My new watch project

I recieved this vintage 60's Omega Seamaster this week purchased off eBay in Switzerland and although I had a frustrating 3 week wait to get it, it has now arrived I am very happy.



I bought with the intention of doing a bit of a restoration job, as you can see the casing and bezel are in need of a good buff and polish and the strap, while new and leather is pretty horrible. It's quite a small watch so will really be used for dressier purposes and won't get much run on the weekend. It is as you can see by the picture an automatic movement, which for the layperson means it has no batteries and self winds from the movement of the wearer (kinetic energy) meaning it needs to be worn reasonably frequently or it will stop (once every 3 days or so).

I'll be removing the straps tonight to start the polishing process while in the mean time I will look for the perfect new strap. What I have in mind is a plain tan leather with white stitching which will contrast well with the charcoal face. I'll post after pics when it is done.

The best thing about watches like vintage Omega's is they hold their value so well. At over 40 years old now, I can easily wear it for 5 years and sell it for what I paid for it if not more, where as your everyday quartz Seiko depreciates viciously over that same 5 years.

Different scents for different seasons

Yeah I probably have too many of these, but I've never been one of those people that can just stick to one and leave it at that. I do envy those people but I doubt I'll ever be one. I'm fascinated by different scents and how they can make what you are wearing feel totally different, even if it's the same thing you wore last week.

Out of my current 6, I break them up as follows L-R -

1, 2 and 3 - Paco Rabane XS, Gucci Pour Homme 2 and Ralph Lauren - All 3 of these are really good all round scents, wearable most of the year round and in all sorts of formal and informal situations

4 - Paul Smith Men - A really great light summer fragrance. Very citrusy like most summer fragrance and great for warm weekends. The only issue I have with it like most lighter fragrances, is it doesn't last as long as you would ideally want.

5 - Burberry London - I've written about this one before, this is my perfect winter scent. Strong wood and leather tones make it a perfect match with grey flannels and an overcoat.

6 - Tom Ford for Men - I've only just bought this a few weeks ago. Pricey, but one of the most traditional scents I've worn, and I like it that way. In fact it reeks of masculinity. But what else would you expect from the straightest gay man on earth, Tom Ford? The only thing manlier is Tom Ford Extreme, which gives Old Spice and Drakkar Noir a run for their money!

Slow posting and more

You may have noticed that the number of posts has dropped a lot in the last few weeks. There are a few reasons for this, mainly that I have just started training for my first marathon in April next year, I'm preparing to move in to my new apartment and I am focusing my attention on to the up coming website for a few months, along with still working a full time 9-5 day job!.

During this time, I'll still hopefully get 3 posts a week up and then pick back up again afterwards.

In the mean time, an interesting forum if you are interested in learning more about men's style is www.styleforum.net. It's totally free to sign up and there are some great quality posters on there from designers to tailors to just style nuts like myself. You want to head to the men's clothing section.

Wearing in leather soles

Dress shoes should all have leather soles. There is no argument against that. Leather conforms to the foot better, breathes better and when made with Goodyear Welting construction, are much more comfortable. In Layman's terms the upper is stitched to welt, which is then stitched to the out sole is a very quick explanation of welting. Google it if you want to find more info.

Most cheaper shoes found in retail shops (Aquila, Zu etc) are all cheaply glued to the sole, often which is rubber and have to be thrown out after a year or less. Welted shoes can be easily re-soled on the other hand and worn for years given the right care.

Anyway, back to the topic. Leather soles can be a nightmare on the first couple of wears, simply because they are a bit slippery. I have found a way to combat this, which is by scoring the soles and heel with a sharp knife/blade like you would score a pork roast before putting it in the oven. A new pair arrived today, these are made by Loake and from their top line 1880 Range, which is still made in Northamptonshire, England, where all fine English shoes hail from. You can see from the below image the way they have been scored, which will make wearing them in a lot easier the first few times.

Loake are by no means super high end in the world of English bench made shoes, but they are many many times better than most of the crap on offer in Australia. There are a few stores around Australia that carry them, albeit at over inflated prices not far shy of the $500 mark and very little range.

The best bet is to try somewhere like www.pediwear.co.uk which is where these came from, for almost half the above amount, including free shoe trees, shoe polish, shoe horn and even a silk tie! You obviously need to know your sizing first however.

A dash of colour

I love wearing my red socks. When asked why I prefer red, the best answer I could come up with is "It's like a party at my ankles". These are a new pair of Paul Smith that are a very thin cotton, perfect for summer.

They brighten up what was otherwise a very conservative suit (navy herringbone weave) with a white/blue striped shirt, white pocket square and brown wingtips.

Indulgence in tie form

I received a nice surprise in the mail today in the form of the above tie. I say surprise because I only ordered it 4 days ago and it's here already. It's quite dark so hard to see in real detail, but it is a dark brown herringbone in whats called a 3 fold construction.

3 fold construction essentially means that in place of a canvas centre piece and silk lining, the same fabric is used throughout and folded over on itself. It's a more expensive way to make a tie because of the extra fabric used but they hang a lot nicer and provide a much better knot. Made in Texas of all places.

With the Aussie dollar so strong, ordering things from the states has never been more tempting. This was $100 US shipped, which was barely over $110 once converted. If you could actually find these ties in Australia, they would retail for well over $200.

Why is it indulgent? It's PURE CASHMERE.

Head to http://www.kentwang.com/ to get on his mailing list. The website is not much, but he has lots of cool ties, pocket squares and socks and they are all limited run production of around 10 pieces or less, so your pretty much guaranteed of not seeing the same thing ever.

The Bow Tie: Staging a come back?

Images: news.com.au

The first photo is Chris Smith, one of the Australian Wallabies, at the Melbourne cup yesterday sporting a bow tie with his very well tailored 3 piece suit. Certainly bowtie's won't be a mainstream day to day item in men's style in our lifetime for all but the few eccentric and traditional gentleman that already wear them, but I do think they have some merit for events other than formal black tie occasions like the races or perhaps a wedding.

One rule with bowtie's is that if you are going to do it, do it properly and get an untied version and learn how to tie it yourself. Pre tied bows have that all too perfect knot and none of the character that a hand tied knot contains. It takes time to learn, but even an idiot like me can get it eventually.

The second fellow, while his sunglasses could be a tad more discreet and his jacket sleeve's are too long, still looks quite dashing (this was from the Melbourne Cup also). If only such good things could be said about the men's style at the Canberra Races yesterday.....