June 13, 2011

Mr. Porter, one of my favorite online stores, just did a second round of reductions in their sale section. There’s some nice stuff by Ralph Lauren, John Smedley, Incotex, and Turnbull & Asser left, though most of the really great stuff got cleared out in their first round of deductions (two Drakes ties for yours truly). Take a browse if you have time. 

(hat tip to Doc Hu for the notice)

Posted in Mr. Porter Ralph Lauren John Smedley Incotex Turnbull & Asser Sales
February 5, 2011
Above is a photo of my greatest second-hand score ever. One that will likely remain my greatest score ever for the rest of my life, unless I find a cache of Savile Row suits that fit me perfectly or something. I’m still vibrating from the excitement. So I responded to a Craigslist ad that I found through a saved search for some brand or other… Brioni, maybe. It’s a moving sale, but no address, just a phone number. Talked to the woman, and she gave me her address, told her I’d head up there after my dog’s obedience class. I live in Silver Lake, on the East side of Los Angeles, and she lived in the Hollywood Hills, on the west side, so it took me a solid 30 minutes to drive there. I was kind of tired, and thought, “Why am I doing this?” It was almost two miles up the hill from Sunset Boulevard. I get there, and it’s a small but very beautiful a-frame. You can literally see all of Los Angeles from this spot. It was absolutely amazing. I knock on the door, and she opens it, and it’s a pretty woman maybe in her 40s, dressed like an LA new-agey type straight from Central Casting. Right away, though, I can tell she’s 100% for real and a nice lady. Moments later, she tells me she’s a yoga practicioner. She is very sincere, very kind, and not at all flaky for someone who off-handedly mentions she’s psychic. Twice. Her house was laid out like a sort of yard sale, with all kinds of women’s clothes and household stuff all around. She shows me back to the bedroom where the men’s stuff is, and there’s a table of Ed Hardy-ish rock star clothes (frankly a little nicer than that sounds, but still very, very not to my taste) right by the door, and I think maybe it’s not the place for me. Then I see this box of neckties. I bend down to check it out, and the first tie is an amazing striped grenadine Sulka. Then the next one is a Brioni. And so on and so on. Above them is a pile of handkerchiefs from Facconable and Turnbull & Asser. To the right is another box full of neckties. A little negotiating (she was psychic, so I was at a disadvantage) and one trip down and up the mountain later, I handed her $750 in cash. Here’s what I ended up with: - A silver-handled purple label umbrella. - A Sulka trench coat. - About half a dozen Turnbull & Asser pocket handkerchiefs in their wrapping, and about fifteen more squares, mostly by Facconable, mostly unused, some with tags, including four in a gauzy blend of cashmere and silk that is almost unimaginably soft and beautiful. - 45 ties. Of these, about three or four are clunkers and a few are Versaces. The rest are Borrelli, Brioni, and Sulka with a few Oxxfords thrown in for good measure. Almost all are basics, almost none are dated (though most are wide-ish). Most seem to be unworn, including about ten Borrellis which are still in their packaging. The woman was incredibly nice, and was very happy the things were going to a good home. She told me that I can expect a lot of money coming in. Also that the neighborhood I’m thinking of moving to is a very blessed place. I can only imagine who her ex was. Bryan Ferry or something. Unreal.

Above is a photo of my greatest second-hand score ever. One that will likely remain my greatest score ever for the rest of my life, unless I find a cache of Savile Row suits that fit me perfectly or something. I’m still vibrating from the excitement.

So I responded to a Craigslist ad that I found through a saved search for some brand or other… Brioni, maybe. It’s a moving sale, but no address, just a phone number. Talked to the woman, and she gave me her address, told her I’d head up there after my dog’s obedience class.

I live in Silver Lake, on the East side of Los Angeles, and she lived in the Hollywood Hills, on the west side, so it took me a solid 30 minutes to drive there. I was kind of tired, and thought, “Why am I doing this?” It was almost two miles up the hill from Sunset Boulevard.

I get there, and it’s a small but very beautiful a-frame. You can literally see all of Los Angeles from this spot. It was absolutely amazing.

I knock on the door, and she opens it, and it’s a pretty woman maybe in her 40s, dressed like an LA new-agey type straight from Central Casting. Right away, though, I can tell she’s 100% for real and a nice lady. Moments later, she tells me she’s a yoga practicioner. She is very sincere, very kind, and not at all flaky for someone who off-handedly mentions she’s psychic. Twice.

Her house was laid out like a sort of yard sale, with all kinds of women’s clothes and household stuff all around.

She shows me back to the bedroom where the men’s stuff is, and there’s a table of Ed Hardy-ish rock star clothes (frankly a little nicer than that sounds, but still very, very not to my taste) right by the door, and I think maybe it’s not the place for me.

Then I see this box of neckties. I bend down to check it out, and the first tie is an amazing striped grenadine Sulka. Then the next one is a Brioni. And so on and so on.

Above them is a pile of handkerchiefs from Facconable and Turnbull & Asser. To the right is another box full of neckties.

A little negotiating (she was psychic, so I was at a disadvantage) and one trip down and up the mountain later, I handed her $750 in cash.

Here’s what I ended up with:

- A silver-handled purple label umbrella.
- A Sulka trench coat.
- About half a dozen Turnbull & Asser pocket handkerchiefs in their wrapping, and about fifteen more squares, mostly by Facconable, mostly unused, some with tags, including four in a gauzy blend of cashmere and silk that is almost unimaginably soft and beautiful.
- 45 ties. Of these, about three or four are clunkers and a few are Versaces. The rest are Borrelli, Brioni, and Sulka with a few Oxxfords thrown in for good measure. Almost all are basics, almost none are dated (though most are wide-ish). Most seem to be unworn, including about ten Borrellis which are still in their packaging.

The woman was incredibly nice, and was very happy the things were going to a good home. She told me that I can expect a lot of money coming in. Also that the neighborhood I’m thinking of moving to is a very blessed place.

I can only imagine who her ex was. Bryan Ferry or something.

Unreal.

Posted in Thrifting Turnbull & Asser Sulka Brioni Borrelli
August 24, 2010

Episode 3: Clothing Credits

Intro:

Suit - J. Crew

Shirt - Thom Browne

Tie - Carrol & Co. (Vintage)

Square - Vintage (Courtesy: Grand-Uncle Philbert)

Shoes - Nordstrom

On Set

Suit - J. Crew

Shirt - CEGO Custom Shirtmakers

Tie - Courtesy  of Berg & Berg

Shoes - Gieves & Hawkes

Square - Holland & Holland

Nerd Boyfriend Picks

Jacket - J. Crew

Shirt - Uniqlo

Pants - Hentsch Man

Shoes - American Apparel

On Roxana

Shirt - Marc Jacobs

Skirt - Marc Jacobs

Rudiments

Tie - Turnbull & Asser

Q and A

Blazer - hickey

Shirt - Lands’ End

Pants - Incotex

Tie - Benjamin Bixby

Shoes - Sebago (Vintage)

Square - Grand-Uncle Philbert

Posted in Episode 3 Clothing Credits J. Crew Thom Browne Carrol & Co. Cole Haan CEGO CEGO CEGO Custom Shirts Berg & Berg Gieves & Gieves & Hawkes Holland Holland & Holland Turnbull & Turnbull & Asser hickey Lands' End Incotex Benjamin Bixby Sebago
November 3, 2009
The silk grenadine tie is so-called for its distinctively textured weave.  It’s typically (though not exclusively) manufactured in solid colors.  The value of the grenadine tie is that its solid color makes it easy to pair with busier shirts and coats, and its texture gives it visual interest.  This makes the grenadine the perfect jack-of-all-trades tie, particularly in simple colors like black, navy and burgundy.  Many designers make grenadines from time to time, but you can reliably find them at J. Press, Paul Stuart and Turnbull & Asser.  For a similar price (but a longer wait), they can be ordered bespoke from Sam Hober, who will make them to your length & width specifications.

The silk grenadine tie is so-called for its distinctively textured weave.  It’s typically (though not exclusively) manufactured in solid colors.  The value of the grenadine tie is that its solid color makes it easy to pair with busier shirts and coats, and its texture gives it visual interest.  This makes the grenadine the perfect jack-of-all-trades tie, particularly in simple colors like black, navy and burgundy.  Many designers make grenadines from time to time, but you can reliably find them at J. Press, Paul Stuart and Turnbull & Asser.  For a similar price (but a longer wait), they can be ordered bespoke from Sam Hober, who will make them to your length & width specifications.

Posted in Neckties Grenadine J. Press Paul Stuart Turnbull & Asser