For The Last Time?

There's nothing like the comfort and feel of a well loved, well worn article of clothing. Good stuff only gets better with age, but nothing lasts forever, and one day we have to admit that this may be the last time we get to keep company with an old friend.

This shirt is, for me, one such old friend. White oxford broadcloth with wide pink Bengal stripes. An oldie, with a six button, not seven button front.

This label, plus the six button front, plus the pocket, lead me after some homework to date this shirt about 1965. The fit is the kind of fit so many of us wish was still common on production shirts, and age has rendered the fabric as soft as a Teddy bear.

Sure, the collar is plenty frayed...

and forty years of washing has shredded the edges of the old fashioned extra long shirt tails. This old bird won't last much longer....

but that won't stop from continuing to wear it, because the collar has the elusive and inimitable roll of a real vintage unlined Brooks Brothers "polo" collar. Perfect.

The blessing of vintage and thrift store shopping is that it allows a guy like me to actually own and experience the bygone things I'm just to young to have experienced first hand. The curse lies in the knowledge that when your favorite things do finally go the way of the wind, replacing them is unlikely at best.

Any day could be this shirts last, but I intend to give the life it was intended for and wear it till the end.

Consider the fact that this shirt was new, and very much in fashion, when this film was shot.


Now that's $1.99 well spent.

p.s. there's a heap of new ties in the Shop, along with some dead stock Lee jeans, real skinny like, in case you wanna dress like Mick. If you've outgrown that sort of thing and have kids now, there's a few things for them as well. Check it.