The Proper Blog

Austria.  A truly amazing country.  Nestled in the Alps, it’s the kind of place you dream of when city life becomes overwhelming.  And it’s a beautiful dream…  you’re surrounded by green fields and blue sky, high in the mountains, gently running your hands over the tops of the long grass (like that scene in Gladiator but happier).  You breathe in the crisp, clean air and pause to hear the sounds of a nearby glacial creek gurgling, birds chirping and distant children laughing.  It’s the most amazing feeling of freedom, and just when you didn’t think it could get any better, you see Austrian supermodel Mavie Hörbiger dressed up like a milk-maid picking flowers.  It’s just you and her in the mountains and as you go to say hello, another famous Austrian supermodel shows up…

Yes, Bruno is also from Austria.

Wow, that dream just got weird…

Anyways, Austria is a great country.  And it’s also the location of Getzner, one of the world’s oldest and most renowned fabric mills.  And because Proper Cloth is so on top of things, we’ve added some of Getzner’s extremely desirable fabrics to our offering.  These are all 100 thread count 2-ply fabrics.  The patterns are (according to us at least) beautiful.

correction – this blue and orange stripe is 120 thread count two-ply fabric

They also feel amazing.  Getzner was founded in 1818.  They’ve been making premium shirting fabrics for a long time.  They know what they’re doing and are famous for it.  You want to get shirted this classy.  Start designing now.

Stay Proper.

On a whim, I picked up the book Heat by Bill Buford.  And then I read it twice.  If you like cooking or personalities, you’ll like this book.  It’s full of detailed descriptions of fancy food and the colorful characters that prepare it.

Part of the book covers Mario Batali and his famous Manhattan restaurant Babbo.  Buford gives a behind-the-scenes look at Battali’s flamboyant drink-all-night personality and how his restaurants are run.  The second half of the book covers Buford’s experience working under Dario Cecchini, a famous Tuscan butcher (in Italy).

What I love about this story is that Buford, who had a respectable job as the fiction editor for The New Yorker, quit his job to join Babbo’s kitchen and work his way up from the bottom.  And the bottom was not comfortable.  Working 14 hour plus days sweating in a hot kitchen, slicing his fingers regularly, burning his hands and arms regularly, getting yelled at regularly…  The kitchen of a high end restaurant does not sound like a particularly fun place to be.

It’s common advice that you should do what you love with your life and that it’s never too late to change careers.  Unfortunately, most people don’t take this seriously and end up in jobs that merely pay the bills.  Buford is an inspiration and example of figuring out where you want your life to go and then doing whatever it takes to get there.  We should all follow his example.

Stay Proper.

From the letter box:

Dear Proper Cloth,

I’ve always bought my dress shirts from Brooks Brothers, size 16-34 Slim Fit.  I believe this means my collar size is 16 and my sleeve size is 34.  I’m now thinking of switching to custom tailored dress shirts, so I went to a tailor to be measured.  According to the tailor, my sleeve length should actually be 35.5.  What gives?

Did he mess up and exaggerate the sleeve length or is this just different in some way?

Thanks,

Long Armed in Los Angeles

Dear Long Armed,

Don’t be alarmed.  The proper way to measure your sleeve length is from the center of the back of the neck, over your shoulder and down to the center of the back of your hand.  It’s common for this sleeve length measurement to be longer than you’re used to.   Truth is, you’ve probably been wearing the wrong sleeve length your entire adult life.

Try this – next time you prop your elbows up on the mahogany conference table while contemplatively rubbing your chin and mentally preparing your response to the analyst questioning the ‘employee morale’ expenses you incurred in Greece last quarter, take a moment and note how far up your forearms the cuffs of your shirt have moved.  If you’re not wearing a custom dress shirt this will probably look mildly ridiculous.

You were probably convinced that your shirts fit fine because when your arms are hanging relaxed at your sides, the cuffs come just to your wrist.  It would seem that if you add another inch, they will be too long.  After all, you don’t want your sleeve coming over your hand.

You’re absolutely right that you don’t want the sleeve coming up over your hand.  With custom fitting shirts this doesn’t have to be the case because can specify the correct cuff size.  Most off-the-rack shirts have over-sized cuffs, made to be loose on even the largest wrists.  However, a proper fitting cuff will have a circumference of just 2-2.5 inches more than your wrist’s measurement (to the skin).  A properly fitting cuff will not slide up your hand when your arms are at your sides.  It will hold the cuff in just the right spot at the base of your hand.

Long story short, custom shirt sleeves are usually made a bit longer because they should be.  And with custom, they can be.

Stay Proper.

If you haven’t heard of Mayer Hawthorne, consider this your introduction.  I’m loving his songs.  I won’t try to over analyze it but this song just feels good.  Hawthorne’s nerdy style is cool too – very proper – but aren’t those sweaters a bit warm for Venice beach?

This video seriously captures the SoCal vibe.  Brings back some good memories.  Driving around on a Sunday with the windows down…  In-n-Out… iced tea…  shrimp burrito…. walking aimlessly on the boardwalk… soaking up the sun… street performers… girls… backyard keggers… surfing… goofing off… Jeez, I think I need a vacation.

BTW – if you are Mayer Hawthorne, know Mayer Hawthorne, or know someone that knows Mayer Hawthorne – please contact us.  We think he should be wearing Proper Cloth.

Stay Proper.

Had the chance to check out GoldBar on Broome Street last night.

First, from a designer standpoint, the venue is pure ostentatious excess.  The walls are covered in gold painted skulls, the ceiling has huge chandeliers and the tables are made to look like giant gold bracelets.  There are also these spooky looking paintings on the walls – what you’d expect to see in a castle, but with a modern twist to them.  All in all, I really liked the design of this place.  Someone had an innovative vision and executed it nicely.

The main room is a good size.  Not too big.  A bit intimate.  The music was the same hiphop/house mix you’d get in any lounge and the volume was right.  Bit of dancing, bit of conversation.

The crowd was nice.  A mix of euro-trash (and I mean that in the nicest way), young professionals and pretty girls.  Everyone seemed friendly and in the mood for celebrating, although this impression is likely the result of our own enthusiasm mixed with lots of redbull and vodka.  I think everyone in the main room was getting bottle service.  There’s a bar area in the front as well.

Definitely calling this a proper spot.  Go there.

Stay Proper.

It’s been a while since our last post. Sorry we lost touch. We’ve just been spending so much time, relaxing in the Hamptons, living our fabulous lives. Ok, not really. We’ve been hustling on a whole lot of new custom shirt stuff and now it’s ready. Here are some highlights:

100 new fabrics

Yes. We’re serious. 100 new ones. It wasn’t easy. Actually, it was really difficult. How difficult you ask? Imagine taking the GMAT, LSAT and Series 7 back to back. Then multiply that level of difficulty by two. Anyway we did it. Now they’re here. Check them out.

For you trendy folks, keep an eye out for the plaid and gingham grid patterns that are popular this summer.

And, yes, there are still more fabrics coming.

“How to measure” videos

If you found our “how to measure” explanations and pictures even the slightest bit cryptic, you’ll be happy to see that we added video explanations of how to measure your body or shirt. Special thanks goes to French Guy Gaetan, Summer Partner Sheezan, and several bottles of Chardonnay for making these videos an informative, yet mildly entertaining success.

More is coming

We’re not even close to being done improving our custom clothing service and are already working on the next round of updates. Expect a growing selection and a continually improved experience. We love (and need) your feedback and new ideas, so keep them coming.

Stay Proper.