Surf Board Trad

by oxford cloth button down on August 9, 2024 in Uncategorized with 3 Comments

Packing light is not my forte. While I like to think of myself as a minimalist of sorts I also like to be prepared for anything which requires options. My wife on the other hand is a living legend when it comes to packing. We were headed to Myrtle Beach with the fam for a few days and this trip I really tried to cut back.

In order for this to work for me I needed almost all of my clothes to be interchangeable. Now this is where trad typically excels. I mean khakis, OCBDs, shetlands, polos, etc. are ideal for this, but things like swimsuits and madras can add a degree of difficulty due to their colors and patterns. Polo shirts will almost always work with swim trunks and even though this is a look I do a lot I wanted something different for this trip. I wanted some classic 1960’s Americana beach party surf fun or as I titled this post, surf board trad.

My inspiration was this picture of Peter Kaplan. I’ve always loved this picture and while he is not on the beach (he does have a skateboard) it captures the west coast ivy vibes that I was after perfectly. It was decided. This was my look. Time to pack.

I threw on a surf playlist from Spotify and began. Now 99% of all my t-shirts are simple grey pocket-t’s, but I do have two striped t-shirts from Ralph Lauren because I have tried this look before. Because of this I already knew that the striped t-shirts worked well with my yellow Patagonia baggies which I occasionally use as swim trunks. The t-shirts will also work with khaki shorts and pants. The striped shirts and baggies also work with an OCBD in case it gets cool at the beach. I threw in a purple pair of baggies as well to mix it up. The shoes were New Balance 996’s for walking, Sperry Boat shoes for the beach, and flip flops for the pool. I brought two ball caps.

So how did I do? If you want to know the truth I overpacked. Not mentioned above was a J.Press Madras, a J.Press Broadcloth shirt, and a white sweatshirt. None of these items were worn. To be fair I did have some work stuff which I had to anticipate, but if I am being honest with myself I could have cut back. I give myself a C+.

Execution wise I think that I did pretty well. The t-shirts played their role to a tee. The yellow baggies were a great choice. I felt like I was in my Endless Summer bag. My purple baggies were a bit of a miss. They didn’t look quite as good as I thought they would in my head with the green and blue shirt and I didn’t have the chance to to try them with the blue and white shirt. I also brought my default swimsuit which I love and deserves a post of their own. I wore these trunks to the beach with my favorite navy polo that I also wore on the airplane. I give myself a B.

The trip was a success. The fam had fun. I had fun. This was a good packing exercise and I think that I learned a thing or two. Enjoy the bonus pics below!

This Shirt Won’t Die & I Love it

by oxford cloth button down on July 26, 2024 in Style with 18 Comments

Every once and a while you stumble upon a piece of clothing that defies all logic and lasts forever. Not only does it refuse to die, but you end up loving it. You also end up wishing that you had bought more, but you could have never known that. No one could have. I have a handful of items that fit the bill. This post is about one of them.

This polo shirt is not supposed to still be here. It was supposed to have been donated or cut into rags at this point, but it has no plans on giving up the ghost anytime soon. It’s not even especially well made. I mean, I grabbed it from Target (Merona brand) on a whim 10 plus years ago. It’s at least 8 years old because I have included a pic of me wearing it in 2016 (first pic below). It was a nice color of navy. Not too dark (I see this all too often) and not too bright. Not only did it have a Goldilocks color it had a Goldilocks fit too. Just the perfect amount to baggy. I don’t recall the price, but I know it was cheap.

I love this polo. I wear it all of the time. I wear it out to lunch, to the pool/beach, for golf, and even on the occasional bike ride which is what I was doing in the yellow baggies pic below. In short, I abuse it. It doesn’t care. It is starting to show a little wear, but it still has some life left in it. There is no moral to this story. It’s just about getting lucky, how some clothing items beat the odds, and appreciating that when it happens. You ever had this happen? I’d love to hear about it.

Summertime & The Living is Ease

by oxford cloth button down on July 19, 2024 in Style with 2 Comments
Brooksease Clothing Label

I recently snagged this Brooksease blazer off of eBay for $50. Even though quality wise Brooksease is probably about the equivalent of Brooksgate without all of the heyday fanfare, I think it was a pretty good deal. This post isn’t really about the blazer though.

Even though this post isn’t specifically about the blazer I will tell you about it. Brooksease was an entry level line. The internet chatter starts about them around 2004 and I know they were still around a little after 2010, but I don’t have a firm grasp on their production dates. While they are mentioned to have less inferior fabrics than the 1818 line with the inclusion of synthetics and stretch. I am not sure if this holds true for them all. Many of them do have a canvassed lapel and to their credit were made in the USA by Southwick.

3/2 roll Brooksease Blazer

My Brooksease blazer is classically trad. It has the prized 3/2 roll closure, it’s a dart-less sack cut, and while it doesn’t have a hook vent it does have a center vent. It also has swelled edges which I think are an underrated feature and it has my preferred pocket setup which is a welted breast pocket with lower patch and flap which are accented by nicely opened quarters. The fabric is 100% Lora Piana wool which by touch I am guessing is the 100% Lora Piana pure stretch wool and it was indeed made in the USA by Southwick.


The only problem with my blazer is that it’s about 1 inch too long. While that is certainly better than 1 inch too short especially in today’s post-menswear climate there is a time when this would have driven me crazy. I would have obsessed over it and it most likely would have prevented me from wearing it. Now I’m not saying that my menswear OCD complex has cleared up completely, but currently the length isn’t bothering me one bit. In fact, I think it looks pretty good. It’s summertime and living is easy.

Why I Went Trad

by oxford cloth button down on June 14, 2024 in Uncategorized with 5 Comments


There is a in-depth piece in the works, but I wanted to give a glimpse into how and why I went trad now. I was graduating from college, about to enter corporate America, and I didn’t know how to dress for it (or at least that’s what I thought). While searching for my white-collar uniform I was drawn to the blue OCBD, khaki chino, and penny loafer look.

It seemed like the perfect uniform. It struck me as having the perfect balance. It was utilitarian and intellectual at the same time. It was staid but not austere. It was worn by the left, right, and center. It felt like the perfect disguise for a working class kid that did not feel like he belonged. In this uniform I thought that they would think that I was one of them. They wouldn’t know if I thought like this or like that.

If you are not sure who the above are you can read about them Julian Bond here and William F. Buckley and the Buckleys here.

Vintage Poolside Inspo from Slim Aarons

by oxford cloth button down on May 24, 2024 in Historical Fashion, Style with 4 Comments

I thought I’d veer from my trad norm and drop a little vintage inspo for all those headed to the pool like myself this Memorial day weekend from socialite photographer, Slim Aarons. Fire up the grill, break out the madras, and enjoy the long the weekend!

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