Ask A Question, Get An Answer... - Post All Quick Questions Here (Classic menswear)

[Amy M]

I just bought this loro piano bag at an estate sale. They claimed it's real. That it's cashmere and leather. Can anyone help me determining if it's real or not

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[ManuelRacim]

I have some old bespoke shirts from 20+ years ago but my neck has grown fatter and I can't do up the top button anymore. Some of the cuffs are also fraying. I lost contact with the original shirtmaker many years ago, his phone is not connected and he is no longer at his old address. If I can find a new bespoke shirtmaker, is it possible for the collars to be replaced in order to accommodate my now-fatter neck and can the fraying cuffs be replaced (provided I can find fabric that matches the body of the shirt, or otherwise, a fabric which contrasts with the body of the shirt in a pleasing way)?

Depending on how tight in the neck the shirts are, you might be able to get away with simply moving the top button a quarter to half inch closer to the edge. Some people will say this isn't a proper solution but the reality is, especially if you are wearing a tie, I would be extremely surprised if even a single person ever caught whiff of the change.

The easiest solution as far as full-on replacement goes is probably going for banker cuffs and collar, as that was the whole point of them being easy to find white in the first place. However, maybe it's my European sensibilities coming out, but depending on the shirt style, if you are wearing only in casual settings, you could do far worse than some natural wear n tear. A bit of rakishness never killed anyone.

If you go through the trouble of sourcing fabrics that perfectly match your shirts (which have probably faded some over the years), having new collars and cuffs fabricated, and attached, I think at those costs you would fare better just having some new shirts made.

 

[YRR92]

What is museum calf? Also when assessing shoe leathers is there much/any difference between leathers advertised as being from different regions like having a choice between English a French calf for example?

Museum calf is what John Lobb calls a type of pre-burnished leather, originally Ilcea's Radica (though they're out of business just as the stuff was growing really popular, so I don't know what's up). The leather has a mottled finish applied at the tannery before it's made into shoes.

I think there are more tanneries in France than in England. I think saying "French calf" is like saying "Italian suit" -- sure, some of the best suits in the world are Italian, but there's Italian-made crap, too. Individual tanneries may make different kinds of leather -- the "Leather Qualities and Properties" thread has a lot of discussion of this, I think.

 

[ovlov]

Thanks guys. Next question.
If getting a bespoke shoe involves having a personal last made up, does that mean my foot shape will have a marked affect on the shoes' aesthetics? So, for example it seems that whole cuts especially in unique colours seem to vary so dramatically that they tend to be either things of exquisite beauty or complete eyesores. Therefore is it a huge risk to try and commission one cos I might just not have 'the right feet' for it?

Hope that makes sense
Cheers

 

[bklyndoc12]

Hey guys- newb question here. Are these colors in agreement with each other?

walnut strands
olive chino
white shirt
navy tie

 

[YRR92]

Thanks guys. Next question.
If getting a bespoke shoe involves having a personal last made up, does that mean my foot shape will have a marked affect on the shoes' aesthetics? So, for example it seems that whole cuts especially in unique colours seem to vary so dramatically that they tend to be either things of exquisite beauty or complete eyesores. Therefore is it a huge risk to try and commission one cos I might just not have 'the right feet' for it?

Hope that makes sense
Cheers

I don't know bespoke shoes that well, but the last doesn't have to be any more "foot shaped" than a RTW one. Obviously, your instep height affects that measurement, but the toe shape has as much room for variation as it does on RTW.

Of course, I think uniquely-colored wholecuts are kind of eyesores anyway.

bklyndoc12, are you wearing a coat with that? It's not really best practice to wear a white spread-collar shirt with chinos, either.

 

[TimothyShaw]

What style of trousers did Chet Baker and Miles Davis wear?

 

[12345Michael54321]



Are these colors in agreement with each other?

They're okay.

Of course, you neglected to show us what jacket you will be wearing with them. And you will be wearing a jacket, right? Because the necktie-but-no-jacket look tends to earn serious criticism on SF.

If you absolutely won't wear a jacket (perhaps due to a religious law forbidding the mixing of chinos with sport coats, or something), wearing a sweater is a tolerable alternative.

 

[12345Michael54321]



What style of trousers did Chet Baker and Miles Davis wear?

Well, according to http://selvedgeyard.com/2009/10/21/tsy-style-hall-of-fame-miles-davis/, Miles Davis had been known to wear trousers with a front dress extension, no belt loops, and side adjusters with long, stitched-in leather tabs.

And from Jeffrey St. Clair's, piece for "The Junkie Beat," at http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/11/18/the-junkie-beat/, when Chet Baker was found dead, he was wearing a blood covered pair of blue striped pants.

I'm sure a bit of research could turn up far more information on how these two men dressed. Do you ask out of idle curiosity, or a desire to dress as one of these men for Halloween, or what?

 

[gyasih]

Are these Peccary?

 

[coloRLOw]

Are these Peccary?

i think so

 

[TimothyShaw]

I want trousers like them. Would they would've worn pleats and not flat front? Full leg or trim?

 

[gyasih]

Thank you.

 

[Dingusberry]

Where can I find medium thick crewnecks in wool for around $100?

Notice the high neck.

 

[deadAngle]

I want trousers like them. Would they would've worn pleats and not flat front? Full leg or trim?

Pleats (one or two) or darted front (simple flat does not work as nicely as darts with this cut), full leg. 10" or more diameter bottoms, around 11" or 12" diameter at the knee. Rise going right up to the bottom of your ribcage.