Australian Members

aj -re Indians

I'm not saying there is no racism or that all Indians who were attacked were dodgy or asking for it. Even if they were in dodgy suburbs late at night. There are violent prejudiced people in australia but they are not supported even tacitly by society and they don't even represent a significant sub culture. I'd go as far as to say there is less emphasis on graduations of skin colour here than in india. The indians i hang around with also emphasise the lack of caste and hierarchies.

Australians genuinely treat most people as equals. And expect it. The waiter or waitress (or clothes shop sales persons) will expect to be treated AS IF they are equal. Attempts at condescension or superiority, whilst not totally unknown, are regarded as at the very least declasse in Australia. To the extent that until recently it was not uncommon for a tip to be regarded as an insult by people in the service industry.

As far as Sydney goes - Sydney will be more sophisticated than Qld. Naturally Melbourne is a step up from sydney. I don't have figures but I'm pretty sure that there are more Indians in Melb than Syd. Theres been a few Bollywood movies using Melbourne as a shooting location. Not that you want to travel to see Indians I guess but you might feel the need for a nice biryani washed down with a mango lassi.

Sadly you will still see many people in shorts in Sydney. Less so in Melbourne. In Qld shorts with some form of footwear and something clean covering the torso is considered formal wear and a bit snobbish.

Agreed. And I have to concur, the media, both in Australia and especially India, sensationalised the situation out of all proportion.

Originally Posted by Charlie's Wardrobe

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JNH, how are the C&J wearing in?

Wearing in great. The inevitable creasing and soles are "broken in". The chestnut really pops so I'm glad I went with it instead of the black. Ethan choose some real beauties. The single monk strap suede Saville looked stunning as well.

My shoe rotation is fairly meagre and they are several steps up from my current shoes and the difference is very noticeable. I now have the shoe bug

Checked out some Lokaes at DJ's today... they have a mighty markup and don't even come close to C&J's in terms of quality.

Happy suit shopping. They have a nice 3 piece, and a really nice mid-grey flannel in their A/W collection

Originally Posted by Charlie's Wardrobe

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I
I think for suits, and speaking as someone who is very well versed in fitting them on people, they are one thing that should not be bought on the net, they should always be tried on. There are so many variables such as sleeve length, jacket length, shoulder width, fullness in the waist/hips on the jacket and rise length, waist size (real waist size not what the tag says), fullness in the legs and so and and so forth, not to mention the experience of being able to see and handle the fabric, look at the details etc in person and be able to walk out the door with your purchase.

Some purchases have a a high touch and feel factor - clothes are one of them.

Even before one tries on a jacket or pants there is the actual colour and feel of fabric to consider. I'm not even talking iGent here - it applies to Target underpants as well as a Zegna cloth from the top priced Tasmanian bale.

Then there is fit, silhouette and shape, length and drape. (I mean drape in the broadest sense not the SF high politics sense.)

Then even within the one brand sizes differ dramatically. Even without being obsessive two jackets ostensibly the same size and material and same brand may differ in colour or fit.

Originally Posted by JohnsNotHere

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Wearing in great. The inevitable creasing and soles are "broken in". The chestnut really pops so I'm glad I went with it instead of the black. Ethan choose some real beauties. The single monk strap suede Saville looked stunning as well.

My shoe rotation is fairly meagre and they are several steps up from my current shoes and the difference is very noticeable. I now have the shoe bug

Checked out some Lokaes at DJ's today... they have a mighty markup and don't even come close to C&J's in terms of quality.

Happy suit shopping. They have a nice 3 piece, and a really nice mid-grey flannel in their A/W collection

JNH, that's good to hear.

I think that I only had to wear my C&J Drummonds once before they felt really comfortable, whereas I've had to wear other brands such as Loake and Barkers a number of times before they felt worn in.

I recently bought a pair of Loakes from Pediwear, on the new Capital last. They are an Adelaide, or u-throat, style with a captoe and medallion, and they are very nice. I gave them a couple of coats of shoes cream before wearing and they felt very soft and nice as a consequence and they wore in quickly. Whilst the 1880 range of Loakes are not as good as C&Js - particularly C&J handgrades, they are not a bad shoe.

I agree that Herringbone have some nice stuff in their current range. I've already picked up a suit and odd jacket and am seriously considering another suit - it's rather dangerous!

Good to hear on the C&J.

I'll be looking at the flannel but may well just go the charcoal core osaka 3 roll 2, because I know I can replace trousers easily. But I'll check the flannel closely, it's starting to get nippy here in the nations capital.

On the Loakes, yes they are no where near C&J, and I have only seen 1 or 2 pairs of the 1880 line in Sydney, which are the top of the line Loake range. Even the lower range L1's I've seen for almost $500, which is ridiculous. But, compared to say the ****** glued on Aquila's which seem to be the "high end" at aussie retail, Loakes are like Corthay's in comparasim.

Originally Posted by apropos

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Thank you for that.

Given the authority with which he spouts his dogma here and in WAYWRN - I, for one, would love to see how his 'Attolinis, Kitons, Carusos which [he has] gotten for a tenth of retail' fit him. Think for a moment of the myriad difference in cut/fit these 3 brands have (not to mention the various product lines within them) - but they all fit him beautifully? They all measure out the same way?

I think that some (lucky) people can have the type of average body height, weight and size that works for a given size in some brands. After all designers/brands do use a proxy average live model to get things right.

Therefore some people can pretty confidently order online once they get the basic parameters right.

Shoes are a bit like that - with the added advantage that shoes don't hang off the body nor do their middle regions get fatter or slimmer. They are somewhat more like a moulded hard edges sculpture that doesn't take its line directly from the body part. So with shoes if you are lucky enough to get the size right you can order pretty confidently online. (well anyway thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it)

Originally Posted by Journeyman

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JNH, that's good to hear.

I think that I only had to wear my C&J Drummonds once before they felt really comfortable, whereas I've had to wear other brands such as Loake and Barkers a number of times before they felt worn in.

I recently bought a pair of Loakes from Pediwear, on the new Capital last. They are an Adelaide, or u-throat, style with a captoe and medallion, and they are very nice. I gave them a couple of coats of shoes cream before wearing and they felt very soft and nice as a consequence and they wore in quickly. Whilst the 1880 range of Loakes are not as good as C&Js - particularly C&J handgrades, they are not a bad shoe.

I agree that Herringbone have some nice stuff in their current range. I've already picked up a suit and odd jacket and am seriously considering another suit - it's rather dangerous!

I've got 2 pairs of Loakes on the capital last, the Double Monk Blackfriars in brown calf and the knightsbridge in Black calf. You are right, a bit of cream/conditioner does soften up and the calf and the 1880 range holds a fantastic shine. I am just waiting on a pair of brown brogues from the shoemaker range in the 3625 last, which I believe are still made in England also and are a more sleek, chiselled last than the capital. Pics when they arrive to compare the 2. I wasn't too worried only buying the shoemaker range because they are suede.

The Loakes were'nt the 1880's (which I concur, is not a bad shoe), and were retailing at around $450. Crazy

While we're on the subject of shoes, where do you guys source your shoe trees? I'm assuming offshore as I've found nothing worthy in Sydney.

Originally Posted by Journeyman

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I recently bought a pair of Loakes from Pediwear, on the new Capital last. They are an Adelaide, or u-throat, style with a captoe and medallion, and they are very nice. I gave them a couple of coats of shoes cream before wearing and they felt very soft and nice as a consequence and they wore in quickly.
What Shoe cream /conditioner/softener upper did you (and Charlie's Wardrobe) use? - I'd like to soften a new pair of boots up a bit I use Collinol for all my stuff - I'm not sure if they make a conditioner.

Originally Posted by JohnsNotHere

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While we're on the subject of shoes, where do you guys source your shoe trees? I'm assuming offshore as I've found nothing worthy in Sydney.

Another advantage of pediwear is that shoe tree's are included with their Loake's, not sure about the other brands. For my other shoes, I have a bunch of Florsheim ones which are really quite good and I think about $35 a pair, head to the closest store and check though cos it's been about 5 years since I bought any

can't say about Syd, but in Melbourne i've found two places: Florsheim (cnr Bourke and Russel, Melb conservative business dress) and McClouds (cnr Queen and Lt Collins, Melb conservative business dress) - both stock Florsheim split-toe cedar trees for ~$25 a pair. the ones at the Florsheim store have plastic heels but are $5 cheaper.

look around though - i'm sure there'll be something up in Sydney.

Originally Posted by fxh

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What Shoe cream /conditioner/softener upper did you (and Charlie's Wardrobe) use? - I'd like to soften a new pair of boots up a bit

I use Collinol for all my stuff - I'm not sure if they make a conditioner.

hmm I'll have to check for you, I can't remember off the top of my head and I'm not at my place tonight. I got it from DJ's, will let you know tomorrow.

Originally Posted by CHECKstar

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Can anybody please recommend a good place to get alterations made in Melbourne; preferably conservative business dress or eastern suburbs?
I don't know if anyone has answered but there is mention of a few either in this thread or on one called melbourne alterations. Have a look through the threads One under Nauru house, one upstairs in russell street, Katrina's fashions in Crossley Lane? depends what you want done - alterations or tailoring - what suburb are you near for home or work? what end of conservative business dress?