Shaving Oil - a new habit

Last year I wrote about the joy of shaving and my use of certain products which hasn't changed for 20 years (read my post here). However, never one to let the grass grow under my feet, I have just enhanced my shaving experience!

Strange things seem to happen to we men in middle age, but much of it is not worthy of fighting back against! One of my irritations recently though has been the increasing toughness of my facial skin and the resultant lack of a close shave. I conducted some research and it was recommended I try a shaving oil pre-shave. I had never heard of shaving oil before, so began a local search. I found some in the store Sephora and put it to the test.

Image from Sephora

The concept is simple enough. Apply a small amount of the oil to the palm of one hand, rub your hands together to spread the oil evenly in your hands and rub it into your beard. Then apply your normal shaving soap/cream. The oil softens the beard and the face and should make for a smoother shaving experience. Sephora had two options to select from - one unscented oil and one a sandalwood essential oil. I selected the sandalwood.

The good news is its works! Finally, a smooth and easy shave this morning. The only downside is having to remove the oil from my hands after applying it to my face - my hands were so oily I could not grip my razor! A quick hand rub on a hot, wet face cloth solved the problem.

Another middle aged crisis averted, and proof that I can adapt the traditional (and for me much loved) ritual of shaving with a contemporary aid without ruining the experience. Now I need to apply this contemporary/traditional approach to my wardrobe.........

Leather Sandals Yes - Flip Flops Never!

The temperature has already reached 25c, despite the snow only disappearing last week, so I decided this weekend to replace my aging leather sandals with a new pair ready to embrace the good weather. I was a late convert to leather sandals, influenced no doubt by my upbringing in England in the 1960s.

During my youth leather sandals were worn at two extremes, with no middle ground. At one extreme sat "hippies", a word used to described any young male who dared to expose his bare feet in sandals. At the opposite extreme sat my father - who, the same as all fathers, wore closed ended leather sandals most of the summer (at weekends and on vacation), but never removed his black socks!

Faced with two contrasting extremes it is no wonder sandals never appealed to me!

The light came on in the late 70s when I became a fan (and have remained ever since) of the books by Ian Fleming, about his english spy James Bond. These books, written in the late 1950s and early 1960s describe a period of stylish men's fashion (and a cafe society) which is often overlooked by modern fashion writers. I was enthralled by the books, far more than the movies. In my favourite book 'From Russia With Love', written in 1956 Fleming describes Bond, after his morning cold shower, "putting on a Sea Island cotton shirt and navy blue tropical worsted trousers, he slipped his bare feet into black leather sandals and.....". Black leather sandals and bare feet on a man supposed to be in his mid thirties - I was shocked, but captivated by the mental image of this super cool spy in his London apartment. I had to own a pair!

Since that time I have owned several, always the same style, always conservative, the only variation being black leather or brown leather. This year I have selected black - mainly because last summer I acquired a pair of black linen trousers (a gift from my beautiful wife) and the old brown sandals looked inappropriate with them.

Image from Aldo - my new sandals

However, judging by my observations of middle aged men in the summer months the subject of what style of sandal to purchase, and more importantly how to wear them, seems to be a major challenge for many men. It doesn't have to be - stick to a few simple 'rules'.

The style I recommend is the 'mule', which is easy to slip on and off and to keep clean (yes, I polish my sandals!). The 'closed toe' variation I find too reminiscent of my father and black socks and I think they look too bulky. Never, never, never wear socks with them - it defeats the purpose of helping one to stay cool.

The 'Closed Toe' - Image from Aldo

So ugly words fail me!

Really?

Anything with a thong is a Flip Flop in my world and should never be worn outside of their original intention (at public swimming pools and gym changing rooms).

Image from Aldo

There is nothing remotely stylish about a thong style item of footwear - Ian Fleming would never have dressed Mr. Bond in a pair!

Image of the Week - Dominick Dunne

Every now and then I come across an image which sums up much of the philosophy that underpins my search for style in middle age. This week's image is Dominick Dunne, who until his unfortunate death in 2009 was one of my favourite contributors to Vanity Fair.

Image from Vanity Fair

I adore this photograph, taken at Hotel Du Cap in Antibes in 2006. Dominick was a graceful 81 years young when this photograph was taken. His tailored shorts, Churchs' velvet slippers, Turnbull and Asser blazer and shirt, the tortoise shell glasses, all speak to his individualism and confidence. Dominick suffered many setbacks and personal tragedies in his life, but always emerged as his own man ready to enjoy life to the full. A wonderful lesson to us all.

Cargo Shorts - possibly the worst ever item of male clothing

I have started to pack away my winter clothing and unpack the summer wardrobe - always a joyous task. One of the first items I came across were my tailored tan coloured knee length shorts. I will not be wearing shorts just yet, it has to be extremely hot for me to wear shorts in public - I always find it a little undignified - unless I am on vacation in a tropical climate.

I want though to start my summer posts by taking a position on shorts, initially the 'cargo short'. I have no idea who originally designed the concept of these, but I can find nothing to recommend them to a stylish man, or someone setting out to become stylish. They are not cut to fit, so they cannot be tailored, in fact they never fit anyone properly. They are baggy and formless, and look even worse when the pockets are overloaded. Why does anyone need so many pockets? Who even uses that many pockets? Finally, they are often made in military style patterns - I served for 16 years in the military and never retained any enthusiasm for dressing up as a military person after I retired. Again, why would you do that?

So, as the season begins my advice to all middle aged men, in fact to all men, is never wear cargo shorts if you want to remotely look stylish - wear a tailored short, well cut, colourful, slim, dignified.

Image from Mr Porter

Even Mr Porter agrees (see the entry here). And don't get me started on cargo shorts worn with plastic flip flops...........

Cigar Bands - Please remove them before smoking

A friend of mine recently reached a major milestone birthday and I was invited to spend the afternoon at the celebration. Upon arrival I found the men has adjourned to 'the man cave' (his garage) to enjoy a cigar and drink. We sat in a large circle and enjoyed an hour of cigars and alcohol (read my thoughts on the occasional cigar here). However, I noticed only a few of us removed the band from our cigar. Intrigued by this 'social nicety' of cigar smoking I decided to research the etiquette for this. 

Bands are an essential part of the cigar culture

I remembered my first cigar experience in 1987, at an Officers' Mess dinner at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell. The Mess Steward presented each of us one-by-one the Mess humidor and allowed us to select our cigar. Everyone around the dining table cut the cap and started the ritual of lighting. After a few minutes (when the cigar had warmed up the gum on the band) all the Officers removed the bands from their cigars. Ever since that experience I have removed the band, never really knowing why.

I had always assumed the removal had something to do with the relative quality of the cigar, and not wanting prove to others around you that you are smoking an expensive cigar, compared to their perhaps less expensive one. It turns out I was correct. The tradition goes back to the Victorian times in England when gentlemen in their clubs did not want reveal the expensive brand they were smoking to avoid being considered to be flaunting their wealth.

It is a perfect example of the act of a gentleman, showing respect for others through under statement. A timeless life lesson as always. If you are unsure whether to remove the band or not I have included some fun images below, showing those who do and those who don't - make your own mind up!

A Blazer is a Blazer - A Jacket is a Jacket

I unexpectedly found myself in a strange conversion recently in the menswear department of Club Monaco. I had been searching for sometime for an unlined cotton blue jacket for the summer months (in fact I had been searching since the summer of 2011 - on reflection my specifications were perhaps a little demanding!). I visited Club Monaco and was approached by a young salesman who asked if he could help. I told him I was looking for a dark blue cotton jacket and he replied, "Yes we do have several blazers for you to look at." I replied I was not looking for a blazer, but a jacket. He looked confused and said "The blazers are over here," and offered to show me to the appropriate store area. And so a strange parallel conversation continued whilst I looked at, and tried on, the jackets whilst he kept calling them blazers.

My Club Monaco jacket

My Club Monaco Jacket

A trawl of many clothing websites has shown me the term 'blazer' has somehow morphed to describe any jacket not made of tweed! When did that happen? Why do we insist on re-inventing and mislabelling classic clothing items? Marks and Spencer has a section on their website called 'Blazers', but it includes 21 jackets, of which only 6 are truly blazers. However, Gieves and Hawkes (thank goodness) still has a 'blazer' section and a 'jacket' section on their website.

Image from Marks and Spencer - 2013 double breasted blazer

I wore a blazer to school in the 1970s, it was black, had gilt buttons and had the school badge on the breast pocket. To me, and I guess my generation, a blazer was a blue or black jacket with gilt buttons. I later established the term blazer referred to the bright red jackets worn by members of the Lady Margaret Boat Club, the rowing club of St. John's College Cambridge in 1825 - they simply 'blazed' in red. Later, the adoption of a jacket for his crew by the captain of HMS Blazer with the traditional brass buttons of the Royal Navy, added to the journey of the evolution of the blazer as we now know it.

After leaving school I purchased my blazers (I have owned them constantly since 1978) from the UK store Marks and Spencer - they produced the single and double breasted, both black and blue. I have only owned blue, still thinking the black reminds too much of my school days! Over the past 12 years whilst living in North America I have changed my allegiance to Ralph Lauren, who makes a superb traditional dark blue wool blazer with gilt buttons.

Image Ralph Lauren - blue blazer

Regular readers will know my love for the 1920s and 1930s as a period which should underpin the core of a classic wardrobe, and all the images I see from that period show gentlemen wearing their blazers as the essential summer, or sporting event, jacket. I think the traditional blazer is an international calling card of good taste. It is one of those few items you can wear anywhere in the world and be accepted as stylishly dressed. You can twin it with jeans and adopt an Andy Warhol air, or with chinos, white or grey flannels and become a modern day David Niven.

David Niven

David Niven

Returning to my original discussion over blazer versus jacket to me it is simple - a blue jacket without gilt buttons is a blue jacket, a blue jacket with gilt buttons is a blazer, a timeless piece of clothing a gentleman will always look stylish in.

Image of the Week - Why Did We Stop Wearing Hats?

For this week's image I have been looking back in time, partially inspired by the excitement in our household that comes in April when the results of the annual public raffle for Wimbledon Tennis tickets are released and we find out if we have tickets (Wimbledon is only 11 weeks away - and trust me when there is still 3 feet of snow outside our house the thought of seeing the lush green lawns of the oldest tennis club in the world fills me with much excitement!).

Here is this week's image:

Image from denverpost.com

This photograph was taken on July 24, 1928 and shows the women's semi-final (Helen Wills - an American tennis star). It is not the tennis that caught my attention - it was the crowd. What stands out for me (apart from how smartly dressed everyone is - including the line judge!) is almost everyone is wearing some form of hat - compare that to today's audience. Where did the hats go?

I fell in love with hats in the 1990s when I purchased my first Panama hat. I still own it! I have added another summer hat since then, plus a brown trilby, and a broad brimmed fedora-style felt hat. Hats add individualism, keep us warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and I enjoy the fact they also make me look taller!

I notice Marks and Spencer are including Panama hats in their exciting new summer range this year - I can only hope it is the beginning of the return of the hat!