01/02/2014
Most human endeavours are in some way aimed at improving the human existence. Be it through culture, engineering, medicine or other ways that make life easier, safer or more pleasurable, we progress as a species. I quite often feel a real sense of pride in observing the innovations in science and technology. The complexity and sheer dedication going into the…
31/01/2014
For a while now I’ve been wanting to get a pair of Red Wing boots. Did I need a pair? Not for any practical purpose. I already had a couple of pairs of usable winter boots, and for me winter boots tend last a long time. Plenty of snow and ice means there is little wear on the soles, and…
30/01/2014
With the one year anniversary for my humble blog coming up soon, I’ll be doing the odd post summarising my experience of being a middle-aged menswear blogger. First of all I’d like to do a short post on how people actually find my blog, specifically what search terms they enter into the search engine which results in them finding their…
29/01/2014
Another instalment of Waistcoat Wednesday is here for you to peruse in a sartorial light. This week I’m presenting a piece from the more mainstream garment industry in the form of Levis. Given how the menswear community has such an fetish for small production, quirky brands and fastidious Japanese reproductions of arcane workwear items, it may seem odd that I’m…
15/01/2014
Those of you following me on Instagram will already know that version 2 of the Waistcoat Project has been completed and approved. In fact, the comments posted on the sneak photos have been incredibly encouraging and gives me the motivation to continue the project, with yet more variants! Due to the winter darkness it’s bee a little tricky to take…
10/01/2014
Now, anyone that has been following my blog for a while knows that around here we very much enjoy our waistcoats. This tends to lead to a certain amount of nerdy attention to detail, as shown in my series of waistcoat reviews for my ongoing Waistcoat Wednesday festivities. Details matter, otherwise all we have is an indistinguishable array of armless…
09/01/2014
If you think back to a week or to before Xmas, you’ll recall that I reported on the stroke of luck I had in finding a pair of Custom Grade Chetwynd brogues by Church in my local Salvation Army charity shop. A truly remarkable find, and even more remarkable in that they were my size as well. A pair of…
06/01/2014
While in Berlin recently (trip report here) a friend recommended I find the time to visit a shop by the name of Fein und Ripp. Not being very savvy to the happening places in Berlin, I had to make a quick visit to their website before seeing how essential it was to make a detour up to Prenzlauer Berg. Well, the…
03/01/2014
As a child of the Cold War era and avid reader of spy novels, Berlin has always been a place holding a certain mystique for me. So when recently looking around for a fun destination to spend a reasonably priced weekend, Berlin popped up as an interesting choice. Given that it is serviced by the low-price airlines and seemingly packed…
03/01/2014
So, moving on with the Waistcoat Project. Having proven in part 1 that it is feasible for a middle-aged man to sew a waistcoat at home, with little previous experience (I realise that for some, this comes as no surprise, yet for others this is a revelation of near biblical impact) I now want to make some adjustments to the…