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?

It All Comes Together (relativity and scale)

Pattern mixing can be a slippery slope if you're not careful. But when executed correctly, it will really set you off from the sartaraily conformist crowd. The real trick is to develop a feel for color, contrast and relative scale.

This outfit contains three distinct patterns (four if you count the socks). Yet, at a distance of 4 or 5 feet, only the most prominent one, the plaid of the jacket stands out.Closer inspection reveals a richer story. All patterns, and a bright square. It shouldn't work but it does. Why? Plaid, paisley, stripes...the patterns are all different. Large, medium small... they are all of a different scale, and as such do not compete, but work together. Anchors...the orange pocket square and olive green pants hold it all down. Texture...the roughness of the jacket against the mid-smoothness of the oxford shirt, against the smoothness of the gabardine slacks, against the tactile interest of suede shoes.
Think of this heavily earth tone outfit as my lead up study to wearing the damn olive suit I just bought. It's funny. I can throw together patterns like there's no tomorrow, but I can't figure out a green suit.

p.s. I rode a bike in this outfit today, shoes and all. Subtitle this post "Cycling Attire part 2"

p.p.s. a question: are fair isle sweaters a fall/winter thing, or can I wear one in the sunny 50 degree Boston weather? advice appreciated.

Extra Suits

Men's clothing has relied on the same small collection of staple items for a very long time. Styles come and go, lapels and neckties go from narrow, to wide and back again. But the triumvirate of Navy Blue suit, Charcoal Grey suit, and Blue-or Grey- with-Faint-White-Stripe always hold court. And then there are the questionable cousins, the "extra suits", such as olive green. Recently one found it's way into the Affordable Wardrobe,
a vintage 1960's number, 3/2 sack, plain front cuffed pants, for just $7.99from old manufacturer Palm Beach, and old long gone Boston men's shop Kennedy's. (sadly, no linkable info available for either).

A nice light weight number, and a slightly less dressy suit option for Spring.

Olive suits are a tricky thing. Though the color may be quiet and dull, they can be surprisingly difficult to match with shirts and ties. They don't always work well with white shirts, they sometimes work with blue shirts, and they go best with ecru shirts, only I hate ecru shirts. They don't go with brown socks or grey socks, but rather tend to defy logic and work best with bright socks. And though we live in an increasingly too-casual society, many offices that require a suit will frown on them. They occupy some sort of weird middle ground, being somehow less dressy than even a navy blazer and grey slacks. No wonder they only enjoy brief and short lived moments of popularity.

I remember back in the nineties when I worked at Simon's they were the new thing. We used to call them "earth tone" because you just couldn't sell a guy a green suit, no matter how hard you tried. But we would only sell them to a guy after he had a blue suit, and a grey suit, etc. In fact, we'd even talk guys out of it if they didn't already own the basics. No man really needs an olive green suit, myself incuded.

But what the hell, it was only eight bucks. I'm thinking with a bow tie, argyles and penny loafers, it will make a great suit for a casual Friday.

Cycling Attire

Since old Ma Nature has finally seen fit to bless the city of Boston with a day that was not only sunny, but also comfortably warm, I thought today might be a good time to discuss cycling attire.

I love travelling by bicycle. In fact, before my wife became pregnant, I didn't even learn to drive a car. People would always ask me why, but that's a post for another place (maybe Channeling Bunny). Many people would find this a great restriction, but I found it quite freeing, kind of like not having credit cards. I would always tell people that they should ride a bike to work when the weather permits, and the most frequent argument against it always had to do with having to dress for the bike. Obviously, these people had never heard of the trusty English 3 speed.

I took this picture on my way home from work this afternoon. Note the manner in which I am dressed. Note also the lack of spandex, shorts, or even a heavy bag around my back. This is all thanks to the bike. The English 3 speed was mass produced forever in Britain as a means of transportation for the average adult, in a time when the average adult dressed like an adult.

These bikes are great. They still make similar ones today. However, so many of them were produced at one time that a little digging will easily find a proper old one for a fraction of the cost of a piece-of-junk new bike. And of course the coolness factor increases exponentially. Features to look for include: a basket to carry all of the junk that modern people see fit to cart back and forth to the office these days, an upright stance making it possible to ride in a sports jacket, fenders to keep splashes off of your clothes, and a chain guard to keep your right pants leg out of the chain without having to roll it up. It's a dressy bike, and a comfortable ride.

You can ride it dressed like this:

Algebra teacher chic

Don't forget to wear your helmet! ( if only someone would design one that doesn't make you look like a mope).

The Best New Shoes Are Old Shoes

I've said it before and I'll say it again: the best thing about having shoes repaired by a proper cobbler is that you get shoes that are like new, only better, because they aren't. They come back to you fresh, ready for another few years of service, but with all the comfort and suppleness that the last few years of wear have given them.

Here are my old Florsheim "Imperial Quality" longwings.

Regular readers of this blog may note both the frequency with which I once wore them, and their recent absence. That's because they started to look like this: So I took them to the friendly Armenian gentleman who runs this unassuming little shop:He's a real talker, this cobbler, but I love it. Every time I go see him, he regales me with tales from the old days and homespun shoe advice. I think he likes me because I always bring him well built old shoes to repair. He told me my wingtips are really old. He could tell because the original heels were attached only with nails, no glue. He said this is what shoes looked like when he was an apprentice. He then lamented the fact that he would not be able to repair them in quite the same way, but that of course his work would be top quality. He told me it's too bad they don't make double soles like these anymore, and that if I repaired these shoes every few years, they would last me a lifetime.

Then he said "These shoes deserve real shoe tress, the wooden kind. I only sell plastic ones, because most shoes today are so cheaply made that the tension on a wooden tree will split them. But for these, you should have wood."One week later, they're like new, only better, because they're not.I just need to find an excuse to wear a suit so I can give those new rubber heels a test drive. I've got a couple of surcingle belts that need to be shortened a couple of inches. Who knows what kind of stories I'll get with that.

p.s. on my recent disappearance of the last few days: The 2 year old has been sick as hell. I've been sleeping on the floor in his room, or rather waking up every 1/2 to help him, and keep him out of our room where the baby sleeps. He seems to be feeling much better today. Maybe I can start sleeping in abed again soon. The little girl is doing wonderfully, but she is only three weeks old. Add to that the new(ish) job, school, and the unending laundry, dirty dishes, and clutter that fill my house...well you get the idea.

First Day of Spring (past, present, future)

Spring has finally arrived. Eastern Massachusetts responded with a bright sunny day, balmy with temperatures in the high 30's. One of those days when you look out the window and think "what a gorgeous day!" Then you go outside and spend the day trying to convince yourself that it's not cold, when in fact you're almost freezing.

Mrs. G and I decided to celebrate by taking the children on a thrifting excursion, something we haven't done much lately. As I've mentioned before, thrift shopping takes a sharp eye and dedication. The ability to see the past, present and future in perspective is also helpful. For example:

The Past

Think about the past, and remember that it is bound to repeat itself. We may all be itching for the cotton duck pants and madras right about now, but that's no reason not to sift through all the tweed jackets. Winter will happen again. In fact, it's the perfect time for buying tweed. Nobody wants to think about it and the selection is yours for the picking. This half lined 3/2 sack jacket, made of this luxurious soft fabric:

cost all of $7.99. That's less than what it cost in the 60's, when it was new. From one of America's long gone small men's shops. Anyone have a good story about a place called Ed Michtom's?

The Present

Being an American, I value instant gratification. Shopping is no fun if you don't get something you can use right away. As luck would have it, this old pair of Sebago Campsides for $7.99 are the perfect shoe for Spring. So comfortable, casual but smart, great with argyles, khakis and striped ties. Best of all, the magic words: made in USA. Even the venerable L.L.Bean blucher mocs can't make that claim anymore.

The Future

One day it will be Summer. In Massachusetts this means that no end of nautically themed clothing is too much. This neck tie embroidered with anchors and ships wheels may be more than a little silly, but with a white shirt, a pair of Nantucket reds , no socks, and topsiders, you're set. True, I don't own a yacht, but that doesn't mean that a little of the old sprezzatura, and my inner Thurston Howell, can't pull this off.

The point? If you go into a thrift store looking for something particular, forget it. Be persistent, look through everything, and snatch the good stuff, regardless of the current season. It's the only way to navigate these places successfully. Take the broad view. In the long run, you'll be glad you did.