Retail Therapy: Lightweight Tattersail, Thayer Madras shorts, & a cleared head.

I can’t help but think of Jesse when I feel the need to go do a little damage to my bank account on account that I am not feeling all the well mentally ultimately assisting in me finding a clear head once again. “There’s something about engines that calms ME down, ya know?” While I get that and while the feeling of copping a killer button down for a cool $20 and a pair of Madras shorts for a few bucks more definitely has me sharing the sentiment, I still wanted to tell Jesse to shut up. I suppose, though, Johnny Tran and the gang took care of that for me. Hey, you race for pinks and you know the consequences…

Yacht Party Essentials: Ray-Bans of various styles.

To kick off the Summer, my friend, Amanda and I will be hosting one hell of a yacht-themed, invite-only (you can come) party complete with boat drinks, Jimmy Buffet, topsiders, seersucker shorts, linen button downs, and probably a few pairs of Ray-Bans here and there, whether they be knock-offs or the real deal. Personally, I’ve been eying a pair of Clubmasters for a good long while but put off the hunt when I realized I wanted some Persols. Now, the sights have been set back on Ray-Ban. One can always use a decent pair of Aviators, Wayfarers, and/or Clubmasters, in my opinion. Especially when yacht Parties are involved…..

Tuesdays with the Pretty Girls: Is he gay or just well-dressed?

Mr. McQueen got the ladies

Q: Why do most women, especially here state-side, automatically assume fashionable men to be homosexual, even if we don’t give them a reason to assume so? – J. Jean

I don’t think that all women do, just most. Maybe it’s because I know a lot of metrosexual men that its not really an assumption. For me, I prefer a man that likes to look good. If you want us to look good, then you should look; and looking good does not include Ed Hardy or Affliction wear.

I don’t think most women assume well dressed men are gay. And if they do, then they obviously have bigger issues to deal with and should stop judging a man in wing tips and a bow tie.

Personally, I don’t assume this when I see a well-dressed man.  However, for the women who do make this assumption, it’s because they rarely come across a straight man who knows how to dress himself.  Bottom line is that finding a well dressed straight man is like finding money on the street.  It’s rare, surprising and can make your day a little brighter by letting you believe there is hope for the rest of the straight male population.

Well-dressed homosexual men outnumber straight men. That’s a fact, albeit one I hope is changing. We’re surprised when a fashionable guy is straight because it is a rarity; straight men have too long been the bearers of ill-fitting tent shirts, graphic tees, mandals and baggy jeans. Since there is a lack of dapper straight men in the world, when I meet a well-dressed guy I doubt he’s straight because in my experience, he rarely is. Yet, I hold out hope for straight men who wear tailored clothes that actually fit. And honestly, most women don’t make a judgment call based solely on a guy’s slim-fit oxford; there’s more to it than that.

In personal experience with being well-dressed, I’ve had to justify my heterosexuality more to other males versus the female contingent. I suppose it has something to do with knowing a lot of jock-esque folks and having a penchant for attending sporting events. Oh well, you adapt no? Hope this helps….

Break out the polos, we’re going to town.

The polo was my go-to look last Spring and Summer. I wore the hell out of the simple shirt, whether it be to Rockies games, house parties, that girl’s couch, and anywhere else that required proper clothing be worn in order for service to be provided. I realized though, looking through my closet this past weekend, it’s time to upgrade the polo collection and retire the weakening, fraying, and hipster-esque H&M threads. I grabbed a choice red from J. Crew for a cool $12 (on sale) Sunday and a white a few weeks prior. While I keep shopping around at my go-to companies (Bean, Polo, and Crew, etc), a little history of the famed piece of clothing. Stay tuned later this week, too, when we debate the appropriateness of wearing polos and ties together. Acceptable?

The More You Know:

A polo shirt, also known as a golf shirt and tennis shirt, is a T-shaped shirt with a collar, typically a two- or three-button placket, and an optional pocket. Polo shirts are usually made of knitted cloth (rather than woven cloth), usually pique cotton or, less commonly, silk, merino wool, or synthetic fibers.

the “tennis tail” prevented the shirt from pulling out of the wearer’s trousers or shorts

History of the tennis shirt

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, tennis players ordinarily wore “tennis whites” consisting of long-sleeved white button-up shirts (worn with the sleeves rolled up), flannel trousers, and ties. As one might expect, this attire presented several problems for ease of play and comfort on the court.

René Lacoste, the French 7-time Grand Slam tennis champion, decided that the stiff tennis attire was too cumbersome and uncomfortable. He designed a white, short-sleeved, loosely knit piqué cotton (he called the cotton weave jersey petit piqué) shirt with an un-starched, flat protruding collar, a buttoned placket, and a longer shirt-tail in back than in front (known today as a “tennis tail”; see below), which he first wore at the 1926 U.S. Open championship. Beginning in 1927, Lacoste placed a crocodile emblem on the left breast of his shirts, as the American press had begun to refer to him as “the alligator”, a nickname which he embraced.

Lacoste’s design mitigated the problems that traditional tennis attire created:

• the short, cuffed sleeves solved the tendency of long-sleeves to roll down
• the soft collar easily could be loosened by un-buttoning the placket
• the piqué collar easily could be worn upturned to block the sun from the neck
• the jersey knit piqué cotton breathed

In 1933, after retiring from professional tennis, Lacoste teamed up with André Gillier, a friend who was a clothing merchandiser, to market that shirt in Europe and North America. Together, they formed the company Chemise Lacoste, and began selling their shirts, which included the small embroidered crocodile logo on the left breast.

A video: The Streets – Dry Your Eyes

The Breakup Season is here, or at least that’s what I’ve come to call the Spring time. And for whatever reason (I think it’s rather obvious), Mike Skinner is able to capture the essence of the simplicity and heartbreak that the lot of us go through post-relationship. For the bouncers-back, the broken-hearted, and the let-go-slowlies…

Link