Australian Members

[thebrownman]

I didn't know APS types and hipsters were mutually exclusive?

I'd have thought working 7 hours and 36 minutes a day left ample time for other more important activities, like sitting on milk crates?

 

[CHECKstar]



Anyone hear much about this new Aussie company Owen & James I've been seeing pop up on Tumblr lately? I know one of the members here has been re-blogging a bit of there stuff. There is not much on there site but it looks pretty good anyway. Shirts made in the USA is a nice change.
Is it someone here flying under the radar?

One sleeve length = no go for me (sadly).

A reminder for drinks tonight for anyone in Melbourne. Hope to see you there.

I will try to make it Gerry, but can't make any promises.

 

[Romp]

P.S Go to this one http://www.owenandjames.com/ and not www.owenjames.com.au. The latter, while fantastic is definitely NSFW. If your in the comfort of your own home, go nuts.

Thanks Charlie and yes please stick to www.owenandjames.com !

I co-founded O&J with a friend and still trying to become a SF sponsor so have been quiet about it. We were both tired of not having much menswear choice in Australia so we have sourced stuff that we like and hope others like it also.

The webstore launched last night with our first run of shirts and we were very pleased at how they turned out. The shirting is made for us in the US by a workshop with a very long history that also makes shirts for some of the American icons. That said, we've modified the fit so it isnt "American-fit" ! Its amazing - some fabrics and sizes have almost sold out already!

Should have some pants arrive next month also - held up as our manufacturer is just a small workshop in Florence and they were busy preparing for Pitti last month.

 

[lachyzee]



Thanks Charlie and yes please stick to www.owenandjames.com !

Looks good, well done. The red chambray looks suspiciously like my Epaulet red chambray...!

If I may offer a few suggestions to you based on my own experiences shopping online (and to any other prospective online retailers):

-Accurate and comprehensive per item measurements and a description of where and how the measurements are taken are fantastic (rather than just sleeve/neck)
-Fit pictures are also great, particularly ones taken in a natural/outdoor light

Of course the latter increases overheads significantly for a small web store I'd imagine. But the former shouldn't be too difficult.

Good luck!

 

[tomee]



Herring just announced a sale...

nice, anyone got a code for Herring?

found two
TWEET10 is 10% off on non sale items
and HSAB for free shoe trees after you spend $99 pounds

 

[Barry O]

not the shoes i'm after unfortunately.

TWEET10 for 10% off.

 

[Romp]

Looks good, well done. The red chambray looks suspiciously like my Epaulet red chambray...!
If I may offer a few suggestions to you based on my own experiences shopping online (and to any other prospective online retailers):
-Accurate and comprehensive per item measurements and a description of where and how the measurements are taken are fantastic (rather than just sleeve/neck)
-Fit pictures are also great, particularly ones taken in a natural/outdoor light
Of course the latter increases overheads significantly for a small web store I'd imagine. But the former shouldn't be too difficult.
Good luck!

Thanks for the feedback !

Yes the fit measurements will be added shortly as well as how they are taken - ran out of time
Fit pictures will come too when we get the pants so we can maximise the use of model/photographer.

 

[thebrownman]



nice, anyone got a code for Herring?
found two
TWEET10 is 10% off on non sale items
and HSAB for free shoe trees after you spend $99 pounds

Yes, I ordered some shoes last night on the sale

No word on shipping yet, but my last order with Herring arrived in less than 3 days.

 

[tomee]

looks like those codes dont work with the sale items. well not my items anyway

 

[Henry Carter]



Thanks Charlie and yes please stick to www.owenandjames.com !

I co-founded O&J with a friend and still trying to become a SF sponsor so have been quiet about it. We were both tired of not having much menswear choice in Australia so we have sourced stuff that we like and hope others like it also.

The webstore launched last night with our first run of shirts and we were very pleased at how they turned out. The shirting is made for us in the US by a workshop with a very long history that also makes shirts for some of the American icons. That said, we've modified the fit so it isnt "American-fit" ! Its amazing - some fabrics and sizes have almost sold out already!

Should have some pants arrive next month also - held up as our manufacturer is just a small workshop in Florence and they were busy preparing for Pitti last month.

No worries and good luck. Good to see some other Aussies having a go and the second Australian Affiliate coming on board.

If you do ever need any ties to use for photo's etc then I'd be happy to help out, but will preface it by saying I am doing a few shirts myself for next season also just so you are aware. Offer is always there though.

Ta
Jason

 

[lachyzee]

Has anyone ever considered the idea of an Aus Members SF wiki? I've always thought it'd be a good idea. It would be a great place to start for new arrivals and would avoid some of the questions that always get asked (not that anyone is ever reticent to help in this thread) and a handy quick reference guide for old hands. Probably organised by city for the most part.

So under Melbourne, you would have some sections like

-Recommended tailors & approximate prices.
-Recommended menswear retailers, eg Azzaro, Beggar Man Thief etc
-Recommended dry cleaners
-MTM suitmakers in each city eg P Johnson, Deerstyle
-Barbers...

Perhaps other general Aus-wide sections sections on online ordering, canvassing the usual suspects like Herring/Pediwear/AFPOS/endless/US department stores etc but also our own members' online operations, Aus members experiences with various online MTM outfitters.

The only thing we'd have to watch out for is keeping it free of viral marketing. My other concern is that much of the content might be too subjective for a wiki. On the other hand, it could be kept to being directory only, saving opinions for the thread.

 

[fxh]

Saviour of the hat that has become unmistakably Australian
Damien Murphy, July 3, 2012. THE AGE

Stephen Keir.
STEPHEN DIXON KEIR, OAM
HAT MAKER
1938 — 25-5-2012

THE Akubra occupied a special place as authentically Australian but by the 1970s the male fashion for long hair had banished the bush hat to the backblocks of Queensland and the Northern Territory.

It was Stephen Keir who stopped it going the way of the stump jump plough.
Keir, the former managing director of Akubra, who has died, aged 74, after a long illness, was instrumental in saving his family company by choosing Kempsey on the New South Wales mid-north coast as its operations base.

The firm became one of the town's biggest employers and Keir became one of its most influential citizens.

Keir's family had been making hats for four generations. His great-grandfather, Robert Dunkerley, came from England and opened a fur-cutting factory in Glenorchy, Tasmania. In 1886 he moved to Sydney and convinced an English master hatter, Stephen Keir (I) to come out and the company won a contract to produce slouch hats for Australians fighting in the Boer War.

Family lore has it that while army officer Tom Price designed the slouch hat with the right brim turned up, it was Dunkerley who bent up the left rim after soldiers complained it got in the way while marching with rifles.

Dunkerley acquired the name ''Akubra'' - Pintjantjantjara language for ''headdress'' - after it was registered by a hat distributor, Arthur P. Stewart. During the 1920s, '30s and '40s, the golden years of hats, most of the clients were city blokes.

But that changed as the Beatles and growing car ownership turned baby boomers from hats. Belatedly, the company looked to take advantage of government decentralisation subsidies to stay in business. It sold its Sydney factory site at Waterloo in 1972 and the following year Keir settled on Kempsey, midway between Sydney and Brisbane, as the company's new home.

Born in Sydney, Keir attended primary school at Homebush before going on to Sydney Church of England Grammar School (Shore) with his brother Graham and, like two Stephen Keirs before him, went into the family business: he was widely known as Steve Number Three.

He met his wife, Wendy Pearson, through cousins. They had three children. Their only son is managing director and CEO of Akubra. Naturally he is known as Steve Number Four (and there is a Steve Number Five among the grandchildren).

Keir took over from his father as managing director in 1980, just as Akubra was poised for a renaissance. John Travolta's film, Urban Cowboy, had convinced blokes on the land that style was as important as keeping the sun and rain off. But the sight of mountain horsemen roaring down slopes in Michael Edgley's 1982 movie The Man From Snowy River reminded urban Australians the hat had not died but looked pretty good.

And when Greg Norman started sporting one, orders poured in for whatever style and colour the golfer chose to wear at a particular tournament.

A high point came at the 1984 Olympics when the Australian team marched into the Los Angeles athletics stadium wearing Akubras. Under Keir, Akubra's production climbed to more than 200,000 hats a year.

There was overtime galore in Kempsey, even weekend shifts.

These days, an Akubra costs about $150 and the company offers about 100 styles that sell in the bush and the city with equal alacrity.

While about 85 per cent of hats are bought in Australia, the company is now exporting to Asia with considerable markets opening in China and Tibet.

Keir steadfastly resisted the urge to move Akubra's operations offshore and opted to remain in Kempsey as an important part of the town's social and economic fabric. He served many terms as chairman of Kempsey Race Club and the Mid North Coast Racing Association.

He was also a member of the NSW Country Racing Council.

Kempsey Race Club named its June 10 race of the day in his honour and Dinky Mink, a horse part-owned by Stephen Number Four, won.

A huge crowd attended his funeral at Kempsey's All Saints Catholic Church earlier this month.

Keir is survived by his wife, Wendy, three children and seven grandchildren.

 

[tobiasj]



Has anyone ever considered the idea of an Aus Members SF wiki? I've always thought it'd be a good idea. It would be a great place to start for new arrivals and would avoid some of the questions that always get asked (not that anyone is ever reticent to help in this thread) and a handy quick reference guide for old hands. Probably organised by city for the most part.
So under Melbourne, you would have some sections like
-Recommended tailors & approximate prices.
-Recommended menswear retailers, eg Azzaro, Beggar Man Thief etc
-Recommended dry cleaners
-MTM suitmakers in each city eg P Johnson, Deerstyle
-Barbers...
Perhaps other general Aus-wide sections sections on online ordering, canvassing the usual suspects like Herring/Pediwear/AFPOS/endless/US department stores etc but also our own members' online operations, Aus members experiences with various online MTM outfitters.
The only thing we'd have to watch out for is keeping it free of viral marketing. My other concern is that much of the content might be too subjective for a wiki. On the other hand, it could be kept to being directory only, saving opinions for the thread.

This is a great idea. I'd definitely be interested in getting involved (I do some freelance writing on the side and I have some photography skillz too).

 

[Plestor]



Has anyone ever considered the idea of an Aus Members SF wiki?

Spoiler: Rest of post

I've always thought it'd be a good idea. It would be a great place to start for new arrivals and would avoid some of the questions that always get asked (not that anyone is ever reticent to help in this thread) and a handy quick reference guide for old hands. Probably organised by city for the most part.

So under Melbourne, you would have some sections like

-Recommended tailors & approximate prices.
-Recommended menswear retailers, eg Azzaro, Beggar Man Thief etc
-Recommended dry cleaners
-MTM suitmakers in each city eg P Johnson, Deerstyle
-Barbers...

Perhaps other general Aus-wide sections sections on online ordering, canvassing the usual suspects like Herring/Pediwear/AFPOS/endless/US department stores etc but also our own members' online operations, Aus members experiences with various online MTM outfitters.

The only thing we'd have to watch out for is keeping it free of viral marketing. My other concern is that much of the content might be too subjective for a wiki. On the other hand, it could be kept to being directory only, saving opinions for the thread.

I'd be willing to help for brisbane. Abysmal (self) editing skill and photography tho.

 

[thebrownman]



This is a great idea. I'd definitely be interested in getting involved (I do some freelance writing on the side and I have some photography skillz too).

Second this. I'd like to think I have some writing/photography skills that could contribute to such a project.