Die, Workwear!

I’ve wanted a nice shoeshine box for some time now, but almost everything desirable on the market is outside of my budget. The Hanger Project and A Suitable Wardrobe both carry models by La Cordonnerie Anglaise, a French company that makes an impressive range of boxes, which you can see here. There’s also Ephtée, who can make custom trunks for footwear, but if one can hardly afford a small ready-to-use box, one can hardly expect to get a custom trunk made.

Another company I really like is Turms, a small, family-owned company based in Montegranaro, Italy. For much of their history, they’ve made wooden shoe lasts for Italian shoe manufacturers, but at some point, they also created a line of shoe care products for consumers. Their handsome walnut shoebox, for example, has little compartments to store horsehair brushes, suede erasers, and leather conditioners, and near the bottom is a pullout drawer for creams, waxes, and soft polishing cloths.

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Nigel Cabourn had a nice entry on his blog a few years ago about what goes into the process of designing a garment. Like with everything, it starts with an idea – an idea, a theme, or historical event for which his team compiles a “mood board.” This board is made up of photographs or pieces of literature that they’ll use to direct their search for vintage garments. Many will already be in Nigel’s extensive archive, but if not, he has relationships with numerous vintage garment dealers around the world who might have something in storage.

Once the team has their necessary pieces, they play what they refer to as “Mr. Potato Head.” That is, they take details here and there in order to form a new garment. Though their designs are original, it’s important to them that they always stay true to their historical inspirations. That’s why there’s so much work that goes into creating the fabrics, fastening devices, pocket detailing, etc.

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The worst thing about being interested in men’s style is that you can easily begin to obsess over details that don’t matter. Last year sometime, I got it into my head that my Filson 256 wasn’t right for wear with waxed cotton field jackets. What would be better, I thought, is a fishing bag, the canvas sort with two pockets at the front, a large compartmental space, and a flap over cover. Granted, these two types of bags are incredibly similar, but as Nick Sullivan once said, there’s a “difference between things that look right and things that are right.” With a pair of corduroys, Barbour jacket, and a plaid flannel shirt, a fishing bag felt like the latter.

The best makers in this lot include Brady, Hardy, and Chapman. All three are British manufacturers who have been supplying sportsmen with fishing bags since the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. In the 1960s, Brady’s flagship model, the Severn, even caught on a fashionable item among celebrities. The nice thing about these canvas models is that they’re lightweight, uncomplicated, and will acquire a lovely color over time. Because of the nature of the design, the dirtier it gets, the better it looks. If you enjoy the character of a beat-up Barbour or a pair of well-worn leather boots, a canvas bag of this nature is the perfect complement.

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I’ve been excited lately by the idea of having a reading jacket made. “Reading jacket” is my own term. It means a jacket that’s specifically meant to be worn when one goes someplace to read. With internet connectivity so pervasive these days, I find the only way to get work done sometimes is to physically distance yourself from any WiFi-enabled device. That means go to a library or café with nothing but a pen, highlighter, and either a stack of journal articles or a book.

Such a light amount of material, however, hardly warrants using a briefcase. But carrying things by hand can feel a bit cumbersome. One solution I’ve been thinking of is creating a reading jacket.

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In May of last year, there was some speculation as to whether or not Elsa Peretti would continue her long-term relationship with Tiffany & Co. Her contract was set to expire, and the two parties couldn’t agree on new payment terms moving forward. If their agreement terminated, Tiffany would have an exclusive right to sell their remaining Peretti-related designs for about a year and a half before the designer moved on. You can bet if that happened, there would have been a mad dash at Tiffany – not just for the pieces Peretti has designed for women, but also the few things she’s made for men. 

Luckily, the crisis was adverted, and last month, the two agreed to a new set of terms that extended their relationship for another twenty years. Basically for the remainder of the designer’s life.

Elsa Peretti’s path to design was a strange one. She was born in Florence, Italy in 1940, but got her primary education in Rome and Switzerland. At the age of 21, she left Rome to become a school teacher, and then later a skiing instructor, but having tired of both, she returned home in order to get a degree in interior design. Afterwards, she worked for a short period for an architect, but then decided at some point she’d rather be a model in Barcelona. Then, after a year or two in Spain, she flew to New York City for some modeling jobs. It was there that she made her final career change and became a designer. 

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Readers who follow me at Put This On will have already heard, but in case there are some readers here that don’t, I have an exciting announcement: Steed Bespoke Tailors will be making their first trip to San Francisco on April 13th. I’ve been trying to get them to come out for some months now and am excited they’re finally scheduled to arrive. They execute a beautiful drape cut, and readers interested in a classic, soft-shouldered English look would be wise to book an appointment. You can do so by contacting Steed directly through their website. 

I’m personally looking forward to getting a pair of grey trousers, a navy suit where the jacket can trousers can be worn as separates, and two autumnal sport coats. I’m undecided on the fabrics, but for at least one of the sport coats, I’m leaning towards a simple brown houndstooth. 

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If done well, custom clothes can hold a great advantage over ready-to-wear garments, but the problem is always the cost. They’re expensive and often take a lot of time to execute. The one exception to this are men’s shirts. With Italian luxury labels and designer brands selling shirts for $200 or more, I don’t understand why anyone would choose those over a high-quality tailor (less expensive shirts, certainly; but once you hit the $200 mark, it seems odd). With a tailor, you can get something that perfectly suits your personality and build, rather than rely on a designer’s vision of some imaginary man. And the configurations tend to be so simple that one need not obsess over them. I have exactly two configurations with my tailor: a French front shirt with barrel cuffs, semi-spread collar, and no chest pocket for dressier fabrics; and a shirt with a placket, barrel cuffs, button down collar, and chest pocket for more casual ones. Oh, and sometimes something with this collar, but that’s it. Choosing one design over the others comes naturally, and is always determined by which fabric is being used. 

Unfortunately, for truly casual shirtings, many tailors can be less well-stocked. If you’re just interested something like a light blue end-on-end or an oxford cloth, you could flip through swatch books for hours. However, if you wanted something more casual, such as a brushed plaid flannel, rougher chambray, or an airy madras, the selections are more limited.

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There was a thread on StyleForum sometime last year where a member solicited opinions for a traveler’s jacket he was hoping to have made. It was to be a slightly modified version of a sixteen-pocketed design produced by Brioni in 1968. Now, why anyone would need sixteen pockets while traveling is unclear to me, but apparently this was designed to be a smarter version of something Inspector Gadget would wear. There were four visible pockets on the front, presumably twelve pockets hidden somewhere underneath, a half epaulette to hold a camera strap, a side buckle strap to keep a newspaper in place, and some straps at the cuff for tightening. According to Style Salvage, who wrote a post about it, Brioni made it for a wealthy Californian globetrotter who wanted something for his adventures.

Personally, I’ve never found it necessary to have more than a briefcase and a basic coat while traveling – just something to keep a travel wallet, money clip, some gum, and something to do until I reach my destination. However, there is something very appealing about having a specific “travel jacket,” and for some reason, this appeal goes up with the number of possible straps, pockets, and technical details.

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Recently, Drake’s has been slowly updating their website with their spring-summer 2013 collection. The line is still somewhat small, and I suspect more items will be added in the coming weeks, but in the current collection are some new and notably unusual textured neckties. These include some fine knot grenadines woven in a solid checkerboard pattern, as well as some made from a raw spun tussah silk. The second gives their grenadines a more apparent texture. One of them has even been set against a twill silk for heightened contrast. 

I admit I’ve become more conservative in my tie choices, opting for simple foulards or striped silks when I have a chance. But these textures are amusing and interesting, and they remind me of how Michael Drake once said that his company was about English style, as interpreted by the French. That is, taking old, traditional English style, but putting in a bit of individuality and eccentricity. And even when they’re eccentric and innovative, I appreciate that Drake’s remains tasteful.

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Setting aside for a moment the not-so-subtle sexist undertones of the image above, I found this 1949 newspaper clip about women and Brooks Brothers amusing. The clip can be found framed and hung at Brooks Brothers’ London flagship. Underneath the lead image, a caption reads: “Because the shirttails were long, Bobbie tried to use the shirt as a nightgown then promptly fell asleep.” Yes, I’m sure that’s what she did, dear author, half naked right in front of this photographer.

Undoubtedly, this was a piece of sex appeal marketing, which is amusing for a company that - particularly at that time - was known for its conservatively cut tweeds, foulard ties, and staid argyle socks. Now, whether it’s actually true, as the article suggests, that women were coming into Brooks Brothers to raid the men’s department is unclear. It is clear, however, that Brooks tried to market this idea. The long-legged Bobby Trelease you see above, who came from New York City’s Barbizon Model Agency, worked as a model and Broadway stage dancer at the time. For this particular job, she was given a Brooks OCBD and asked to do with it whatever she pleased. Apparently she found a dozen uses, and the more practical examples were photographed and shown in newspaper’s pages. Those included: a nightgown, a housecoat, and a regular shirt for the office. Who knows how many women actually bought OCBDs for these purposes.

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