Oscars 2012: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

I always enjoy seeing some portion of the Oscars each year, even if its virtually impossible to stay awake for the entire broadcast. Like clockwork, you can always count on seeing a wide range of examples on display - be it classic men's style done well or done poorly. High on action and drama, the red carpet reminds me of nothing more than a Sergio Leone epic. Here then are The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from the 2012 Oscars.

The Good:

I thought Tom Hanks, at this point something of an elder statesman in Hollywood, stole the show with this well-tailored double-breasted shawl-collared tuxedo.

Gary Oldman. Enough said.

Sean "Honey" Combs gets points for a lot of things here: the one-button stance on the jacket is quite elegant, as is the pocketsquare. And leave it to a dandy from Mount Vernon to show some shirt cuff. 

I'm even feeling the half-moon crescent line - as Biggie Smalls once said, 

"True playa for real, ask Puff Dad-dy". 

Personally, I'm not a big fan of wimpy lapels, especially of the peaked variety, but its hard to get down on a guy who paid someone to be his personal lint roller for the evening.

The Bad:

Really, I'm not sure what's worse here: the fit of this suit on Brad Pitt or the fact that Esquire, which is supposed to be something of an authority on men's style, voted him best-dressed man of the evening. Imagine what Esquire's fashion editors would have thought if the jacket length and sleeves weren't too long and the pants actually fit. 

The Ugly:

Pharrell is a pretty small, nice-looking guy, so he shouldn't have trouble looking good in evening wear. But there's just too much going on with this outfit, in my opinion. The jacket appears to be extremely short - does it even cover his trouser zipper and pockets? There's also a lot of vest showing underneath the jacket. And he has buttoned both buttons on his two-button jacket.

Also, the short jacket clashes visually with the long trouser legs. I suppose if one is going to wear a tight outfit, then everything should be tight. In Pharrell's case, it seems the jacket is quite form-fitting and short while the pants are relatively slim but too long. 

To my eye, anyway, the visual result is a bit jarring.

[Also, is it me or does the jacket appear to be a different color than the trousers?]

Vintage Edward Green for Nordstrom: The Malvern

Edward Green for Nordstrom.

Many of you will remember the pair of Edward Green Windsor's that I sent back to the factory for re-crafting. Those shoes were originally made by Edward Green for Nordstrom here in the US, and I  recently came across a similar pair made for the American department store. While this pair isn't holding up quite as well the Windsors, they are nevertheless quite lovely to behold.

The shoes appear to have been partially resoled at some point, but after 25-30 years, the resoles and uppers appear to be holding up well enough. The leather uppers are beginning to show just a  hint of cracking just under the broguing in the image below, and there are a few blemishes around the medallions but the dark leather hue really masks what might be more obvious wear on a lighter pair of shoes.

As you can see from the images, the uppers have a burgundy tone, but I'm not entirely sure if that reddish hue is more from years of polishing rather than the actual leather color. Perhaps a bit of both.

When I cleaned the shoes and applied leather conditioner, I rubbed away quite a bit of the burgundy.  I'm sure the shoes would benefit from a thorough cleaning and conditioning, and it would certainly be interesting to see whether, underneath all of that polish residue, there really is a burgundy shoe.

As an aside, this pair of Edward Green offers a good example of the wider 202 last fitted on the narrower C width. I have often heard it said that that, ideally, when wearing the roomier 202 last, one should size down from the regular US D width to a slightly narrower C width (or, in UK sizing from the standard E down to D). The purpose being to reduce the, for lack of better word, "bulbous" effect of the 202 last. Looking at this pair of shoes, the narrower width certainly on the 202 looks like a direct precursor to the sleeker 82 last.

More Tales From The Thrift: Crockett & Jones Spectators for Barneys New York

As I mentioned the other day, New Jersey was fertile hunting grounds for thrifting this past weekend. If the John Lobb Miami's weren't enough of a blessing, I also came away with these absolutely lovely spectators from Crockett & Jones for Barneys New York. 

Lately, companies have been putting out all kinds of two-tone shoes. I'm not even sure if these new color combinations can be properly characterized as a "spectator" shoe, as I thought that meant the shoe needed some white somewhere. Perhaps I'm being a stickler, but in any event, there are really some beautiful options out there if you're looking to go the two-tone route for spring and  summer. 

Personally, I love a light brown and with white suede combination. Some models will have white calf  instead of suede, which to my eye appears a bit too shiny and bright. But to each his own. This pair really displays the classic look: the tan leather has a bit of texture which gives the shoe more of a country look , and it really works well with the suede. Most spectator shoes do not have the extra strip of brown leather behind the captoe, as this pair does, and I imagine most of the white suede will be blocked from view by the wearer's trouser cuff. So perhaps this style would be a better starting point for those looking to experiment with the spectator shoe.

The shoes are in phenomenal condition, having been worn at most 2 or 3 times. The double soles show very little signs of wear, and the rubber heel counters look virtually untouched. 

A great pick-up, if I do say so myself. Unfortunately, I'm fully stocked with captoe and wingtip specs at the moment, so for any size US 10D feet out there, I've listed these shoes on eBay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/300670430327?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649#ht_500wt_1413