A reader question:
Dear Editor,
I was looking at an old copy of M: The Civilized Man from December 1988. The cover story was 100 Things they haven’t ruined yet. It list a gauntlet of things. Some on your list have posted about how todays items are not the same as old days. Such as LL Bean and Brooks. I was wondering what item holds up with time? They have not ruined them?
Beefeater Gin
ReplyDeleteI concur
DeleteAmen.
DeleteSince the proof was recently lowered from 94 to 88, I consider it "ruined"
DeleteBarbour coats
ReplyDeletePerhaps although they have added logos . I would not know as my Beaufort is a 1996 model. Little known item: you can determine which year your jacket was produced by flipping over the white tag on the inside neck. There is a long number printed and the first two digits indicate the year. Not sure if this is still the case , however is true for older jackets
DeleteI never knew that about the year being shown on the underside of the label. 1989 for my Barbour. And I agree that the logo on the newer models is a disappointment.
DeleteMercer & Sons shirts.
ReplyDeleteI so agree about the Mercer shirts!
DeleteMercer shirts are amazing, full-stop. Received my new ones in January. Still top of the line.
DeleteThe best shirts
DeleteThere are a great number of things that have held up or even improved. Many liquors have actually improved as we have entered a golden age of distillation. Many wines are as good as ever (but far more expensive). Likewise for guitars. Mercer shirts and Alden shoes have held up nicely. So have Pelikan pens. Golf clubs are as good as ever. Tennis racquets, too. Athletic shoes have generally improved. Coffee makers, espresso machines, and grinders have held up well and often improved. Moving from plastic bottles for water to using Yetis and filtered water is a large leap forward. Although not perfect, fuel injected cars are a huge improvement over carbureted cars, and overall cars have improved. My little four cylinder BMW could trounce the muscle cars of the 1960s. Yes, there is a lot of junk out there, and many old badges have died, been taken over and driven off the rails, or simply declined in quality to pursue profit, but for the thoughtful shopper, great things are out there, like a Hardy Ultra Click fly reel.
ReplyDeleteThe L.L. Bean Chamois Shirts continue to be quality products. I haven't bought one in two or three years but whenever I'm in an L.L. Bean store I swing by that rack to see what other colors are available and the material seems to have maintained it's quality. The Tote bags there also seem to be the same quality as they've been for years.
ReplyDeleteAgreed
DeleteI have to say-LL Bean Camp Mocs are not ruined.
ReplyDeleteHuzzah
DeleteI still have that issue of M. I really enjoyed that magazine and was sorry when they ceased publication. Here is my list of things not yet ruined in no particular order; Filson, Zippo lighters, Cross pens, Harris Tweed, the Porsche 911, the Mazda MX 5, Old Spice, Allen Field House, Rolex and Victorinox Swiss Army knives.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately Filson has lost its way on a lot of there items. I find Pendleton wool shirts still excellent! Would add Pentel mechanical pencils to the list of solid products.
DeleteTo name a few..
ReplyDeleteAny product from Steele has held up nicely for me.
My '70 Mercedes
L.L. Bean Tote bags(the ones made here in Maine)
Real silver, not plated, tableware will hold up forever
Hudson Bay Point blankets, when properly taken care of will last forever.
Krups coffee grinder
100% Wool rugs will last a very long time when turned and cared for.
Re: L.L. Bean Chamois Shirts ... A couple of years ago I bought two of these shirts and loved them so I went back a few months later to get more. On the new shirts I ordered (I tried two colors) the material was thinner than on those I'd previously bought. I returned the new shirts -- just not the same product.
ReplyDeleteBarrie’s shoes if you can find any.
ReplyDeleteLodge cast iron skillets.
ReplyDeleteClark desert boots.
ReplyDeleteMy electric percolator and Cafe du Monde coffee. Tasty as it ever was.
ReplyDeleteMont Blanc pens
ReplyDeleteTDP/SWNE has only gotten better with time - thanks for everything!
ReplyDeleteThe Alvin mechanical pencil. Classic victornox Swiss army watch.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteCording's covert coats, corduroy and moleskin trousers
Grenfell's raincoats and golf jackets
Jamieson's of Shetland jumpers
Corgi socks
Crockett & Jones boots and shoes
The Parker Jotter ballpoint. Leatherman multi-tool. Simple Timex models.
ReplyDeleteIrish Aran sweaters. Jeans from Lee or Wrangler. Socks from Gold Toe.
Carmex, Tiger Balm, Bag Balm.
Tabasco sauce. Angostura bitters. Hellman’s mayonnaise.
Lambourne corduroys fit best and lasted for many years.
ReplyDeleteModern cars are in most ways a great improvement. As are modern tires. My 2018 Mazda CX 9 is a case in point. It is quick and responsive, comfortable and the interior is very old worldly. Real hand finished cherry wood and Nappa leather seats.
ReplyDeleteModern tires are constantly improving and one of the reasons new cars drive so well. I’m not convinced Filson has lost its way. I just bought a Bristol Shawl Cardigan and it is very high quality as are the other items I have bought in the last year.
Armor All - a product that works!
ReplyDeleteDewars Scotch and Beefeaters Gin
ReplyDeleteMy G-1 leather jacket from Cockpit USA is better than original USN issuance. It's so faithful to spec that I wish it wasn't, so that I'd have those handy slash side pockets like civilian versions.
ReplyDeleteBetter? In what sense? Better in that a sophisticate who surfs wears one to be cool or that this same dapper man doesn't have to climb into bombers to bomb Germany in 1944? Seems to me like stolen valor to wear a G-1 that is 'better' that those worn by these men during the war, but what do I know?
DeleteThanks for your comment. If clarification is needed, my current G-1 is better quality than my old USN G-1 which bears my name.
DeleteHow many missions over where and when, Hero?
DeleteFerd needs to realize in his original comment that G-1 implies U.S. Navy. Same can be said for M421 A.
DeleteDo not think the U.S. Navy bombed Germany. My uncle was a navigator in the 8 th Air Force B-24, he wore an A-2. So did Doolittle. Yeah, I have my fathers 1944 U.S.N. P Coat , he did not need it in the South Pacific as a Seabee. Furthermore, I have his Bluejackets Manual that I read as a kid. Knew a lot of WWII & Korean War vets growing up & became a history student.
My father flew in the 8th in 1944 and 1945. He wore a G-1. In a bomber bombing Germany. Here is so better history for you to learn . In 1942 the M-422A jacket, was replaced by the US Navy by the visually similar AN-6552/AN-J-3A (the latter sometimes being made in horsehide) in an attempt to streamline production between the services as a war economy measure. The AN-J-3 (an AN-6552 without a fur collar and made in horsehide) also replaced the Army Air Forces A-2 jacket, although it was not widely issued. There was also a light weight AN-6551/AN-J-2 and a heavy weight AN-6553/ANJ-4 with the latter being the only one widely adopted by the USAAF.
DeleteMy father also served in the 8th AF and wore a A2 jacket, the predecessor of the G model.The Cooper Co. made them from the 1930s until the 1990s. I haven't been able to find a top notch replacement since then.
DeleteLeica Cameras stand the test of time.
ReplyDeleteI think of that old 100% wool area rug, floral pattern....last of the four from Sears...bought when I was aged one...1950. Cleaned and turned every Spring. In 2000 I had the family farmhouse overhauled, sold the house in town and moved that last rug and household items to the farm. It went to the master bedroom along with the bed very similar to the Lincoln bed at the White House. The rug was thin but the one bare spot was under the bed! Perfect! 20 years later it still made me think of home. 70 years young!
ReplyDeleteWell, the spirit of the question seemed to be which preppy items, but since such a wide variety of items have been listed, and since it is Good Friday when we remember Jesus’ death for our sins, when I am writing this, I will add the inerrant word of God. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of God lasts for ever. Would not have taken a comment this way, but again, many strayed from the preppy theme. Happy Easter everyone.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post of peace and good will in these troubled times.
DeleteHappy Easter to you and your family, and to all the members of Muffy's online community.
May I echo your sentiments
DeleteI'm sorry to everyone, but I think that this chat needs to reel it in a bit.
ReplyDeleteMe thinks not, surfer dude. Now that you have revealed your war-torn veteran status, there are so many questions. First is why a G-1 jacket is preppy in the first place. Whilst at Yale in the 1960's and 1970's, the last item on the list of what was not preppy was being in the military any time after 1945, and certainly not during Vietnam. Can you answer>
DeleteWhy
ReplyDeleteMany products in your neighborhood grocery store have not changed over the decades. Boursin cheese tastes the same now as when we first ate it travelling in 1972 on our junior year abroad. Cabot products are true. Fritos! Thomas’s English Muffins. Cereal boxes may change but their contents do not (you can tell the story of a man’s life on a Grape Nuts box). Parker’s sausage. Everyone has their favorites.
ReplyDeleteYou are fortunate to shop in a “neighborhood grocery store.” They’re not making any more of those.
DeleteYes, the “big box” stores dictate and dominate the manner how most Americans shop. Imagine growing up and all you know are big box stores? Your helpful stock clerk, counterman and cashier will never appear on a list, like this one, of services that are just as good now as they ever were.
DeleteZippo, Mercer, Laphroig, still going strong! Happy Easter to one and all!
ReplyDeleteScott’s toilet paper.
ReplyDeleteQuoddy shoes and Lotuff totes have stood the test of time. Both made in Maine.
ReplyDeleteWeber kettle grills and Kingsford charcoal.
ReplyDelete