Ft Bragg's Fashion Elite

Velvet slippers for the quiet professional...


"You know what Delta's gonna do when they see these pictures?"


"We gettin' hazardous pay for this?"



About to deliver some humanitarian assistance...



"All we need are some 8x10 head shots and we move to NYC..."



"Hey, at least you didn't have to empty the shitter like the guy in the yellow coat."



"That's odd. I only get the funny feeling when I climb rope."



"Could you get me a Latte?"

GQ Style Spring Summer 2012 (click image to enlarge)

Designer Adam Kimmel styled a photo shoot with the 3rd Special Forces Group at Ft Bragg. Usually a reader will alert me to a story like this and save me from open-mouthed shock at a public magazine stand. GQ Style-U.K. calls the piece, "The Quiet Professionals." There's some irony for you. I don't think anyone at Ft Bragg will be calling 3rd Group quiet anymore.

Kimmel had 'Marlboro Man' photographer Jim Krantz shoot the spread for the magazine whose, "... challenge was to take fashion clothes and put them in the context of the Green Berets without making it look outlandish." You can see more of the Green Beret photo shoot here at Jim's web site. Jim must love shooting things that'll kill ya.

I don't think it looks outlandish. Silly, yes. I doubt Kimmel knows much about the Green Berets and probably less about the sacrifice a Staff Sergeant makes for $36,000 a year. But in fairness to a clueless hipster fashion designer and British fashion magazine -- the U.S. Army said yes. Which makes me wonder about future military collaborations with magazines.

Playboy's, "Threesome in an Abrams." Field & Stream's, "Fishing with Grenades." And Out Magazine's Norfolk Seamen, "We Don't Drink and We Don't Cuss - Nor-Fuck! Nor-Fuck!" Tax dollars subsidizing fashion photo shoots for British fashion mags. We called that FUBAR when I was in the Army - Great name for a magazine.

A Robe & Pajamas

Off white wool serge evening robe with navy piping - $547 French blue stripe pajama - $247, Red & blue paisley ascot - $128.50 Navy tipped cotton pocket square - $39.50 All by Paul Stuart. Navy monogrammed slippers by Edward Green - Models own.

Head of Paul Stuart's Custom Shop, Mark Rykken models Paul Stuart sleepwear at 45th and Madison Avenue...because I said so. The robe is Italian wool but is made on Paul Stuart's premises. It is a steal for what it is and where it's made. French blue & white awning stripe pajamas are 100% broadcloth and made in Canada, eh. A cotton tipped pocket square and paisley ascot round out the look with unneeded but refined flourish.

I know what you're going to say. Add the slippers and this is a considerable investment. However, if you're tired of seeing your husband roam your home in worn boxers and old college tee shirts -- this might be the solution you've been looking for.

Fairbank's Favorites and Sizes

Lot 115- Oil on canvas (26" x 21") of Fairbanks at 30. Painted by Tino Costa, March 18, 1940. Est. $2,500 - 3,000.

The iconographic lot of the auction. Fairbanks, looking like a young Cary Elwes, is clearly a young man here but so much of his style will remain unchanged until the end of his life at 90. The constant boutonniere, the moustache and the parting of his hair to the left. Oddly, he started out with a part on his right but changed it to the left in his late 20s.


Lot 386 - Light brown covert cloth coat. Labelled JC Cording & Co. Ltd. Part of a grouping of day clothes. Est. $300-500.

I assume you know what a Covert Coat looks like. They remain unchanged on the exterior. This one has a brown velvet collar with railroad stitching on the coat hem and sleeve bottoms. It's missing a game pocket on the inside but has the label of the classic covert coat; Cording. There is a Huntsman bespoke covert (Lot 380) which includes a tweed suit and a Huntsman sport coat. Estimate is the same as Lot 386. If at first you don't succeed at Lot 380 -- have another go at 386.


Lot 363 - Midnight blue velvet evening slippers with gold bouillon DF monogram. from Maxwell Dover Street, London. Est. $150-250.

Better looking than in the catalog or on line. Consequently, they may fall under the radar of many -- until it's too late. Paul Wilson of John Lobb in NYC and Lobb of London trained, was amazed by their construction. A stitching he hasn't seen in years holds the slipper sole to the shoe fabric. They have a beautiful chiseled toe right out of George Cleverley. I'm a 9D and they fit (with ultra thin socks) like a glove.


Lot 314 - The Bolton's Guest Book Est. $3,000 - 5,000.

Princess Margaret and Tony Armstrong Jones were newlyweds 12 July 1960. There's something addictive about the guest books. I'm not sure what it is. In many ways they seem to be about bragging or worse, high school, but there's a wit to some of the signatures and many reflect an evening of great fun, food and lots of booze.


Tom Davis of Brooks Brothers and Edward Ripley-Duggan of Doyle flip through Lot 312- Guest book from Fairbank's house, Westridge, in the Pacific Palisades. Est. $3,000 - 5,000.


I have a feeling the guest books are going to do well. Not only does Stephen Spielberg own Westridge, but the shear volume of signatures in each book is amazing: 1,800 at Westridge while DF's London residence, The Bolton's (Lots 314 & 315), count 3,000 and 2,400. Still, it's an auction and anything can happen.


Lot 49- Lead bust of eagle with spur in mouth on marble pedestal. Height 25". Est. $400-600.

The eagle and spur were used in DF's coat of arms and can be seen on his bookplate. It's an odd (and heavy) piece of sculpture to be sure. I think, along with the portrait of DF, that it's a symbol of a life well lived. Obviously a lucky one but always interesting with a few Bohemian twists and turns.


Lot 358- Group of Lock & Co. hats. Black derby and Hamburg. Brown Trilby w/gilt DF monogram (see below). Gray fedora w/gilt DF monogram. Two brown fedoras. One /gilt DF monogram. One Lock oval hat box w/Lock & Co. label addressed to Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Est. $200-300.


Brown Trilby (part of Lot 358)

Most of DF's hats are marked 7 1/8. However, I'm a 7 1/4 and they all fit. This is a wonderful lot if you're a hat person. Although, if you're a klutz and forgetful, you should consider the iron eagle bust. I don't think you're gonna leave it anywhere like you might a hat. Plus, when you're wearing a hat out, where the heck can you put it once you're inside? Hat racks are gone and so are most coat check rooms.

Most people do not know how to gauge a hat for their head. I don't know how many tweed caps I've seen that make the wearer's head look like it was shrunken. Or, how many fedoras out there with a crown height that's better suited for Jeweler's Row. I've had to wear a number of uniform hats and, for me, a hat that came with a job was one to avoid. But DF's collection (Lots 356 - 359) are mostly Lock and mostly top shelf.

Lot 378 - Tan wool and orange check Inverness cape worn during 1969's tour of My Fair Lady. With red silk dressing gown from 1975 tour of Present Laughter. Est. $300 - 500.

Len Logsdail favored the capes - of which there are two. This one and Lot 412, a black evening cape with black velvet collar and frog closures (Est. $400-600). Like Paul, Len was impressed by the construction and the aesthetic of what has become an anachronism. As a Savile Row trained tailor, Len noted the lapel button holes on suits and jackets were all enlarged due to years of boutonniere use. A nice touch that would make for interesting conversation over cocktails. Suit sizes run 40R to 42R. Trouser waists run 34" to 35" while sleeve length is an amazing 32". Give or take. Len figures DF as long torsoed with short arms and legs.


Lot 384- Collection of casual attire. Olive plaid DAK corduroy trousers from Simpson Piccadilly and...


Brick red foulard cotton trousers from Saks Fifth Avenue. Also included in the lot are two pr of denim jeans (Geoffrey Bean and Sedgfield) and a printed cotton scarf belt. Est. $100-150.

Following on Len's observation of a long torso, Tom Davis and I measured these trousers. On both pair, the inseam was 30.5". The out seam was 41.5". I remember Paisley cotton trousers being the height of Prep back in the 80s. As light as Madras but far more understated. They're overdue for a comeback -- If understated ever comes back. The plaid corduroy trousers are featured in a photograph of a Gucci shod Mr Fairbanks on pg 113 of the auction catalog.

Lot 72- Pair of Corsican Brothers named Swash and Buckl. Gift to DF from the Hollywood Stuntman's Hall of Fame. 9" high. Est. $100-200.

I'm not sure why I was so attracted to these. Certainly the price is right. They reek of character. The provenance is crystal clear. And I think they speak to a time of a long gone Hollywood.


I'd never use them as bookends. They deserve to stand next to each other.


Lot 323- Three gentleman's watches. Two automatic. One quartz signed Wyler, Kelek & Fossil. Est. $250-300.

As a bidder, I would hope these three watches might fly under the radar. The bands probably came from Chipp because Mr Davis advised Brooks Brothers didn't sell this type of band then. The gold and navy rep speaks to the Naval career of Captain Fairbanks (ret.). There's a simplicity in the faces I like but few seem to 'get' without the "J. Crew" frame. I don't even care if they work.

In summary, here are the sizes mentioned above and a couple that were not.

Slipper US 9 Medium Width
Shoes: US 9.5 - 10 Medium Width
Trousers: 34-35" Waist / 30.5" Inseam
Shirt: Neck 15.5 / Sleeve 32-33"
Jacket: 40 - 42 R
Hat: 7 1/8 to 7 1/4

I'll put up a post tonight or tomorrow morning of Alice Olive photos ( an example seen here) and some final words about auctions and lives lived.

Formal Week: Accessories

Trad Winter

Bored outta my mind.

Kalustyan's is where it's at.

It's cold in NY. It's what I call, "Chicago Cold." My ex wife, a Chicago native, told me upon moving to Chicago, "Never listen to the wind chill factor. Close your ears and hum loudly. Anything not to hear it because it will -freak -you- out." When I moved to Chicago a friend from NYC saw my gloves. "You'll have to get rid of those." "Why, I said. "They're warm." "They're New York gloves. You're gonna need Chicago gloves." He was right. Yesterday my doorman teased me the about my timing in coming to NY from Florida. "Man, did you pick the wrong time or what?" Or what?

I could care less how cold it gets in NYC...I'd rather be here than anywhere. The desert is warm. Panama is warm. But what the Hell are you going to do? That's the problem with Florida. It's a thumping bore. And what are the kinds of people boring places attract? Exactly.

Interstate 10 cuts across the panhandle of Florida - - I like to think of it as the crack of America's ass. Passing through so much vulgar mediocrity can suck the life out of you. Cities poorly planned with horrible little shopping strips. Soulless. Clueless. Ugly. Warm. I am not going to spend my life somewhere because the weather's nice. A long time ago I went through a police academy. It's a long story but one of the instructors was an ex California Highway Patrolman. A motorcycle cop no less. I'll never forget his warning about warm places. They attract nuts. Why? The living is easy and nuts like easy living.

Chicago and New York have their share of nuts but nothing like Miami, Phoenix or LA. You can't really appreciate having dinner on a sidewalk cafe without suffering brain freeze to the face. Maybe you can --but I can't. I need to suffer for my Spring and Summer. To pay my dues and earn it. Charles Bukowski said, "The ocean's boring." I think he got it right.

Happy Halloween

I'm not much for Orange and Black plastic crap made for Halloween. I wonder about adults who go crazy over this day. I assume they have numerous pairs of Crocs as well. All in all, I think it's a pretty cheesey holiday. But this picture takes that all away. A man whose image I can't look at without wondering, "What if?" And who knew he wore velvet monogramed slippers.

Trad Slippers

Trads use their own initials when going the monogram route. I'm not crazy about monograms on shirts. If you have to then something very small and discrete at the ribcage. Never script on the cuff. That's about as bad as it can get. I have my last name sewn onto my shirtfly by my tailor, Frank. But slippers scream out for a monogram. Not R.L. but your own. These are Shipton & Heneage. Not Lobbs. Hell, not even E. Green but they work. Worn at home with the rare venture outside in summer with tartan bermuda shorts and a white polo sans any logo. They do get looks. Even on 57th Street. I do wear these with a dinner jacket which explains why they're a little beat up. But beat up is very Trad.