24/06/2015
I appear to have a bit of a thing for blue jackets. Off the top of my head I count 9, some of various types, but most of a quite similar type. The type in question is what some would call a chore jacket. Some would class it as retro workwear inspired. Others may pedantically throw out words such as unstructured…
21/06/2015
A matter that has caused me much pondering is the matter of what to do about socks during the summer. To use them, skip them, or try to stealth them? There are varying opinions on this issue, as can be seen by doing a little field work among actual live specimens. Don’t bother too much with the ladies though, they…
29/03/2015
It’s been a while now since I presented any new backpacks, though I’m always on the outlook for suitable specimens. As for the previous posts (here, here, here and here), the parameters are basically the same: We need a replacement for the awful black standard-issue nylon backpack your company have provided you with. And it must be a nice one,…
22/03/2015
Shoes are an ancient and established piece of technology in most of our lives. Those of us over the age of 5, with normally developed skills and faculties, are also well acquainted with shoe laces, both from the perspective of lacing the shoes and from tying the laces. Given that everyone clearly manages well enough in this respect on a…
19/03/2015
Today I thought I’d say a few words about turn-ups, or cuffs. As in, what do we do about trousers that are too long for our legs and have no tools at to hand. If you stopped to ask your mother, she’d tell you to get them hemmed. Hemming is the proper way to deal with excess length, just cut…
24/02/2015
If there is one task that our robotic helpers have never quite mastered it is the seemingly simple task of sewing buttons on garments. You can always tell when this has been done using machines, as … well, the buttons fall off. Sometimes it will take a while, other times almost before you have started using them. It starts with…
21/02/2015
A couple of weeks ago I was press-ganged into attending a company dinner with WDG, aka she who must be obeyed. Now, anyone that has followed me for a while knows that I don’t do suits, as in the only suit I own is from 1945 and of a decidedly vintage style. My job requires me to be fully clothed…
20/02/2015
A while back I posted about how I discovered that my classic Dr Martens shoes had developed split soles (read the original post here!). Although four or five years since I had purchased them, they had seen little use and I was very surprised to find that the soles, while displaying marginal wear elsewhere, had split along the sides, opening…
12/02/2015
Am I alone in having a vivid childhood recollection of my father, post shave, with his face dotted with small squares of toilet paper, held in place by dark spots of dried blood? Looking up from your morning cereal to encounter the visage of your dear dad looking like an extra in a truly low-budget splatter film? It’s probably the…
17/01/2015
Braces and suspenders, a belting alternative: Braces, or suspenders if you like, are a mainstay of a gentleman’s attire. Sometimes you may be in luck and find the lucky pair of trousers that will sit on you without falling down, and hopefully without acting like a tourniquet round your vital parts. Mostly though, you will be in need of some aid…