Put This On

eBay Round Up

There are some really nice items today, particularly in the shoes and ties sections. To find more items, use our special search links for excellent suits, good suits, and well made footwear. The option bar at the left-hand side of eBay’s page will allow you to hone in on things in your size. 

Suits, sport coats, and blazers

• Burton tuxedo, 38
• J Press tweed, 38
• Henry Poole grey suit, 39
• Sartoria Napoletana teal jacket, 40 
• Gieves & Hawkes tuxedo suit, 40L
• Norton & Sons windowpane sport coat, 41
• Ralph Lauren glen plaid suit, 42L
• Ralph Lauren Purple Label tuxedo, 44
• E Tautz tweed, 44
• Ralph Lauren Purple Label tuxedo, 44
• J Press grey sack suit, 46

• Sulka black grenadine tie
• Ralph Lauren glen plaid tie
• J Press blue and white circles tie
• Domenico Vacca tie (pictured above)
• Various Borrelli ties
• Bunch of Brooks Brothers ties
• Drake’s tie (dotted, stripes)
• Hermes green knots tie

Oh my gosh, you guys!

Isn’t that celebrity author Dave Hill?

Where could he be? Fashion week?

Could he be getting ready to school everyone on the important subject of fashion on behalf of the hit videoblog Put This On?!

THIS IS AMAZING!

Headphones for Listening

I’m in the audio business.

The media business, really - I’ve hosted on TV, I write here on PTO, I do web video - but the core of what I do for a living goes in your ears. As such, I’ve been vexed in recent years as I’ve seen more and more overpriced, overbranded headphones being sold to folks who simply don’t know any better. I care about how my headphones sound, especially when I’m listening to music, so I thought I’d offer a quick recommendation for folks who are looking for cans that will sound gorgeous at a decent price.

Grado Labs specializes in headphones. Unlike Beats Audio, they’re not the audio equivalent of a George Foreman grill. Unlike Sennheiser, they haven’t mass-marketed their once-quality products into extinction. Instead, they focus on making headphones with a simple aesthetic, a decent pricepoint, and exceptional sound.

As you can see above, they look like headphones. Classic headphones. They’re not comically oversized, and they don’t feature a goofy, futuristic logo that also advertises your favorite hip-hop producer and soft drink. They’re comfortable, and feature open construction, which means that you’ll be able to hear what’s going on around you in addition to your music. This is how your ears and brain were designed to process sound, and will improve your listening experience, not hinder it. Trust me.

They’re designed for the long-term, as well, with replaceable and repairable parts and a solid build quality that you simply don’t get from most consumer electronics these days.

The SR-60, their base model, sells for about $80. The SR-80, pictured above, sells for about a hundred bucks. Both are exceptional values, and will sound better than the $300 set you might buy from whatever Circuit City is called now. You know… the ones with the red “B” on the side. Of course, Grado has a whole range of options that go up from there for serious audiophiles, but the difference between what you’re listening to now and even their most basic model will be huge.

If you’re looking for something smaller and cheaper, there’s another old standby, the Koss Portapro. The aesthetics are less elegant, but for less than $40, you’ll get exceptional sound for the price, and from personal experience, Koss will replace them for you if they fail for almost any reason.

There’s nothing more inelegant than the wrong tool.

For $50 You Can Buy …

A few more deals you can consider:

• Lands End has a few decent knits and regimental stripes ties on sale right now. Both are about $30. 
• Ralph Lauren Rugby’s shaggy dog sweaters are on sale for $35. They fit slim, but have suede elbow patches, which may or may not be a good thing depending on your point of view. Still, $35 for a shaggy dog isn’t bad. 
• Lands End Canvas has a few Heritage oxford-cloth shirts on sale for about $12, but you have to call in to order. 

Keep It Simple, Stupid.

I was watching The Odd Couple the other night, and I was struck by a question: why does Walter Matthau look so good?

If you haven’t seen the film, see it. It’s hilarious. It’s a famous cultural archetype for a reason: because it is so great. You need to know a little background to catch what I’m pitching, though.

In the opening sequence, Jack Lemmon’s character, Felix, tries to commit suicide, and fails, only because he throws out his back trying to open the window he’d planned to throw himself through. He ends up at his friend Oscar’s house - that’s Matthau - mid-poker game, and the place is disgusting. There’s no A/C, and everyone’s a mess and the place is a mess and things are just a mess in general.

Felix is a compulsive neatnik. Oscar is a slob. That’s the Odd Couple part of the story.

So that’s why Felix looks sharp, if conservative. He’s the kind of guy who puts on a tie to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. And Oscar’s the opposite - wearing the most casual clothes of the day.

But in that opening sequence, Matthau, as Oscar, looks fantastic. As a slob. And I wondered why.

There are two reasons. The first is that Walter Matthau wasn’t a movie star for nothing. He’s immensely charismatic, very handsome (though not traditionally so) and spectacularly charming. I can advise you to work on that in your spare time, but this is a style blog, so I’ll get to the next bit now.

His clothes are simple.

What’s he wearing? Canvas sneakers, high-waisted, military-style chinos, a heathered gray t-shirt, and a Mets hat.

Almost all neutral colors, almost no patterns. No “statement pieces” (other than the ballcap). No words. No pictures. It’s the t-shirt outfit, as appropriate in 1962 as in 2012, fifty years later. And the man looks tremendous.

(And thank God it’s not a Yankees hat. That’s just irredeemable.)

E&G Cappelli’s Coming Webstore

I know of maybe four or five neckwear operations in Naples, but only two are particularly special. The first is, of course, E. Marinella, a house as well known for their ties as the people who wear them. The second is E&G Cappelli, who is less internationally famous, but no less exceptional. On my first day in Naples, I had a chance to visit E&G Cappelli and meet its proprietor, Patrizio Cappelli.

Cappelli’s “shop” is more of an atelier than a boutique. It’s located within a courtyard that has a somewhat hidden entrance off of Via Mille and a main entrance off of a small street called Via Cavallerizza. It’s not easy to find and not meant to attract off-the-street foot traffic. The building itself reminds me of the research center I work at, and the space inside is sparsely decorated. Despite its unassuming nature, however, businessmen and style enthusiasts alike have passed the word of how exceptional these ties are. 

Most ties, including those made by luxury-end makers, feel pressed and somewhat crisp when they’re worn. Cappelli’s, on the other hand, have a enjoyable human quality to them. The ties are made with a softer interlining, the edges aren’t pressed, and handsewn stitches at the back are more readily visible (particularly around the neck area, where it’s looser in order allow more give). All in all, Cappelli feel a bit more distinctive. They wear a bit softer and gentler, and have an appreciable artisanal quality to them. I picked up two wool herringbones while I was there and they’ve since become some of my favorites. 

In the past, you could only get E&G Cappellis in one of two ways (at least that I know of). The first was to visit E&G Cappelli’s atelier in Naples and the other was to order from A Suitable Wardrobe. In more recent times, you could also go to Exquisite Trimmings. Patrizio tells me, however, that he’s planning to launch an online shop sometime at the end of February. Prices will be about $115 for ready-made and $145 for bespoke. I didn’t get a chance to ask if a 20% VAT discount will be given for non-EU customers or how much shipping to the States will be, so those prices may fluctuate. There were also some bow ties and scarves available in the shop, but I don’t know if those will be offered online. 

These prices are, of course, on the luxury-end of the market, but for those who are already paying for Drake’s and E. Marinellas, E&G Cappellis are definitely worth adding to the collection. Without overstating it, these are some of the best ties I’ve ever seen. 

via Swimsuit Department

Here’s something of interest to folks in Baltimore: the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History & Culture (they should look into lengthening that name) has a pair of exhibits on the black dandy. Dandy Lion: Articulating a Re(de)fined Black Masculine Identity looks at African-American dandies both contemporary and historical through photography. Global Dandy: Selected Photographs From the Global Africa Project looks at dandies throughout the African diaspora.

In both cases, the goal is an interesting and admirable one: to challenge the notion that black male culture (and particularly aesthetic culture) is monolithic, and to present the ways that it has represented a reinterpreted the dandy tradition.

Urbanite Baltimore has more.

(Photo, from the exhibition, by Hanif Abdur-Rahim)

thanks, Lindsey!

eBay Round Up

I think we have a particularly good round up today. Some of my favorites include these C&J suede Belgraves, the Davide Cenci polo coat, and a very nice knife. To find more items, use our custom search links for excellent suits, good suits, and well made footwear. 

Suits, sport coats, and blazers

• Monitaly olive herringbone blazer, 36
• Udeshi denim sport coat, 38
• Regent orange corduroy jacket, 38
• Hardy Amies gunclub jacket, M
• Chester Barrie navy suit, 40
• Purdey shooting jacket, 42
• Abercrombie & Fitch hunting jacket, 42
• Saint Andrews navy suit, 44S
• Bijan blue flannel suit, 44L
• Belvest green corduroy sport coat, 44L