Black Friday

It would seem that older songs talk about clothes more than newer songs. I can remember two off the top of my head but neither mentions a black sportcoat. One mentions a white sportcoat (and a pink carnation). The other mentions black slacks. So much for trying to quote lyrics although the title is a portion of a Megadeth song title from their Peace Sells...But Who's Buying album. So yeah, the sportcoat is the black one.

The dress shirt is a broadcloth straight collar that might look gray in the picture. It's actually what "They" call an Ottoman stripe. The stripes are really tiny black stripes on white. Or maybe they're really tiny white stripes on black? There are bengal stripe dress shirts too. I wonder if there are Ottoman tigers.

The necktie is another Jos A. Bank Signature Collection that I got at a very deep discount. It may look solid in the picture but it's really got a very large herringbone pattern woven in. The base color is a deep red (burgundy?) with black in the recessed portion of the weave. Honestly, I could be really messing up some rules with regard to patterns or something but the conglomeration didn't cross my eyes for me when I looked in the mirror. The knot is, of course, four-in-hand. I think I could have gotten away with something more substantial this time though.

If you want to check out a really cool blog about really cool ties, head on over to Burl Veneer's Tie Blog. There's a story for every one of his ties. Pretty interesting blog and one of the reasons I started this blog.

Have a good weekend. I'll probably have something on Sunday that will include my new suit. I get to pick that up tonight after work.

New Stuff

Today's conglomeration is comprised of mostly new stuff. I got a shipment yesterday after work that included some new dress shirts and one that included a new necktie. Still the same "old" gray sportcoat though.

The dress shirt is a French blue, broadcloth straight collar. This one isn't non-iron. After wearing this shirt all day today, I'm officially done with most of the non-iron shirts. Oh sure, this one wrinkles fairly easily and I did have to iron it but that's a small inconvenience for the comfort. The non-irons are a bit scratchy and they don't breathe nearly as well.

The necktie is a pretty special Jos A. Bank Signature Gold. Ebay strikes again. What makes this one so special is that they limit the number of ties manufactured for a specific fabric. Mine's number 205 out of 286. It says so right one the tie! These go for $135 brand new but mine was about $30 delivered to my doorstep. Four-in-hand knot once again for this golden beauty with red, blue, white and black shapes.

Robert Talbott individually numbers their Sevenfold line. They only make 40 of each pattern so they're more special I guess.

Tan and Black

Today's conglomeration is the reverse of last Thursday's. The sportcoat is the tan colored camelhair. This time I wore a white, spread collar pinpoint oxford. The necktie is also a Ferrell Reed City of London. It has a gold background with different shades of gold and some black. Four-in-hand knot again. I tried a Pratt and half Windsor but the knot would not cooperate. I even had difficulty knotting the four-in-hand. I think I may get rid of this necktie just so I don't have to go through that again. The black portion of the conglomeration is the trousers.

Comments? Suggestions? Is there anyone reading this? Just curious. Are you laughing your hineys off at the goofball that documents his daily conglomerations? Really, I just do it to keep track of what I've worn so I don't wear the same thing two days in a row.

Brown and Blue?

I've seen arguments back and forth over the mixing of brown and blue before. Some people like it, some don't. I thought I'd try it and see but I flip-flopped what I would normally do. I went with a brown sportcoat (the same Lands End "sportcoat" as Sunday's gray but in a brown) instead of a navy and navy trousers instead of some shade of brown. I still don't know if I like the conglomeration or not. It was worth a try, anyway. The necktie has brown and blue, doesn't it?

The dress shirt is the same shirt I wore on the second day of the blog. It's a broadcloth, straight collar with brown stripes. Rounding out the conglomeration is an Ike Behar necktie. The background is navy. The squares are brown and match the dress shirt's stripes pretty well. They match the color of the sportcoat fairly well too. The inside of the squares is a light blue color. Another Ebay purchase and another four-in-hand knot. Maybe one of these weeks I'll dedicate each day to a different tie knot.

Blue Monday Redux

Again with the Navy sportcoat. Like I've already said -- it's too easy to throw something together. Monday are almost required to be easy conglomeration mornings.

I made it even easier by selecting a blue, spread collar, pinpoint oxford dress shirt. I picked it because I have plans for the white spread collar later in the week and that's the only other shirt I would have worn with the necktie I selected.

The necktie is yet another Jos A. Bank Signature Collection model. The diamonds are different shades of blue and silver. The silver stripes woven "over the top" of the diamonds make it more interesting tha just a regular stripe or geometric necktie. It's another Ebay purchase that I got in the mail Friday. I thought about wearing it to church yesterday but decided I'd rather wear the new gray sportcoat instead. Spread collar, half Windsor knot. Usually, anyway.

Bonus Sunday

The casual dress affliction has even infested church these days. Not that I care, really. It's just the way I was raised. It really is what's on the inside that counts.

Today's conglomeration is pretty basic. How much more basic can you get than a white pinpoint oxford dress shirt? A straight collar instead of the spread collar I wore today.

The sportcoat is a solid colored gray that I just got from Land's End. They seem to cut their coats a little more roomy than I would like. I had it taken in a bit and the sleeves shortened. It's really not a sportcoat either. It's a suit jacket from their suit seperates. I just didn't get the matching trousers.

The necktie is another Jos A. Bank Signature Collection. It's woven with a gold background and red and black shapes. I bought it from Jos A. Bank on clearance so I still didn't pay the full $80 price for it. It's a pretty substantial thickness so I stuck with a four-in-hand knot even though I was wearing a spread collar.