Hotel Style

The Wythe Hotel in über-hip Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is a welcome addition to the neighborhood, advertising its presence from miles away with what seems to be the largest “hotel” sign anywhere in the world, except for Las Vegas, of course. (Unlike Vegas joints, though, the Wythe is thankfully otherwise understated.) What appears to be overkill and gimmicky is actually rather elegant, and not out of keeping with the still-industrial quality of the street. If Brooklynites can advertise themselves with their often loud tattoos, then why can’t a hotel scream its presence with its own mark?

 

Electric Boogie

We know all about electric cars, the future of automobile transportation, but far less about electric motorcycles, which in big cities such as New York, are infinitely more practical. The Zero Motorcycle company makes two models– a large battery powered and a smaller battery powered– that have all the advantages of two wheeled transport and virtually none of the disadvantages. The smaller model, with a range of over 70 miles (the bigger battery range is over 100 miles), is not only stylish but is a bike you can ride to work or to play, as it, like Vespa scooters, has no shifter (thus saving the leather on your nice shoes), and is as easy to ride as a bicycle. The bike can be charged from a standard outlet, or from a 220V one for a fast charge– charging stations are springing up all over big cities although with the range, you probably will never need one outside of home.

This bike, The Zero ZF6, has been customized by carbon(-), a motorcycle, electric bicycle, and Vespa dealer in NY which is Zero’s exclusive distributer here. MSRP on the ZF6 is $11,495– expensive, I know, but not so much when you consider it’s made right here in the US, and a good wristwatch can cost more. The motorcycle is as quiet as a bicycle, a big plus for Hog-phobics but disconcerting to those who want to alert cars to their presence. Until they make an app for the sound of a engine, you might just have to do with silence or a very loud boom box on the rack. Zach Schieffelin, the owner of carbon(-), might just throw one in for you.

Tattoo Brooklyn

 

In Brooklyn, the “coolest ” city in the world, at least according to GQ Magazine and certainly to its residents, one sometimes wonders if having visible tattoos is as much a requirement to rent or own as a clean credit history and healthy bank account might be. I, tattoo-less but bearded, perhaps stand out as a rebel for my lack of body art, but I’ve always been concerned that tattoos, while extremely fashionable and sometimes attractive, at least on lithe bodies, won’t stand the test of time. Unlike clothes which one can change with abandon, or facial hair that goes as easily as it comes, tattoos are basically there for life. Yes, they can also be stylish, but be prepared for them to be your enduring style, no matter the fashion cycle, for the rest of your life. Think Mike Tyson vs. Muhammad Ali.


Denim Repair

 

Denim is the unofficial uniform of men the world over, and has, fortunately or unfortunately depending on your point of view, even penetrated the once-stuffy white collar workplace. Good denim, the kind you pay well over a hundred dollars for such as Levis Vintage Clothing, will eventually be in need of repair, unless you refuse to ever wash a pair of jeans, in which case social intercourse may be an alien concept to you.

I buy my jeans unwashed and “raw”, but do not hesitate to wash them regularly, which means that even the sturdy denim Levis uses for its jeans made in the USA will eventually need holes and tears mended.

Kill Devil Hill, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, does about as good a job as I’ve seen anywhere. I ask that they use a soft khaki fabric on the inside of the jean where it touches the skin. And the repair is invisible on the outside.

Men in White

At the Course Camarguaises in Arles, France, the kinder, gentler bullfights unique to the area and the Camargue. Men run at the bulls in attempts to pluck ribbons from their horns, rather than do the dance of death we commonly know as bullfights, and which even Barcelona has now outlawed. Combining grace, style, and spectacle, and this being the French, wearing appropriately all white outfits, the razeteurscompete not for the ears or tails of the bulls they must outrun and outwit, but for good old fashioned cash.

 

 

Quoddy Moccasins

Yes, the hand-made-in-Maine shoes are terrifically comfortable and last almost forever. Almost. No sole can actually last forever, but Quoddy will re-sole your pair for fifteen bucks. They will also sew in a new insert so that the shoes, like this battered pair, will be as comfortable as when you bought them. This model originally had a black sole, but I requested a brick- colored one as its replacement, to make it unique. Yes, some good things can last forever, give or take fifteen bucks.

 

Barcelona Hat Shop

Hats, with the exception of baseball and truckers’ caps–which should only be worn while playing ball or driving a truck–should never have gone out of style. The great hat shops that survived the fallow fashion period, Lock & Co. in London, Chapeau Motsch in Paris, or Worth and Worth in New York are wonderful, but every major city has a wonderful hat shop–”worth a detour”–as Michelin might say. I have fedoras, newsboy, and Persian Diplomat hats, and wear them all. Hopefully not in an ironic way.

Gaudi

 


Not all Antoni Gaudi creations are necessarily aesthetically pleasing, but this, the tiled Passeig de Gracia in Barcelona, has to be the finest covering of a thoroughfare anywhere in the world.

Public Socks


The airport these days is the only place your socks will be in full view of the public. Wear something nice– bold even– with your loafers. Edward Green shoes from the nineties; a twenty-year old Swaine Adeney & Brigg bridle leather carry on bag and a vintage briefcase. No wheeled luggage, please: looks goofy, and besides, can no one carry even a few pounds anymore?

Made in the USA

My 18 year old Filson duffle finally succumbed to the strains of international travel right after Christmas – the bridle leather straps gave out. I sent it to the company to see if they could repair it (just to replace the straps, really) and received a call from the returns department a week or so later. Filson, it seemed, believed that they should replace the bag with a brand new one (at no charge, obviously), as they felt the duffle had gotten too old to be worth repairing.

And a week later the new bag arrived in the mail. I miss my weathered and well-traveled old duffle, but I must say I’m impressed with Filson. I mean, what company these days manufactures its products and stands by them, effectively for life?

“Might as well have the best” is their motto, and whether or not you believe theirs is, you have to grant them that they take the word ‘best” seriously….

Sweater Vests


There are myriad reasons to despise Rick Santorum and his views, and as many reasons to bemoan the sartorial preferences of all the presidential candidates, even Mr. Cool himself, President Obama. But wearing sweater vests, seemingly the mark of a square, a dweeb, or whatever, should not be a reason to poke fun at or demean one of the more extreme politicians of our age. Remember when cardigans, the Mr. Rogers look, were the object of scorn? Today, no hipster worth his Williamsburg digs is without one. Tie bars? Do Brooklynites even know you can wear a tie without a clip? Brogues? Bow Ties? Need I go on? The sweater vest can look square, professorial, or worse. But it can be a damn useful item of clothing, especially if worn under a suit or a jacket, when sweaters with sleeves can add unseemly bulk. This one, in a single ply cashmere is almost twenty years old (from an era when cashmere really came from the throat hairs of the Kashmir goat in the himalayas), woven in Scotland, came from Anderson & Sheppard. Yes, the Saville Row tailors with a famous and infamous client list, clothiers who’ve outfitted everyone stylish from Cary Grant and Fred Astaire to Prince Charles. If it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me.

Leather Jackets

I’m not particularly fond of leather jackets–unless they’re horsehide. Don’t worry: in the U.S. it’s illegal to slaughter a horse for its hide (or its flesh). The toughest and most water-resistant of leathers (one reason motorcycle cops wear it), it ages beautifully. Saddles are not made from it, though, perhaps because it would be just too perverse to put a horsehide on a horse’s hide. This one is from Lost Worlds in Queens, NY; about ten years old. The hat is from Lock & Co., in London, and the boiled wool vest is from Jomeh Bazaar in Tehran.