Archive for October, 2009

Moleskine black hard cover note book (courtesy of www.moleskine.com)

When I get my first Moleskin (www.moleskine.com) earlier this month, I thought it was the same if not similar as my trusty Monologue (www.grandluxe.com) that I got almost a year ago.

The resemblance is uncanny, the materials are almost of the same quality. The page sheet for example, was made from the same acid free paper, unbleached so that the color remain creamy and yellowish.

The parts and the component of the book are almost identical. Both have the inner pocket and page marker as well as the cover enclose. Both book are black in color.

If there is any significant difference, it is the cover.

Moleskin cover is made of the oilskin hardcover that looks clean and tidy. The Monologue however, has rubber like hard cover that are very friendly to finger prints and marks. Worst, the soft nature of the monologue cover provides media for a pressed mark using my pen or any other hard objects.

Overall I loved both of my notebook for different reasons. The monologue is cheap and an affordable alternatives for your daily use. I used it for my regular office notes. The Moleskin is perfect in details and is very comfortable to write. It’s elegant and timelessly reliable. I used it for my daily thoughts and diary writing.

Unlike my fountain pens that I used to draft these blog, which usually consist of my Parker Jotter, and my Hongkong made fountain pens, the .5 Sarasa Clip by Zebra (http://www.zebrapen.com/products/pen/sarasa?c=28)    that I’m currently using is much simpler tools to use and very practical in many ways.

The stroke are very thin and precise, which make the overall sentence are much more readable if compared with those of fountain pen’s.

The thickness of the stroke, which I think can be grouped as “fine”, makes this pen suitable for writing is ruled notes, typically with the 25pt average heights.

Yet despite its practicality that will guarantee, one way or another the tidiness of the sentence or paragraph in general, I feel that the Sarasa is lack of character, something that its counter part the fountain pen are so very rich with.

To opting back in using Sarasa as to maintain the quality might nit as tempting as changing the ruler size of my notes marking from 25pt to 30pt as of originally intended.

And accordingly, I would very much keen and definitely anticipate the moment when such endowment comes.

Trouser, of all dressing component, in my opinion is a very delicate and sensitive items to talked about. This is because the period of wearing trousers for man might be varies or greatly varies from one another.

For example, there are men who change and wash their trousers in daily basis, and there are others who do that in weekly. And there are huge portion of others, who alternating trousers in daily basis, nut wash them only once or twice on each seasons.

The point being, it is not the same.

And hence, to talk about the number will be very abrupt and difficult to elaborate, and every man preference are unique.

For colors however is different matters. As I witnessed many of the people are more than keen to wear black to the office. And while this is understandable, I’m completely resent the idea. You see, black is special color, in its isolatedness, black command elegance, and in more than one way, eloquence and glamour. Black is there to impress, and for this very reasons, black is special and should be dedicated for certain occasions. Wedding, funeral, and party are occasions where black is either expected or respected.

My general rule is this, other than the above occasions, avoid black, use more in between colors such as navy, grey and pinstripes. And you’ll find your self already outstanding above the others.

The shirt, is perhaps the most important component in men’s wardrobe. The decent list of shirts should be able to accompany you to different occasion, whether it involves formal suit, or more casual jeans or short.

 Many of the fashion guide recommend its reader to go with at least four whites, four blue, and some collection of checked, and stripped.

 I’m not entirely agree

 At the very first, you have to go with the ten rules (this me saying so, not anyone else, at least not that I know of), that is you need at least 10 shirts for your basic dressing, that should be able to accompany to a straight 10 business days, without wearing the overlapping pattern two days in a row. These shirts should be white based with dark vertical stripes, normally of gray, blue, black, or even bolder color, such as purple, red or green.

 These shirts while very flexible  when combined with ties, can also be wear stand alone without any formal attributes, as such you can wear these even on your weekend. Even better, the striped white shirt like these can be easily combined with any darker trousers, such as grey, blue and black.

 Now that are your first ten. On top of this, off course, you will need several plain shirt that will go han din hand to more formal occasions such as wedding, and for this I recommend you to have 2 whites, 1 blue, and 1 other color that more cheerful, can be blue, pink or even purple. Just remember to have ties that match these shirts.

 Theoretically speaking, there are no limitations on how many shirts, especially the plain one that you can have. Needless to say, the whites are very versatile choice, one that can be easily matched uo with any type of suits. One thing to remember, is that never ever pair these shirts with black trousers without suit. Simple reasons, you will look like a waiter.

 As for the model, I would normally go with standard collar, normal cuff, single breast pocket all in cotton. However for the plain one, considering that you are going to use it for formal occasion, French cuff is advisable. Nonetheless, if you have extra budget, get some more of the plains, but with standard cuff. These shirts will save your style someday.

 Talking about materials, there are several tips that might useful for first time buyer. First material don’t lie, no matter what they say, 100% cotton is better than any other material. Cotton like any other natural fiber, breaths which means it allows air flow in and out material, hence resulting in cooler feel, smooth surface and expensive look. It comes with drawback though, cotton is very delicate, and can be difficult to wash and especially to press, secondly good quality cotton comes with the expensive price tag. Off the rack, ok quality cotton shirts will cost you at last $60, while the polyester mixed one cost only $20-40. A good off the rack cotton shirt, can even cost you between $100-$150. In Jakarta, a tailored shirts of Egyptian cotton cost anywhere between $75 to $90, which considered to be a very reasonable price tag for a bespoke shirts. Nonetheless, if you are more like me, whose income is not yet feasible to be spent on a shirt that expensive, you can opt for more humble mix of cotton with poly or lycra. A respectable amount of mixes is the one who come between 70%-95% of cotton. These are easy to wash, durable, and can be pressed easily. Its is not as smooth or as cooling as the cotton, but for most people is acceptable.

 Which bring to the next trait. The fit. No matter how expensive the shirt was, it worth nothing is its not fits you properly. And what I meant with fit is this, the collar should fit the neck in such a way that you are able to button the upper most of the collar. The arm, should run as long as your fore arms, and the shoulder should fit your perfectly in away, that the junction between the shoulder’s material and the arm, rest exactly at the join of your shoulder and arm. Needless to say, the chest and the waist of the shirt should fall smoothly against yours.

 Thirdly, the details. For most sartorial fans, the details of the shirt as just as important as the material it self. Several details that you can take a note are:

• The collar should be equipped with detachable collar bone, unless it’s a button down. This features are important, as the collar need to be detached before washing, hence it would still keep its factual form. The bones can then be inserted back, prior to wearing. This can significantly prolonged the life span of your shirts.
• The collar shape, depending on the wearer can vary. For most people, the conservative, pointed collar is common choice. But for some people, the spread collar is more suitable, depending on your preferences.

 Now, on top of the formal line as described above there are a more casual take on shirt. And for this I recommend a balance number of dark (for night), light (for days) colored in either long (for clubbing, dining) or short (for brunch and Sunday stroll) sleeves. For simple guidance, just go for 4 dark longs, 4 light longs and 4 light shorts combinations. It usually worked.