The Art of T&A...

New digs in old Asprey digs...


Where buttons come from


Silk shirting from the archives


More silk shirting - via Instagram



WWII shirt from Jermyn Street



"Torches" from WWII


Brolly handles


Dressing room


Pocket frogging


and sleeves


Another world...


another Friday belt?


Silk dressing gown makes use of 12 screens


Sleeves


Moleskins


Limited edition shirts...


utilizing vintage T&A designed fabric


My "Magda" editor jacket


Traditional T&A stripes


Kingdom of Evening Wear


Smoking jacket



More sleeves

The Morning Coat


Custom shirts...


and even socks (by Corgi)


Photo by Cecil Beaton


The library


More Brolly handles


Preppy?

Turnbull & Asser recently moved a couple store fronts east from their old location to the long vacant Asprey Shop on 57th Street near Park Avenue. It's like walking into some very grand hotel... a hotel I could never afford unless I was on business. It's like meeting a beautiful woman in a bar, and I can't figure out why she's so interested in me, until I discover her business. In short, it's a place I don't belong.

But NYC is full of people who belong. Missing here is the, "We're not worthy" Midwestern attitude I came to love in Chicago... along with Old Style beer and the Chicago Cubs. T&A probably threw out the welcome mat after I wiped my feet upon entering but I never saw anyone do it. They're that discreet and even that friendly.

You enter the store through a small library. An archives of beautiful vintage shirts sit behind glass as if they're in a museum. And they are. T & A has taken great care of their history unlike many retailers I can name. But then we Americans love to throw old stuff away.

There's a hip new section of black, Gore Textual, Loro Piana (why are the Italians here?) that I found out of place. But I was reminded of how little I know when a celebrity, tall and good looking, made a significant purchase of a black, Gore Textual, cashmere lined something or other. Certainly he belonged.

Lighting grows with a beautiful sun like intensity while climbing the stairs from the ground floor library. Small boutiques are sartorially bordered by T&A kingdoms of evening wear, dressing gowns, shirts, ties, jackets and suits. Classics abound. A hacking pocket navy blazer might be considered a bit off the reservation but their solid charcoal suit has to be the best suit a man can buy.

But it is the dressing gowns I especially lust after...If I were a magazine editor -- the male version of Magda from Ab Fab -- I'd get a bevy of beautiful women and shoot them wearing nothing but T&A dressing gowns and smoking jackets. Of course, it's the celebrities who belong here. I'm just visiting.

The Morning Suit: Rules Rule

We've come a long way (photo Men's Wearhouse)


She's seen the future (from Trad Private Collection)



A Gentleman's Wardrobe by Paul Keer 1987 (click to read)



ABC of Men's Fashion by Hardy Aimes 1964 & 2o07 (click to read)




Duke of Windsor's Morning Suit from Sotheby's Auction Catalog




Gentry Magazine Summer 1952

Did you get all that? It's not difficult. Morning Dress is worn during the day. Before 5PM and not after 7PM. Most Morning Coats will have a peak lapel but Brooks Brothers sells a Golden Fleece Morning Suit with notch lapel. Not sure why that is. The tails of the coat should end close to the break of the knee.

Trousers are wool and I recommend you buy as light a wool as you can find. A Morning Suit can get pretty warm. Waistcoats are offered in linen as well. Boots work well and you don't have to sweat the color of socks. I'm just not into seeing socks with these trousers -- Checked or striped.

An earlier comment suggested a shirt with detachable collar. They do look better but I gave my only one away. Check out Keezers in Boston, Hornets in London and eBay (including the UK) for significant savings. You can buy decent kit for what it could cost to rent that train wreck up there from Men's Wearhouse.

Will it sit in the back of your closet collecting dust? Mine does, but I know it's there and that's comforting. When my boss is chewing my ass off I can lean back in my chair and think of my Morning Suit while I contemplate his Cole Haan kilties and my new found poverty.