Santa comes early...

Back in the day when I was in grade school, and snow days were a part of life, impending snow always put me in such a great mood.

So Friday, the weather man starts talking about a major snowstorm headed our way. Kinda messed up wedding plans of my best friend this weekend, but never the less, I got that nervous-energy-happy-feeling back on Friday.

Jake Davis had a piece about the newly blown-out crotch on his APC New Standard Jeans on Friday. I have been wanting to replace my Levi’s Vintage 1947s since I shrunk them 18 months ago, but didn’t know what to replace them with. Kicking Mule Workshop? Samurai? Dior?

The APC thread got me curious. I had never done my research on them. My research on Friday quickly told me I had to check these out.

Went up to the APC shop on Mercer St in SOHO. A really nice guy working there in the denim department schooled me a bit on the fits, stretching, wear, etc. 30 mins later I walked outta there with a dope pair of Japanese raw selvage New Standards. I bought a 33 waist. Usually I’m a 34 in Levi’s & J Crew.



I’ve been wearing these babies since 7pm yesterday and they are beginning to stretch already. Just will have to get the inseam taken in a few inches.

I’m really looking forward to breaking these in. I will definitely make these A#1 denim for the next 12-18 months, and hopefully longer.


Today, I was able to find a real score: J Crew’s men’s 100% cashmere winter hat for 50% off. Had been balking at the full retail price of this one for a while. In the meantime, I bought 3 other winter hats, so now I have 4 for this winter. I’m stacked. This cashmere baby is sure to be my new best friend on cold winter days in NYC.

Almost....

Saw an interesting pair of jeans at the J Crew Men's shop at 484 Bway this weekend.

They were raw, selvage. Tasty. Came in its own canvas bag, individually numbered. $225.

Very timely find, seeing how one of my recent posts spoke to J Crew's lack of untouched, raw, dark denim.

My excitement was quickly damped as I saw these babies were only available in the 484 Fit. I've tried this extra-slim fit and found it to be much too slim for my tastes.

If I'm gonna spend $225, at least allow me a cut that's more classic.

For all you dudes out there who dig the 484 fit, give 'em a look-see if you're in the Big Apple. Not available on line, in the catalog, or anywhere else besides here and the Liquor Store.

The drought is over

The loooooooong wait is over. Finally, new music from The Lady.

Release date has been set for Sade's Soldier of Love CD: Feb 9 2010.

Fans all over the world are jumping for joy. When you love Sade, you become accustomed to long waits between CDs, but that doesn't make it any easier. Almost 10years of waiting.

The Lady, now 50, drops the first single from the CD:

Listen: Soldier Of Love


This is music.

Say what Jack ?

The Jack Knows Best feature for men has been a nice add to the J Crew website, even if it does just seem like a way to point people to more J Crew products they should be buying.

Here's what I found very interesting: When asked about denim, Jack recommends that the anchor to your denim collection should be a pair or dark, or preferably raw, jeans, with little (if any) artificial wear-signs. I'm all for this, of course.

The odd thing is that if one looks at the J Crew denim collection these days, this is exactly what you're least likely to find. As far as I can tell, there is just one pair in the vinatge slim category that could fill this need ("worn rinse wash"). The blue and black resin crinkle wash jeans are quite nice, but the straight fit was only offered on-line and are almost entirely sold out now. (Sorry, the 484 slim fits are too claustrophobic for me)

The "dark worn wash" looks nice at first site, but when I tried them on the artificial fading, whiskers, and marks in the back of the knee were a turn-off.

Just seems like there are so many pre-faded, destroyed, repaired, worn wash, etc jeans. I think its a bit overkill, no?

Let's get back to the classics.

Jack, ya hear?

To be continued.....

About a month ago, Jake Davis, who writes one of favorite blogs, held a contest. The theme of the contest was for the readers of Jake's blog to pick the top three men's (life)style blogs out there. I think Jake listed around 30 blogs or so, if I remember correctly. Some of these I read, some I don't. I can tell you, the ones I read, are really well done. (A Continuous Lean won top honors)

They're original, they're always informative, and they're really thought provoking.

It got me thinking, I kinda like doing my blog, but really, what am I adding? Maybe a few people give 2 hoots about my latest obsession from J Crew, but does it really go any further than that?

So I've been thinking over the past month, what can I do to make it so this blog actually matters? What can I do to make it a bit more relevant?

The answer? I'm not sure.

So while I continue to add great J. Crew pieces to my shrinking closet, I'll keep thinking of how I can make this thing more appealing.

Enjoy the Holiday Season!

Been a while

Been too long since we caught up....

Wanted to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving. Hoping you use the Holiday to truly refelct on all we are blessed with in this land of plenty.

Must Have of the Week

It's got that buffalo plaid look, without overdoing it. Must score it.

Already tried it on. Now I have less than 24 hours to score it with 25% off.

The Working Man

Being that this current workwear trend is in full force this Fall, I thought I'd actually do some work instead of just looking the part. Soooo, I've been busy raking leaves, cutting down trees, carving monster pumpkins, and gathering acorns for the winter.

Well, not really on the acorn bit.

This morning, getting dressed for a day at home instead of work, my daughter (4) says to me "Daddy, you really look like a worker man in those jeans and shirt". Wow, I thought, the workwear thing is really reaching all generations now.

Aunty-way, I have some fun splurges to tell you about that I'm quite happy with.

The first is the J Crew Chocolate Brown Suede Wing tips. Prolly not really worth what I paid for them, but I cannot resist brown suede wing tips. See pic in earlier post below.

Second, the J Crew Bowery pant in Regular Fit, color Heather Gray: Scooped this on 20% off sale. Very surprised by the fit, color and feel. All over a winner. Liked em so much that yesterday I ordered them in the Charcoal Gray color. Pic also below.

Today is BR's 30% off sale (if you spend $100). My budget for that took a hit this week thanks to an unexpected speeding ticket (D'OH! $100) and a Dr visit for my daughter that the insurance didn't cover (D'OH! $100). Oh yeah, and my gutters look like they need some repair (D'OH! $???). Ah, but why complain.

Now for some wish list items:
The real Hoboken Kid:

Levi's 1967 505s

For your olfactory pleasure:

J Crew Warmer:

Real Deal Christmas Music from the 50s:

Choices

Already looking forward to Friday.

Taken at Hotel Clarendon bar, Quebec City. Oct 2009.

Mind your Beeswax!

A few peeps have requested some shots of my Beeswax babies after some use. I haven't given them heavy use yet, but they have gotten some decent wear on the streets of NYC, Montreal, Quebec City and Hoboken. Not to mention my backyard in NJ.

Hope these give you some idea. I'll keep you up to date with the progression. They remain my favorite desert boots.

Up here, ain't no J Crew!

I'm spending some time up in Montreal/Quebec City again. So beautiful here in the fall.

Mickey Drexler and co. are yet to put a J Crew shop up this way, so I have no chance to obsess about what's lurking in the stores that would look better in my closet.

This has given me the chance to enjoy some the loot I have accumulated this fall:





Great to finally enjoy some of the purchases.

And looking forward to the future...

Grandfather knows best

I was lucky enough to know both my grandfathers very well. One was an immigrant from Italy, and one was born in the US to a recently immigrated family from Italy. I've taken much of their lives and incorporated it into my own. Much of what I find myself longing for these days seems to lead right back to them.

Grandfather #1

1. Tie on the weekends, no matter what the occasion. So what he worked construction during the week.

2. Tie clip

3. Chunky Cardigans

4. Straw hat in the summer, wool fedora in the winter. Always tilted to the side.

5. A small, sharp pocket knife. It's been said that a Calabrese Italian man doesn't leave the house without his pocket knife.


Grandfather #2

1. Dark "dungaress".

2. Green army fatigues/cargos. A carryover from his WWII days.

3. Sweater vests

4. A bottle of Chivas Regal for Christmas.

5. A big knife. Another carryover from his WWII days.

Neither of my grandfathers ever sat down with me to have a discussion on men's stylings or the like. Its a wonder what I picked up just by being with them.

Busted!

So the Wifey is not a J. Crew fan like I am. She kinda pays attention to my addiction, but not fully.

Last night she said to me, "You know, I was looking through the latest J. Crew catalog and on every page I either said to myself, you have that, or you would wear that, or you have something just like that."

D'oh !

I've been busted....Think fast.....

Now of course she sees the J. Crew packages dropped off by the UPS man, and my kids do know the driver by name now, but does she really know.....

Me: "Welllll, uhhhhhh, thats cuz J Crew is pretty constant in their stylings. So something I bought 3 years ago still looks new. J Crew just tweaks the colors and stylings a bit. That's the beauty of their classic clothes."

I almost convinced myself.

Oct 12th Mystery

"Daddy, what's inside your hair?" - M2

Uhhhhhhhhhh, you want some ice cream??? - Me

October Treats

I like what Patrick Robinson has been putting out for the GAP this year. Yeah, I know, its a mall brand, but if your budget is limited due to a mortgage, 2 car payments, 4 mouths to feed, and all the rest of that wonderful list, I think its a pretty solid choice for casual, as long as its done right.

Take for example, this khaki chambray shirt.


J Crew has done up some real tasty chambray this year with their blue and grey shirts, but something about this khaki chambray from Gap makes it my favorite right now. I actually like the fit of this one better than my J Crew chambrays. Really nice feel to the material and good attention to workwear details. A great deal, with last week's 30% off event.

I also picked up these Authentic fit Grey jeans. Already being a fan of the Authentic fit, I thought adding grey denim to my mix would be a nice touch.

I'm always afraid that grey denim is going to look too....I dont know.....WalMart-ish, or bland while trying to be hip...I don't know. But these actually have the perfect shade that I think I can pull off. Selvedge denim as well.

A co-worker of mine was doing a J Crew order last week, and asked if I was game. Now, how could I say no? Had my eye on this one for a while and decided to pull the trigger.

I've been loving this grey marled look from J Crew this year. I've bought it the Jaspe tee, a graphic tee, and now this fleece top. It's a good mid-weight piece, with a great casual feel. Basic, done right by J Crew. Fit could be a bit slimmer, but I'll keep it.

Honeycrisp

I've been writing about my love for Fall since the end of July. Now that we've come to harvest time, one of the best parts of the season has arrived: Honeycrisp apples.

I'm originally from a part of NY State well-known for its apples and I never heard of or tasted Honeycrisp apples until 2004. Check this out, courtesy of Honeycrisp.org:

Honeycrisp fruit is characterized by an exceptionally crisp and juicy texture. Its flesh is cream colored and coarse. The flavor is sub-acid and ranges from mild and well-balanced to strongly aromatic, depending on the degree of maturity. It has consistently ranked as one of the highest quality apples in the University of Minnesota sensory evaluations.



What does all that mean? To me, it means its the best tasting apple I've ever eaten.

Migliorelli Farm, a farm in Tivoli, NY sets up a stand in lower Manhattan every Tues/Thurs in the Fall to sell their produce. Their Honeycrisp apples are a real treat. Picked some up today.

Check them out instead of the Mister Softee truck if you are in town.

Thanks Mickey!

I was pleasantly surprised and intrigued to get a small box in the mail this weekend from J. Crew that said on the outside "Just for You".

When I opened it, here is what I found.



I've been wanting pick up one of their sterling silver tie clips, but I've balked at the price. Guess my wait was worth it. What a great, thoughtful and practical gift!

There was a nice card inside from Mickey about a J Crew VIP number, and me being a "very best customer".

Well, Thank You Mickey. Damn nice of ya. I do appreciate it.

True Classics

Since the news broke of Sade's new album (hopefully in 2009) I have slipped back into my Sade obsession mode. Thank God for YouTube, eh?

Sade's albums can sit on a shelf for years, and always sound fresh, current and relevant when you slide back into them. True classics.

Is there anything more soulful, jazzy and sultry all combined than "Is it a Crime?". For me, NO.



Love the shots of the old 42nd street and 8th Ave in Manhattan in this video.

Flannel

Gotta admit, I passed the new J Crew flannel shirts many times in-store without giving a second look. Never been a huge fan of flannel.

However, when the new J Crew Oct 2009 men's catalog showed the real-life artists wearing these, I saw them in a whole new light. I especially liked how they paired the blue flannel with the black Langham jacket.

So I decided to give a try-on, not expecting to be impressed.

Impressed, I was. Very much so, indeed. The fit is what especially got me. These shirts have the slim fit of the J Crew favorite shirts. If I'm going to do flannel, why not do it with J Crew.

The fit was so nicey, I had to do it twicey. Picked up both the Youngstown flannel ( A StyleForum favorite) and the Sodus Bay flannel.



This week here in NY is supposed to be cool, in the 60s. Perfect weather.

Sick Day

Thought it was just a cold. But then last night I had a 101 fever. Ok, maybe a bit more than a cold. So I took a sick day!

A real sick day, so I wasn't feeling all that well. Couldn't enjoy the free time much, but it was nice being able to get some use out of the denim collection during the week.

Haven't given the J Crew Vintage Slim Fit Selvage in Worn Rinse Wash a wear in a long time. Forgot how great these fit and how much I love the color. Really wish I had the opportunity to give these wear every few days and give them some good fades.