I was working on a project trying to pinpoint the moment in time menswear started this absurd fit in suits and sportcoats. And Ash over at the Chaps Guide let us know that 64 years ago today Dr No was released so I thought I would go ahead and post my research. Most every one attributes this odd fit business to Tom Ford’s work with costuming James Bond and that is probably correct. Casino Royale (the Daniel Craig version) came out in 2006. But that first movie I believe was a Bironi suit. It looks pretty correct in proportion to me. I looked at another big movie franchise rebooted one year earlier than Casino Royale: Christian Bales’s Batman. Both Bale and Craig are in incredible shape so it’s not the fitness of the guy that’s different. It’s the cut of the suit. By the sequel, Quantum of Solace (2008), Ford was brought in and since that time the Bond suits got tighter and tighter and shorter and shorter. As early as 2008 when Tom Ford did the sequel Quantum of Solace you can see the operable button and the suit skirt beginning to creep up. I know I sound like a broken record. But I just happened to be watching these movies recently and made an effort to try and discover the origin and time line of this weirdness in menswear. Stores didn’t adopt this fashion change immediately but I would guess the switch came about within 10!years of that second Craig movie. In Casino Royal things were still pretty normal- The tux (excellent proportions) and the two following pics, front and back show a well proportioned blue Bironi suit which were taken from Casino Royale. Compare that to the next two Pics which are Ford designs and you should clearly see how ill proportioned they are. After QoS, the following three Craig movies (2008-2021) my guess is somewhere in the middle of these years guys started wearing this Ford odd fit as stores began to sell it as a “modern fit”. I m not going to belabor why it’s so bad again just thought this timeline might interest some guys. Before you completely write this rant off type this into Google and see what happens:

Another thrift store score. Not my size, but should be able to make quite a few bucks off this one. Found an XL RRL Ralph Lauren first generation Denim chore jacket with the tan corduroy collar. In excellent shape with only very minor wear at the hem, which apparently actually makes them more favorable to buyers. Guess they prefer the already lived in look. May start looking for one of these for myself, its made exceptionally well.

Sometimes life throws you a win that you really didn’t see coming. Since I started posting on instagram daily, playing at Mens Style Influencer, at the start of this year, I’ve been incredibly lucky to land a few collaborations—from the legends at OTAA and Yiume to the great deals at Sparrods & Co and my local go-to, Civic Shoes. But today, things went up a gear. Milton, the owner of Civic Shoes in Baileys Arcade, Canberra, called me up with a bit of a challenge. He’s designed his own line of Oxfords for the corporate world—the kind that are actually comfortable. He watched enough people scootering and walking to work in sneakers carrying their dress shoes and decided to fix it. He’s created these beautiful Oxfords—black, brown, and this custom color he mixed himself (a bit of a mahogany-oxblood blend). The leather is soft right out of the box and the soles are flexible, like a pair of runners. Since I told him I’m heading to Japan soon and plan on clocking about 20k steps a day, he reckons I’m the perfect "case study" to see if they can handle the heat. He handed me a brand new pair to put through the ringer. I gave them a quick condition with Saphir Renovateur and a light polish on the toe just to get them ready. They’re fully resoleable and come with Topy protection, so they’re built for the long haul. For $349 AUD ($250 USD), these are absolute crackers. To be given a pair as a "use case" study by the shop owner himself? It’s not something I ever imagined I’d be doing when I started this journey. Cheers, Milton! Let’s see how they handle the streets of Tokyo. 🇯🇵👞

Worth it!! Got my first pair and loving them. I’m usually a pretty hesitant online shopper, I like to see and feel things but took a shot- they are everything they’ve been marketed as.

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!