Off My Back: Gin & Bitter Lemon Safari

Mr & Mrs Cagney - 1955 by Eve Arnold

The very generous Giuseppe, from An Affordable Wardrobe , gave me this tie during a recent visit to NYC. It seems made for an early '90s Willis & Geiger shirt that's been in the back of my closet some 14 years. And while I'm just about khaki'ed out, I thought it deserved mention for the end of twill and drill week.

Throw on the safari gear 'cause you're gonna have to do some exploring for this mixer. The Canada Dry is out there but it doesn't come close to Schweppes. One bottle like this one, just enough for a drink, is almost $2 at Myers of Kenswick but it's worth it. Not unlike a G&T, a G&BL is smoother and not as crisp but perfect for Summer nights up on the roof.

Off My Back: Moto Guzzi, Bellini & Mazzini

Camicia Moto Guzzi

Tre litri




Mina 'belts' out Morricone

Picked up the Moto Guzzi t shirt at The Art of the Motorcycle Exhibit sometime in early '99. The athletic laundry at the Union League Club in Chicago had much to do with it's faded patina and crinkled letters. It looked pretty much like it does now after the club washed it the very first time.

Contrary to the 3 liter bottle, this Bellini Chianti from Tuscany is no big shakes but for $40 it's a cheap show when you wheel this sucker out onto the dinner board in front of unsuspecting dinner guests who don't know wine from shampoo.

Two years ago I wrote about Mina here. Alfa's and Vespa's and rolling r's. What a performance. Makes me want to put a vowel on the end of my last name. Actually, S.L.A. Marshall did that but it's a story for Trad Dad to tell. This is a Ennio Morricone tune she did on Italian television in 1966. I have no idea what she's telling the audience in the intro but it sounds fantastic and more than ever I'm convinced - - God is Italian.

Off My Back: E. Crew & Ecru

"Every man should have at least one ecru shirt in his closet." So said the men at Herzfeld. If you want a shopping experience close to what it must have been like in the glory days of the 1930s then Herzfeld may be the only place left. At least in NYC.

I haven't owned an ecru shirt since I worked at Brooks Brothers in the 80s. It was a "Makers" button down and it paired well with a wool tie of hunter green mixed with red and yellow pheasant or horse and rider. It was quiet and elegant and looked good on anyone.

This Hausammann + Moos double cuff shirt is too formal for a wool club tie but the ecru still works understatement by calming down what would be too much contrast with a white shirt. I like to think of this as Trad Italian since the jacket and tie are both from Italy. Many of you know that pocket squares bother me but since this is an Italian effort... Well, when in Rome.

I was thinking about the old J Crew catalogs from the early 90s and how each one seemed to tell a story. Lots of normal looking kids huddled around a beat up Land Cruiser with a Wire Fox Terrier in the foreground and grey haired parents in the background with a beautiful vacation pile on a pine tree encircled lake in Maine. Maybe it was Wisconsin. They kinda look the same.

J Crew isn't going away. Herzfeld might. So I had this idea of J Crew creating a new brand of top shelf apparel. Stuff made in France, Italy, England and the US with a focus on quality but at a not too dear price negotiated by J Crew's huge orders. I'd call it E. Crew, short for Ed, who was the dad in those catalogs years ago. The dad who lost the squared inseam / waist 15 years ago but knows quality and value when he sees it.

E. Crew would offer side vent jackets made from butter-like wool from Italy. Thick English silk ties with matching boxers instead of matching pocket squares. French gloves in gold calf with cashmere linings in Tiffany blue. Maine button downs with unlined collars and 12 oz khakis made in Brooklyn. Heirloom goods that speak to the elegance of the past and worn with the comfortable thought that this stuff may very well out live you. E. Crew. That's my fantasy store.

Off My Back: Pink & Green & Rose'

A unique pink & green

Maybe too unique

Not so great pattern matching

Best to hide it

Shetland Label

Shirt Label

My favorite label

The sister plaid to the Winter acorn. Again, made by Individualized Shirts and a fabric Wright & Simon owner, Len Simon claimed no one had ordered in donkey years. Picking shirt fabric from small swatches is a tricky (and expensive) business. It helps to select from bolts but we're not all hanging out on the second floor at Charvet.

I like the shirt but it reminds the Golf Foxtrot of something Eddie in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation would wear. "Clark, that's the gift that keeps on giving." Once again, Individualized came up short on the pattern matching. The front placket is off although not by much. Still, I'm hard pressed to find this problem with 'Made in China' shirts. I'm not talking sleeve to yoke matching. This is the front placket for Pete's sake.

Anyway, I hid it. Pretty darned well I think. These last few brisk days shuffled with occasional balmy afternoons require a wool sweater or two be left in the Spring closet. This pink Andover Shetland takes that plaid down a notch or two from Eddie's closet in the R.V. and puts the look square in Clark Griswold's realm. I always thought Sparky was a pretty good dresser.

There's been some grumbling about the MIA status of hooch around here on Fridays. To that end, here's a vintage Rose' from a wine maker who knows hand made from schmatta. The 1998 Vina Tondonia Rose' hails from a Spanish vineyard where wine is still made like it was in 1877. No chemicals, pesticides or machines. Harvesting? By hand. Racking? By hand. Barrel Making? By hand. I think $25 is a more than fair price for all that.

There's a fruit forward punch to this Rose' that'll knock you off your keister if you drink it too warm. This really needs to be chilled and kept that way so make your pours small. Nice with some almonds and olives on a Saturday afternoon. Even better with a marinated flank steak and red skin potatoes roasted with garlic and rosemary. Hell, who cares about pattern matching - - just get me to the weekend.

Off My Back: New Old Stock

O'Connell's Clothing in Buffalo is well known to the cognoscenti as one of the few purveyors of honest and true Trad apparel. With Quoddy back ordered to God knows when - - I found a pair of Quoddy Camp Mocs ($175) at O'Connells and they were a shade under the Quoddy price ($209) to boot or to moc.

I check their web site every week because I'm sure as Hell not driving to Buffalo. Just last week I found something amazing. New Old Stock of Brooks Brothers shirts. I first heard someone say "piss shiver" when I was in the army. I swear I had a piss shiver when I saw these.

Bang the 1-800 and Ethan answers. Ethan always answers. "So what's the story on the Brooks shirts?" Ethan explains O'Connells was one of eight or so retailers who had a Brooks "store in store" concept from the late '80s to the mid '90s. They sold suits, ties, dress shirts and polos. I ask the big question, "Those Brooks shirts you have on your web site - - Are the collars lined?"

A quick primer. Unlined collars are very important to the obsessed Brooks Brothers oxford fan and here's why. It was that detail of a sloppy looking collar that actually made the shirt. In much the same way the bagginess did and still does. It is - - 110% American. Actually, it's North American but that's another story.

"Unlined" says Ethan. Pull out wallet, credit card, bing, bang, bong. Two days later it's here. A pink - I ordered pink - I haven't seen this pink in years. Softer in hue and almost peach when you hold it up to a recent purchase. Amazing.

Maybe it's better. Maybe it's not. The collar is 3 1/4" compared to 3" today. The shirt tail hits 33" compared to 32" today. But oddly the weight (on a kitchen scale) pegs the Old Stock at just over 11 ounces while the new oxford weighs in at just under 13 ounces. Odd that. Ethan thinks they were made in the early '90s somewhere in the south. Maybe Alabama but don't quote him.

If this interests you -- give Ethan a call. Chat him up and give it a go. No discount from this blog. I paid full freight - - so will you. But these little opportunities of history are hard to find in a world of J. Crew 'curatorial' washed horse pooh. You may wanna strike - - while the gettin is (a-hem) unlined.

Off My Back: French Kissing in a Foulard Button Down

Foulard Shirt (front row on right) by Lee- Esquire Magazine 09/1960

Foulard Fabric

A.K.A. "The Acorn Shirt" by Golf Foxtrot

'University' collar 3 3/8

Those fashion designers in Wilmington, DE

Sleeve placket

I caught that ad in the Sept 1960 issue of Esquire and it got me thinking. When was the last time I saw a foulard pattern shirt? I had a Gant in high school but I was at a loss after that. And that was a long time ago.

I picked up my order from Individualized at Wright & Simon back in Feb. and caught this fabric stuck in the back of the sample book. I asked Len Simon about it and he said, "No one's ordered that crap in years."

Len's brilliant because I had to have the foulard knowing it had been abandoned. I asked what else no one wanted and he pointed out that beautiful twill in pink and hunter green. I love what no one else wants. We'll look at that shirt next week.

A surprise these were the cheapest fabrics although, like the Golf Foxtrot, I imagine many of you will not be.

I love both these shirts for their vintage patterns but Individualized is just not the place for a popover. Horrible pattern matching again. The last nightmare was returned and they fixed it but I just can't go back again. Len'll run me through with his yard stick. The sleeve plackets never match either. Is this Made to Measure or am I being difficult? The trick with Individualized is to stick with small patterns and solids.

I remember a foulard shirt on my back when Cheryl S. gave me my first French kiss at a dance. She was sitting on my lap, took the gum out of her mouth and let me have it while we listened to the Carpenters, Close to You. Definitely gonna be looking for another foulard.

Off My Back: Honesty In Chamois

I've been an Orvis customer for 30 plus years. My favorite moleskin trousers in hunter green are from the early 90's. They came in handy on the 50 minute winter commute from Lake Bluff to Chicago on the Metra. They could just sneak by with a shirt, tie and blazer. But with this shirt you were talking casual Friday. It has only improved with age and rates as my favorite hang over shirt.

To this day the Orvis cut is generous. This medium fits...as long as I have a salad for lunch. A burger and a Guinness? Forget it. And even though NYC hit 91 degrees yesterday - I have this Orvis flannel in my Beretta sights.

For me, Orvis is the real deal. Has been. Hopefully continues to be. Imitators of Orvis are hoping they can steal the authenticity but they always miss the boat. Some of that stems from their models in winter clothes and coats and heavy shoes without socks. That would be a fad and a bad one at that. There's also a calculating insincerity that comes from peddling what doesn't interest you.

Some of the younger folks I've met in the last year do get it and have a real love for this kind of kit. Their passion runs deep. They ask about the early 1980s the same way I ask folks about the early 1960s and the way those folks love the 1930s. It's that nostalgia for something all of us have never had but long for. I suppose a two year old today will be asking you about J Crew 30 years from now. Looking at my consumption of alcohol and tobacco in the last 30 years - - I'm guessing I'll miss it.

Off My Back: Turnbull & Asser

1990. Lloyd's of London. Mind the gap. Covert coats. Hermes ties. "only old men wear contrasting collars, mate."

Watery coffee and digestive biscuits. "Did he put a line down?" Slip cases. Black cap toes. DB suits. Side vents. Standing on an air conditioning vent. Blue waiter great coats in a sea of grey and navy suits.

Smoking by the lav. Lunch at Ball Brothers. G&T. A starter. A pudding. A Packet of B&H Golds and Triple X mints. Walking back. Steel taps on concrete. Brollies. Your bits and pieces. Office drinks at the Lamb. Can't figure out the pay phone. Are they all on drugs? Hard to say.

Look (listen) for Paul Whitehouse (Ron Manager) as the March Hare in Alice in Wonderland

Off My Back: The Club Collar

The Club or Golf Collar

Split Yoke Two Button Cuff - A little too ADG for me

Sleeve to Yoke

The shirt was seen at the outset of the week. A simple club collar (also called golf collar) done up in a 1930's stripe dug out of the Brook's Brothers fabric archives (what a great idea). Well made and fairly expensive until they went on sale for $45.

The sleeve cuff is adorned by an affected (to me) double button cuff but it's passable. Perhaps I'll leave one unbuttoned. No pattern matching at sleeve to yoke but what do want for $45? There is a split yoke in the back that you see on finer English shirts. I've always liked the detail and it's rarely seen on shirts in the states.

The narrow collar opening demands a smaller knot tie but this adds to the whole 1920's echo. A contrasting bow tie in a yellow foulard picks up on the primary colors. A natural linen sport jacket with patch pockets is my favorite pairing. I wore a DB navy blazer and white ducks and Bucks with this shirt and tie in Bermuda at a film festival dinner. A reporter from Switzerland asked me how long I had lived on the island. I was so happy.

Keep an eye out for unusual shirt colors and collars. Often they'll wind up on the sale table. Greens, yellows, purples. Club, tab and spread collars. They're fun to experiment with and the cover charge is affordable. A man can handle only so much blue oxford.

Off My Back: The Shirt With Everything But The Girl

It's not Ralph Lauren

It's not LL Bean.

It's vintage 80's Lands' End - Made in USA

"They're such beautiful shirts." Daisy

The Great Gatsby

At 80% wool 15% nylon 5% corduroy, I doubt Daisy Buchanan would give this shirt a second glance but it has enjoyed more female compliments in midtown Manhattan than any suit, Hermes tie or Turnbull & Asser shirt I own. It's beautiful, comfortable, humble and perfect for eating Herring.

I loved Land's End. In college they made the Cacafuego shirts for my dorm boat. I also owned their wet weather gear. Amazing quality for the price. Lands' End was the poor man's LL Bean in 1984 and I was a very poor man.

In the 90's, I was working in Chicago and was a fan of the Lands' End Hyde Park shirt. A heavy oxford that after a few washings starched up thick like card board. As I made a little more money the idea of spending $20 for a dress shirt seemed unwise. Probably because I didn't have children.

I tried Brooks Brothers, J. Press, Britches of Georgetown and Polo. Then a steep climb to the ampersands on Jermyn Street, Turnbull & Asser - Harvie & Hudson - Hilditch & Key. Stripes, gingham, brushed twill, broadcloth and candy stripe batiste.

Casual Fridays in the late 90's turned into casual everyday by 2002 and those ampersands didn't cut the sartorial mustard with chinos. They were Grey Poupon and I needed French's. I ventured into Sears to look at the Land's End department for my old friend, the Hyde Park. Good looking from a distance but not so much up close. Paper thin and a plastic feel to the cotton. Had Hyde turned into Jekyll or had I been in the tall cotton for too long?

But I have this simple Lands' End shirt from the mid-80's. Something special and today - very unique. Over the years the wool has turned as soft as Tracy Thorn's voice and I like to eat Herring when I wear it.

Next week's, Off My Back: The Mercer & Son's Oxford Shirt.

Off My Back: Primary Colors & Attitude

David Chu LINCS - Yellow (Gold) University Stripe Oxford

Class bow tie from El Paso Community College

Yellow university stripe oxford is a tough fabric to find. I've told you about this before. In fact, everyone who had it two months ago seems to be out of it. Nelson Mui of David Chu Design surprised me with this shirt last week while generously offering a venue for my interview with Robert Bryan. I gotta read my horoscope 'cause stuff like this never happens to me.

It's a beauty of a shirt. At 11 ounces (I weigh shirts as well as wear them) it's in the ball park of MTM but shy of the 13 1/2 ounces you get at Mercer & Sons (we'll get to Mercer next week). While the pattern matching yoke to sleeve isn't dead on --it's pretty darned close. That's amazing.

That's the great news. Bad news. It's made in China and you have to go to Dillard's. Whatever that is. Swear to God, never been to one. The shirt comes in a profusion of bright colors like Lime Green but it's still an oxford.

Primary colors. Blue, yellow and red. The Trad hallmark as far as I'm concerned. And it is with this observation that I pass along some advice. Never forget how you look to others. Got that? It may save your life.

I know a lot of you don't give a hoot about what other people think of you. And that's fine. But I'm talking about something else. When you're strolling around in a cardigan sweater, a bow tie and a yellow stripe oxford - you're sending a message. Robert Bryan does a brilliant job defining this in his book. He writes, "Because menswear is so precise, the smallest selections, such as bow tie, work boots, round glasses, or a fedora, can speak volumes about the character of the man who wears them."

I often forget what I'm wearing. Or driving. And that can spell trouble.

There's a lotta baggage that comes with this car. Never mind it's a 2002 model with over 100,000 miles on it and worth less than a Hyundai. I moved to New York City in this car and parked it in a midtown garage for a couple of months. Just before Christmas, the Golf Foxtrot and I headed south on the NJ Turnpike. I pulled into one of the first gas stations and when I got out of the car to fill up a young kid comes running over to me, "Full service, full service!"

I give him a credit card and he swipes it, sticks the hose in my tank and runs off to another car. I'm a quart low of oil (always) and I grab a quart I carry in the car (always), pop the hood and top off my oil. The windows are caked thick in some frozen kind of dirt from the parking garage. I'm looking for a squeegee but all the windshield wiper buckets are dry and there's not a squeegee anywhere.

The attendant comes back again, yanks the hose outta the tank and I ask, "Do you have any squeegees?" "No," he says handing me my credit card and receipt and off he goes. As he's leaving I say, "You call this full fucking service?" He stops and turns and says, "What did you say?" And I say, "You call this full fucking service." And he replies, "Yeah, well fuck you!" And I reply, for lack of any better words, "Fuck you!"

I hear laughing and turn to see the other attendants who appear to be enjoying this immensely. As I walk to the car, my attendant shouts out, "Merry Fucking Christmas!" At which point I try to be more personal and shout back, "Happy Fucking Three Kings! I get in the car and drive off. The Golf Foxtrot, who is not happy with my behaviour, lets me have it. That's another post unto itself. After she stops we ride in silence for two and a half hours.

Why did he go off? I dunno. Maybe the car and the Florida tags could have something to do with it. He was busting his ass in the freezing cold two nights before Christmas and I'm sure I was asshole number 37 that night. The Shaggy Dog Shetland, hi water chinos, pink socks and Bean Moccasins could have also added hi test to the fire. He was Hispanic. I'm Nordic. We both end in 'icks.' I'd probably go off on myself that night given the right circumstances--of which there were many.

Sometimes I forget how I appear to others. I also know I'm not how other people see me. Yet, I can barely see myself which may be part of the problem. So, tread easy in bow ties and cardigans and shirts of primary colors. Just because we're well dressed doesn't mean we have to be assholes about it.

Off My Back: Souleiado

Pronounced Silly-ah - doe - - Lets try to be adults.

Men's are sized 1 (smallest) to 4 (largest)

Who knew the French have lockers?

The Souleiado Logo

A year ago the Friday Belt seemed like a good idea. 15 extra pounds later I'm not so sure. I've decided to climb on the wagon. The Friday Belt returns in six weeks. In its place - "Off My Back" A weekly look at shirting old and new. Strange and common. Cheap and expensive. US and UK. We kick it off with something unique, traditional and about 105% French.

I was first introduced to Souleiado patterns by Pierre Deux. Then I found a small shop in Bermuda that carried their men's button down shirts. Called Provincial shirts, they're made of 100% cotton in hand block printed designs over 200 years old and they're as traditional and unconventional as you can get.

They're hard to pin down. Certainly it's rustic. Simple like a young red wine from Provence...Whoops. Can't go there (This is gonna be a long six weeks). But they're so ancient looking and that comes from the patterns that are actually printed onto the shirts using old wooden blocks.

I actually wore this shirt on casual Friday a few jobs back. Show up in a shirt like this - people talk. My boss is standing in front of me in a pair Kenneth Cole squared toe shoes, Dockers and a ten dollar haircut. He asks, "Where in the hell did you dig up a shirt like that?" And I replied, "The south of France. You wouldn't understand." Yes, he eventually fired me but he'll never understand the chemise aller a L'enfer.

It's the kinda shirt you wear without a tie. There's a lot going on here and I'm always afraid someone will mistake me for a professional card player. Best worn in French owned restaurants. At least they understand the origins. Of the shirt - not me.