A Fine Man Once Said:

"Part of the 10 million I spent on gambling, part of it on booze, and part of it on women. The rest I spent foolishly."

- George Raft





Friday, July 31, 2015

Vintage 1920s Parisian Cufflinks @ Tender Buttons




I dropped in to Tender Buttons the other day to find replacement buttons for my creme double-breasted action back, the originals having been ruined at the dry cleaner. I did find some very nice looking Italian horn -  light brown with a sort of distressed appearance. As the name of the shop would suggest, the emphasis is on the buttons, but there also happened to be a display case full of vintage Parisian cuff links circa 1920-1930 that looked absolutely exquisite.


Monday, July 27, 2015

Too Much RL Is Never A Bad Thing



My wife is always checking in to our neighborhood's swap meet, where people are often cleaning out the house and selling odds and ends at bargain basement prices. There are usually lots of baby strollers, rugs, and that sort of thing. So when someone posted that her husband, a former Ralph Lauren executive, was looking to unload his gently used work wardrobe, my significant other knew what to do!

As it turned out, the gentleman in question was a great guy - and he was looking to clear out a ton of classic Polo, Black Label and Purple Label stuff. Unfortunately, I was too obese to fit into any of the tailored clothing - actually, I was only off by a size (my 42R frame just wasn't going to get into the slim fit 40R stuff) but I still managed to come away with 15 ties, 2 scarves, a Mackintosh fireman's coat with leather trim (not pictured) and silver cuff links. Aside from the three ties on the left (all Purple Label made in England or Italy) and the two on the right (Purple Label knits made in Italy) and the two on the right (Purple Label knits made in Italy), all the rest are Ralph's typically buttery cashmere. 

I brought a friend along who turned out to be a dead wringer for the seller, so he made out with 3 suits, a tweed jacket with matching wool tie, 10 shirts, an assortment of ties, and cuff links.

All in all, one heck of a haul for all involved! And, of course, kudos to the missus :-)