Beeswax

I've always been a much bigger fan of brown shoes rather than black, especially after seeing how the Italians make a charcoal suit POP with the right pair of brown shoes.

The Fall always makes me long for new brown shoes. This year is no different.

My success with Clarks Desert boots thru the spring and summer has led me to jones for these :

The desert boots have served me well with both denim and khakis. And for around $80, I like 'em lots.
Will try to hold off till September....

514X Imprint

As much as I have always been a fan of Levi's 501s, I am always a bit uncomfortable in them. Could be the high rise, or anti-fit seat. Or the fact that 34s are always a bit snug and 36s too big.

I've been meaning to check out the 514 "slim straight" line. I've never really seen a wash I could fall in love with so I always bypassed them.

Yesterday, though, in the NYC SoHo store I came across these new 514Xs called "Imprint".

The tag said: A breakthrough in denim, IMPRINT™ starts off dark indigo and lets you control the fading, wearing and distressing. We've used it for the 514™ Jean, our best-selling slim straight-leg. The more you wear it before the first wash, the more truthful the body imprint will be."

The tag actually showed pictures of what the denim should look like after 20 wears and after 60 wears. See here for the tag on the Levi's site.

The SA said the denim wasn't raw, but it should show wear similar to if it were. We'll see about that.

Anyway, I'm a sucker so I bought them.

I'll let you know how they come along.

Back in the days before the calendar made me part of the over-30 crowd, and the words carbs, Atkins and South Beach meant nothing to me, one of my favorite pit stops for a belly filler was Pommes Frites here in NYC on 2nd Ave.

Not only are the fries served up authentic belgian style (in a paper cone and all), but the 30 or so dipping sauces are superb. The Peanut Satay sauce was all I needed.

I think its time I venture back over there and see if they're still as good as they used to be.

Check them out on-line here

Welcome, Christmas

Last weekend I stopped in Costco to buy some figs. If you're down with figs, Costco sells 24 for just $6.50. And they're a pretty nice size. Prolly like 2 golf balls. Man, they are the best figs I've tasted outside of Italy.

Anyway, after picking up the figs I was walking to the register and couldn't believe my eyes. The Christmas merchandise is starting to be rolled out. I was in shock. Here we are August 20th, and I'm looking at snowmen.

Moving on, yesterday I stopped by J. Crew to try on the new military inspired cargo pants. $79.50. Kinda steep for a starting price on cargos, if you ask me. The look of these is quite interesting, but at the end of the day they are still just cargos, no matter how much fancy wording J Crew can muster up.


I was pretty happy with the fit. They were close to the body without the sag that I usually find with cargos. I wasn't too impressed with the feel of the cotton. A bit thin. I'm a bigger fan of my J Crew Premium Officers Chinos. I might move on these if they come down under $40. But not until then.

Back from Recess

2 weeks sure does go fast when you're on vacation. Oh well, back to work.

As you can imagine, I'm not in the best of moods today.

As I sat down to put together a new posting for the blog, I started thinking, why do I continue this? Most of the similar blogs out there are written by women, geared toward women. Is my energy wasted?

Is anyone reading ? Or caring?

I'm thinking about stopping this. There are so many others who do it better.

Let's see how I feel tomorrow.
~JB

1969 Revisted

Been on vacation, so haven't been around much to add content here.

I visited the Gap flagship at 34th and Bway in NYC today. The denim options for men were dizzying. Looked like a lot of stock had come in since I was last there 2 weeks ago. I was hoping to try on a whole bunch and give some detailed impressions here but my 2 kids (ages 3 & 4) weren't long on patience today.

There was lots of rigid selvage in the house: skinny, straight, and authentic. I tried on the Straight and Authentic and loved them both. Purchased the Authentic in Rigid Selvage. Quite nice for $68. They're replacing the rinsed selvage Authentic fits I bought on-line a few weeks back.

The Authetic fit with a little bit of abraison and one small hole at the knee were
my faves. Had to buy them. Guilty pleasure.

Have to say, I was much more impressed with the collection this time around then when I saw it debut on July 27th.

A lot of European tourists seem to be buying up the denim today. Just an observation.

Back to (501) Basics

The options for a dude when it comes to denim these days is endless. Straight fit, slim fit, boot fit, skinny (ugh) fit, dark, light, medium, holes, etc. If you're like me, and you have a thing for jeans, it can make you crazy sometimes.

Walking thru Macy's yesterday with M2 asleep in my arms (he's 3 now, so this got pretty heavy pretty quickly) and M1 walking beside me, I pass a table of Levi's 501 Shrink to Fit jeans. So I stop and peruse. On Sale! Just $32.99--Immediately, M1 says "Daaaaaaaaady, let's go, you don't need more jeans!"

I decide that its time for another go at the STF route. Maybe I can really get good results this time. So I grab a pair.

2 hours later, at home, I'm in a hot bath with my Levi's and my kids are looking at me like I've really lost my mind this time. I spend the rest of the day in my wet 501s, as they mold to my body. Today I did another warm soak to shrink them a bit more. Sitting in my wet 501s once again as I write this.

Wifey just looks at me, shakes her head, and says "You're not normal."

I sure hope not.

I'll report back over time on how these progress. The key is constant wear.

Should I stay or should I go??

A few items arrived on Wednesday courtesy of the UPS truck.

GAP: 2 pocket leather jacket, Authentic Fit Rinsed Selvage 1969 Jeans

Banana Rep: Slim Fit Chinos

The 2 pocket black leather jacket didn't totally disappoint, but it didn't wow me either. The banded cuffs and waist were made of acrylic, so I could see that material pilling up and looking cheap. The leather quality was about what I'd expect from Gap. Going back.

The BR slim fit chinos were as expected, as I had seen them in-store. They were a bit too slim in the thigh and I'm not looking for a khaki that restricts my movement. Think I'll stay with a more traditional straight cut. Going back.

The 1969 Selvage jeans were the stars of the bunch. Nice shade of one-rinse blue, hidden rivets, no nonsense pair of jeans. Pretty happy with this new 1969 relauch at this price. Keepers. Gonna be key for Fall.

Summer Faves

I was out and about yesterday and saw a newsstand selling greeting cards. The Halloween stock was already in. Nothing like a dose of Halloween to remind you that the summer is starting to wind down. No kidding, I got a "Christmas 2009" catalog in the mail last week from some company (don't remember who).

I was already thinking about my fave purchases of the summer yesterday morning, so maybe the Halloween cards sighting was appropriate.

1. J Crew Jaspe tees: $32.50, but worth it. V neck, nicely textured, good fit. Had to buy 2 colors.

2. Levi's Capital E straight jeans. Great fit and styling.

3. RayBan Caravans. Tried the classic aviator look, but that didn't work. These are totally comfortable on me. Reminiscent of DeNiro in Taxi Driver.


4. No-brand straw Fedora hat from a street vendor on 66th and B-way. The hat is great, but the salesman was even better.

5. J Crew Premium Officer Chinos: Easily my favorite khakis since my K-1's. Scored 'em on quite a sale too. So nice, I did it thrice.

6. Clarks Desert Boots in Cola Suede color. Had to order from the UK for this color but it was worth it.

What's your faves this summer?

Back and Forth

Hey all. Haven't had much time to write lately. Been too busy checking my CC receipts, thinking ,WTF did I buy on THAT day?

Yeah, its been a busy 2 weeks. Here's a brief run down of what's been stealing my George Washingstons:

1. After many try-ons and thinking sessions, I went for the new Gap 1969 jeans in Authentic fit. The wash was a little more distressed than I prefer, but hey, at $38 after coupon, can you go wrong?

2. A new pair of loafers was in order. After buys&returns with Ralph Lauren driving mocs, and Banana Rep driving mocs, I went with a more classic look from Johnston & Murphy. Can't find a picture of these babies anywhere on-line though. They're a classic penny look, in a dark brown. More substantial than a driving moc, which seemed limited to just summer wear.

3. The J Crew chino Workshirt in white that I copped went back. Couldn't justify this one at full retail ($69).

4. The J Crew vintage slim jeans in grey resin crinkle wash that I obsessed over *almost* went back. Decided on keeping them though. Still in the closet with tags, so you never know....

5. I used my J Crew rewards card on the Whitman herringbone sportcoat. Man, this looked tasty on-line. In person, I didn't get that wow factor when I slipped it on. Without that, it's gotta go back. Rewards card on the prowl once again.


6. I couldn't find any of the Gap 1969 selvage versions in-store so I ordered on-line. Should be here tomorrow. I went for the dark rinse wash. If these live up to the hype, maybe the pair in #1 will go back.

7. On a last minute impulse buy, with a 30% off coupon in hand, I ordered this black leather jacket from Gap on line. I've been trying to figure out how to re-introduce a black leather jacket into my mix. Maybe this will be it? Sometimes Gap leather has surprised me. Wouldn't that be cool. Who knows though? Lots of variables need to come together: Fit, feel, weight, lining..... I'll know tomorrow.


8. Was lovin the J Crew 2 pocket poplin shirt in Charcoal. Wasn't lovin full retail $65 price. Noticed GAP had a very similar one for $44. Add to that 40% off coupon, and it becomes a very managable $26.

I believe that's all the damage.

Next post: Half way through the summer...what's emerged as my faves. Besides Gin.