I am baaaaack! Sorry for disappearing on you like that without fair warning. It was unexpected, to be honest. But for the first time in years, I decided to actually relax and allow myself a real break from the blog. I do believe this is the longest I have gone without posting, in my 12 years of having the blog. A whole 2 weeks as it goes. So, what was I doing? Well, mainly I allowed myself to relax really because I was forced to. And not physically but in the sense that I had other responsibilities that prevented me from having my own ‘me time.’ I did not plan it as I actually took my laptop with me on my trip but ended up not using one time.
By the picture, you must be curious about what that was, that I was doing for the last 14 days. We (my wife, son, and I) went to the Dominican Republic (where my wife is from), along with her cousins for several family celebrations. This was the first time that we had gone there in a group and actually acted like tourists, staying in villas and doing excursions (I have been at least 40 times to the DR but always just stayed in the city, never really being the tourist). As the only male in a group of 6 and the ‘designated’ driver, I had little time to work. So, the blog took a back seat as I simply could not dedicate enough time to do it well and wanted to actually just really unplug from life back in NYC.
The highlight of the trip was riding in the buggies. It was a great experience and I highly recommend it to anyone that goes to a country that offers that as an excursion. I won’t lie, I rarely allow myself to relax and get out of work mode. Part of the issue of being a workaholic and an entrepreneur. But I knew that I needed it, especially after the last years. And so I am glad that we went, experienced it, and for once, allowed myself to be an excursion-loving tourist!
Now I am back in NYC, with a lot of content to give you and catch up on. But I wanted to fill this post with some content so I thought I would share with you something that is not shoes but rather clothes. While I love to wear bespoke, MTM, and the like, the reality is that I am not a rich guy and I really am a clothes whore so have to do my best to balance quantity and quality. So I tend to shop at the Gap, Banana Republic, J.Crew, and Uniqlo. And I tell you, that some of you may laugh and scoff at that, but they have really all been upping their game in the clothes department, especially this Summer with camp-collar shirts, linen trousers, and seersucker popovers.
I have always been a sucker for paisley and J.Crew just recently put out this seersucker popover shirt so when I saw it, I knew that I had to get it. I really love the popover style as I cannot stand buttons being at the trouser line and this solves all of that problem. And while won’t get bespoke fit with these brands, the fit is pretty good and the reality is that with a decent tailor you can help to make custom-fit more achievable. The trousers are custom though, by Singaporean Atelier Yeossal, who has been doing some fantastic stuff in the whole dress casual side of things with their field jackets and seersucker trousers. I think that I have these in like 4 colors. I love them as I am a real seersucker lover.
But nonetheless, I hope that you have enjoyed this more casual post. I am quite a private person, to be honest, so tend not to share my personal life too often but as I just disappeared I felt that you all deserved some sort of explanation and proof to back it up! 😉
Stay tuned for some great content coming soon!
Justin
Shirt by J.Crew
Trousers by Yeossal
Socks by Mes Chaussettes Rouges
Shoes by J.FitzPatrick Footwear
I am glad you enjoyed your time off. Life is short, enjoy the ride my man.
Love your shoes. 1st time buyer of 3 pair>
Mike Moss
Lafayette, Louisiana
Hey Mike, thank you for the kind words, well wishes and support. I really appreciate it. Glad to know that you are enjoying your shoes
Justin,
It makes my heart soar like a hawk that you took some time to recharge. I’m convinced that you will be more effective and that will more than make up for the time away. Don’t make the mistake I did. When I was working, I was terrified to take time off. I was afraid I’d lose clients when I was away. So I just ate that stress and that’s not a good thing. Treat yourself well, my friend. Your health is important to all of us.
Hey Peter, thank you for your kind words. I do enjoy my weekends and try not to work and dedicate family time, so I have learned a lot since my time in London where I was working non-stop. Things will also get easier when I manage to grab a new employee 😉
Looks like you had fun. Very good!
Your customers are adults. They could manage with less “shoe-candy”.
Still looking forward to the next treat 🙂
Thanks Marcus, I did indeed!
Well done, JF. I work in a care home/retirement village in England, and I can assure you, the years will be gone in a flash. We should all work hard, but make the best of every day, and certainly spend time away from our perspective coal mines. Enjoy, brother.
Thank you Julian! And yes, indeed!