Blog

                                                              For much of the country, the winter was long and hard. But things are finally starting to look up. The sun is shining, temperatures are above freezing on a regular basis, co-workers' moods may have significantly improved, and summer is all too near. Who knows, you may even be changing along with these other welcome changes. Perhaps you are even feeling a bit more whimsical and carefree. However, for many of us, between the hours of 9-5, we have to hide our newly whimsical and carefree selves in workplaces that don't quiet appreciate our enthusiasm for life. But don't...

                                            On the sales floor of any boutique nowadays, you’ll find a sales associate encouraging some potential customer to stroke the sleeve of a tailored jacket. “Feel that!,” he or she’ll triumphantly say. “That’s Super 200s wool.” The truth is, super wools are just a numbers game. The traditional way of grading the quality of yarn is to see how much can be spun out of one pound of raw wool. The finer the fibers, the more spools – or “hanks” – can be filled. Thus, if a wool is “60s,” it means that a pound of raw wool will...

                                                              In a perfect world, bespoke clothing and excellent custom tailoring would be affordable and widely available. Commissioning a new suit would be as easy as going to the grocery store – every neighborhood would have its’ own local tailor with their own private atelier. Unfortunately, this clothing nirvana has yet to come to pass, and the vast majority of clothing that most of us will own is considered “off the rack” – created not for you individually, but produced from basic patterns designed to be suitable for a variety of body types. Fortunately, finding a good tailor, and...

                                                                Traditional men’s clothing – or dress clothing – is full of arcane rules and customs that are often inexplicable, yet are very important in demonstrating to the world that you know how to dress yourself. One of the most common mistakes men make when wearing suit jackets and sport coats is buttoning the bottom button (confession time: we’re guilty of this ourselves sometimes). Unless you’re wearing a one-button jacket, leave that bottom button undone.   But where did this rule come from? And what does it mean?   Fortunately, unlike many fashion traditions, we’re able to definitely trace the...