Guilty pleasures?

[pstoller]

...shirts cut in traditional patterns using wild fabrics. I can't get enough of Paul Smith or Etro, or for that matter Jhane Barnes.
Quote:

Haven't seen much interesting JB lately, but really like the shirts I have. One looks like a Jackson Pollock painting. Also, has anyone else noticed that her sizes run large? XL usually fits me great...
OK, to give you an idea, I have over 75 shirts by Jhane Barnes alone. About the sizing, I don't think they run large across the board: I can wear a medium without looking or feeling like I'm wearing my dad's clothes, although I'm also fine in a small. I do wish her cuts were more tapered, but I love the prints, so I wear 'em anyway. I also love Paul Smith shirts, though I have far fewer. Etro, I still don't get. There's a dimensionality to Barnes and a wit to Smith that I really love, but Etro just seems loud and busy to me. Then again, maybe it's just an inner reflex telling me that I have to draw the line somewhere.

 

[Joe G]

Also, has anyone else noticed that her sizes run large? XL usually fits me great....

Her only collar that fits me properly is the hidden-snap polo collar. The others all consistently have issues. Odd, because I can't think of a single other shirtmaker with whom I've had such issues.

Those snap-polo collar ones are cut a bit loose through the chest and wasit, but not more so than most artisan (as opposed to "designer" Italian shirts. My JB shirts are (I just checked, which was easy because I only have a few) all size L. (Well, "L/G" to be technical about it.) For reference, all of my Etro, Paul Smith, and PS Paul Smith shirts are either 41s or in rare instances 42s.

As far as cheap stuff I wear all the time, it would have to be belts. For some reason, I don't spend money around my waist. And it's not because I wear braces -- I only wear them with dinner jackets, IF I have to. I'll buy odd belts, I have a cork one I bought from a tourist-trap in the Algarve (Portugal) that I love. But mostly, I buy belts on clearance at Banana for between US$2.99 and US$9.99.

Peace,

JG

 

[davei]

For me, it's anything polyester. I have lots of polyester ties from the '70s/'80s (bought a whole packing crate of vintage ones for a dollar at auction) which are wonderfully tacky. Actually ties would be a guilty pleasure as well, especially loud & ridiculous ones

 

[The_Foxx]

there was a great article in GQ (or was it esquire?) that talked about this very subject. funny article, started off with a story about a woman talking about her husband as if he were having a secret affair, which turned out to be his covert ops in getting a MTM purple label suit.

myself, i'm a sucker for almost anything Luigi Borrelli or Brioni makes, and i can never seem to leave a neiman marcus without buying a tie or SOMETHING....

 

[Thracozaag]

I have over 75 shirts by Jhane Barnes alone.

*faints*

 

[Steve B.]

OK, PStoller, where do you store all this stuff???

 

[pstoller]

OK, PStoller, where do you store all this stuff???

Good question. I have decent built-in closet space in my apartment. In the bedroom, I had the original large closet customized by Closet World so it's double-hung for shirts with shelves over that for cotton sweaters, and cedar-lined shelves up both sides for wool sweaters. Then, I had a long closet built by CW along one wall, with two double-hung units"”one for yet more shirts, one for short casual jackets and vests"”and a third unit split between a long, single-hung compartment and a set of drawers and shelves.

Drawers hold jeans and underthings, and there's a jewelry drawer, too, for cufflinks and watches and whatnot. Shelves are for tees and pullovers. The long compartment is for robes, belts and ties; the belts are on a belt rack, and the ties are hung on multi-tiered pant hangers, so I can get about 50 ties to a hanger.

My second bedroom, which I use as an office, has two built-in closets. I use one for jackets, one for pants. I also added one single-width and four double-width Ikea armoires, which my wife uses for her clothes. Two of those are double-hung, two single hung with drawers and shelves on the bottom half, and the one single-width unit is for full-length storage. There's also a hallway coat closet for, well, coats, and we have some stuff in a storage space in the basement.

Even so, it's not enough, since my wife is as bad a clothes-horse as I am, if not worse. She's been here almost a year, and we still have a livingroom filled with boxes she shipped from NYC. I think our big solution is going to be massive eBay sales in the new year.

 

[PeterMetro]

I think our big solution is going to be massive eBay sales in the new year.

If this happens, I think I speak for many of us here when I say that we would love a sneak preview before the general public. 500 ties and 75 Jhane Barnes shirts come to mind...

Any way to make this happen?

 

[pstoller]

...we would love a sneak preview before the general public...Any way to make this happen?

Well, my eBay workflow"”when it's flowing, which it hasn't been for about a year"”is based on getting things out there as quickly as possible, rather than getting a lot of photos online first. (I have limited web space for hosting images, and I'm not about to pay someone else for more.) However, I'll gladly give folks here a heads up, and in some cases I'll post links to images here in advance of posting ads. Not everything I'll be selling will be of much interest to you guys; I don't want to waste your time with the stuff that isn't top-notch. I will be selling neckties, for sure. I don't know about any of my precious Jhane Barnes shirts.

 

[GQgeek]

cashmere. Sweaters, scarf, pants, etc. I can't get enough of it. I'm gradually filling every part of my wardrobe with it down to my socks. I'm loving bluefly for this too cause they've always got malo sweaters now. My "big thing" for this year is i want to buy a nice loro piana cashmere blanket and robe for bumming around the house.

 

[cristobal]

I must confess to owning a dozen pairs of Versace Jeans Couture. I know there are more than a few individuals in this forum who hold Versace jeans in low regard, but I think they're attractive and love to wear them. Aside from Versace, I love Diesel, Lang and Paper jeans, just not as much.

 

[Steve B.]

Cool cristobal. I have a couple of pairs I got for a great price at a Versace outlet store about this time last year. Like them too- not as much as the Tommy Bahamas and the Zegnas I have, but much better than regular Levi's.