Rowing Blazers Book and Book Party at Polo Ralph Lauren

The cover of Rowing Blazers, the new book by Jack Carlson, and the living version, top, at the book party. 
It turns out that my friend George Carr knows Jack Carlson, the author of the new book from Vendome Press called Rowing Blazers, and so I was invited to the recent party to celebrate the book at the new Polo Ralph Lauren flagship store on Fifth Avenue and 55th Street.
Also, I am now working at Ralph Lauren! Yes dear reader, I was offered a job as senior writer, special projects, in the internal creative agency at Ralph Lauren, and I most happily accepted. So I am very familiar with the gleaming new Polo store which offers the Polo brand for women that has just been introduced, as well as Ralph's Coffee, a charming coffee shop on the second floor. Check it out.
Rowing Blazers, with photographs by F. E. Castleberry, thoroughly explores the dapper blazers which boating teams have worn since the nineteenth century. The author Jack Carlson himself has rowed for Georgetown and Oxford, and his friends came out in droves for the book party which was already packed with rowers and their admirers by the time my friend Paul from work and I arrived. Sporting mates gathered together and moved throughout the party so there were crowds of color, like the fellows in red above, wherever you looked. It brought to mind the recent Ivy Style exhibit at F.I.T.
A display at the front door of the Polo Ralph Lauren store set the scene –

Gents in navy and white –

Gold and blue and white stripes – 

At the party George Carr introduced me to Jack Carlson who told me that he is now studying for a Ph.D in archeology at Oxford. When I asked him what about the rowing blazer interested him, he said, "It's a combination of all the things I love – rowing and style and pageantry and history and heritage."
In his book, he explores the boating jacket which first came about at the end of the nineteenth century in distinctive contrasting colors so that spectators could identify the different teams as they rowed past. Rowing teams still wear their signature colors today, as illustrated in the book.
Pale blue with white trim at Eton College –

Will Satch of the Shiplake College Boat Club in Henley-on-Thames, England, in a boldly striped blazer –

The Georgetown Univeristy Boat Club in blue with grey trim –

I'm a big fan of these blazers which have a distinctly Edwardian feel; they look like they're right out of Downton Abbey. Once, at a vintage store in Montreal, when I was at college at McGill University, I bought a navy blue Bill Blass blazer with white piping. I wore that jacket all the time, with jeans and everything. The rowing jacket combines good health and exercise with a sophisticated, elegant line. In one garment, the boating blazer captures the spirit of the sporting gentleman.

A Visit to Fine and Dandy in Hell's Kitchen

With Matt Fox, one of the proprietors of Fine And Dandy.  
I recently had fun stopping in to visit the newish Fine and Dandy shop at 445 West 49th Street in Hell's Kitchen. Matt Fox and Enrique Crame, the boys at Fine and Dandy, have an online business which sells "accessories for dapper guys." With its success, they decided to expand and open a permanent "bricks and mortar" store in the neighborhood where they live, Hell's Kitchen. When I visited recently I found Matt tending the shop as Enrique was entertaining out-of-town friends.
Matt and Enrique have their goods made here in New York City and their prices are gentle. I like their aesthetic and taste, and always find something irresistible. The accessories also make great gifts. The small, charming ground level shop is jammed with unique discoveries - including ties, scarves, pocket squares, jewelry, and leather goods. It's like a well curated attic. There are also toys and games and vintage finds –

Some of the wool scarves are edged with colorful piping. I bought a grey scarf finished with light blue piping, very dandy indeed –

College pennants are stacked next to bowls of silk knot cufflinks that are colored like candy -

Fun suspenders to wear under a conservative suit –

Ties and bow ties in all different hues and patterns – 

A view to the front door –

The charming front window of Fine and Dandy at 449 W. 49th Street –

Matt reports that he and Enrique are now recognized on the street by their neighbors in Hell's Kitchen. Check out the shop, and tell them I sent you!

Ivy Style at F.I.T.

I am a big fan of the exhibits at the Museum at F.I.T. and so I thought it would be fun to organize a guided tour through the current exhibition for my department at work. In the fashion marketing department, we are always looking for creative inspiration so what better place to visit than the Museum at F.I.T.  I contacted some friends there and soon enough we had a tour arranged with Patricia Mears, the deputy director of the museum and the curator of the current exhibit called "Ivy Style" which celebrates the handsome, timeless, Ivy League college menswear look.

"Ivy Style” explores this uniquely American invention from its beginnings at the turn of the last century up until today with the designs of Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger. The show’s impressive installation includes settings that recreate a college quad, classrooms and a retail university shop. On the insightful tour for the marketing department, Patricia noted that Ivy League style is a signature American creation that mixes up a wealthy, moneyed look with a sporty, casual attitude – for example wearing a bow tie with madras shorts or a tuxedo with no socks. Ivy style takes dressy men's clothes down a notch with a relaxed nonchalance. She also pointed out that although the Ivy League look is now thought of as classic and conservative, it was considered leading edge in the 1920’s and 30’s when magazines eagerly reported on the latest fashion trends that young college men were wearing.

“Ivy Style” is up until January 5th at the Museum at the corner of 7th Avenue and 27th Street, and admission is free. Check it out if you can, and learn more about American men's style and the themes that shaped it. Thank you to F.I.T. and Patricia Mears for the great tour!  

A Trip to the Fine and Dandy Pop-Up Shop

Draft beer is the perfect accessory when shopping for accessories.

Last weekend TD and I headed over the to East Village because our friends Matt Fox and Enrique Crame who run the online store fineanddandy.com were hosting their first ever pop-up shop. It was located in the back of the Blind Barber on East 10th Street across from Tompkins Square Park.

We weren't sure we were in the right place but walked through the barber shop and found the dandy boys in the back where they had set up their wares – "accessories for dapper guys." We were glad to be there early because it got more crowded later in the day.

On hand also was my friend artist and illustrator Richard Haines who was doing charcoal portraits. Here are Matt, Enrique, yours truly, and Richard.

I love textiles, and accessories are a fun way to add fabrics to an otherwise simple outfit, plus they're great gifts: one size fits all. There was a selection of ties and pocket squares in cottons, silks and wools.

plus socks, cuff links, tie pins, scarves and leather goods.

They even had some dove grey spats to slip on over shoes.

I told Matt I would love some dove grey gloves, which you never see but I think look very Edwardian.
TD had his portrait sketched by Richard which we will add to the two drawings by Richard we have at home.

TD also got a fantastic complementary shoe shine which I would have enjoyed as well but I was wearing my brown suede Adidas Sambas.
All of that activity required some refreshments. Luckily there was a bar adjacent equipped with draft beer. Here is our bartender:


I got some gifts, and for myself a lightweight plaid wool scarf which Enrique said was made from a men's suiting fabric. Tres chic.

Get Handsome!

Helping men "Get Handsome" was the recent Pop-up Flea organized by the clever boys at the cool menswear website A Continuous Lean. The pop-up store was located in a space on Mulberry Street in Nolita.

Lots of great vendors who make well-designed and crafted goods were selected and invited to sell their wares. It attracted a stylish crowd, natch.

Down a flight of stairs led to more clothes, shoes, and accessories.

Rogues Gallery was there from Portland, Maine. They make hand-printed t-shirts featuring nineteenth century motifs. I've seen their work before at John Derian.

At the pop-up store you could pick the colors of your t-shirt and ink, and the motif you wanted, and it was printed right then for you. Loved that.

In another room were antiques and collectibles.

The charming J.P. Williams, a graphic designer raised in Alabama and educated at Yale, was selling vintage staplers.

I bought one for my desk. It reminds me of the stapler my great-aunt Zibby had on her desk at 611.

Near the front door were the brothers Bray, Chris and Kirk of Billykirk, the handmade leather goods crafters. My friend Richard Haines at the blog What I Saw Today recently told me about the Bray brothers, who are developing a large and devoted following. The brothers grew up in Minnesota and now make their popular Billykirk leather goods in Jersey City.
Here is Kirk on the right with assistant Madlen.

At the Pop-up Flea, they were making custom double-wrap buckled leather bracelets with a threaded slit. You could choose the colors of the leather, thread and buckle. I chose a dark brown leather with a forest green thread and pewter buckle. Then Madlen made it while I watched.

TD got it for me for my birthday.

Don't you love it when that happens?

Seriously, the Pop-up Flea was great fun and I'm looking forward to the next one. After all, the world can always be more handsome.

J. Crew Knows Best

The good people over at J. Crew sent me a video clip about a new service they are offering for men called "Jack Knows Best." Their in-house style consultant will be answering sartorial questions for men who need some style help.
The video clip which you can watch below is pretty cute – I only wish it went slower so I could see all the clothes. It looks like we move through all four seasons and from casual to formal – fun!
I have said here before that I really like what is going on at J. Crew now. For men, it's classics with a nip and a tuck so that shapes are narrower and more fitted. For women, it's pretty clothes in cheerful colors like pink and yellow plus the sparkle of jewelry for a style that is happy and optimistic. There is not a lot of black at J. Crew – I'm with Anna Wintour, and Michelle Obama, on this: black is for funerals. Going into J. Crew is like walking into a candy store, and I like that.

A Little Something

I'm just back from the Barney's Warehouse Sale. The guy at the bag check-out said I look like Hugh Jackman. That was a first. At the sale I was looking for something sensible like a summer sport jacket or a winter coat. What I came home with was a silk Etro pocket square (shown above, with Rose inspecting) because it really caught my eye. I love Etro, and these mad colors – orange, purple, green, blue – combined together on one small piece are delicious (click on the photo to see it better). Very bohemian. I'd just like to hang it up on the wall so I can look at it. I'll wear a white shirt and a navy blazer with these bits of bright color sticking out of the pocket. It will cheer me in cold January.

But now it is steaming in New York City. I took a hot run today along the Hudson River Park. The city is deserted; there were about two people laying in the grass which is usually packed with sun bathers. Like Andy Warhol said in his Diaries, "All the attractive people have been invited out to Fire Island." But I love summer in the city.