A reader named Barry asked: Any advice on getting rid of underarm perspiration stains from white and blue cotton shirts? Thank you.
This is a common one and easily resolved with a few simple steps. It’s important to know that pit stains are not caused by perspiration but by the aluminum in antiperspirant. In the interest of prevention, the first thing to do is to stop using antiperspirant that contains aluminum and switch to a deodorant that doesn’t.
I had heard great things about the jeans from DSTLD, a popular disruptor of the overpriced denim racket, and I was very excited about a pair of slim (not skinny) raw denim jeans I had purchased online for $65. When they arrived, I tried them on right away. The fit was great and they looked pretty damn good. The feel of the denim, however, felt strange. When I started to take them off, I noticed a hint of stretch in the waistband. The wind went completely out of my sails when I saw that the sewn-in garment tag said “98% Cotton / 2% Spandex.”
When my niece Bridget was making her decision about colleges four years ago, I was beyond thrilled that two Boston schools were in her sights: Boston College, my alma mater, and Boston University. And she loved the idea of Boston, which thrilled me even more. (At that time in my life, I decided on Boston College sight unseen after an early acceptance, without ever having visited Boston.) My alma mater gave her a deferred acceptance, which was absolutely their loss, and she wisely decided on Boston University.
In this episode of the podcast, I share about the distinct pleasure of being quoted in The Wall Street Journal this past weekend in an article about non-iron dress shirts. In the first paragraph, you’ll learn that I loathe non-iron dress shirts and that I apparently “sniff.” (And if you scroll down to the comments section, you’ll see the added bonus of one reader calling me an “arrogant twit.” How does he know me??) Read the article.
Also in this episode, I share my appreciation of some of the old-fashioned things. As much as I love technology and fully embrace our digital age, there are certain aspects of my life that remain decidedly analog.
As I’ve written before, the world on the web is filthy with new brands hoping to put a dent in the menswear universe. They’re like aspiring young actors fresh off the bus in NYC, hoping to light a spark and make their mark. Like those legions of actors, the odds of success for these bright-eyed brands become lower and lower as the market becomes more saturated (and maybe even overwhelmed) with so many options.
I’m repeating myself again by saying that no one is going to reinvent the way men dress on any real scale in our lifetimes. Suits, shirts, ties, shoes, jeans… Lapels might be wider this year, ties might be skinnier next year, fabrics might be stretchy and wrinkle-free (gross), but they’ve all essentially been perfected already. The only real new twist in this Age of Disruption is the delivery system. The new kids are figuring out ways to get it to us cheaper and faster, and the best ones do it without compromising quality.
One of those new brands doing something interesting is Toca Shoe Co. Toca Shoes was started by two college mates who decided to come up with a solution for a comfortable shoe with the luxurious look of a good-looking dress shoe. The goal was to make the shoes very comfortable, well-made, handsome and affordable, using high quality materials and ethical manufacturing standards.
In this video, I restored a rust-covered chrome floor lamp that I found in the garage of my building.
I’ve been making my coffee with a Chemex for almost ten years now. It’s a very analog process and one that isn’t for everybody, but it’s the home-brew method that makes the best coffee I’ve ever had.
I always loved vinyl records. My first years of music collecting were during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and it was all about records and the occasional cassette. When I was in college, I was a DJ on Boston College’s amazing radio station (WZBC 90.3 FM) and in a nightclub across the Charles River at Man Ray in Central Square near Cambridge. While CDs and CD mixers were certainly in full swing at the time, my favorite format was still vinyl, hands down.
A friend invited me to be his plus-one for a concert of Brahms at Carnegie Hall this past weekend, with a supper in a fancy restaurant immediately following. Though I certainly appreciate classical music and often listen to it while working, the classical music scene is not my world at all. I basically feel like Tom Ripley in these situations. The music, however, is always gorgeous, and my friend is smart, funny and fantastic company.
The combination of classical music and Carnegie Hall says suit and tie to me (and my friend, thankfully). As I looked around the audience before the performance started and at intermission, it was obvious that the combination of fine musical art and an iconic Manhattan venue inspires something quite different in other people’s sartorial inclinations. Of all the men in attendance that evening, I’d say about 40% were in a suit or jacket, with even less wearing a tie. For a classical music performance. At Carnegie Hall.
What Joan Rivers did for comedy Kathryn Sargent seems to be doing for bespoke tailoring in a decidedly male-dominated universe. A few weeks ago, the 41-year-old master tailor became the first woman to open her own eponymous bespoke shop on Savile Row. While women have been behind the scenes for a long time as cutters, finishers, and the like, Sargent is breaking new ground, cracking what she calls the “windowpane check ceiling” of Savile Row’s boys’ club.