Glengarry Look: The Workplace

• Gitman Vintage plaid oxford
• J. Crew Slim Cut Essential Chinos
• Everett Hozapfel surcingle belt
• Timex
• Mast General Store crew socks
• Quoddy boat shoes
• Wm. J. Mills & Co. Laptop Carryall
• Field Notes
• Pilot Varsity disposable fountain pen
• iPhone in Griffin Technology Clarifi case
• Colonel Littleton front pocket wallet

I suppose I'm fortunate to work in a casual environment. I used to have a job that required a tie and I generally wore a jacket too. I hated that job (not because of the dress code.) These days I sometimes wear a tie to the office but I've found that I can relate a little more effectively with people if they're not distracted by something out of the ordinary. Now my only rules are: always a collar, never shorts, rarely a sneaker.

Wm. J. Mills & Co. Laptop Carryall

A few months ago, I was fortunate enough to get my hands on some fantastic bags from Wm. J. Mills & Co. Since each of these bags serves a different purpose I wanted to spend some time with them, using them for what they were made for before I posted about them. (I took the Jitney Cargo on a test run last fall and it did not disappoint.) I've been carrying the Laptop Carryall as a work bag daily since October. My recommendation? Get one. It is what it says it is. I normally carry my laptop (in a padded sleeve), notebooks, pens, a couple of books, and random mail. It doesn't hold as much as my last waxed messenger bag but I'm glad because that bag was constantly cluttered with stuff I shouldn't have been carrying around every day. Like the other Mills bags, it has hefty zippers and great details. I like the "sewn" look of the Mills line, and the contrast of the navy and natural on my particular bag gives it a casual feel that lends itself well to the dynamic of my workplace. The first month that I carried the Laptop Carryall there wasn't a day that went by during which someone did not comment on it. Fine with me. I like to tell stories.

Additional Note: Please check out Mister Mort's super cool stonewashed version here.

O'Connell's English Wool Plaid

Shop O'Connell's

Glengarry Look: Sunday Family Lunch

• Gitman Vintage flannel shirt
• Archival Clothing/Centralia Knitting Mills shawl collar
• Levi's 505 (USA)
• Narragansett Leathers Hoof Pick
• Timex on old EB leather strap
• Quoddy boat shoes

My last day on holiday was spent with my wife and kids. First was church, followed by lunch at Whole Foods and some window shopping. The sky here was sunnier than it has been of late but the air was crisp and chilly. A perfect note on which to end the season.

Reading: The Ship by C.S. Forester

Nobody does naval warfare better than Forester. "The Ship" follows the crew of the light cruiser H.M.S. Artemis in 1943 as the Royal Navy contends with the "Eyeties" in the battle for Malta.

"It might be said that while the ship was at sea The Captain never went more than five paces from his stool; at night he lay on an air mattress laid on the steel deck with a blanket over him, or a tarpaulin when it rained. Jernigham had known him to sleep for as much as four hours at a stretch like that, with the rain rattling down upon him, a fold of the stiff tarpaulin keeping the rain from actually falling on his face. It was marvellous that any man could sleep in those conditions; it was marvellous that any man bearing that load of responsibility could sleep at all; but, that being granted, it was also marvellous that a man once asleep could arouse himself so instantly to action. At a touch on his shoulder the captain would raise himself to hear a report and would issue his orders without a moment in which to recover himself."

New Year's Eve, Tulsa, 1957

I recommend watching this without audio. It's just better that way.

Glengarry Look: Darts & Draught

• J. Press University Stripe (Wine) OCBD
• J. Crew Lambswool Sweater
• Levi's 505 (USA)
• Barrons-Hunter ribbon belt
• Timex on old Eddie Bauer leather strap
• L.L. Bean "Ranger Mocs"
• L.L. Bean Baxter State Parka
• Tweed Cap

Last night saw supper and games with coworkers at McNamara's Pub here in Nashville. I'm normally a Fish & Chips guy but I went with the Bangers & Mash with Smithwick's. (The B. and Mash was excellent. I hear the Corned Beef and the Shepherd's Pie are also both great.) Once full, we headed upstairs for team Cricket play (and a tad more Smithwick's.) My team score is on the left below: