Much to the dismay of many of the readers of this blog it has been inaccessible for the past 6 months. To those of you that have spoken up I have listened to you and decided to open up access for the time being. This does not mean that I am back to posting regularly or that the blog will live on indefinitely but for the moment we are back. I hope you all enjoy it.
To commemorate the return I thought I’d drop a few pics of me getting to sport a tie and coat. These days this is a rare occasion. So when I have the opportunity I take it. I even had the chance to take a flick in my old stomping grounds. The nostalgia is on 10 here. One last thing. Vests do work well imho over sport coats as outerwear. Is it trad or not is whole other question.
While this is not my official retirement post. I do want to let everyone know that I will not be posting regularly for the time being. I don’t know what the future of the Oxford Cloth Button Blog is (I have a few ideas), but I want to thank you all for your encouragement, participation, insights, and everything in between.
This is a simple post. I wanted to find out who has the best madras shirts in 2019. Best madras is very subjective. I myself like a really good muddy madras so that’s what I am focusing on. It is also about the fabric, but the internet makes that part a little harder. Here we go.
What is a muddy madras you ask? I am talking about earth-tone madras typically a variety browns and greens with red, yellow, or orange highlights. These madras may seem a little conservative when compared with their bright pink or pastel brothers but don’t overlook them. They are easy to wear (especially good in hot autumn weather) and easy to look at while still offering up some really wonderful patterns. If you find madras hard to wear these shirts are your friend.
I found three places with a good muddy madras. No surprises here either with the three being J.Press, John Simons, and O’Connells. They are in the $100 and up market, but this really shouldn’t shock any of us at this point. They all do look nice though. All three stores also have a lot of other nice madras shirts.
I took the plunge and ordered a pair of camp mocs. I purchased a pair of Eastland camp mocs which weren’t mentioned in my post, but they were on my radar. Luckily for me someone mentioned them to me on ‘Gram and I doubled back.
I can’t offer much of a review at this point because they don’t fit. In my opinion they don’t fit because I did not order my size. I ordered a half size up because so many reviewers on Amazon stated how small they fit. Now I am not sure if these reviewers have worn non-athletic shoes before or what, but these mocs feel very true to size to me.
Now I know I am not alone in being a review reader. I am not just talking about Amazon reviews, but also searching forum after forum for sizing help. Believe me, I completely understand wanting to get it right the first time. Returns are the worst. I may have decided on a new approach today. Just buy my normal size and go from there. The reason why is that trying to determine my size often results in inaction and when I do take action it only works out half of the time anyways. Thanks for letting me vent.
Overall I am happy with the shape and color (bomber brown) of the shoe. Especially for $100. I was overly concerned about the heel on this moc. I wanted a true camp moc sole which has no heel, but the heel here is not as pronounced as I had feared. The construction feels Sperry or Weejun-ish. So not great, but a nice light semi-disposable moc. A negative to some, but a positive to me. Oh, and despite this post don’t ever ever hesitate to ask me for sizing help!!!
This week I want to share one of the better pieces of trad info that I picked up on the internet somewhere. This tip helps you determine whether or not a jacket is a 3/2 roll or a standard 3-button jacket.
Finished Buttonhole
The devil is in the details. The details here are the buttonholes. On a lot of 3/2 roll jackets the buttonhole will be finished on the backside of the button. The reason being is that because of the roll it is the back of the buttonhole that will actually be visible. So if you look at all three buttons the top button will not be finished (or not finished as nicely) on the same side (the front) as the other two. The exception is where the buttons have been finished the same on both sides.
As you can see the back of the buttonhole is not finished as nicely
If you are ever out thrifting and find yourself facing this question give the button trick a try. My only other advice is that if it’s not rolling that it probably won’t. If you are wondering if it is an orphan suit jacket look for buttons that contrast (most suits buttons match the color of the suit) and casual details like swelled edges and patch pockets. That’s all I got. Good luck out there!
