Day in philadelphia

[gregory]

Pals, I was in the city (Philadelphia) today for a haircut and took the opportunity to do a bit of window-shopping (didn't buy anything). These are pretty low/mid-range stores... Lord & Taylor. A pleasure to visit as it was in a nice old building. I was drawn to a line of shirts they were selling: Grant Thomas. They were discounted to $29.99 and seemed to be a sensible choice for an entry-level wardrobe. The collars were spread (which is so rare in shirts of this price range) and the patterns were very subtle and tasteful. I saw a rather nice blue herringbone. The buttons were plastic, and looked very plasticish, however. Banana Republic. Nice store as well, but there was an air of yuppishness in that place, as in all BR stores, that discomforted me for some reason. Their premium dress shirts came only in S, M, L, XL. They were ok for the price - about $68. I looked at the driving shoes I suggested to imageWIS in an earlier post. They looked pretty poorly made. J.Crew. The turtle-print tie was no where to be found (they only had the undiscounted ties on display). I think I'll look for something similar but with a single motif. I looked at their "haberdashery shirts". jcrew had the nerve to ask for $59.50 per shirt. However, these shirts were discounted to $35 each or 2 for $60. The fabric looked pretty normal (not as good as BR's) eventhough the tag said 100s two-ply cotton. Their driving shoe looked fairly nice (looked better made than BR's). Express. Their 1MX shirts were discounted to $19 to $29 - Â fairly nice lower-priced alternatives to the fashionable BR shirts, I thought. Polo Ralph Lauren. I know everything in the world of Ralph Lauren is fake "right down to the threadbare oriental rug" but I still love his stores nonetheless. Always very tastefully decorated, and I always love the music played in the store. Most shirts in the blue label range were discounted 30%. Everything looked good in the store. I was very tempted to buy something. Ralph is a marketing genius. (Some shirts which were marked 80s two-ply looked noticably better than J.crew's 100s two-ply -- can someone explain?) Brooks Brothers. Nice store too, but not as nice as Mr Lauren's. Their white-soled boat shoe looked well made. They had some nice books "How to dress as a gentleman", "Generations of Style", etc that I was tempted to buy. Their luxury dress shirts were discounted to $69.50 - some were really quite nice. I feel that Brooks Brothers is, in general, trying to project a less stuffy image to welcome a larger socioeconomic group of customers. United Colors of Benetton. Limited selection for men. Euroish. Nothing special. Old Navy. A fun store. I tried on some ribbed v-necks and some vintage-style t-shirts for casual wear. I didn't look good in them. I looked better in the Lacoste polo I was wearing, so I think I am resigned to wear only polo-shirts for the very casual occasions. Daffy's. I walked in ... and walked out. The clothes were ugly, and not even that cheap. The reason for the abundance of badly-dressed people in this country has been found.

 

[NavyStyles]

I was about to ask you about Daffy's because I hadn't heard of it before this.... but nevermind.

 

[gregory]

I was about to ask you about Daffy's because I hadn't heard of it before this.... but nevermind.

The only thing you really want to know is about Daffy's is that you should avoid it

 

[imageWIS]

Banana Republic. Nice store as well, but there was an air of yuppishness in that place, as in all BR stores, that discomforted me for some reason. Their premium dress shirts came only in S, M, L, XL. They were ok for the price - about $68. I looked at the driving shoes I suggested to imageWIS in an earlier post. They looked pretty poorly made.

Funny you mention that, because I actually went the opposite direction and headed straight into Louis Vuitton and started to look at the Lombok Loafer ($475

):

What do you think? (about the style anyhow). But I will still go to Bal Harbour Shops tomorrow and check out Ferragamo and Gucci to see what they have (and if they fit). Jon. P.S. Regarding the music they play...whilst in the mall I spent a good hour at the RL store for alterations and I noticed just how well the music was mixed, from various Cole Porter hits to classic Sinatra. As well I ordered stuff from Brooks Brothers the other day and I was on hold with the speakerphone on and a coworker walked into my office and said: "it sounds like a Brooks Brothers store in here".

I wonder how many people pay attention to the music when they shop in RL stores (especially our age).

 

[gregory]

What do you think? (about the style anyhow).

I personally am not too fond of it, largely because I have yet learned to appreciate light-colored shoes. I can imagine those shoes displayed in one of those ugly mom-and-pop shops with florescent lighting selling no-name clothing (usually in weird and tacky colors) where you get a tie free if you buy a shirt (does anyone know what I'm talking about?). But if I see them in an LV store, I could look at them at a different angle. I can imagine it looking better in a brown or black, but I'm not terribly fond of the style. Let us know what you find in Gucci and Ferragamo. Speaking of LV, I find their 'London Loafer' Â ...

... and 'Mak Derby' rather attractive.

As you can see, I tend to have a rather boring/straightforward taste.

 

[shoreman80]

Gregory,

I don't know where/if you're from in Philadelphia, but there are some pretty great places to shop around there, depending on your tastes.

First, downtown, there's Boyd's at 1818 Chestnut, I think some folks on this board have mentioned it before. They have a great selection of mid-high end dressy designers, zegna etc., and a very knowledgeable staff. Prices match the retail values of the designers, unfortunately.

For less formal stuff, South Street still has some cool stores even post-yuppification, esp. for nifty kicks. Timezone has Fred Perry stuff too, and there's a French Connection along with the usual suspects. Excellent Record and thrift stores too, and some cool bars.

Go to King Of Prussia if you get the chance, it's an impressive mall. Standard everymall stuff plus a great Nordstrom, a Neiman Marcus, Versace, Boss, Hermes, a Diesel store, a nice Bloomingdales, and some others you don't see every day. Oh, and a solid J. Crew and Brooks Brothers. There's a crappy Nordstrom Rack, as well.

If you're into it, I think Urban Outfitters started in Philly. They have a nice downtown store and one at KoP.

Sorry I'm rambling, I live in Maryland now and I miss it up there...

Also, I don't think the shoes you posted are boring or straightforward; for basic black shoes they're pretty different. What's with the brown squares on the heel of the Mak?

 

[Thracozaag]

I was quite disappointed with Boyd's the last time I visited, although they did have a nice selection of Belvest.

 

[gregory]

What's with the brown squares on the heel of the Mak?

The squares tell others how much you paid for the shoe. One square = $100.