Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Lumber Jack Noir and Trad Miscellanea

Whew. After such an unintentionally provocative story the other day, it’s time for some superficial randomanalia. And all of that over a straw hat. Don’t get me wrong, I loved observing the back and forth between all of you and wouldn’t want to inhibit that in any way. But every now and then we need some mental floss—a cerebral palette cleansing dose of something. And here it is. Because trust me, I’ve got some heavy duty shitake coming in the next few weeks.
I’m prone to hygiene holidays when I’m alone and now that I’m wracked with what I call the respiratory crud, the no-shave, baseball cap option is even more appealing. But I did clean up the other day for a brief trip to the office and then to dinner—alone—again—naturally.
Winter white moleskins from Cordings. I bought three pairs of moleskins and two pairs of corduroys at Cordings in June of 1995 at about a zillion percent off. And they’ll probably last forever—bulletproof. Yep. So along with a pair of Ralph wool socks I channeled what I call Lumber Jack noir. Shut the ____ up. I don’t feel well and I have no one to play with this week so I don’t want to hear it.
No break. And I mean it. Flat front trousers with narrower legs demand a clean culmination in ankle land. No break. And these 1 5/8 inch cuffs were installed before my two inch epiphany.
But it’s two inch cuffs from here on out. Don’t argue this with me. Two inchers in all their Polo Ralph flat front beltless glory Surprise...I had them made in orange. You saw it here first. Right here.
So I left the office and headed over to my little French greasy spoon around the corner. What you see as you walk the quarter of a block is Christ Church. The Anglican installment best known for being George Washington’s church when he “came to town.” Young Bobby Lee worshiped there as well…after his mama, Ann Carter Lee had to decamp Albemarle County and Stratford because Light Horse Harry Lee pissed away all of the family dough. And Roosevelt accompanied Churchill to Christ Church during one of Winnie's visits. Seems logical. New Amsterdam WASP shuttles the uber Anglican Winnie over to the local Anglican house of (poised/restrained) worship.
I'm gonna do a story about Winston Churchill in caricature someday. But for now, here is a snap of two Winnie caricatures that live in my little hallway...awash in retail red.
So I took my usual place in the dining alone corner and began my comfort food journey. Painfully cold weather calls for Cassoulet but the Dover sole was whispering… “Order me again…order me again you lonely, yet intriguingly, in an impish sort of way, sexy man.”
Well damn, how do you deny such a siren call? Against my better judgement, I did. But not before I had a slice of middle of the road pâté. Good ole country pâté would worry me if it was anything but average. This stuff kinda appeals to a southern boy in a Boudin, liver pudding, hogshead cheese kind of a way.
I’ve never had a bad Cassoulet even though this one was a little bit dry and as always, too much.
 And I now offer this from a perspective of morphological admiration…not lust. The waitress must have been doing a ton of yoga. Stellar derrière…sublime. And I bet it would be just the same if I hadn't had two of those magical concoctions I so love. That would be ice-water.
Peach Melba, Café au lait and I’m done.
Till I get home. It’s a holiday week and I generally don’t drink hard spirits alone but I needed one of these see-throughs to see me through till bedtime. I was out of NyQuil. Shut up. 
 So let’s shift gears and revisit my Bobby from Boston gets. I’ve pretty much sorted out with you the two covert twill coats that I snagged. But looky at the perfecto navy blazer. Whether you bespeak something from Savile Row or buy sixty five dollar jackets from Bobby; there’s an immutable issue regarding fit that must be reconciled before pondering any other adjustment. Sleeves can be shortened, sides can be tapered. But the true index for whether or not a garment is for you is the way it fits the neck and shoulders. 
There’s very little that can be done to lower a collar or adjust shoulders. That’s where most of the handwork is manifest and where most of the customization has already occurred for the original owner. If the fit sucks in neck/shoulder land, the garment’s always gonna look kinda sucky. I’ve had enough clothes made for me over the last twenty years to know when something fits. And I’ll tell you that the shoulder/neck fit on this little Bobby from Boston ditty is as good as I’ve ever had.
Griffon amongst retail red. (sorry...I'm stuck on the retail red thing...it remains funny to me but I'm sure it will subside in another post or two) Now the Griffon escutcheon could mean a hundred things. The original owner could have been a member of “The Griffin/Griffon Club” or they could have been a veteran of one of the British Ranger battalions that use the Griffon as part of their iconographic manifestation. But I’ve debunked this one. It’s the logo for Elmer and Lurlene Griffin’s Auto Body. Elmer and Lurlene opened a bondo slathering, chicken wire and hay baling twine car put-back-together emporium years ago. In Pamplico South Carolina. Shut up.
My other rare foray from home so far this week saw me, even with the respiratory crud; manifest cabin fever so I drove out to the country and grabbed my usual supply of Crane Crest secret salad cologne.
And my hygiene holiday manifested in jeans, Red Wings and my LFG Patagonia thing. Red Wings. A real work boot and made in America. At least they were when I bought these in 1996 on King Street in Old Town. Back when a family owned work shoe—boot store remained in business. It’d been there for fifty years when I bought these. And of course they are long gone. Most everything now on King Street is a frou frou boutique of some sort butcept two wig shops. I want the wig shops to always be in Old Town. It reminds me of how dodgy upper King Street was in 1989. Canaries in the coal mine of gentrification…when the wig shops go; we’ll be 100% uppity. Upper King Street 1989…the antithesis of Lower Sloane Street in any decade.
 Someone emailed me and axked if the Patagonia top was as shockingly green in real life or had I enhanced the photo. Nope. It’s green. Fuzzy green.
My Restoration Hardware chair remains in Georgetown. I stopped by to check on it the other day.
Right after I bought pediatric Blunnies for my little buddy who I’ll see next week.
And the chair also remains in the Old Town location as well. And no I’m not gonna buy it. Six months from now, a half dozen of these will find their way to the Restoration Hardware Outlet in Leesburg. They’ll have a ding or two on them and they’ll have an adjusted MSRP of around nine hundred bucks. Just watch.
And so I’ll close this installment of superficialia with a couple of things. Is it just me or is Jennifer Beals looking more and more like the late Dixie Carter? I’d say that’s a compliment for either of them.
 Continued Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. This time from the junk man in Old Town.

Onward. En route to replenish my DayQuil/NyQuil cache.
ADG II

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

ok back to shoes...what are those in the first picture? aaaand.. Cranes crest is our fav salad dressing but we order from the company..do they sell it in a store? Hoping you are feeling better!ginny

ADG said...

Ginny...the shoes are just good ole LL Bean 65 dollar moccasins. The only store that I know of that sells Crane is a little gourmet place in Middleburg. My motivation for going yesterday was more to get out of the house than to absolutely get the Crane. But since I was there I snagged two jars. And thanks, I'm still reveling in the crud.

Scale Worm said...

Wow, when I saw the propeller behind the chair I thought that you owned it, THEN I saw the chair and realized (while reading) you were in the store. I actually turned Patagucci green (I have lusted after a wooden prop for years now).
Sorry to hear of your illness friend. Before reading here I had just downed a non-Nyquil breakfast not-too-smoothie (that I had a double of before bed last night), thinking, as I slammed it, that I need to get out today and get the real-deal (My throat aches and I have 1/2 the Sesame street muppets (fuzzy ones) smashed into my sinuses).
Man, you are SO GOOD in crafting these posts. The bit on "Griffin’s Auto Body" was too funny!
I know no one else that can photo word smith together dinner with martini’s, Churchill, shoulder cuts, chicken wired bondo, yoga, and Red Wing boots (U.S. built ones at that ), all in one post! Cheers, and Get better Sir!

Suburban Princess said...

I hope you feel better soon!

This might help...

"How To Buy A Tie For ADG"

1. Find an obscure men's store. Something that might resemble Ollivanders Wand Shop but with hats and ties - bonus points if there is dust on the boxes on the top shelves.

2. Look for lots of patterns especially animals. Elephants in tutus, fez clad monkeys (my personal favourite), pandas in trench coats or Draperesque fedoras will do nicely.

3. Ask yourself 'Does this tie go with anything?'. If the answer is yes, put the tie back. If the answer is no, head to the cash desk...if you can find it.

4. Let the oldest man you have ever seen, who has worked there since the 50's, know you would like to pay in cash, he will appreciate not having to go a few rounds with a debit/credit machine as he still lives by the motto 'Cash is King'. This man also knows more about cut, jib, break, lie, hang, hems, seams, flannel, felt, silk, tweed and every other sartorial term you can imagine. Respect must be paid.

5. Add a monogrammed hankie...ADG will need it to wipe the tears when he realises the fez on the monkey or the tutu on the elephant perfectly matches one of the stripes on a pair of socks he got for Christmas 1987.


:O)

Anonymous said...

"Man, you are SO GOOD in crafting these posts. The bit on 'Griffin’s Auto Body' was too funny!"

Well, I was so blown away by his "bilateral elongated goiter, a remora still attached to the mothership" that, despite being a bride of one year, went ahead and proposed marriage to the writer right then.

"I hope you feel better soon! This might help...
How To Buy A Tie For ADG"

Getting back up off floor, this is when I have to apologize to ADG. Please forgive all the clicks coming from Amelia Island FL this morning, but I've clicked on and off this post and these comments so many times, I'm trying to stay on task with the work I have to get done by dusk, but peoples is went crazy here lately and I don't want to miss nothin.

Anonymous said...

"it’s two inch cuffs from here on out. Don’t argue this with me."

--'- ---- -----, ---- -----. -- ----- --------.

Karena said...

Oh My, I don't know how you can possibly wear those moleskins without 2 inch cuffs!!

I do feel badly that you are eating alone all of the time.So come to Kansas City anytime and we'll get together with Mrs B

Suburban Housewife you are hilarious!

xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena

Main Line Sportsman said...

Love that Pate photo...and nuthin beats Cassoulet...especially when I make it with ducks I kilt meself...
Happy New Year buddy....

yoga teacher said...

I would like to touch those moleskin pants! Mind out of the gutter now; I happen to be very tactile, and they look like they feel pretty good. Also, this post is making me want a martini, but I have two sessions to go today. Maybe I'll just take a nap.

Anonymous said...

How on earth do you get away with photographing waitresses when you are on your tod?
If I tried that I'd get a slap at best or more likely be ejected by the enormous cook!
Happy New Year.
Geoff

Unknown said...

Lookee here! Someone pegged your tie-buying skill set to make the job much easier for the rest of us!! In that spirit, poor suffering ADG, I would take on that bug of yours for you, to free you up to roam around town in search of more good things to write to us about, and to usher in the new, fabulous year. Alas, I am hardly mobile myself these days (thank god for pain meds and hell be damned not to mix them w good ol liquor) and need to conserve energy for the trek to Gtown with The Short People living with me tomorrow. A rain check, then. Funny thing about Christ Church. My former rector/marriage adjudicant at St. Paul's (over on the other side of town there) used to call CC the "uppity" church. Seems SP was founded bc CC found a few of those who started SP to be a bit too rambunctious and not properly, slavishly, worshipful. All the more reason I loved it...And don't forget, when you need remindin' bout what upper King used to look like (ahh, those were the days), come to Annapolis. We're still somewhat in the "before" stage but getting wayyyyy too close to the Toffee Nosed "after" Crowd. Rumour has it some guy from Fox Ch.5 is opening a posh wine bar on Main. Sigh. COme make fun of it while drinking an insane amount of stewed juice w me when it opens!!!

ilovelimegreen said...

Now that we have a tie-buying guide, ADG, could you please, pretty please do a post on the logic behind what tie goes with what jacket/shirt, etc. (My father has been known to spend HOURS selecting a tie for a particular ensemble and I have never understood his logic.)

NCJack said...

Yeah, back in your & my neck of the woods (hereinafter knowed as SHC {Swamp Home Carolina}) we ate pate a lot...just didn't know it.

I think it was Lurlene her own self Bondo-ed my VW after that unfortunate coon-hunting/white liquor/farmer's daughter incident

Southern H and H said...

As my daddy would say, you stirred up quite a sh*t storm yesterday.

ADG said...

Southern H&H...as I used to say to my mama..."They started it"...All I did was tell as story. "They" did the stirrin!

NCJackson...eggzackly...but most of the mom and pop places that would slap together things in sauasage casings are gone. Lurlene was amazing no?

LimeGreener...I could not, on my best day, put together a guide/rationale for assemblage.

Gretchen...I thought you were gonna take on my bug? I'm worse this morning than before. Who are The Little People? And I know Annapolis' Main Street all too well. Joss sushi is one of my faves. I spent the night one time, in my Saab, in the Noah Hillman Parking Garage.

AnonGeoff...I'm sneaky.

YogaTeach...they are soft and yes, I'll let you touch 'em someday.

MainLiner...I'm headed out to Orange county Virginia this weekend, if I get better, to eat and drink with my best buddy whose larder is full of duck, venison etc that he's kilt. He always cooks up the best stuff.

Karena...I have a few pairs that are "pre-two-inch-edict".

Flohoho...settle down baby.

Suburban....classic! Also, let me know if my late to get out Christmas card makes it to Canada. I had a pang of panick after dropping cards in the mail, having realized that I don't think I added extry postage for Canada and UK cards.

ScaleWorm....thanks man. I'm still in the throes of my NyQuil/DayQuil journey. Re the propeller...I'm with you but I'd rather have one that was at one time on a plane. Those I'm sure, are hard to find and pricey when you do find them.

Suburban Princess said...

Will do! It takes a couple of weeks for mail to get across the border but as soon as it arrives I will let you know :O)

Anonymous said...

"I'm worse this morning than before."

That's makin me sad. There's nothing like good old fashioned Benadryl, the take-it-every-4-to-6-hours kind. Chase it with Diet Coke, and you'll be able to work and read and be alert-ish. This is your mother speaking: just stay in your skivvies, eat your Reverend Frito sandwich, snooze. Nite, nite.

Chuck Hatt said...

George seems to have an affinity for Christ Church's. I visit Christ Church, Cambridge whenever I am there, just of Harvard Square, a church attended by George and Martha when quartered nearby.

Hilton said...

I decided to take your advice and bought a tweed jacket from Country Classics:http://cdrigden.com/men/index.cfm?galleryID=2

Would you mind advising me on a fit issue? I recently bought a coat from Press and had it tailored. The lapel on one side (left I believe) will not lay completely flat on my chest. It "bows" or "puckers" if you will. Any advice as to how to fix this?

Do you know the tailor at the Press store in DC?

Thanks.

Happy New Year.

ADG said...

Hilton...I was in English Country Classics the other day. Some of the tastiest stuff around. I was in J Press DC today. I've never had anything tailored there so I'm at a loss regarding who does their stuff. The neck/chest/lapel issue is a tricky one and I couldn't begin to offer advice. What I would suggest is that you take it back and insist that J Press make it right.

Happy Holidays.

Hilton said...

Mr. & Mrs. Rigden also happen to be quite pleasant to deal with. I bought the Cheviot Tweed jacket in the upper left corner (MJ951).

Thanks for alleviating the pain of shelling out the dough. It was not easy for a guy that is unemployed and uninsured and also facing an uncertain future.

I have yet to locate a tailor with credibility. Perhaps someday I should pay you to meet me in a local hotel bar for your opinion on the tailoring of the jackets I've recently acquired. Clearly, you are more knowledgeable than most tailors.

I attended the Christmas day service at the National Cathedral (imagine that) and was reminded of you and the blog by the style of a gentleman's dress that was seated near me.

Unknown said...

Oh, ADG, I would certainly take on this skankbug for you...seems either I or one of the girls (aka The Short People residing here at White Trash Manor w me) wind up with some form of doctor-funding, research-furthering nastiness during the holidays and vacations. This yr it was I spending time in our lovely parochial medical facility. Sooo, you wanna pass your badness this way, it will find good company. Joss Rocks. Period. And we'll let you sleep off whatever you need in a real bed, not the parking garage. Beats the bartends' wannabe girlfriends losing their fritos as they stumble back to their cars sucking up my parking spot in this horrible dull house I live in.....JPress, eh? Pink I would have expected. But too bad we couldnt have reconnoitered at le Pain Quotidien! Invite for you (and LFG, if you wish) always open here in No Man's Land...take us up anytime you wish, it would be my honour....

ADG said...

Hilton...we'll see if we can't make that drink happen sometime soon in 2011

Gretchen...Just took my evening dose of NyQuil and slid into new flannel pjs from Brooks Brothers. I mustered enough energy to shower, shave and go to BB for clean pjs and a couple of other sale items. Pink...I can't get their shirts to fit me properly.

Unknown said...

Nyquil...a better (legal) invention I've yet to discover. I'm eyeing a pair of BB's myself these days so good call, I'd say, and adieu to slumberland. I suspect Pink's best for us girls (at least they're long enough to tuck in, unlike Every.Other.Shirt.Out.There.) or those silly boys whose hips/torso are smaller than the spring breeze, but the texture of the fabric, c'est incroyable! Get well, dear sir..your minions are counting on you!!

Young Fogey said...

You DO have matching pants. Ouch! Gonna go hunting in your all-orange, all-the-time getup?