What Didn't Make Vanity Fair

Grouse

Dried Blood

Black Watch & Brooks Polo

Runway to Reality

Alligator without being an asshole

1/2 lining in fall

Airborne, eh.

Your Fall “must have” accessory?
A Famous Grouse Tie from the FG on line gift shop. I switch from gin to scotch in the fall.

Loved this pattern for fall-

Blood red, over sized gingham, shirt from David Mercer at Mercer Shirts.

What is your wardrobe staple for fall?

Black watch sport coat in wool flannel. You can wear it with any color shirt but it looks best with a pink oxford button down from Brooks Brothers.

Advice on how to go from runway to reality?
Rotate at 75 knots in a Piper. I don't know how fast you have to be going in a Cessna.

The designer with the most wearable fall collection?
I'm a sample size in shoes so I'm sucking up to Mark McNairy for his alligator Weejun. I always thought alligator shoes on men screamed asshole -- The same guy who drives a Corvette and wears a fur coat -- But the Weejun style brings the 'Alpha Hotel' factor down.

What trends from spring/summer will carry over to this season?
Half linings in suits. I'm tired of sweating in fully lined suits when heat is everywhere. The subway is boiling. My apartment is boiling. The Ramen place on 57th and 6th Ave has to be the gateway to Hell. Besides, half linings make the inside of the jacket look better.

Your favorite on-line store?
Joe Druin Airborne Kit Shop -
The only place to buy Canadian Airborne stuff. Everything from blazer buttons to blazer badges to blazers. I never knew going through Canadian Jump School would provide me with such cool stuff that I'm actually authorized to wear. If Ralph Lauren ever found out about this place...Shit, I think he just did.

Show Us Your Bemberg

That's my first Made to Measure suit up there. A DB navy chalk stripe with side vents and hacking pockets. I went overboard on the hacking pockets but what did I know. I also wanted a yellow bemberg lining but the the salesman convinced me otherwise and I went with the purple you see.

It all worked out well with the fit for my first time. Beginners luck because it has never gone as well since. During an after work drinks party I wound up sitting across from a friend's very attractive assistant. I was bumming Marlboro Lights from her and she was drinking as many Miller Lights as I could order.

Five or six beers in to the night she arched an eyebrow (I wish I could do that) and said, "That's a very attractive suit. " I blushed visibly. "Do you like it?" I said. "Mmmm, very much," she said. I explained to her it was Made To Measure and not custom and explained the difference adding, "I picked the color of the lining myself." She smiled, "Show me your lining." I unbuttoned my jacket and parted the lapels. She shifted in her seat and whispered, "Oh, I think I'm getting wet."

I only remember thinking, "If this is what Made to Measure can do - - What in the hell happens with bespoke?"