Australian Members

[fxh]



A quick trip to Henry Bucks for their $10 white linen pocket square in support of Prostrate Caner (very appropriate in Movember spirit).
http://www.henrybucks.com.au/store/Prostate-Cancer-Handkerchief.html

Its a cotton real hankie to blow your nose on - its not a linen pocket hankie for show.

 

[Pink Socks]



Its a cotton real hankie to blow your nose on - its not a linen pocket hankie for show.

Any port in a storm...just trying to help out....I have this handkerchief and use it regularly for "show".

 

[fxh]



Any port in a storm...just trying to help out....I have this handkerchief and use it regularly for "show".

Oh I'm not saying theres anything wrong with using a cotton hankie in the breast pocket at all - I often do - they are restrained and business like rather than "I'm out at a bar in my new suit wearing a pocket hankie" - restraint and purpose is a desirable attribute.

 

[meister]



Very funny.  Am not familiar with this Dexter character, Wallander was the preferred choice, however, am downloading Dexter series over the weekend, looks fantastic.  Saw snippets of it last night on some doco on American TV.  Thanks for this, made me laugh 

TVs most popular serial killer!

 

[Romp]

Any port in a storm...just trying to help out....I have this handkerchief and use it regularly for "show".

just passed a guy who clearly did not forget to bring out a PS today...

bright pink bloomer out of his pocket, Shiny bright fat viscosey pink tie and salmon-pink shirt. Mid grey/chalk stripe suit and Prada ladies sunnies....

oh did i mention the white vinyl shoes?

 

[fxh]

Australia?

You're standing in it!

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

 

[Prof. B. Bear]

Implying anyone uses Duck Duck Go.

 

[Henry Carter]



just passed a guy who clearly did not forget to bring out a PS today...

bright pink bloomer out of his pocket, Shiny bright fat viscosey pink tie and salmon-pink shirt. Mid grey/chalk stripe suit and Prada ladies sunnies.... 

oh did i mention the white vinyl shoes?

Been hanging out in Rooty Hill Rob?

 

[Pink Socks]



Oh I'm not saying theres anything wrong with using a cotton hankie in the breast pocket at all - I often do - they are restrained and business like rather than "I'm out at a bar in my new suit wearing a pocket hankie" - restraint and purpose is a desirable attribute.

Well said.

 

[jaypee]



just passed a guy who clearly did not forget to bring out a PS today...

bright pink bloomer out of his pocket, Shiny bright fat viscosey pink tie and salmon-pink shirt. Mid grey/chalk stripe suit and Prada ladies sunnies.... 

oh did i mention the white vinyl shoes?

Randwick Races General Admission?

 

[Prince of Paisley]



I can confirm a few things about Double Monk. They will open by 4 December and stock the following: John Lobb, GJ Cleverley, Edward Green and Crockett & Jones, Rubinacci accessories and a full range of Saphir shoe polish.

Sounds like an SF Australian Members' wet dream! Watch it go broke.

 

[DartagnanRed]

Sounds like an SF Australian Members' wet dream!
Watch it go broke.

Unfortunately this is a strong possibility. I hope they do some serious marketing so that the small audience who might buy this stuff at least knows about it.

I've though quite a bit about men's footwear in Australia and I'm convinced that to be successful such a store needs to focus on selling the low to mid range. That is, it needs to be the go to place for guys who have outgrown florsheim and aquila and just want one peg up from that. I'm thinking Herring Continental/Loake L1 level.

This kind of stuff is available (eg from Joseph's), but the price is in no way comparable to overseas and the range is very limited and focused towards older men. A small range of the Loake design stuff might coax quite a few yuppie types away from glued soles and down the line they could well jump to more classic shoes.

In short, I think Australia needs a shoe store that primarily focuses on opening the eyes of Aussie men to better footwear. As anyone on here knows, as soon as you understand the range of footwear (or clothing for that matter) out there, you never turn back. What do you guys think? Why do many Aussie men who would consider themselves to be interested in style invest in french cuffs, gold cufflinks and watches but have no interest in looking further than Aquila for shoes?

 

[Journeyman]



What do you guys think? Why do many Aussie men who would consider themselves to be interested in style invest in french cuffs, gold cufflinks and watches but have no interest in looking further than Aquila for shoes?

I suspect that it's for two reasons:

1) They don't know any better concerning shoes, and it's more about appearance than quality; or

2) Even though they might realise that Aquila, Country Road, Lloyd etc are poor quality, they shy away from the idea of paying $600 or more for a pair of shoes.

I do agree that for a shoe store in Australia to succeed, it would be useful for it to stock lower-, mid-, and upper-tier brands. This is, in fact, similar to a lot of places that I've seen in Tokyo, including standalone shoe stores and the shoe sections of Tokyo department stores.

As an example, the fabled shoe basement in the Isetan Men's Annex in Shinjuku, Tokyo, stocks basic, made-in-Japan or made-in-Italy shoes from about $200, and then goes up in increments to G&G, Lobb Paris, Berluti and other very high-end brands for $2000 or more. It's the same upstairs, where they stock (from memory) Harvie and Hudson for about $60 each, made-in-Japan shirts for about $80 each, and then Borrelli, Barba, Finamore and others for several hundred dollars.

Unfortunately, this idea seems to have largely eluded retailers here in Australia and, where they do stock cheaper gear, they usually pick unattractive, overly trendy shoes and clothes. Just because something is cheaper doesn't mean that it has to be garish, stuffed full of "look at me" details or (in the case of shoes) made of corrected-grain leather, but you wouldn't know that from looking at men's clothing stores here.

 

[JimmyHoffa]

Unfortunately this is a strong possibility. I hope they do some serious marketing so that the small audience who might buy this stuff at least knows about it.

I've though quite a bit about men's footwear in Australia and I'm convinced that to be successful such a store needs to focus on selling the low to mid range. That is, it needs to be the go to place for guys who have outgrown florsheim and aquila and just want one peg up from that. I'm thinking Herring Continental/Loake L1 level.

This kind of stuff is available (eg from Joseph's), but the price is in no way comparable to overseas and the range is very limited and focused towards older men. A small range of the Loake design stuff might coax quite a few yuppie types away from glued soles and down the line they could well jump to more classic shoes.

In short, I think Australia needs a shoe store that primarily focuses on opening the eyes of Aussie men to better footwear. As anyone on here knows, as soon as you understand the range of footwear (or clothing for that matter) out there, you never turn back. What do you guys think? Why do many Aussie men who would consider themselves to be interested in style invest in french cuffs, gold cufflinks and watches but have no interest in looking further than Aquila for shoes?

I look at it differently.

Even if a store was to stock high quality shoes at $250 a pair, it won't work. It will always, by basic logic, be cheaper to buy online and ship to home. Even with economies of scale, the saving to the consumer for buying locally would be extremely small, and that assumes that a local retailer can achieve economies of scale.

Look at Rebel Sport, they sell top of the range runners, yet even with their size they can't sell them for cheaper than their International competitors.

My point is: you won't ever make money reselling shoes that can be bought online. There is no money in buying mass C&J and then trying to sell them cheaper than for what the English internet market is selling them for.

What Australia needs to do, is develop its own high end brand that is either manufactured here, or manufactured overseas in Hungrary, England, Italy or America and shipped here. A brand and quality of shoe that can't be bought from overseas or over the internet, something exclusive. It would have to be a brand of shoe that known for producing high quality welted shoes. If you can do that, then you'll have a thriving business in Australia. Starting your own Aussie brand is the way to make money, not trying to sell Loakes for cheap. Something along the lines of RM Williams, but for the corporate world.

 

[Gerry Nelson]

For anyone looking for belts: http://luxeswap.goodsie.com/belts