The Proper Blog

The holidays are over.  All that stressful gift buying is over. Thank God.

Or so you thought.  On your toes because Valentines day is just around the corner.  (By the way, not to sound cold hearted or anything, but if the holidays were a total train wreck you can save yourself a whole lot of trouble and GET OUT NOW!)  If that’s not the case, well the first thing to keep in mind when buying gifts for your “significant other” is that girls and guys like different things.  Exhibit A:

What to buy your girlfriend for Valentines Day

Assuming you didn’t royally screw things up on Christmas there’s no need to come home from work (if you work on Saturdays) with a florentine necklace.  Valentines day is about being thoughtful.  The thing is, the thinking needs to start ahead of time (like now).  So, to make the day special for her, we suggest some combination of the following: Dinner, Flowers and Chocolate.

Dinner

Either reserve a table for two at a nice restaurant around town (if you don’t do this NOW, more thoughtful men will get the good tables and you will probably find yourself all dressed up in an empty restaurant at 6:00 pm feeling like a total moron) or plan to prepare her a nice meal at home.  Dinner at home has several advantages.  Negotiate who will prepare the meal in advance.  We suggest offering to cook dinner for her.  Then, when she INSISTS on cooking you can kindly give her the opportunity.

Flowers

Flowers are easy to buy, they look nice, they smell good and they have this tendency to make women very happy.  It’s a nice touch to send them to her at work, but since Valentines day this year is Saturday that probably won’t make sense.  So, surprise her at home with a bouquet.  Doesn’t have to be a huge bouquet – it is the thought that counts.

Chocolate

Every girl likes loves candy and a nice box of chocolate will keep her happy for a week straight.  Unless she eats it all in one night.  If that happens, we suggest mild concern.

What to buy your boyfriend for Valentines Day

He bought you all those nice things for Christmas and you know he’s going to pull out the stops for Valentines day.  You don’t want to show up empty handed.  We suggest one of three things: a new rolex watch, a thoughtful scrapbook, or a beautiful, custom tailored dress shirt.

Rolex

You just can’t go wrong with a Rolex.  It is a beautiful and functional gift.  That being said, it might not be appropriate for EVERY boyfriend.  We suggest this gift only if you’ve been together more than 10 years and are so wealthy that you were personally concerned with the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme.

Thoughtful Scrapbook

Nothing says, “I am so in love with you and want us to be together forever” like a scrap book full of pictures of the two of you smiling and kissing each other.  Now, the truth is most guys don’t really want scrapbooks.  The actual scrap book is really for you, but the thought is nice and will always be appreciated.

Beautiful Custom Dress Shirt

In case you did the whole scrap book thing for Christmas already or you just know it would be completely out of character, we (of course) advocate the custom tailored dress shirt as the perfect Valentines day gift.  At Proper Cloth you can design a shirt with a completely unique style.  We’d suggest a pink shirt with a red accent fabric behind the French Cuffs.  Proper Cloth shirts are extremely high quality and will last him for years.  Furthermore, every time he wears it he will think of you and remember Valentines 2009 (what more can you ask for?).  Copy one of his shirts to get a perfect fit if you want to really impress.

Custom shirts aren’t made over night, so you’ll need to order this in advance.  Order by January 20th and you’ll have no problems.  After that and you might want to call in to check and see how busy things are or make a personal plea for a rush.  We’ll do our best to get it to you in time.

Stay Proper.

You know the drill. Higher thread count = higher quality right? You figured this out when you were 17 and you went to Ikea to buy bed sheets for the first time. Since the higher thread count stuff cost more, you assumed it must be better. Excellent use of inference!

You were probably right, but of course, like the price of oil and credit spreads, it’s just not that simple.  Before we get into the details, let’s cover the lingo: 80s = 80 threads per inch, 100s = 100 threads per inch, 120s = 120 threads per inch – and so on… The “s” is there because it is really just an approximation. You’ll never see a “luxurious 117s” fabric…

Now, here’s what you need to know about cotton thread count:

What you want matters?

Dress shirts with high thread count are generally more desirable because it’s implied that the fabric will be smoother, softer, thinner and more transparent.  So keep this in mind.  In cold environments a man may want a shirt with a heavier fabric. Heavier fabrics are often more durable than finer fabrics and will last longer.

Ply Matters

Not all threads are created equal. Some are made with a single yarn, others are made with two pieces of yarn. The ones with two pieces of yarn are called two-ply. If you’re comparing an 80s two-ply with a 120’s single-ply – don’t assume that the 120s single-ply is superior. An 80s two-ply will have 160 yarns per inch – thus, it could be just as fine, if not finer than the 120s single-ply.

Weave Matters

Some high thread count fabrics come in interesting weaves like jaquard or damask rather than the more common pinpoint, oxford cloth or broadcloth weaves. That’s not a bad thing – some of these fabrics are extremely beautiful and we like them a lot. However, if you assume that high thread-count implies thin and lightweight, you would be mistake. For example, this white with blue pinstripes textured weave has 140 threads per inch. It is super smooth and beautiful, however it is not an especially thin fabric.

If the fabric is a broadcloth, voile, oxford, or pinpoint, than it’s safe to assume that the higher thread count will be thinner and lighter than the lower thread count choice.

Type of Cotton Matters

Yarns a fabric is made of can have varying qualities. High quality cottons include Sea-Isle cotton, Pima cotton, or Egyptian cotton. Truth is, these are all just different names for the same cotton plant: Gossypium Barbadense. There could be other names for it too. It is more desirable for its “longer staples” which allow it to be threaded into finer, stronger threads. Pretty much everything else (95% of cotton clothes) uses the species Gossypium Hirsutum, more commonly not mentioned at all referred to as Upland, or Mexican Cotton. *Memorize these facts and you can surely impress your boss next time he brags about his shirts on the golf course.

Region (Kind of) Matters

We wish we could say that Italian Fabrics are better than Egyptian fabrics, or something like this, but it’s not that simple.  Truth is, while Italy continues to lead the industry in top textiles, there is increasingly good fabrics coming from Japan, China and the US.  There are also a lot of terrible fabrics coming from all of these places.   If we had to gamble, we would put our money on Italy though, which is where Proper Cloth sources all of its shirt fabrics for premium custom dress shirts.

The Fabric Mill Matters

Cotton plants don’t automatically turn themselves into beautiful textiles. There is a lot of work that needs to be done to clean, spin, dye and weave the threads together. Seemingly small and unnecessarily complicated things like the minerals in the water used to rinse the fabric come into play.  Even we have trouble distinguishing the marketing madness from real quality that you can appreciate.

Now,  if everything else is equal but the fabric mill, we suggest going with a name that you can trust.  Some fabrics feel great in the store, but wear out after just a few washes.  A good fabric should get softer and nicer as you wash it.

Happy New Year!  Yes, we are a day late with the greeting, but post-NYE-hangover had Proper Cloth pretty much shut down yesterday.  Now we’re back though!  Well rested, well hydrated, and ready to take on 2009.

We’ve been thinking about making some New Years Resolutions so today we considered the popular ones, (courtesy Wikipedia).  Sadly, nothing seemed to really stick.  Lose weight (already skinny), get out of debt (just finished business school – impossible), get a better job (love my job), get a better education (see get out of debt), drink less alcohol (hahahahahaha), and quit smoking (never started that one)…

So, after careful consideration, we decided that our New Years Resolution for 2009 will be to dress better.  It’s one of those great commitments that provides infinite room for improvement and thus zero chance of failure: We pledge to spend more time crafting our personal image and aspire to present a polished, professional image at all times.  We’ll try to look good at all times – kind of like James Bond in Quantum Solace (with two exceptions though)  1.) We might not wear Tom Ford suits EVERY day and 2.) instead of battling an evil villain in Bolivia, we’ll be battling crowded subways and winter storms in New York.

So, what is the key to dressing up in 2009?  We’ll try to focus on the basics:

Nice Leather Shoes

Now, more than ever is the time to invest in a nice pair of leather shoes.  These will typically cost $200-$300+, but with the discounts going on now you can find great deals.  Avoid trendy but low quality shoes (Steve Madden) with rubber soles.  These look nice on the shelf but wear out quickly.  A good pair of shoes will last several years.  A really good pair of shoes will last you over a decade.  Look for leather soles and wooden heels.  You can never go wrong with a nice black dress shoe from Kenneth Cole, or something of similar or superior quality.  Keep a good pair of brown dress shoes in the rotation and if it fits your personality have some trendy blue leather shoes, or black combat boots as well.

A Good Quality Coat

If you’re going to dress up and look the part, especially if you’re in a cooler climate, you’ll need a nice jacket that fits the look.  This should be a high quality dark gray or black wool or cashmere coat.  It could be double breasted, a nice pea coat, or a more classic 3/4 length suit overcoat or trench coat.  A nice coat like this will dress up any outfit.  Your snowboarding jacket is not an appropriate cover to your suit and tie.

Nice Leather Belt

Don’t take this for granted.  If you’re still wearing the belt you wore in High School, it’s time to upgrade.  Make sure you have a couple high quality leather belts in black and brown.  The general rule is that the belt should match the shoes, so pick the shade of your belts based on the shade of your shoes.  When you wear slacks or khaki’s you should wear a narrower belt – probably 1″ wide.  When you’re wearing jeans the belt should be wider – probably 1.25″ or more. Get this right at all times.

Nice Slacks

If you didn’t get the memo, worn out jeans with raggedy holes are not in style.  And even if they were, they don’t qualify as dressing up (no matter how much you paid for them).  This year, dressing up and looking good is best accomplished with a nice selection of dark colored wool slacks.  Our friends up the road at Bonobos have some cool stuff as does J Crew and Banana Republic.  Avoid front pleats and make sure they fit right (length, waist and ass).

Wear a Tie – Just Because

Seems like people only wear ties for “special occasions” these days.  Put on a tie and suddenly everyone assumes you have a job interview or something.  But, there’s nothing wrong with rocking a tie every now and then.  You might think this is crazy talk – but trust us.  We don’t suggest styles that are out-there and truly “fashionable” or “trendy”.  Wearing a tie is as classic as you can get, so show the confidence to look good in one.  The good thing is that there are plenty of cool looking ties you can find at H&M, Express and Thomas Pink – and they’re probably all on sale now!

Great Dress Shirts

If you read this blog frequently, you knew this was coming.  The real key to dressing up and looking good is the shirt.  Everything else just supports this part of your outfit.  So, if you want to look better in 2009 than you did in 2008, make sure you get the right dress shirt.  Pay close attention to fabric quality, collar construction and especially how well the shirt fits.  Go for a slightly slimmer fitting shirt than you did before.  This can either be a custom tailored dress shirt made just for you or something you find off the rack that you have altered. Just focus on quality and take the time to get the fit right.

So if your goal for 2009 is to take your style up a notch, these tips should get you (and us) there. Best of luck!