So Long Suckers!

Well, for about two weeks, anyway. I'll be off to Vancouver to catch some of the Winter Olympics action. Don't be jealous.

Hopes for a second career - Dashed

I always thought that, when all else fail, I can just go and become a model of some sort. I'm not photogenic by any means, but one could always photoshop away my head. Then, today, I was forwarded this link.

They're doing a casting call; here are the requirements:

• Females size 2-4 that are great walkers, AT LEAST 5’7” tall
• Males over 5’10”, pant size 30-32
• Children, girls ......ages 4 to 6 years old, size 5
• Plus-size females, dress size 12 to 14, AT LEAST 5’7” tall
• Mature females, dress size 12, AT LEAST 5’7” tall

Sigh...maybe I can eat a lot of cake.

New Socks for the New Year

The Year of the Tiger has arrived, so I figured I'd get something for my paws. Of socks in boring department I have plenty, so this time I opted for some colour:

Socks, 3 for $7.90 at Uniqlo

Happy Chinese New Year all!

Self Control

Gilt had a final sale for men today with some pieces going for 90% off. I got nothing. Aren't you all proud of me?

Ironically, they had some Alexander McQueen for sale (update: not anymore, either they took it down or everything sold out in a pinch). Don't know much about the guy. R.I.P., I guess.

Snow Day?

If the pending snowstorm were to prevent me from going into town tomorrow morning, I'll think about something to write. OR, I can go buy a tub of Woolite and experiment away. Oooh, snow day, snow day!

What I Wore Today: A Wintry Monday

...or yesterday. Technicalities aside, this post is an excuse for me to post some pictures on the blog to enliven it a little bit. Monday happened to be a fairly bitter and drafty day, so I decided to break out a full winter ensemble. Here it is:

You'll have to excuse my crappy camera, my shoddy skills in photography, and the mess of a backdrop. I'm really not going to do any better than that. Anyway, this chesterfield coat from +J is the newest addition in my rotation of four, and I often pair it with the track-pants-lookalike from Rag & Bone seen above. I think only one person ever pointed out that they were faux tux-trim pants; unsurprisingly, he's from Europe. The scarf you'll never find anywhere else, because my Mom made it - and I'll have a story about that. I can be spotted wearing this outfit to work with regularity, mostly because I love walking into the office looking like I forgot to change my pants from my morning run (I don't do morning runs).

Taking off the coat and the scarf after warming up:

Ah, the wardrobe staple that is the grey cashmere v-neck. Trusty little sweater. I've thrown it over pretty much every dress shirt I have in my closet (and I have quite a few). So versatile. Here I have a slightly loud pink-with-thin-white-stripes French-cuff number from Charles Tyrwhitt - notice how I rolled up the sweater sleeves just so you could catch a glimpse of the cuff links - and I quite like the combination. Harmony, I say.

Then, well, off goes another layer:

Check out that little "belt". An awesome detail that I love about this pair of pants. It fastens, so it's functional, and its black trims complete the whole over-the-top contrast. Bonus: it's entirely removable so if I want to slap on a formal leather belt when the occasion calls for it, I can. Very cool.

Just before dinner (because pita bread, hummus, and French cuffs don't always play well together):

I'm not sure if it's obvious, but that's my 29" waist. No, I will never stop talking about it, at least not until I get fat. By the way, the heather grey basic tee from Uniqlo was 3 for $10. No wonder I have like 20 undershirts from these guys in eight different colours.

Finally, a little secret eccentricity that no one but me knew:

No comment needed for this one, methinks.

So there you go: what I wore yesterday. Could be considered trying-too-hard with all the colour coordination and what not. Maybe I could put on some chocolate-brown gloves next time.

Motivation

I'm still battered by work, drowned in work, and exhausted from work, during work and supposedly non-work hours. My inspiration to write is taking a beating. Tonight, I'm mustering up my withering mental tenacity to put down a few items about which I'd like to discuss in the near future. This list will hopefully serve as motivation for me to keep this moribund blog alive.

• A story about scarves, and how I tie mine
• Another TSCG's Dilemma
• Detailed measurements of items in my wardrobe
• Experimenting with doing my own laundry (something which I've been too lazy to do for a while)
• Rants about crappy products
• Anything with pictures!

See, ideas are not lacking. Time, on the other hand...

Swamped

I'm getting fed up with myself for not updating the blog. Work's been piling up and I've been burning whatever free time I had on rock climbing, so this space has been given the tumbleweed treatment the past week or so.

But! Two important things happened since I last wrote anything of worth:

1) The month of January had ended, bringing my self-imposed shopping ban to a conclusion, and

2) I had taken a giant step in photographing my wardrobe by...charging my camera's batteries.

Now if my programs would write themselves...

Wishlist Item: Distressed Wingtip Ankle Boots from John Varvatos

I'm currently bound by a no-buy clause, so I'm going to be coming across a crapload of things that I want but can't have. What's more, January and February are prime clearance months. I can't wait to miss out on all kinds of deals.

Here's a look at today's item:

Distressed Wingtip Ankle Boots from John Varvatos, $288 on Gilt

I've been keeping an eye on this pair for quite some time, and vowed to go and get it once it hits $200. Thankfully, this has not happened. Nevertheless, if I find myself twisting and turning in bed tonight, I think I'll know what the culprit is.

A TSCG's Dilemma: 1. I Can't Find My Pants!

The magic number is 29/33 (29/34 is okay for jeans).

Sometimes I feel like an alien, a forgotten species in a land of burgers and fries. Dockers sell khakis that would fit two of me; Macy's decide not to carry trousers narrower than 30" at the waist; Express's "extended" sizes are either still too short or still too wide. Just because I don't have a waist, just because my hips are near non-existent, and just because I drank enough milk during puberty to out-grow my entire genealogical tree, doesn't mean I don't deserve to put on a well fitting pair of pants!

The way I see it, I have about four solutions:

1) Eat more, sleep more, exercise less, gain a couple of inches and/or love handles.

No. Just no.

2) Get custom-made pants.

This would solve one problem (I'd get pants that fit my body) and introduce another (I'd get pants that don't fit my budget). A derivative of this option would be to find something off the rack and take it to a tailor. I might eventually do that, but something about going to a tailor alone scares me. What if he uses terminologies that escape me? What if the tailoring costs more than the pair of pants itself? What if he's part of a mafia? And so on.

3) Go European. Go designer.

Apparently, Europeans' impeccable metabolism makes their waistlines immune to the nine-course tasting menus, or something. Why else would Diesel be selling 26" jeans? Despite the size availability, though, I've never been able to justify the purchase of a $250 pair of denim. Of course, their prices dip only after the skinny folks finished their raid.

On the other hand, I've had some luck at a recent Rag & Bone sample sale. I'm kind of a n00b when it comes to these kinds of chaotic, grab-and-pay mobs, so in a semi-trance I had my credit card swiped for a few more dollars than I'd like to admit. Nevertheless, I got two pairs of trousers and two pairs of jeans that fit very well. Heck, I didn't realize one of them was raw selvedge until I got home and had a closer look. Yes, I was that overwhelmed.

4) Head down to Uniqlo.

Cheap, basic, and slim. 29/34 galore. Free 24-hour alteration service. 30-minute subway ride. Just some of the reasons Uniqlo is currently my go-to store in NYC. My only complaint is that most of the pants and jeans sit below the waist (and I'll dedicate a post to low-rise bottoms...). Meh, you can't have the cake and eat it too (...no, this expression still does not make sense to me).

All in all, I think I'll go at this in reverse order: shop at Uniqlo until one of those crazy warehouse sales comes along, and maybe one day I'll gather enough courage to find me a tailor. Then, eventually, I'll cave in and just get fat. Then I'll have to shut down the blog.

Question: Where do you go when you need that perfect pair of trousers that hug your waist and break on your oxfords exactly where they're supposed to?

Launching: Uniqlo +J 2010 Spring Collection

Uniqlo's collaboration with Jil Sander, +J, proved to be wildly successful last season. If I weren't so strapped for cash, if my closet weren't already full of stuff I don't need, and if the doors weren't to open at 8AM, I would definitely go to the S/S launch tomorrow morning to grab a few pieces. I bought a grey Chesterfield for a Benjamin a month ago, and I'm more than pleased with the material and the cut. What's more, Uniqlo has pants that fit (more on this later), and that alone would've been reason enough to make an early-morning dash to SoHo.

Alas, I'll instead be getting ready for work, drowned in sorrow...

Links

It's been a long day. Instead of making a real post, I'll just point you over to the right, where I have added some links to sartorially flavoured sites.

P.S. About that sale on Isaia suits - it's happening on Gilt Groupe this Friday. Members only, of course.

New Year's Resolutions

One of my New Year's resolutions for 2010 is to write more. Another is to refrain from spending frivolously on my wardrobe. What better way to accomplish both than blog about not being able to buy shirts/jackets/shoes/watches that I like/want/need?

The aim of this blog is neither to give advice on how to out-dress your colleagues nor to find you the best deals on Isaia suits. Links to blogs with much richer resources in those regards will be added in the next few days. I merely hope to share a few stories that involve me, menswear, and a cruel, self-imposed budget. Once in a while. If one somehow manages to find wisdom in my posts, I assure you it's not intentional.

Happy shopping,

kyph