Duke of York in Crombie

Tartan Tuesday: Highland Style

Tolkien

Concierto de Aranjuez (Joaquín Rodrigo)

Tea in the Rain




 

La plus belle aventure du monde, c’est la nôtre !

Happy New Year

Der Winter

New Year's Resolutions 2011 (Part 2)

(7) Attend the Royal Wedding in April ~ You saw your first in 1981, albeit on television. It's time to make a personal appearance. You're likely to be on the guest list. But just in case there's been a terrible mistake, tell Ruggles to book your plans immediately. This one might be difficult to satisfy, in light of work commitments.

(8) Be open to love ~ It is not sufficient just to hate. It is necessary also to love.

(9) Take a holiday or two ~ Vienna is calling. London and Munich burn holes in your memory. The surf off Lahaina whispers your name. The US is an insane asylum, as you keep reminding yourself, so escaping even for a few days can help restore one's mental health and perspective on reality. Doctor's orders.

(10) Let your hair grow ~ Let's face it. A weekly haircut is unnecessary, unless you actually enjoy being mistaken for a cop, US Marine, or Russian gangster. And don't fret: you're not going bald. You're not even close. But if and when you do, you'll have a perfectly valid excuse to adopt the skinhead look, badass fogey-style. Something to look forward to.

(11) Make an effort to smile more ~ Let your natural charm shine through. You've got loads of it, so why not flaunt it? While you know you're a complete and utter bastard with a totally unserious outlook on life, everyone else still thinks you're a perfect gentleman, a friendly chap-for-all-seasons, "the man who has everything," the last of a rare breed. Don't wreck their illusions. Keep playing the game. It will pay off eventually.

(12) Do not succumb to despair ~ Accept things as they are. Know your purpose and be resigned to your fate, but also know it demands a specific code of action according to the sub-Dionysian rites. There is no other way. Be patient. This is the end-game of the Kali Yuga. Stand tall in the Sun-Wind. Life will prevail again.

New Year's Resolutions 2011 (Part 1)

As monsoon clouds continue to gather in the distance, it is time to think seriously about adopting a course of preparation and self-improvement. In the months and years ahead we will be tested not only physically and spiritually, but also sartorially. I am sharing the following list with you as a recommended set of guidelines. Read it carefully. Become a lean mean Tweed machine. The coming liberating crisis will require nothing less. Dandy up, gents!

(1) Work on your tan ~ A deep glow indicates good health, sporting prowess, and an outdoors lifestyle--or simply that you passed out at the pool after one too many cocktails. Don't worry: you'll never be mistaken for one of our sun-kissed friends/servants. But don't get too dark or they'll think you've gone native. Tan lines are sexy.

(2) Wear more Tweed ~ Almost goes without saying. The trick is to wear lightweight Tweeds, such as 'Hamish', the new Tweed for the younger man recently introduced by Harris Tweed, a more appropriate style for the Mediterranean climate of Southern California. Pair it with dress shirts in white or cream and sober ties in solid colours or subtle foulard.

(3) Drink more tea ~ The two or three gallons you already consume daily now are insufficient to maintain the level of vigour to which your chums, associates, and lady-friends have grown accustomed. Consider doubling daily intake in 2011. Avoid anything herbal or Chinese.

(4) Drink less alcohol - Be honest. The painful burning sensation in the lower right side of your torso is not the result of the 750 sit-ups you complete each week, but rather your liver telling you "Enough is enough!" Give a chap a break. The same goes for codeine. Unless you score a really good deal.

(5) Keep rocking Prep style ~ Prep is your sartorial home for casual wear--and don't you forget it. You were practically born in polo shirt, madras shorts, and boat shoes. Your patrician looks and diplomatic bearing make Prep a natural style for you, now more than ever, at a time when every pug-faced outsider and snub-nosed Johnny Foreigner seems to have adopted it as his own. Show the kids how it's done. Oh, and make an effort to stop using the hipster-ghetto verb "rock" as in "Check out Admiral Cod rocking it in his Vineyard Vines..." It's so 2008.

(6) Regain your Adonis-like physique ~ Summer's almost here. And that means more time hanging out at the beach and resort pool. The sight of your bare broad chest and muscular thighs in Billabong board shorts once made young women's jaw drop and cougars squirm uncomfortably in their chaise lounge. The events of the last eighteen months, however, placed gym work-outs low on your list of priorities. A renewed dedication is called for. See (4) above. Make it a top priority in 2011.

Sword of Honour (Official Trailer)

Merry Christmas 2010

Christmas at Brideshead

Christmas in the Old South

Christmas in the Early South

Many in the tidewater region of the Southern colonies enjoyed enough wealth and leisure to celebrate the ancient holiday of Christmas in grandest fashion. Largely English, French, and German, often aristocratic, and usually unencumbered by the stern moral earnestness that afflicted their Puritan cousins in the North, these first Southerners thoroughly enjoyed Christmas when they could.

For centuries their European ancestors had observed the 14-day-long season of Christmas-tide, which began on Christmas eve and continued through January 6th, the "Twelfth Day" after Christmas called Epiphany. The Christmas spirit sailed across the Atlantic with them and even during the harsh early years, they often managed to celebrate the Yuletide in the New World with traditional English merrymaking: visiting, music, fireworks, cannon shooting, bonfires, feasting, parties, hunts, games, dances and weddings all before an enormous glowing and blazing Yule log. It had been carefully selected and lighting it on Christmas eve signaled the beginning of holiday merriment. "Carefully selected" in this case meant that servants found the largest, most water-soaked log available since tradition held that the merry season of leisure would last as long as the Yule log burned. Another tradition was to save a small portion to kindle next year's Christmas log.

In New England, the Puritan fathers looked with grim disdain on Christmas. To them, this holiday was a notorious occasion for celebrations in Catholic Europe, and they thus strictly forbade its observance. Work continued on this day unless it fell on Sunday. "Anybody," so ran the enactment by the General Court of Massachusetts, "who is found observing by abstinence from labor, feasting, or any other way, any such day as Christmas day, shall pay for every such offence five shillings." Elders also found it necessary to "Forbid all traffic in plum puddings and the like." For some reason the plum pudding was viewed as a symbol of the whole evil affair. The settlers of the middle colonies held somewhat less dreary views and were not so much bothered by feelings of religious guilt. Many of them enjoyed Christmas with the merriment of their "old country" traditions.

The wealth of our Christmas customs, however, came from the Southern colonies. As the years went by and colonists there increased in wealth, so did their celebrations increase in elaborateness. By the last half of the 18th century Christmas time had become the social as well as religious season for Southerners. Many Southern settlers during early colonial days considered Christmas primarily a religious festival; and although the religious meaning of the season was never neglected the observances leading up to "Twelfth Night" or Epiphany, which commemorates the visit of the Three Wise Men to the Christ Child, were often the most popular and written-about times of the season, even outshining Christmas Day toward the end of that period all the traditional English merrymaking customs and revelry were widely and heartily observed.

The Christmas tree was soon borrowed from German Moravian and Lutheran colonists; but from the beginning Southerners gathered evergreens such as holly, smilax, pine, cedar, laurels, magnolia, and mistletoe to "deck the halls." Wreaths were woven and mantelpieces and pictures festooned. Tidewater Christmases were rarely white, but always green. Juniper or incense might have been burned to protect the household from harm. Another aroma of the season came from the kitchen where Christmas cakes and cookies were baked from long-standing "recipes" passed down from mother to daughter. Gifts were exchanged and carols sung; and specially made huge "Christmas candles" illuminated the whole house.

At the center of all the celebrating was "Father Christmas," from earliest times called "The Lord of Christmas." In tidewater Carolina, his flowing hair and beard were made of Spanish moss. In one hand he carried mistletoe, in the other a black wand or staff with a silver crook at its top, and with which he delivered his gifts to all. Southerners did not take readily to what they called "the dapper little Manhattan goblin called Santa Claus." Father Christmas was large and regal, with features bold and expressive, yet gentle. He was, all in all, the emblematic representative of the classic Jupiter, rather than the quick, merry, and elfish figure Santa Claus has come to be.

Christmas tippling was widespread. Servants' employment contracts stipulated a bonus for Christmas drinking. Slaves had leisure time for dancing and singing around holiday-long bonfires. Usually, new clothes and extra food were furnished them during this season. "Christmas gift" was a cry heard on every plantation as servants claimed their yearly tip. The old English "Boxing Day" custom of bringing "Christmas boxes" to the master to collect gifts had been transplanted to the South and it thrived even though gifts here were less often money than was usual in England.

The main event on Christmas day, of course, was Christmas dinner. It was a board as festive as could be managed, set before a roaring fire. On this much-anticipated, once-a-year occasion, Southern cooking reached the heights of early American quality and quantity. Traditions in Christmas fare varied from house to house, but a large colonial plantation Christmas feast that required days or weeks to assemble and prepare might include: eggnog, oysters on the half shell, scalloped oysters, clear soup, roast stuffed goose with sauce, baked country ham with mustard sauce, lamb, roast wild turkey with cornbread stuffing, venison, and several other wild game dishes, including, perhaps a grand "Christmas pie." The recipe for this special treat called for a turkey stuffed with goose and chicken and pigeon and seasonings, with rabbit and quail set around, all inside a heavy crust. There were brown and white breads, Brussels sprouts with chestnuts, turnips and greens, baked sweet potatoes and apples, beans and peas, Mary Randolph's salad, fig and plum puddings, orange tarts, bourbon pecan cake, fresh fruit, walnuts and pecans, cider, Port wine, and syllabub.

Christmas was also celebrated with the Wassail bowl, another English tradition familiar to all of us because of the popular verses in the old carol "Here We Come A Wassailing." Wassail, or wes hal (be whole) in Anglo-Saxon, was a toast or greeting which is associated with celebrations of Christmas and New Years from the earliest days. According to tradition, the head of the household invited his family to gather around the bowl of hot spiced ale with roasted apples floating on it. After drinking to their health and prosperity in the coming year, the bowl was passed around to each member of the family who returned toasts to joy and happiness for all. Gradually, this ale became known as wassail; and the Wassail bowl, usually decorated with garlands of greenery, particularly holly, was a popular custom in America from the beginning. Eggnog was widely substituted for spiced ale in the colonies by the time of the Revolution. There was much drinking of these and other cheering and warming potions at the homes of friends and neighbors over the holidays.

Our observances of Christmas represent a rich mosaic of customs based on the winter festivals of many ancient cultures merged with Christian tradition. The lion's share of the credit for preserving and enhancing this universal holiday in America, like so many of the other good things in our unique cultural inheritance, belongs to the traditional Old South.

J.O. Bledsoe

Conrad Hasselbach

Cleverley Bespoke Brogues

The winter monsoons this year have hit Southern California with a vengeance. The downpour has lasted at least a week with no respite. A small river has formed outside the high walls of Schloss von AC. I swear I saw an otter swim by, but it could have been the effects of the wine and codeine. All the same, it is most tiresome. If conditions persist I shall have to send for a rescue-yacht laden with champagne and foie gras. And if you decide to stop by for tea or cocktails, please do ring ahead so I can send a specially-modified Thames launch to meet you. My point is, this is not the climate in which to wear my new pair of bespoke brogues from G.J. Cleverley (above). Note the adelaide half-brogue style, cabernet virgin calf's blood colour, and finely chiseled toe. It took almost nine months from measuring and fitting to delivery. It was well worth the wait. A fine work of art to be sure, but also a most practical item of footwear just begging to be paired with Tweed and quilted Barbour and taken on a test run round the local cocktail party circuit. Just as soon as the rains stop.

Force & Honneur

Poisoned Ivy (Benjamin Hart)

"This is Michael Jones," said Anthony. "Some know him as Keeney Jones, or M.K. Jones, or M. Keenan Jones."

"What name are you going by this evening?" Greg asked.

"Keeney is fine, or just Mr. Jones. Whichever makes you more uncomfortable."

Jones was wearing a blue-and-white-striped seersucker jacket, white flannel trousers rolled up at the cuffs, loafers and white socks, a necktie with a picture of Uncle Sam saying "We Want You," and two buttons on his lapel, one of which read "Nixon in 1980," and the other with a picture of a B-52 bomber, under which was written "DROP IT." His cheeks were red, and he had an impish grin, as if he had just done something completely irresponsible. He was pulling behind him, on a leash, a baby blue foam-rubber shark. The shark's name, I learned, was Chesterton. Jones ordered a strawberry daiquiri, threw his Sherlock Holmes hat on a rack, exposing his blond curls, and sat down between Anthony and Greg.

"Hello, Ben," said Keeney. "I believe I saw you at Aquinas House the other day, watching TV, or was it the liberation theology Mass, with the electric guitars and the sermons against American support of the Shah?"

I knew immediately that he was talking about Father Joe, a trendy Jesuit who had recently come to Dartmouth from Boston, allegedly because he was attuned to our generation.

"It couldn't have been at that Mass," I said. "I prefer Monsignor Nolan. He still talks about God and the sacraments. Strange thing, though, his Masses are packed anyway."

Poisoned Ivy, Benjamin Hart (1984)

Barbour on Wooster Street

Merci à notre correspondant à New York

Lonely Are the Brave (Official Trailer)

Barbour, Brooks Brothers, and Beer

Brooks Brothers Christmas

Barbour on Wooster Street

Für Alina (Arvo Pärt)

Dresscode UBS: Swiss Banker Style

• "A flawless appearance can bring inner peace and a sense of security."

• "Adopting impeccable behavior extends to impeccable presentation."

• "The garment is a critical form of non-verbal communication."

• "Jacket buttons should be closed. When seated, they must always be open."

• "Only when it is very hot, and after confirmation of your supervisor, can you wear the shirt without a jacket."

• "While blazers are equipped with pockets, they were not designed to contain a large number of personal effects or accessories. Leave these empty, so they do not deform."

• "The jacket should be closed when you stand or you're traveling."

• "The shoulders should have natural proportions: if the shoulders are too broad you will appear too big with a too-small head."

• "Conversely, too narrow shoulders could make your head look excessively large."

• "The jacket must completely cover your posterior."

• "Eyewear can only be in a subdued color range."

• "Ultra-trendy eyewear or too showy colored glasses are not tolerated. Ultra-hip glasses or lenses in gaudy colors are not allowed."

• "Make sure that your jewelry be matched to the metallic color of your frames."

• "Sunglasses cannot be worn on top of the head."

• "A scent should at first be perceptible at a distance - an arm's length - but should be discreet."

• "If you like wearing perfume or after-shave, remember, the scent of a perfume is more pleasant than being invaded by a fragrant cloud."

• "Try a new fragrance during your lunch break

• "Stop wearing bracelets and earrings."

• "Piercings, besides earrings, and tattoos are prohibited. Tattoos, piercings or anklets are outdated and do not look professional."

• "You can wear a watch to the extent it does not threaten safety."

• "Out of consideration for our foreign customers, avoid conspicuous religious symbols."

• "Factors that lead to the pollution of the skin are many. Since our skin is basically our 'first" garment, it requires care too."

• "We recommend protecting skin by applying a skin cream that consists of nourishing and soothing elements. Thus, your skin will appear beautiful and you will be radiant!"

• "If you wear a watch, it suggests reliability and that punctuality is of great concern to you."

• "An appropriate remedy to prolong the life of shoes is to replace heels early."

• "Always put on your shoes with the help of a shoehorn."

• "Completely unlace your shoes after use."

• "After having worn a pair of shoes, allow your shoes at least one day, so let the leather dry out and rest."

• "Each time you remove your suit, untie your tie and hang or wrap it."

• "Give your tie at least one rest day before reuse."

• "The tip of your tie should under no circumstances enter your pants." [I hate it when that happens - AC]

• "Underwear is among the most intimate parts of our clothing."

• "Your underwear must not be visible through your clothes, or stand out."

• "Your figure should not suffer from the way you wear your underwear."

• "Do not wash, nor ever iron your shirts yourself."

Sources: UBS and Business Insider

Wall Street Journal on Tweed

The Wall Street Journal (Asia Edition)--that well-known authority on style and tradition--decided to weigh-in on the Tweed controversy in a unique Q&A session. Have a look:

How to Wear Tweed and Stay Cool
December 17, 2010, 6:45 AM HKT

Q: Ah, tweed, the fabric of aristocratic fox hunts and stuffy professors. And now, suddenly as fashionable in Asia’s urban jungles as it is on Europe’s country estates. But how can you incorporate the fabric into a modern male wardrobe?

A: Along with plaid, that other traditional outdoor fabric associated with cooler weather, tweed has made a strong appearence this season in both jackets and pants. Still, you’re cautious, even trepidatious, of wearing it out of fear of becoming, well, tweedy?

Nonsense. First of all, know that today’s tweed is not the dour fabric of years gone by. Slightly softer and thinner, the modern take on tweed isn’t the itchy fabric that our ancestors used to wear. Even the tweediest of tweed makers — Harris Tweed Scotland Ltd., one of the three mills whose Harris Tweed is certified by the U.K. government — launched a lightweight tweed in September. Within the first two weeks, the company’s run of 5,000 jackets in the new fabric were completely sold out.

The Scottish tweed maker is surprised that its staple is now the height of fashion. “We see now, walking down the high street, so many people in tweed,” said Lydia Walton, director of public relations at Harris Tweed Scotland. “It was snowballing for a couple of years, but this year, it’s been huge. I don’t really know why.”

The tip is to match the tweed to the occasion. If you’re going to the country or spending time outdoors, choose tweed in earthy tones, such as the Hamish design in green and brown checks. Dress it with a white shirt, jeans and a pair of brown brogues or boots. For urban settings, you are better off with darker colors, such as a black and white herringbone check. This style in a jacket goes well with grey flannel trousers and a dark-colored shirt.

Of course, these are merely guidlines. Tweed fashion, like all fashion, differs in various parts of the world. “In Italy, they’ll wear the Hamish design with pencil trousers and pointy shoes — not what we see here in the U.K.,” said Ms. Walton.

If there’s one rule to adhere to, it would be this: Never pair your tweed jacket with tweed pants, especially if they match. A tweed suit? Not even for the driest of academic conferences. “Once you wear a tweed suit, you look slightly mad,” she said. We tend to agree.

http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2010/12/17/how-to-wear-tweed-and-stay-cool/

© Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Hackett Personal Architecture

Pet Names

The firm where I work was originally founded by hard-drinking WASPs in New York City with predilection for squash racquets and Tweed. They also bestowed nick-names on one another; or rather, they used the names by which they were known at school. At least that is the story still circulating around the orifice.

At school I was given at least four nick-names; maybe there were more, but that is all I can recall right now. The first was Aloysius, initially used by my French instructor Mme. Delphine, whose feminine charms still occupy signficant areas of my recollections. I suspect she picked Aloysius because I seemed such a good little Roman Catholic boy: sweet, quiet, innocent, solitary yet affable (but far from saintly then as now!) and fully prepared of course to die for the Faith. Or maybe my cuddly nature and good scarf sense reminded her of the actor Aloysius (pictured above) who starred in Brideshead Revisited.

Later, in upper school, the names Codger and Codworth attached themselves to me, a reference, I think, to my fogey habits and Bohemian Tory views, as well as to my ancestral family name. Such terms were subsequently replaced with more assertive names by complete strangers of liberal and bolshevik persuasion who found contrary views quite shocking and grounds for verbal abuse and physical assault in the streets, much to their disadvantage. In London several girlfriends came up with Tweedy, due to my numerous Tweed jackets acquired in vintage stalls at Kensington Market, and typically paired with dress shirt, rugby shirt with popped collar, denim trousers, Gucci loafers, or brown brogues. I am smiling when I tell you that I even carried a hip flask of Tweed in which I kept the contents of a lovingly brewed pot of PG Tips.

Over the years of course I have received dozens of other nick-names and pet names, most of them loving and sweet, some of a private or sexual nature that I can not reveal here. There have been other names, however, that were not so sweet, such as: wanker, arsehole, bastard, complete and utter shit, etc.; I am sure my parents used other terms, but those are the ones I can still pluck from fading memory. Today, happily, it is another matter: I can report that I have been given several proper nick-names by chums and besuited colleagues in the orcface, but I will keep quiet on the topic for reasons of privacy.

Do remember to deck your loved ones with terms of affection.

Flashman (George MacDonald Fraser)

Stag Decor