J.Crew just put up these great looking sun faded oxford shirts on their website and are available in an assortment of pastel colors. I haven’t seen them in store yet, but I’d be interested in how they compare to the vintage oxford shirts that they used to sell (which had gone through an extra washing process and featured frayed edges).
They’re also available in a pen stripe pattern.
Some things from last week that you might have missed if you’re not following me on twitter:
– Hell’s Kitchen interviews Frank Muytjens: Link [translated version]
HK: Un monde plus dynamique, plus attractif ?
FM: Oui, et surtout plus clair, je trouve. Le design des années 1950, 1960, et la façon dont toutes ces choses s’articulaient comme je te le disais. Ce n’est pas seulement l’héritage, c’est bien plus que cela.
Les USA sont plus faciles à saisir, esthétiquement parlant. L’Europe, de ce point de vue, est uniforme. Tu te balades à Paris ou à Londres, et tu ne vois pas vraiment les différences. Et c’est d’autant plus bizarre car la plupart des grands architectes européens du milieu du XXè siècle ont immigré ici. Mais je me compare pas du tout à eux, bien sûr. Il y a plus d’opportunités, c’est plus diversifié.
– Mister Four Eyes interviews Aaron Levine: Link
MFE: You began your career in sales at Joseph Aboud (like many of the top menswear designers, you have no “formal design education”). How did that experience of working the front-end business influence you as a designer when you made the transition?
AL: It was great. Really, it’s such a small industry that in order to be truly successful, I think it’s very important to know as much about as many aspects as you can. My passion is on the product and design end, but without sales, where would that go? As far as how it was influential with regards to product, I can’t say that it was so much.
– Ivy&Navy is now on my daily reading list, thanks to Up North: Link
I just found out about Ivy & Navy on the weekend and spent many an hour going through their archives. Ono Masayuki puts together some killer outfits. He covers all sorts of styles that the Japanese love: Navy, Preppy, Workwear etc. Here are just a few of the looks he’s put together. Lots of inspiration to be taken from him when deciding what items to put together this spring.
– Nepenthes has started blogs for some of their stores in Japan: S2W8, Nepenthes, Lyla (for women). Still waiting on the blog for the Engineered Garments store…
– Heavy Tweed Jacket is back!
– Meet the Centipede. Not only does this collector know his stuff, he’s got some pretty rare shoes including early Alden Fan models from Alden of Carmel.
The most important thing to look for? Quick release straps. When it’s 6:00am on a cold winter morning and you’re standing in the middle of a near freezing river trying to hook a steelhead, the last thing you want to deal with are the buckles on your bag. (Yes, this leaves out Filson’s field bags).
From Field and Stream, 1916.
Almost done with bag posts! During my last stop at the mil surplus store (see previous post), I picked up this vintage aviator’s kit bag for use on the days when I have to pack a ton of gear. According to the markings on it, it’s over 15 years old and was made here in the U.S.
For a slightly smaller version, here’s a repro of a USAAF Type AN 6505-1 aviator kit bag as sold by Oi Polloi as part of the Heritage Research x Eastman Leather pack. It can also be purchased separately (sans Heritage Research branding) straight from History Preservation.
Post inspired by these two pictures:
Michael Bastian holding a duffle bag on the left, and Arik Roper in the Engineered Garments Spring/Summer 2010 lookbook.
On Rakuten. First up, bags from Haversack.
From the Federal Army & Navy Surplus store on 1st Ave in Seattle.
I wear Indy boots frequently and the pair I’ve owned is a special makeup for Leather Soul that features full leather linings and commando soles – they’ve now seen about two years worth of wear. They’ve traveled to several different continents, saved my feet quite a few times, and have only needed to be repaired once (my heel got caught in a piece of machinery that nearly pulled the entire sole off – thankfully the goodyear welt made it easy to fix). Because I depend on and wear them so much, I decided to order another pair to rotate between them.
In 1995, Sotheby’s hosted an auction for a large collection of antiques and fine art that was used by Ralph Lauren to showcase his clothing lines throughout his stores, showrooms, and advertisements. If you’ve ever visited the Ralph Lauren mansion in NYC, or the store on Michigan Ave in Chicago, you definitely can get a feel for how he sells everything by also selling the perception of a having a certain lifestyle. From the introduction to the book that accompanied the auction:
This remarkable group of antiques and furnishings , which were bought in both the United States and Europe, embrace a diversity of styles and cultures through grand and casual, rugged yet sophisticated. In addition to such high-style furniture as the Louis XV ormolu-mounted tulipwood and kindwood parquetry bureau plat from the mid-18th century signed by Pierre Garneir, the collection also includes a large number of whimsical and traditional decorative pieces, such as the 19th century English carved rocking horse, the pair of 19th century Codestone garden urns, needlework pillows, tea caddies and andirons.
My favorite piece shown in the book is a chair and ottoman set made from tusks and alligator leather, and only because it’s so tacky and politically incorrect by today’s standards.
This post will be mostly safe for work. From an earlier post for reference – I had forgotten I had it until this weekend when I attempted to organize a few stacks of books I had lying around. Not all of the comics in the book are adult themed, and many focus on current events of the time and general life troubles. And after going through it again, I was surprised to learn that Shel Silverstein worked for Playboy quite a bit during his career.
I recently had the opportunity to try out curling for the first time, the sport where teams of players attempt to slide and position 42 pound granite stones in a certain way over ice. Going into it I had some misgivings, but it ended up being a lot of fun and there is quite a bit of strategy and skill involved. Wikipedia has a good overview of how the game is played.
A view of the rinks inside the Granite Curling Club in Seattle, the only dedicated curling club on the entire west coast.
Reading up on it later, it turns out that the game originated in medieval Scotland (and here I thought that the Canadians came up with it). From wikipedia again:
Curling is thought to have been invented in late medieval Scotland, with the first written reference to a contest using stones on ice coming from the records of Paisley Abbey, Renfrewshire, in February 1541. Two paintings (both dated 1565) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder depict Dutch peasants curling—Scotland and the Low Countries had strong trading and cultural links during this period, which is also evident in the history of golf.
Evidence that curling existed in Scotland in the early 16th century includes a curling stone inscribed with the date 1511 (uncovered along with another bearing the date 1551) when an old pond was drained at Dunblane, Scotland. Kilsyth Curling Club claims to be the first club in the world, having been formally constituted in 1716; it is still in existence today. Kilsyth also claims the oldest purpose-built curling pond in the world at Colzium, in the form of a low dam creating a shallow pool some 100 × 250 metres in size, though this is now very seldom in condition for curling because of warmer winters.
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