Now available online.
Year: 2010 (page 19 of 46)
The guys over on 37signals picked up on an interesting tidbit in the all of the recent reporting on General McChrystal. It seems the choice of footwear among war correspondents are boots from R.M. Williams:
Among his peers, Dexter, who is writing from Kabul, is regarded as one of the very best (some would say the best) of the band of brothers and sisters who have gone to war with their pens and notebooks, their flak jackets and helmets and R. M. Williams boots (from Australia, and by habit heavily scuffed; they are as indispensable to this generation of war correspondents and photographers as the dangling cigarette was to the generation of Ernie Pyle).
R.M. Williams are known for their sturdy boots, and make a popular slip-on chelsea model. Their Rigger boots:
I eschew those short rectangular eyeglasses that many wear – if you’re going to go through the trouble of wearing a pair, they might as well be bold and the NDG-1’s from Oliver Peoples continue to be one of the nerdiest models you can buy.
First introduced in 2008 in collaboration with Nom de Guerre, I’ve since purchased two pairs (the latest set being the glossy black/clear gradient called “smoke”) and will probably acquire a third next spring if they’re still being made then.
They’re not shown on the website, but any Oliver Peoples dealer can order them for you. If you’d like a similar pair but with shorter front, look for the Denison model.
Alex Grant put up a preview yesterday of the new Gant x Bastian collection that’s in the next issue of GQ, go check it out. It’s all great looking stuff and I hope my local Barney’s will have some of it, but I can’t believe it’s being sold as an affordable alternative to Bastian’s own line. Here are some of the prices: $300 for windbreakers, $300 for denim, $150 for knit ties, $700 for sportcoats. Someone at Gant, their PR firm, or GQ is being naive (or quite possibly all of them).
There’s nothing wrong with charging those amounts if the pieces are well made, but it’s certainly not within the reach of the younger customer this line is targeting. Instead, those guys are going to skip right over this stuff and head to places like J.Crew or Uniqlo.
For those of you who might have purchased one of those fancy axes from Best Made Co. or Gränsfors and need some tips on how to use it properly, check out this manual written for the USDA Forest Service. It covers axe history, safety, sharpening, and chopping techniques.
Continue reading more.
Found after a long search: a special illustrated version of The Call of the Wild by Kyuzo Tsugami. First published in 1965, the book has a number of both color paintings and black and white drawings of scenes from the classic short novel – copies are hard to come by, but are luckily not expensive and should only set you back about $10 or less if you can find one.
Tsugami was a successful illustrator during the 60-70’s and worked on many children’s books for the Japanese and English markets on topics ranging from family life to dinosaurs.
Some things that you might have missed if you’re not following me on twitter:
News
– The new Hickey Freeman? Do Men Want Boxy or Bold?
– Are Designer Sunglasses Worth It? A look at the business of Luxottica and eyewear.
– Workroom has a preview of Garbstore’s SS11 collection.
– Inverallan goes out of business: “After many years of business we have decided to retire. Many thanks to all our loyal customers.” Update: It sounds like they might stay in business, but are closing their mail/internet order system. Stay tuned.
– Superior Labor has a new bag design which could be great for camera gear.
– The Real McCoy’s updated their website for FW10.
– More on those awesome Makr stools.
– New blogs you should follow: Suitorial and Gentleman’s Gazette.
Shopping
– The hard to find EG Newport jackets from last year are on Yoox.
– Sak’s has a few Polo Ralph Lauren navy blazers in larger sizes on sale.
– J.Crew is selling some new shell cordovan Alden boots.
Photo by Steve Benisty for the Wall Street Journal.
Locals Only currently has a special edition of Superior Labor’s market bag model showing that stenciling patterns or text onto a simple tote can be a great way to make it more interesting.
More pictures on Aeropostale.
Among my favorite pieces from Engineered Garments are their seasonal sweatshirts. I’ve collected quite a few over the years in all sorts of different materials and colors, and they continue to hold up well to constant wear. The large cuffs and waistbands are vintage inspired, and on the crewnecks instead of a typical stitched “V”, the collar uses an ingenious overlapping seam along the front to prevent it from being stretched out.
Except for some earlier versions which had very short sleeves, they fit how a sweatshirt should fit – not too slim, but not too loose.
There are two sources of manufacturers for these: the plain cotton sweatshirts above were all made in the U.S, and the fleece versions below were made in Canada (reportedly by CYC edit: Ryan tells me some other folks make them).
I’m hoping that they’ll eventually reissue more plain cotton versions so that I can replace some of my older dog-eared ones. Stuart and Wright currently have a few crewnecks left from the current season on sale.
A selection of random baseball pictures from between 1900-1930. Some of the portraits are very powerful.
