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The Wallet Pen and the Wallet Pen Billfold
This is a clever small pen which attaches (obviously) to your wallet! It’s a great idea for a instant pen that you’ll be able to find quickly.
And now
www.thewalletpen.com has added a really practical new product
-- The Ultra!
We've always prescribed the benefit of not carrying a big wallet in your back pocket (causes back pain or worse) and recommending two wallet (or one) in your trouser front pockets. 
I just got this Napoli Coast necktie from http://www.napolicoast.com/ They are owned by http://www.Tiealign.com the company that makes the label loop necktie holder. That’s the clever plastic device that slips under the tie loop and fastens to two buttons on your shirt!
Napoli Coast neckties are seven fold (technically six fold) and are lined! The silk comes from Lake Como, Italy where it’s naturally dyed and woven into various exclusive patterns. The high quality Como silk has a soft hand “feel” even though it’s a heavier weight silk. All of their neckties are woven from yarn dyed silk and never printed. This gives texture and depth to the silk that printed silk doesn’t have. After the designs have been woven the silk fabric is sent to our Napoli Italy. Two pieces are cut from a single piece of silk and are then sewn together with a dual interlining in the middle. All of the fabric elements are hand cut. This makes sure that the pattern in the fabric is perfectly centered, something that a machine can't match. Every Napoli Coast seven-fold necktie is made from a metre and a half of silk fabric (1.6404 yards!), twice what other manufacturers use to make a necktie. This gives the ties a substance and fit that are unique and an highly resistance to wear. Each piece is also cut on a bias to ensure a straight necktie. Bias cut – quality ties are cut on an angle, ideally 45 degrees, which is a method introduced by Jesse Langsdorf in 1920, of cutting diagonally across the grain of a fabric allowing the tie to assume it’s original shape after knotting. Allows the finished tie to lie flat and resist turning over to one side – a defect called “corkscrewing”.
Andy’s Bias Tests: 2. Hold the tie up by its small end, if it twists it wasn’t cut on the bias, but if it hangs straight it passes the test. 3. Hang the tie over your outstretched arm to make certain the narrow end lines up (centers) with the wide end. 4. The weave, or "grain" of the fabric should run diagonally across the tie. If it runs horizontally, the tie was not cut on the bias. The Napoli artisans then hand fold the silk around the dual interlining. The dual interlining is made of fine combed wool & cotton is also hand cut, and assures the necktie will retain its shape. The necktie is then pinned shut and checked over to guarantee specifications are met. Once the necktie has been checked and approved, it is hand sewn with a hidden stitch, bar tack, and slip stitch loop at both the tip and tail. Bar Tack -- Most quality ties will have a stitch joining the two sides on the back of the wide end, at the top of the tipping where the two sides join and make an inverted “V” there should be a small stitch anchoring the seam. The slip stitch loops allow the necktie to move along the hidden stitch thread to assure that it won't rip when its being wrapped tightly around your neck, and that it will, when removed, return to its original shape. If you pull on the slip stitch the tie should gather. Slip Stitch – a long thread that runs the length of the tie on the underside. You can find the knotted end next to the interlining. The Slip Stitch also was invented by Jesse Langsdorf in 1924 and allows the tie to return to its original shape after you’ve twisted it into a knot. It’s a beautiful necktie, great fabric, and pattern and exceptionally well made. Most neckties are prices at: $167.00.00
Giorgenti Best Custom Shirts I got two of the Giorgenti Best Custom Shirts recently. http://www.bestcustomshirt.com/ I choose one in the Deluxe category (the choices are divided by fabrics). A 100% Cotton 100's Egyptian Checks/Plaids for $99 in a two button cuff and Medium Spread collar
And in the Luxury category I went with a French cuff and Wide Spread collar for $149
The Luxury fabrics are woven in Italy's exclusive mills such as Albini, Canclini, Leggiuno, and Tessitura Monti. Lots of style choices. A detailed self measuring guide. Here are the features they advertise:
I couldn’t find the extra collar stays and neither shirt had a split yoke (one of my insists in a “quality” shirt!!! But it might have been something I didn’t check in the ordering process. Collar stays are substantial plastic, sleeve placket buttons, and the front placket has a generous eight front buttons! The monogram style was good looking. I choose no pockets, and a monogram just under where the pocket would have been, but it up was where the pocket would have been. I looked again at the choices and it was cuff, pocket or chest. And I think the pocket and chest choices might be the same location. Different, but it looks OK I’m pleased with the fabrics, features, and fit!
Baroni Suits
After the recent and passionate post
about The Wizard of Aahs (http://stores.ebay.com/The-Wizard-of-Aahs/)
Baroni suits in addition to my
efforts to do more “consumer” reports, I received from
Jeff two Baroni suits, one
Matteo di Rota shirt and one necktie for review.
The Baroni suits retail for $495 (and as low as $279 at the Wizard of Aahs e-bay store) with a reported MSRP (Suggested retail) of $795 to $1195. One Baroni is made in Italy and the other in China. Both use S-150 fabric (which had a nice hand!), feature excess fabric for alterations, and are yarn dyed for consistency. Lapels offer pick stitching, which could be by hand but more likely by machine. At this price point just having the pick stitching is a nice touch! Sleeves have four non-working buttons with sewn faux buttonholes. Trousers have 3 button closure with tab “in the fashion of” Zanella.
The lapels of both suits
have a non opening Key Hole buttonhole. Recent Forum discussions
have pointed out that a key hole buttonhole can be a sign of
lower quality on a suit/sport jacket lapel. When mass producing
a garment for sale at a low price point, it does not make sense
to make two kinds of buttonholes, and thus raise the cost to
produce the garment.
Italian Baroni:
The “Italian” suit (G.B. Baroni uomo) was a charcoal windowpane. The tag said “Made in Italy” The patterns were lined up nicely. The Interfacing (also Canvas or Interlining) is a half floating canvas with no fusing. Half canvas describes a suit jacket that has only a chest piece (from shoulders to bottom of the rib cage). For a southern climate I actually like the half canvas approach! An Opinion: I would not begin to compare these suits toOxxford, Brioni, Savile row bespoke, or any bespoke. If you already own such a “high end” suit, you’re not the market for which these suits were designed. And I think Jeff of the Wizard of Aah’s knows that very well. BUT if you’re used to suits from Macy’s or Men’s Warehouse, you’re going to love one of these suits plus you’ll get more value than a typical warehouse or department store suit for about the same price or less. The Baroni suits are better constructed that the average Warehouse/Department store suit which can sell for between $695-$895 and often offers lesser quality fabric, cheap fused construction and no tailoring details like pick stitching. Some Department store suits don’t even offer the faux button holes on the sleeves like the Baroni has! The secret is, as with any suit, the fit. If you’re successful in getting your alterations tailor to fit you well in a Baroni it will look good. Many jobs require a suit, but if you’re not at the highest level of your company or appearing in the Senate or before the supreme court you probably are not going to invest in $3000 suits. Baroni offers the man in this situation a well constructed suit for a good value. When I worked in occupational safety I wore a suit occasionally (especially in the early days), but in that suit I often was inspecting machine shops, chemical labs, etc. I wanted to look professional, but I sure didn’t want to invest much in a suit that had an exposure to that kind of potential damage. My really good suits I reserved for social events not work! But that was just the type of environment I worked in. If that kind of situation applies to some of you then you would be pleased with Baroni suits. The Matteo di Rota shirt is made in Italy with a MSRP listing at $310, but sells for $110 on the Wizard of Aah’s website! It’s 100% Italian cotton which has a very excellent hand! It features single needle tailoring with silk thread, the buttons are double thick mother of pearl, a French placketcovers the front buttons (nice touch), and it has edge stitching around the collar. My one negative with the shirt is the lack of a split yoke, but some of the more expensive Italian shirt makers don’t do split yokes so it’s more a personal matter. The Necktie is well constructed of quality hand woven silk. The tipping is silk but not self fabric and there are two keepers, a self fabric and a label keeper.
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