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There are two things, both quintessentially British, that I have always wanted but have never come across the perfect opportunity of getting. When I say this, I mean in the sense that all the pieces of the puzzle did not fit. While I have never been rich, there were definitely times where I may have been able to splurge on some Edward Green’s offered on eBay or something of the sort. But simply buying them in the States at retail price might set you back at least $1000 and unfortunately I never wanted to use my limited disposable income on something that costly. The same goes for a three-piece suit. Many a time, there were opportunities but the suit was off or the price just did not correlate with my net cash flow. But now that I live in England and earn in the British Pound, things are going to change!
I always tell my wife (jokingly), “now that we live in England, I want to work my way up to Lordship like Lord Alan Sugar”. Considering that I am not British there is no way this will ever happen, unless of course I follow in Schwarzenegger’s footsteps and sell 20 billion British Pounds worth of movie tickets. Only then, as we did in America, might they appoint a non-national to a seat with the knights of the round table. But until then, I can at least look the part by getting my hands on these two quintessentially British, staple pieces of the stylish man’s wardrobe! My biggest dilemma will be deciding which Edward Green shoes I want to buy, because I am in love with like 50 of them! I at least know that since they offer shoes in the colors of midnight and olive, the shoe (or boot) that I do get will be in one of those colorways.
A nice three-piece suit is something that I have always been enamored with, particularly a heavy tweed, prince of wales type. But it is one of those things that needs to be perfect, you know! And almost more importantly then style and look, all of the details and fit need to be spot on. Because of this, I have come to the conclusion that due to my pickiness, I am going to have to go down the MTM (made-to-measure) route. You might ask, why not go bespoke then? Well, I am still not rich, at least not yet! And to be quite frank, if I did have that kind of money to make a one time purchase, it would be on shoes, hence the blog title. While it still might be a little bit down the road that I actually acquire both of these things, I can feel their presence gravitating closer to me. And you can believe that when I do get them, I will post many pictures of the two put together!!
You definitely should get some Greens…if only i think that you are able to go for bespoke, why spending so much money on ready-to-wear?
Alas, get that three piece suit. Or you wait till June and we�ll get one for you, as i�m in town 🙂
One step at a time is furtunately something that works very well in the world of timeless style.
I have my heart set on a bespoke three piece tweed suit myself. Though it’ll be some time, lots of thoughts, looking at patterns, colours, and cloths before I actually commission one. But therein lies the beauty: even though I want it now, I can enjoy the thought of the process and be calm because I know that it’ll be a lifetime purchase and not some whimsical fashion item destined the be thrown out of my wardrobe shortly after making its way into it.
In a world of short-lived fashion and advertisement hammering in on all of us, people out and about on mindless shopping sprees, I quite enjoy those “unfashionable” and slow attributes of traditional things.
Spoozy – While I do make bespoke (on occasion) so far I have been limited to uppers that I am able to get and alter from other shoe makers. Edward Green makes some models (like the boots) that I am not sure I could get the upper for. Plus it would be nice to just say that I own some, you know. But in reality, I save my bespoke making for shoes that I know are going to be one of one, no replicas.
Reto – well spoken and best of luck acquiring it. I am sure that your store will be a great success and that you will be able to get bespoke suit quicker than you think!
-Justin, “The Shoe Snob”