Tag: #Tweed

  • It’s Cold and My Mind Wandered

    Man, is it cold here. Woke up and it was ten degrees. As of this afternoon, it’s only nineteen, and we are going to bottom out at fourteen tonight.

    Pretty cold alright.

    Not that I mind. You know, last night I had a sweater on, and then a cardigan over that. I was pretty warm. At the moment I am writing this, I have a flannel shirt on with cable knit sweater over that. I am comfy and toasty at the same time.

    It is seventy degrees in my apartment, but it feels way colder than that. It’s because two of our walls face the outside, and that cold just penetrates through the bricks. Oh, and the steam pipes and radiator come and go like an unwanted family guest. Believe it or not, it used to be worse in this building.

    When I get to experience days like today, I imagine that one day I will have a nice thick and soft tweed suit to put on. And I’m not talking some stylish American tweed suit. No sir! I’m taking about an old wrinkly Irish tweed suit; one that looks like it’s been handed down for a hundred years. The type of suit that is perfect to wear a bowler hat with. It would be my cold weather tweed suit that I would put on when it was particularly cold out, and then just sit around the apartment in it. Maybe drink some tea, see where the day took me.

    Anyway… It’s cold and I feel like taking a nap. Maybe reading a book. Or I could play the wife in Mario Kart.

  • Yes, I am Procrastinating

    I am having the day of getting nothing done, while at the same time, getting stuff done. I have sat on the couch for the last forty minutes, and really haven’t done anything but look up obscure stuff, and get totally sucked into Buzzfeed listicles.

    Yet, I can say that I have meal planed for the week, gone grocery shopping, and read a short story. I also put the kid’s school schedule for the rest of the year in my calendar, and started looking up summer camp options, though I don’t think we can afford a sleepaway camp this year.

    But I am tempered by the things that I want to get done today, like finish the edits on my story. I also need to get started on a cover letter for submitting the story. I am a little nervous to do that because the only “professional” writing credits I have number two, and they were twenty-five years ago.

    So, I guess I am procrastinating a touch.

    Which is true, because I thought awhile about how Yogi Berra argued his whole life that he tagged Jackie Robinson out on that stealing home play.

    Not that has anything to do with anything… but did you ever think about that advice everyone is given how you should do what makes you happy, and that should be your career. What if what makes you happy has no value in society?

    Also, my dog smells like corn nuts.

    Okay, seriously, I’m going to go to work now.

    But first, I am going to where a tweed sportscoat.

  • Visiting Crowley Vintage & Antiques

    This past weekend, Saturday to be exact, I made the pilgrimage to Crowley Vintage & Antiques in DUMBO, Brooklyn. I had to go to the REI Flagship store to exchange my hiking boots as they were half a size too small, pick up a daypack too, and since I was so far downtown, if I just went a few more stops on the F train, I could be in DUMBO. Crowley Vintage & Antiques is open to the public on the weekends now, so I thought what the hell, I’ll go check it out.

    Back in March, I wrote a blog about my interest in Ivy Style clothing, and that I followed @crowley_vintage on IG. At the time when I wrote the blog, I made a joke about the place being way out of my price range, but I still kept following Sean Crowley’s posts as I wanted to stop by his store one day. I think what I am fascinated by is the act of looking formal. We all have gone over a year being extremely casual, and even when I was working, which was in the arts – a notoriously idiosyncratic casually dressed industry – I preferred to dress for work in a tie and sportscoat.

    When I made it to DUMBO, I found the building easily; Getting to the shop took me a minute. Clearly, I took a wrong turn, and was forced to take an elevator to the third floor, but soon enough I found the shop which was located across from a staircase I somehow missed finding on the first floor.

    Crowley Vintage & Antiques was exactly how it is presented on IG. Not a very big shop, but organized very well so nothing feels overwhelming or random. I went looking for the Summer Madras shirts and sportscoats, which was an immaculate collection. Everything was a quality piece and in very good shape. I especially liked the collection of framed pictures, which I was very tempted to ask about. I didn’t, as I thought of this as a fact-finding mission. Though Sean greeted me as I came in, I didn’t converse with him, as I wanted to experience the shop for myself. I was in the shop for about thirty minutes, and I did enjoy myself. I have a feeling I will return when I need to add a better piece to my wardrobe, or if I have an event to attend, and want to have something special.

    As I walked out of the shop, I took the staircase down, which put me to the left of the exit/entrance of the building. (See, I took a wrong turn, that’s all.) As I was about to head out of the building, a guy walked in, looked left and right and then asked me, “Do you happen to know where Crowley Vintage is?”

    “Hang a left and up the stairs.” I said.

  • Dressing Up Ivy Style

    Of the many things I did this weekend, I spent a good amount of time online, “window” shopping for shirts. Like, the type of Oxford solid colored shirts that I would wear to work. You know, when I had a job. I would look at these shirts on sale at J Crew and UniQlo, and think about how nice it would be to put on nice clothes for a reason.

    In the past year of lock down, I have bought three pair of shoes (running shoes, low-top All-Stars, and moccasin slippers) one pair of jeans, and pajamas. That’s it. My wardrobe has been stuck in stasis; an atrophy of style.

    I dress up for my kid’s doctor appointments. Not that I am trying to impress anyone at the pediatrician’s office. It’s just nice to have a reason to tuck in a shirt.

    I know this is a big reason that I am following so many #ivystyle people on Instagram. I like reminding myself that there was a formal world out there. That I might have a need to look professional again, and I should keep an eye out for a good tweed jacket, and the ties that would match with it.

    In that regard, I have been following Sean Crowley’s IG @crowley_vintage. From what I can gather, Sean used to be a designer at Ralph Lauren, and now has a shop in DUMBO on Front Street, by appointment only. His shop looks like a wonderland of Ivy/Oxford inspired style. I would like to set an appointment and stop by, but Covid, and the fact that I have a good feeling that items on sale at this store are WWWWAAAAAYYYYYY out of my price range, make me hesitant. I don’t want to expose myself to the disease, and I don’t want to waste Sean’s time if I cannot purchase anything, as I am still unemployed.

  • Secret Fascination: Ivy League Style

    I have a secret fasciation that I use Instagram to indulge in; I follow several profiles that display clothing in the “Ivy League” style. I have also heard it called “Oxford Style” as well.

    It started a while ago when I was dressing as professional as possible for work. And when I say “professional” for work, it really started off by tucking in my button-down shirt with my jeans, and threw a tie on it all. Then I moved on to khaki pants, and sportscoats got added. I felt like I was recreating a “preppy look” from high school that grungy me used to hate, but for some reason, I started to enjoy.

    In the name of exploring, I started looking to Instagram for help. I follow #ivystyle, and also @navyblueblazer, @oxfordclothbuttondown, and @arnoldsteiner, and it’s fun, and makes me sort of miss a time when I had to put on a “uniform” to go to work.

    But, there was this thought in the back of my head that couldn’t shake; this is kind of a conservative way of dressing, and I’m a pretty liberal person, so what’s up with me? Why am I interested in tweed, and blazers? Crew neck sweaters, and button-down shirts. Argyle socks, and tartan ties. Khaki pants and anything from L.L. Bean. And anything that is colored navy. To be blunt, it’s pretty WASP-y.

    Is this happening to me because I had a kid and turned 40? Is this because I want to live in New England? Or am I just getting tired of t-shirts and jeans? I’m never giving up my All-Stars, though. That’s just who I am.