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The Sauce Diaries: In For a Penny
🕑 Added 2024-11-22 04:14:26 +0000 UTCOne of my ongoing quests/hobbies is to recreate the best of the RRL lineup with only thrifted, non-RRL materials. If you aren't familiar with RRL, it's the "western/workwear/vintage Americana" line of Ralph Lauren, and it is actually way, way, way more expensive than their typical lineup. It is so expensive that even if I were to have a best-selling novel and also be the leading man in a Marvel movie, I probably still wouldn't think it's okay to spend $400 on a flannel cowboy shirt. My momma didn't raise no price-and-value-conflatin' dummy.
But, it's one of the deeper and more coherent menswear concepts*, and it's always appealed to me, so I study it and then see which pieces in the thriftscape subsequently resonate. For example, that big, thick, vintage Pendleton overcoat you see in pictures 1 and 5 is straight from the RRL playbook, and would be no less than $2,400 under their rubric, but I found it at Buffalo Exchange for $80, and I used store credit because I often trade things in there. (The $80 still gave me considerable pause, because you can take the boy out of the woods, but you can't...etc etc.) When I went to relocate the buttons for a less-boxy silhouette, I was charmed to find the previous owner had done the same thing.
Careful reader Dapper Dan Ford mentioned male jewelry in a recent reply, which reminded me to snap the metals (photo 3). The old watch was my grandfather's, and I was elated that it was awarded to me when he passed, as I had coveted it since a child, and this way I am reminded of him every day. The turquoise wolf ring was a flea market find in Sedona a few years back. Dudes, are you bold enough to rock a ring that isn't a wedding band? The statement of confidence it makes will pull positive attention — as long as it is sauced out correctly — I promise you. (Except from your parents, who will probably make fun of you, because they are still trying to keep you down.)
More details in the captions.
*The last three seasonal 2024 RRL collections have actually been under-inspired, but I sense all clothing lines are still reeling in aftershock from covid. J Crew has less than a dozen Wallace & Barnes pieces right now, and they are heartbreakingly dull.
Comments
Chris Onstad
A bench this deep deserves an Oscar-nominated short, let alone an NPR piece. Bravo.
blair
The prize are the deerskin Duque de Gallianos, I guess; a bunch of Ariat and Justin ropers and lacers just this side of cowboy, Danner EMT boots, a pair of funky Canadian-made engineer boots with zippers, a pair of Chelseas; they come and go.
Chris Onstad
Thank you John! Sounds like you're very comfortable with your monochromatic aesthetic, and not looking for any input. Or...*is this lengthy exposition and defense really just a cry for help, dammit* Some things that can add intrigue without risk or deviation to an all-black wardrobe are textures, and aging. By textures I mean like a black cable-knit cardigan, or suede, or wide-wale corduroy. By aging I mean faded items, like a black denim shirt that's been through the wash a hundred times. And, just saying, the pop of a single metal ring, even just a simple band, can do a lot of heavy lifting.
Chris Onstad
The excitement is in the score, indeed. Anybody can pay full price. A true angler needs that dopamine.
Chris Onstad
Which are the prized black boots in the collection? Are we talking more Allen Edmonds or Joe Strummer here.
Chris Onstad
I have a J Peterman Ebay alert or two. Their stuff, and the first generation or two of Banana Republic, has a great heavy construction to it, and an almost romantic American classicism. Those big blooming pieces from the 90s remind you that an oversized, drop-shouldered top can still look great with a correctly-sized trouser. The Apollo is a sharp piece! I looked it up. If you can ever swing an introductory jewelry making class, it's a lot of fun.
Chris Onstad
I agree that the older a man gets, the more out of place jewelry can seem, unless his overall game is in attendance. When Harrison Ford got that earring I was like "what the hell is that grumpasaurus doing," but when Daniel Day-Lewis wore a couple hula hoops in his ears I was like, "he's crazy, this is awesome."
Chris Onstad
It's a seasonal choice. My spring/summer clothing is all crated up, meaning the linens, bright colors, madras, and lighter jackets will not emerge again until April. Unless I am suddenly invited to the tropics to visit a snow-birding Johnny Depp.
Julie (HiDeeHoGal)
Is the muted and warm palette you seem to favor coincidental or is there a reason for it? In terms of jewelry, I see men who seem to be 30 or younger, in person and online, easily rocking jewelry and not just of the usual leather and steel and gold chainz type but more feminine coded, delicate, intricately beaded necklaces and bracelets and earrings with shinies. This is with boxy tees, flannels or button ups, various denims, work boots or thick soled sneakers, mullets or fades, facial hair, etc. It is, as these kids say, definitely a vibe and a mood. A guy in his 40s and beyond wearing that sort of thing would be more daring I think, especially if it's not too obvious. If you catch a bit of sparkle along with masculine cuts it definitely makes you notice.
Dan Ford
Hell yeah both to the metals and to the dollar-conscious fashion shopping. The styles of one J Peterman (actual catalog, not just Seinfeld joke) often appeal to me, but I never _ever_ buy anything from them at retail price. They routinely do 30% off (or more) sales and once things hit their Outlet, they're giving it away. As for jewelry, my daily wear right-hand ring is the Apollo from Clocks&Colours, can't upload an image. I vary what goes on the left hand, with or in place of a wedding band.
blair
All this is inspiring, since a very bad health year means that twenty-five percent of my mass is "away from me" and I'm on the third generation of pants this year. The rebuilding wardrobe isn't very far from my old uniform of LL Bean dress shirts and henleys supplemented by black t-shirts, only everything fits now. I seem to have ditched a thirty-year love of Dickies work pants, though, in favor of linens - the only thing to wear in DC May-to-September, especially when suiting up - jeans, and camping/travel pants of various sorts. As a constant, I still have too many pairs of black boots and wouldn't have it any other way.
Jacquelyn R Walters
I don't like to spend too much on clothes. I make an exception for winter coats, because you want it to look nice and hold up with repeated wear. $80 is a bargain.
John Robinson
I greatly appreciate the time and effort you are putting into these posts. I appreciate it in spite of my own utterly sauceless mode of dress. I'm a retail employee, so workwear is jeans and an unadorned, nondescript polo shirt, both in black. With the arrival of the first snow here in Chicago, today I switched from short-sleeve to long. Non-work days the polo swaps out for a graphic T of some kind (I still have my "Dude Who Sucks" and "Need More Science" ones from the Before Times), also black. Black socks, black Dr. Martens shoes, an Apple Watch with a black silicone (?) band and black-rimmed glasses complete the ensemble. All the black is because: 10% trying to conceal my Rod Huggins-like corpus 5% clothes-shopping hatred (exacerbated by being big and tall, which adds an extra degree of difficulty) 5% trying to look cool/intimidating 80% being so colorblind I don't trust myself to choose anything else. On the rare occasions I need to dress up, my suits are black (yes, actually, I did used to work in the funeral industry) and worn with a white Brooks Brothers shirt. I do have a variety of ties that provide a pop of color: red, green, blue, gold. I've been all-black all the time since roughly 1996. I don't expect it to change any time soon/ever. Sometimes I tell myself that I'm taking a page from the notoriously fashion-averse Steve Jobs. Sometimes I even come close to believing it.
