Patience is a virtue

When I first started thrifting seriously for clothes, I bought everything of even middling quality that came close to fitting me. It was only upon finding that I had far too many useless, ill-fitting clothes cluttering up my closet that I had to change my mindset to one of biding my time until the right items came along.

Although I haven't been finding the wealth of ties that I used to when I went out more often, I've still run across a couple treasures lately. One is this heavy silk Turnbull and Asser in white with navy stripes and check. It has a couple tiny little pulls, but they're only noticeable on super close inspection.

While I haven't been hitting the physical stores as much as in the past, I've managed to pick up a few great finds here and there on ebay. One example is this pair of made in Italy J Crew wingtip boots. J Crew isn't always known for their quality, and these boots looked ridiculously beat in the auction photos, but a couple points stuck out to me while looking at the auction.

The first is that the heel is actually stacked wood, and the boots are entirely made of leather (except the heel). There are a few J Crew lines that have been licensed by seriously quality makers (in fact, they have done some with Alden), and these appear to be top shelf. One of the things I'd wanted over the past year was a pair of boots just like this, and instead of forking over $300 or more for Allen Edmonds or something of similar quality, I managed to make these mine for under $50 including shipping. After a quality polish, they've done quite nicely, and I'm guessing that if I take care of them, they'll last me a decade or so.

I'll admit it's fund to splurge and strut your stuff with something new once in awhile, but I somehow manage to get that same feeling when I find a screaming deal.

Style Share return: Skiing tie

Last month, I finally got back into the swing of things with Style Share and offered up a pile of ties. Not sure if I'll do it every month, but I have some seriously rad stuff that will be offered up as soon as the temperatures go up a bit.

GetTicketsToTheDance claimed this fun ski motif tie from the Squire Shop, and even provided a link with a bit of history about the place it was made for.

Photos courtesy GetTicketsToTheDance

As usual, I'll let him give the details.

The coat is a vtg Navy flannel 3/2 Sack from the Harvard Co-Op, the shirt is a current Brooks Brothers Oxford Cloth Button down (USA Made), the khakis are LL Bean flannel lined, the ragg socks are Cabot Brothers (now Darn Tough out of VT), and the Beefroll pennies are Florsheim Imperial. The Coat and Khakis were thrifted, the shoes a cheap ebay pickup.

Not only classic-looking, but warm as well (I've got to get some flannel-lined pants for the days when the wind gets wicked around here). I'm a big fan of mixing in a playful tie with a more traditional coat and pants combination. Lots of bargain shopping as well!

Thanks again to GetTicketsToTheDance for participating.

Style Share: December

Sheesh. What a year / month / week (pick one or all of the aforementioned). I sincerely hope that you and yours are well and that you're able to spend some quality time with the ones you love over the course of the next couple weeks. If nothing else, remind the people in your life that you love them every chance you get.

It's been awhile since I've done a Style Share, so even if you're a new follower to the blog, fortunately the rules are quite simple; I offer up some items of clothing and the only thing I ask is that the recipient of said free* item email me back a photo or two of them wearing it for a follow-up post on this site (I'll give you credit for the photo and even link your blog if you have one).

This month it's all about ties, and each one has sort of a winter / holiday theme. I'm sending out the first four claimed, so have at it.

Vintage Brooks Brothers Santa Claus emblematic tie. Not really much more to say other than that it's a classic.

Yellow ski jumpers emblematic tie on navy silk. Awesome as well.

Lands' End green candy cane / mistletoe colored tie.

Semi-wide Pendleton tartan tie in the colors of the season.

Wool / silk knit with another skier motif. I think it's going to snow here soon, and I hope it does in your area as well (once you reach your intended location).

No-label made in Italy beauty with small black dots on juicy red. No problem going year-round with this.

As usual, claim your item in the comments, then email me through the address listed on the site. It's really that simple.

Perhaps it goes without saying, but if you see something you like that doesn't get claimed and you want to trade/purchase it, just email me. I've actually traded for a few items in the past and frankly it's nearly just as fun for me.

*Seriously, it's free, and yours to keep forever. No strings attached. I won't share your name on the site or with anyone else unless you have a blog of your own that you want me to link. Please note that all clothing will be used (but certainly not stained, smelly, or damaged, as I do have standards), so please only agree to participate if this sort of thing doesn't gross you out. Thanks!

Gray things for gray days

If I ran down a litany of all the things that have happened in my life over the course of the past couple months, it would sound like a sad country song. I've been busy, and not always in ways that have been happy, but things have now settled back into normalcy and I'm going to celebrate that by keeping on.

For obvious reasons, one of the last things I felt like doing was updating my blog, but along the way I realized that even though it's somewhat frivolous in nature, I actually did miss it a little. If nothing else, it kept my creative juices flowing a bit in trying to capture some decent images and string together some words that made a little sense.

After the most brutal summer that I can remember living through (in terms of heat and drought), we finally got a bit of a cold snap here, and it was welcome to me, as my fall wardrobe contains my favorites. I love my tweed jackets and over-the-calf socks and chunky ties and yes, even sweater vests (and sweaters). It gives me an excuse to wear wool hats and scarves and for once I don't have to worry about what hour of the day I'm going to inevitably sweat through my undershirt.

This past week, I finally broke out some of my tweeds, starting with this color-flecked gray Pendleton. It pretty much goes with anything, but I paired it with navy trousers and a green, vintage v-neck Pringle sweater.

Although this time of year features my favorite outfit combinations, it's also the hardest time to get decent photos outside, as the sun goes down so early that I have to get home early and set aside a couple minutes in addition just to have a chance. With a toddler and various household things that need done, it just doesn't always happen. In the previous photo, I managed to kill two birds with one stone in shooting photos at the same time I was emptying our compost bucket (pictured).

With a dry summer and a really long, mild fall, the squirrels have all gotten incredibly fat. We still have two pumpkins left from Halloween, but one of them has been almost completely destroyed (this is the lucky one).

I'm going to be in the giving mood in December. Six months is long enough to go without Style Share, don't you think?

Shill: Saucony Kinvara

Prior to our daughter being born, my exercise of choice was cycling. Several summers back, I found an old (1985, to be exact) Trek touring bike and modded it out, turning it into a poor-mans cyclocross bicycle that was perfect for riding the crushed limestone rails-to-trails paths that snake across the countryside in my state.

Over the course of under three years, I put over 5000 miles on that bike, and would routinely leave the house for 2 hour rides, my favorite being a 30-mile jaunt that I finished in an hour and 20 minutes at my peak.

With a month left in the pregnancy, I started getting the feeling where I didn't want to be too far of a distance away from home (especially in the middle of the countryside), just in case. The bike got parked in the basement, and I dusted off my running shoes.

It wasn't enough to just start running, though, as I'd done that many summers ago and ended up paying for it with some severe shin splints in the fall. Instead, I did a little reading up and decided to rebuild my running technique based on ChiRunning. Having read up on it, I figured a change might be in order, as over time it's supposed to reduce injury and be better for the body in general. After five summers of hardcore tennis playing and some bone spurs in my hip to show for it, I was looking to reduce wear and tear in any way possible.

Here's a picture of the bottoms of my first pair of minimalist running shoes (Saucony - Kinvara) after almost 600 miles. The outsole is massively compressed, but they're still wearable and even comfortable.

Here's the same shoes from above, showing a little bit more wear and tear, including a bunch of dirt and crud that got embedded in the mesh while running off paved paths (about half my mileage). The shoes are crazy light, weighing in at only 12 ounces each (and that's for a size 14 shoe), and have just enough cushion for a large-framed fellow without going full-on barefoot style (which I know my body would not like).

Since I retired the aforementioned pair, I picked up the latest model from Saucony, the Kinvara 3. They've upgraded a few of the things that bugged me (the outer mesh is stronger), while keeping everything great about the shoe.

I'm up to almost 1000 miles run (since I started up again) and haven't been slowed by injury once (with the longest break between runs being 5 days due to sickness). For an old, lanky fellow with a tendency for aches and pains, I consider that a win.

Gone carving

Our long, brutal summer has finally given way to some cooler temperatures, and while we're still running at near dust-bowl levels in terms of moisture for the year, the bearable nights and reasonable days have me at least thinking about my favorite season in terms of clothing.

It's closer to pumpkin carving season than it is powder carving (heck, we haven't even gotten frost here yet), but if nothing else these ties helped me mark the changing of the seasons.

I haven't skied in years, but I have a flaw in my character that I simply can't pass up novelty ties like this when they come my way. They're all great colors, with excellent movement, and while the fellow on the right might be a hiker and the odd man out, I couldn't just leave him hanging there.

More content coming this month, including a return of Style Share and more. Stay tuned.

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.