Trying Tie Tucking 

Yesterday was a nice day, and I felt like trying out tie-tucking and wearing my new 511’s I found on eBay. Of military origin, and often done when eating so as not to get the tie dirty, tie-tucking has been popping up more and more these days in menswear it seems, and I thought I’d give it a try. I quite like the way the shirt’s colour goes with the pants, which I might get tapered a little. Thought brown leather would have worked better here, I’m waiting for my Equus leather belt to arrive, as the other brown belt I own is a surcingle one with wide horizontal stripes, which clash too much with the gingham shirt. The orange socks work with the orange logo on the shirt, and I feel work quite well with the rest of the outfit. The navy tie tones down the shirt further, and adds a welcome amount of texture to the outfit.

Glasses and shirt: Polo Ralph Lauren

Tie: Breuer

Pants and Belt: Levi’s 511s

Watch: Tissot

Socks: Falke

Shoes: Avant-Première

Fit check and new glasses.

I got my denim jacket and blazer back from the seamstress the other day and it’s truly amazing what a good seamstress or tailor can do. As you can see from the pics, they both fit me much better than they used to, though I regret not having bought the blazer from eBay, which would of course have made it both cheaper and better quality, at least in terms of the fabric (This one is mainly polyester, sadly). However, now that they’ve been tailored, I’ll be wearing them more often, in both casual and more dressed-up ways too. I also got new glasses, in a rounder and I think more mature style and shape. The tortoiseshell also looks better than black, and adds a nice touch when placed in the breast pocket as is the case with my blazer. What I’ll be working on now for Spring is pants, I’ve already got sand chinos and am eyeing beige and olive green ones on eBay, which would cost $100 including shipping and hemming. It’s going to be a sartorial spring/summer for me this year, two outfits posts coming up this weekend, and some more next weekend.

Keep Styling,
Mirko

Birthday Splurge: The Gieves & Hawkes 7-Fold tie

When I saw this tie on sale at Malford of London for £70, plus an an extra 15% off during the Easter weekend, I couldn’t resist. Plus, it feels good to splurge on something on your birthday. It arrived today in a protective bubble envelope and wrapped in nice tissue paper. Though it is a little thicker than my other ties due to its seven-fold construction, its 60% silk and 40% cotton blend, a Mogador weave, looks and feels great, and gives the tie a nice heft. I will probably be using a Nicky or Pratt knot with it, and might even give the four-in-hand a try, despite not being a huge fan of the latter’s more elongated shape. Pictures of it in action will be coming this week, along with my Luxire shirt which should arrive by Friday, and a fit update on my navy blazer and denim jacket after picking them up from the seamstress on Friday too. Oh, and I’m going shopping in Geneva tomorrow, to hopefully find some nice pants and a blazer for this Spring/Summer. And yes, it does mean from now on I’ll be sticking to my weekly schedule, and might also do an item post every once in a while too.

Keep Styling,

Mirko

Rainy Easter Sunday

This post is actually from yesterday, tI simply did not have time to finish it then. Just lounging around the house on this rainy easter sunday, a casual outfit therefore for yesterday. Though the sweater and pants combo is nothing special, and one that I have already used previously, the interest here I think comes from the textures. The smoothness of the tie combined with the rougher oxford shirt, and the addition of a collar pin, work quite well here in my opinion. Furthermore, the button-down collar with a collar pin, although not very visible here, is something I quite like. Orange is present in both the tie and the sweater, and orange socks could also have worked quite well with this outfit. Though the pants here are cuffed, I will get them hemmed soon, as I’m not a huge fan of the cuffed look. There will probably be a post later today to do with the things I’ll buy for my birthday, which is today.

Keep Styling,

Mirko

Knots I Tie

I thought I’d do a little something on tie knots I use, why I use them, and so on. Keep in mind tie knots are very subjective, I know people who only wear Four-in-hands or Double four-in-hands, others, like me, who favor the Windsor. However, I don’t know anyone who use the Full Windsor, perhaps due to its tremendous size and rather aggressive look. Anyways, on to the knots I use. The Half-Windsor is my go-to knot, as I am personally a huge fan of the nice inverted triangle shape it provides, and depending upon where it is tied on the tie (higher will create a smaller knot, lower will provide a larger one), it can work with almost all shirts, from spread collars to button-downs. The Nicky knot is one I recently began using after purchasing the wool knit tie pictured above. It was too thick for a Half-Windsor, and the four-in-hand or double-four-in-hand, although both being potentially viable options, are knots I am not a fan of due to their more elongated shape. The Nicky knot therefore was my choice. Smaller than the Half-Windsor, it is perfectly suitable for thicker ties such as wool knit ones, heavy cashmere ones, and grenadines. It keeps the nice inverted triangle shape which I really favor, whilst still maintaining a decent size. As can be seen on the last picture, this knot can also be a good choice with silk ties when wearing a collar pin, as a Half-Windsor would often be too hefty for such an accessory. That’s it for now, another outfit coming up on Saturday. Might do a few more of these features regarding specific details, the next one might be tie and pocket square combinations, although I’m open to any suggestions.

Keep Styling,

Mirko