Australian Members

[fxh]

Anyway wheres blahman?

 

[Sceps]

Charles put the tie on me to give me an idea on how the shirt would fit me. Although he ended up giving it to me for a good price.
At this stage of my quest to dress better i still only do the school boy knot.
CEP he gave me instructions on how to care for it, i ordered another shirt which i pick up on the 5th so ill try and find out more then re shrinking.
As for anyone else who doesnt like the tie i chose i would appreciate any pics or links on a tie they think is more suitable.

 

[Prof. B. Bear]

Are monk straps a little too "flashy" for the new graduate? I'm having trouble finding reasonably priced walnut brogues and came across Herring's monk straps for $150AUD shipped which I am seriously considering. I was actually thinking about the suede option first before changing my mind.

 

[Mirador]

Are monk straps a little too "flashy" for the new graduate?

My advice is look to those that are succesful within the firm you are working with and imitate but with your own style/stamp

Many companies / industries have their own uniform these days and if that's the direction you seek, conformity works

 

[fxh]



Are monk straps a little too "flashy" for the new graduate? I'm having trouble finding reasonably priced walnut brogues and came across Herring's monk straps for $150AUD shipped which I am seriously considering. I was actually thinking about the suede option first before changing my mind.

Which monks for $150 shipped? - Sure it isnt 150GBP?


Monks - especially doubles - are best worn with slightly wider cuff openings so that the shoe isn't screaming look at me but the buckles are only seen when you sit. Singles are a bit different. Flashy can depend on how you wear them. Singles can look much more like a wholecut with no seams unless - er ah - its got seams - and brogueing.

Why shouldn't a new graduate look flashy? Unless its engineering where you should lash out on a new pair of steel capped suede boots and jeans.

 

[tobiasj]



Charles put the tie on me to give me an idea on how the shirt would fit me. Although he ended up giving it to me for a good price.
At this stage of my quest to dress better i still only do the school boy knot.
CEP he gave me instructions on how to care for it, i ordered another shirt which i pick up on the 5th so ill try and find out more then re shrinking.
As for anyone else who doesnt like the tie i chose i would appreciate any pics or links on a tie they think is more suitable.

Hi Sceps

My advice is to have a look at this thread:
http://www.styleforum.net/t/104040/soporific-tie-Appreciation

And also read Put This On's Necktie Series:
http://putthison.com/post/5578024571/the-necktie-series-part-i-construction-and

Good luck!

 

[Selvaggio]



Interesting comment--I was back in Wagga (my home town) last Easter, and one night I went out happened to be after a local race day. The gear the male racegoers were wearing was a pleasant surprise along the lines you mention: well fitting moleskins, RMs, well-fitting well-made check shirts etc. All in all a ******* massive improvement on what gets worn to race days here in Melbourne, on average.

Good to see another riverina boy on here, I'm from Parkes too. I also spend a bit of time at Batlow on my cousins farm (purely for the trout fishing).

I lived in Albury as a kid and my parents-in-law have a place at Tumbarumba..Beautiful part of the world.

When you see the look you immediately recognise it as Australian country. But what struck me was how neat it looked and how well it translated to dressed up urban casual or even semi casual and elements of it even work ok in the city. Clearly elements, the black craftsmen RMs with a suit have migrated, relatively successfully, to city. Other bits are often seen as the politician in “casual” gear with brown RMs and jeans.
Its a good look. The thing that holds me back is that I associate it with squatters in town and hooray henry private school boys back in town for holidays. . Its the same reason many UK people don’t like tweed jackets, a pinstripe suits and such. But I think I need to soften up or harden up.

I think it's a great look - distinctive, practical and able to be worn well by a broad range of shapes sizes and ages. I wear it when I go bush and have some element of it in my casual look quite often (eg today I have a plaited kangaroo belt) ....and yet... as you say, it has some negative connotations. For me it is the smug, obnoxiousness of the "collegies" (ie inhabitants of the live-in dorms) when I was at university - I detested them. And at uni, these hordes wearing moleslins and RMs or, for the young ladies, Liberty print blouses, rose gold fob chains and denim skirts, would roam campus in drunken packs making their own "fun".

Looking back they were just immature, having grown up in boarding schools, they transplanted that culture to uni and didn't really know any better. I ended up sharing houses with some country kids and got over all of that. But I know what you mean.

 

[tobiasj]



Are monk straps a little too "flashy" for the new graduate? I'm having trouble finding reasonably priced walnut brogues and came across Herring's monk straps for $150AUD shipped which I am seriously considering. I was actually thinking about the suede option first before changing my mind.

I don't think they're too flashy, and I own the Herring Dub Monks in suede, but then again it's not a shoe you really need until you have the basics well covered (dark brown cap toe, walnut brogue etc.).

For a well-priced walnut brogue I would look at Loakes or a lightly used AE Strand from the 'bay.

 

[fxh]

The other thing about city and country in Oz is that for a country weekend here you might drive 300 - 500 ks out and back and into a different climate and weather. No pubs and corner stores a few ks away.

In UK that would be twice around the perimeter and back again and I think you get a medal for it.

 

[fxh]



I lived in Albury as a kid and my parents-in-law have a place at Tumbarumba..Beautiful part of the world.
I think it's a great look - distinctive, practical and able to be worn well by a broad range of shapes sizes and ages. I wear it when I go bush and have some element of it in my casual look quite often (eg today I have a plaited kangaroo belt) ....and yet... as you say, it has some negative connotations. For me it is the smug, obnoxiousness of the "collegies" (ie inhabitants of the live-in dorms) when I was at university - I detested them. And at uni, these hordes wearing moleslins and RMs or, for the young ladies, Liberty print blouses, rose gold fob chains and denim skirts, would roam campus in drunken packs making their own "fun".
Looking back they were just immature, having grown up in boarding schools, they transplanted that culture to uni and didn't really know any better. I ended up sharing houses with some country kids and got over all of that. But I know what you mean.

I'd never go back to my roots* on the farm - to the nearby rural town - in brown RMs and white moleskins. I'd be looked at and perhaps people would even say something.

I know my family/ relatives would want to know if I married a squatters daughter.
But I'm happy to go back in a suit, for the right occasion. People know I'm from "the city" now and even back in the day, I wore suits out when I worked in trucks and farm.

All this is relevant and a part of the difficulty in bringing some of the elements of this way of dress into the suburbs and city.

*insert old joke here about wife and going back to my old rural roots. Seeing some of them these days she has challenged me to go back to them.

 

[Prof. B. Bear]



Which monks for $150 shipped? - Sure it isnt 150GBP?
Monks - especially doubles - are best worn with slightly wider cuff openings so that the shoe isn't screaming look at me but the buckles are only seen when you sit. Singles are a bit different. Flashy can depend on how you wear them. Singles can look much more like a wholecut with no seams unless - er ah - its got seams - and brogueing.
Why shouldn't a new graduate look flashy? Unless its engineering where you should lash out on a new pair of steel capped suede boots and jeans.

http://www.herringshoes.co.uk/produ...&shoeid=3062&selectedSizeid=0&selectedFitid=0

Works out to $150AUD shipped. I've read a few posts in other threads which state you shouldn't try to dress better than your superiors as it can be looked upon in a negative light. Most of the partners at the firm I'm starting with wear jeans and OCBD's whilst in the office. Just wanted to get some opinions as the majority of Australians wont know what a monk strap is and thus may perceive it as "uppity or flashy".

 

[Selvaggio]



I'd never go back to my roots* on the farm - to the nearby rural town - in brown RMs and white moleskins. I'd be looked at and perhaps people would even say something.

It's fascinating how much of our personal identity is wrapped up in or refelected by what we chose to wear in differnt contexts. I am happy to wear country casual in the country (or the city for that matter), but, good as it looks, I wouldn't wear country "formal". If at a wedding or the races, I'd wear a suit.

If I was to wear the woolen tie, gloster shirt and "squatter" style Akubra I would feel like an imposter. My country friends know I am a city boy with country connections - but still a city boy. With casual get up, it doesn't matter - better to be in sync with your context. But the full rural rig is hard to pull off unless you are at least 50% country to begin with.

Which is why John Howard always looked like such a dufus in that bloody Akubra, but Bob Katter looks just fine.

 

[tobiasj]

I think the reality is, the vast majority of people here don't care enough about clothes for your choice of shoe to even register with them. That's both a good thing (you can wear monk straps with relative abandon) and a bad thing (put a lot of thought into your clothes only to find that no one gives a ****).

Edit: those shoes are corrected grain. You can't spring for calf?

 

[fxh]



http://www.herringshoes.co.uk/produ...&shoeid=3062&selectedSizeid=0&selectedFitid=0
Works out to $150AUD shipped. I've read a few posts in other threads which state you shouldn't try to dress better than your superiors as it can be looked upon in a negative light. Most of the partners at the firm I'm starting with wear jeans and OCBD's whilst in the office. Just wanted to get some opinions as the majority of Australians wont know what a monk strap is and thus may perceive it as "uppity or flashy".

Prof - to be fair - to most people - its just another shoe.

The suede looks good - I don't like the highly polished look of the black and brown models - I've never liked that look - but others do - and polished or corrected grain doesn't wear and repair all that well if its scuffed. Brown suede might not be best though if its your only "good" shoe.

Despite all my huffing and puffing - in that sort of environment you describe you might be better off with some brown RMs in craftsman. But they aren't cheap.

A couple of cheaper pair of chukkas in say brown suede and brown or black leather, not RMs, would be my suggestion. You'll never regret them. Then save up the weekly pay and get others. I really like their brown roo skin chukkas - again not cheap.

Sneak out to the RMs factory and seconds at Salisbury and see whats there in shirts, pants and boots for work.

 

[CHECKstar]

Side note - this afternoon I caught sight of Lennier looking very swish strolling down Bank Place past the Mitre Tavern, where I may or may not have been making an early start to the weekend.