shaving and no one would care.

But of course I would never do that...

Cheap Commodities, part 2

Argyle socks from (gasp!) Target.

It's true that every time I set foot in Target I loose a little piece of my soul that I will nevr get back. But with two kids in diapers, you gotta do what you gotta do. And these argyle socks for $2.50 a pair are something I can live with.

Plus, ever since they started carrying Ritter Sport dark chocolate with marzipan, the trip always seems a little worth while, because I get a sweet treat for after dinner. When Mrs. G wants to go there and I'm whining like a twelve year old about how much I hate the place, I've been known to end it with "Fine, but only if I get a Ritter Sport". I'm a sucker for the German marzipan. The butter biscuit and hazlenut varieties ain't bad either.

In other news: Boston Red Sox beat (damn) Tampa Bay Rays 5-3 in the season opener at Fenway Park. In a post game interview on the local news, David Ortiz was wearing a killer patch tweed cap. I couldn't find a photo, but it was pretty cool. A big giant Red Sox home run machine, all around nice guy, and for a dude who's really into "bling", he pulls some pretty stylish moves from time to time. What's not to like about the guy?

Gardening Attire

A crummy pair of jeans, covered in soil, worn with an old brown dress belt and a faded pair of navy blue converse from two summers ago, caked in mud.

And a blue mini check dress shirt, heavily frayed at the collar, without a shower or a shave.

The only proper thing for a gent to wear for a morning of digging holes and spreading cow poop over them. Four or five weeks to planting.

p.s. my garden blog is open for the season. mostly photos with minimal pontification. Check it out.

Cheap Commodities

Quality can be a tricky thing sometimes. I look for it in everything. Even when I'm buying things at dirt cheap prices in a thrift store, I won't settle for less. Why? Because no matter what you spend on something, to buy low quality is to waste your money. In building an Affordable Wardrobe, however, one must find the loopholes. Certain items are of roughly universal quality, regardless of brand name cache. I call these items the "cheap commodities", things like tennis shirts ( I don't call then polos bacause they wre designed for tennis.)Every year around this time I stock up on tennis shirts in various colors. Come Summer they will be my uniform. I will wear them in bright sun, and the colors will fade. I will wear them by the sea, and the salt air will accelerate their deterioration. And I'll sweat all over them. Therefore, I see no point in owning fancy ones.

This batch recently arrived in the post from Land's End. Sure, Land's End is a weak budget knock off of L.L. Bean, but these shirts fit well, and they're available in every color imaginable, plus they're cheap, so I won't feel bad cutting them up into cleaning rags in September, or wearing them for yard work next Spring.

I've owned plenty of Lacoste tennis shirts in the past, and frankly I don't see much difference between them and these, other than the price tag and the lack of ostentatious label recognition. If anything, I find the Lacoste shirts to be more than a bit unforgiving if you are less than svelte, which makes the Land's End shirts better in my particular case. Last year, I bought a pile of tennis shirts at H&M. Those were pretty good for short money too. I'm also a fan of Gap socks and cheap Marsala for cooking.

It's foolish to buy cheap junk if it really is just junk. It's even more foolish to pay top dollar for it because an ad campaign and goofy label won you over. It's true, brand names can be a loose guide to quality, but with more and more companies spending more and more money on marketing and making up the difference with the cheap sweatshop labor, the lines are becoming blurrier all the time. Learning the difference between real quality where it matters and petty brand name hype is one of the sharpest weapons in a man's sartorial arsenal.

Besides, tennis shirts are basically glorified t-shirts with collars on them. They may be an indispensable wardrobe item for the Summer, but I'd rather spend my real time and money on important stuff, like tailored clothing and things made of silk.

Stay tuned for the acquisition of summers other cheap commodity: canvas sneakers.

The Green Suit (maiden voyage)

After no small amount of consideration (and the helpful advice of many of my dear readers) the olive green sack suit made it's maiden voyage today:

A somewhat dreary Boston day with temperatures in the low 50s made this lightweight suit layered over a vest sweater the perfect option for a bike ride to work. Finish it off with my newly re-soled and re-heeled wingtips.And for good measure, a pink pocket square. (Don't trust the color in this photo. The shirt is white and the square is quite definitely pink). A drab color palette with a tiny punch to remind us that though it may be cloudy and cool, Spring is still in the air.

The Fair Isle sweater was a tricky choice. Part of me thinks such a thing is a distinctly fall item, but another part of me feels pretty sure that it was the sweater and the bow tie that made this outfit today. I suppose the conclusion is this: olive green may be a drab color, but as a suit it requires careful thought and an unexpected degree of the old sprezzatura to be carried off without looking like a frumpy grandpa.

Next time I think I'll try it with a knit tie and a dark plaid shirt...or maybe even with boat shoes and a tennis shirt come Summer.

p.s. "suit and sweater" is a between season combo that's due for a comeback. Who else will pick up the torch?