Bow Tied Up

Raymond Stauffer

The patent label

And another label

Raymond Stauffer is a pharmaceutical patent attorney who favors bow ties. Stauffer was shopping at the Short Hill's mall when he noticed Brooks Brothers bow ties had labels with patent numbers. Being a patent attorney, Stauffer recognised the numbers as being old, and with that bit of knowledge all hell broke loose. Kind of.

A quick primer can be found back in April of 2008 when there was an exchange about bow tie patents on the Ask Andy Forum seen here. These kinds of discussions go on all the time at Ask Andy. This discussion includes a reference library on bow tie patents.

In December of 2008, Stauffer sued Brooks Brothers for implying the two patents were still valid when they had expired in 1954 and 1955. Brooks Brothers has the lawsuit thrown out in May 2009 by a judge who said Stauffer suffered no damages and had no right to bring suit.

But the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reverses the ruling in August of 2010 saying anyone can bring suit for claiming a nonexistent patent. The idea being, I don't have to be in the bow tie business and suffer financial loss (the cost of redesign, etc) to be a plaintiff.

The same appeals court ruled in December of 2009 the fine for claiming an expired patent was $500 per device sold. I assume that's every bow tie since the expiration of the patent. How you add that up is another question.

Next Week- Corrections, Patents, Correspondence & Champers

It's Friday. Time for a beer and a peek at next week

and a laugh. From John Kenney's spoof , "Bloomberg Diaries" in the 1/17/2011 New Yorker.

"Who knew there were four other boroughs? Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and the other one."

"The only thing I found harder than moving all that snow is making 'Business Week' an interesting magazine."

"More stories. More criticism. Tension. Stress. Can't sleep more than eight hours at a stretch."

We visit Dempsey & Carroll where the passion for ephemera comes alive in an employee's bespoke designs and where envelope linings become...pants?

What's all that legal stuff on your bow tie?

Free champagne - Who gets undressed?

Looking for the new trend - Correctional Chic. See you next week.

The Redundant Turtleneck

A good idea? I'm for layers but...this pushes trad to preppy. And trad is not preppy. From M Magazine Feburary 1987

Hat Porn

"...those boys couldn't hit the ground with their hats."

Adverts from Esquire Magazine (1956 - 1961)

My hat for 20 years

Looks like the inside of a coffin

Purchased in 1990 at Capper & Capper in Chicago

Great places to hide porn - so they say

New York City may well be the last place on earth where a man can wear a hat to work. And by hat I mean a real hat. Something made of felt with a brim and sweatband. And if you're careful, it can be an anachronism but without costume, hipster vibe or diamond district ambiance.

The day I bought my hat was one of the coldest days I had, up to that point, lived through in my first ever Chicago winter. As I walked by Capper & Capper in the loop, I recalled some insane percentage of heat is lost through the head. I went in and bought this hat.

When my father-in-law saw my hat he told me a story of three men who flew to Chicago from New York in the early '50s. They were over served and, "When they got off the plane in Chicago those boys couldn't hit the ground with their hats."

The salesman monogrammed the band, I threw the feather away and wore it out while trying to keep the empty box in the shopping bag from tearing and blowing down Michigan Avenue. It's in decent shape thanks to being worn only a few days each winter but it's taken a slouched "noir" shape I'm proud of. It pairs well with a Polo coat or a single breasted rain coat.

Hat head can be avoided by using (here's where Dad has a laugh) hair gel. Once you take the hat off in your office you can comb your hair and hat head will disappear. But it works only once so going home or out will be an issue. As will finding a place to put it.

My hat has never been blocked or cleaned. And it probably should be although I'm hesitant for fear it will be screwed up forever. It's been banged around a bit and I never know where to keep it. There's no room in the box.

Surf Club - 1982

Flagler College Gargoyle

I have no idea when

The poster

LL Bean Catalog Summer 1983 (click on images to enlarge)

My 15 minutes of fame came sometime in 1982 when this story ran in my college newspaper. I admired the surfers in college and was struck by the individual spirit of surfing. My father had told me team players were assholes. It stuck. There was nothing about team here.

The morning I was introduced to surfing I wore those Royal Stewart trunks. The next time I went on 'Dawn Patrol' I brought a thermos of Bloody Marys. It seemed to make up for my trunks. I didn't stick with surfing. The nipple pain.

Hugh Shaw (on the right in the Poster pic) was killed in an auto accident the following year. Tall and quiet, he had a Gary Cooper quality. And he loved long boards.

"True Grit & The News

I first saw True Grit on July 20th 1969 at Radio City Music Hall with my grandmother. We took the train from Greenwich where I was spending a summer with my grandparents and aunt and uncle. The day before news broke of Chappaquiddick. I would soon be 12 but remember being confused by the news and the whispered speculation in the living room.

I was not confused by True Grit. I was attracted to Kim Darby, worshipped John Wayne and had to know how Glenn Campbell got his hair to part like that. I'm not sure if the movie had an intermission but the film was stopped and an announcement was made inviting us to the lobby.

People mulled around televisions in a huge space filled with light and cigarette smoke as we all watched Apollo 11 land on the moon. The contrast to earlier news was lost on me. All I remember was wanting to get back to the movie.

True Grit stayed with me for years. A soundtrack my father always played. My love for Kim Darby never faded despite her not answering a fan letter and Christmas card. The Duke is a close second to The Great One who is first on my list of childhood idols and I gave up on Glenn Campbell's part.

I saw the Coen Brother's version of True Grit yesterday afternoon at 4PM. Watching the movie was like remembering a map from 40 years ago. Things had changed but I knew where I was going. Sadly, there was news as well. I can't even begin to understand what happened Saturday. As I grow older it seems there's even less I understand. But like that map...I have a sense I've been down that road and I'm worried about what's coming.

No doubt there was an 11 year old boy in the audience last night. I wonder if he'll see a remake 40 years from now. It will be 2051. He'll remember the beauty of the Ziegfeld theater, the charm of True Grit and he'll understand those last words of a much older Mattie Ross, "Time just gets away from us."

A Mormon Woman Named Estelle...

This is not Estelle -- I hope she has a pool




"I painted over ten thousand paintings
Sad ones, funny ones, dark ones, and light ones
I've done haystacks
And rich old ladies by their pools
Wearing nothing but a scarf
I've painted everything there was to paint
Now it was time to sit back
Give interviews
Hang out at club med
Get on the internet
Take stock of what I've done"

Sitting here updating a list of blogs I can't stand when I just remembered where that came from. Dan Bern's, "...rich old ladies by their pools wearing nothing but a scarf" has me wondering why Hermes hasn't taken that image and run with it. Maybe I can convince them.

I remember the first girl I held hands with was Cheryl Stewart in 7th grade. I've tried six times to write what that felt like. I give up. Except this. I couldn't believe she wanted to hold my hand.

This aquarium has lulled me into a trance and this song always makes me laugh and cry and sometimes both at once. I lost my dog in a divorce. That really sucked.

F**k The Army Socks

Trad Dad and F.T.A.

My version...in cashmere

Inside and...

...Out

There's been a lot about the military this week on The Trad. Too much judging by the comments and I understand. Even the Golf Foxtrot told me I wasn't in the real army. I asked what she meant and she said, "You weren't shot at were you?" No. But I was chased by a pimp down Hay Street.

F.T.A. is the enlisted man's proud lament for what he thinks of the army and there's real tradition here. Dad used it as young corporal in the '50s. Who knows how far back it goes. There's a real sense of socialism in the military -- you're in the same boat with everyone else. When a man threw his arms up in frustration and shouted, "F.T.A." you knew of what he spoke and from whence it came.

It should come as no surprise that when Corgi offered me monogrammed socks and asked for my initials -- I said no. I wanted something that really sang and told my story. They're cashmere, navy and the monogram runs on both sides of each sock. Now, when I cross my leg on a bar stool at the King Cole, someone might notice and say, "FTA? Were you in the army?" And I'll say, "Not the real army but I was chased by a pimp." And that's how you meet the very best people.

Zona Alessi with Alberto

Ethical & Radical Exhibit - Nov 20, 2010 at Philadelphia Art Museum

Tour guide Alberto Alessi (far left) and guest Michael Graves (far right)
The Fans

The Exhibit

The Assistant

The Espresso

The Lecture

The Front Row

The Flow Chart

La Familia (click on images to enlarge)

Alberto Alissi said a lot of things that night. It was so long ago I forgot most of them. But, I'll never forget what he said about courage. "The ledge of sanity is here (he points at his feet). Everybody in design (he steps backwards) is way back here. They want to be as far from the ledge as possible. I want to be (he walks back to the imaginary ledge and stops) here. As close to the ledge as possible."

X.O. Movie Night & Military Misbehavior

Capt. Owen Honors - I have a series for you, sir.

Trad Dad - Dressed as Red Cross Nurse in South Korea

The Trad going for tongue

Not much for sharing my opinion on breaking news stories. In large part because so few of these stories interest me but also because my opinion is just that. An opinion with zero facts. Like Fox News.

I suspect the navy, without knowing too much about the navy, other than frequenting her BXs and spending a year in her ROTC program (very Trad uniforms), is about to keelhaul Owen Honors who, after seeing his 12 minute video here, has, if no longer a naval career, is a Corfam shoe in as producer for a new cable comedy show. I'd love to see an uncensored series of life aboard an aircraft carrier. A zany Phil Silvers - McHale's Navy but...earthy. Hell, Capt. Honors even looks like Cpl Henshaw.

If not a comedy series then at least a navy, "In Living Color" concept with the amazingly talented dancers 8:22 in. I'm serious as a heart attack. If you've never been in the military (and most of you haven't although you seem to be fond of the attire and sunglasses) I would respectively ask that you keep your judgement to yourself.

I should too but I've seen far worse (and less funny) in the Army. Dry humping your buddy when he bends over in front of you. Fake French kissing your buddy on a drop zone in front of civilians during a capabilities demonstration. Exhibiting hard core porn magazines during a locker inspection so the LT doesn't open my your sock drawer. I told you they weren't funny and no it wasn't always the same buddy.

Owen may be at the end of his career but he goes out as a respected leader among the men and women who served with him and he should take great pride in that he never bent over in front of me. Please, check out the video. If for no other reason than to confirm that's (10:25) Glenn Close.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

...Mayor Bloomberg might be out of a job.