Elegant Survival

Classic, elegant neckties made in Manhattan, New York City, since 1957 by Mountain & Sackett

Count Hubert de Givenchy

See M-J's tribute on Classic, Elegant Dressing

Hair style is the final tip-off whether or not a woman really knows herself.

~~Hubert de Givenchy

Available at Schnee's of Bozeman, Montana, the "Wild Rag" is 36" X 36" of pure, heavy silk. 

The wretchedly dressed pair on American television's "What Not to Wear" are brainwashed fashion-victims themselves. It's a classic case of "the pot calling the kettle black." The pair recently turned a middle-aged woman into a granny-wigged sofa, and a pretty blonde into a plain brunette. Not only do they give ridiculous hairdos to unsuspecting women, but their own hairstyles are both ugly and age-inappropriate. She needs her hair cut shorter, and he needs to comb his. People in glass houses ought not to throw stones!

Jaeger Celebrates its 125th Anniversary

Jaeger is a respected, highly polished British brand that has for all its one-hundred-and-twenty-five years specialised in making clothes with natural fibres, including noble ones like alpaca, vicuna and angora.  Jaeger was the first clothing company to use camel hair. Jaeger counts among its famous clients George Bernard Shaw, Vivienne Leigh, and Marilyn Monroe.  Jaeger now sits at the cutting-edge of high quality manufacturing, using new machines that accurately simulate the sewing actions of human beings. Having modelled Jaeger clothing in the past; I'm very fond of their workmanship and realistic sizing system. They make clothing for real women.

Jaeger website is now offering certain clothes at 50%, 60%, and 70% discounts. Jaeger designs investment pieces, so don't let the opportunity to own classic clothing at a low price slip past you.

~~M-J, January 27th

This is a superb Dupioni silk dress with matching coat, available for a song at Womensuits.com

This is perfect for weekends in the country--an immaculate tweed suit with a reversible waistcoat and kick-pleat classic skirt with flattering waist.

http://photos.popeater.com/movies/hit-or-miss-fashion/70446

Expect to bomb if you go out in underwear!

Good News and Bad News: Fabulous prices at T.M. Lewin on women's blouses, shirts and sweaters persist this week and are lower than ever. The bad news: the sale at this ultra-reliable Jermyn St., London shirtmaker is bound to end very soon.

Copyright M-J de Mesterton; December 23rd, 2009

The Wendy Blouse

The good news: women's Russell plaid English wool trousers at Paul Stuart go up to the actual waist--now, was that so difficult, clothing-makers? What a pleasant surprise. These may be a good investment; they are made in Canada rather than in China. That's progress!

The bad news: Paul Stuart has NO SIZE CHART for women's trousers, and they are only offering these in size "4" and "6", whatever that means. You might want to look at their other "tailored" trousers, which also seem to come up to the actual waist, to see if they are available in your size. This lack of sizing information is a problem that requires telephoning the company, otherwise you may waste time and money ordering the wrong fit.

Don't fall for this gag--it's not really funny: Paul Stuart is selling a  women's shirt  for $524.00. Sure, it may be silk, but the thing is likely made in China--a popular criticism of the American behemoth, Wal-Mart! The Paul Stuart women's twill shirts, at $197.00, are described as "Made in Canada".  When something is made in China, it is usually called "imported". This time, they left that area blank....

T.M. Lewin of London, purveyor of  the best ready-made shirts in the world,  is selling an analogous ladies' shirt, well-shaped and with French cuffs, for about 35 dollars US. I have one, and would  wager that it is better-made and lasts longer than the one touted by pompous Paul Stuart and company--who, incidentally, have created a fictional character as their new mascot, bearing the risible name Phineas Cole. Phineas' pants are falling down and his jacket is too tight--otherwise, his gut wouldn't show through it.

The candy-coated clown act has gone far enough, one of its highlights being the $5,500.00 suit by tight-clothing pusher Tom Ford. A certain basketball player is shown sporting it in the recent issue of GQ.

ScotClans offers a choice of about 75 different authentic tartan ties in Dupioni silk for about 30 dollars US.

Paul Stuart offers a tartan silk tie for $159.00. Well, isn't that just ducky--everyone knowing whence your "tartan" tie comes, and how blinking much you were taken for in its acquisition?

Choosing Clothes that Flatter the Human Corpus

Copyright M-J de Mesterton, January 2009

Sulka, Haberdasher to Royalty, Is to Close Its Last Shop in U.S.

By TERRY PRISTIN

Published: Friday, December 21, 2001 THE NEW YORK TIMES Sulka, the men's haberdashery that once counted the Duke of Windsor, Winston Churchill, Henry Ford and Clark Gable among its customers, will close its Madison Avenue store, the last of its shops in the United States, real estate sources said yesterday. Founded more than a century ago and long renowned for its hand-tailored shirts and ties, Sulka changed hands several times and was once owned by Syms, the chain of discount clothing retailers. It is now owned by Vendôme Luxury Group, a division of Compagnie Financière Richemont, of Switzerland. Vendôme, which also owns upscale brands like Alfred Dunhill and Cartier, this year has shuttered Sulka stores in Paris and London and six in this country, including a boutique in the Waldorf-Astoria and a store on Park Avenue and 55th Street. The only store still open in the United States is the one at Madison Avenue and 69th Street, in the former Westbury Hotel, which was converted into condominium apartments two years ago. The space now occupied by Sulka is being leased to Gucci, which will combine it with space being vacated by two other stores under the Vendôme umbrella, James Purdey & Sons Ltd. and Montblanc. Sulka is expected to move out early next year, according to officials at Chelsfield, the company that developed the condominiums. Sulka and Richemont executives refused to comment yesterday. Retailing experts said that as younger shoppers came to prefer designer labels or Italian lines like Ermenegildo Zegna and Brioni, Sulka's appeal became increasingly limited. ''That business was geared to a generation that's passing on,'' said Walter K. Levy, the managing director for retail trends and positioning at Kurt Salmon Associates, a consulting company. ''I don't think the younger customer follows the tradition of a men's house.'' To be successful today, a men's wear line needs to be associated with a famous personality, said Paul Wilmot, a fashion publicist. ''If you spend that kind of money,'' he said, ''you want Calvin Klein's name on it. You want to see Ralph Lauren. These are the design authorities.'' Although Sulka was long the favorite haberdashery of the carriage trade, the company did not start out that way. When Amos Sulka, a traveling salesman and retailer from Johnstown, Pa., teamed up with Leon Wormser, a custom-shirt maker born in Alsace-Lorraine, to open the first A. Sulka & Company store on lower Broadway in 1895, their initial customers were husky firefighters and police officers who found it hard to find shirts that fit properly. But eventually the store attracted wealthy customers by using their butlers as walking advertisements for its merchandise. In 1904, Sulka opened a store in Paris. A few years later, the company began operating its own laundry to shrink the cotton used in the shirts and wash off the workers' fingerprints. In 1917, the store began taking in customers' laundry so that they would not have to risk damaging their shirts at ordinary laundries. That service, which lasted for several decades, enabled the company to weather the Great Depression. For many years, the company primarily used fabrics woven at its own mill in Lyon, France. Always a citadel of conservative dress, Sulka was also known in the early 1960's for offbeat luxury items like his-and-her vicuña dressing gowns and leopard-skin gloves lined with beaver. Later, the company managed to survive another serious challenge -- this time from a new direction in fashion emphasizing the flamboyant. The company broadened its line without radically altering its timeless image. A smoking jacket at Sulka may cost $1,500, the fashion writer Anne-Marie Schiro wrote in The New York Times in 1985. ''But then,'' she added, ''nothing from Sulka ever goes out of style.''

Sulka Double-Breasted Raincoat at Elegant Survival Shop

Classic Pencil Skirt in Salt & Pepper Tweed, by Jaeger

It has an actual waist!

And Jaeger has other sale-items:

70% Price-Reductions

It's refreshing to see a clothing  company that hasn't abandoned the waist in favour of

the hip-hugging, belly-out, shorty-legs look!

~~M-J~~

Clarks Artisan Collection