Christian at Ivy Style once called me a clotheshorse. If you know Christian at all, you know that’s not a compliment. He’s one of the few bloggers I know (if not the only one) who has a healthy relationship with clothes. He likes them, but doesn’t obsess over them. In any case, what prompted it was me asking him last spring what he thought of some brand’s sweaters. He said “You’re one serious clotheshorse if you’re already thinking about fall!”

And it’s true, I tend to think about clothing purchases way in advance. Lately, for example, I’ve been thinking about green tweed sport coats. The London Lounge is selling a new barleycorn and herringbone mix through their cloth club. It’s a beautiful design with a blue and chestnut brown windowpane, but I’m not yet sure of what’s out there, so I’ve been unable to commit. Flipping through A Style is Born and Scottish Estate Tweeds gave me some ideas, however. As did going through some photos I’ve downloaded throughout the years. All are included below. 

My intuition is that lighter, more olive-ish shades of green are easier to wear than anything too true. Lest one wants to look like they’ve recently won the Masters Tournament anyway. But the photo of Gianluca Migliarotti (director of O'Mast and I Colori Di Antonio) proves otherwise. I think it may be more about the cut than the color. With a well-cut, soft shouldered jacket, a green sport coat seems like it could go excellently with a pair of a khaki chinos, grey flannels, and tan cavalry twills. Something to also wear with a light blue or country tattersall shirt, and perhaps some brown suede wingtips. 

So far, my two favorites include the photo of the Kylnadrochit estate tweed at the very end of this post, and the one seen on Michael Alden in his video on how to wear a pocket square. Those pitch perfect shades of olive, with the subtle and tasteful checks, look like they’d make for a great autumnal sport coat. Especially for a guy who thinks about such things in spring. 

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I do most of my writing these days from a café near my apartment. It’s spacious, has lots of sunlight, and most importantly, plays good music at a volume that’s not too loud. The only problem is that, to get there, I have to walk down this small street where a bunch of bikers hang out. Real bikers too – guys and gals in unfashionable jeans and black leather jackets with club patches on the back. At any given moment, a few of them will be looking at someone’s bike, while others will be sitting on benches, seemingly shooting the breeze and observing passersby.

This is all well and fine except for when I wear this. On those days, I walk out of my apartment feeling like a bad ass, strut proudly to the café, and just as I near this group, I hang my head in shame, shuffle my feet, and silently pray “please Mr. Motorcycle Man, don’t ask me what kind of bike I ride.” Then, as soon as I round the corner, my chest puffs up again and I go back to strutting. To the rest of the world, I imagine I look like some kind of Marlon Brando. To these bikers, I’m sure I come off as a strangely shy guy with oddly pristine looking clothes. 

Nevertheless, this has become a weekend favorite. The brown cowhide café racer is from last season’s RRL. The zippers are gold colored and the band collar stands up higher than most. I think the details give the jacket a lot of panache. RRL is selling the same model this season, actually, but in a lighter brown. I’ve been debating whether or not to get it, just because I love this one so much. 

The jeans are 3sixteen SL-100x, the t-shirt is a plain old Hanes Beefy-T, and the boots are Mister Freedom’s Road Champs. The Road Champs might  be the best casual shoes I’ve bought in a while. The toe box is unconstructed, which gives it a nice low profile, and the leather is said to be “painted” brown. That means the flesh side is natural, but the skin side is treated to three coatings – dark brown, chocolate, and olive – which should allow the boots to develop a beautifully rich and complex patina over time. Christophe Loiron, designer and owner of Mister Freedom, once showed what his Road Champs looked like after two years worth of wear. Mine don’t look anywhere near as great, but to my defense, they’ve only just broken in. They actually use to be really stiff and painful, but after two dozen wears, they’ve become quite comfortable. 

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They say you can tell how serious a person is about running by how much they’ve spent on their gear. And it’s true. I’ve spent a lot, and I’m terrible at running. My New Year’s resolution was to get a four-mile run in every other day. I was good on that for a while until I slipped into my usual once or twice a week routine.

When I do go running, I’ve been getting a lot of use out of these Nike x Undercover pieces I bought last season. As expensive as they were, they actually have a number of useful details. The jacket, for example, has Dri-Fit panels under the arms and sleeves, which help me stay dry and cool (cause you know how strenuous a four-mile run can get), and a frog-mouthed chest pocket that’s just big enough to hold my keys (so they don’t jingle when I run that strenuous four-miles). The pants have perfect inseam for me, but are adjustable with a cinch cord around the leg opening. There are also some small pockets at the back, made again to hold keys, in case you want to wear them with some other jacket.

Speaking of other jackets, I really want one of Nike’s “Flash” jackets, which give full-body reflections at night whenever cars approach you. You can see some of the jackets in action in this video and this video. Sadly, the current model is too big for me. Ovadia & Sons released something similar this season, and it probably fits trimmer, but I’m not prepared to spend $700 on a running jacket. I’m already as out of shape as I’d ever want to be.

As for the shoes, I’ve been using Nike’s Flyknits in Grey Wolf and a custom pair of Shield Lunarglides I made through Nike’s ID program. The Shield Lunarglides help reflect a bit of light at night, and despite all the streetwear hype around Flyknits, I’ll have to admit – they look awesome, are lightweight, and are easily the most comfortable shoes I own. Even if you just need something for long city walks, these seem like they’d be useful.

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If you’ve ever caught yourself admiring a leather motorcycle jacket, you’ll love these photos. These were taken from Rin Tanaka’s book Motorcycle Jackets: A Century of Leather Design. Tuesday had a post about the “Pre-Dawn” and “Sport Jacket” eras. Today’s is about “The Golden Age” of motorcycle jacket design.

The Golden Age is short - starting just after the war in 1945 and ending in the mid-1950s. Jackets in this period were characterized by a “W” collar, bi-swing or full-swing back, and a kidney panel “action back” with belt loops. Details that we only saw glimpses of in the Pre-Dawn and Sport Jacket eras became staples in this period. The fronts were always closed with zippers (usually Talon or Conmar, although Crown’s were the best). Sleeves were also zippered, epaulets were usually present (some decorated with spot work), and holster-shaped double pockets on the front were a common feature. And where most leather jackets before were brown, we see the emergence of the black leather jacket in The Golden Age. This is essentially the period that defined what we think of as the “quintessential motorcycle jacket”- a kind of design that was immortalized by Marlon Brando’s performance in The Wild One. 

Tanaka’s chapter on The Golden Age is organized by manufacturer, and it starts, rightfully, with Harley Davidson. One of their best jackets between the early to late 1940s was this model called the “Cycle Champ. You can see iterations of it here (note, these are all horsehide). 

 

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Fueling my growing interest in leather jackets, I recently picked up a copy of Rin Tanaka’s Motorcycle Jackets: A Century of Leather Design. Rin Tanaka, as I’m sure everyone knows, is the man behind the book series My Freedamn! and the vintage show Inspiration LA. He’s a giant figure in the vintage Americana scene - the kind of stuff related to early rock-and-roll, surf, rockabilly, workwear, and hot rod subcultures. 

The writing in Motorcycle Jackets often a bit awkward, but is otherwise chock full of great information. There’s a very short introduction (only a couple of pages long) before the book jumps into the different periods of motorcycle jacket design. I thought I’d throw up some images from my three favorite sections - the “Before Dawn” and “Sport Jacket” eras today, and then “The Golden Age of Motorcycle Jackets” later this week. 

There weren’t any real “motorcycle jackets” in the early 20th century, as there weren’t that many men who actually rode motorcycles. Those that did often wore a coat and tie (surprisingly), although some would have leather jackets custom made for them. Since no designs were specially made for motorcycle riding at the time, custom clothiers relied on sport coats or military garments for inspiration.

The earliest jackets - worn in the 1910s and 1920s - mostly took their cues from the A-1 flight jacket. There was a simple buttoned front, two-pockets at the hips, and fold-down rounded collar. Like flight jackets, these were often made from horsehide or goatskin. You can see some examples here. 

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The wet and rainy weather yesterday was made better by a package I received from Vanda Fine Clothing. Gerald and Diana heard I was looking for a blue Donegal tie, and generously offered to gift me one of theirs. The tie turned out to be even more handsome than I expected. 

Every time I wear a Vanda, I’m reminded of how much I enjoy their neckwear. Vanda specializes in lightweight constructions - meaning their ties are made with a thin, pure wool interlining to help the fabric hang well, but there’s otherwise no padding inside. This allows their ties to knot distinctively and beautifully, as there’s not so much structure that the life is strangled out of the shell fabric. Whereas some ties on the market these days feel stiff and thick, Vanda’s are essentially the opposite: light and airy, with a touch of casual sensibility. 

The Air Force Blue Donegal tweed you see here was woven for them by Molloy & Sons – a small mill in Donegal, Ireland owned and operated by a father-and-son team (literally Sean Molloy & his son). Unfortunately, Donegal tweed has yet to receive any government protections, so while Harris Tweed has to be woven in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland in order to carry the name, anyone can weave a fabric nowadays and call it Donegal. Indeed, what’s marketed today as Donegal is usually just someone trying to describe their fabric as being flecked with irregular bits of color (a “design” special to tweed weavers in Donegal), rather than make claim on material’s origins. This, on the other hand, is the genuine stuff.  

There is one change to Vanda’s construction since I last bought from them. Apparently they’ve had to add a label in order to legally protect their products. In keeping with the spirit of their company, the label was added in the most discrete way possible - sewn into the inside fold of the tie, impossible to see unless you were actually looking for it. I actually like the change, as it adds a bit of branding without at all being noticeable about it. 

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Written in a little handbook for young men entering the tailoring trade, Mr. J. King Wilson of John Morgan and Company (tailors of JFK’s first bespoke suit, and his tailors until his presidency) had this to say about fitters:

“The fitting room is a great leveler. The most bombastic customer seems but insignificant when you have got him with his pants down. They say no man is a hero in the eyes of his valet. The same is true as between a customer and his tailor to whom many of his foibles and petty conceits are exposed.”

I imagine that’s never rung any truer than it did on Monday, when I met Steed for a fitting. It was their last day in San Francisco, but I had already scheduled a trip to be out of town this past weekend. So to catch them before they left, I flew back Monday afternoon, rushed home to grab my garments, and then rushed to their hotel to make my appointment. I didn’t have time to change, so I showed up in what I wore to the airport: a white t-shirt, brown leather A-2 jacket, heavily worn jeans, and a pair of dark brown boots. I couldn’t have looked more out of place, but neither Edwin or Matthew seemed to mind. In any case, I’m sure it’s not as though I could appear to be anything but a clotheshorse, even if I had shown up in a coat and tie. 

At our meeting, I wrapped up my first order and put in another. On the list is Russell plaid sport coat that I’m rather excited about. Russell plaid, as I mentioned over a year ago, is like a large-scale glen plaid, but with the horizontal part of the check stripped away. That leaves the vertical check to dominate, which is then accented with a thin stripe – usually in burgundy, dark purple, or burnt orange. I’ve always thought of it as one of the most tasteful of patterns. Unique, but conservative, with a little bit of “Old Money” sensibility to boot. You can see it worn well by men such as Luciano Barbera, Bernhard Roetzel, and George Frazier below. 

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Browsing for neckwear through a computer screen can sometimes make you miss subtler qualities. Things such as the heavy drape of a 50oz silk twill or the chalky hand of ancient madder can be passed over for more “obvious” things, such as the rough weaves of raw silk or boucle. Repp stripes are also often overlooked, even though they’re exceptional versatile and - unlike some of the overly conservative foulards that are popular today - will reliably be stylish ten or twenty years from now. 

I recently picked up this black watch regimental, which I only noticed because my friend Cooper Frederickson brought it to my attention over a year ago. Since then, I haven’t been able to stop seeing it. On Mark Cho of The Armoury and Drake’s, on Mariano Rubinacci of The London House, on Luciano Barbera of … Luciano Barbera, and of course on Charles, the Prince of Wales. The tie even made an apperance once in an old issue of Popeye, a Japanese style magazine. 

The “standard” black watch, as everyone knows, is a blue, green, and black Scottish tartan, but that’s not the only one. There’s also this green, red and blue striped design, which draws its colors from when decommissioned Black Watch officers needed something to represent their service once they returned to civilian life. And like all regimental stripes nowadays - what was once something socially signifying has now just become a design (for most people, anyway). I’ve found this design to go excellently with solid navy and brown checked sport coats. It’s simple and unique, but also unassailably tasteful. And it’s not something I think I would have noticed online if a better eye hadn’t directed me to it. 

For those interested, you can get a black watch regimental through A Suitable Wardrobe (made by Drake’s, and is the one I have), Ben Silver, and Benson & Clegg. Sam Hober also used to have the material for bespoke options, but seems to have run out (he may restock soon). When shopping for one, just be careful to not accidentally pick up the Lord Taverners tie, like I once did. They’re similar, but the black watch one is darker and, in my opinion, more sophisticated looking.

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Aside from one post on Jacques Brel, I don’t talk about music on here, largely because this site is about menswear and I assume people will just skip over music posts that don’t align with their taste (I know I do). Still, a few menswear bloggers recently had a conversation about jazz on Twitter, which prompted me to revisit some old footage of the Newport Jazz Festival on YouTube. For those unfamiliar, The Newport Jazz Festival is a summer music festival that happens every year in the small town of Newport, Rhode Island. These concerts have been the source of a countless number of great recordings - including ones by Nina Simone, Muddy Waters, Ray Charles, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Miles Davis.

These particular videos you see here are from 1958. Eisenhower and Nixon were in office, the Cold War’s “Space Race” had just started, African Americans had not yet gained full civil rights, and two parents who just had a newborn baby decided to name him “Michael Jackson.” Of all the footage I’ve seen on the internet in the last ten years, these stand out as some of the best. The music of jazz and blues being played all day; the footage of people dancing on rooftops; the popping beer and spinning carousels; the cardigans worn loosely over t-shirts; the men in coats and ties; and the footage of oddly simple moments in what was a very complicated America. It’s all really fantastic to watch.

The last video below is of the full documentary, which is a bit long, but if you see nothing else, at least check out the very first clip above. It’s the most stylish thing I could post today.

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My friend Réginald-Jérôme de Mans - who’s a weekly contributor to A Suitable Wardrobe’s blog - is remarkably good at finding menswear-related items on eBay. Or anywhere on the web, really. In fact, he was a guest on A Suitable Wardrobe’s first podcast episode for just this skill. It aired almost a full three years ago, but is still available for listening here under the title “Browsing for Bargains on the Web.”

What makes RJ’s finds exciting is that they’re often things of exceptional quality, such as leather goods from Hermes; stuff from the heydays of “once were” companies such as Old England and Arnys; or items slightly off the beaten path, such as intricately designed ties and the occasional … riding whip. When I can, I try to include some of his links in our eBay roundups over at Put This On. Except for the few times when I want something for myself.

Like this old umbrella from Ralph Lauren I recently won. The handle is covered in a hand stitched, lizard skin leather; the shaft is made from a handsome, dark wood; and the frame is composed of eight strong metal ribs. It was supposedly made for the RL brand by the British Royal Warrant holders Swaine Adeney Brigg, which I admit I was originally a bit unsure of. However, there are a number of good signs: the nailed brass collar, metal tipped shaft, small mother-of-pearl button, and seemingly original, slightly yellowed, old tag hand sewn into the rib that indeed says “Brigg’ 100% Nylon Made in England.” There’s even two accompany tags - one with the Brigg label stating that the leather is lizard skin, and a small pamphlet instructing the owner on how to properly care for the umbrella. From what I can tell, this is a genuine article.

Unique makes of high-quality umbrellas tend to come in one of two forms. There are single stick constructions, where a single piece of wood is carefully bent with steam and pressure so that it forms both the handle and shaft. Then there are umbrellas such as this one, where the handle is either wholly made from, or just decorated with, a unique material. This can be metal, animal horn, exotic leathers, whangee, or anything that might set the umbrella apart from others. You can find both these types direct from their makers, or from online shops such as Oi Polloi (who has umbrellas with Malacca or leather-covered handles); A Suitable Wardrobe, Grunwald, or Mr. Porter (who have a variety of styles from Maglia Francesco, the largest Italian producer of high-quality umbrellas); Exquisite Trimmings or No Man Walks Alone (who carry my favorite maker, Mario Talarico); and online haberdasheries such as Kent Wang or Howard Yount (who offer their own private label line). The Armoury might also be a good source for Fox umbrellas now that they have a New York City store (readers in East Asia, of course, can just order from The Armoury’s Hong Kong location).

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