OOTD-CW - 11 September 2026 · Real Men Real Style Community

13d (edited) • OOTD 👔

OOTD-CW - 11 September 2026

It's a simple day at the office but we end of the day with friends and family taking me out to dinner for my birthday. 9/11 is an auspicious day to have a birthday. Nevertheless, even on the actual day it occurred, I made an intentional decision to never let the events of that day restrict celebrating my birthday. Indeed - that would have been a goal of the terrorists: changing the way we rejoice life and the freedom we have as Americans.

I've put a bit more detail in than normal for a bit of birthday indulgence on my side!

Today was also a review of the Michael Andrews Bespoke suit with the cutter where we went overall all of the changes to make. Doing it via video call is not the best process. I highly recommend that if you go through a commissioned suit, and the opportunity is available, go in for the fittings. That said, this was not my cutter's first rodeo with a VC fitting appraisal. The jacket needs a bit of breadth around the anchor button, the vest needs to expand overall and have more depth added to the left chest pocket (allowing for a pen to be inserted and held in place), but the slacks were magical from day 1. The two dress shirts I had made need to be completely remade as they are substantially smaller than me. I was pleased to see that I am the exact same weight - to the pound - from when I was originally measured by my cutter. They now send me shipping materials and cover the shipping there and back to manage the process.

Pleased with MAB, we spoke about the next set of commissioned items, including a double-breasted navy blazer. Whereas I cannot wait to get the going, I always finish a first project with a vendor before engaging on the next one. The end of a project is usually where the largest number of issues, and more difficult issues, can arise.

Here's what I wore around, and including, the suit. Dinner should be fun and I am a fan of Chart House: good steak at a great ocean-front location.

RMRS Post Draft — Friday Low-Wear Birthday Ensemble

Today’s >$20K outfit served in-person and video meetings before transitioning to a birthday dinner. The unusually high value reflects several investment pieces, but the outfit also advanced the Friday low-wear objective: Tom Ford Oud Wood qualified among the workbook’s 35 zero-wear items, the Shibumi tie has only one recorded wear, and the bespoke suit, socks, and pocket square have only two each.

• Suit — SJ-018, SL-027 (Michael Andrews Bespoke): A charcoal bespoke wool suit with subtle blue and gray patterning, roped shoulders, horn buttons, and a matte finish. Its airy midweight construction provides business-formal presence while giving both scarcely worn pieces another outing. The Holland & Sherry fabric, along with guidance on how it impacts the suit from my style consultant (Chris Modoo), have really opened my eyes as to how important the fabric of a great suit is for the overall beauty, artistry, comfort, image, and impact of a suit.

• Shirt — DS-047 (Charles Tyrwhitt): A white, midweight cotton shirt in non-iron herringbone twill, finished with a point collar and French cuffs. Its formality-five rating and excellent fit provide a crisp canvas for the statement cufflinks and striped tie.

• Undershirt — US-022 (Sene): The white Cumulus crew-neck shirt combines Peruvian Pima cotton with elastane. Its substantial fabric, regular fit, and excellent comfort create a smooth foundation beneath the dress shirt. As far as day-to-day items, this is one of the most overboard cost items and yet one of the most loved items, I own. These are so amazingly comfortable and truly a perfect fit (so many claim this phrase; few deliver).

• Tie — NT-079 (Shibumi Firenze): A forest-green and white triple-bar striped tie made from softly finished shantung silk with hand-rolled edges. Its slubby matte texture introduces relaxed Italian character—and this is only its first recorded wear. I adore shantung!

• Suspenders — SB-006 (Kirby Allison): Sovereign Grade black-and-white basket-weave silk suspenders with calf-leather button loops and silver hardware. They maintain business-formal structure while disappearing cleanly beneath the jacket. I was disappointed that the new braces from Shibumi ended up being way to small to work (about 60% of the size of any other pair of braces, which for adjustable braces, I did not know different sizes were possible). I am hoping that these beautiful, and limited number, braces can be exchanged for the right size.

• Pocket Square — PS-043 (Rampley & Co.): “A White Dragon Ascends” presents dramatic Japanese-style artwork in white, blue, red, black, and additional colors. The silk-like finish adds controlled visual drama, while its second recorded wear advances the Friday low-wear goal.

• Collar Clip — TA-001 (Fort Belvedere): A platinum-colored solid-brass collar clip that sharpens the point collar and elevates the tie knot. Its cool tone coordinates with the cufflinks and other silver-colored hardware.

• Cufflinks — CL-009 (Fort Belvedere): Double-sided sterling-silver eagle claws hold polished black onyx balls in a distinctive sculptural design. The platinum-and-black palette adds personality and quiet luxury without competing with the tie. I've always envisioned these cufflinks as dragon claw, so they fit in well with the pocket square!

• Footwear — DSh-022 (Yearn Shoemaker): Custom hand-welted oxblood museum-calf Balmoral boots feature a plain almond toe, dark burnishing, fiddleback waist, bark-tanned leather soles, and Triumph toe plates. The artisanal construction and excellent fit make them an appropriately distinguished bridge between executive meetings and an evening celebration. Twice in three days is a bit much, but I wanted to wear these for the birthday dinner which I forgot about when accepting Wednesday's footwear assignment as these boots.... to boot.

• Socks — DSo-095 (Mes Chaussettes Rouges): Sky-blue Mazarin dress socks in flat-knit cotton lisle feature subtle stripes, hand-linked toes, and a slight sheen. Their business-classic appearance lightens the charcoal suit, and this is only their second recorded wear.

• Watch — W-009 (Mido): A business-formal automatic Mido with a brown sunburst dial, rose-gold-tone case, sapphire crystal, and brown leather strap. Its warm metals and leather harmonize especially well with the oxblood boots and chocolate-brown briefcase.

• Ankle Watch — W-001 (Apple): The Apple Watch is worn on the ankle solely for health and activity-data collection. It is not visible and is not evaluated as part of the outfit’s visual harmony.

• Eyewear — EW-004 (Randolph): Randolph Concorde aviators combine a polished, 24-karat-gold-plated frame with polarized gray glass lenses. The refined pilot shape supports the outfit’s warm metallic accents while remaining appropriate for business use. These glasses made me realize how critical a nose bridge is for glasses, especially when wearing beyond a simple drive. If you're unfamiliar with Randolph Engineering eyewear, I strongly suggest checking them out.

• Pen — P-006 (Montblanc): The Meisterstück 149 pairs high-gloss black precious resin with polished platinum trim and an 18-karat gold medium nib. Iroshizuku Kon-peki blue ink adds a discreet personal and corporate-color detail.

• Business Card Carrier — BCC-004 (Fort Belvedere): An oxblood long-grain box-calf case with turquoise goat-suede lining and a silver clasp. Its color directly reinforces the boots while remaining slim enough for a jacket pocket.

• Leather Carry — CRY-002 (Carl Friedrik): The structured Palissy Double briefcase is made from smooth, vegetable-tanned chocolate-brown Italian vachetta leather. Brushed-silver hardware and dual zipped compartments give it business-formal polish and practical capacity. I barely used it today, but I have an automatic counter that lets me know when to apply some nourishing cream for my leather bags (some process as for my leather shoes, but they have different formulae).

• Wallet — WL-001 (Montblanc): A black full-grain calfskin bifold from the original Extreme collection, finished with a carbon-fiber print. Its restrained, durable design provides a modern counterpoint to the more traditional leather pieces.

• Ring — R-001: A platinum wedding ring set with diamonds forms the outfit’s most valuable individual component. Its cool metal naturally coordinates with the collar clip, cufflinks, pen trim, and briefcase hardware.

• Fragrance — FR-024 (Tom Ford): Oud Wood blends cardamom, pink pepper, oud, sandalwood, vetiver, tonka, vanilla, and amber into a moderate-to-strong woody-spicy composition. Selected from the workbook’s 35 zero-wear items, it formally satisfies the Friday rule while perfectly matching a dark suit and evening birthday dinner. This might be my favorite cold-weather fragrance (not that it's cold... at all... today).

Friday-rule result: one strict bottom-35 zero-wear selection, one one-wear tie, and four prominent pieces at only two recorded wears—an effective low-wear rotation without sacrificing harmony or occasion suitability.

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OOTD-CW - 11 September 2026