The Friday Belt - London with Sun

Side Tabs & Democrat Links

The Ginger Beer Challenge - Regatta vs Barritts

We can all use a day of abstinence. And it's nice to go a day without a belt. I fell in love with side tab trousers working in London. A unique bit of tailoring usually associated with bespoke but more and more found off the rack. Perfect with braces or without.

Brits are fond of this detail where they add a clean line to their tall and butt-less bodies. I've never seen more men with less 'ass' than Brits. And they always have that haircut from 1977. Long and shaggy with side burns I haven't seen in 30 years. Shirts are always double cuff and the suit linings are bright red or hunter green. God, they know how to have fun with clothes...and they never talk about US sports...and for those two reasons alone - - I love them. Those links you see were found at Paul Stuart in Chicago. Just before an election a few years back and while they had plenty of the Donkey links --they were sold out of the elephant links. Go figure.

Bermuda is London -- but with sun. A drink that tastes like the sun, a sailboat and sex on a beach is the Dark and Stormy. Goslings Black Seal Rum and Barritt's Ginger Beer with a squeeze of lime is the Dark & Stormy. It is an amazing cocktail and has recently found favor with the hip. There are too many restaurants in NYC who will make you a Dark and Stormy with Canada Dry ginger ale and Myer's Rum. That's just obscene. These philistines are screwing around with a formula that is perfection.

Barritts is tough to find. But go to their web site and give the company a call and you'll have a damn good chance of talking to Bruce Barritt like I did. A great guy who told me where I could find his sweet nectar of the gods. Then there's this other stuff called Regatta. It's easier to find but I've recently done a comparison between the two. Regatta mixed with Goslings sucks. How's that for a Robert Parker review? But Regatta alone is a better ginger beer than Barritts. I don't know how but if you're abstaining -- you're ok with Regatta. Loooooonnnnngggggg pause--- But who in the Hell would ever drink ginger beer without Goslings?

The Trad Color Wheel

I have always enjoyed color. When I was 16, I developed my first roll of color slide film and was in awe of the images as I unrolled the film off the development tank reel. Everything had been black and white before. Suddenly, it was a new world. Cibachrome, Ektachrome, Fujichrome...and primary colors were my target.

Those primary colors have stayed with me a long time. The shirt and bow tie pictured here would never be considered Trad by some. Or many. I think it is. Despite the double cuff, elegant collar and British origins of this kit - - It is Trad. Why? Because it has soul. In a world where I can't tell fabric softener commercials from the ones for toilet paper; I revell in color and design and history that speaks to me. The challenge, as any Trad knows, is to do it without paying full freight.

Those enamled cuff links were stolen at an auction in Philadelphia. A city where even the gay men dress poorly. The shirt was stolen at a Turnbull & Asser sale and the bow tie was found at Filenes for $9.99. Kodachrome 25 was always a mother to shoot. But the color was vivid and deep. One good exposure out of 35 bad ones was not only acceptable... it was reason to celebrate. In some odd way, I connect my love of photography and images to the colors I wear. It's shallow. It's vain. But it's the most fun you can have - - with your clothes on.