by Matt
All this recent chambray talk has me thinking of other sartorial riddles wrapped in enigmas–namely, the ideal roll for a buttondown collar. Yeah, I’ll admit it: I have no idea what people mean when they say “nice roll.” I know how I prefer my own collars, but I’ve observed near zero consistency whether a roll [...]
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by Matt
In my last post, we discussed the revelation that Simonnot Godard sells at least two different sorts of chambray. For most of the people who randomly stumble on this blog, that is surely the least interesting news you could possibly hear. But, for the half-dozen or so of my regular readers, it is potentially earth-shattering. [...]
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by Matt
As some of you may know, I’m embarking on a project to replace my tattered shirt wardrobe. For my new solid blue shirts, I chose Simonnot Godard’s chambray–the stuff of internet legend. It’s remarkable how infamous this shirting has become over the years. In the beginning, barely anybody who clamored for it even knew what [...]
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by Matt
Neophytes like to experiment and easily lose sight of what simply makes sense. Hence, they stray from the simple blue shirt and turn to all manners of bizarre. I’m not sure why. You could wear nothing but blue shirts all your life and stand tall amongst the world’s best dressed, most stylish men. After all, [...]
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by Matt
Kensuke Ishizu was not American, and he certainly never attended an Ivy League university. Yet, in bringing Ivy style to Japan after World War II, he played a key role in safeguarding the classic manner of American dress for its eventual return to its birthplace. He was a very stylish and elegant man who understood [...]
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by Matt
In continuation from yesterday’s discussion, here are two more examples of the “Italian uniform” done really right. You can always count on Beppe Modenese to bring the elegance. In both cases, he uses yellow and gold accents to break up potential monotony and flatness without overwhelming the context. While there’s no doubt we’re looking at [...]
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by Matt
One thing I learned back in my high school art class is that it’s difficult to draw what you actually see. The mind tends to translate everything into basic shapes and symbols. So, unless we train ourselves to overcome that tendency, we’re likely to draw simplistic caricatures rather than realistically nuanced depictions. And so it [...]
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by Matt
Having tea at the Dorchester in London back in September of last year. Makes me fondly remember how much I love fresco and then look forward to spring. The tonal striations in this slate blue example give it a denim-like appearance. Blue is never just blue, but that’s especially true with frescos. This one’s striated [...]
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by Matt
Someone get to O’Connell’s and buy this. It’s even on sale. If I’d known it existed, I may never have ordered a bespoke greatcoat. It’s a real one-of-a-kind monster. Twenty-four ounce whipcord, entirely alpaca-lined. The guys at O’Connell’s must be real coat fetishists. You’d have to be to dream up something like this–and then have [...]
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by Matt
Midnight blue mohair dinner suit. Matching grosgrain facings and cummerbund. Cream silk square. Red garnet studs. Apparently, you can dress perfectly black tie without anything black but the tie. It was the first outing for my bespoke studs from M.P. Levine (no doubt made by one of the big Birmingham jewelers). Too pimptastic? Damn it. [...]
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