Australian Members - Page 648

This has happened a couple of times, break distort and bent from ironing when they were left in shirts and washed, strangely this appears to have happened after visiting the Wig & Pen after work. The stays I had came from H&H, H&K all white plastic even Sportscraft a few years back used that and the CT ones are brass which I have never used.

I put up a similar question at AAAC and was provided with these http://www.hangerproject.com/closet/bone-collar-stays.html

Selvaggio where did you get the clear plastic ones? Did they come with the shirts? When I was recently in Sydney I went to Henry Bucks but they no longer sell packs of them, merde! Mind the staff member gave me a couple of pairs and I did pick up a nice Zegna tie during the sale so not a waste of time.

http://community.tmlewin.co.uk/blogs/posts/tmlewin-opening-myer-australia

TM Lewin opening in Myer soon.

Personally not a fan (at all), but some may be interested.

DJs was full of Pink which used to be better than Lewins but not from the Lewin ones I have (thrifted) compared to what I saw in DJs.

Unlikely that Myer will sell them at anything like the normal online prices, since that would drastically undercut their other overpriced shit. Most likely affect will be to drag up the online prices on Lewin's Australian site, but since they've now stopped forcing you to that and you can go back to the UK one then that won't be an issue.

From what I've seen Pink are no better than Lewin these days, and DJs sell them for $200! Just imagine the markup..

After promising to do so back in December, then heading off to Japan for a few weeks, then going camping, then coming back and getting buried with work, I finally got around to sending you a packet of assorted collar stays earlier this week. There are some of the "solid white" ones, but also some thinner, more translucent ones in a few different lengths and widths. I hope that there's something in there to suit.

The translucent ones came with Borrelli shirts, in my case, and I really like them as they're not as intrusive as the thicker ones, but still help to give the collar a nice shape.

Those bone ones in the link are quite odd - I would have thought that bone would have been quite stiff, not flexible.

Thomas Pink shirts are overpriced on their own website, too. I really don't understand how they stay in business, but they are good at marketing and people unaccountably think that they are good even though they charge a bundle for a machine-made shirt of mediocre quality with plastic buttons. I did notice that some of the Pink shirts in DJs have mother of pearl buttons but they charge even more for them!

How do you guys find yourself lacking in plastic collar stays? I have a whole container full of them.

Is it possible to find a good pair of brown shoes? Been almost everywhere in the city and most of the stuff is crap

I have both a Thomas Pink shirt, and a T.M. Lewin which were both thrifted ($8 and $12 respectively). The Thomas Pink one isn't too bad, but not worth the disdainful overcharging at DJ's. I'd pick one up at the end of the season on sale and only on sale. The T.M. Lewin one is actually pretty good. Still, the older, marginally better quality ones float around Vinnies and Salvos everywhere, so paying full price for one at Myer would be idiotic. 

Depends on what style you're after and what your budget is. There isn't much in the way of styles popular on SF, and the places that do stock better shoes(R&R, Mitchell Ogilvy), charge through the nose for them.

+1 to Naka's comment.

DJ's stock Loake shoes, which are of reasonable quality although overpriced for what DJs sells them for (as per usual).

Mitchell Ogilvie sells Church's at the utterly horrendous price of $1000 a pair, and also sells some Italian-made shoes such as Fratelli Rosetti for a bit less, but still too much.

Herringbone sells Crockett and Jones (C&J) shoes for around $600 a pair. Some of the models are "benchgrade" (such as the Lowndes double monk) and some are "handgrade" (such as the Clifford wingtip brogue). The "handgrade" line are made to a slightly higher specification than the benchgrade - the leather at the back of the heelcup is sometimes finished off slightly more elegantly and the soles are closed- instead of open-channelled. The price for handgrades charged by Herringbone is actually quite decent as I think that it would cost about $550 to get them shipped here by a UK online store such as Pediwear.

However, given the high Australian dollar, there are huge bargains to be had by buying from overseas at present with regard to many brands, but of course the risk is that you will end up with the wrong size or fit in shoes. That can be overcome - at least partially - by either seeing if you can try shoes on first (for example, trying on some Loakes in DJs) and then buying online from Pediwear or Herring Shoes (although some people have ethical concerns about that) or by purchasing from an online store with a great returns/exchange policy.

Gents,

 

I might be reading things wrong, but it appears Mr Porter does free international return shipping.

 

The text in the 'Returns Policy'  link  says in part:

 

As an alternative to using your rights under the Distance Selling Regulations (DSR), you may prefer to return or exchange items using our free and easy collection service. Just make sure you request your Returns Merchandise Authorisation (RMA) number within 14 days of receiving your order and return the items within 14 days of receiving your RMA number.

 

Later: 

 

 

We recommend that items are returned from the same country to which they were delivered. This ensures that your return is covered by our free returns policy and reaches us promptly. Orders sent back from a different destination may incur additional charges or be delayed by customs.

• Returns can be collected from your home, work or alternative address. It is that easy...

  1. Book a free collection with DHL, by calling            +44 (0)844 248 0844       or visiting www.dhl.com and selecting your country to find the telephone number of your nearest DHL branch. London Premier customers will be contacted by the Premier team to arrange a collection.
  2. Sign the returns pro forma invoice that you received with your order (and fill in the DHL air waybill if applicable). Please leave your package open until the driver has checked the contents.
  3. You will be notified by email once your return has been received and processed
  4.  

 

Then:

 

We recommend that items are returned from the same country to which they were delivered. This ensures that your return is covered by our free returns policy and reaches us promptly. Orders sent back from a different destination may incur additional charges or be delayed by customs.

 

Any lawyers out there? Am I mistaken? 

 

Apologies if I've got anyone's hopes up.

 

Eightace

Gents, Need your help on a belt choice. I have purchased a pair of Brogue Shell Cordovan in Dark Cherry(Florsheim by Duckie Brown). I will be picking it form my post tomorrow or Monday . I really liked the colour and the richness but now just realized I don't have any belts on this colour to go with. I have spend good few hours on google , amazon, endless ,Nordstrom , saks , bluefly.............. still no luck. I currently have few belts in black, brown and dark brown and they are all in matte finish. I have never owned any shell cordovan shoes and neither seen one in real life. But looking at this forum they are shinny . Few questions -
How important is matching belt with shoes ?
Any suggestions on where to look for a matching belt or can I use my existing brown belts. Or should you suggest buying a burgundy shinny belt ?
Also what colour trouser to go with them ? (most of my pants are grey and few black with stripe)
Thanks in advance. and I hope all of you had a great Australia Day !

***I haven't received the pair as yet . So no picture of the actual shoes. But they would look like this ***

Edited by md2010 - 1/26/12 at 1:21pm

OMG the colour of those dark cherry brogues, can I ask what you intend to wear them with? Are they for work or just socialising? i had red oxfords back in 1980-81 and I only ever wore them with black trousers or black suits inner city post punk fashion or was it bleak romantic?

I would not even try to match a belt with them.

Personally the colour does limit your choices with what you can wear them with. British Khaki? Midnight blue or black? They certainly are head turners and not for the faint hearted.

Yep.

The missus absolutely hates that!

Back on topic, some of my Charles Nahkle shirts have lasted 4 years or more without any distortion in the sewn-in stays.

So far...