F/W Uniform

During Fall and Winter I tend to live in OCBDs and lambswool sweaters. The shirts are nearly always from Brooks or J. Press (planning to get into a couple of Mercers by year end) and the sweaters are mostly J. Crew or Bean. (I don't own a Shaggy Dog but I might pull the trigger this winter.) Whether I'm at work or home, this combo with a pair of Levi's (or khakis) and some boat shoes or chukkas gets me through the chilly season.

Open For Business: L.L. Bean Signature

Last fall L.L. Bean announced the vintage-leaning L.L. Bean Signature line for March of 2010 and subsequently launched a pretty forward-thinking PR campaign (complete with sneak peeks and limited edition pre-sales) to create a buzz so buzzing and a hype so hyped here in the blogosphere that nobody could possibly have lived up to it in my prediction.  Well today is the day and, after first glance, I'm surprised and happy to say that Bean has, in fact, lived up to the hype.  They've rolled out a line worthy of your dollar at prices that won't have you slapping the catalog down on the table in disgust while saying "Seriously? Who do they think they are?"  I found almost nothing in the men's category that I didn't like and my wife was more enthusiastic about the women's selection than I've ever seen her about something with the Bean name on it.  (She doesn't wear "mom clothes.")  Am I going to order anything?  Probably not.  Why?  Because I already pretty much dress this way.  But if I was going to do some shopping the below items would be in my cart:

Because J.Press won't sell it in stripes anymore.

This is one of several great madras options.

Pockets!

The belt loops are the details that sell these.

This is a classic.

A reissue. I got mine for 40 bucks last winter on ebay.

There is no escaping the Sperry.

This kind of stuff never gets old for me.

J. Press for Spring

The Trad/WASP/Preppy crowd (of which I consider myself a fair weather member) will be happy to know that venerable men's clothier J. Press released their new Spring line a few Fridays ago.  For those unfamiliar with the New England retailer, I offer a brief history:  In 1902, a nineteenth century immigrant named Jacobi Press began selling clothing in New Haven, CT on the campus of Yale University.  Over the subsequent decades, J. Press became known for the quintessential "Ivy League" look, even providing institution-specific goods such as scarves, buttons, and blazer crests from its locations near the campuses of Yale and Harvard.  Little changed over the years, even as trends generally became more casual and the Ivy League student body became less elite and more diversified; Pants were always flat front, shoulders were always natural, jackets were undarted 3/2 button sack style, and ties were repp stripes, regimental patterns, and madras plaids.  Signature flap pocket oxford cloth button-downs and tweed sport coats became a staple of the late-50s to mid-sixties Ivy look.  Even with the overall decline in menswear quality that the 1970s served up, J. Press continued in its tradition of tradition.  In 1986, the company was sold to Japanese holding company Onward Kashiyama but today the USA division continues to manufacture the majority of its offerings domestically.  J. Press still operates the New Haven and Cambridge, MA shops as well as stores in New York City and Washington, D.C.  (All web orders are processed through the New York store.)

Today, some would argue that J. Press has lost that something that made it...well...J. Press and arguably so.  Japanese ownership doesn't exactly scream "All American" and the quality vs price ratio has certainly suffered, regardless of the country of manufacture.  (I have personally experienced the inconvenience of stitching flaws on the seams of a Press shirt recently.  After a call and some shipping back and forth, I received a satisfactory replacement.)  True "natural" shoulders in jackets have become nearly impossible to find, even from the stalwart purveyors of traditional style.  And there's always that looming question of whether or not the "elite" look is still relevant in a time when elitism is seen as a social obstacle, an enemy of progress, a locked door in a country where not even walls should exist anymore.  Then again I'm not sure whether or not being relevant even matters.  But I know why I like J. Press:  They make clothes.  Clothes for men.  I don't wear J. Press to feel fashionable.  I wear it to feel well-dressed.  And sometimes I think America, for all her great strides, misses that.

Billy Reid: Making The South Proud

Friday night, to kick off New York Fashion Week (an event that I don't actually keep up with), GQ (a magazine that I don't actually read) announced its winner of the GQ/CFDA Best New Menswear Designer in America Award to be none other than The South's own native son, Billy Reid.  Nashville is fortunate to be home to one of Reid's seven stores and every time I'm there I'm struck by how perfectly he captures the distinct essence of timeless southern style while maintaining a completely original and modern approach.  Bottom line: nobody deserves this award more than the man in Alabama.

Another thing I like about Reid?  He's a champion of local independent music.  Like local kindred spirits Imogene+Willie, the Nashville shop plays host to a variety of cool live music nights.  I ask you, what could be better than great style and live music?

Congratulations to Billy Reid!