A couple of months ago, I was in touch with Bruce Boyer for a series I wrote about how to develop good taste. While we were communicating over email, Bruce mentioned that he’s been trying to offload some things from his wardrobe and asked if I had any good ideas on how he could do so. Of course, I recommended our sponsor LuxeSwap. Matthew, the founder of LuxeSwap, has been helping people clear out their closets for over a decade. He does all the heavy lifting of posting things on eBay: taking photos and measurements, creating listings, promoting the items through his StyleForum thread, answering buyers’ questions, and of course, fulfilling orders.
Bruce was intrigued, and I put the two in touch. A couple of weeks later, Matthew made the drive to Pennsylvania and picked up a pile of bespoke tailoring, handmade shoes, and high-end accessories. A portion of those items is now up on eBay under the title “The Bruce Boyer Collection.”
The auctions start modestly. The current round includes ties—tasteful plaids (this glen check is the perfect tie to wear to weddings), classic rep stripes, autumnal wools, and loads of crunchy silk knits (my personal favorites). Matthew tells me that next week will be more accessories, and then the week after—as part of LuxeSwap’s annual Thanksgiving night blowout—he’ll be putting up the motherload of suits and sport coats. Finally, there will be one more week of accessories to round things out.
The tailoring is pretty magnificent. Items include bespoke suits and sport coats from world-renowned tailors such as Liverano & Liverano and A. Caraceni (the tailoring house that made clothes for Gianni Agnelli). I was able to handle two of the suits, and I’d estimate that the sizes to be between 38S and 40S, depending on the house style (the Liverano fit me like a 38S, whereas the A. Caraceni fit like a 40S). The A. Caraceni sport coat had a soft drape chest, as you’d expect from a Golden Age tailoring house, while the Liverano was surprisingly lightweight (but still made with shape). The finishing was also immaculate—the A. Caraceni coat had some of the nicest handwork I’ve seen. Matthew tells me that select items from the Thanksgiving week blowout will also include signed certificates from Bruce.
This is a wonderful opportunity to own something from one of the greatest menswear writers. Bruce has penned some of my favorite books on this subject—Elegance, Eminently Suitable, and True Style, among others. His collection of essays for Cigar Aficionado is worth printing out and getting bound. The thing about Bruce’s writing is that, despite the fact that some of his earliest works date back more than four decades, they could be republished today without changing a single word. Timeless is such an overused term in menswear writing, but I believe it means something when you look back at Bruce’s work (and personal style) and see that it remains as relevant (and stylish) as ever.
Remember that new LuxeSwap auctions go up every Thursday night. These ten-day auctions all start at $9.99 and end on a Sunday night. You can find everything by searching for “The Bruce Boyer Collection.”
