Summer sales bring summer socks.
I usually stick to muted colors, but I thought I’d give these a try this season (they can’t be any more jarring than the argyles I wear). Interestingly, the bright blue pairs are a 70/30 cotton/nylon mix and I wonder if they’ll end up lasting longer than Corgi’s 100% cotton versions.
Curiosity led me to pick up a new shaving brush from Blackbird a few weeks ago and I’ve been using it daily since. Previously I had been using an old basic Art of Shaving brush which got the job done, but I wondered if those fancier brushes did anything better.
In my case, my new super badger brush did not help give a better lather than my old brush (I use plain soap for shaving, so perhaps it might be more useful with a traditional creme) but it certainly is much softer against my skin and put a feeling of luxury back into my morning routine. Aside from that, the only other discernible difference between the two is that the Edwin Jagger brush has not yet lost any hairs unlike my Art of Shaving brush, which seemed to always shed a few on a regular basis.
Regarding brush manufacturing, Edwin Jagger put together a short video showing the steps of how they’re made and it’s worth a watch:
For summer. From old issues of Leon and Men’s Ex.
A new exhibit featuring the work of the late Tommy Nutter is now open in the Fashion and Textile Museum in London – from a Guardian article:
Mick and Bianca chose to wear his designs on their wedding day; he was on Elton John’s speed-dial, and was the go-to man for women who wanted to wear men’s tailoring.
Now the work of Tommy Nutter, the first tailor to successfully combine Savile Row traditions with the cutting edge fashion of Swinging London, is being celebrated with a display at the Fashion and Textile Museum.
“His approach to tailoring was subversive,” said Timothy Everest, the renowned tailor who trained under Nutter in the late 80s and is joint curator for the show in Bermondsey Street, south-east London. “He was articulating bespoke tailoring to a new, younger, audience.”
His work was groundbreaking at the time and influenced the flamboyant rock and roll style that we associate with the 60’s and 70’s. Londonist has some great pictures of the exhibit as well.
Tommy Nutter, from the giant Bespoke book.
Google Books now has an amazing collection of early National Geographic volumes spanning the first several decades of the Society’s history (NGS was founded in 1888). The important part: all of them are free and can be downloaded in either pdf or epub formats.
The first ones – Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, Volume 4, and Volume 5.
Many more volumes here. I’m partial to Volume 22, because it has a short section on dinosaurs.
Throughout its history, the Society has also published additional books, maps, and other resources to help advance the educational aspect of its mission and many of those early materials are available online as well with some quick searching: this collection of pictures and a directory of national and maritime flags (as of 1917) are two examples.
There are also episodes for espresso and cappuccinos – all made by The Department of the 4th Dimension.
From the April 2011 indigo issue, which also has great profiles on many artisans who specialize in making handmade goods.
Made to celebrate the opening of the new Post O’alls store in Tokyo. More info and pictures.
One of the annoying things about RRL is how difficult it is to find pictures of the line – mostly in part due to strict media rules placed on North American retailers. Japanese retailers do not seem to be under the same restrictions however, and are often a great way to track down information. One such store is Hunky Dory, which also maintains a great RRL set on flickr.
While Seattle skipped spring this year, summer is showing up and I’ve been able to start wearing more of my lightweight jackets from Engineered Garments made from NYCO poplin (abbreviation for nylon and cotton). For hot weather, it is a great fabric that breathes easily, is quick to dry when wet, and is very durable against general wear and tear – so much that even certain NYCO fabrics are used in military uniforms.
Back to Engineered Garments, they made several pieces with it this season – the CPO shirts, Explorer Jackets, and Type 1 pants. Past season items include the mountain parka and pathfinder jackets. If you’re looking for summer outerwear, consider giving one a shot.
If you are a founding member of Mr. Porter, you have access to a pretty incredible sale right now – 50% off all items that are not marked as wardrobe staple or new season. This leaves some great stuff from Drakes, John Lobb, Swaine Adeney Brigg, and more.
Big update 5/30: After hearing rumors for the past week, Racked has confirmed that Mr. Porter will start the sale for everyone tomorrow morning (May 31st).
