This pair of brogues from Tricker’s of England has the most unusual patina Izzy has ever seen. Looking as if it were made of burled walnut, it reminds Izzy of Florentine leather that is crafted to look like wood.
After searching for ages, Izzy has finally found a way to satisfy his odd hankering for a corduroy tie: New York’s Alexander Olch, purveyor of handmade neckties that are conservative but a little bit different.
Izzy just returned from a wonderful holiday in Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, where he made sure to visit the finest men’s shops Florida offers. Among those stores was Maus & Hoffman, which since 1940 has been specializing in materials and colors appropriate to tropical sun and swamp-like humidity. The sort of place that offers trousers in every shade of sherbet, they even carry dungarees made by Brioni, suitmaker to James Bond. If one must wear jeans, they might as well be this luxurious.
Perhaps Izzy is reading to much into this fashion show, but is he right to see more than a hint of children-immigrating-for-their-lives, a la The Sound of Music?
New York Social Diary is a useful way to gawk at Gotham’s high society. Without it, Izzy might never have seen a tie so wide it’s virtually a well-knotted scarf.
The Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter, who popularized the the idea of “creative destruction,” notoriously once claimed:
Early in life I had three ambitions. I wanted to be the greatest economist in the world, the greatest horseman in Austria, and the best lover in Vienna. Well, I never became the greatest horseman in Austria.
Who knows whether Schumpeter lived up to his boasts, but the photograph on the cover of a new biography does prove that he was at least the most dapper economist in the world, and conceivably the most arrogant.
As a matter of principle, Izzy objects to Jude Law’s micro collar and sliver of a tie. But at the very least they should have been complemented by a shorter jacket sleeve.
Due to their unadorned dark suits and white shirts, Izzy finds designer duo Messrs. Badgley and Mischka guilty of inciting boredom.
On their way to what the British call a fancy dress party, Elton John’s significant other does a fine imitation of a dutiful Marine, while Sir Elton himself conjures a tin-pot dictator. Izzy is shocked to find such a display of honesty in attire.
Izzy finds something enticing about this bag’s juxtaposition of suede with a purple patina leather. For the adventurous only, it’s crafted by Kaufmann.Stanley Switzerland, which is of London oddly enough.
First it was soccer that was inspiring topiary hairdos; now it’s cricket. In so many ways, however, it’s just not cricket.
