Yay or nay: One button too many?

I know that some fellows avoid three-button sport coats and suits like the plague, but I have a full three pieces in my collection with three buttons that I wear, and one of them has become almost a staple over the course of the past couple months (more on it below). While I certainly prefer a 3 roll 2 style, and I'd certainly never go above 3, to my eyes a three-button doesn't look so bad at all (especially on someone with an extra-long torso).

It could be, however, that I'm just trying to make excuses to justify wearing this great micro-houndstooth sport coat that I picked up on the cheap. Made by Hickey Freeman out of 100% cashmere, it has the softest touch of just about anything in my wardrobe, and fits like it was tailored for me without any alterations.

I've mentioned it before, and I'll say it again that it is incredibly rare that I find something that fits just so, and my judgement may be impaired here. In terms of checkpoints, it fills all three (great maker, great fabric, great fit) nicely, but sometimes I feel like the extra button looks a bit dorky.

It's been cold (near record, actually) here, hence the extra sweater layer between shirt and coat. The forecast looks to trend upward soon, and so I must ask myself if I need to store this sport coat for the summer or try to find it a new home forever. What say you?

Yay or nay: The tartan blazer

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you probably know that I'm not the most adventurous fellow out there in terms of men's style. It took me a long time before I felt like I got very good at the basics, and I've basically been slowly unfurling different flourishes here and there as time goes along. It's felt like a fairly natural progression, and is still part of a longer process as I continue to branch out and try new things.

That said, sometimes a piece falls into your lap that you can't not purchase. I've already lamented the fact that I don't often find a lot of pieces in my size while thrifting (especially sport coats and shirts), but when I saw the following gem I immediately went to it. After pulling it off the rack and finding that it fit me really well (a trip to the tailor will round it completely into plae), I plopped down my $8 and purchased it, despite having my doubts that I would have the certain je ne sais quoi to ever pull it off properly.

It's definitely wild, but very well made, with great pattern matching, wooden buttons, and absolutely no holes or stains (despite being 100% wool and likely from the 70s). Would you wear this thing?

I certainly will, and I'll have pictures to prove it in time (like I said, it still needs to go to the tailor).

Yay or nay: The patchwork madras jacket

I always have a shortlist of items in my head that I'd like to add to my wardrobe. For the past year or so, I've been wanting to add not only a decent seersucker jacket (or suit), but a madras jacket as well. When I ran across a vintage patch madras number on ebay a couple months ago, I put my bid in and ended up getting it for incredibly cheap.


On a casual Friday at the office, I paired it with a white OCBD, some dark denim, and some red suede bucks. As you can see, it's not the typical madras jacket, as the fabric patches are made up of much darker colors, include black watch plaid and others. Kinda crazy, but that's what these jackets tend to be.


Plain cotton pocket square here on the detail shot.


Another shot of the shoes. I'll write more about them later, after I've seen how well they wear and hold together.

Veering back to the jacket, I have to say that I caught more flack for wearing it than I have just about anything I've donned in the past couple years. One co-worker called it a, "crazy old man jacket" and even my wife added to the chorus of boos. It was kind of tough to hear, because I actually like it quite a bit, but what say you, fair reader? Is it as bad as others have stated, or should I keep it in my arsenal for future GTH days?

Yay or nay? The vintage velveteen jacket

If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time at all, you probably know that while I enjoy finding quality traditional clothing items, I also have a bit of a weakness for rather unique pieces as well. This is especially true when they're vintage, as a good portion of the time you simply don't see anything like them being created still today (and if they are, they're by a new designer and priced out of the range of anyone with modest means).

I had just such a find about a week ago. Gliding through the rack at a particularly poorly-lit thrift store, my fingers glanced across some fabric that stood out during the split-second touch. Based on the price ($4) and the tags inside, I knew that it was coming home with my regardless of whether it fit or not, so I paid and left for home without even trying it on.


It may be hard to tell from the picture, but it's a black cotton velveteen jacket. Based on the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America tag inside the pocket, it's from the mid-60s or so, and it's in absolutely mint condition. The best part is that when I tried it on upon arriving home, it fit me nearly perfectly.

So, I have no idea when the occasion will arise to wear such a jacket, but I was incredibly excited to find it. It's one of those pieces that simply doesn't come around that often, and the fact that it fit me made my day.

Yay or nay? The vintage dinner jacket.

If you're a person that celebrates a holiday during this time of year, I hope that you've had a good one. If not, I hope that you've at least had the chance to spend some quality time with family and/or friends.

I've been incredibly busy, but things are calming down now and I have a good little batch of posts I plan on making. Since the last entries were fairly popular, I thought I'd kick things off with a post highlighting a rather interesting find that I made in the past week.


It's a vintage After Six dinner jacket in khaki, with decorative braiding along the lapels and tops of pockets. It has one button in front, as well as on the sleeves, and it caught my eye immediately when it was hanging on the rack.


It's a bit on the oddball side, but it fits me like a glove, and I figured it would make for a nice change of pace when the weather gets a bit warmer.

By definition, it's formal wear, but it's such an unique piece that I think it can inhabit a real crossover area in my collection, pairing it with everything from light khakis to blue jeans.

So yeah, I bought it (for 5 dollars). Would you have?

Yay or nay? The Hickey.

A wise man probably would have thought twice in starting a style blog, knowing full well that they are often incredibly self-conscious. I am not a wise man, though.

Despite not posting regularly, I have been scooping up some interesting things over the past couple weeks, and I might as well lay out a few of them, including this amazing/atrocious vintage Hickey Freeman jacket.



Did I mention that it's insane?



Sized at 40 Long, this jacket is by default a, "nay" for me (I wear a 42XL or 44XL, depending on the cuts), but I bought it anyway due to the cheap price ($3.50) and the good name of Hickey Freeman. I'm guessing it's 60s or so from the tag. It's definitely 100% wool and doesn't have even a slight nibble of damage, so I'll have to find a good home for it at some point. The pattern-matching is impeccable and the tailoring is fabulous, as one would expect.

Speaking of homes, this is the sort of jacket that certainly would take a certain... je ne sais quoi to pull off. Or perhaps just a bit more swagger than I have right now. In all honesty, though, it's not too far off from some of the louder Huntsman Tweeds that I've seen crop up in the series of posts on Permanent Style.

Be honest. Would you wear it?

Yay or nay? The Trenker.

Sometimes I see a unique item of clothing at a thrift store, and before I've even really thought about what I'm going to wear it with (or what my wife will think of it), I'm out the door with purchase in hand.

I suppose that's the best way to describe the purchase of this hat, which I got earlier this summer on a whim for $3.



It's a vintage, 100% wool Bavarian-style hat (which I've seen referred to as a "Trenker hat," after the film star Luis Trenker) and I think it will look pretty okay if I team it up with the right combination this fall or winter. Maybe with something like this?

My wife, however, thinks that it looks far too Sound Of Music and is giving more than subtle nudges that I should re-donate it before it even makes one appearance on my head outside our house.

Who's right on this one?