a terrific life: November 2009

11/21/09

What Did You Wear Today

I haven't done WDYWT in awhile, so here it goes:

Supreme Mountain Plaid Flannel
J.Crew Cords
Vans Half Cabs

This list is by no means exhaustive, and is certainly not going to be the best of the blogosphere, but I hope the readers of this blog will enjoy and potentially utilize this. Anyone who receives one of these gifts is going to be mighty happy. Also, feel free to send this link to your clueless grandmother or significant other...

1.) J.Press - Shaggy Dog Sweater - $165 - A J.Press classic made of Shetland wool, exclusively for Press. I buy my Shetlands here or at Andover Shop but the key decision making factor for me recommending the J.Press variety is the color! Bright colors are a huge part of trad, why wear forest green when you can wear kelly? Navy when this particular shade of blue can be had?

2) Filson - 222 Medium Duffle Bag - $280 - An awesome bag that has been discussed consistently in the blog world, and for good reason. Fine construction, good aesthetics, and amazing utility make this one of the best duffle bags money can buy. Perfect for the hunt or the weekend trip with the in-laws. Tan color, naturally.

3) Apple - Magic Mouse - $69 - Apparently simple, but remarkably sophisticated, courtesy of multi-touch sensor enabled mouse. Watch the video to be convinced quickly.

4) Ommegang Brewery - 10th Anniversary Gift Pack - $23.99 - Satisfy any beer lover with this set from Cooperstown, NY based Ommegang Brewery. Consisting of three 750 ml bottles of their favorites: Hennepin, Three Philosophers and Chocolate Indulgence. Also included is a logo glass, this might seem expensive for beer, but I consider this a bargain.

5) LL Bean - 8" Bean Boots w/ Goretex and Thinsulate - $134 - "Keeping Feet Dry for 95 Years" is no small feat for a pair of boots. Freeport, Maine based LL Bean's signature product, discussed everywhere, but a favorite of mine is by my fellow blogger L.A.S. of Sartorially Inclined. These are one of the most stylish yet utilitarian gifts you can give, unisex and useful. Personally, I have had a pair of these since I was a child, couldn't make it through Boston slushfest (November - March) without them.

6) Field Notes - Colors Subscription of Notebooks - $129 - As a huge fan of Field Notes and pocket notebooks in general, this is an AWESOME gift. I have always wanted to pull the trigger on the colors subscription, which if you read the image above gives you 24 pocket notebooks over the course of the year, 6 of 4 different shades. While I admit that's a fairly high price, these notebooks are the business! Cool details, great quality and always by my side. Moleskine is a viable alternative, also ATL recommended!

7) Supreme - Suede Front Sweater - $179 - The only word to describe this sweater/jacket is RAD. I love the vintage styling, and although it is a small percentage acrlyic, which I usually avoid on principal, I want this sweater so bad. As of now, only available in store, but I assume it will become available before 12/25 on their online shop. Supreme usually puts out one or two dark horse pieces per season, and this is definitely one of them. If you have an art collector on your Christmas list, instead grab him a Damien Hirst x Supreme dot deck, available Monday (11-23)!

8) Clarks Originals - Wallabee Weaver Moccasin - ~$120 - Available across the pond only for now, this revival of a classic Padmore & Barnes design has been making me salivate for months now. I have the original, which I also got from a fellow in London, and although they are getting old, they are still one of my favorite shoes. I may rationalize myself into buying the brown as I already own the sand. Either way, this item of footwear is a sture thing: stylish, comfortable, and timeless.

9) Freestyle Games - DJ Hero Bundle - $98 - Everyone has heard of Guitar Hero, but the newest offering DJ Hero allows the "Disk Jockey" to mix two tracks together from a massive pool of R&B, Hip Hop, Techno and so forth. Samples and effects can be added in via the unique and proprietary controls that mimic a realistic mixer and fader. Check out the video for a demo!

10) Gold Futures - currently a bargain at $1150/oz- according to Ambrose Evans-Pritchard who says Gold could easily reach $6300, which is the equivalent value that it reached in the 1970s when similar economic conditions spooked central governments into the precious metal. With the Federal Reserve and US Government destroying the dollar's value and likely sparking inflation in the near future, gold is going to continue going up. This gift will be appreciated more than any a few years down the road much more than a savings bond, which will probably lose value for your children or grandchildren by the time they cash it.

South Willard "Functionality and Quality"

South Willard is designed with the utmost simplicity in mind.

The line is heavily inspired by growing up California, and the subtle changes in the landscape through the seasons that are noticed by the discerning eye.

We set out to make something that didn’t really pertain to any one kind of person, and hope that people from all walks of life can use our products.

Functionality and Quality are very important to us.

Our jackets are made by Crescent Down Works in Seattle, denim in Okayama Japan, and shoes by Quoddy Trail in Maine. All with meticulous attention to detail.

Somehow we wanted to make these clothes modern but with a light hand.

We believe the best clothes have a subtlety involved that truly is the hardest thing to achieve in design.

We try to always follow this design philosophy.

Hopefully one day your South Willard purchase can end up as a quality vintage garment that someone else may own and it can have another life.

11/20/09

Winter Beers: Samuel Adams and Smuttynose

I love craft beer. I love New England. One of the features of both of these things is that they have distinct seasons. Although traditions and similarities prevail year round, I look forward to the unique characteristics of each season.

Samuel Adams Winter Lager
Bock 5.80% ABV

I have been working on a 12 pack of this for the past week or so

Dark pour, decent lacing, small quickly dispersing head
Nice “winter spices” in the aroma
Taste is very malty, cinnamon and other spices as well, not much hop presence
Not as drinkable as the Smuttynose, won’t buy much more of it this season, it is just that in my region, which is Sam Adam’s home base, 12 packs can be had for the reasonable price of 11.99+deposit.

B-

Smuttynose Winter Ale

Dubbel 4.80% ABV

Pours very dark, not much head that disperses quickly, little lacing
Malty smell and taste, dry finish, some spices in there, sweet with some very light fruit notes
Light and drinkable, subtle, but complex flavor that I think is well executed

B+

Whole Foods Buffalo Chicken Bites
$2.50

Great deal for the price. I added some Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce for good measure. The package included a “fresh ranch dressing” which I made use of. Plenty of chicken for under $3.00, good company to winter beers.

11/17/09

Guest Post: Jon Mardani Fall Outfit

Jon is basically family, we go back a bit, but he's from Montreal, a litttttle bit colder than down here in Boston. I asked him to put together a look that he would rock for my blog, and he came through in spades. This is not exactly what I would wear, but I feel that it's definitely on point, and as he said he'd "love to wear this."

J.Crew - Cashmere Hat
J.Crew - Cashmere lined gloves
Nom de Guerre - Standard Issue Scarf
Barbour - Hardy Pea Coat
A.P.C. - Narrow Button Down Shirt
Nom de Guerre - Shawl Collar Cardigan
45RPM - Tweed Denim Pants
Grenson - Balmoral Boot

11/12/09

J.Crew has G.H. Bass & Company Goodwick Weejuns!

Wow that's an interesting turn of events, a nice trad staple at J.Crew, a relatively trendy mall retailer. These are probably only available at the same J.Crews where the other good stuff (Sperry, Barbour, etc.) are available, but I am definitely going to grab a pair in dark burgundy (with the key 15% student discount) for Thanksgiving!

11/8/09

Trad Shopping List

I guess my style can be somewhat "trad" at times, but even if I am not full-time blue blooded trad, I borrow from the style and am influenced by the styling and details tremendously. With that said, I have put together a list of trad items that are on my long term wants list. All of these items are high-quality and intended to last many years and are somewhat "fancy" to the uninitiated, which lines up quite nicely with my personal philosophy of only buying quality items and not caring what the general populace thinks. So without further ado I present my Trad Shopping List.

1) Alden or Allen Edmonds (MacNeil) or Florsheim Imperial (Kenmoor) Longwing Bluchers (referred to by trads as LWBs) respectively

2) Southwick Douglas, available either off the rack (OTR) or made to measure, (MTM) is a three button sack center vented with flap pocket coat, like the rest of this list, a classic.

3) Smathers and Branson Needlepoint Belt, these belts are so detailed, its amazing. Pictured here are two possibilities for me, the "Dark and Stormy" and "Beers on Black." These are available through O'Connell's of Buffalo, which happens to stock a number of other trad items as well if anyone is interested.

4) More oxford cloth button downs, If there was one item that defined the trad look it could very well be the OCBD. Two choices are the J.Press model, which can be had with button down pockets as well or O'Connell's delivers again with their Heavyweight OCBD.

5) Bill's Khakis go with your navy sack blazer, madras jacket or tweed jacket. I will go with the flat front variety as I avoid pleats on principle, the model is M1 which is based on World War 2 original chinos, always go with the classics when it comes to trad.

Of course a true trad wardrobe includes tweeds, a number of suits, repp stripe and regimental and knit ties, bowties, plaids, tattersalls, Bass Weejuns, Lacoste Polos and a million more things, these are just five pieces that I would like to borrow from "trad-dom" for my wardrobe, by no means an exhaustive list!