MC General Chat

[Bromley]

I prefer lace-up shoes for CM/work, but double monk strap sneakers for after hours and weekends.

 

[emptym]

I had velcro Kangaroos back around 1980. I think they had one large strap though. Loved that little zippered pouch.

 

[mossrockss]

I had velcro Kangaroos back around 1980. I think they had one large strap though. Loved that little zippered pouch.

I first learned of Kangaroo's from a commercial on a German TV show my high school German teacher showed us in class, which she'd recorded to try to give us exposure to the language.
anyway everybody in the class was obsessed with the shoes and wanted to buy a pair, but they were difficult to find (this was pre-ecomm internet era, essentially).
finally one day a couple years later, one of my classmates showed up with a pair and everybody begged him to tell us where they were from.
i eventually did get a pair that i wore roughly til i graduated HS. recently i was reminded of them but once again they are hard to find, so i don't even know if they still exist.

 

[emptym]

That's an interesting way of being introduced to them, @mossrockss. What show was it? I spent a semester in Germany and then a year there, possibly around when you were in high school (95, then 98-99), and don't remember seeing anyone wear Roos. But they were very common at my school in the US around 1980.

 

[smittycl]

So I wear linen as much as possible all summer as casual clothes. I manage to wear as much CM linen as possible at work as well. The cleaning bills are fairly annoying, though.

I send all my shirts out and the cleaners insist on hand pressing them. Basically triples the price compared to cotton dress shirts.

Is it worth asking them to just treat linen like cotton or will that destroy the fabric? Might start washing and ironing myself but I hate doing that. Takes away from cycling time!

 

[mossrockss]

That's an interesting way of being introduced to them, @mossrockss. What show was it? I spent a semester in Germany and then a year there, possibly around when you were in high school (95, then 98-99), and don't remember seeing anyone wear Roos. But they were very common at my school in the US around 1980.

I have no idea what the show was LOL, nor what year it was recorded (or, even, how she managed to play a VHS recorded in Europe in—presumably?—PAL format on an NTSC TV, which is the biggest unresolved mystery of my life to this day; maybe she recorded it on a German language cable channel here in America and I mis-remembered where she said she recorded it?), but I'd guess she had lived there sometime in the late 80s-to-mid-90s time frame. It was probably '01 when we watched it in class.
Anyway, Eastbay had them and I think I got them via that catalog.

 

[clee1982]

So I wear linen as much as possible all summer as casual clothes. I manage to wear as much CM linen as possible at work as well. The cleaning bills are fairly annoying, though.

I send all my shirts out and the cleaners insist on hand pressing them. Basically triples the price compared to cotton dress shirts.

Is it worth asking them to just treat linen like cotton or will that destroy the fabric? Might start washing and ironing myself but I hate doing that. Takes away from cycling time!

I could never embrace the winkle fully..., linen feels awesome when you first put on, not by end of the day (which is linen), then the laundering afterwards... i mean for all cotton stuff, (even for not non-iron) I don't even bother, I just machine wash gentle then hung dry, good enough for lazyman like me...

 

[GeneralEmployer]

So I wear linen as much as possible all summer as casual clothes. I manage to wear as much CM linen as possible at work as well. The cleaning bills are fairly annoying, though.

I send all my shirts out and the cleaners insist on hand pressing them. Basically triples the price compared to cotton dress shirts.

Is it worth asking them to just treat linen like cotton or will that destroy the fabric? Might start washing and ironing myself but I hate doing that. Takes away from cycling time!

In order to get your linen looking crisp, you'll need a commercial grade hand-iron or a decent press. If you the money and space, you could go with something from Miele in the press dept. That would save you a lot of time, and if you're already dropping coin, that might be the way to go. I use a commercial hand-iron (you can pick up one in the garment district of a major city for cheap) and spend about 10-15 minutes per shirt/ 10 minute per pant.

N.B.: treating it like cotton will just result in wrinkles and not affect the integrity of the garment. Linen is stronger than cotton.

 

[Bromley]

So I wear linen as much as possible all summer as casual clothes. I manage to wear as much CM linen as possible at work as well. The cleaning bills are fairly annoying, though.

I send all my shirts out and the cleaners insist on hand pressing them. Basically triples the price compared to cotton dress shirts.

Is it worth asking them to just treat linen like cotton or will that destroy the fabric? Might start washing and ironing myself but I hate doing that. Takes away from cycling time!

Most of my shirts are made from sturdy Spence Bryson (Ulster) linen, and I've been wearing them year-round for about 5 years. I machine wash them on a "delicate" setting, and then air dry them on hangers. No pressing. Then, after a few minutes of wear, the deep wrinkles come out and the whole shirt softens. I find that a crisp, pressed linen shirt only stays that way for a short time anyway.

I don't know if this is a good idea for everyone, though. My shirts made from Thomas Mason linen, which is noticeably lighter weight, don't recover in the same way. Spence Bryson's "Quintin" shirting is something special.

 

[Journeyman]

In order to get your linen looking crisp, you'll need a commercial grade hand-iron or a decent press.

I iron all my shirts, linen or cotton, at home and just use a domestic iron with no problems at all. For the first ten or so times, the linen takes a bit longer to iron, but once it starts softening up it's easier and faster to iron.

 

[clee1982]

Another topic on how CM has evolved

can you imagine, just say 5 years ago, not even recommending a oxford, even if not black cap toe

Permanent Style

A complete capsule wardrobe

www.permanentstyle.com

 

[thatboyo]

can you imagine, just say 5 years ago, not even recommending a oxford, even if not black cap toe

i can see it. It depends on what type of environment you work in. For non client facing roles i think you can easily have gotten away with no oxford. Most guys in corporate America dont care that much tbh.

 

[clee1982]

right I agree, but that's what I mean how time has changed, like chino, suede chukka, ocbd and navy sports coat is going to be pretty uptight by today's standard...

 

[Bromley]

Prolific cravatte/scarf and bucket hat wearer, Richard Ayoade is hilarious. I've been enjoying delightful show, Travel Man (streaming on Amazon), and I really dig his personal (professional?) style. I highly recommend this person.

 

[smittycl]

Okay, this got my attention. Not an area I would have expected a collaboration but pretty cool.

Colnago x Fox Brothers C64 Frameset

( Images are of the disc brake model ) Two brands that have made history in their areas. Colnago capable of promoting the cycling of the new millennium with its inventions, Fox brothers, accredited as the creators of flannel, a light, soft, warm fabric made from worsted wool. Both able to set...

www.themerchantfox.co.uk