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My Ralph Lauren Story

by oxford cloth button down on October 18, 2024 in Lifestyle with 4 Comments

The actual title of this blog post was going to be, “Will This Be My Ralph Lauren Story?”. However that title was way too long and not nearly as catchy. This Ralph Lauren story is actually a story within a story about a flannel shirt.

It all started with an errand. My wife needed me to pick up some contacts for her at the eye doctor. I’m always up for an errand that gets me out of the house. As I was walking up to the doctor’s office I noticed that it was right next door to a Plato’s closet. Now I haven’t been in a Plato’s closet in years, but I thought I might as well stroll through. I even had something in mind that I was looking for, a country flannel.

What is a country flannel you ask? I am not quite sure how to describe what I mean, but I will give it a shot. I wanted a plaid flannel shirt that wasn’t a tartan. Something that didn’t read preppy with colors a bit more rustic. Perhaps in an ombre or shadow plaid with 2 chest pockets of some configuration and I wanted the material to be nice and thick. The type of flannel that you might see a man on a tractor wearing or an employee at RRL or Wythe. Hopefully I can score one under RRL and Wythe prices.

To my surprise I found exactly what I wanted. I tried it on and it fit. It was $10. I was sold. I headed to the counter and then noticed that it was missing 1 button, nope 2 buttons, and after a final closer examination it was missing 3 buttons in total. I was still going to buy it, but as I go to checkout there is no one to check me out. After standing around for a few minutes I left as my time was running out thinking it must not be in the cards for me.

Now here is where I think that my OCD having menswear friends will all be able to really relate. When I got home all I could think about was that shirt. I kicked myself for not sticking around and buying the shirt. I found myself looking at the pictures that I took of the flannel multiple times over the weekend. On Sunday I decided that I would trek back over there at some point next week on my lunch. That’s exactly what I did and luckily for me it was still there.

Now we’ve got to the end of the story and I bet you are wondering how this is a Ralph Lauren story. Well here’s how it ties in with Uncle Ralph. This American Eagle flannel shirt had reminded me of his infamous Kmart flannel shirt that he wore on the CBS Sunday Morning show (here). I hope that it turns out exactly the same. I hope that it becomes full of memories, that I treasure it, and that like Ralph I look good in it. This might just be my Ralph Lauren story. Happy belated birthday Uncle Ralph!

Late 70s/Early 80s Preppy Sneakers

by oxford cloth button down on October 4, 2024 in Footwear with 7 Comments

The Late 70s Prep Checklist post generated a lot of question about one of my favorite topics which is sneakers. I’ve been into sneakers since as long as I can remember. Actually I can remember. It was 1989, I was in the 5th grade, and the Jordan IV came out. It has been a wrap since then, but back to the topic of at hand. Here are my top 5 picks for late 70s/early 80s vibed sneakers that are currently available.

1. Nike LD-1000 – $100

2. Adidas Country – $120

3. Nike Cortez – $90

4. Onitsuka Mexico 66 – $185

5. Adidas Samba Long Tongue – $90

I tried to keep the list short, but solid and most importantly available. However if you don’t love the above there are lots of other sneakers out there that can match the vibe. Adidas’s line up in particular has a ton of options that would work such as the Gazelle Indoor, SL72, and Handball Spezial to name a few. The same is true with Nike. They currently have the Blazer, Field General 82, and the Mac Attack plus a plethora of others. Whatever your favorite brand I am sure you can find a sneaker to fit the mold.

For those that find this topic interesting I suggest picking up the Lightning Nike Chronicle (1971-1980) book. It has a ton of great images of 70s-80s Nikes as well as running shirts. I dropped some images below. I’ve seen it available a few places in the past, but there are a few currently up on Ebay and Amazon Japan. Another cool resource for sneakers and how to rock sneakers that I recommend is the Trainer Spotting Instagram page.

I am going to leave you with one piece of advice before I head out. It’s actually the same advice I find myself giving about clothes. That advice is to wear your sneakers. As with clothes well worn sneakers almost always look better than clean sneakers. I am off to break in my new Nike LD-1000s!

Images from the Nike Chronicle 1971-1980

Pants, Pants, & More Pants

by oxford cloth button down on September 20, 2024 in Uncategorized with 13 Comments

We have a lot to unpack here in a short amount of time. We have to cover time and perception, the power of a crease, pants, and more pants stuff. Let’s get right to it.

I used to think that the chinos above were a nice balance between slim and wide. However, I feel like they look a bit too tapered these days. This is interesting to me for a few reasons, but the most interesting is that I am now gaining the ability to see how trends from the 2010’s influenced my style. It takes a little bit of time in between the past and the present to be able to recognize these trends. It’s really interesting when it becomes apparent.

Let’s move on to the power of the crease. I was going to show the image above and let it speak for itself, but to clarify these are the exact same pair of pants. I think they look too tapered on the left, but don’t look bad on the right. The Wallabees are effecting the drape, but I also think that they are highlighting the leg opening issue. Now I am not going to throw these chinos out. They aren’t that bad. I will probably just wear them casually with no crease, but I am on the hunt for new work chinos.

The hunt for new work chinos has been going on for a short while. Not too long ago I posted about J.Crew’s classic fit. While I liked these I found them a touch too voluminous. The crease did help clean this up a bit, but I knew they weren’t the ones. I recently picked up a pair of the new J.Crew straight fit (see here). They are a little trimmer than the classic fit, but they still have a decent rise (J.Crew says a size 32 has a 12.25″ rise), and leg width (8″). These run closer to tts unlike the classic fit which run a full size large. I have only worn them twice, but these might be the ones for me. I will probably size up from these 29″ waist that I am wearing here which have a 11″ rise to a 30″ waist to get another 1/2 inch of rise. Before I go all in on these I need to wear them out a few more times and then try out some JD M1’s soon

Before I hear it in the comment section let me set the record straight. I actually think that the classic fit looks a touch better than the straight fit in these pics above. However, I think it’s more to do with the photography and you guessed it, the crease. I should have done a non-creased classic fit pic to show just how wide they really are and a creased pic of the straight fit, but I ran out of time. Also, don’t be fooled. The rise is almost identical in both pairs. I will have to follow up with more pics.

Before I head out there is one last thing I wanted to touch on which is body shape. Body shape is going to play a major role in what pants works for you. Your torso to leg ratio, height, weight, and for me my bowed legs will all inform what rise, inseam, and leg width work best. For example my bowed legs can make pants looks slimmer than they are by the way they cause my pants to drape. Especially if I am standing with my knees locked and then I have to factor in my larger than normal calves too. All that to be say that pants fit is very personal on multiple levels. That’s it for now, but I am sure there will be more pants talk in the near future.

Ranger Moc Talk

by oxford cloth button down on August 30, 2024 in Footwear with 4 Comments

Yes last week I was telling you to get out there and enjoy the last days of summer. Now here I am this week talking about fall. This is a good thing. It shows that I have confidence that we can walk and chew gum at the same time. Speaking of walking when I think of fall I think of ranger mocs.

When I say ranger mocs what I mean are the chukka version of blucher mocs. While blucher mocs are camp mocs cooler weather cousins, ranger mocs are blucher mocs big brother. They are a little bigger, taller, and tougher than blucher mocs. When you need to walk through some wet leaves without getting them in your shoes these guys come in handy. Plus they keep your ankles a touch warmer as the temps dip and they just work well with fall fabrics like corduroy and flannel. Perfect for running around town or casual Friday at the office or honestly probably any day at the office these days.

Ranger mocs used to be easy to find. All you had to do was go to LL Bean, but then they stopped making them. They did resurface last year, but they already look to be on their way out again (see here). Like many of our trad staples ranger mocs are getting harder and harder to find, but I did manage to turn up a few pair.

Hands down the best looking pair that I saw is the Easymoc Camp Chukka. I spotted these last year and have been thinking about them ever since. The shape is great and they have the correct sole. The sole has been the hardest part to find lately. A lugged sole may be more practical, but for better or worse we often find ourselves in the form over function camp here at the OCBD Blog. Priced at $295 these are a pretty big step up in price from the Bean mocs. They are also made in the USA so the price isn’t surprising.

The Eastland Seneca Camp Chukka is another good contender. I am not in love with the shape of the uppers, but it’s still a nice classic design for a great price. You don’t hear a lot about Eastland these days. I tried a pair of their camp mocs out 5 plus years ago and while they ultimately didn’t work out, I would try them again.

That’s a good start for now. I will be talking more fall over the few weeks. Now get out there and enjoy the weather, but don’t forget to plan ahead so that you don’t get left behind.

The Kids Are Alright

by oxford cloth button down on August 15, 2024 in Clothing and History, Style with 4 Comments

This week I wanted to highlight one of my favorite Instagram pages, The Scene In Between. This page checks a lot of boxes for me. It has cool music, cool clothes, and it’s heavy on vibes. It focuses on early and obscure band pics with an emphasis on unknown1960’s garage bands. I almost said that it’s not clothing related, but it’s almost impossible to separate music from fashion and this my kind of music fashion.

Below are a sampling of pics to give you a taste of what Sam Knee is cooking over there. If these glimpses into rock’s past don’t wet your whistle I don’t know what will. I love seeing the ivy look bleed into psychedelic scene, the clean cut all-American boys of the 1950’s morphing into punk rockers right before our very eyes, or even more simply just kids having fun with their friends making music.

Even those post is about clothes it’s not all about clothes. Sometimes it’s nice not to think about clothes. Sometimes, I feel like I gotta get away. And I know if I don’t, I’ll go out of my mind. Better leave it behind with the kids, they’re alright. The kids are alright.