Lighten Up!

The thermometer here in NYC is in the 90 degree range this week. Sticky.

Perfect time to give the chunky, heavy Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean a rest and take out her older cousin.

I lifted this vintage automatic 1965/66 Omega Seamaster from a gentleman in Toronto a few years back. I took the black strap off of it and replaced it with this honey colored number.
At just 33mm, this watch is dwarfed by today's standard mega-watches. And how about that, no diamonds, no chronograph, and no tachymeter !

Less is more my friends.

The half minute which we daily devote to the winding-up of our watches is an exertion of labour almost insensible; yet, by the aid of a few wheels, its effect is spread over the whole twenty-four hours-
Charles Babbage

Sign of the times

This past week I had my daughter's ballet recital and graduation from pre-k.

For both events I wore a jacket, tie, and proper trousers. Both pretty special events, in my eyes.

I guess not for everyone though.

Here's what I took note of : Grown men in cargo shorts and graphic tees. Flip flops. Ripped jeans. Baseball hats. Mothers dressed like 14 year old girls. Everyone pretty much dressed like they just got off the couch. The only people I saw dressed appropriately were the few senior citizens.

Really, what has our society become when grown men can't even dress themselves in a civilized, presentable manner? It's an epidemic!


Maybe it's just me, I don't know.

Signature

Hello boys and girls.

The LL Bean Signature line has gotten some good press since its launch this spring so I thought I'd try it out. It's been probably close to 20 years since I gave any of my cash to LL & Co., but I figured it was a good time to revisit them.

The thing that struck me first about the line was the presentation of the clothes. The models make these clothes look so incredibly practical and stylish, while not looking too trendy. I didn't expect to find much I coveted, but my first visit ended with 6 or 7 items in my cart. The site is very pleasurable to shop.

I received my items over the past two weeks and I'm pretty impressed with overall quality. Shirts seem to be well constructed, with nice attention to details. Ditto for pants. Pieces were made in China, Sri Lanka and Peru.

Fit: definitely slimmer than what I would expect from their main line, but by no means "slim". I'm a Large in shirts and their shirts fit a tad fuller than the J. Crew secret wash shirts.

Pants had a rise that I was comfortable with. Mid-rise I'd call it. Fit on the pairs I tried were also on the slimmer side, while not overdoing it. 34 Waist cotton pants had a measured waist size of around 35.5.

I tried a pair of shoes as well. They seemed pretty decent for the money, though I didn't keep them. They weren't unique enough from what's already in my closet.

The biggest draw for me was the ability of the line to easily cross from casual to business casual. Prices were a tad high for what they were offering, but all in all not too bad. Time will tell how the pieces hold up. I'm hoping the line is expanded for Fall. Looking forward to what LL pulls out of the archives next.

Here's what I kept:

First, my fave piece of all:


Other keepers:






Here's what I sent back:

This shirt had some HUGE buttons! Looked much nicer on the models (of course!)






And here is what I'm considering for my next order:


I'd be happy to answer any questions...

June brings....