An Afternoon in Chicago with John Binder & Matt Luzi

Here we have a photo like many others that we often see around the internet. A sepia-toned image from years gone by, of a moment captured and frozen forever, at first glance a family gathering on a surprisingly warm day that has forced some of the men to loosen their ties and take off their jackets. Sometimes, however, looks can be deceiving. Sometimes you come across a unique if not exactly rare photo like this, one that doesn’t just take you back in time but actually creates a new perspective on the past. Here we have an image from the Roaring Twenties of some of the men who came to define that era as definitively as Westbrook Pegler or F. Scott Fitzgerald ever did. Pegler and Fitzgerald’s work was characterized by the staccato bursts of a typewriter. The fellows in the photo had their work punctuated by the staccato bursts of a Thompson. As a matter of fact, one of the fellows posing here was later found to have in his possession two of the machine guns that were used to spit out a message for Bugs Moran on behalf of the Big Shot. Yes, Capone could be a killer but you wouldn’t know it from this image. Here, he reclines at center, the place of honor, surrounded by his confederates from the Windy City and their close associates from the Chicago Heights neighborhood. As you can see from the photo, some of the boys aren’t too happy about having their photo taken, even in such a pleasant setting, but Al wants his picture taken so what are you going to do?
Years ago, John Binder, a true historian of Chicago Gangland, was kind enough to open his archives to me when I was working on The Best Dressed Man In The Room. If there’s anyone who knows more about Chicago and the men who operated on the other side of the tracks, I haven’t met them. There might be such a person - maybe Matt Luzi - I just haven’t met them! The two of them have spent years working to identify the men in this photo conclusively, as well as the possible reasons for their meeting. It’s a wonderful piece and thoroughly researched - read it here:

http://www.myalcaponemuseum.com/id193.htm

Back in the Saddle Again: Edward Green's Monmouth

Well, it's been awhile since I've posted so I thought I'd mark my return by sharing a few thoughts and images of some of the shoes that I snagged at last year's Brooks Brothers Warehouse Sale, which was truly a sale to remember. Sadly, the company decided to discontinue their relationship with both Edward Green and Alden, longtime mainstays in the shoe department at 346 Madison Avenue. The partnership with EG went back (off and on) to the 1980s while I can only imagine how long the company was a supplier of New England's Finest.

If there was a silver lining to this news, it was that Brooks Brothers decided to clear out the remaining stock at, shall we say, competitive prices. As a result, I was able to snag a few models that I've had my eye on for years.

The Monmouth from Edward Green was one model that I had both eyes on. Rosewood Country Calf is one of those exquisite offerings that catches your fancy and then bounces around in your head for years after. It's always struck me as something perfect for fall and a wardrobe full of tweeds, cords and fair isle sweaters, so when I had a chance to snag a pair I jumped all over them.

A quick aside: there's just something about that green Edward Green box, isn't there? No matter how many pairs you're fortunate enough to purchase new and in the box, there's nothing like opening it up and seeing those dust bags and cloth and the little booklet on how to care for your shoes. These shoes actually came with the Edward Green wooden shoe trees, an added bonus (as if one was needed)!

This particular model features a captoe derby look with EG's typical burnishing in the toe box with the singular tight single sole waist blossoming into a double sole on the 888 last. The other tell-tale marks of Northamptonshire craftsmanship are all there. While one can only hope that Brooks Brothers decides to offer these shoes again in the near future, we can at least take some comfort from the fact that these shoes were liberated from the warehouse and can now be enjoyed by likeminded aficionados and enthusiasts.

Ruminations on the Brooks Brothers Warehouse Sale - Deux

Around this time last year, I received an email about the 1st Brooks Brothers Warehouse Sale. I thought that was a great sale - with Edward Green shoes priced at 50% off, Peal & Co. at 70% off, with an assortment of Lock & Co. Trilby hats and other items at deep discount thrown in for good measure. Well, this year's iteration pretty much put last year's to shame. For whatever reason, it seems that Brooks Brothers has decided to sever their ties with Edward Green. This isn't surprising, as the two companies have had working relationships off and on since the 1970s. Perhaps the retail price on the EGs is just too steep for the typical Brooks Brothers customer, but the shoes just don't seem to sell very well at retail. So it wasn't too shocking to hear that Brooks Brothers had decided to liquidate the inventory at a severe discount. My recollection from last year's sale was that the company tried to discount them for as low as 70% off but the venerable shoemaker objected. At this year's sale, those objections must have fell on deaf ears.

What was more surprising were the rumors that Brooks' Alden inventory was also going the way of the dodo bird. Alden shoes have been sold continuously at Brooks Brothers for as long as I can remember, and the $500-750 price tag wasn't out of line with the rest of the company's offerings. Whether the rumors are true, nevertheless Alden's were being offered at a staggering 70% off the retail price. If this sounded like some kind of sartorial heresy, imagine my surprise when I saw that the remaining Edward Green shoes were priced to move at 80% off.  I also heard that the sale was extended to a 5th day and prices were dropped to 90 percent off, but I didn't have the heart to go back for more shoes :-(

A loyal follower of An Uptown Dandy who happened to be passing by on the first evening of the sale alerted me to what was happening. I was unable to get there but decided to check it out the next morning. When I arrived, there were a few shoe aficionados roaming around in shoe shopping heaven, but the crowds were not excessive. Word clearly still had not gotten out about this sale.

Apparently I did miss out on the Alden shell cordovan loafers that were priced to move at $140 per pair, but my friend had been kind enough to set aside a few pairs of Edward Green shoes in my size. I began trying them on to see what I should purchase but quickly decided that at those prices I would buy whatever I could find in my size and sort things out later.

With that in mind, I ended up with 4 pairs of Edward Greens, 3 pairs of Alden tassel loafers, and a pair of Red Wing chukka boots. Ultimately, the suede EG Chelsea oxfords were a bit too snug, and I actually already had the snuff suede Alden loafers and a pair of mink suede EG loafers that were looked too much like the chocolate suede Alden shoes. So I put those up for sale at various forums and cleared them out within 48 hours. I've posted pictures for your viewing pleasure. So in the end, I came away with 3 pair of Edward Green shoes, 1 pair of Alden tassel loafers in natural Chrome Excel, and the Red Wings. After all the flipping (I also sold a pair of EG Asquith shoes that never made it into the rotation), I probably spent somewhere around $75 per pair that I kept. 

Not bad if I do say so myself! Many thanks to the folks at Brooks Brothers for hosting yet another affair to remember!