Todays Outfit

            To celebrate the early arrival of spring for my hometown I decided to wear my absolute favorite pants, a pair of 1930's extreme high-rise pants.

            These are hands-down one of the coolest pair of trousers I own. These are a pair of 1930's or 40's high-rise trousers, i'm guessing they were custom made swing slacks. Everything about these slacks are fantastic, from the construction to the fabric. The cut is amazing, the front of the pants comes up to the bottom of my ribcage and the fishtail back (named due to the shape the notch creates) comes to almost the base of my shoulder blades. While people might think pants that high have got to be uncomfortable, they are actually way more comfortable than hip rise pants because there is no pressure around you're body, they are held up by the way the fabric cut hugs your waist while the suspenders keep the majority of the weight off your hips. The buttons for the braces (suspenders) are on the outside of the waistline, but one button on the front is on the inside as a clasp on the front would have interfered with its position, rather ingenious in my opinion.

 

            Now this picture is not the most flattering, the angle and shadows show a very inaccurate view of how the pants hang, and it doesn't help with my hands in my pockets. However, this photo does show the fishtail back really well. Unfortunately you can't see in the first photo, but I wore the tie that I discussed a couple posts back. 

            Along with the pants I wore braces, a vintage detachable collar, a 1920's J.C. Penney "Solar Straw" Boater, and these badass shoes. I bought these spectator shoes off of eBay a couple years back, I can't remember how much exactly these cost but i'm guessing $100-150 range. I'm not sure when these are from either, i'm guessing 40's or 50's but it's hard to pinpoint, they are a tad big on me but not to an uncomfortable degree. These shoes are absolutely perfect for spring and summer due to the leather mesh that makes up the white portion of the shoe. As well, these shoes are actually blue and white, not black as it may appear in the photo. They are a dark navy blue that really shines through in the sun. On a sunny day with a light breeze the wind travels right through the mesh and can be really soothing on a hot day. So get out and enjoy the sun when you have the chance, and search for other cooler possiblities that look good, instead of resorting to shorts and a t-shirt, and dare I say it... flip-flops DUN DUN DUUUUUN! While t-shirts and shorts are not my first choice, they do have a place and a time, kicking it in the summer, that's where, not every day of the year for goodness sakes!

Cheers,

Mr.Speakeasy

Purchases of the Day

            After a long week of learning, I like to do some "retail therapy" and take a trip downtown, and to my regular second-hand haunts. One of my favorite stores is a warehouse of vintage clothing called Value Village. More than often I manage to find some great items at killer prices. I can recall finding a 1900's Morning coat selling beside an ugly 80's double breasted suit, the suit was $60 and the coat was $10. Finding amazing bargains like this are part of the thrill of vintage shopping, I think i'm becoming addicted to it actually. I found some interesting items today; a bowtie, sweatervest, some groovy 60's jeans, and a very interesting overcoat. The bow-tie is nothing special, silk, adjustable, and self-tie (the way to wear a bow-tie) with a blue geometrical design on the fabric. Now usually I am not one for a busy pattern on ties, like the dots and checkers on modern ties. With that said though, there are always acceptions, while I find that the things that I dislike most in mens fashions can sometimes work in the right circumstance. Anyways, back to spoils of the day!

 

            In these two pictures im wearing all of my purchases together (sans 60's jeans), regarless if they work or not.

                                                 

           In the photos I put on just a plain pair of grey slacks and some boring oxford shoes, if I didn't feel so lazy or was actually going out, I would have put on my pair of 30's tweed trousers, some brown high lace-up boots (or button-up in a perfect world), and a brown flatcap/ fedora/ bowler. The sweatervest is a fairly new Eddie Bower product, so nothing special, it's the topcoat that is the main attraction! I fell in love with this coat the moment I saw its color, then I grabbed it and I fell in love with the fabric, then I saw the raglan shoulder construction ( that is just where the connection on the body to the sleeves points towards the collar instead of being a strait up-and-down cut like we see on the majority of modern coats) as well as the cuff. Finally I opened it up and saw that not only was it Harris Tweed, but an early W&J Wilson product! W&J Wilson is a very well known quality clothiers in the area that I live in, that has been in business for over 137 years. I sometimes venture in to the store and like what I see, but unfortunately their prices are a little out of my 

comfort zone.

            Anyways on a more playful note, here are the groovy 60's jeans that found. Usually I walk right past the polyester, denim, and corderoy, but i'm a sucker for stripes. The light and playful stripes in these funky flair jeans made me chuckle and smile (quickly making the man next to me uncomfortable). I knew I could find a chance to wear them.

            This coat has alot of potential, it can be dressy and casual, as well as good for both townwear or countrywear. The coat's rusty brown color is also good for all seasons, but since its only partially lined I don't believe it would be the warmest coat for the winter. And finally I will leave with more proof that good fashion isn't expensive, the tie was $2.99, the jeans were $9.99, and finally the coat was $5.99!!

Until next time,

Cheers, 

Mr.Speakeasy