Put This On

Do I Really Have Ten Blue Blazers?

This morning, I’m spending a bit of time switching cold weather clothes for warm weather clothes. It’s a time of reckoning. And I reckon I’ve got a lot of blue blazers.

To my credit, I’ve only purchased one of them new, and most came from thrift shops. And what they say about blazers, that they’re the most versatile garment you can own, is true. But still… ten?

Here’s the rundown:

1. Classic Brooks Brothers. This is the blazer you think of when you think of a blazer. Brass buttons, the whole nine. Bought it at the thrift shop, and I rarely wear it… I’m not a brass button guy.
2. Classic Brooks Brothers (White Buttons). Another thrift store find - but I replaced the brass buttons with mother-of-pearl.
3. Kiton Double-Breasted. This one’s all cashmere. I bought it at a thrift store, and I think it may at one time have been the jacket of a suit. Since it’s so soft and unconstructed, and Italianate in style, it works great as a blazer. Replaced the buttons with light horn ones.
4. Chester Barrie Double-Breasted. I bought this one for $75 or something on eBay a week before I found the Kiton at the thrift. Put smoke mother-of-pearl buttons on it. It’s a little lighter than the Kiton, so it gets more warm-weather wear.
5. Polo Corduroy. This one gets out a lot when it’s cooler - and it was $30 or so on eBay.
6. Brooks Brothers Unconstructed Flannel. This one I found at a thrift store in Orange County. It fit perfectly off the rack, and one of the best-dressed guys I know, Elvis Mitchell, once told me it was gorgeous. Has brown horn buttons. Great for knocking around in cool weather.
7. Cantarelli Summer-Weight . This one’s very blogger approved - patch pockets all around, partial lining, open-weave wool. Got it from eBay for $50 or so. Couldn’t resist.
8. Custom Fresco Blazer. This was my first ever bespoke garment, from High Society Tailor in Los Angeles. It’s something prohibitively expensive off the rack that, living in LA, I wear all the time.
9. Vintage Flecked Blazer. This one’s from the late 50s, maybe the early 60s. I bought it at a thrift many years ago, and it’s a great going-out coat. Add a knit tie, a button-down shirt and grey flannels and you look like the big man on campus.
10. Freeman’s Sporting Club Shacket. Is this a blazer? Or a shirt? Or a shirt-jacket? It’s solid navy, so I’m calling it a blazer. A perfect thing to throw in the bag for a casual trip. Warm, fits a sweater underneath, looks great with jeans and chinos. Another $50-ish eBay purchase.

So what does it all mean? Am I a crazy person? Or do I just have the right tool for every job? Maybe the latter. Maybe the former.

(Edit: just took out my summer clothes. Blue Polo linen. That’s eleven.)

It’s On Sale: Wool Challis Neckties

While I’ve personally reduced my wardrobe down to a variety of navy neckties, the two exceptions in my closet feature giant paisley designs on them. One is an ancient madder and the other is printed on wool challis that I picked up at Cable Car Clothiers on my last day in San Francisco. I really enjoy the look of a big, bold paisley pattern for some reason and for colder weather the wool challis printed ties pair well with tweed jackets, chunky-knitted cardigans or a navy blazer. 

Ralph Lauren’s clearance sale has reduced their wool “estate” challis ties to $52.49 — about 60% off — and having handled them in stores I think they’re rather superb if you find giant paisley prints to be your taste. Unfortunately, the photos don’t really do the muted and dark tones justice. 

-Kiyoshi

Our friend Dallas Penn let us know about this very cool event in New York on Sunday, January 20th.

From noon to 4:30, you can buy, sell and trade your vintage Polo gear. Then, starting at 4:30, there’ll be a concert featuring some of the fiercest rappers in New York: Sean Price and Buckshot among them.

Champagne Taste on a Beer Budget: A Black Tie Guide

Our series on putting together an ensemble for black tie affairs on time and on a slim budget continues. Today we discuss finding the proper shirt. Click here to read the rest of the Black Tie Guide. 

Part 2: The Evening Shirt

While you can find fairly good deals on eBay for the tuxedo, it can be tougher when it comes to the shirt, especially if you have a preference for something that fits a bit more trim in the body and sleeve. 

A few things you want to look for in a tuxedo shirt:

• French cuffs
• Placket should allow for studs (bib front) or use mother-of-pearl buttons (pleated front)
• White cotton that’s thinner, i.e.: poplin or broadcloth — avoid heavier weights
• Spread or wing collar 
• Bib or pleated front (this means no pockets)

Which collar should you go with? Wing collars come from a more formal tradition — white tie — and it depends if you believe they have their place in black tie ensembles. I think their visible points compliments tuxedos with peaked lapels. If you have a shawl-collared jacket, which relates closer to the casual smoking jacket, then consider going with the less formal spread collar. 

As for bibs or pleats, it’s again worth looking to the traditions of white tie for stylistic cues. The bib front often is made with a pique fabric (also called “marcella”) that’s associated with white tie and considered a more formal choice. Still, I think you could safely pick either and just go with your personal preference. The vertical lines of a pleated front could be beneficial to those looking to elongate their torso visually. 

Unfortunately, off-the-rack options for such shirts are limited under the $100 pricepoint. Charles Tyrwhitt’s shirts start at around $80 and they offer a slim fit version. The next best deal is the bib front from Suitsupply at $99 (slim fit) and for $20 more you can get a pleated front instead (extra-slim fit). 

I’ve personally owned the Hugo Boss Black slim fit bib front with a fly placket and darts on the back and found it to be quite good for $125. Remaining south of $150, you can pick among Brooks Brothers, Polo Ralph Lauren and Kent Wang.

Of course, when you’re around $150, then you might want to consider going with made-to-measure, at which point your options really open up quite a bit. But at this point, you might be pushing your luck with receiving your shirt in time for New Year’s Eve depending on your shirtmaker and shipping time. 

Finally, remember to avoid wearing a regular white dress shirt with your tuxedo — especially one with barrel cuffs, plastic buttons and a chest pocket. 

-Kiyoshi

(Photo via Time/Life)

In Praise of Vintage Polo

The more I lurk on eBay and flip through thrift store racks, the more a conclusion starts to form in my mind: if you want to dress well, a great place to start is vintage Polo.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m no ‘Lo Head, but there are some really important factors to consider here.

• First, Polo tailored clothing have bent with the passing trends, but they’ve never abandoned classic ideals. If you grab a Polo sportcoat off the rack at the Goodwill, its styling can pass for current two times out of three.
• Second, Polo tailored clothing is freely available. You can buy vintage Polo suits and sportcoats on eBay for $50 or $100 without breaking a sweat. There’s probably not a thrift store in America without a piece of Polo on the rack. Even a nearly-new suit won’t cost more than a couple hundred bucks. It’s accessible.
• Third, it’s of good quality. Would I pay the $1500 retail price for a new Polo suit? Probably not. (Then again, I’ve never spent $1500 on a clothing item in my life.) But over the last forty years, Polo tailored clothes have been of consistently good quality. Maybe not superb or exciting, but consistent and solid.

There’s no other brand you can say those three things of. Maybe Brooks Brothers is closest, but while its styling has always been conservative, it’s never had the elegance of Polo. Polo’s always hung on to a bit of the Gatsby flair. Classic, but sharp.

I’ve got a couple of old Polo suits from the 70s. Union made in the US of A. Beautiful heavy fabric and solid, sophisticated styling. I’d say the same of the Italian-made tweed sportcoats I bought at the outlet store a couple years ago. These days, after years of thrifting, I’ve got higher-end stuff in my closet, but I reach for the Polo just as often. That’s really quite an accomplishment.

Season 2 Episode 4 Clothing Credits

Introduction

Overcoat - Vintage by Capper & Capper

Scarf - Courtesy of Christine Cariati

Hat - Courtesy of W. Bill

Q and Answer

Coat - Polo Ralph Lauren

Sweater - Vintage

Tie - Cordings

Shirt - Thin Red Line

Pocket Square - Put This On Gentlemen’s Association

Scarf - Courtesy Christine Cariati

Hat - Courtesy W. Bill

Trousers - Pro Tailor, Los Angeles

Shoes - Vintage Florsheim

David Saxby

Suit - High Society Tailor (cloth by Molloy & Sons)

Cuff Links - Vintage

Shirt - Thin Red Line

Tie - Vintage Carroll & Co.

Square - Put This On Gentlemen’s Association

It’s On Sale: RL Long-Sleeve Polos

Ralph Lauren is selling their long-sleeve “Custom Fit” polos for just $22.46 with the code RLEXTRA25. Custom Fit is the slimmer of RL’s styles, though it isn’t fashion-slim. Shipping is a flat $5. It’s part of a much larger sale.

Un-Lining A Jacket

A week or so ago, I picked up this jacket at a thrift store. It didn’t need too much adjustment to fit well, and it filled a hole in my wardrobe - a linen blazer. Since I live in Los Angeles, staying comfortable in the summer is a priority, and linen does the trick.

There was only one problem: the jacket was fully lined. Linen is cool and breathes well. The same cannot be said of the materials used to line coats, like bemberg, an early plant-based synthetic. Lining fabrics are designed to be slick and lightweight, but they’re not designed to be cool in warm weather. Lined linen is fine when the temperature’s 75 or 80, but I wanted a coat I could wear when it was 85 or 90, so I took the coat to my tailor for some alteration.

The lining in the shoulders and sleeves is functional. Without lining there, your coat can hang up on your shirt, causing rumpling, bumps and other unsightly malformations. It’s also functional in the chest, where it performs the same duties, and also covers up the structure of the chestpiece and pockets. There are totally unstructured coats that have almost none of this extra stuff in the chest, but this wasn’t one of them, so I wanted to retain that lining.

The one place where the lining isn’t functional at all is on the back. Manufacturers use lining there for a uniform look, and because it’s cheaper to line the back fully than to clean up the insides to look presentable. Luckily, I’d bought the coat for $25, and wasn’t averse to putting a bit more money into it to make it summer-friendly.

I had my tailor remove the lining along most of the back. This involved cutting away the lining, but also “taping” the now-visible seams. This keeps them from catching on the shirt and makes them look finished. He left a strap across the lower back to help the coat retain its shape, but that’s optional. The result was a coat with dramatically less lining that will keep me much cooler in the summer.

This isn’t just a great option for summer, either. Less lining in a jacket means you can wear heavier fabrics in warmer temperatures. Heavier fabrics almost always look and drape better than lighter, finer ones. Unless it’s winter and you’re trying to maximize warmth, a less-lined coat is more versatile and comfortable. That’s why jackets were rarely fully lined until mass manufacturing prevailed over traditional tailoring in the 60s.

My tailor charged me a bargain price for the service - $35. Since it’s not a frequent request, prices vary, but generally cutting out the back and taping the seams will run you somewhere around $50. When the mercury climbs here in LA, I’m sure I’ll be glad I spent the money.

A Good Day’s Thrifting

After working every day for a few weeks straight, I took a few hours yesterday to pursue some hobby time. I hopped in the car and headed for the west side of Los Angeles to do some thrifting.

I live in East LA, where there are plenty of thrift stores, but precious little quality menswear on the racks therein. The reason’s simple - no rich people, no rich people clothes. There are some thrift chains that distribute across a region, rather than store-by-store, and there are always scores available everywhere, but the percentages are best in nice stores in affluent areas.

I ended up with the pile above. The Polo suit is older, probably from the 1980s, made in the USA, in a beautiful gray birdseye. Perfect fit and a very classic style, especially for a big tall guy like myself. I find myself drawn to Polo from the mid-80s and before, when it was inspired by classic styles of the 1930s and ’40s. The better-quality pieces have held up with time, as well. This suit will require a letting out in the waist and taking up in the sleeves and trousers, but both of those are easily done by my tailor. It set me back $40.

I found the pocket squares in the ladies’ scarves section of one of my favorite thrifts. It’s always worth taking a peek there - pocket squares are usually about 15 or 16 inches square, and scarves for women tend to be much larger, so it’s easy to spot the difference. Only one of the ones I picked up had a brand (also Polo), but all are great options, and they were only five bucks each.

The ties came from a Goodwill that’s been very productive for me in the past. The green striped one was the first I found - I spotted its Kiton tag from across the room. The rest are made by Paul Stuart (in England), Facconable (by Breuer, in France), Brooks Brothers Makers and Andrew of Milano. There was another Kiton, stained, that I left on the rack.

The trip represented visits to six stores, and I shopped at two of them. I spent a total of about $75 (plus another $15 on baby clothes, not pictured). Not bad for half a day’s work.

It’s On Sale: 6PM.com Boot Sale

6PM.com is having a sale on boots. Among the offerings are Sorel Caribous, a classic snow boot offered here at an exceptionally reasonable price: $65. I know warm temperatures are here, but for those of you in snowy places, I can promise: it will get cold again eventually. Winter is coming.

There are also a pile more Sorels available, including some other classic models, like their 1964 line. They’ve got the Allen Edmonds Bayfield for $261.99 (from $350), some nice boots on deep discount from Timberland Boot Company like these Tackheads, Polo Ranger boots at 40% off, and a couple pairs of decent Clarks, like these Desert Mali Boots.

I’ve clicked a few brands we think might interest you in this sale link.