Like I’ve said before, since I’m new to the study of men’s clothing, it’s worth learning the classics, first and foremost.  Literature has the Greeks, Karate has paint the fence, and men’s dress has Alan Flusser.

Of Mr. Flusser’s work, nothing seems more essential than Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion.

“Permanent fashion?”  Like many, I thought perhaps his definition of both terms differed from mine, because a man who penned a definitive guide to clothing wouldn’t make such a mistake as calling fashion permanent.  But don’t worry, he dives into this curious subtitle 14 pages in.

The world of doing something completely new and is a scary one, isn’t it?  Doubt creeping over your shoulder.  Insecurity tightening around your neck.  Failure gnawing at your heel.  So leave it to the King of horror to comfort.

At nineteen they can card you in the bars and and tell you to get the fuck out, put your sorry act (and sorrier ass) back on the street, but they can’t card you when you sit down and paint a picture, write a poem, tell a story, by God, and if you reading this happen to be very young, don’t let your elders and supposed leaders tel you any different.  Sure, you’ve never been to Paris.  No, you never ran with the bulls at Pamplona.  Yes, you’re a pissant who had no hair in your armpits until three years ago–but so what?  If you don’t start out to big for your britches, how are you gonna fill ’em when you grow up?  Let it rip regardless of what anybody tells you, that’s my idea; sit down and smoke that baby.

To those — nineteen or not — who are smoking.

“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to write.  Simple as that.” – Stephen King

I’m a terrible reader.  With a current average of 1.5 novels per year, I am certain I qualify in the bottom 5% worst-read individuals with a B.A. in Literature.

The above quotation by Mr. King really stuck in my side when I came across it last summer, and since the new year turned up, my side’s been aching a bit more than usual.  In this quest to write something worth my time and your visits, it’s time I became a better reader.

Always a bit on the eager side of adventuring, I’ve began my new year of better reading with two books to fill separate inspirations:

Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion

I like to think that Halloween serves to make us delve in our own creativities of how we dress; after a long summer of lesser fabrics and sockless abandon, it takes some transitioning to get back into the habit of deliberate layers. So from October 31st, we trot comfortably into winter with our favorite time of wear, guilty pleasure or not: dad style.

As the course of all rules inevitably go, there’s always an exception.  Imagine my surprise when I faced this same point in a serendipitously specific manner.

A  week ago, I posted about my regrettable decision to wear women’s jeans.  I thought this demon was behind me, and I could move on after the cathartic write-up.  And then it reared its ugly head in the form of a sitcom B-storyline.

Quick context: In The IT Crowd, Moss is a socially stunted IT expert at the bottom rung of Reynholm Industries.  Struggling to gain self-confidence, his boss gives – as usual – unsolicited advice.  This time, Mr. Reynholm passes the secret of his unwavering self-esteem: women’s slacks.  Moss takes this wisdom to heart and, well:

Well, I stand corrected.

By the way, if you haven’t seen it yet The IT Crowd is a fun comedy for freaks, geeks, and everyone in between.  Check it on Netflix!

The Missus went out for a cross-town errand run, so for  a few hours the home became the pad.  And of what debauchery and bad things did I get participate?

Shoe shining.  I silently keep a distance away from my shoe shining box, because I just don’t want to get started on a pair.  But of course, if you maintain a little bit over time, it’s really not that bad.  So I threw THE COSMOS on and made this happen, finally:

It might’ve been Neil Degrasse Tyson’s delightfully scientific baritone to set me at peace, but for the first time I was determined to work in a mirror shine at the toe end of my shoe.  It’s definitely a doable task, but it’s gonna take a whole lot of practice and patience.

Since moving to China, I haven’t frequented two large retailers more than MUJI and UNIQLO.   Both these shops provide two qualities from which I never prospered in the USA: Asian sizing and classic aesthetics.  MUJI’s offerings of the minimalist  aesthetic are ever-reflective of Japanese craft and an expert interpretation of American standards.  What UNIQLO produces differently is in their ever-successful collaborations.

I wanted to share a few photos that my wife took on our recent trip to New York City.  The last time I was at the WTC site, there was yet a finalized plan for the memorial and surrounding buildings; ground zero was still visible through a gap between security walls.

There will come a time in my journey of man where things will inevitably slow down.  A backyard garden will be maintained.  College funds will be invested.  Fatherhood and husbandhood will be towering priorities.  It’s not anything I fear or reluctantly accept; it’s what I’ve hoped to accomplish on my time here.  I am eager to push my children on their first training wheel-less ride, and make Mother’s Day brunch with them.  It’ll be a new adventure in which in which I hope to succeed.

One thing I’ve looked forward to is that transition into the life of the patriarch.  Quirks that only your wife could love tolerate.  The occasionally killer delivery of a dad joke.  And my favorite: hanging out with the crew.

EuroChasse is a little gem on Connecticut’s Greenwich Avenue for those seeking clothes built excellently for a specific purpose.  With an assembly of war-era knickknacks arranged on glass tables like Teddy Roosevelt’s nightstand, I couldn’t resist entering for a peak.  Inside was an autumnal sprawl of muted, earthy colors on shirts, hats, vests.  This was the bygone school hunter’s haberdashery, Van Pelt’s dream.  Lifting a field jacket, the weight and build construed an ability to endure a New England hunt at dawn.  Every item in this store was designed with zero affectation and lasting effectiveness for hunting season after hunting season.