Put This On

The wonderful folks at Archival Clothing have produced these lovely musettes.  I guess musette means “little tote bag.”  Whatever they’re called, they’re beautiful, and every detail is perfectly executed.  They come in tan waxed cotton, yellow and navy (above), and there’s a flap version on the way.  The best part: they’re fifty bucks, which for a product of this quality is a fantastic price.

Another in our series of photos of real men dressed well - this time a triptych from Florian, of Germany.  I love the way the relatively neutral tones of the coat and scarf give way, upon close inspection, to a riot of color.  Florian is dressed for the cold, but he isn’t letting winter win.

All this week, I’ll be featuring photographs shared by men (not models, not industry pros) that illustrate distinctive, well-executed style.

This one comes from a well-dressed gent named Bill.  What I love is the way the group is greater than the parts.  The tweed in the coat is, taken as a whole, a neutral color, but each other element of the presentation brings to the fore one of the tweed’s constituent colors.

The shirt is as simple as it gets - a classic blue with a moderately spread collar.  The tie is also quite simple, but it offers a textural contrast both to the smoothness of the shirt and the roughness of the tweed.  Both shirt and tie pull a bit of extra pop from the tweed, which has undertones of maroon and blue.

The real piece de resistance of the combination is the pocket square, though.  Note that the colors in the square (while muted) aren’t found anywhere else in the combination.  They compliment the colors of the tweed wonderfully, though, and the green in particular is a lovely contrast to the wine red of the necktie.  Bravo!

It’s On Ebay

Cashmere scarf by Columbo

Starts at $24.99, ends Sunday

It’s On Ebay

Vintage Satchel by Bree

Starts at 49 pounds, ends Sunday

Four pocket squares, thrifted yesterday in San Francisco.  Don’t buy a square unless it has full, round, hand-rolled edges.

The right accessories are key to any outfit.

Here, a shirt jacket by Freeman’s Sporting Club compliments a brown dog by A Mommy Dog.

It’s On Ebay!

Bridle leather portfolio by legendary British leather firm Swaine Adeney.

Starts at $119, ends Tuesday

It’s On Sale

Large Cardholder Wallet

$15 (regular $25) from Fine and Dandy Shop

Q and Answer

Matt writes:

It’s going to start raining soon. I’m wondering if you could recommend where I could purchase a quality umbrella. Not the crappy CVS thing from china for 5 bucks but an umbrella that will stand the test of time.
We’re all for things that stand the test of time.  If you’re not the type to leave your umbrellas in umbrella stands at bars when the weather clears up while you’re drinking, there are a lot of great options for you.  So despite the fact that we live in Funky LA, where rain is a once-a-year miracle, we’ll give you some suggestions.

The classic British umbrella is Swaine Adeney Brigg.  They’re expensive (about $300), but they’re made to your specifications in silk, rather than nylon.  Another English company, James Smith & Sons, has a reputation for umbrellas that are as good as SAB, but at a significantly lower price.  Still expensive, though, at $200 or so.
Right here in God’s United States of America you can take a look at the extensive options available at Brooks Brothers, including some spectacular (and spectacularly expensive) stripes.  For $175, you can buy a lovely chestnut-handled brella from Howard Yount, perhaps even one like the photo above.
Rain or Shine in New York sell nothing but umbrellas, so they can guide you towards the highest quality pieces in the under-$100 range.  I personally have two umbrellas - a huge all-black golf umbrella I bought at Costco for truly heinous weather, and a plaid with a wood handle I bought after Christmas last year at J Crew.
If you go with the big guys, and get some damage, there’s one man in New York City you can rely on to fix it - Gilbert Center.  And we always support fixing something rather than throwing it away.