How To Layer Summer

Hermès, 1995

Gabardine
Linen
Linen Crepe
Silk Twill
Cotton

Election Day - 1992

 It's hard being the only Democrat. Not just in a family, but in a couple of towns.

It was 1992, and I was living in Lake Bluff, the poor relation of the frothy rich and rabid Republican Lake Forest bordering our south. A Lake Forest bother-in-law loved to remind me that he paid less in taxes on a two acre, five bedroom, tennis courted French Traditional than I paid on a three bedroom - one bath ranch.

Arguing politics with another Lake Forest brother in law, I suggested he look up conservative and liberal in the dictionary and tell me which one he wanted to be.  He laughed and told me real life was not the dictionary. 

An out of town friend of the ex-wife wondered if there was a city ordinance that all Lake Forest wives be blonde and Republican. I confirmed the ordinance adding it also required they drive a Jeep Cherokee and own a Golden Retriever named Cliché. 

Our polling place was in Lake Forest and I wore my patriotic best.  I stepped into the booth, closed the curtain and scanned the ballot.  Unable to find what I required, I turned, poked my head out the curtain and shouted to the ex standing in line a few feet behind me, "Hey, how do you punch a straight Democratic ticket?" Happy Election Day.

Cinco de Derby

Cinco


de Derby

Humble-Ties

I have a question. I'm a 26 year old working in financial services in New York City. I have a couple Hermes ties and while I love them, they seem too old for me. I also have a number of Vineyard Vines ties but they seem too young. Any ideas? Connor Fused

Dear Con,
You're in a predicament. However, you've provided enough information to work with. A young man (under 35) in an Hermes tie comes off looking, at worse, pretentious -- over reaching at best. Also, older men (over 40) in your office don't like you simply because you're 26. They'll look for anything to disparage and what you wear is an easy target.

I was 21 and driving for a colonel just before I got out of the army. I had known him for about a year, respected him and was flattered he specifically requested me as his driver. Coming out of a G-3 briefing, he climbed into the jeep and said, "Sergeant, I'm so confused I don't know whether to wind my ass or scratch my watch." I'll never forget that or what he told me next.

He told me I was a smart ass. Not so much because of what I wore. Except for his rank and C.I.B., our uniforms and footwear matched perfectly. He told me it was how I walked and talked. He also told me that people would either like me or hate me with no in between. I remember sighing a plaintiff, "Jesus, sir?"

Which reminds me of the time a chaplain in the field was chewing me out for my helmet graffiti which read, "Kill a Commie for Christ." This same colonel came to my rescue and told the chaplain that, "...it's his fucking job to kill Commies and if he wants to kill 'em for Christ, that's his business."

I'm getting off track here so let me wind scratch this up. I said, "Jesus, sir?" and the colonel said not to get him wrong. He loved smart asses but he wasn't everyone. He told me, "You need to be humble. I'm not saying you can't be you -- I'm telling you to be humble 'cause you don't need to wave your flag. It's big enough for everyone to see." I thanked him although I have managed to ignore his advice pretty much the whole of my life.

I don't know if you're a fellow smart ass, Con. But I do have some advice. 'Humble' is not a word you associate with Hermes while 'insipid' is what a designer I know calls Vineyard Vines. If you want something with Hermes gravitas while following my colonel's advice for humility, try Ferragamo. Not the shoes. They're not humble. The ties. As elegant as Hermes but not nearly as in-your-face assertive, the Ferragamo tie walks a fine line of understated style and restraint. Grown up but not middle aged. They're not cheap ($170) but women love giving them as gifts while old farts like me will hate you just a little less.

Update: I have just been advised the colonel retired a major general. I'm guessing I should've taken his advice.

M Magazine's Seaside Vacation - 1984

(click on image to enlarge)

I'd like to make an observation. There's not much up there, 27 years ago, that would look out of place today. In fact, most of it would put you in fairly elegant, if not fashionable, circles. At least that's what I think but be warned, I'm getting on in years as my lack of lips will attest.

'Seaside Vacation' was written by R. Rushton Chatsworth III (a.k.a. John Fairchild), the layout was by M's fashion editor, Robert Bryan, photographed by Thomas Iannaccone and there's not a Red Wing in sight. But I know men who would commit small crimes for that Ghurka carry on and some major ones for the Hermes cashmere tennis cardigan.

Early issues of 'M' nailed classic clothing, and like any art, the choices here have stood the test of time. My God, if you were lucky enough to inherit any of this from a dad or an uncle, you would have a beautiful and honest patina as well.

If you're rolling up your jeans so everybody can see your cordovan work boots. If you're looking for the nerdiest black frame glasses you can find. If you're shaving every 12 days and refuse to part your hair... Understand any photo of you 27 years from now is gonna look dated. And that may not be a bad thing. I know plenty of men who will proudly show you old pictures of their mullets. Forewarned is forearmed.

The Morning Suit - All Dressed Up With No Place to Go

One can hope the royal wedding brings back more than hats. My Morning Suit has been cobbled together piece by piece over many years. The Henry Poole coat was cut by Angus Cundey in 1992 and purchased second hand from the owner in 2001.

The raw silk cravat and three waistcoats, all Favourbrook, were found at an Off 5th outlet in Orlando. The trousers were purchased at Hornets. I have no idea if any of it will ever see a wedding in the states. My only hope may be Ascot.

There are rules (tomorrow) but there's room for creativity in waistcoats, shirts and ties. The first option is double cuff spread collar shirt, purple cravat and lavender waistcoat. A bit daring. I might be confused for someone who works in advertising.

The same shirt is paired with a brown lapel waistcoat and Hermes ice fishing tie. I don't get it either but it works. If asked, one can always claim ignorance of any significance. The English will assume you're being coy and, if they get drunk enough, they'll tell you what it means.

The Hermes Griffin tie is paired with a blue double cuff shirt and silver waistcoat. Very boring insurance-man, lunch at Ball Brothers, Renault company car, looking, but showing some flair - albeit mostly in the vest.

The Chanel Porpoise tie with the same blue shirt and waistcoat is my favorite for a London wedding. It's very old and chances are I won't run into it. Not that I won't run into someone on the dance floor.

I read that in the 18th Century American colonists were savagely criticized for their apparel choices when visiting London by the natives. Nothing much has changed there. Still, they may give you some credit for making the effort and for loving their traditions.

Charlotte Rampling & Eau d'Hermes

EdH and Charlotte's Riding Jacket


"Cumin in a bottle"

For Mature Audiences

It's been called sex in a bottle. Animalic. Classic. Leather. Astoundingly real. Cumin done right. Balls in a bottle and my favorite, "Grace Kelly's handbag stuffed with Robert Mitchum's jockstrap." I think it smells like Monkey Bread. Naked Monkey Bread.

Created by Edmond Roudnitska in 1951, this is a unisex scent that has always appealed to me. While I love Caswell Massey Lime... it's a little like comparing junior high school necking in a church basement to a long weekend in the 16 Arrondissment with Charlotte Rampling clad only in a riding jacket.

I've had that bottle since 2002. I use it sparingly because it's expensive. And it lasts. My nephew is a scent hound. I once caught him opening my EdH and had to peel him off the ceiling when I said in my best Alec Baldwin bass, "Put. That. Bottle. Down." No 15 year old has the right to wear this. He's gonna have to do time in that church basement for a few more years.

Exploring NYC: The Manhattan Vintage Clothing Show

I'm not above buying used clothes. Some of my favorite acquisitions have come from thrift stores and consignment shops not to mention the mother lode of Ivy that is the midtown Episcopal church.

Last weekend I paid my $2o and hit the Manhattan Vintage Clothing Show in Chelsea. I still think like a 10 year old. I get an idea in my head of what a place, an event or a person will look like and I'm always surprised when it doesn't come out the way I thought. I suppose I should be surprised if it ever did.

I'm thinking this place is gonna be crammed with double breasted suits from the '30s, WWII khaki trousers, '60s era Gant and Sero button downs and maybe a Savile Row suit or smoking jacket or two. Hidden from the masses but uncovered by my Clint Eastwood squint. And all for a song-- plus a modest profit for the vendor. This is New York City after all.

Yep, this is New York City. And the vendors certainly appreciated that.

My first clue the fantasy wasn't on track was the vendor selling a Louis Vuitton trunk for $10,000. His pitch? It makes a great coffee table. "$10,000 for a coffee table?" I ask. "It's an investment!" He tells me. I move on not knowing he's one of the few vendors who'll acknowledge my presence much less move from their cramped booth while they eat their lunches, bitch about no one buying or continue to adjust their goods in manic bursts of coffee fueled Simon Doonan imitations.

$300 for two yards of batik fabric ("it's coming back"). $80 for a Spec 4's Class A uniform jacket from the '70s (usually found, though why one would ever go looking is beyond me, for $10). A plethora of '80s Herme's ties strangely priced at $60. No matter who the vendor. A Brooks Brothers button down with a hole worn through the collar for $32.

Overpriced. Unfriendly. Tight quarters. Even I knew that about New York when I was 10.

The Straw Boater...

Photograph by Saul Leiter

And an argument for its return. Found hanging in the stairwell of the men's Hermes store in NYC.

Off My Back: E. Crew & Ecru

"Every man should have at least one ecru shirt in his closet." So said the men at Herzfeld. If you want a shopping experience close to what it must have been like in the glory days of the 1930s then Herzfeld may be the only place left. At least in NYC.

I haven't owned an ecru shirt since I worked at Brooks Brothers in the 80s. It was a "Makers" button down and it paired well with a wool tie of hunter green mixed with red and yellow pheasant or horse and rider. It was quiet and elegant and looked good on anyone.

This Hausammann + Moos double cuff shirt is too formal for a wool club tie but the ecru still works understatement by calming down what would be too much contrast with a white shirt. I like to think of this as Trad Italian since the jacket and tie are both from Italy. Many of you know that pocket squares bother me but since this is an Italian effort... Well, when in Rome.

I was thinking about the old J Crew catalogs from the early 90s and how each one seemed to tell a story. Lots of normal looking kids huddled around a beat up Land Cruiser with a Wire Fox Terrier in the foreground and grey haired parents in the background with a beautiful vacation pile on a pine tree encircled lake in Maine. Maybe it was Wisconsin. They kinda look the same.

J Crew isn't going away. Herzfeld might. So I had this idea of J Crew creating a new brand of top shelf apparel. Stuff made in France, Italy, England and the US with a focus on quality but at a not too dear price negotiated by J Crew's huge orders. I'd call it E. Crew, short for Ed, who was the dad in those catalogs years ago. The dad who lost the squared inseam / waist 15 years ago but knows quality and value when he sees it.

E. Crew would offer side vent jackets made from butter-like wool from Italy. Thick English silk ties with matching boxers instead of matching pocket squares. French gloves in gold calf with cashmere linings in Tiffany blue. Maine button downs with unlined collars and 12 oz khakis made in Brooklyn. Heirloom goods that speak to the elegance of the past and worn with the comfortable thought that this stuff may very well out live you. E. Crew. That's my fantasy store.

Hermesween