One For The Road

As I write this post it strikes me that a whole Summer has passed on this blog without a single photo involving the classic but enigmatic "Nantucket Reds". It's strange, because I've probably worn these pants at least twice a week for the past three months. They're like khakis, only better, because they're pink.(Nantucket Red, Coral, whatever..they're pink) The only other person I know who wears pink pants more often is my six month old daughter.

Polo blue university stripe oxford, $5.49, J. Press 3/2 sack blazer, $7.49, Lands End "Nantucket Reds", $6.99,
and my new favorite Brooks Brothers fishing themed surcingle belt, $0.99,

and of course, the ubiquitous "Beefroll" pennies.

I know, real Nantucket Reds come from Murray's Toggery Shop.(Located on "the island", as it's known around Boston...that other place is "the vineyard".) I have a pair of those, too. But to be honest, I like these better. For one thing, even though the course canvas sailcloth of actual Murray's Reds may be more hardcore New England go-to-hell than anything, I frankly find them stiff and uncomfortable in a way that is anathema to the very nonchalance they are supposed to embody. Also, since my pair is now, post two children, at least two inches too small, that doesn't help either. This pair is soft as anything. I wash them frequently, mostly because the pink pants wearing baby has a tendency to spit up on me, but also because they get softer, less constructed and more faded every time, and that's the point, isn't it? Sure, they'd reach a state of transcendent perfection over the course of many years in the sun and salt air of the open seas. But when a guy writes a blog about punking a style of dress steeped in old money by scouring the charity shops, you can bet he's not in line to buy a yacht any time soon.

There you have it, my Nantucket Reds, one more time before Labor Day. Good thing I have my red cords to replace them come Fall, because what gentleman's wardrobe would be complete without some kind of crimson leggings?

p.s...mini rant

I'm sure this Mark McNairy cat is a nice enough guy. But why is it that when a fella lives in New York and has all the right friends, he can put out repp ties and oxford button downs in white and blue university stripe, of all things, and have every wanna-be hipster on Earth drool and scream on the internet about it as though he's saved menswear for a new generation? I know, marketing. But he's really just handing us back the stuff he saw at J.Press with a higher price tag and an "updated cut" that's bound to be dated as soon as this whole "Ivy League" trend reaches the inevitable down slope of the bell curve in a year or two. I almost wish Brooks Brothers would hire him and let him bring them back to what we all wish they still were. I bet he could do it.