Casual glen plaid

While tradition (and many others) says you probably shouldn't wear a tie without a suit, blazer, or sport coat, I'll admit that it's one of the rules I break sometimes. I've written before about mixing more casual shirts (and a tie) with more sporty jackets, and I'll probably do it again at some point in the future. There are days where I require at least a thin extra layer in the morning and after work, but barely leave the office during the day, and sometimes I find myself with this combination.

I fell into this look recently, during a week when work was a grind and the temperature was just a pinch below the heat oven it's been for months. It made even more sense given my bicycle commute.

It is summer, and a cherry red linen tie popped over a brightly-colored striped shirt. Showing a complete disregard for eyeballs everywhere was the lightly-colored glen plaid jacket over the top.

The jacket itself is a vintage (I'm guessing 60s or so from the tag) piece that I picked up years ago, and despite being lightweight, it's held up incredibly well (the talon metal zipper alone is massive and feels indestructible). It's not really a windbreaker and it's certainly not waterproof, but sometimes it's the perfect jacket for layering, tradition be damned.

Gray days and gray things

Today was one of those weird between-seasons days that tempts you with some warmth then quickly reminds you that it's actually still winter. Brisk and cold in the morning with a glorious warm-up in the middle, then clouded up and dreary by the end of the work day.

I was lucky enough to experience all three of those temperatures firsthand, as I rode my bicycle to work for only the third time this year. I didn't set out to mirror the late-day cloud-over with my outfit, but it seemed to fit quite well by the time I pedaled home and the sky was a sheet of gray.


As I mentioned in my last post, I've gotten some amazing gifts back from people that have participated in Style Share. In a way, it's sort of become Style Swap, and in this outfit both the lovely tie and pocket square are courtesy of Kleidsam, who's always tearing it up stylistically.


I paired them up with a sort of multi-sized hounds tooth jacket in black and white that I have a hard time working into the rotation. Here, the soft grays seemed to melt the dramatic contrast almost perfectly, and it all sort of blurred into some thick black wool pants and wingtips that kept me warm while pedaling away.


On a quick eye-scan, it's almost like a fade from white to black from the top down, with little flecks of color here and there (the jacket has some threads of blue and purple going through it), perfect for a day that hinted at sun then faded to something a little more subdued.


I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my steed, which I mentioned in an earlier post then promptly forgot. It's a bicycle that I built from the ground-up (it started out as a vintage road bike), with loads of parts that I picked specifically for turning it into something that's close as possible to being the perfect commuter bicycle.

If you're a bike geek and want me to do a more detailed post on all the details, let me know, otherwise I'll just let it be and say that I came pretty close to hitting my mark. I can ride in a jacket and tie with leather soles and have no worries. It's comfortable, minimal, and a bit throwback, and I love it.

Slim Fit Blues or: The Curse of the Cyclists Thighs

Although modern and "relaxed" fits have gotten entirely out-of-hand as of late (often leaving inches of fabric billowing around my legs), I have the opposite problem a lot of times when trying on pants that seem like they should fit me.

In short, I have thunder thighs.

Okay, so I'm certainly no Alberto Contador, but more often than not, pairs of pants in my usual sizing (34x34 or 34x36) that were made in the mid 80s (or so) and before often look like they were painted on my legs when I put them on.

For your sake, I'll spare you the visuals. For reference though, I'll call forth these very cool gray pinstripe Levi's jeans from what I'm guessing are the early to mid 80s or so.

Gray and light gray pinstripe. New wave, no wave, way cool.

34x34? Sweet!

Like the kick-ass cords in this post, the pictured Levis were only $1, so I didn't even bother trying them on at the thrift store before making my purchase. I had the same problem with these, though, that I had with the aforementioned corduroys, as it looked like my legs (especially my thighs) had been vacuum-sealed when I put in the work of slipping them on. Actually, "slipping" is probably the wrong term, as I nearly needed outside assistance getting them off again.

I ran into the same problem in recently buying some vintage madras pants off ebay. The waist fit great, the length was just about right, but the legs were nearly as tight as the lycra I wear when I'm actually doing long distance rides.

Damn, did I just admit that I sometimes wear lycra?

Oh dear.

Soon to be cruiser

Two months ago I saw an old 1984 Trek bicycle sitting out in a somewhat oddball mid-winter garage sale. It was my size and the price couldn't be beat, so I swiped it up and threw it in the trunk of the car and knew right away what sort of project it was going to turn into. After a couple weeks spent trying to paint match, I threw up my arms in defeat and had the frame media blasted and powder coated in semi-gloss black.

Ultimately, that latter decision is probably going to be one for the better, as the final product is turning out much closer to what I'd imagined in my mind than the original red paint job would have. This weekend was spent polishing some of the old parts and waiting for a few more to arrive in the mail. Barring any major hangups, I should be able to finish putting it together this week.







Once everything is assembled, I'll have a little longer post with some better pictures and a bit more description.