1. Most of the high end glycerin-based shaving creams are functionally pretty much the same.
2. Pre-shave oils are a waste of money. Instead just rub a little bit of shaving cream on the skin before applying it with a brush.
3. Art of Shaving’s ingrown hair cream is the best on the market.
4. Alum blocks are rarely needed, but are still handy to keep around.
Since the early 1970’s, the Porsche Design Studio has produced a wide assortment of contemporary accessories, tools, and home goods (the group was founded by F.A. Porsche, and is a part of Porsche SE). Some were quite groundbreaking for their time and continue to influence designers today.
After all these years they’re still going strong, and my favorite pieces recently created by them that I use regularly are a santoku chef’s knife and a mechanical pencil (both are very comfortable to use for long periods of time). The lighters are quite cool as well.
Here are a few ads showing some of their creations from the 80’s and early 90’s. The older sunglasses in particular have a bit of a cult following and can fetch high prices through vintage dealers and ebay.
General Research has been updating their website with images for their Mountain line over the past couple of days. Favorites are the game and A.M. jackets, British pants, and fishing vests.
Rin Tanaka’s Inspiration meetup took place down in LA last week and Albert Thomas was able do a great writeup and report from the event for Styleforum.net. Hopefully Rin will decide to do this again next year – I will definitely make the trip!
I’ll admit that I felt a bit out of the loop a year ago when I first heard of Rin Tanaka and his “My Freedamn!” book series which covered Americana elements from the 30s-70s of motorcycle, surf, hot rod, and hippie fashion scenes. It was a bit like finding out that Steve McQueen, Elvis Presley, Brian Wilson, and Jim Morrison had made a home movie documenting their road trip weekend binge in Las Vegas. When I got the call about the two-day show, I knew it wouldn’t take much coaxing to get me to trek down to that hangar in Santa Monica.
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Related: Previous post on Inspiration.
Image by Albert Thomas for Styleforum.net.
It’s apparently a piece from the early 90’s, and is made from rayon. The 10 gallon cowboy hat behind it is a great touch.
More info on Sartorially Inclined. The navy suede versions are going to be a hit.
New up on ralphlauren.com. The second outfit is the same one shown in Christian Chensvold’s recent article for Rake.
This chambray sport coat and pink gingham shirt combo is also noteworthy.
Found in an old issue of New York Magazine. Ralph Lauren reminisces about his upbringing, getting his start in fashion, and Brooks Brothers.
Some quotes:
Q: And where did you get the notion of Polo as an appropriate name?
A: I’ve always liked sports and athletics, and name were not important to me. I was not a guy that would wear a designer name. I wouldn’t wear Christian Dior, Bronzini, or any names of the names of that period. So I came up with my own style, which was a sport that had an aristocratic image, and that was Polo.Q: What about the Japanese influence on fashion? Do you think that’s real, or media hype?
A: I think it’s real. You know, fashion is – that’s why I don’t like fashion – always looking for something new, something new to sell, something new to promote. I’m for anything that’s exciting, that’s interesting, that has individuality.Q: What do you see in the future of evolution of fashion design, the nineties, the year 2000?
A: There are new technologies every day. As the new technology evolves, the clothes change, but people are still wearing warm tweeds, they wear cashmeres, they wear flannels, they wear scarves around the neck, they wear Chanel kind of shoes… People still need comfort, they need warmth, coziness, a sense of realness.
Reproductions by The Real McCoy’s. Superdenim.co.uk has two of the jackets available (the M-65 and tanker).
Completely missed this piece in the NYTimes from last week, but I’m glad I came across it today. Cathy Horyn writes about Cindy Ferrara, a clothing industry veteran who tells a story of how garment manufacturing and production has changed over the past several decades.
Once again, models are ready to strut and designers take their bows in the latest reenactment of the emperor’s new clothes. The back story of New York Fashion Week is far more interesting: an industry in turmoil, the drastic loss of local factories and suppliers, the manufacturing dominance of China and other countries, the gradual decline of technical expertise in the face of apparent consumer indifference about fit and quality. As usual, the story goes well beyond the limited world of runway collections.
Recently, over a meal at Ben’s deli on W. 38th Street, I spoke to Cindy Ferrara, a veteran production specialist, about her job and how the work has changed. The wingspan of her career is enormous. Now manager of product development and production at Danskin, a Moret Group brand, Ms. Ferrara first came to New York in the early 70s to buy fabrics for a shirt company she started as an Iowa college student. She learned her craft from experience, seizing opportunities as they came along—Bendel’s Studio, cutting coats for a furrier. She made her first production trips to China and Korea in the early 80s, for a now-defunct silk clothing label. She then spent 11 years on the production side of Liz Claiborne, initially with its dress division. She has seen the close of one era — the garment made and sold in the Garment District — and now, she says, she is seeing the end of another — the shift of technical skill, and gradually even design and merchandising, to other countries, mainly China. Here’s an edited transcript of our conversation. I’ve kept it long because I feel what Ms. Ferrara has to say is worthwhile.
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Just came across these cool webbing belts from Daines & Hathaway on Explorer. The unique belt buckle is the same type that was used on the now discontinued quick release belts from Engineered Garments.
It was recently reported that a team sponsored by Whyte & Mackay had recovered several cases of whisky left behind by Shackleton and his crew in Antarctica (they will apparently try to recreate the particular batch found). The fascinating story led me to spend part of this last week reading Shackleton’s book on his retelling of the failed expedition.
Interestingly there is no mention of the whisky in it, and there are only a few references to other types of alcohol which only seemed to be used rarely for toasts, holidays, and cooking.
From a section where he is describing part of the cabin at Cape Royds (where the cases were found):
My room contained the bulk of our library, the chronometers, the chronometer watches, barograph, and the electric recording thermometer; there was ample room for a table and the whole made a most comfortable cabin. On the roof we stowed those of our scientific instruments which were not in use such as theodolites, spare thermometers, dip circles, &c. The gradual accumulation of weight produced a distinct sag in the roof, which sometimes seemed to threaten collapse as I sat inside, but no notice was taken and nothing happened. On the roof of the dark room we stowed all our photographic gear and our few cases of wine, which were only drawn upon on special occasions such as Mid winter Day. pg. 85
Maybe the wine above was the whisky? Earlier he also describes a situation where brandy is fed to one of the ponies named Chinaman, who had fallen in ice cold water:
Mackay started to try and get the pony Chinaman across the crack when it was only about six inches wide, but the animal suddenly took fright, reared up on his hind legs, and backing towards the edge of the floe, which had at that moment opened to a width of a few feet, fell bodily into the ice cold water. It looked as if it was all over with poor Chinaman, but Mackay hung on to the head rope, and Davis, Mawson, Michell and one of the sailors who were on the ice close by rushed to his assistance. The pony managed to get his fore feet on to the edge of the ice-floe. After great difficulty a rope sling was passed underneath him, and then by tremendous exertion he was lifted up far enough to enable him to scramble on to the ice. There he stood, wet and trembling in every limb. A few seconds later the floe closed up against the other one. It was providential that it had not done so during the time that the pony was in the water, for in that case the animal would inevitably have been squeezed to death between the two huge masses of ice. A bottle of brandy was thrown on to the ice from the ship, and half its contents were poured down Chinaman’s throat. pg. 63
Chinaman ended up being the weakest of the horses and was the first to be killed for food:
It can be imagined that the cook for the week had no easy task. His work became more difficult still when we were using ponymeat, for the meat and blood, when boiled up, made a delightful broth, while the fragments of meat sunk to the bottom of the pot. The liquor was much the better part of the dish, and no one had much relish for the little dice of tough and stringy meat, so the cook had to be very careful indeed. Poor old Chinaman was particularly tough and stringy horse. pg. 230
In those days, explorers used animals brought along as transportation and when needed, as a source of food. Shackleton describes this process in detail on pg. 168 if you’re curious.
A couple of weeks ago, Boeing invited journalists aboard one of the test flights for the new 787 and the Seattle PI has some pictures and a short video from the event. I can’t wait until the airlines start using these.
Photo by Joshua Trujillo for the Seattle PI.
Engineered Garments x Woolrich Woolen Mills x Belltown x Cherry Blossoms x Le Pichet x Pike Place Market
