The Jams

I've heard this song so many times it's inconceivable. You probably have too. FM radio...in the car...at the beach...on a construction site...in the supermarket. You name it. It's easy to ignore. That is, until you hear it on an original vinyl 45.All the sudden you're on the verge of tears as you realize that this little old song is in fact the jam to end all jams. I've played this record at least a dozen times since I got it yesterday. If you don't get what I mean, I don't have time to explain. If you do get what I mean, you're probably digging through your 45s right now.

99cents well spent.

For the love of God, Otis Redding:

Don't argue with me....

Better Than a Baseball Cap

Is there such a thing as a cricket hooligan? Probably not, but if there was, they might look something like this:

I was recently sent this lovely cricket cap from Smart Turnout, an English company producing regimental ties, cricket sweaters, striped watch bands, these caps, and a thousand kinds of socks. Seriously, the sock page is full blown geeked out menswear accessory porn. Be careful. They were actually kind enough to let me choose something from their site, and I went with the cricket cap as it's the thing I'm least likely to find in a thrift store.

Smart Turnout's goods are all British made of quality materials. If this hat is any indicator, it's pretty solid stuff. The cap is made of heavy British weather grade wool, with bullet proof construction. All of their goods are based on regimental or university designs. To be honest, I'm sometimes conflicted about stuff like that, but mostly I'm over it. I won't wear a uniform or emblem I didn't earn, but stripes have been all over the place for way too long now. Why miss out?

The stuff is not cheap, but it's very cool, and Christmas is coming. Ladies, the gifts for your man abound here. Gents, start dropping hints. Smart Turnout has been kind enough to offer readers of An Affordable Wardrobe 20% off their order through this Friday, November 12, and 10% throughout the following week by using discount code BROCHURE2010 at checkout. Hurry.

Seriously, the sock page...dangerous.

Laundry

In the old days, I used to drop my shirts off at the cleaners, medium starch on hangers. I loved the way they would come back all crispy and flat, and a little bit stiff. The way the back pleat would "crack" when I put the shirt on was the best. But that was in the days before children and full blast adulthood, when I had a tiny bit of disposable income. These days, I wash and iron my own shirts. Money aside, with two children in the house I do about 200 loads of laundry a week. Sending the shirts out is extravagant. What's one more load? I still like 'em crisp and bright, though.

Niagara Original Spray Starch may be an old lady product, but it does the trick. While it doesn't give me the stiff and crispy shirt of yore, it does allow me to press the collar, placket, cuffs and back pleat of my shirts super flat, while leaving the rest of the shirt relatively soft, yet neat. At $1.99, it costs as much as the commercial laundering of one shirt. I'll take it.  Besides, a man should know how to press his own clothes. Sometimes, the experience can be mildly therapeutic. It forces you to slow down a bit, and there's nothing quite like putting on a warm, freshly ironed shirt on a chilly morning. You'll see.

I just found Mrs. Stewart's concentrated liquid bluing today at the supermarket. I washed a load of white and blue shirts, and added a quart of cold water with a few drops of bluing to the wash. The whites are gleaming. I'd be leery of using this stuff too often, maybe every fourth or fifth wash, and sparingly. But I'll be damned if it didn't give me a "like new" brightness, without the poison that is bleach. At $1.99, this bottle will likely last me more than a year.

My routine is to wash the dress shirts separately, then hang them to dry on hangers with the top button closed on the shower curtain pole in the bathroom. I hang them wrinkled in the closet, and press them one by one just before wear. Ironing a bunch at once is pointless, since they tend to get wrinkled in the closet anyway. In a pinch, when a stiff starched shirt is not required, I'll throw a soft oxford in the drier alone for five minutes to knock the wrinkles out of it. It's a perfect quick fix if you're wearing jeans, or even with khakis, a knit tie and a comfy old blazer or sweater.

Wash your own clothes.

Relativity: Free Goods Through Thrift Shopping

The relative nature of successful thrift shopping as it applies to price comparison may be something I've discussed before, but it's a subject that bears frequent reiteration. The following is a prime example.

This past Saturday, I made a pick up trip at the worthy Mr. Lee's tailor shop. Three pairs of pants, all second hand, of course.

Two fresh pairs of khakis, one in a classic English tan shade and the other in it's paler cousin, frequently known as "stone".

Both from J. Crew. One, a "dressier" pair of "Essential Chinos",

The other, from the more relaxed "broken in chino" line. Now, I know J. Crew is essentially mall junk from a sweatshop, but I'm tough on khakis. I run through them like water. As much as I'd love to support a company like Bill's, it'll be a cold day someplace before I spend $195 on cotton pants, no matter how nice they are. I find J. Crew khakis happen to be cut just how I like, and there isn't a thrift store on earth that doesn't have hundreds of them in stock at any given time. Besides, I know better than to pay $65 for them at the mall. Cut me a break, they're not Dockers after all.

The third pair are a gem, though. Bulletproof moleskin, the real stuff.

By Johnstons of Elgin,

Made in England. I've already worn this pair two days running. Easily my new favorites. Warm as toast and hefty, yet indescribably soft, and cut with a military style high waist and dead straight leg. Excellent. Still available at the Johnstons website, a new pair will run you 75 GBP, or roughly $120. So lets talk relativity, and how two of these pairs of pants were effectively free.

Each pair of these pants cost $5.49. It cost $12 per pair for hemming, putting the total cost of each pair at $17.49. Admittedly, that's a steal for even a pair of J. Crew khakis, never mind the fact that these have also been tailored to my specifications. Or...

The total cost of the three of them, alterations included, was $52.47, or roughly 33 GBP. So I paid less than half price for the moleskins, free alterations by my own tailor, no shipping, and got two pairs of J.Crew khakis, also with free alterations, as a bonus, a "spiff" as they say in the mens clothing trade, or "free goods" as they say in the wine trade.

That math is convoluted as hell, to be sure, but why not?  It's this kind of relative thinking that helps me be so successful in the thrift stores. If you're going to pull off the crazy bargain hunting like I do, you've got to be willing to see potential and think creatively. And find yourself a good tailor, of course.

Cottage Industry

Prior to the recent Top Shelf Flea Market II, I received numerous emails from my far flung readers to convince me to go live online. I'm in the process of setting up an online store. Forgive me for the lack of posts recently, and please bear with me. More vain drivel coming soon.

White Suede and Grey Tweed: Casual Editon

Four days later, white bucks and a tweed jacket get a second airing, this time in a more casual feel:

With a Brooks Brothers shirt in navy gingham, a tan wool v-neck from the House of Tweed in Scotland, and my favorite paisley square.

Dark blue jeans, washing and wearing nicely, and argyle socks. In the past, I wore my jeans with big cuffs. These days, I like them in a proper length. Every now and then, a small cuff is the trick. It gives just the right tiny nod to a 1950s look, kinda Pat Boone, but without the dorky aspect.

I titled this post the "Casual Editon". It's true, this outfit is relaxed and comfortable, but the original combo of tweed and khaki would have been cosidered fully casual not so long ago. Many people might have considered todays combo to be dressed up. How times change.

I can remember when I was 12, in 1988, the older kids would wear wrecked white bucks with a button down oxford and a crew neck school sweatshirt, in the Fall. It was a look. The more dashing among them night finish it with a scarf or a sports coat, likely stolen from dear old dad.

I'm telling you, white bucks in Fall are the jam. Don't knock it till you've tried it.

White Suede and Grey Tweed: an Autumn Classic

I know I've said it before, so allow me to repeat myself. White suede bucks, as classically American as anything gets, may be a staple in the Summer wardrobe, but they carry on well into Autumn. I like mine a bit dirty, with tweed.

An old Sero oxford, 1980s black and white herringbone tweed jacket with brown leather buttons ( note the throat latch, nice touch) and a fake school tie. Perfect for a beautiful Autumn day, bright and sunny, crisp and a tad bit windy.

Fake school stuff is a touchy subject. Wearing real school stuff if you didn't attend said school is sketchy at best. Wearing fake school stuff mat be downright tacky. We'd all love to blame Ralph. But this old tie is from Brooks Brothers, with a black and white block lettered tag that dates it likely in the eighties, or older. Who cares? You, me and maybe four other guys? It's a good looking tie, I like it, it cost a buck and so i think I'll wear it.

Finishes nicely with khakis, pale blue cotton crew socks and white bucks. The more scuffed the better. I could throw up a million examples of this basic combo from the Life archives, but I won't bother, mostly because I'm sick of people illustrating blogs with ivy league shots from the Life archives...just sayin'. Suffice to say that white bucks in Fall and even Winter were a staple with tweed and thick flannel slacks starting in the 1920s. Some time in the last thirty years we collectively decided that they should only be worn in Summer, but that just sells these shoes short. White bucks and seersucker may be classic as all hell, but it verges on costume. White bucks and tweed? Killer. White bucks and a big wool sweater? Killer. White bucks and a toggle coat...not for the faint of heart, but also killer.

Belts can be tricky with white bucks. In Summer, nothing goes as good as a d-ring striped ribbon belt. in Fall, it's not so easy. Sure, I guess brown leather works, but I prefer a sturdy surcingle. This example, in brick red, picks up nicely on the rubber soles.

In the Summer, stick with topsiders and canvas sneakers. Save your white bucks for cool but sunny days when the leaves hit the ground. Thats when they really hit their stride.