Randomanalia on the Road

Blessed mania. That’s how I would characterize this week and last. I rolled in last Friday night from Seattle and enjoyed a very brief weekend with LFG and was then off to Gotham on Sunday early evening. New Jersey now and then back out to Seattle for Thursday and Friday. It’s simply a crazy flurry of business deliverables here in the final quarter and I’m beyond gratified to be stretched thin with work.

The downside of course, is that I miss my child and our weekend was too short due to my late re-entry and rapid departure for another week of travel. Saturday morning found me killing some time while LFG attended a birthday party. Birthday parties-I don’t remember so many of them when I was a kid and certainly-don’t recall them being nearly as elaborate as the ones my gal attends. Whatever happened to ice cream-cake-Pin the Tail on the Donkey’s ass and go home?

I killed some of my birthday party downtime by browsing through Steinmart in Chevy Chase. Richard at Wasp 101 made a remark about Flusser’s Steinmart line and I have to respectfully disagree. You must consider the context when assessing the tastiness of Flusser’s Steinmart garments. Steinmart is an off-price discounter with a more refined offering than Filene’s Basement-Marshall’s-Ross and certainly TJ Max. To that end-the goods are fairly tasty looking when you consider the typical shopper who rolls in to buy the stuff.

The Flusser cashmere sweaters look really nice for the money-less than a hundred bucks. Quality? … less than a hundred bucks. The Steinmart customer isn’t going to pay five hundred bucks for a Paul Stuart sweater-generally.

There are hints of Etro and Pucci et al in some of these contrivances. Etro and Pucci? Most people who roll into Steinmart won’t make the connection. "Pucci? That's something my wife pays big bucks to the Dermatologist to make her lips look".

Soccer after the birthday party resulting in a tie with the Pinky Team. No hot mamma coaches on the other side this week. Where’s my babe in the yellow coat?

I’m trad homeless by soccer time after my week of travelling. Alden Flex Welt tassels-old frayed khakis-PRL denim western shirt and Flusser green gator waist pageantry.

Shut the _____up. Thank you.

LFG wanted to have dinner at home and I was more than eager to “nest” after being gone all week. I haven’t had a travel schedule like this since I danced lead years ago...with The Chippendales.  LFG prepared a starchy dinner of Chicken Curry-Lentils-Basmati Rice and Corn. She Hoovered down an entire plate and asked for seconds. Fun.

Peace Pajamas on a freshly scrubbed little gal. Courtesy of Target.

Sunday morning we ended up doing the Green Shoe Walk of Shame. Folks-I didn’t intend this. I’m tired and a bit distracted and I didn’t notice that we both had on green shoes until we were walking down King Street to have brunch at La Madeleine. Guess who was embarrassed? She’s getting to that age I suppose.

National Airport Sunday night and the shuttle to NYC. Alden Flex Welt tassel loafer for this week’s sortie. It’s warm again so socks are optional and an old pair of 501’s de rigueur for the flight up to Gotham. Cannot believe that they haven't changed the carpet since last week.

Navy Blahhh Blazer anchors the upper torso this week. When’s the weather gonna get cold? I've been wearing this Flusser sb peak 3/2 open patch baby twice a week for ten years. And it's beginning to look it.

Shuttle to LaGuardia and then down to mid-town for one night. When it’s my client’s dime-I stay where they put me. When it’s my company’s dime-I’m gonna select tried and true standards that don’t break the bank. The Roosevelt Hotel is a steady goer-middle of the road hotel with some character and history. I’ve got a meeting the next day and my requirements are fairly basic.

If the Roosevelt is good enough for Don Draper to hold court as well as other things in-then it’s good enough for me.

The Flusser blazer was a bit out of kilter upon arrival at the Roosevelt so I steamed it in the bathroom-for 3 hours.

The Roosevelt is diagonally situated across from Paul Stuart at Madison and 45^th street.  I took a walk over to J. Press-Paul Stuart and the venerable 346 Madison Avenue after having a little hooch at The Roosevelt.

I pondered the first time I ever touched the door pulls on the front entrance to the Brethren. Over twenty five years ago when Brooks was perhaps doing a slightly better job of holding on to the trad-prep glory that had so clearly been theirs for over a century.

The door frames and pulls have not changed in almost a century-even when the interior has gone through several machinations of makeovers under the auspices of several owners. These are the same pulls that Garbo used when visiting Brooks to buy her pajamas-men’s pajamas.  These are the same pulls that an actual Brooks family member used to enter the store when it was still under family control.  These are the same pulls that customers used on decades of Christmas Eves on the way home and in need of a last minute gift-after having Mad Men big boy cocktails over at the Roosevelt. Made in the USA? Shit man-there was a time when the very upper floors of 346 housed artisans making clothes. How about made freakin’ up damn stairs?

Exiting the Brethren side door to 44^th street used to have you just to the left of J. Press. I liked the tatty old J. Press store with its back alley arrogant context to the Brethren’s flagship.  Their old location seemed to me like an ultra trad-ever more so authentic-as time attenuated the Brooks franchise-burr under the Brethren saddle.

I might be wrong about this but is seems that one of these old buildings housed Chipp. Just on the other side of the street from J. Press.

I don’t wear suits much anymore and certainly not pinstripes like the one that these trousers gird. However, I would pounce on this J. Press offering in a heartbeat. Looks like a Greenfield side tab treatment to me. Flat front-beltless-crisp and precise-pseudo beaded pinstripe. Clean. Extry clean.

Ok…I’ll close this drivel for now. Next stop-Seattle…again. We’ll see what the carpet holds for us there!

Onward.

ADG