Pleasantly Purple

New to the rotation, around $20 for all three via eBay.

Polo linen/cotton stripe, Chaps silk paisley, Polo linen solid.

Wish List - Repp Belt

Lime Linen

Vintage lime sherbet linen blazer

Polo Ralph Lauren striped poplin shirt

Brooks Brothers sea island cotton v-neck sweater

J. Crew vintage paisley cotton tie

Oak Hill linen trouser

Chaps white oxfords (not pictured)

Feeling Green and Pink Again

Linen from Ralphie and raw silk from Robbie. $12 on eBay.

Restocking the Shelves

Long-term spring cleaning. Blah.

Mellow in Marlborough

I'll preface this by saying that I've never worn an abundance of grey or black, but I think this works.


Any pair of Smart Turnout socks can make quite a statement, even a rather toned-down style like the burgundy, white and black Marlborough. Thus, the rest of the outfit is based in shades of grey, drawing on pattern and texture rather than color for effect. Up top, from dear old Ralphie, are a plaid broadcloth shirt and micro-gingham silk tie. Down below, along with the Marlborough socks are Allen Edmonds Harvard loafers and Oak Hill twill chinos.

I'm proud to say this is also one of my more thrifty outfits as of late, costing about $27.

What's your top thrift shop find this month?

Wish List

The Fantastic Flusser

and his plentiful pantaloons.

And the Four-ty Trees

A

shoe

 tree

forest?

Rolls Royce Phantom

Every car should look something like this...

or like a Ferrari.

I'm not picky.

Patched Together

My busiest weekend of the year. I'll get back to the Smart Turnout posts soon.

Houndstooth and Haileybury

Yesterday was one of those all dressed up and nowhere to go days. Cold rain, bitter winds. Although, excited to test out another pair of Smart Turnout socks, I pieced together this look and headed out to the bookstore for an afternoon of coffee and reading. Mostly coffee.  

Everything here is tied together in browns and greys, with notes of purple. The deep purple-grey houndstooth of the jacket draws into the trousers, pocket square and socks. While browns run through the sweater, the windowpane of the jacket as well as the jacket buttons, and the chocolate brown brogues.

Chaps Ralph Lauren houndstooth/windowpane sport coat (vintage, made in USA)

Northern Isles cable knit cashmere turtleneck (new from the thrift)

Worsted wool trousers (unknown brand from the thrift)

Daniel Cremieux silk pocket square

Florsheim brogues (vintage, made in USA)

Smart Turnout Haileybury socks (made in UK)

Getting Smarter with the Royal Regiment

A serious spring look, this time.

Polo Ralph Lauren striped oxford shirt
Brooks Brothers argyle sweater vest
Polo Ralph Lauren silk knit tie
Oak Hill garment dyed chinos
Smart Turnout Princess of Wales R. R. socks
Chaps oxfords

"If you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work." ~ Kahlil Gibran

Bros Vs. Hipsters

Bros vs. Hipsters - watch more funny videos

Easter Sunday and Eton Socks

On Easter Sunday - Orthodox, Protestant or otherwise - the motto is go loud or go home. To some, including myself, this marks the first day of the year to break out the full spring/summer wardrobe. This time around, I was fortunate to have my new Smart Turnout socks with me.

Polo Ralph Lauren bleeding madras blazer

Polo Ralph Lauren super 120s poplin shirt

Countess Mara repp silk bow tie

Club Room arygle sweater vest

Oak Hill Nantucket red chinos

Smart Turnout Eton socks

Chaps white oxfords

...

Based on a comment received, I should clarify. I would never wear all this together any other day. I'm neither that preppy nor dandy.

A Smart Turnout for Me

 Al Masih Qam! Xhristos Anesti! Kristos Voskresse!

That was for any fellow Orthodox Christians out there. Moving on...

Orthodox Holy Week has just come to a close, and what a week it was! Aside from the deeply moving church services and special times with family, I was blessed in another way. Two weeks ago, I featured a press release sent to me from a gentleman at Smart Turnout. After sharing this press release, I was granted a kind gesture of gratitude - the offer of a few pair of Smart Turnout's most popular socks for simply writing a product review. I had read great things about Smart Turnout products since first learning about the brand a few years back, and having seen the iconic striped socks and cricket sweaters everywhere from the blogosphere to GQ to the red carpet, I gladly accepted the offer.

My package arrived Thursday. As a recent college graduate, I don't exactly have the disposable income to spend $29 for a pair of socks, so to find not two or three but six pair left me stunned. Honestly, I was overwhelmed by such generosity. The socks were carefully packed into two sturdy, plastic envelopes to ward off dampness and odor. As I pulled each pair from the envelopes, the quality became evident. The labels read 100% cotton, made in the U. K., and hand finished.

The socks are incredibly soft, neither to thick nor too thin. They're not so thick as to make your feet sweat, and not so thin as to be sheer like some dress socks. Despite a lack of spandex, these socks stay in place. Having worn three different pair the last three days, I've not noticed a single issue, after-use, of snagging or pulling of fabric.

While I realize the price of Smart Turnout socks isn't feasible for some, the investment is worthwhile. I have no doubt that, with proper care, these socks will last for many years. You can check out the current selection here, and you'll be pleased to see that several styles are currently on sale.

Again, I thank Smart Turnout for this opportunity, but also, I thank my readers for helping build the Cable Knit Charlestonian over the past two years. Without your loyal readership and feedback, this opportunity would have never been granted to me in the first place. I'll be displaying these socks in different looks over the coming week.


~Scott Alexander

A Tale of Two Ties

So, you can't decide whether to go with a paisley tie or a foulard tie, huh? 

How about both?

Together. 

In one tie.

Who says patchwork has to be confined to madras?

The Easter Equation

I follow the latter.

Melodic Madras

Return of the CKC Shoppe

Seventeen new pieces in the CKC Shoppe.

Enter CKC10 for an extra 10% off your purchase, April 12th only. 

Some highlights...

Wild Rooster

Sure, it's easy to find a tie featuring the Holy Cross or the Star of David, but how often does one find a Hindu-themed tie? This is a first for me, anyway. Thanks, Rooster.

Three-Way Tie

(Top to bottom)

Polo Ralph Lauren kelly green silk paisley

Rooster (vintage) Irish linen stripe

Lands' End Charter Collection pink cotton plaid

Twerrific Tweed

 It might be a little late for tweed...

but sometimes the best deals come out-of-season. Six bucks from the 'Bay.

Bubba Watson and the Masters

Congratulations to Bubba Watson on an incredible win at the 2012 Masters! 

Also...

As an Orthodox Christian, I won't be celebrating Easter until this coming Sunday (Eastern Christianity follows the Julian Calendar). However, I wish you all a blessed and joyous Easter!

Wish List

 Lands' End madras. I'll take one of each, please.

Farewell to Fair Isle

It seems winter's gone for good, 

but I just had to share one of my favorite 

cold-weather kits from Tumblr.

Whirlybirds

Spring Pastels

Damn right, men can wear pink chinos... yellow ones, too.

I suggest you hit up Belk or Belk.com before these are sold out.

A Smart Direction

Today, I received an offer to share the following Smart Turnout press release with you, so here it is.

Smart Turnout has long offered some of my favorite accessories, from socks to ties, from braces to watchbands. They also produce an incredible selection of cricket sweaters, jackets and more. Though I'm not exactly a fan of this Brit-pop boy band, these kids know how to dress. I highly recommend you check out the new line of pieced-cotton bow ties mentioned in the press release, which offers a wonderfully unique, almost-dandy take on the classic. 

Hopefully this band, clad in Smart Turnout and the like, will inspire teens to turn away from graphic tees and trucker caps like those worn by Justin Bieber, and to instead turn to bow ties and braces.

Feherty

David Feherty interviews Bubba Watson tonight on Feherty. Watch it.

Preppy Shorts

Hey, American Eagle. Since when has prep been a length? 

This guy must be... super prep.