The Great Wall of Cashmere

The Ralph Lauren sweater bar serves up customers an array of colorful cashmere at four hundred a pop. I must thank the free spenders out there who buy these at retail cost, otherwise I wouldn't be so lucky as to find them down the line on eBay.

Tomorrow I'll share my personal cashmere collection and the ridiculous stories of how I've come upon over four thousand dollars of goat fluff.

Friday Family Feast

A cousin of mine is in town for the week, so another cousin and I decided to celebrate by joining our families together for an evening of food and music. My cousins and I spent the evening preparing our favorite Lebanese dishes for our guests. So getting away from all this nonsensical clothing talk, I'd like to share a couple photos from my Friday evening.

We started with some hors d'oeuvres, such as this spinach and pepper tray and a hummus platter.

 

 Next up we prepared falafel and slivers of zucchini in olive oil.

The main course came in the form of kabobs with onion, mushroom and pepper. Not sure how I missed getting a photo of the final product.

 

After dinner, we indulged in a round of argileh, more commonly known as hookah. And no, it's simply tobacco in the pipe. Seen below the argileh, and in the photo up top is one of my favorite things in the world - Turkish coffee. We wrapped the night with a drum circle on our dourbekis (Middle Eastern hand drums also known as doumbek or tabla).

May you all be so fortunate to have such wonderful families and friends!

Cricket in Short Supply

I'm all for embroidered shorts - lobsters, martini glasses, seagulls, etc. However, designs may go into too much detail and hold too large a scale, such as with these cricket-embroidered shorts. I've admired the game of cricket for many years and have played for the past four, but I can't imagine any such fan seriously donning these. Besides, who wants someone to look down at your shorts and jest, "Your wicket's showing."

For the Better

Ladies and gents of the blogosphere, I hope you enjoy the new layout! Also, I've updated my web address. The blog may be reached from its original URL, but within several days you may find the Cable Knit Charlestonian at http://www.theckcblog.com. 

In regard to the slight title change - Charlestonian as opposed to Collegian - having graduated since launching this blog, I choose to honor the town I so love and am proud to call my home.

Our appearance, our words, our actions are never greater than ourselves.
For the soul is our house, our eyes its windows, and our words its messengers. 
- Khalil Gibran, poet and my most beloved ancestor

The Next Best Thing

Or perhaps even better?

Ralph Lauren recently unveiled this beautiful cashmere shawl sweater, but at $895 I'm unbelievably far from considering such a purchase. Instead, I hit the pages of eBay in search of something similar.

What turned up is something I like even more, this incredible shawl sweater of wool and lambswool.

At only $37, you won't hear me complaining about price. Another reason to look forward to winter.

A Blast from Polo's Past

Picked up from the thrift shop today is this wonderfully vintage Polo sweater, with colors that somehow remind me of the prep look in Weekend at Bernie's.



It's a little snug for me, so I hope to find it a new home via the CKC Shoppe!

A little brown-nosing, a little ass-kissing, work our way up that corporate ladder. Why can't you be a lazy sh*t like I am? 

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An update: until midnight, all items in the CKC Shoppe are 20% off when you enter code CKC20.

Taking a Bow

Two years ago I began wearing bow ties again. I hadn't worn a single bow tie since childhood and was hesitant to follow a trend, so I started off with a few thrifted pieces.

Foulard/pattern.







 My collection has grown to thirty-two since that time and I've come to realize something. Just like the entire Ivy/Prep/Trad trend, bow ties will fade back into uncool obscurity and out of fashion.

 Paisley.








Yet, such unconventionally cool pieces will always be in style for individuals.

 Plaid, solid.

We should remember this is the very essence of style - timeless individuality through self-expression.

Stripes.

Or something eloquent like that.

More stripes.

Have a wonderful week, ladies and gents!

More stripes.

Ten Shoes In, Forty Dollars Out

I certainly hadn't planned to buy any more shoes. I've been well stocked for awhile now with a range of brogues, loafers, oxfords, etc. Yet in visiting my favorite thrift shop today I came upon ten pairs of beautifully beat up shoes, most of which are (around) my size.

 Allen Edmonds - made in USA

 Allen Edmonds - made in USA

 Cole Haan - made in Italy

 Mezlan - made in Spain

 Allen Edmonds - made in USA

 Via Dante - made in Italy

 Allen Edmonds - made in USA

 Allen Edmonds - made in USA

 Sebago - made in USA and heading to the CKC Shoppe

 Allen Edmonds - made in USA and also heading to the CKC Shoppe

Also in the deal were two sets of vintage Florsheim cedar shoe trees

Given some brushing and polishing, these could look almost new again. What's your favorite pair?

Tied on to the Details

I've collected many things since my childhood. One might say I currently collect clothing, given my absurd propensity for shopping. While that may be true, I'm proud to claim one ever-evolving collection - ties. Though I've recently cut my set in half simply due to a lack of space (the most difficult sartorial choices I've ever made), I'm always on the hunt for important neckwear. What's important? I rarely need to wear a tie, but I very often choose to wear one. Therefore every tie, to me, is a choice and not a last-minute work obligation. My criteria?

True quality - almost always made in America, England or Italy.

Natural fibers - only a handful of exceptions in over three hundred ties.

Never trendy - standard lengths and widths with paisleys, stripes, foulards and plaids. 


Just arrived from the shopping ebyss known as eBay are these two ties, full of interesting characteristics that make them important to me.

Two very vintage silk knits. Okay, so the photos don't give proper credit to how lustrous and well-woven these are.

But what I love more so are the details on the back.

Nat Lewis of New York, a brand with great history that seems to be long-gone.

Next up is branding like I've never seen on a tie. "Bright as the sun." "Contains daylight fluorescent color." Maybe it's my love of advertising, but I think these are pretty special and therefore two important adds to my collection.

It's all in the details, even the ones others can't see.

Don't Sweater the Small Stuff

Aside from dumb luck, persistence is the key to finding a bargain. This tale holds a bit of both.

Recently I'd been browsing eBay with untypically high frequency in search of a few particular items. One of the few particular items I have not yet replaced since my house burned down two years ago is a traditional, wool cricket sweater. Though relatively few wool sweaters are listed during summer, as opposed to winter when the market is flooded, now is the time to jump on a great deal.

Unfortunately, I'm yet to come upon a cricket sweater that suits me.

Fortunately, I discovered several items for which I never would have thought to specifically search. I own only a few items from Rugby, as I most often stick to Polo or Brooks for wardrobe. However, I could not and certainly did not pass up on the all-time GTH cardigan and a bold yet classic Fair Isle vest.

I also picked up seven other sweaters in what was a nine item lot. See something you like? The rest of these are eventually going in the CKC Shoppe for a few bucks. Here's a much better look.

Just after that purchase, I found this beautiful plaid sweater. I considered picking it up at Macy's a couple seasons back but the clearance price remained a bit high for me. Now it's come to me at around 95% off original retail.

I'm very much looking forward to the weather turning just so I can try these out. Eh, I'll probably build some outfit photos when they arrive anyway. Happy eBay hunting!

New to the CKC Shoppe

Ten new items have arrived at the CKC Shoppe! Stock up on shorts, ties and a very cool Black Watch shirt.
Take 27% off your purchase through August 10 when you purchase one of the New Arrivals and at least one other item! Enter code CKC27 at checkout!

 

 

Would You Wear This

Oh, the things one finds on eBay. If you're a 40L, I'd suggest looking up this jacket now.

Would you wear this?