All posts in Men’s Clothing Reviews

The Ragged, Tattered, and Torn OCBD

by oxford cloth button down on September 11, 2016 in Lifestyle, Men's Clothing Reviews, Style with 16 Comments

I truly did not think that I would see this day. I have read of it and I have even seen pictures of it, but I still thought it more myth than certain reality and then last week it happened to me. My trusty OCBD that had a charming amount of fraying now has a hole in its collar.
No blog has probably done a better job of documenting the Ivy & Trad virtues of well-worn clothing than Ivy Style with articles such as “A Frayed So: In Praise of Beater Clothes.” It was there where I saw my first OCBD collar riddled (pictured above) with what looked to me like symptoms of an insect problem not true wear and tear. This is where I was wrong.

Prior to springing a leak my shirt showed no signs of being on its last leg. It was worn to the office the week before. I put it in the wash frayed and it came out with a hole. It was part of my core rotation of 12 OCBDs. So it sees action about once every other week. I may have worn this one more than others without being aware of it (They do all look the same). However, upon further inspection two others are showing signs of being structurally weak in the same area.

I learned a few things this week. I learned that collars do get holes in them naturally without the shirts being worn well past their prime. I also learned that this batch of OCBDs all of which are from Lands’ End were purchased in 2007 and 2008. That is not a bad value at all when you consider that this shirt still has a very long life ahead of it. It may not make it to the office anymore, but it is just starting to get good and I didn’t even have to use sand paper (Princeton Boys and The Sandpapered Shirt Collar).

Quick Cord Roundup

by oxford cloth button down on August 28, 2016 in Men's Clothing Reviews, Style with 9 Comments

Last week I had one foot in summer and the other in fall. This week there is no looking back. I opened up my closet to examine my fall line-up and what I found was a need for a new pair of cords. I jumped online and found a few corduroy options to share.

Lands’ End has rolled out there fall cords ($79). They have a 18-wale and a 14-wale, but more importantly they offer a tradly 10-wale cord (see here) as well. They are available in both their tailored and traditional fit. I will be interested in hearing how this year’s trousers fit. They offer the traditional tan, but also have a nice color called Brown Umber. I have a pair in this color and I have found it very versatile (pictured above). On the downside my previous pairs of LE cords have had an extremely short self life (Worn out wales). Tread lightly.
Corduroys pants have also surfaced over at Brooks Brothers ($108 – See here). Brooks offer 14-wale and an 8-wale. They come in the Clark and Milano fit. I don’t have much experience with Brooks trousers, but I do know that most trads prefer the fuller Clark fit, but as we all know fit is different for everyone. Brooks also has a very nice green color. On top of that it was nice to see the tassel loafers paired with them on the website (see image above).

O’Connell’s (O’Connell’s Cords) has there cords out too, but thats no suprise because they always offer their cords! I have heard nothing but good things about O’Connell’s corduroy trousers, but like most things at OC they are not cheap. The prices range from $100-200. Sizes are limited, but they do have the best offering in terms of color.

Corduroy trousers are invaluable in the fall/winter. They have a great texture, they are warm, and you can dress them up with tweed or down with a Shetland. As you can see there are already a few corduroy options available. If you see a pair that you like I would order them sooner than later. I have learned the hard way that cords tend to sell fast which is why I am posting about them now!

End of Summer Tartan Shirts

by oxford cloth button down on August 21, 2016 in Lifestyle, Men's Clothing Reviews, Style with 4 Comments

Here in Ohio I have been noticing summer drawing to a close over the past 2 weeks. We have been experiencing both summer and fall temps with Autumn in the air. Everyone is getting excited for the cooler weather and all of the layering that comes along with it, but until then we still have to deal with heat. This is the time of year wear a muddy madras shirt in browns, blues, and greens is indispensable, but I have found another late summer option in my poplin tartan shirt.

I have always thought (and still do to an extent) that tartan shirts are strictly for fall and winter wear. However, there seems to be a tradition of trads sporting tartan shirts in lightweight fabrics during the summer. I say that because these lightweight tartan shirts can be found at O’Connell’s and Mercer’s. I also recall seeing some from Brooks Brothers in the past and J.Press having them in walking shorts.

Mercer & Son’s Dress Gordon in Broadcloth ($155)

O’Connell’s Blackwatch Shirt in Broadcloth ($145)

One thing that I found interesting about these shirts are the patterns. These shirts are primarily made in Dress Gordon and Blackwatch Tartans. This is great for me as Dress Gordon is by far my favorite tartan with Blackwatch being a close second. I seem to recall seeing some in Dress Stewart, but I could not find one available at this time.

As the weather transitions and the colors of summer start to fade lightweight tartan shirts make a great pairing. The poplin will keep you cool while the tartan colors are a nice nod to the changing weather. Additionally these shirts can be worn when warm weather is far far behind us and we are dreaming of madras again.

Transition Time

by oxford cloth button down on August 7, 2016 in Men's Clothing Reviews, Style with 1 Comment

The dog days of summer have set in making the days long and hot, but don’t get too distraught as fall days filled with Shetlands and tweeds are just around the corner. Over the last the week I have used this time of transition to fill holes in my summer wardrobe and to get a head start on fall.

My first purchase was a new bathing suit. I had grown tired of my previous pair of trunks. With summer sales abound I picked up a deeply discounted suit from PRL. I am not sure if this the most trad pattern, but it is what I like.

Next I picked up a Varsity Town’s “Madisonairre”, brown tweed herringbone jacket on the secondhand market. I am very excited about this purchase. A brown herringbone tweed has long been on my want list (See my list here). It has all of the details that I look for (3/2 roll, dartless, swelled edge, hooked vent) minus patch pockets. I am still working out the fit details. More to come on this, but until then check out this post from Ivy Style on the Madisonairu (See here).
Summer is great for outdoor fun and I am not looking forward to its end, but it is the least exciting sartorial season. Now is a great time to spend a humid afternoon indoors taking advantage of summer sales and planning for autumn. I am off to find a pool.

Bits from Billax

by oxford cloth button down on July 24, 2016 in Men's Clothing Reviews, Style with 6 Comments

We were all bummed out when Billax left the blogger scene. It sucked. It was like when Heavy Tweed Jacket shut down his blog in the past. It’s not that I don’t understand, because I do. Blogging comes with a lot of baggage and sometimes you need a break. Heavy Tweed Jacket returned in the form of Tumblr (Heavy Tweed Jacket) and Billax was just recently spotted by Put this On the blog posting on the Menswear forum, Style Forum.
Billax post on Style Forum does not disappoint. The king of collar roll showcases the collar roll of 7 OCBDs in this order Mercer (Pink Uni Stripe), The Knottery, J. Press, Brooks Brothers, Land’s End, O’Connell’s, and Kamakura. For those of us who are obsessed with button-down collars post like these are invaluable. For more details on the comparison check out the his full post here, Billax on Style Forum.

If this post did not quench your thirst for Ivy League Style advice dispensed by someone who lived through these times I have another link for you. Prior to Billax launching his blog he would allow me to publish some of his long form forum posts. This link will take you to these posts – Billax archive on the OCBD blog.