Happy 4th

Keep Your Powder Dry

Revolution-nary Spending

Black Fleece Wallets

I love the more obscure facts about the Revolution...Did you know there were more than 13 colonies?  In North America  there was East and West Florida and North and South Novia Scotia,  Sam Adams was looking for a revolution to escape his debts. George Washington was an Anglophile and Ben Franklin may have been a spy for the British. Whether he was or not, many historians agree he would've come out of the war, equally as well, if the British had won.  But...you don't really wanna know any of that.

I may be getting too old, but I have an idea of what you want -- You wanna buy something...Preferably, something you don't need. Something that says something about you. You'd say it yourself but it's better 'things' do the talking for you. Me? I have six wallets and I'd sure like another one. These tasty beauties are at Brooks Brothers under the Black Fleece label. You're sure to get some attention whipping one of these bad boys open in Freemans Restaurant. They say Benedict Arnold turned coat because Congress screwed him over on his expense account but no one gives a toss about that. Happy Independence Day...Go buy something.

Bill Cunningham Will Take Your Picture

Shore Leave

No need for Brasso

Gym bag or a lunch bag

It's a big mother -- 24" long, 12" wide and 12" deep. You see a lot of bags like this in NYC. Always a guy who's in shape and lives at the gym. I don't go to the gym anymore and when I did I had a locker. Even had a laundry service although it could turn a black t-shirt light grey in one washing. Anyone looking to distress t-shirts should go no further than the Union League in Chicago.

I like this bag despite it looking somewhat "Tommy Hilfiger-ish." At least it's not "Vera Bradley-ish."  Made of Dacron sail cloth (not cheap stuff), it's roots are nautical but it's not gonna look outta place on 57th and 5th Avenue. Heck, Bill Cunningham might take your picture if you're carrying this bag -- and you look like you work out.  I think it's the perfect size for a lunch bag. 

I gave the Americana bag by True Wind to a young Navy lieutenant who's gotta thing for socks. He was in town on shore leave -- so to speak -- and volunteered to be my model. Anchor Crankers are like that. Always volunteering. After I volunteered for the army I never volunteered for anything again... I only wish he was wearing dress whites. That'd be a snappy look with this bag -- Bill Cunningham would be all over it.

The Americana Bag
$220
Get it here.

Bert Pulitzer's Survivalon Jacket

See the orange jacket on the roof?

 How about the yellow sweat shirt? 

It amazes me how orange and yellow stand out on city roofs.  And while I lean towards understatement in most everything -- there's a peculiar Southern fetish I picked up for loud colors. I've always loved 'em with the understanding they have their place. 

 Andover Shop

Bert Pulitzer sent me a Survivalon jacket; what we called wet weather gear when I lived on a boat. At $495, this isn't for off shore racing but it's nautical origins make it perfect for a rainy Fall day. I wore it during a visit to the Andover Shop in Cambridge.  On my way out to lunch, Larry took it off my back and threw it on a rig. I understand he had five offers in an hour.

"Don't pick a fight, but if you find yourself in one I suggest you make damn sure you win."  John Wayne

Pulitzer created the jacket back in the '70s and used a tightly woven cotton developed by the RAF in WWII. And, while that's cool enough for me, John Wayne bought one, which might be cool enough for you. The Duke liked it so much he ordered five more for his yacht, the Wild Goose.  And I think I know why.

Back in the '70s and '80s, before Gore Tex really caught on, a lot of sailing jackets and parkas were made out of  a PVC like fabric that was hard as a brick.  I had one from Lands' End, circa 1984. It didn't breathe, had two lousy outside pockets and in the rain it felt like wet particle board.

Logo inspired by Belgian Parachutist Wings? 

Contrary to it's look, the Survivalon has a supple feel to it.  It's amazingly comfortable, keeps you dry and it breathes.  I've worn this jacket a lot in the last month and even the hood, unrolled and pulled from the collar, works well.  It's wide enough to give decent  peripheral vision and it stays on your head without having to pull it tight resulting in your looking like a seven year old in a slicker at the bus stop.

In a bind, this coat and a Shetland sweater (think, royal blue, bright red, kelly green) will see you through temps as low as the mid-30s.  I should know.  I wore it last night in NY's first snow storm.  In the low visibility, it probably kept me from being run over by a city bus. Granted, it won't protect me in a knife fight like my old Lands' End jacket but I haven't had one of those, knock wood, since a pissed off girlfriend came at me with my own Randall.

The interior of the jacket is cotton with three inside waterproof pockets and one big enough for an iPad. But remember, this isn't a waterproof jacket...it's water repellent. Having said that, I've been in rain and snow with this thing and have managed to stay bone dry.  If you want to wear a suit with this jacket, and I have no idea why you would - other than I'm old and out of it, go up a size.  With just a shirt or sweater...it runs pretty true to size.

Bert tells me this cloth will eventually take on patina.  I can't wait.  That doesn't mean I'm gonna take sand paper to it or distress it in my backyard with a chain and a snowblower...It means it'll come by its patina in an honest way.  And if the weather continues like this -- it should be nicely broken in by next month.

Comes in black, orange, yellow, fawn, navy and blue. Order from Survivalon Web Site Here

A Man's Movie: Pacino's Revolution

Al Pacino and the draft board

Pacino and Hugh Hudson on location in King's Lynn, Norfolk



When 'Revolution' came out in 1985, I was a Park Ranger at Valley Forge and so my love for the film is biased. It's amazing to watch and why shouldn't it be. Almost $30 million in budget was thrown up there on the screen. For an 18th Century fanatic, it was colonial porn in beautiful glossy colour. 'Colour,' since it was shot in the U.K. (see 'making of' with director Hugh Hudson here.)

Films about the American Revolution (or, The American War for Independence), tend to have a schmaltzy feel about them. Everyone is spic and span clean, sets look like hotel rooms in Williamsburg and there's a tendency to clobber you over the head with a patriotic halberd.

Revolution, while refreshingly authentic, raw and of the time, swam in hokey dialogue made worse by anachronistic accents. I came away thinking it would be far better with the sound turned down. One critic suggested it would be 200 years before another film about the American Revolution would ever be made. Revolution grossed just under $400,000.

A Blue Ray DVD (here) is out with commentary by Al Pacino and Hudson. Pacino always thought there was something special about the film. I always thought it was Donald Sutherland who turned in the best role as a sadistic sergeant major. He captured the accent and tone while Pacino is as out of place as a cap and ball Navy Colt in a world of flint locks. Still, if you get turned on by 18th Century porn as much as I do, give it a shot. Grapeshot or roundshot, there are those who think it overlooked and well worth the time to be seen again. "There's freedom in them muskets, boys!"

Off My Back: The Airmail Shirt

Lighter than airmail


Should always be rolled up


A love of buttons


Who doesn't like rabbits?

Back in the late '80s and early '90s my A.O. (Area of Operations for the civilians) in Manhattan was bordered by the Algonquin Hotel to the west and Brooks Brothers to the east. All I needed fell into that two block perimeter. Chipp. J Press. Brooks. JR Cigar. Mr Hoy at the Algonquin Bar. It was a target rich environment for a salesman from Chicago and easy on the shoe leather.

Today, as a resident of Manhattan, my favored A.O. is a perimeter down Lexington Avenue bordered by my barber, Paul Mole at 74th Street (ask for Gary the Russian) to the north and Garnet Wines at 68th Street to the south (where there's a stunning blonde who really knows her Bordeaux and Burgundy). Peter (hold 'em up) Elliot. R.O.P. infested Swifty's. J. McLaughlin. Neils Coffee Shop. Lexington Bar and Book. And a favorite, Roberta Roller Rabbit.

I picked up this RRR shirt last year thinking it screamed Independence. Hand blocked and dried in the sun, it's lighter than the airmail envelopes I remember from the '60s. Same color theme too. Break out the white shorts and boat shoes-- Hard to go wrong. $85 and unique to boot. There's not a lot for men but what there is should meet your sartorial mission for Summer. Avoidance of VV. Their web site is here.

Press Only: GQ Style (UK)

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