We gathered some 200 polo shirts from 32 brands—all sized medium. Shape and proportion varied wildly. For instance, shirt sleeve lengths ranged from 7.5 inches (Gant Rugger) to 11 inches (Orlebar Brown), and the total length of two garments from collar to bottom hem had a difference of 10 inches. Don’t get us started on belly circumferences. Remember, these are all the same sized shirt!
We then had eight different-bodied men—real men from our office, not models—try on shirts until we found ones that fit. We noted what brands worked and what styles didn’t. Whether you’re tall and skinny or short and athletic, here are our findings.
clothing
How to Roll Up Your Sleeves
An alternate way to roll up long sleeve shirts. Worth a shot.
YouTube – Fold a shirt in only 2 seconds !
J Hilburn
This awesome – J. Hilburn is a direct-to-consumer manufacturer of custom men’s clothes. Choose your preferred fabric and style, provide your measurements and the clothing will be custom-tailored to fit you. The result is far less expensive than high-end stores and should provide a far better fit.
Kilts, Tartans, Wales and Texas
As my dad’s side of the family originates from Wales, I have some kilt-wearing blood flowing through my veins, but unlike the Scots, the Welsh don’t have a history of using tartans to recognize families or clans. In fact, there’s some argument as to how long the Welsh have worn kilts. I don’t care about the latter, but I did want to see what might be available for a Jones boy in Texas.
The design symbolises Jones roots in Wales and the name’s global spread. The heart of the sett reflects the green and white of the Welsh flag with its red dragon. From Wales people with the name of Jones moved to England, represented by pale green together with the red and white cross of St. George. Many Scots bear the name of Jones, and Scotland is represented by the blue and white perimeter. When viewed diagonally this creates the cross of St. Andrew, the Scottish saltire The black band represents the ocean deeps that separate all the people named Jones who now live far from Britain but whose roots remain here.
While I don’t expect to drop $500+ on a full, official kilt soon, it’s great to know that I have two great options.
I just picked up a modern kilt created by Nation Kilt, in a solid olive cloth, which I am very excited to own and plan to wear throughout South by Southwest Interactive as a part of the Five Kilts crew. There will be many photos posted.
Tartan images from The Scottish Registrar of Tartans
Accessorizing Your Eyeballs
Matt Haughey provides a very interesting write up on ordering glasses online instead of at the local optometrist / giant chain store in his article Adventures in $40 eyeglasses. I love the idea of having more than one pair of glasses from which to choose each morning, while paying significantly less than I would for a single pair from my optometrist.
Now, I’m more than happy to pay for a good optometrist, but frames and lenses are commodities in all but the rarest instances, and those instances are out of my spending range. Plus, I really don’t like having a designer’s signature scrawled on my clothing, much less my glasses, so selling me on the brand doesn’t work. That said, I spent more on my current set of glasses than I ever had previously because they really feel right, but they aren’t practical to wear some days. Having a second set of glasses would be nice to have around when I know that I will be more active during the day. Hell, just the ability to get an inexpensive pair or two of prescription sunglasses would encourage me to leave my contacts in their solution in order to wear my glasses.
Matt also posted a link to Glassy Eyes, a blog about ordering glasses online – sounds dull, but it’s very useful. I’ll post back when I take the plunge.