In Case You Missed It

 

With the Louvre closed because of the pandemic, museum officials are pushing ahead on a grand restoration and cleanup....  Even before the pandemic, the Louvre was taking a hard look at crowd management because mass tourism had meant many galleries were choked with tour groups. 

- NYT: Mona Lisa Is Alone, but Still Smiling <https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/26/world/europe/louvre-coronavirus.html>

 

Tricker's English Shoes:  <https://www.trickers.com/>

At Tricker’s, a 192 year-old maker of English luxury shoes beloved by Prince Charles and Japanese fashionistas, relief at averting a no-deal Brexit quickly turned to dismay at the new price of doing business with the European Union.

- Reuters: Historic English shoe-maker counts the costs of Brexit <https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-exporters/historic-english-shoe-maker-counts-the-costs-of-brexit-idUSKBN29V1B5 

 

More carats and sparkle: How LVMH plans to change Tiffany.

- Reuters <https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lvmh-tiffany-changes-focus/more-carats-and-sparkle-how-lvmh-plans-to-change-tiffany-idUSKBN29V0JH>

 

Fashion Nova’s Secret: Underpaid Workers in Los Angeles Factories.  The online retailer makes fast fashion for the Instagram elite. The way many of its garments are made is much less glamorous.

- NYT <https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/16/business/fashion-nova-underpaid-workers.html>

 

Consider creating a... well-curated collection of the basics... This concept involves buying higher-quality, more sustainable and, yes, probably more expensive items that will last longer. 

- Washington Post <https://www.washingtonpost.com/road-to-recovery/now-is-the-perfect-time-to-rethink-your-wardrobe-with-an-eye-toward-sustainability/2021/01/25/8895ff1c-542a-11eb-a08b-f1381ef3d207_story.html>

Favorite Cheddar?

Photo by Salt Water New England

 Trying Out a New Cheddar Today...

Volvo

Photos by Salt Water New England

Two Questions for the Community:

• What are your thoughts on current Volvos? 

• What is your all-time favorite Volvo?

 

Long Gallery, Yale Center for British Art (Repost)

Photos by Salt Water New England

Men's Mid-Grey Traditional Guernsey Jumper, Made in Guernsey by Le Tricoteur

Photos by Salt Water New England

• Hand finished by local knitters on the island of Guernsey, from Le Tricoteur, Made in Guernsey <https://letricoteur.co/collections/mens-plain-guernsey-jumpers/products/letricoteur-co-plain-guernseys-mens-mid-grey-traditional-guernsey-jumper>

Shown with:

• Classic Blue Bengal Stripe Broadcloth from Mercer & Sons, Made in the USA <http://www.mercerandsons.com/swatches_and_pricing-stripes.htm>

• Tab & Buckle Surcingle Belt in Hot Pink from Leather Man Ltd.,  Made in the USA <https://www.elizab.com/tab-buckle-surcingle-belt.html>

100% English Worsted Wool

Stealth Pink

Barbour: Classic Sylkoil vs Traditional Waxed - Where, When, and Why?

 Two Reader Questions:

Anyone have thoughts as to the classic Sylkoil vs traditional waxed? (Question taken from comments.)

 

Hi Muffy,

I was wondering what the opinions were of your readers regarding Barbour jackets and finish.  Is there an advantage to the Sylkoil finish over the regular wax finish?  Specifically I was wondering if you have to re-wax the Sylkoil like you do the regular.   If not, that seems like that would really be an advantage.

Thank you!

Lotuff Leather + Cordings of Piccadilly

Photo by Salt Water New England

Shown:

• The Mini Sling Backpack <https://lotuffleather.com/collections/womens-backpacks/products/the-mini-sling-backpack?variant=12319321686104>

• Yellow Merino & Cashmere Roll Neck <https://www.cordings.co.uk/yellow-merino-cashmere-roll-neck.html>

• Rich Blue Stretch Velvet Jeans <https://www.cordings.co.uk/petrol-blue-stretch-velvet-slim-jeans.html> 

Skating on My Great-Grandmother's Pond, Late 1950s

Photos by My Father

Before I was born, my father took these pictures of the pond behind my great-grandmother's house on which I would later spend many, many winter days.

 

What are Ways to Help Strangers During the Pandemic?

 

The pandemic has brought new stresses and strains.  I know many people have developed habits of giving to all different kinds of people and institutions over the years and decades.  But how have the readers of SWNE changed their giving recently, and what are great ways of helping beyond our immediate family and friends?  What is the best bang for our buck? 

Thank you! 

 

Winter: One of the Four Best Seasons to Have Boat Repairs Done

Photos by Salt Water New England

Adding Another Layer of Warmth For a Cold Walk

Photo by Salt Water New England

Coat, waistcoat, and gloves made in England.  Lambswool pullover made in Scotland.   Tattersall shirt made in the USA.

Shown:

• 21oz Windowpane Tweed Shooting Waistcoat <https://www.cordings.co.uk/21oz-overcheck-shooting-waistcoat.html>, <https://www.cordings.co.uk/menswear/field-clothing/shooting-waistcoats>, 

• The Jones Marl by Cordings of Piccadilly <https://www.cordings.co.uk/menswear/field-clothing/field-coats>

• Lambswool Sweater <https://www.cordings.co.uk/menswear/knitwear/lambswool-knitwear>

• Leather Gloves <https://www.cordings.co.uk/menswear/accessories/gloves>

• James Bond Tattersall Brushed Cotton Flannel <http://www.mercerandsons.com/swatches_and_pricing-larger-checks-and-plaids.htm>

Whale Watching, Provincetown, 1983

Photo by Salt Water New England

"Those were innocent days when the Dolphin Fleet ships made a few daily excursions. These days there is a big fleet of larger watercraft stuffed with passengers dispatching many times a day in high season. From Race Point it looks like a daily marine traffic jam offshore." (Comment)

Maine Coast, 1980s

Photo by Salt Water New England

Practically speaking, since the early twentieth century when the automobile became the primary form of transport, many affluent New England families spent summers in Maine, both in summer homes and at summer camp.  In fact from my own experience traveling the world, I am always surprised at the number of people who went to summer camp in Maine when they were younger.  This includes diplomats' kids, assorted foreign nationals, and of course, New Yorkers, many of whom further tell me that their fondest memories of childhood derived from their time "at camp" in Maine! 

After Labor Day, all of it was packed up and taken back to suburbs and cities all the way down to Washington, D.C., with children often enough getting ready to return to their secondary schools and universities. 

As they drove down Route 1, these families would stock up on back-to-school supplies, stopping at many now iconic stores, including of course, at Beans, and also at Quoddy stores, and at the stores with  G.H. Bass and Hathaway. 

This was how, every year, these Maine-based products purchased there became part of the collective wardrobe and cultural consciousness.  This is how the Prep aesthetic, if not always the ethos in its purest essence, made its way around the globe, from New York and Hollywood (through such icons as Miles Davis, Grace Kelly, and Steve McQueen), to Japan and beyond. 

- JA, via email, and with permission to share.

Maine Coast - Scratchy Color Slides from the 70s and 80s

Photos by Salt Water New England

Giddy vs. Special vs. Tried and True

 

Most of us, I believe are born with a latent tendency toward extravagance, a lust for more..., which lurks somewhere in the genes, ready to erupt at the hint of good fortune and the drop of a credit card. What else can explain the persistent purchase of shoes by a woman who already owns 399 pairs...?

The spending habits of [some] have intrigued me for years. Above all, I was curious to know if their little luxuries were actually worth the money. Were they paying for something special, or did the real pleasure, the fizz in the veins, come from the giddy feeling of [getting] whatever you want whenever you want it?  

- Peter Mayle, Acquired Tastes

New Englanders are inclined to differentiate between good and bad by determining whether it's old or new. Frugality, reluctance to change, reliance on the "tried and true", abhorrence of things showy or gaudy, pride in the past, a strong need for tradition and continuity – all these natural inclinations in our personalities result, not surprisingly, in our wearing slightly threadbare old clothes, joining old, comfortable not-posh social clubs, owning old boats, attending old schools and colleges, living in old houses, marrying into old families, and so forth.

- Judson Hale, Inside New England

The Happiness of Unopened Socks and Shooting Stockings

Photo by Salt Water New England

Made in England and Scotland from Cordings of Piccadilly.

• Red Merino Long Pennine Sock <https://www.cordings.co.uk/red-merino-long-pennine-sock.html>

• Merino Shooting Stocking Green with wine tipping <https://www.cordings.co.uk/merino-shooting-stocking-green-with-wine-tipping.html>

• Gold Merino Shooting Stocking <https://www.cordings.co.uk/gold-merino-shooting-stocking.html>

Joy

Photo by Salt Water New England

 

Who are the Prep Icons From the Last Half-Century Or So? (Reposted by Request)

The Rev. William Sloane Coffin and Family. Photos by my Father.

On an earlier post, Michael wrote of William F. Buckley, "like George Plimpton and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, men of very different backgrounds, he had the wit and grace which people associate with prep élan."

This begs the obvious question: historically, who do you most associate with the prep élan?  Who are the prep icons from the last half century?

New York Mayor John Lindsay

Yale President Kingman Brewster on Left, Governor William Scranton on Right 

Which Trousers Do You Cuff and How?

I have questions for your knowledgeable readership regarding matters of utmost importance.  They pertain to pants.  I am not asking about sweatpants or even jeans but pants like khakis, worsteds, and flannels.  Do your readers prefer them with cuffs or not?   

How about the matter of break?  High water?  Touching but no break?  Slight break?  Deep break?  If cuffed, how deep a cuff (aka turn up)?  I note that most purveyors offering cuffs use 1", but O'Connell's uses 1 1/2" unless you instruct otherwise.  J. Press used to opt for 1 3/4".  Are there readers who like cuffs on some pants but not others?  (Trousers to be worn with a dinner jacket or formal wear do not count.) 

I won't ask about pleats because I think they are a pain to iron, but I'll mention them in case anyone wants to weigh in.

 

What are Things to Live Without?

 

Dear Muffy:

Belated Happy New Year and Merry Christmas. What frugal practices do you recommend for a young individual or couple? 

Cordially Yours.

 

The Holdall

Car: Buy new or used? Frugal or flashy?

 

Hi Muffy! I have a reader question:

When is it time to get a new everyday use car? Do you buy new or used and why? How important is the consideration of frugality or flashy when buying a car?

Thanks!

 

Winter Boat Yard

Photo by Salt Water New England

Heraldic Signet Rings?

 

Dear Editor, 

What is the community’s opinion on heraldic signet rings, in America, across the pond, and on the continent. Is it considered affected, especially under a certain age?  And which finger is it best worn on?

Happy New Year! Thank you! 

Didn't Get the Christmas Memo...

Photo by Salt Water New England

• Mercer and Sons Pink Oxford <http://www.mercerandsons.com/swatches_and_pricing-oxfords.htm>

• Leather Man Ltd & Eliza B. D-Ring Motif Belt <https://www.elizab.com/d-ring-motif-belt.html>

• Jack Donnelly Khakis <https://jackdonnelly.com/>