Argyle & Gingham

With a little help from ShoeLine and The Good Girl Gone Blog, these came in the mail last week. I took of the lid and quickly realized that the unboxing was worth capturing. Perhaps the Internet’s first shoe unboxing?

Requisite felt travel bag is expected…

… but a love letter?

… and a secret gift?

Ah. Spare laces and kilties. 

A little skin…

Yeeeaaah.

These aren’t quite the blue suede shoes Elvis was talking about. 

I’ve been wearing them around the office with the blue laces. I admire the use of a traditional design with just a little bit of a contemporary edge. The neon green sole really is a surprise, so I figure it better to let it have its moment. And the kilties… I’m pretty sure you have to be a southern rapper to pull those off these days.

Even though I’ve worn these mostly in a business casual environment, they’d definitely be at their unexpected best paired with a grey suit. 

30andbroke asked: i've really enjoyed what you've done with your tumblr, and I see you've gone silent for a while, hope you haven't given up.

Chris

Chris — I don’t think I’ve given up, but that life thing has been occupying my time quite a bit lately. And there was a vacation in there for a while. I’m looking to come up for air sometime this weekend!

Do it. Do it now. (via @goodgrlgoneblog)

I’m really feelin’ two-tone ties these days. Not much else can so quickly and distinctly say, “I know exactly what I’m doing.”

I got somewhat around 20 new followers over the weekend and I can’t seem to figure out why.

To the new folks, I have two questions: what brought you here and what do you want to see?

Cheers.

You only see 1.5 square inch of tie, but what a difference, amirite?

SO… I took the week of Thanksgiving off and started the new tradition of Drinking White Russians at 11:30 While Mother is out Doing Errands the Tuesday Before Thanksgiving (DWR1130WMDETBT for those who need twitter-friendly acronyms). Coincidentally, this is also the ✭PERFECT✭ time to do a long post of the last FIVE days of 30 x 30 ensembles.

Why the long delay? Much like the turkey I’ll be mouthifying in a few days, certain things need at least 8 hours in a salt water brine. Waitwhat?

Read on. Caution: slightly crunk steez.

Day 11

Why the face? Well its Friday, and I’m going to work, and I’m postin’ up for a photo at 8am before coffee. That’s why.

Also, I think the sweater + jacket are a subtle play with neutrals, which I really wouldn’t have thought of if it weren’t for this challenge, much like the great corduroy pairing for 11/11.

30x30 items:

• Grey sport coat: J. Crew
• Beige sweater: J. Crew
• Shirt: French Connection
• Jeans: Burberry
• Shoes: J.M. Weston*

Accoutremonts:

• Bag: Jack Spade

* These J.M. Weston beauties (better viewed here, the first pair) were the first pair of shoes that helped me understand the impact of a quality shoe. They’re comfortable, fixable ($45 for a new heal and soles), and look worn but new with a little bit of polish. A lucky find for $80 at Second Time Around. To this day, I have no idea what the model are or what year they were made, so any insight would be much appreciated!

Day 12

Saturday was Beer Summit from 12:30 — 4. I’m the one in the middle.

30x30 Items:

• Grey sport coat: J. Crew
• Blue button-up shirt: United Colors of Benetton
• Jeans: Burberry
• Boots: Clarks Desert Boots

Accoutremonts: 

• Scarf: French Connection
• Lapel sticker: Southern Tier, who make this outstanding mocha stout.

Day 13

Hmm?

30x30 Items:

• Orange sweater: Ben Sherman
• Navy button-up shirt: Banana Republic
• Pants: H&M
• Shoes: Allen-Edmons McAllister

Accoutremonts:

• Navy pea coat: Nautica 
• Scarf: Ben Sherman

Day 14

30x30 Items:

• Great sport coat: J. Crew
• Chambray shirt: Cohesive & Co.
• Jeans: Burberry
• Shoes: Steve Madden

Accoutremonts:

• Tie: Gant by Michael Bastian (yeah this exact $145 item I snagged for $40 on eBay… even Moms noticed the quality construction of this bad boy)
• Belt: Naked & Famous 7mm (not pictured)

Day 15

30x30 Items:

• Navy button-up: Banana Republic
• Chinos: Save Khaki

Accoutremonts:

• Drink: Good Morning White Russian (Van Gogh Double Espresso, Coffee, half & half)
• Watch: Plastic chic
• Shoes: n/a (not allowed in FL)

Alana was out and about so I had to take this picture myself, on my iPhone. The neat thing about the iPhone 4 compared to the older models is that you can stand it up on a flat surface. Then find yourself a nice camera app with a self timer for a self-photo shoot. Of course, lighting is an issue with such a low-fi camera, so some nice processing via Instagram makes it look like this is a photo of my younger self recovered from the attic.

The old-timeyness is what made me think up the title for this post, then I quickly realized the look has a lot of vintage character to it: the waistcoat, the chambray, the impossibly skinny tie. And you can’t see it here easily, but I’m wearing Swims over my AE’s; the modern day galosh.

30x30 Items:

• Waistcoat: Ben Sherman
• Chambray shirt: Cohesive & Co.
• Chinos: Save Khaki
• Shoes: Allen-Edmonds McAllister

Accoutrements:

• Tie: Top Man
• Belt: Allen-Edmonds
• Galoshes: Swims

And one more thing on timewarping: Day 9 happened, but the photoshoot never did, so we’ve fast-forwarded!