For those who want to take the term “international style” a bit literally, Australia-based designer Christian Kimber has been slowly building a collection of city-themed pocket squares that I think is both highly unique and appealing. The squares all feature original art by the designer, and are inspired by the different cities he’s been to. The London square, for example, features the Gherkin skyscraper that he used to pass by every day, while the Hong Kong square is inspired by the skyline he saw in Kowloon (where my shirtmaker Ascot Chang is based, coincidentally). I’ve been admiring the set for a while, but had to wait until the Kimber released his square for Vietnam – where my family is originally from – before I bought my first one.

The designs are great, and have a nice international flavor that I think most men can appreciate, but it’s the abstracted shapes that make them a bit more unique than my usual favorites from Drake’s, Rubinacci, and Holland & Holland. In the pocket, they take on a modern look, perhaps more in the line of Tom Ford than any of the aforementioned companies. Twist a little here or there, and you can show off different colors as you wish. The size, thankfully, is also big enough to not slip down the pocket (something that’s increasingly hard to find nowadays, unfortunately). Quality and make here are similar to Drake’s, and I believe both lines are produced at the same factory. 

I’m told that more designs are coming. There will be one for Milan, Italy and one for Colombo, Sri Lanka. Those might not be out for a while, however. Kimber is a one-man operation and currently working on expanding his footwear line with some new sneakers from Italy and more Goodyear-welted shoes from Spain (suggesting, perhaps, that a Spanish square might be forthcoming). In the meantime, you can find five designs at Kimber’s website and Exquisite Trimmings, the second of which is having a 20% off sale with the checkout code BANK20. Unfortunately, the code doesn’t apply to these squares. I know cause I checked. If it did, I would have bought a few more.

(Photos from Christian Kimber’s website and Instagram, as well as me) 

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Before custom shoemaking in the US was mostly bespoke and made-to-orders, there was a small niche of manufacturers who would make shoes based off of the individualized foot tracings that customers would mail in. Russell Moccasin was one such firm. They sold shoes through outfitters such as Orvis, Eddie Bauer, and Abercrombie & Fitch (when the company still served outdoorsmen and adventurers), as well directly to customers through their large catalog business. 

Here are some photos of such catalogs. These date back to the early ‘80s and late '90s. Notice that every one includes a foldout form, which has a Brannock-looking diagram on which you’re supposed to trace your foot. This tracing – along with fourteen other measurements you’re supposed to provide of your feet and legs – is what gave Russell enough information to make you a perfectly fitting pair of sport shoes.

Russell still makes custom shoes from self-tracings today. I think they might be the only firm to do so, although there are probably a few Northeastern manufacturers that I’m missing (LL Bean, from what I remember, used to offer this service, but it’s all ready-to-wear now). If you’re interested in ordering a pair, you can browse this Japanese site for design ideas. Ready-to-wear models are available at Haven, Context, Nepenthes, and Sid Mashburn, and you can find discounted shoes at Russell’s sale page and eBay account. The second will have shoes going for particularly low prices, so it’s good to check back regularly if you already know your sizing.

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Nothing rare or esoteric today, just a bunch of new Ralph Lauren fall/ winter releases that I think look pretty great. Some notables:

• Polo Label Outerwear: Ralph Lauren’s Polo label has some basic, but well designed, outerwear this coming season. There are some field jackets in cotton canvas and nylon, the first of which is priced surprisingly low. In addition, they’ve brought back their Cadwell jacket, which is an iteration of the lightweight, quilted bombers they do every year, and introduced some bolder designs through these tartan hunting coats and belted blackwatch oilcloths. I also really like this B-10 bomber, which is a reproduction of the cloth-shelled jackets that the US government supplied to servicemen in the 1940s, for the brief period that leather A-2s were discontinued (which Ralph Lauren has a repro for as well).
• RRL Outerwear: Not to be missed is RRL’s outerwear, which includes a roughed-out sueded ranch jacket that looks like it was pulled out of some 1920s archive, as well as a reproduction of early motorcycle jackets, which had shawl collars and button fronts. A fold-down collar moto is also available if you want something less old-timey. For more affordable outerwear, there’s a quilted jacket with a Western-styled yoke and a navy deck jacket to wear with jeans. I also really like this indigo discharge print jacket and Southwestern piece, although I’m not entirely sure I have the flair required to wear the second. 
• Knitwear: For knitwear, Polo has some basic Shetland sweaters with sueded elbow patches (which I imagine can be removed with a seam ripper if they’re not to your liking), a mock neck cable knit that I think would frame the face well, and a blanket striped shawl collar cardigan for those who are brave enough to wear something bright red. For RRL, there are some basic grey sweatshirts, which will be less stout, but much softer, than Buzz Rickson’s. 
• Casual Shirts: Some of the best casual shirts this season are in the workwear category. Notables include plaid indigo flannels and chambrays in both dark and light washes. I also really like this indigo calico print shirt, which End has better pictures of. Ralph Lauren’s Polo label has a similar piece for a bit less money.  
• Shoes: Nothing really new in footwear, but Ralph Lauren’s best pieces (i.e. their shell cordovan penny loafers, tassel loafers, and wingtips, as well as RRL engineer boots) have been restocked.

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Step into any vintage shop today and you’ll find the surviving traces of a once-great American footwear-manufacturing sector. To sure, good shoes are still being produced in the US, but the industry isn’t what it used to be. Its last heave was in the 1940s and ‘50s, when companies were bolstered one last time by a boom in sales – first from the US government, who needed to supply troops abroad with quality shoes, and then from the growing domestic workforce in the immediate postwar period.

Since the ‘60s, however, things have gone into steep decline. The introduction of affordable synthetics and increased competition from abroad have forced many companies into producing cheap crap. Just compare anything made nowadays by firms such as Stacy Adams and Bass, to what they produced seventy-five years ago, and your mind will be blown.

Today, there are only a few companies that still produce in the US, unless you count the small number of handsewn moccasin manufacturers and few bespoke makers of cowboy boots. Of the big companies, most have off-shored much of their production, even if they’ve kept some of it here. Heck, even some shoes stamped “Made in the USA” aren’t necessarily made here at all. When Allen Edmonds was sold in 2006, for example, and ownership passed from John Stollenwerk to the Minnesota-based equity firm Goldner Hawn Johnson & Morrison, the company shut down their Lewiston, Maine factory and opened a new one in the Dominican Republic. There, some shoes are half produced and then sent back to the company’s main plant in Port Washington, Wisconsin, where they’re “finished” and stamped with a “Made in the USA” label, while others are fully produced in the Dominican Republic and correctly labeled as such.

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Every once in a while, Architectural Digest does a feature on Ralph Lauren, with the last one being this online slideshow they put together of some of his homes. Lauren and his wife actually own five residences. There’s an apartment in Manhattan and two houses not far away: a beach house in Montauk, at the tip of Long Island, and an estate in Bedford, which is an hour north of New York City. There are also two more distant getaways: a ranch in Colorado, and a two-house retreat in the posh Round Hill Resort, near Montego Bay in Jamaica. 

Through the years, some of these have been cover features for the design magazine. I’ve pulled out three such issues here, which were published between the years of 2002 and 2007. These won’t be of any interest to anyone who’s not a big Ralph Lauren fan, but for those of us who are – they can be fun glimpses into the life of the man himself. (Spoiler alert: Ralph Lauren’s homes look a lot like Ralph Lauren home catalogs).

A quick breakdown of what you’re looking at: the first residence is a Norman-style manor in Bedford, which was originally constructed in 1919. It’s something between a hunting lodge and a stately home. The mahogany paneled walls are dressed with dark green velvet curtains and decorated with paintings in dense arrangements. The décor feels dramatic, the colors deep, and the rooms seem like they’re caught in a perpetual late afternoon. All over the place, you see references to English life, but in a way that feels co-opted and made American – much like Ralph Lauren’s clothing. 

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Yves Saint Laurent was once quoted as saying, “I am no longer concerned with sensation and innovation, but with the perfection of my style.” I wish I had that kind of singular focus. While I’m mostly interested in tailored clothing, my eye wanders when it comes to casualwear. I find myself sampling here and there, being drawn to new brands and styles every so often. Here are six newish companies I’ve been looking at this past year. Perhaps you’ll find something to like as well. 

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Most menswear reviews go something like this: a ridiculously trivial problem is blown out of proportion, and some expensive item is proposed as the solution. The slightly uncomfortable experience of being caught in a drizzle, for example, can be solved with a handmade raincoat with bonded seams; the slightly-off fit of ready-to-wear shoes can be solved with something bespoke; and any difficulty in understanding Four Pins can be solved with someone young and hip, serving as a personal translator. 

In reality, most things have a steep diminishing returns curve, and much of what you need can be satisfied for not too much money. For ironing, I recommend Black & Decker’s D2030 iron, any kind of non-countertop ironing board, and a basic spray bottle (since most irons are terrible at spraying mist or steam). All three can be had for less than $100. 

In the last year, however, I’ve fallen in love with steam stations, which are irons that give continuous and powerful blasts of steam. Although they’re not as effective as the infomercial above would like you to believe, they’re surprisingly not that far off. With one in my hand, I feel like a disgusted prince, sending servants away with a few flicks of the wrist. “Begone, wrinkles!”

The problem with steam this powerful, of course, is that you risk puckering seams, delaminating fusing, and taking the shaping out of tailored clothes. Jeffery Diduch has done a lot in educating people on StyleForum (including me) about this subject, and you can see the ill-effects a steamer can have on a garment below. 

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At the end of An Englishman Abroad – a 1980s BBC television drama about the real life events of Guy Burgess – Coral Browne is sent to do some West End shopping on Burgess’ behalf. Burgess, for those unfamiliar, was a British intelligence officer who was exiled to Moscow for having sold secrets to the Soviets during the Cold War. He says in the film that he’s not unhappy in Russia, but it’s clear that he acutely misses the everyday cordialities of an English gentleman’s life, and the things that go along with it. So, to help him along, Browne gets some things from his old clothiers – suits from Tautz, and shoes from John Lobb. She has no trouble until she goes to “Seka” (which is supposed to be Sulka) to order some pajamas. Burgess wants them to be white or off-white, or navy blue silk. “Only then,” he says, “will my outfit be complete.”

At Seka, Browne is denied, and the salesman says that the firm is only too happy to be rid of a national traitor as a client. She sharply replies, “must traitors sleep in the buff?" You can see the whole sequence at the 50 minute and 40 second mark of this YouTube video. It’s a fun watch, if only to check out some of the real life shops of Tautz/ Hogg, Sons & JB Johnstone, John Lobb, and Turnbull & Asser (the last of which is where the Seka scene was filmed).

Anyway, the movie came to mind this weekend as I put together an order with Ascot Chang. Fox Flannels is holding a sale on their A1285 cloth, which is a slightly dark shade of mid-grey flannel that I think would make for some great trousers. A generous 40% can be taken off the price with the code WOEcloth, and you can expect another 20% off if you’re exempt from VAT. That puts the price lower than what Minnis charges. 

I figured this sale would make for a good excuse to pick up some of Fox’s mid-grey windowpane flannel as well, which I’m planning to send to Ascot Chang to be turned into a dressing gown with white piping. It should look much this gown sold by The Merchant Fox as ready-to-wear, but will better fit my skinny frame. And while I’m at it, a couple of linen and linen/ cotton blend pajamas to go with, probably in white, off-white, and light blue. No poplins, as light-blue pajamas in plain weaves look vaguely clinical.

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Like many style enthusiasts, I like clothes with unusual details. I just often prefer mine to be hidden. So, sport coats with poacher’s pockets, boots with unseen straps, and pants with an unnecessary number of buttons. The newest project is a leather jacket with a special Japanese lining. I got the idea from Greg at No Man Walks Alone, who was working on a similar project last year until it fell through. Since I won’t be able to get one from him, I’ve been thinking about buying a jacket elsewhere, and then taking it to an alterations tailor to have the lining replaced. Ideally, the jacket would be a café racer, black and austere, constructed from a heavy cowhide, and accented with silver zips. It’d look tough and mean, but also have a special lining inside that no one would see. The only question is what fabric to use.

At the top of the list is boro, a Japanese folk fabric originally used by thrifty farmers and fishermen. Here, a large piece of cloth is repaired with scraps and rags over the course of a few family generations. The result is something that looks like a Japanese version of an American patchwork quilt, where hundreds of indigo patches are pieced together with roughhewn stitches. I imagine those various shades of blue would look fantastic next to black leather.

 

There are two problems with boro, unfortunately. First, it’s a workwear fabric with multiple layers, so it’s sometimes too thick to serve as a lining (especially for something as close fitting as a moto jacket). It’s also incredibly expensive, with good specimens ranging anywhere from $1,000 to $8,000. You can get them cheaper in Japan, but you need connections and someone who can tell you the thickness of the cloth. Unlike dealing with artisans and merchants in Continental Europe, I find fewer people in Japan speak English, which makes shopping via email difficult. 

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I recently picked up a copy of Ralph Lauren’s 40^th anniversary book, which is now available for $25 on eBay. The thing is massive, being a large format coffeetable book with about five hundred pages. Given its size and weight, I think $25 might have only covered the seller’s costs in shipping. 

The content itself, unfortunately, is somewhat disappointing. It’s mostly a superficial overview of the brand’s identity, covered through 750 photographs and Ralph Lauren’s personal narration. For those who have followed the company closely over the years, a lot of this will be old ground. There’s stuff about Ralph Lauren’s collaboration with Bruce Weber; how he draws inspiration from the Old West and Ivy Style; and how he designs his women’s collections around the idea of a heroine. The text is short and the photographs plenty. Images are mostly culled from old fashion photoshoots and advertising campaigns, so you get lots of men in tweed jackets and breeks, and women in pinstripe suits or Native-American inspired sweaters, standing and looking serious next to expensive cars, or inexplicably being surrounded by old, tin milk cans and shaggy dogs in neckties. You know, Ralph Lauren stuff.

I wish the editors instead focused on the company’s key designs throughout the years, talked about the design and manufacturing process, and perhaps included a few essays from smart writers. As is, the 40th anniversary book feels a lot like a big magazine filled with nothing but Ralph Lauren ads.

There is one redeeming quality, however. Among the many ad campaign images, there are photos of the man himself – Mr. Ralph Lauren. In every shot, Lauren is sporting what has become his signature style (which, over the years, I admit I’ve come to like). There are those double breasted jackets with massive shoulder pads, the ever present denim tuxedo, and what I think is his personal best – when he’s wearing nothing but jeans and a plaid shirt, or a beat-up leather jacket layered over a clean white tee. This is Ralph Lauren, the man who created the greatest ready-to-wear brand in history. 

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