New Bow Ties Have Been Loaded - Come See

The Pocket Square As A Neckerchief - Another Way To Wear Silk More Casually

With regards to my previous post I thought I would elaborate on the pocket square as a neckerchief. As a general rule, bandannas are to the best of my knowledge around 56cm squared. So when you tie them around your neck not only can they be hot but they can also be quite cumbersome. The same can be said of traditional ascots or what we call cravattes in Australia. They can look lovely on a man in his 60's but younger than that and you can get quickly type-casted as a Matt Preston look-alike . Especially someone that looks like me .... And it has happened a few times.

However, I have found the Goldilocks of the casual silk neckerchief in the 42cm printed silk twills that we use for our pocket squares. If you fold our 42cm pocket squares on the diagonal and then roll them neatly you can achieve enough length to tie them at the front of your neck and then tuck them under your shirt or t-shirt. 

And because pocket squares tend to have such vibrant art (as do ours) on them, once rolled they reveal hints and colours and textures that make them so much more interesting than traditional ascots and bandannas. 

So, as spring approaches, and as the world becomes increasingly more casual - consider that your pocket square collection might double as your neckwear in a more casual setting.

As for me, I wore them under a ski jacket and whether or not they had the desired effect on my audience I do not know, but certainly I liked the look of them in the mirror, and pleasing myself when I dress is paramount. I certainly don't dress for others as much as I do for myself.

Be brave, add a little peacock and try it out for yourself. I promise you, it will bring our your inner Romeo.

www.lenoeudpapillon.com

Right, entertainer Harrison Craig is wearing our new Moth Of Sydney shirt with our latest forest green silk grenadine tie. I am wearing Marguerite 2 pocket square as a neckerchief. 

Martin Greenfield Interview For Robb Report Australia

Before I departed on my trip to see the silk mills in May I was given a green light to write two feature articles for Robb Report in Australia by its editor, Michael Stahl. The two articles, one which follows an Australian bale of wool from the time it reaches Italy until it becomes fabric for a suit; will be followed by the second which covers Martin Greenfield, the celebrated New York tailor.

Greenfield, a holocaust survivor, was there in their Williamsburg factory when I went to visit. At 88 years of age he had the good looks and charisma of an Old World movie star and he seemed to be the personification of Viktor Frankl's 'logotherapy' - that Greenfield had found purpose and meaning in his life by creating suits with intrinsic value which had kept tailors, retailers, bespoke customers and costume designers coming back again and again for their services and attention to detail.

The article will appear later this year. 

Finding Your Inner Peacock Again

There is a possibility that I am or was having a mid life crisis. If it weren't a crisis then it was certainly a renaissance or a resurrection. My micro crisis involved a lot of skiing and some other things which I must keep from this blog - I have a tendency to over share - or so those dear to me like to tell me.

Anyway, so it got me thinking, that with spring approaching, it's not really a crisis is it? I was reminded recently of that expression that psychotherapists seem to love "this too shall pass" - whatever we are feeling, whatever uncomfortable things we must sit with, whatever bliss or joy seems to be brimming over our cup of life, it will no doubt change, and change again. 

So you can view it as a crisis or perhaps you can see it as an agent of change and evolution. And with a very personal and real experience recently, which to some extent changed the colours I saw in the horizon, I found myself re-engaging with all that I love. Music, poetry, art, my clothes. 

And it was my music and my clothes that stuck out the most. I had simply forgotten how much I loved listening to music when I drive, or how much I loved spending time on my own. And then there was my dressing. For too long I turned up to the Studio like a slob because I knew by the end of the day I would either have silk threads all over myself or else I'd have stayed in my gym gear for too long. 

With spring approaching, rekindling your love for fine things again should be on your agenda. For me it was tying silk in new ways, one of which was to tie a silk pochette as a neckerchief whilst I skied down the mountain. It seemed like a small but impressive way to wear silk in a more casual and athletic environment. And it sure beat a bandanna. 

So maybe it's not a crisis at all. Maybe it's a resurrection. And spring certainly is a good time to think about resurrections.

Come see the new silks.