Just a friendly reminder that next week is the last week to get in on two cloth runs I’m organizing. The first is a slubby, silk/ linen blend inspired by a raw silk sport coat I saw on Taka from Liverano & Liverano (pictured below); the other is a navy houndstooth Fresco that’s both wrinkle resistant and highly breathable. Both are my way of getting summer fabrics with a bit more pattern and texture – things we appreciate in the fall/ winter seasons but struggle to find during the warmer months. 

When I originally designed these, I had sport coats in mind – although they can also be used for casual suits (ones where the jacket and trousers can be worn as separates). A few readers, however, have emailed me with project ideas I never even considered. One is thinking about turning his silk/ linen blend into a double-breasted summer suit; the other is planning to use the same fabric for a field jacket (see Eidos for inspiration). Both sound fantastic and are making me reconsider what I’m going to do with my lengths. 

Note, given the nature of custom runs, once the fabrics have been produced, there won’t be any more available. We’re running exactly the amount needed to fulfill the pre-orders – nothing will be held as stock. If you’re interested in joining, you can read more about the projects here. Of course, you can also email me with any questions. 

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I love this scene from Curb Your Enthusiasm, where Larry David charms a woman by admitting he’s not a cool guy. “Which is a pretty good line,” he later tells Ted Danson. “I never did that when I was dating – admit that I wasn’t a cool guy. Now I didn’t give a shit, I just said ‘I’m not a cool guy!’ Fucking worked! I’m going to use it all the time!”

That’s how I feel about retro-inspired running sneakers, which former Four Pins writer Jon Moy would probably describe as “NarcDad.” Styled after classic running shoes from the 1980s, they look like something you’d see on an NYC narcotics officer in a bad detective film. Or maybe a suburban dad in light-washed jeans. They’re utterly uncool and not at all hip, which is sort of how I feel these days seeing fashion guys in Rafdidas, Yeezys, and Hender Schemes. Cool shoes, but too cool for me, so I wear running sneakers – they’re my way of admitting I’m not a cool guy. 

I do they think can look stylish though. When done right, they suggest a bit of playfulness. Not as stark as Common Projects, nor as fashion conscious as Ultra Boosts, they show you can look good without taking yourself too seriously. The key is to wear them with slim jeans, as baggy ones take these too far down the NarcDad road. It also helps have some interesting, but still reasonably classic outerwear (see Rocky Mountain Featherbed’s down coat or Niche’s military field jacket). For a slightly dressier look, you can pair them with a topcoat and a hard bop, like Jake from The Armoury.

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Ralph Lauren started their mid-season sale this week. You can take 30% off select items with the checkout code RLFAM30. There are some pretty good deals floating around, particularly if you’re able to combine the promotion with the already-discounted items in their sale section. Some things I found last night while browsing the site:

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It can be hard to wear a tailored jacket in the warmer seasons. Even if it’s made from a loosely woven linen or lightweight tropical wool, a tailored jacket typically has multiple layers inside to give it structure – canvas, padding, haircloth, etc. The trick, of course, is to find something as softly tailored and lightly lined as possible. With fewer layers between you and that (hopefully) breathable shell, your body will dissipate heat better and you’ll in turn feel cooler. 

None of that is six o’clock news to anyone who’s familiar with tailored clothing, but few people think about the different ways to make a jacket breathable. For one, Ermazine allows for better ventilation than Bemberg (which in turn allows for better ventilation than silk). The first is a lightweight viscose; the second a soft rayon. Most tailors rely on Bemberg because it’s durable, inexpensive, and readily available, but Ermazine can sometimes be had upon request. 

Then there are the different ways to construct an unlined jacket – some of which are better suited to certain materials than others. Below are some jackets from No Man Walks Alone, which nicely illustrate these techniques. 

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The weather in the Bay Area has turned a bit drizzly this past week. The best raincoats I’ve come across are made from techy or treated fabrics – such as Gore-Tex or waxed cotton – but I’ve been relying on this 1950s mountaineering anorak instead. It’s a simple piece, made from an untreated, plain weave cotton, but the pullover style gives great protection, while the string-closure at the neckline can be tightened when it’s cold. 

Pullover-style jackets such as this one have been associated with everyone from adventurers to college students. See, for example, old photos of Edmund Hillary and his team as they climbed up Mount Everest, or Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris in the 1965 film The Heroes of Telemark. Theirs were designed for mountaineering, which means they were made from more rugged materials and insulated for warmth. Somewhere along the way, however, the anorak became trimmer and lighter weight. In the mid-century, Belstaff and Barbour made some for less arduous missions, while in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Peter Storm’s were associated with British casuals. You can also spot the jacket in old Ivy Style photos, such as those in Take Ivy. 

For the kind of wet, chilly weather we’ve been having, I like to wear mine with jeans, some LL Bean boots, and a chunky turtleneck sweater. The problem with anoraks is that the fronts can sometimes be a bit plain, so turtleneck gives bit of a visual interest at the neckline. This particular jacket also has a few interesting pockets around the body – a big kangaroo pocket at the chest, two pockets at the hips, and two pockets halfway at the back. It’s a more interesting look, I think, than the kind of packable anoraks you see today around college campuses. 

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For clients of custom tailors, finding a good spring/ summer fabric can be tough. Once you get past your basic linens, cottons, and tropical wools, you’ll notice that warm-weather fabrics don’t have the same textures and patterns that make fall/ winter clothes so appealing. Gone are your prickly tweeds and district checks. Instead, you’re left with solid-colored fabrics on the one hand, and patterns that look like they can only be worn at Pitti Uomo on the other. 

After last year’s successful tobacco Fresco run, I decided to put together a couple more custom fabrics. Like last time, I’ve found that it can take a lot of work to get the color and general design just right – a little too much of something this way or that way, and the swatches just look off. After a bit of work, however, I think I have what are two very special spring/ summer jacketings. 

 

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Anonymous Ism couldn’t be better named. The Japanese sock manufacturer has little social media presence – no Facebook or Instagram accounts, just a Twitter page with one lonely Tweet. Their company website isn’t even working. I finally tracked down their North American rep a few weeks ago and asked if I could get more information. He replied: “what would you like to know … and why?!”

It seems the company would like to stay as anonymous as possible. The only information I could get is that they’re owned by Gallet – a 32-year old Japanese company that has traditionally done private label manufacturing for high-end brands and shops. Anonymous Ism is their house line, and it’s proudly made in Japan, but they apparently don’t like talking about it. 

Nonetheless, the company makes some of the best casual socks I’ve come across. I’ve been wearing them for the past year and was so impressed by how well they’ve held up that I bought a dozen more this past sales season. Some of their offerings include quarter-length and no-show socks, although I only wear their three-quarter length designs. Typically made from a blend of cotton, acrylic, and polyester, they stay up surprisingly well throughout the day – letting you avoid that dreaded sock pooling that can happen around your ankles mid-afternoon. 

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You never know who you might meet on the internet.

A year ago, I found someone on StyleForum talking about Colossus of Roads, a folk art legend that I grew up admiring in the ‘90s. Back then, as a teenager, I spent a lot of time in train yards checking out graffiti murals and hobo art. The latter refers to the kind of drawings you see at the very end of this post. Some simple, others complicated, these were put on the side of freight cars with solid paint sticks or industrial crayons.  

The term hobo art is a bit of a misnomer, as it’s mostly done today by graffiti artists, railroad workers, and occasional train hoppers. The name just comes from the early 20th-century practice of hobos communicating through pictograms. Since many were illiterate, they would put up coded drawings around train yards to communicate things such as “this town has work” or “you can sleep in this hayloft.” Basically, things to make a illegal passage safer. Today however, like with any graffiti, it’s mostly done for fame. 

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I wasn’t sure what to expect when I bought this Ten C liner. The Italian outerwear company offers all sorts of add-ons for their outerwear – body and hood liners made from felted wool, down, and shearling. I bought a few last year and like them, but the hood liners are admittedly more decorative than anything. 

This body liner, however, is fantastic. It goes well underneath all of Ten C’s outerwear, as you’d expect, with the shearling collar adding a bit of visual interest to whatever else you’re wearing. It can also be worn on its own. In fact, that’s how I’ve been mostly wearing it this past winter. Paired with my 3sixteen jeans and a chunky knit, it serves as a nice in-between piece when you want something warmer than a field jacket, but don’t want to deal with the bulk of a parka. 

The secret to a liner’s insulation is the quilting, where individual chambers trap warmth. Inside, any number of materials can be used for batting (the technical term for the warming middle layer). Sometimes you’ll find cotton, which doesn’t have much loft, but comes in different thicknesses. That’s probably what your grandmother used to make her quilted blankets. More commonly, however, you’ll find down or polyester (the latter being sometimes referred to as “microfiber”). Their high-loft makes them warmer and lighter weight than cotton, and they’ll hold up better after multiple washings. 

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Edwin and Matthew DeBoise from Steed Tailors were in San Francisco this past weekend as part of their US tour. I stopped by their hotel on Sunday to say hello, as well as to get fitted for two new sport coats – one being a dark brown Donegal from W. Bill, the other a tan glen plaid tweed from The London Lounge. Both single breasted jackets with three-two-roll fronts, patched hip pockets, and some funky sleeve button configurations. 

Fittings are nice time to catch up with your tailor. Edwin and Matthew tell me they’re planning to introduce a new line of Scottish knitwear and scarves, as well as handmade ties and pocket squares. The latter will be made by a woman who produces for another Savile Row firm – all hand stitched from English silks and wools, and made in Northampton. I forgot to confirm whether they’ll take custom orders for the ties, but they’ll have made-to-order knitwear if the stock options don’t suit you. The last photo below shows some of the prototypes. 

I also had a chance to flip through some swatch books. I don’t know how other clients of bespoke tailors are able to arrive at their decisions so quickly (assuming they do). I take months to settle on a fabric, so fittings are a nice time to look at options. Two bunches that caught my eye: the lightweight, porous wool-silk-linen blends from Portofino, and the new Harris Tweeds. The first looks to be a great source for patterned summer jacketings, while the second has some rather nice patterned tweeds that go beyond your usual herringbones. As usual, I favored the slightly more conservative designs. 

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