Australian Members

[ennb]



You can get Loake/Herring/etc shoes shipped to Australia for a lot cheaper than retail prices

Thanks for the advice! So I have seen, retail prices here are pretty high, I have just moved from UK, and used pediwear before which were decent. Wanted to get some Meermins but they don't have much in UK11.5 ready to ship.

Good luck in the job, I'm starting consulting grad in feb also, albeit mine is likely to be tech based.

If any of you want pics of the bexley shoe trees, I have some here

 

[md2010]

Collonil Gold $15 at Brice's and $10 at Coomb's . If I bring 2 pairs of shoes at Coomb's they throw in free Collonil Gold plus yellow polishing cloth ! As I said I visit both stores. Coomb's is about 12 -15 minutes walk form Town Hall station. Where as Brice's is only 5 minutes walk. These day I have been lazy and going to Brice's more often.

 

[Prince of Paisley]



No. The whole conversation seems to have started in the same fashion as the P Johnson queries we had a few pages back. Checkstar and P. Bear completely flew off the handle, if you can recall?

I can't recall actually. In any case I was just trying to be helpful, as is my wont. Like all advice it can be taken - or left.

155 Castlereagh street just outside the Piccadilly Arcade on the DJ's men's side (they used to be in the old Imperial Arcade). Mr. Brice doesn't own the store, it was bought from him ~ 50 years ago by a late (very nice) gentleman called Michelle. Michelle also bought Coomb's in the Strand Arcade from Mr. Coomb. I personally believe the service and work done at Brice's to be better, although some of the repairer's do move between the two shops, and Coomb's is still good too. They also sell all the Collonil conditioners, creams and sprays and Angelus shoe polish. With regards to a Topy sole, you can choose the colour of the rubber and whether or not you want the sole to be stained or inked. You can also choose between all rubber heel toplifts (some have a red dot for Topy which I don't like - so specify against me thinks) or 1/2 leather 1/2 rubber ones. Expect to pay about 40-50 for the Topy, ~70 for Topy and toplift. For what its worth, my family has used them for at least 30 years and the work is almost always spot on and neatly done straight away. If there is a subsequent problem, they'll fix it up for free without any hassle whatsoever.

Thanks, that is very interesting. There is a Michel's shoe repair in Martin Place which I know to do good work (a very nice chap too) and he stocks Colonil etc. Perhaps the same owner again or just a coincidence? I always thought the Coombs still owned the store in The Strand - I had assumed (perhaps wrongly) that the original family ran the business as mother and son are often working the counter.

 

[FredAstaire1899]

I wasn't aware of the price difference, DJs has (cheaper) Collonil and Angelus as well but with less choice. It's pretty funny, because as I said above the same family own's both stores.

 

[FredAstaire1899]

I can't recall actually. In any case I was just trying to be helpful, as is my wont. Like all advice it can be taken - or left.
Thanks, that is very interesting. There is a Michel's shoe repair in Martin Place which I know to do good work (a very nice chap too) and he stocks Colonil etc. Perhaps the same owner again or just a coincidence?

I always thought the Coombs still owned the store in The Strand - I had assumed (perhaps wrongly) that the original family ran the business as mother and son are often working the counter.

They are Michelle (Nichols?) wife and son. Michelle was a really nice guy, he liked the fact that I still went out with my father as a late teen/young adult. He usually never charged my father more than 20-35 dollars no matter what repair he did and how much polish we bought. He also said I was from another time trying to make my things last. One of his best was calling a long shoe horn "The old man's shoe horn". I believe they also have a building business, and they also own JA Brooks shoe repairer wholesaler. I don't know if they own other shoe repairer's, however, I've heard that a lot of them are all owned by the same people.

 

[JimmyHoffa]

I can't recall actually. In any case I was just trying to be helpful, as is my wont. Like all advice it can be taken - or left.

I am only playing around PoP .

Your Jesus/Sand pit insult is my new quote of the month. Cracks me up everytime I say it.

 

[md2010]



I wasn't aware of the price difference, DJs has (cheaper) Collonil and Angelus as well but with less choice.  It's pretty funny, because as I said above the same family own's both stores.

I thought the Arab man and his wife owned the Coomb's store ?

 

[Prince of Paisley]



I am only playing around PoP .

Your Jesus/Sand pit insult is my new quote of the month. Cracks me up everytime I say it.

Well that makes it all worthwhile.

;-)

 

[FredAstaire1899]

I thought the Arab man and his wife owned the Coomb's store ?

Sorry, I edited a post above to answer this. The guy with the beard is his son. And I believe they are Lebanese.

 

[fxh]

The Jacket

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Tough one that. If it was me I'd get the matching pants as that fabric would make a nice suit. Not so sure about its versatility as an odd jacket though... The fact you are unsure yourself what to wear it with probably tells you something.

I tend to agree. It looks a lovely jacket but ,my experience is that such a grey jacket becomes difficult to match (and by match I mean contrast really) with trousers. Those grey jackets are like many women, desirable, hardy, colourful but hard to incorporate into your life.

If you search around there will be a nice mid shade of peppered brown that will work well. But I’m guessing they will have to be just RIGHT. A very dark charcoal that looks black will work, and even shock horror , black trousers would work. I'd be looking at matching up the window pane lines with a pink toned trouser, or a deep rust brown. Possibly would be better as a suit, if a bit bold and then interchange the jacket with some varied grey and brown and burgundy sport trousers.

The danger is you could become known as "the bloke who always wear that pink checked jacket on Mondays. It depends- what is the context, how many suits do you already have, what do others at your work wear, does it fit in or stand out. Have you got say 4 other plain interesting business suits or is it plain boring suit environment.

I'm always tempted by grey herringbone jackets, with BOCBD and black knit tie and dark charcoal or a brown ish trouser, a French blue trouser will work but won’t work with much else unless you buy a brown jacket

If that jacket retained the pink window pane lines but was pushed as the basic colour to a stronger blue – then you’d be set with plenty of flexibility

So it depends on a lot of things.

fxh can elaborate I'm sure but as a brief aside to this, I think the American preference for single vent jackets (lapsed as it may be - not sure it's applicable nowadays) stemmed from some notion that they were a more egalitarian style. Double vents were, if memory serves, originally designed to accommodate a saddle of a horse - apparently this had plutocratic associations. Hence double vents were seen by Americans (as cufflinks were/maybe still are in some contexts) as a bit stuffy and offensive to the notion of all Americans being created equal (as far as that was interpreted i.e. if you were white, male, etc.)

Then again, the whole thing could be apocryphal.

The whole single, double/side and NO vents is overrun by rule makers. Especially in forums. The single vent is said to arise from sport, the practical issues of horse riding, perhaps better described as leisure. You can easily see that if a bloke is riding his horse with a long oily RMW Stockman’s coat on that it makes sense for it to fall over the flanks of the horse aided by a **** in the middle.

In a way the Lounge or short jacket can be said to have derived from this but not exclusively. Clearly through history there have been short jackets, many above the bum where the issue of a split or vent was not important. Longer cloaks were tent like enough to spread out over horse and rider.

The military was also an influence and they , to a large extent were horse riders, as was, and this is often forgotten, Joe Blow in his ragged hand me downs clothes was also a horse rider. All of the influences came together around the time of Brummell say 1800, when it is said he refined and defined what we call the "modern" suit for men. There were variations of suits for many hundreds of years before then but a combination of factors made London , and UK, the epicentre of fashion, and it is well documented that Brummel played a leading role in the refinement of the suits and tailoring pretty much as we now know it.

Some will say the rule is: Single vents came from hacking (riding) jackets = sport. Therefore sport jackets should only have single vents. I tend to prefer single vents on sports jackets but I also have doubled vents and two with no vents, which I like ok.

There are a certain type of Americans, largely outside the business districts of the large cities, that see the double vent as somehow dandified and English ( and a bit effete) and the single as All American. There’s a small group of IVY nerds who bring out garlic and wooden crosses when they are threatened with double vents on a sport jacket.

A significant group of writers in USA and English tailoring houses see double vents as the only thing for suits and perhaps single vents for sport jackets and most agree on No vents for Dinner Jackets. However before the 2nd war many, if not most, UK suits had no vents. Hardy Amies no slouch in the suit department and slightly English himself, insisted that single breasted suits with 3 buttons should only have single/centre vents,

I'd hold that whatever vents you have, No vent, 1 Vent or 2 Vents is mainly a matter of fashion and preference.

I even had a suit made years ago, 3 piece, 3 high buttons and one centre back inverted pleat.

Generally its accepted that you can have single or side vents on a single breasted jacket but only double vents or no vents on a double breasted jacket. (Strangely I saw a double breasted jacket on a youngish bloke in a suit in Collins Street a month or two ago with a single centre vent and aside from me following him and noticing - I thought it looked good despite my head telling me it was against the rules.)

I see in various forums and books advice that the double /side vent is more formal, that the single centre vent is less formal and that the no vent dinner suit is the most formal.

I hear that the single vent is inclined to show a bum that sticks out more and a split may appear when you put your hand in your pocket whereas double vents allow the hand in pocket without disturbing the bum flap – so to speak.

I’ve looked at this whilst flâneuring around and there’s some truth in it but only if you have a huge sticky out and wide type bum – which some do – even then a well fitted jacket of what ever vents will generally sort that out. Generally, a jacket worn NOT BUTTONED UP will solve this problem too.

As a side note there seems to be an increasingly ridged rule on forums that jackets should always be done up. Not so in my view. Do it up when walking into a room to meet someone for the first time, undo when sitting down, take off while driving, undo while walking down street, undo when meeting with familiars, leave undone when you’ve put on a bit of weight, leave open undone on a hot day. A jacket or suit coat should be a comfortable easy thing to wear and a practical garment - not a magnet for anxieties about micro rules announced by unknown persons.

As far as I can see in Australia most people would not know if you were wearing a centre vent, side vent or no vent jacket. In addition, if they did notice and know the difference they would not have an opinion. Each style has its own charms.

 

[Prince of Paisley]



They are Michelle (Nichols?) wife and son. Michelle was a really nice guy, he liked the fact that I still went out with my father as a late teen/young adult. He usually never charged my father more than 20-35 dollars no matter what repair he did and how much polish we bought. He also said I was from another time trying to make my things last. One of his best was calling a long shoe horn "The old man's shoe horn". I believe they also have a building business, and they also own JA Brooks shoe repairer wholesaler. I don't know if they own other shoe repairer's, however, I've heard that a lot of them are all owned by the same people.

Very interesting. His wife and son always seem to make a point of complimenting me on my shoes, even though I'm sure these days they see a lot of nice pairs come in. Genuinely nice people.

Michel's in Martin Place is also a father-son operation. I think they may be Lebanese as well.

 

[El QUaG]



What sort of price should I expect to pay for a shirt by Charles Nakhles @ Paramatta? I need several standard, every-day plain white business shirts. I am wasting too much money trying to find a OTR brand with a good fit and just wondering if it would be more cost effective to go the bespoke route. I am just asking for ball park prices here, I realise a lot of variables come into play. I have read about $250 which would be the sweet spot for me.... but that information may be outdated.

$250 is about right.

Depends on the details (specify MOP buttons!), cuff, choice of fabric, number of shirts ordered etc. I would strongly recommend trying the service and ordering one shirt to begin with before making a further commitment.

In my personal experience, since ordering with Charles I have not gone back to off the rack business shirts. He provides a great service and the quality of finished product is superior.

 

[Prince of Paisley]



Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

The whole single, double/side and NO vents is overrun by rule makers. Especially in forums. The single vent is said to arise from sport, the practical issues of horse riding, perhaps better described as leisure. You can easily see that if a bloke is riding his horse with a long oily RMW Stockman’s coat on that it makes sense for it to fall over the flanks of the horse aided by a **** in the middle.

In a way the Lounge or short jacket can be said to have derived from this but not exclusively. Clearly through history there have been short jackets, many above the bum where the issue of a split or vent was not important. Longer cloaks were tent like enough to spread out over horse and rider.

The military was also an influence and they , to a large extent were horse riders, as was, and this is often forgotten, Joe Blow in his ragged hand me downs clothes was also a horse rider. All of the influences came together around the time of Brummell say 1800, when it is said he refined and defined what we call the "modern" suit for men. There were variations of suits for many hundreds of years before then but a combination of factors made London , and UK, the epicentre of fashion, and it is well documented that Brummel played a leading role in the refinement of the suits and tailoring pretty much as we now know it.

Some will say the rule is: Single vents came from hacking (riding) jackets = sport. Therefore sport jackets should only have single vents. I tend to prefer single vents on sports jackets but I also have doubled vents and two with no vents, which I like ok.

There are a certain type of Americans, largely outside the business districts of the large cities, that see the double vent as somehow dandified and English ( and a bit effete) and the single as All American. There’s a small group of IVY nerds who bring out garlic and wooden crosses when they are threatened with double vents on a sport jacket.

A significant group of writers in USA and English tailoring houses see double vents as the only thing for suits and perhaps single vents for sport jackets and most agree on No vents for Dinner Jackets. However before the 2nd war many, if not most, UK suits had no vents. Hardy Amies no slouch in the suit department and slightly English himself, insisted that single breasted suits with 3 buttons should only have single/centre vents,

I'd hold that whatever vents you have, No vent, 1 Vent or 2 Vents is mainly a matter of fashion and preference.

Thanks for bringing your customary sagacity!

I even had a suit made years ago, 3 piece, 3 high buttons and one centre back inverted pleat.

The centre pleats were quite popular in days gone by I believe. Sort of like an action back but with the pleat in the middle rather than down the sides, though the effect was similar in giving the wearer more freedom of movement. Looks quite good on a tweed jacket (makes sense as I think the pleats were so you could more easily fire your shotgun).

 

[aKula]

Re Nahkle, if I remember correctly the sign in the shop said bespoke shirts from $230 when I went there last year. Great shirts by the way.

 

[TehBunny]



Like Mr Bean when he finally dried his pants?

What else?