With @Jeffrey Plotka as my most recent inspiration, I have completed my first attempt at restoring a pair of Allen Edmond Strand Oxford dress shoes that I thrifted last week. I cleaned them thoroughly with Safir Renovateur, then let them dry over night. I then rubbed in Safire shoe cream in a light brown. After allowing that to dry, I applied Safire medium brown cream to the toe and heel area. It didn’t seem to darken the leather as much as I liked, so I applied Kiwi brown wax polish. I may eventually darken the whole shoe slightly. Regardless, I am very happy with them! Oh, and did I mention I got the shoes with cedar shoe trees for $5.00? I got a second set of AE branded shoe trees for $3.00. That makes me love my new AE’s even more!

What to say in your intro? Share where you're from, your reason for joining, perhaps your favorite fragrance, watch or a picture of you dressed sharp! It's a small action, but a HUGE step in you getting value from this community becasue you go from being a lurker to an ACTIVE member. In fact men that introduce themselves are 10X more likely to the actions to becoming their best selves. Bonus Point - By introducing yourself you're guaranteed to level-up. Seriously, you'll get at least 5-20 likes/points (oftentimes more) which will move you to level 2 and possibly level 3. And just like that you have access to more of this community!

Saw this pic and thought it might illustrate something for the group. Who has the better suit fit? My gut says many folks today would say Daniel Craig. I completely disagree. Yes there needs to be some compensation given to the king. ONE: he is nearly 30 years senior to the extremely fit actor Daniel Craig; TWO: one would presume that Daniel Craig was a lot more self conscious about the condition of his suit meeting the king than the reverse; THREE: the kings schedule probably was at a different level than Craig’s (eg longer for King in the suit); FOUR: the King is known for wearing suits for decades so it’s fair to presume Craig’s suit is significantly newer thus less sagging; That said let’s just discuss the cut of the suits and disregard the fact that the Kings pocket flap is tucked in and his hand in the other pulls the suit, and the waist of his trousers have probably slipped slightly through the day in this pic meaning the break in length is a little long. First the trousers: the Kings trousers give him stature in that the fullness of the legs are stronger vs the trendy taper of Craig’s pants. Secondly (yea you guessed it) the Kings operable button is at his natural waist where it belongs. This presents a far better silhouette to the coat (again, be fair between the gentlemen’s ages and fitness routine). In fact look closely-the ridiculously high button stance on Craig emphasizes a slight paunch. 😳. Two to three inches lower where the button belongs and that would not have happened. Once a guy sees this it’s hard to unsee. Lastly the length of the jackets. Here it’s not as pronounced as I was afraid. I’ve seen AI versions of Craig where they put him in an Organ Grinder Monkey suit with the skirt of the coat 100% Porky Pig, but in this pic it covers the length of the trouser crotch and given the more narrow lapel it’s not that terrible. I welcome the end of this trendy fashion look. Hopefully the trending back to Classic Timeless Menswear (what Antonio recently described as Ivy League, Preppy, Traditional), will bring some common sense back into menswear.

RMRS crew, here are a few standout posts from the RMRS community this week. 👏 Big shoutout to @Brian McGuire for “Dead Horse finally kicked???-Preppy” and a thoughtful discussion of how the meaning and connotations of preppy style have changed across generations. It gave members a nuanced prompt for a lively, respectful style conversation. Post: https://www.skool.com/rmrs/dead-horse-finally-kicked-preppy 👏 Shoutout to @Anthony Buntyn for “The New Gentleman's Forum Podcast is Ready!” and clearly articulating how a gentleman’s society can strengthen style, standards, and connection. It sparked a valuable conversation about finding meaningful community beyond the usual social circles. Post: https://www.skool.com/rmrs/the-new-gentlemans-forum-podcast-is-ready 👏 Shoutout to @Chad Smith for “Day 10 - Wednesday 30 September, Tokyo Disney Sea” and sharing a detailed, personal update from his family trip. His posts bring generosity and real-life perspective to the community. Post: https://www.skool.com/rmrs/day-10-wednesday-30-september-tokyo-disney-sea 👏 Shoutout to @Jeffrey Plotka for “Practicing Self Care!” and candidly sharing his effort to step outside his comfort zone while traveling alone. It was a thoughtful reminder that personal growth can happen in the small choices we make for ourselves. Post: https://www.skool.com/rmrs/practicing-self-care 👏 Shoutout to @Mitch Hoover for “High School Reunion Wear” and walking us through the outfit he chose for a meaningful milestone event. His approach to dressing intentionally without overdressing created a useful, relatable style discussion.

Had to fill in last minute with an Alt-Country band, so I took what I wore to work and added a denim shirt to the mix. Started with a base of 1947 Od-7 Army trousers from Bronson in Herringbone Twill and my white Calvin Klein dress shirt. Red tie to contrast the green pants. Wrangler Pearl Snap Western Denim shirt and my Navy Blazer. Burgundy belt and Penny Loafers. Removed the Blazer while I played and used the denim as the jacket. A nice old lady said she liked how I dressed.