So It Goes

The Uniform

One of my goals has been to establish a dependable source for my essentials. In my case essentials means OCBDs and chinos. I thought that I had my chino situation taken care of, but it’s not looking that way.
FullSizeRender(23)I have been pretty content with my J.Crew Essential Chinos in Classic fit. I will be the first to admit that they are not perfect. The rise could use another 1/2 inch and the leg opening could lose 1/8 of an inch, but overall they are great. I have learned that its easier for me to live with these slight imperfections than it is to chase the unicorn that is perfection (Psst, perfection is not real).
FullSizeRender(21)I was looking to order another pair of these chinos last year (or maybe the year before) when I could not find them. After a call to customer service it turns out that J.Crew had revamped their naming conventions and the Classic Fit was renamed the 1040 fit. I don’t love companies doing this, but at least they were still making my chinos (This is foreshadowing.).

Fast-forward to today and while the 1040 fit is still available they no longer offer the Essential Chino. The Essential Chino was their work-appropriate chino. They now only offer the broken-in fit. They do have other options that may work for me in their Bowery fit chinos. They may even end up bringing these back, but that isn’t what this post is really about.

What I want you to take away from this post is their is no “done.” Our favorite items will always be changed or discontinued. It is unavoidable. There is nothing I want you to do, but to accept this as I am learning to do. We may even find something new that we like more than what we had.

oxford cloth button down
Jerrod Swanton is a simple man interested in simple, classic, and traditional style.

9 Comments on "So It Goes"

  1. JoelVau says:

    Amen to your plan and fustrations. A recent post on saltwater new england was about when you find a staple, stock up. Although, i cannot afford to buy 7 Mercer shirts at a time. Ha. Roomy khakis are harder and harder to find, especially with on-seam trad pockets. Thrifting has become my best source of late. You did not mention a source for OCBDS. Finding good, non lined, and must iron shirts is also a trek, if you want to spend under $100. I recommend Lands’ End Hyde Park. Collars slightly small but acceptable.

  2. NCJack says:

    Named after a political cartoonist, it’s called “Herblock’s Law”: if you really like it, they’ll quit making it.

  3. Robert says:

    Which brand of Harrington are you wearing?

  4. oxford cloth button down says:

    Robert – It is a Baracuta. I thrifted it.

    NCJack – How, did I forget to include that. Thanks for reminding me!

    JoelVau – I agree that stocking up is not really an option. Let’s say you can buy 5. In the scheme of things that is not going to carry you very far!

  5. Ezra Cornell says:

    Grrr!! I HATE when this happens! In fact it was an earlier post on this blog that made the same point, and so I stocked up on several items I love and that get heavy rotation. That can sometimes feel weird–buying something you already have–but worse is trying to explain it to the wife!

  6. oxford cloth button down says:

    Ezra – You have a good memory. Yes, I still recommend buying more than one of something if you love it. Ensiferous told me, “One is none. Two is one. The third is a spare.” This still works, but don’t think that you can buy enough to last you a lifetime!

  7. BB says:

    Who makes the tote you carry in so many of your pictures? You should do a write-up on it.

  8. Crystal Olig says:

    Had this same issue w the Jcrew pants I used to get Kyle circa 2008. He is really hard to fit in pants (short legs and thin but he has avoided a “skinny jean” approach). Jcrew was the only thing that fit and then they changed it, but I was able to email to ask but then they were too worn in to really last, he’d bust out the back pocket in the wallet space and he hem would fray within 6mo. Have been much happier w some Banana offerings in men’s pants and fits.

I would like to hear from you