Mode Rage: Suits at the Races

Mode Rage: Suits at the Races

I'm Alive I Swear

Sorry guys it's been so long since I've posted but school has had most of my attention. I have also been involved in the early days of starting a new business. I'm planning to start selling my own line of walking sticks. I'm still in the early stages and only have three sticks designed. When I have decided on the final designs I'll post them here. You never know I may post a few previews in the next post.

Way Too Cool To Shave?

I know my subject is far from news to most people who don't live under a rock , but yesterday it came to a head. While watching the news coverage of Prince William and his new bride's honeymoon tour , I saw a brief clip of him shaking hands with English superstar David Beckham. I noticed right away that Beckham was unshaven and I don't mean five o'clock shadow, he was rockin' the three plus days at least. Since when does a man destined for a knighthood neglect shaving when he knows he's about to meet the future king of England? You can argue the future knighthood angle if you like, but you have to agree that David Beckham is a well known English citizen and I'm sure your garden variety London chemist would bust his ass to look as good as possible when he was scheduled to meet a member of the royal family. Does Beckham think he's so cool and close to the prince that he does'nt need to show him the respect he deserves? Why did he bother to wear a suit? My humble opinion is that this sloppy looking "too cool to comb my hair or shave my face" attitude that is so prevalent these days has reached it's zenith. Believe it or not, I put it above the 'tennis shoes with a tuxedo' thing and I despise that.

Yes, if you see me around the house, I probably will be unshaven, but if I leave my neighborhood, I shave. If I were told that I was going to meet Barack Obama, I would wear the best suit of clothes I own and I would certainly brush my hair and shave my face. And I hate the man. However, I do have respect for the position and I have the desire that every man should have, to be respected by others. That generally won't happen if I look like a homeless guy. Some will say that I'm stuck in the past and have no right to critisize a celebrity, that I'm an unhip loser. That may be true but the men I respect and have looked up to my entire life would have taken the effort to put their best selves forward and that's good enough for me.

Sexuality and Style

Sexuality and Style

Laying Low

I haven't been writing lately because I'm been doing my best to pay off my debts and save the rest. The only substantial thing I've bought lately is an Olney Boater. If you're on the market for a new boater I recommend the Olney. It has a lower crown much like the pre-WWI style. The only setback is that you have to order it from England but, depending where you order it from it will be cheaper than the italian made hats for sale here in the U. S. I ordered my hat from www.tailsandtheunexpected.co.uk and in addition to hats they have many vintage style products not often seen here.
Other than the hat I have been laying low in the a/c . It's already hit 100 here so I don't go out very often. I did find a beautiful hand made wood and brass card holder for business cards and the such and have been educating myself about fountain pens and other high quality pens.
My only pen purchases in that area has been a black lacquer and chrome trim Parker Sonnet rollerball pen. It's a good starter and almost writes as smoothly as my G2 Limited rollerball made by Pilot. The G2 only ran me $10 versus the Parker's $30. I'm switching the Parker's point to a fine in hopes it won't smear.
Well, that's it for now. I will write again soon or whenever my life becomes somewhat interesting.

New Shoes

Bass Brockton

Stacy Adams Kingsman

In addition to clothes and hats, I also got a couple of pairs of shoes. Among them I finally was able to get a pair of Stacy Adams Kingsmans. In order to get the denim/white color pair I had to wait until some became available and the great folks at the Florsheim outlet store mail them to me. Although, I've only been able to only wear them a few times I'm very happy with them. I have recieved several compliments. One from a costume designer that was interested in buying a pair.

Another pair of shoes I've recently purchased was the Bass Brocktons in white. The Brocktons are nubuck suede and as far as I'm concerned are a requirement for spring and summer clothing.I had no dead set brand in mind for 'bucks, but the Bass were a good price. The Dainite-style soles on the shoes make for a very comfortable wear and walking hours in these shoes are like minutes and will probably buy a pair in taupe or navy soon.

In the Good Ol' Summertime(Almost)

Hats-Plus

Old Mill Merchantile

In between hitting the books the last few weeks I've also been busy buying straw hats for the coming warm weather. Even though they're not really cool anymore (but is a gentleman either),the Boater or Skimmer depending where you're from is the classic summer hat. They were worn pretty much from the early 1880's until the 2nd World War. I was'nt sure how it would look on me so at first I got a cheaper panama straw version. Fortunately, it looked and fit well so I made the jump to a higher quality hat.

I bought a Scala from Old Mill Merchantile on Ebay. It was only $48, but it was heavier. The downside however it's flexibility caused the brim to be angle down a bit when worn. The flexibility does make the hat stretch to fit if you got a size a bit too small. I did keep the hat because it is snug enough to wear on a windy day.

The hat was not what I wanted so I decided to spend the big money and ordered an Italian hat from Hats Plus. It is much stiffer than any other of the hats I got before, but I do love it. It's thickness makes the hat a bit heavy so it may take a bit getting used to. Almost all the modern boaters come with a blue and red tri-stripe band,so if you don't like it you can change it to whatever you like. I made mine a black 2 inch grosgrain and is easy to do.

I have just ordered a cheaper quality boater that has just become available from Village Hat Shop. It's only $30 and I plan to wear it when it is 90 degrees or more mainly due to it's marked lightness versus the standard boater.