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Archive for June, 2010

Jun 28

12 Comments

Made To Measure Suits Up Adrian Wilson

Adrian Wilson, a local interior photographer and all around great guy, needed a suit for his 2nd wedding so he contacted me for some help. He’s having a non traditional type of affair and wanted to stay away from tuxedos all together. Since the wedding will be held on a vintage yacht he asked that I help him find a nice suit in a light color as to go along with the season.

Here’s Adrian in his normal everyday attire:

His budget was significantly larger than what I am accustom to so there was a greater ease in what we could look for. Surprisingly enough we found his suit at Daffy’s for $199 in Herald Square. It’s a Super 120′s wool and pretty light and breathable:

The fit was almost spot on minus some pulling on the waist of the jacket and the pants needed hemming. Matt over at Imparali took care of all that with fantastic results. The sleeves were also a bit long so we had them taken up a bit.

We ended up going to Barney’s for everything else. His shoes and tie are is Brioni. Shoes are by Barney’s. Funny thing is that the shoes cost more than the suit itself. Can’t for the life of me remember the make of the pocket square but it’s some kind of silken loveliness that folds beautifully.

I’m so happy with the break on the pants with this one. They hit perfectly on the shoe with no bunching at all.

I cannot recall the make of the pocket square but we decided on a rich paisley pattern to contrast with the pink shirt and striped tie.I liked how all the patterns worked with this ensemble. Adrian’s main concern was that he didn’t want to look too stuffy which is why we went with such a bold choice.


A few of Adrian’s own touches was a beautiful vintage watch that was passed down to him and a nicely engraved belt purchased at JCrew. Those are he and his future wife’s first initials on there:

Adrian’s initial budget was $3,000 and we came in way under that at $1,300 after tailoring and everything else. I have to say that working with Adrian was an absolute pleasure. He really got into the process with me, we both asked questions, and had some excellent help at Barney’s. If you ever are there, ask for Philip Eggleston. He is an absolute pleasure to deal with and helped us a lot.

If you would like more information about Adrian Wilson’s work, please visit:

www.interiorphotography.net

If you are in the New York area and are in need of assistance, feel free to contact me for rates and availability.

Thanks again and happy suit hunting!
Dennis Cahlo

**UPDATE**

Adrian sent me some shots from his big day. Many congratulations to him and his new bride!!


Jun 24

7 Comments

The iPhone App You Need Most

It was a long time coming. All of my friends, family, and enemies had one. I was devout in my intentions never to own one before I gave in. But the day came in the form of a giant sale and the acquisition was made.

The iPhone.

Is it life changing? Kinda. I never realized just how amazing this thing is until I started using it. Even though I didn’t buy the new version I scored a 3GS for way below the average price (16g at $120 after tax). With the new iPhone OS4 update my new device has kicked all my other devices asses and then some. Now my entire life is surrounded by Apple products and I fear I have reached obsessive fanboy status. I’m even considering the iPad if they ever decide to put a camera in it.

But let this post not be about gadgetry and more about menswear.

While searching through the usual fodder of male targeted apps I found one that was the most useful and probably ONLY one about suiting. Created by the one and only Alan Flusser it’s called Bespeak and is just simply amazing.

The app functions as a tool to help you pick out what clothing work best with your skin tone, eye color, and body type. Alan’s entire ethos revolves around clothing drawing your attention to the man’s face rather than the ensemble and this app is pretty much a condensed version of what he talks about in his books. I highly recommend picking up any and all written works by him as well but this is an excellent start.

My only issue with the app is that there is no option for black or hispanic men. If these choices are added, I think the app will be the #1 choice for any man who has to or wants to wear a suit everyday.

Below are some screen shots to get you more acquainted. If you want to dive right in, download it here.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Jun 23

5 Comments

Linen, Chambray, And Suede

It’s been a slow summer for me here, folks. While most blogs have gone on full force I’ve had somewhat of a lack of inspiration this year…until today.

After a long bout with the “It’s too hot to put anything of worth together” excuse I finally came up with something that’s not too much for a humid New York City day. I also am very fond of the textures involved as each add a nice dimension to the outfit.

Probably my biggest leap was breaking out my dark brown suede bucks instead of driving loafers. A welcome change as they prove to be very comfortable without socks.

Chambray Shirt: H&M, Linen Pants: Indochino, Suede Bucks: Merona, Drivers Cap: Walmart, Belt: No Idea

Jun 11

4 Comments

The Jacksonville Diaries Part 7: The End

The last entry of The Jacksonville Diaries has nothing to do with menswear. Instead, I wanted to share with you something really special that Alyssa’s Grandmother had tucked away in her magazine archives. I found this a very fitting end to the trip.

If you are familiar with vintage American publishing then you already know what THE SATURDAY EVENING POST is. If not, click here. I was introduced to only reprints of the covers as a child and had them all over my room in frames. Norman Rockwell was the artist behind most of the covers as well as N.C. Wyeth, J. C. Leyendecker, John Clymer, and John E. Sheridan.

Imagine my excitement when Grandma produced an issue from 1960 almost fully in tact. I kinda freaked out a little bit and took as many photos as I could of the beautiful vintage ads that adorned the pages.

So without further ado, please enjoy these little slices of classic American advertising. I’ll be back soon with more summer and suit updates as well as a few couples night out pieces. See you soon!

Jun 10

4 Comments

The Jacksonville Diaries Part 6: Thrifting

One thing that is so much fun to do when traveling out of state is explore the local thrift shops for treasures.

On this rather hot day I put together my own little “thrifting” outfit to dig through the racks. If you can’t already tell, I LOVED posing next to that Miata.

Anyways, we ended up finding a Salvation Army that was close by and I kept my fingers crossed that I would hit the lottery in terms of menswear.

Sadly I had zero luck in the clothing department. Everything was HUGE and ugly. I mean…there’s good ugly but all this stuff was plain BAD ugly. Alyssa found a few great items for herself so I decided to give the old LP’s a once over.

I’m so damn glad I did.

First up on the list is an LP I have been looking for to complete a collection I own. The music itself is fantastic old Bachelor Pad Space music but it’s the artwork that I am drawn to the most. Josef Albers was a minimalist designer who incorporated really interesting geometric designs into his works. In fact over the years the artwork has overshadowed the music. With this little addition I now own 3 of these albums.

Second up from the same COMMAND label is MR. BIG another little nice piece of art and a great record filled with the nostalgic sound of reverberated guitars and vintage sounds all around.

Last but not least there was this little number entitled “MUSIC FOR THE QUIET HOUR”. I absolutely loved the album cover as it reminded me of something from an episode of Madmen. Just look at those champagne glasses and cigarettes. They really knew how to class it up back in the day.

I picked up a few more albums but nothing as visually striking as these bad boys. Hope you enjoyed this little detour from clothing as much as I did.

Jun 9

4 Comments

The Jacksonville Diaries Part 5: Loafing

One pair of shoes that I packed for our travels was a vintage pair of vintage Florsheim loafers that I found on E-bay for $25.

In the extreme Florida heat I didn’t really think I would get a lot of use out of them. One day I put on a button down and my pair of linen “dress” shorts and the outfit seemed pretty bland until I put the shoes on.

Not only did they keep my feet dry but they ended up being pretty comfortable most of the day and took me into a wild night of pints at a hole in the wall named TJ’s.

The inspiration for this one all came from Sean Connery in Dr. No.

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