Great Tie Alert

Well played, Lee Hazlewood!

What every adult man needs

A pocket square rack--gives your dresser that 'my bedroom is a department store' look.  Only $65.

I once passed on the opportunity to buy a vintage rooster™ ties store display somewhat like the rack above, but with a plastic rooster head at the top. In a rare moment of practicality, I decided it would be too expensive and difficult to fly it home (I was in Indiana at the time).

Stella!

I just learned something interesting: Stella Artois, the beer with the pretentious commercials I have to sit through when I see a foreign movie at one of my local Landmark Cinemas, is nicknamed 'wife beater' in England! That's a different cultural interpretation!

From what I've read, its high-ish alcohol content allegedly makes British men get all 'aggro', though in truth, it's obviously the innate qualities of the louts who drink it that make them act out. However, some of the theories here are rather amusing--some people even think it has 'special chemicals' that turn a normal peace-loving chav fellow into a raging animal:

"I reckon it is true. My Mum used to work in a pub and the effect that stuff had on some of the guys in there was just awful. One in particular found himself with his hands round his girlfriend's neck after a night in it. He hasn't touched it since because he thinks it was because he had been drinking Stella that night. I think maybe it just brings out the very worst in someone, it doesn;t necessarily make them go home and beat seven shades out of the missus. My boyfriend had been drinking it one night when his usual lager was off and we had such a huge row on the way home, I've never seen him so argumentative.

"I think they should be allowed to conduct some kind of study into it, despite what it may do to the sales, because if there really is something in it which makes people behave aggressively, they should either change some of the ingredients or make people fully aware of the risks."

"In my last bar I was forced to change Stella to another lager because everybody who got drunk on it just ended up fighting. When the new lager was introduced there were no longer any problems. So in my experience it is true."

"It really do make some people very aggressive, my local pub will refuse to sell it to some customers."

"A policman told me it is true. It is well known to make men aggresive and abusive."

And my very favorite:

"Good question man, I always get in trouble when drinking that stuff, it couls be from the water they use to make it. Another side effect of Stella, it makes me poop really bad the next day. Anyone else have that problem?"

More information here:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-494149/Where-did-wrong-beer-wife-beater.html

Will Do, Vic!

It's a Mannix kind of day!

Celebrate it...in all your words and actions!

Foulard loves...

..old European grooming products that haven't changed their packaging since the 1970s. They're usually pretty good, are relatively inexpensive, and give me that "George Lazenby as 007" feeling.

What's Foulard wearing on his feet?

For the past 8 years, my consistent, almost-every day choice of footwear has been the Blundstone BL 063 boot in black, AKA 'The Cuthbertson'. Blundstones come from Australia, though they're made elsewhere now, and the company has been around in one form or another since the late 1800's.

My preferred model is their 'dress' version of the boot, with a more chiseled toe, and a leaner look. Since I've started wearing them, I've bought other boots and shoes, but keep coming back to my Blunnies (as they're known). Mainly, this is because I walk to work and back every day (and also walk almost everywhere else I go), and nothing is as comfortable as these boots. After a year or two, they tend to wear out, and I have to get a new pair. The toebox stretches out a bit after wearing them for a long time, so they look a little less pointed (at least to my eyes), but in general, they look good for as along as they last, as long as I polish them every once in a while.

Now they've introduced a stylish brown suede version--very nifty! I plan on getting a pair this spring, in time for the end of the rainy season in Seattle.

How to (and how not to) wear a sweater vest

No!

No!

Yes! (obviously)

Yes! (minus the smoke)

Tip: always wear one that fits, and is not at all baggy. The vest should be made of a nice solid wool--the idea is to keep you warm in a chilly climate (outdoors or indoors), while not providing so much bulk under your jacket. Whenever possible, wear a dress shirt and tie. Extra bonus: you can tie your tie really poorly (tail longer than front) and no one will notice.

MALM

I'm currently locked in battle with the Ikea MALM 6-drawer chest, which comes in two boxes with approximately 9000 separate pieces. We managed to get it out of of the store yesterday (after getting one wrong box, and then correcting our mistake), into a 4-door compact car (with three passengers), and up to our apartment on the 4th floor (not so hard, with ramps and a hand truck).

I was going great guns with the assembly until I made one boo-boo putting together the first drawer, which proved very difficult to undo, since the part I screwed in incorrectly was not made to be unscrewable. Not cool! I'll still be able to get the whole thing together adequately, but my efforts will not be 100% perfect, as I'd hoped.

Where you goin'?

A trend of the past I-don't-know-how-many years that I don't get is pockets in pajama pants:

For the guy who wants to be stylishly snug in his bed (also appropriate for lounging by the fire, enjoying a leisurely cup of morning coffee or getting caught unawares by the delivery guy). We're gifting a pair to all the dapper gents on our list and making them extra-special with a monogram. In extra-fine, dress shirt-quality cotton, with contrast piping along the neck and front placket. Long sleeves. Patch chest pocket on shirt. Non-elastic waistband with self-fabric drawstring, off-seam pockets, back patch pocket on pants. Button at fly. Import. Machine wash.

First of all, the part about "getting caught unawares by the delivery guy" is kind of weird, unless J. Crew's target demographic is more limited than I thought. But more importantly, what is the point of pockets in pajama pants? The idea of pajamas is that you wear them at home, before and when you're going to bed. What could you possibly need to carry in the pockets that you can't just leave on your desk or coffee table? And if you are planning on wandering around, or stepping outside to get your morning paper, why not just get a nice monogrammed robe (with its appropriate pockets)?

The Wanderings of Deebo

Well, Deebo disappeared for a couple of days and just showed up again this morning. Our camera was gone as well. He wouldn't tell us where he'd been, but this photo certainly tells a tale:

Beanies: I hate 'em!

When I was a kid, if you said the word 'beanie', it meant something like this (with or without propeller):

(not a photo of me, though I did have a propeller beanie in 1976)

Some time in the last 10-15 years, the word has come to mean a sort of snug sock cap, popularized (I think) by snowboarders and the like, and then adopted by people who want to look like snowboarders:

("Me and my bros are hittin' the slopes and then doing an interview with Leeza Gibbons")

Now it's become a default part of the wardrobe of men under the age of 50.

(the watermarks were included free with this clip art!)

I have friends who wear them, so I know I'm probably treading on some toes here, but I just don't like 'em! I don't like their ubiquity, over-casualness, or the way they often make the wearer's head look too small. The default position seems to be to pull the beanie all the way down to the wearer's eyebrows, which reduces facial expressions down to one look of blank surliness:

(I know, I cheated by using a photo of Eminem to demonstrate that point)

(but still, they're not that great-looking)

In conclusion, bring back the bowler!

The Wardrobe of Foulard

Now that fall is here, Foulard can again dress in the the manner to which he has become accustomed. I got back in the habit of wearing a (jacket and) tie to work a year or so, and once you start, it's not something you can easily quit. If you have a desk job like I do (see the picture of my office in the previous post) it's pretty easy to manage--not so much if you have a job that involves actual physical labor.

This summer was a particularly miserable one, with temperatures actually getting up to 100° in Seattle. Since I have a 20-minute walk to work, anything but survival dressing was out of the question.

Now that the seasons have changed, my walk is a pleasant part of my day--the part where I gear up for work and wind down afterward. Getting to wear a jacket and tie (and raincoat if appropriate) makes it even better, since I'm a boulevardier by nature.

The only problem is that I can't find a place to lunch on Pill Hill that lives up to my wardrobe...

Funky Fanfare

Here's a video someone created for one of my favorite songs: Funky Fanfare (aka Soul Thing), by Keith Mansfield. 

I think this is the secret to a perfect Beyonce video, too: you don't have to listen to her crappy songs!

Fun with Drain Traps

Beebo (being Beebo) accidentally dropped her wedding ring in the bathroom sink last night! I heard an "Aaagh!" coming from the bathroom and I sensed immediately what the problem was. First I instructed her not to run any water and looked down the drain with a flashlight--no ring.


Then, looking under the sink I saw a plastic U-shaped pipe with two easy-to-undo rings. Beebo cleared out all the toiletries from the underside of the sink and stuck a bowl under the pipe. I unscrewed the rings, turned the pipe section upside down over the bowl, and then heard a satisfying clink!


Apparently those pipe sections are made that way* because people drop things down the drain all the time! It makes sense when you think about it.

Still, I'm glad it wasn't the bathtub. And Beebo will never let that happen again--right, Beebo?

*It turns out I was wrong--John informs me that "they're for keeping stinky sewer gas from coming back up into the room. the trap stays filled with water and that acts as a natural block or "trap" for sewer gas". Who knew? Not me, obviously.

Things I love

One thing I have a deep and uncritical love for is French gangster films from the 50s and 60s. Watching one of these is such a relaxing, pleasing experience for me.

I love the retro-underworld, and have always found robberies and capers fascinating (vicariously--I'd hate being involved in one in real life)--Another one of my favorite cultural artifacts is is the Parker novels by Richard Stark (Donald E. Westlake), about a professional thief (also from the same time period).

The added element of the setting being France (usually Paris) and from the world of 50 years ago means that every visual detail and social behavior is worth paying attention to closely, in addition to the machinations of the plot. They're also reflections of American crime films, which makes one wonder--how much is a mannered fictional concept and how much is what French criminals were like? Of course, the American films weren't documentary representations, either.

I only wish there could be more of them! Fortunately, there's a new box set of Japanese crime films coming out--they're fascinating in their own way...

I actually DO...

Love looking sharp!

It's time to declare war on...

Hipster beards!

Today is Sunday...

...and the USDs are out in full force.

Comics for adults

Let me know if you want the coupon!