Elegant Survival
Stylish Living on a Shoestring
M-J's Miscellany
Elegant Burton Suit
| Posted on January 3, 2012 at 12:45 PM |
Town and Country Suit by Burton of Leeds
Read the measurements carefully for this elegant man's wool suit, vintage 1960s
Tweed Trench-Coat
| Posted on January 3, 2012 at 12:30 PM |
Please read the measurements carefully. This elegant, double-breasted British tweed trench-coat is a treasure for the elegant man. You definitely ought to forgo the bottom-feeders' two-inch fly pants while wearing this classic piece of menswear from Great Britain.
English Country Boots
| Posted on October 24, 2011 at 5:00 PM |
Town & Country Suit 44R
| Posted on October 11, 2011 at 12:45 AM |
Elegant Men's Tweed Suit, Size 44 Regular, Offered by Our Sterling Friend Peter in Herefordshire
Caring for Your Shirts
| Posted on September 25, 2011 at 9:50 AM |
Washing and Drying Your Shirts
By M-J de Mesterton, Copyright 2008
A well-made shirt can cost $500.00 or more. That is an investment to protect. Your shirts will last much longer if they are washed by hand and hung to dry. Don’t use so much detergent that it takes a rinsing marathon to remove it. “A little dab’ll do ya”, as the old Brylcreem jingle said. Ideally, one would hang shirts on a clothesline, upside down, with clothespins. This keeps pinch-marks off the important areas of your shirts. The sun will dry them in no time. Alternatively, one could hang them indoors, perhaps out-of-sight behind the the shower curtain, on hangers. A sturdy spring-rod, placed inside the shower area for the purpose of hanging clothes to dry will not interfere with your existing shower-rod. If you don’t want to get hanger-marks on the shoulders, just put wash-cloths under them, over the ends of your hanger. The worst thing to do, even if you wash your shirts in cold water in the gentle cycle, is to dry them in a machine–doing so will quickly degrade your shirt, which will die an angry death before its time. My husband and I have shirts from France and England that are twenty years old, and in perfect condition. An electric, energy-consuming dryer is an enemy to high-quality clothing. In fact, dryers shrink clothes and wear them out quickly; lint is composed of fibers that a machine robs from your clothes. You’d be surprised at how swiftly shirts dry naturally, and when they are just a wee bit damp, they’re easy to iron.
In cases of stubborn collar and cuff soil (I call it "cafe crud"), when hand-scrubbing fails, you can still wash your white shirts in hot water, soap, and a little bleach if necessary, as long as they are rinsed well, and then hung to dry. (Bleach alternative may be a better choice, if you can get it to work on stubborn stains.) Bleach is to be used only after stain-removal steps like soaking in Zote soap or Octagon (shirtmaker Alexander Kabbaz recommends Octagon for hand-washing his works of art) have been attempted without success. Always use as little bleach as possible, diluted before adding to wash-water, and only on white shirts. Bleach has a corrosive effect on your shirt’s fibers. The sun will do some natural bleaching of white cotton. Save costly energy and prolong the life of your shirts by hand-washing and sun-drying them. Giving your precious shirts to a dry-cleaner or other laundry service is wasteful. They crush buttons and machine-dry the poor things.
Do clothes hanging on a line outdoors conjure up bad images for you? Too bad, because it is one of life’s simple luxuries to be able to dry a beautiful, well-made shirt in the sun–some of the best people do it. Believe me, it’s not remotely infradig to care for your own shirts. After all, who cares for them more than you do? ~~Copyright M-J de Mesterton, May 2008
Town & Country Tweed Suit
| Posted on September 19, 2011 at 7:55 PM |
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| Offered by our sterling friend Peter in Herefordshire, this town and country style tweed suit is elegant and slimming. |
New Waistcoat Made in England 42S
| Posted on August 30, 2011 at 7:40 PM |
Elegant Shooting Jacket
| Posted on July 25, 2011 at 10:22 AM |
Elegant Man's Summer Jacket
| Posted on July 15, 2011 at 2:55 PM |
Walking Stick, Hat, Gloves
| Posted on June 22, 2011 at 7:26 PM |
New Rugged Elegance Made in England
| Posted on June 6, 2011 at 12:05 PM |
Classic English Boating Blazer
| Posted on May 25, 2011 at 2:02 PM |
Fred Astaire Style: the Book
| Posted on April 24, 2011 at 12:49 PM |
Nostalgia: Remember Elegantly-Dressed Men?
| Posted on April 12, 2011 at 10:09 AM |
Remember Elegantly-Dressed Men?
By M-J de Mesterton, ©Copyright 2010
Editorial on Bespoke and Made-to-Measure
| Posted on April 5, 2011 at 11:41 AM |
My husband's editorial on the distinctions between made-to-measure and bespoke clothing is a helpful reference for men who wish to dress elegantly. He is an author who has had clothes made for him since his teen years.
More by the same writer:
You Can Trust a Man in Tweed, by Jacques de Mesterton, which was also published by invitation in 2009 at Ask Andy about Clothes, the Internet's premiere clothing information web site.
©M-J de Mesterton
Bookster, for Those Who Know Better
| Posted on April 5, 2011 at 10:13 AM |
Made-to-Measure in England: Bookster Tweed Clothing Gallery
Men's Elegant Three-Piece Tweed Suit of Kilberry Cloth,
Made in England by Bookster
Elegant Wool/Mohair Suit
| Posted on January 18, 2011 at 1:40 PM |
You Can Trust a Man in Tweed, by Jacques de Mesterton
| Posted on September 4, 2010 at 11:00 AM |
YOU CAN TRUST A MAN IN TWEED
By Jacques de Mesterton
The name comes from tweel, a Scottish interpretation of the word “twill”. The legendary cloth was baptised for posterity when a London merchant, ‘round 1830, equated the tweel on an invoice from Hawick with the famed river Tweed, which flows through the Borders region of Scotland and England.
Tweed is rugged, highly breathable and drapes magnificently; the stuff is available in countless colours and patterns. Tweed can also be secured to match the challenges of current climate extremes, indicators of a coming Ice Age. Gentlemen may choose from an impressive array of cloth weights to handle everything from the coldest winter to midsummer in the tropics.
Tweed is supremely adaptable to a wide range of human activities. It is the country gent’s cloth of choice in places where traditional sporting values are maintained. But Tweed looks every bit as good in town as it does on a Highland stalk. And Tweed inspires confidence in the wearer—you can trust a man in tweed.
The cloth suggests strength, dependability and thoughtfulness. Indiana Jones wears tweed. And in the real world, so did Teddy Roosevelt, the very model of a dashing and adventurous American president, the man who ranched in Dakota Territory, was inducted into the British Royal Society for leading a party to the summit of Mont Blanc, won the Congressional Medal of Honor, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and saved the Grand Canyon. Tweed is the cloth of choice for men of action.
Bookster, located in Herefordshire, England, was founded by Peter and Michele King, spirited equestrians, who once bred rare cattle (Peter King’s book, “An Introduction to Keeping Cattle”, is a reference for anyone interested in humane and intelligent cattle management). Peter and Michele developed a passion for selling classic and vintage Tweed, finally launching Bookster1UK—the name came from a book-selling venture and stuck—a web-based made-to-measure firm dedicated to the propagation of authentic British Tweed throughout the civilized world.
Bookster makes superior Tweed at accessible prices, craft-tailored exclusively in England from the finest Scottish cloths for town and country wear. The Bookster cut, with its comfortable soft shoulder and flattering shaped silhouette, looks attractive on men of all sizes (elegant women’s jackets are also available). Manifold options allow a client to personalize jackets, vests and trousers to a considerable degree. The comprehensive Bookster web site, http://tweed-jacket.com, launched in 2007, is evocative and easy-to-use.
King Edward VII was renowned for his “tweedy opulence”, in the words of his grandson Edward, Duke of Windsor. The king, a corpulent man of sophisticated tastes, was the inspiration for the later Windsor style, which for decades exercised great power over the minds of men everywhere. The Duke of Windsor was devoted to well cut clothes made from heavy Tweed cloths.
David, as he was called by Wallis, his American-born duchess, was the most important influence on the way men dressed in the 20th century; and his memory is with us still in this new age. Bookster sells Tweed suits and separates fit for a king at accessible prices, clothes which you may depend upon in these increasingly complex times. Equip yourself for the road ahead—wear the reliably tasteful cloth of presidents and kings: wear Tweed!
© Jacques de Mesterton 2009
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