03 December 2011

United Nations

I write about men's clothes, and being from Boston, my own experience and personal style lies heavily in the classic American East Coast camp. While "Made in USA" have of late become nearly holy writ on a clothing label, I'm not one to marry myself to such a narrow field of vision. Last time I checked, the Europeans knew their way around the finer things too.
The general look of today's ensemble is in many ways rooted in the British countryside. Tweed jacket, broad glen checks, informal tie( the other perfect knit tie; silk with white dots) and a yellow vest, all brought down from the equestrian tradition. A tab collar on the shirt would have been great here, but a short pointed spread works pretty good, too.
The jacket hails from the quintessential American brand, Brooks Brothers. A recent piece, made of fine, soft wool, $7.49. Continental/Neapolitan details, such as soft shoulders, high gorge two button front and four button cuffs define this coat...

...as well they might, given its Italian provenance. Truthfully, I prefer my Brooks Brothers old, undarted and American, but a piece like this for practically nothing is too good to pass up.

The Brothers strike again with the tie, and once again we have the Italians to thank for it.

The yellow/buff vest is a very English convention when rendered in soft doeskin. This one, a vintage number likely from the early 1960s, is knitted of fine wool, maybe merino, and has a killer vintage pocket detail and tiny side vents.

Once again, the Italians are to blame. Full fashioned...good thing, I just hate it when my clothes are only partial fashioned.
Below, a favorite pair of vintage charcoal worsted slacks, well fitted yet narrow enough to remain in keeping with the overall continental vibe here, with chocolate brown suede USA made Allen Edmonds shoes, and silly skull and bones socks...just to drive you crazy.
A real Bavarian Alpine hat, adorned with a vintage hat pin from the Andover Shop, is the whipped  cream on top.

And since my birthday is this weekend, my parents, as usual and despite my yearly protest, gave me a card full of money with the instructions that it not be spent on anything responsible. In the past I've used this money to pay a bill, or something. This year, I decided instead to do it right. A lunch of sushi and a Sapporo is in keeping with the days theme of internationalism...
...as was the bag of drink that came hone with me tonight. Chateau Tariquet 15 year old Bas Armagnac, from France, was a gift from the job ( working in a wine shop has its advantages). Bunnahabhain 12 year old single Islay malt Scotch and Kopke Colheita 1997 Port rounded out my own use of the birthday cash. Consider my house "Winterized" as it were. A man's got to keep warm, you know.

shop news: the Shop has more items than ever, including most recently some choice coats and other outerwear. You've got to keep warm too, you know.

18 comments:

Scott Alexander said...

Happy birthday! Intriguing post, fascinating blog, inspirational person. Keep it up.

A Gentleman of Worcester said...

A Great Look for a Luch at Locke-Ober! Cheers!

LLP said...

Happy Birthday!

David V said...

Happy birthday.

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday!
A great look too.

Your post gave me this question- you said the tie was BB, by way of Italians. Do fashion houses like BB buy from local merchants? As in, they buy a particular piece of clothing from a small, mom n pop clothing manufacturer and slap their label on it. I always thought the "made in ..." had little to do with the style/quality, but then again, most of my new clothes come from Target. Maybe its different with higher end stuff.

Roger v.d. Velde said...

Happy birthday indeed!

That yellow waistcoat is interesting. I have a wool pullover by Alexander's, but it doesn't say 'Made in Italy' on the label. I assumed they were either English or Scottish.

randall said...

Happy Birthday!

Hawthorne said...

First time commenter here. You seem to stumble upon some of the best stuff around Boston. I'm here on the South Shore and aside from the local thrift stores in Quincy and Hingham, I find very few places with quality secondhand clothing. Any tips?

David M. said...

That 'Harris Tweed Double Breasted Overcoat, size 42 reg.' looks AWESOME! Too bad I'm not in the market for something like that. It still has the vent stitching? I love find stuff like that (like when jacket pockets are still sewn shut).

Jho78 said...

Happy birthday, G!
I really like some of the things you have in the shop in my size, but alas, it's not the time of year for shopping for myself.

Anonymous said...

I was thinking the other day day, why I check in with you on a regular basis. Conclusion: Other than thought provoking writing about clothes, care thereof and music, what I love about your blog is that it allows for comment, both critical and full of praise. I wish others would follow your example. I submitted a comment or two on the erstwhile Muffy's weblog and she chose not to print them because I compared Kiel James and Huckleberry of unabashed prep of being faux and only one step away from the likes of Abercrombie and Jack Wills; promoters of product and style over substance.

Anyway, the Tariquet is absolutely delicious and I hope you enjoy it over your birthday weekend.

maven said...

Happy Birthday to one of the coolest men around!

Now about those socks... ;)

tintin said...

I love the bunny...Happy birthday...chap.

Young Fogey said...

Happy birthday!

Great outfit, great inspiration.

(P.S. to Hawthorne: G is never, ever going to give up his favorite haunts--people like you will beat him to too many of the great finds he makes!)

Yankee-Whisky-Papa said...

As for that Bunnahabhain 12, I'll be over shortly. Ready a tumbler for me, eh?

Claude said...

Killing it for real on your Bday! Thanks for sharing!

Scale Worm said...

Happy birthday Dear Giuseppe!
I wish you many MANY more years of great fun with your family and happy times kicking about in search of that next-great-deal. I have never been an Islay fan until just before and following trick-or-treating this year with dear friends and our sweet kiddies, when the Laughlin 16 year single malt was brought out... YUM! (I now have my own added to my single malt stash... that i partook of until 430 Saturday evening/Sunday morn spinning some great vinyl, with a dear friend. Many HAPPY Returns!

Agustin C. said...

The gift you got from your parents remind me of what my dad says to me when comparing me to my brother: "some kids you have to limit, some others you have to push outside their limits". Are you by any chance the eldest brother (as I am) and so carry some subconscious sense of responsibility and setting an example?