Fall/Winter Collection

Fall is almost behind us so it seemed as good a time as any to introduce a fall collection of shirts. It’s a small collection, but a diverse mix of shirts that are part England/part Virginia.

The Starks Gingham

First off, the Starks Gingham. We took the popular summer Starks Gingham and added two new patterns for the fall colors. We love this shirt and have trouble keeping it on the shelves. The fabric is Italian woven 100s poplin that’s heavier in weight and smooth in texture. It’s a tight weave, which makes it naturally wrinkle resistant. As an added bonus, like most poplins, it gets softer and softer after each wash.

Perhaps my favorite detail of the Starks is the collar. We have introduced the Ledbury Spread on a handful of shirts this fall. It’s a true spread collar, which I think makes it great for wear casual. And if you are going to wear it with a tie (make it a solid), the bolder spread compliments the bolder pattern.

(And this is a little neurotic so skip ahead if you have more pressing demands on your time, but we designed the collar with the intention of having a nice little roll to it. The roll is dictated by the height of the collar band, the length of the points, fusing, the placement of the collar stays, etc. Long story short, when the collar breaks in there should be a roll to it that somewhat resembles the roll of button collar. Sort of a cursive L shape. You can help the process along (and this is certainly over the top) by putting pressure outward and up on the base of the color points when you first put it on in the morning.

The Gentry Check

Next is the Gentry Check. A great casual shirt made with a lightweight Zephir fabric from Thomas Mason. The shirt’s weight makes it a good one to be worn under a sweater or blazer in the winter. Deep fall colors are accented by small white checks and from a distance give the shirt an appearance of a solid. Great all around casual winter shirts.

The Huntsman

The last shirt, and probably my favorite, is The Huntsman. It’s a limited edition, patterned off of an old work shirt that I inherited from my grandfather’s closet. Moleskin is an incredibly comfortable cotton fabric, woven from fine threads of long staple cotton and then sheared to create a short soft texture on one side. Most mills make moleskin for pants and jackets, which can be bulky and consequently, we had to do searching to find just the right stuff. We finally tracked down a perfect roll from a small Italian mill near Como. Dark blue, mid-weight and incredibly soft, it’s a perfect shirting fabric. Constructed with double breast pockets, a mid-spread collar and finished with mother of pearl buttons. It’s the most comfortable thing we have ever done.

Around the house

So I thought that I would take a little tour around the house and see if I could find anything of interest. The interest level is certainly debatable, but I thought a few were worth a mention.

Watches

I have always thought that a watch has a certain heirloom quality to it. I am attracted to the idea of wearing something that my father/grandfather wore while he was building a career, raising his family, etc. I think a good watch is one of those few pieces that can connect generations of men and consequently, a nice one justified.

Waltman Pocket watch: 1886

Omega Seamaster: 1967

Citizen Chronograph: 2003

Pens

I started carrying around a pen after college. I found that it accomplished two things: First, if it held a little value, I wouldn’t loose it. I’ve left hundreds of Bics on countertops and dashboards, but the financial incentive has kept these in my pocket for years. Secondly, It gave people the impression that I was more put together than actually is the case…I found, at times, this can be helpful…

Cartier Pen

Hand written notes

Very few people take the time to write handwritten notes anymore, consequently I'm always surprised/impressed when I receive one. I have a wall in my house dedicated to framed notes like the one below from one of Ledbury’s first investors.

Paul,

Appreciate the opportunity to participate in the Ledbury experience. Super 120s will no longer be an exotic menthol, but rather a fine Ledbury garment.

MTS

The Record Collection

I got my hands first turntable when I was 12, which came with a box full of my parents Motown records. Ever since then a record player been a fixture in my house/apartment . Why the records that have been played on have ranged from Motown to 90s Hip Hop to Techno (blame the late 90s). Today it’s mostly a mixture of 40-60s Jazz and early blues.

4 Ties

I consider myself lucky that a tie has never been a demand of my professional wardrobe. More often then not, I have been able to get away a button down shirt and a blazer or a suit if the occasion demands it. And it's not that I do not like ties. Some men turn them into a great compliment. I have just found that a tie makes me look like a waiter or in the case of a bowtie, a ventriloquist’s dummy. At a wedding I recently attended (black tie), two people at my table gave me their drink orders before I was able to take my seat.

But, on occasion a tie is a great and necessary addition. So in a closet of dozens of shirts I have four. Two are Hermes (navy blue and maroon) and between them I feel like I have almost every occasion covered. The other two are 80s classics that I took out on long-term loan from my father’s closet years ago. The first comes out only in November and says “Democracy is not a spectator sport” the second is from Ronald Regan’s 84” campaign and say REAGAN. The latter is a classic, but now wears a little far to the right. I have been hoping that a few years in the closet it will straighten it back down the center…

The New Addition

The Brother-in-law, the newest addition to the family and Ledbury. Loving everything about this photo….

Great Music, Right Price

So I thought Sunday afternoon was as good a time as any to share a couple of good sources of music. As an added bonus, both are free, which as a struggling shirtmaker I have always appreciated.

1. Truth and Soul Podcast (itunes): http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/truth-soul-radio/id263417896 .

Truth and Soul Records has been around for since 2004 and much like Daptone Records (of Sharon Jones fame) they put out soul/funk music that sounds like the greats from 60s. (Lee Fields, one of the artists on the label, could easily share the stage with James Brown).

The podcasts are around an hour long and consists mostly of rare funk and the occasional Latin gem from the 1960s. It’s an impressive collection. Download the Latin Workout, get about 4 minutes in and you will know exactly what I am talking about.…

2. Holiday Records (www.holidayrecords.net):

Stumbled on these guys a couple of months ago. The way it works is each Friday (this can vary), one of the members of the nuvo-surf band The Drums puts up a few songs for free download. Its fairly obscure stuff. There’s a Russian band, Palms on Fire (http://www.myspace.com/palmsonfire ) that makes 60s surf music, a French band that sounds like The Cure http://www.myspace.com/youngmichelin , and a group out of London called the Notes (http://www.myspace.com/wearethenotes ) which I think have huge potential. Some great finds and an interesting concept.

Enjoy..

Summer Shoot

We’re a young business and the idea of paying top dollar for models is not necessarily appealing. So you will have to forgive us for the shots of with cut off heads/faces, which are all of our friends/wives/etc.. But, in all honesty, with photography I prefer to focus on the product. The shots of Mathew McConaughey, shirt off, staring at you from the pages of GQ has always prompted me to put down the magazine rather than pick up the product.

That being said, we needed some photography and someone to wear the shirts. So about a month ago I was at an engagement party for a good friend and struck up a conversation with his father who is old neighbor of mine. Halfway through a casual conversation, it stuck me that he would be a great fit for the shoot. A fact, that I quietly mentioned to my girlfriend, who then proceed to tell him that “I wanted to take his photo”…. a comment that prompted a defense that its not as creepy as she made it sound….a point that was followed by awkward silence and another trip to the bar.

But, he had such a great look that I followed up a couple of weeks later and he agreed to give it a try. And I could not be more pleased with the result. We spent the afternoon in Jackson Ward (see below) and he was a natural. At the end of the shoot our photographer basically asked if he could represent him...

Thanks to Mr. Banks of Banks Coin Laundry and Chris from Comfort for letting us their space. The shoot was followed by dinner at the latter, which is quite possibly the best restaurant in Richmond.

Broad Street/Jackson Ward/Pop-up Shops

One of my favorite areas of Richmond is called Jackson Ward.. It‘s just North of Broad street, which at one point was the epicenter of Richmond retail and commerce. It’s about 10-block area that following the civil war became an epicenter of entrepreneurism/music/culture. I spoke to someone recently compared it to the Harlem during the renaissance of the 1920s/30s. One of the most interesting aspects of Jackson ward is the architecture that is a mixture of residential and retail from the 1850s-1920s. It has fallen on hard times over the last quarter of a century, but over the last 5 years and group of art galleries/developers/restaurateurs have moved in and have managed to stimulate a small revival. A First Friday’s Art Walk now brings thousands of residents to the area the first Friday of the month.

So we decided to get involved and throw together a pop-up store a couple of Friday’s back. We had a couple of coolers of Urbock Stout (Bacon Beer) left over from a beer tasting a few of weeks back and set up shop for the evening. We teamed up with Eurotrash, which in my opinion is the best woman’s boutique in the city, and threw a party. We had an open bar and appreciated the chance to put some volume behind the new Black Keys album and some early Elmore James that’s been on repeat for the better part of a year. About 200 people come through door. A good night….