Royster's Blog

 This is not your average Brooks Brothers sweater. 

Notice the intricate detailing – slim fitting sizing, contrast neckline, multicolored design.  This piece is part of BB’s Black Fleece collection.  Designed by Thom Browne, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Menswear Designer of the Year in 2006 and GQ’s Designer of The Year in 2008, Black Fleece is a high-end line that draws from traditional elements in the BB heritage line but brings them up to date with a more modern, sophisticated look.

Brooks Brothers’s bread and butter has always been filling the niche of the classic American brand for business clothing.  And they’ve been successful doing just that.  Black Fleece is quite a diversion from this.  Yet I admire their foray into diversification - what better way to keep an aging label refreshed than to link to yet reinvent the classical style that it made famous.  If you’re a regular Brooks Brothers customer I can’t imagine a switching over to the Black Fleece side wholeheartedly, just because the looks are radically different and the prices exorbitant.  However, if you’ve found the classic BB line somewhat boring or if you’re into the “trendy school uniform” look, you won’t be disappointed here.

Chesterfield Coat, $4000.00

Camel Hair Double Breasted Jacket, $2100.00

Tab Trousers, $800.00

Wool Sweater, $750.00

Button-Down Oxford Shirt, $250.00

Jockey Stripe Tie, $150.00

Argyle Cashmere Crew Cardigan, $1200.00

Wool Tab Trousers, $850.00

**UPDATE**

I just received this coupon for 30% off Brooks Brothers (including Black Fleece) from May 2 through May 11.   With Black Fleece being priced where it is, that should make a rather large difference.

Just received the 2009 Spring Lookbook from Barneys CO-OP.  Lots of interesting looks which give me an idea of what I should  be embracing for the upcoming summer.  My favorites are below.

Vince
Linen Rollup Sleeve Shirt $158
Chambray Shorts $158

Salvor Projects
Hand Printed Jersey Scarf $250

RRL
Engineer Stripe Band Collar Shirt $220
Low Straight Jeans in Buffalo Rider $330
Suspenders $120

Engineered Garments
Madras Plaid Sport Jacket $365
Cinch Shorts $195

Tattersall Button Down Shirt $240
Madras Tie $90

As I’m finally done updating this blog, Lent is officially in my rear view mirror. So how did I do? Well, I did make a few purchases, but all came with proper justification and I obediently followed the rules I imposed at the start. I can’t say the past 40 days were particularly easy, but regardless I did what I set out to do and accomplished my goal.

The end results, you ask? A heavier wallet, a sense of pride and a happy heart, to name a few.

I’ve had fun writing this blog, although I fell behind in my updates recently as the reality of my life intervened. So much fun, in fact, that I’ve decided to carry on here even though Lent is over. Which is good news for you, my loyal readers, as you can continue to be a passenger on my journey of finding stuff I like. What can I say, I live to serve.

I’ll leave you with this quote from William Blake which seems apropos to what this is all about:

“The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.”

 

Greetings from the left coast!  I’m writing this from my home away from home, the Bay Area.  I love it here!

Easter is coming up soon!  One two more days until this journey is over.  And what a long, strange trip it’s been.  I can see the finish line, and I think I am going to make it, thankfully.

This has nothing to do with fashion, architecture, design, or the like.  Regardless I like it because it’s freaking hysterical.

If you could invent the ultimate bachelor, the end product would no doubt resemble Gavin Maloof.

Along with his siblings Joe, George, and Phil, the Maloof brothers run a billion-dollar family business that includes ownership of the NBA Sacramento Kings, the Palms hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Coors and Miller distributing in New Mexico, a record label called Maloof Music, a racehorse named King Palm, and a large position in Wells Fargo stock.  Among his circle of party peeps are the Hilton Sisters, Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Tara Reid.  It should be noted that Gavin is 53 years old.

Last year Gavin bought a new house in Las Vegas (satellite view).  Calling it a “house” or even a “mansion” doesn’t really do it justice, however.  Located in the Southern Highlands Golf Course and Club community, Maloof paid $10 million cash (!!!) for the residence.  It has 13,489 square feet situated on one acre.  Features include: seven bedrooms and nine baths, containing four suites, the home features a maid’s quarters, office, wine room, library, home theater, wellness center, steam shower and dry sauna.

 “I put $2 million in upgrades, furnishings and my custom made Jesse James motorcycle from West Coast Choppers with our team logo in white and purple and featured it near the game room,” Maloof said.  Lil’ Wayne music video “Lollipop” was filmed on location.

For sale:

A condo at Residences at Two Liberty Place in Philadelphia.  Features include:

-       46th floor

-       Unobstructed view of Center City and, on a clear day, more than 25 miles beyond in any direction

-       5,850 square feet

-       2,040 square feet of balcony space

-       Four bedrooms

-       Master bath with steam shower and Jacuzzi tub

-       Entertainment space with a fireplace and a wet bar

-       Custom gourmet kitchen

-       Hand-finished walnut flooring

-       Comes with Cappuccino machine, Italian-made Snaidero kitchen cabinetry, and Miele appliances

-       Full spa and sauna, billiard room, gourmet restaurant, and “pet concierge” service

Asking price: $7.678 million.

Going once, going twice…SOLD!  Someone bought this piece of luxury for $7.7 million, which set a record for the highest price ever paid for a Philadelphia condominium.

In the event you’re interested in being this guy’s neighbor (along with Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora and Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels, who also own residences at Two Liberty), you’re in luck!  There are 80 condos currently available – they range in price from $795,000 for a 1,200-square-foot, one-bedroom space to the $15 million 57th-floor penthouse.

What recession??

For sale:

A luxurious suburban Atlanta home. Features include: 

-          Located in Sugarloaf Country Club in Duluth, GA

-          20,000 square feet

-          Eight bedrooms

-          Eleven bathrooms

-          Four car garage

-          Features lake view, dining room for at least 12, cathedral ceilings, elevator, pool room, movie theater, two fireplaces, two-story foyer, two-story study, wet bar, gymnasium and indoor golf simulator, personal barber shop

-          Three floors

Asking price: $3.2 million.

Probably not mentioned by the realtor: pitbull battle royales and animal executions may have taken place on the premises.

Saw what you will about Michael Vick, but his mansion is pretty sweet.  

I can’t help but wonder – would I be ashamed to own a house in which I knew a crime had been committed?

Cupcake Burger – chocolate cupcake burger, vanilla cupcake buns, coconut lettuce and frosting condiments.

I hope, for my own personal health and well-being, that I never encounter one of these in my lifetime.

I’m switching gears today.  Instead of posting something I like, I will show the opposite.

If you’ve been reading this blog, it’s no secret that I’m a big fan of footwear.  I think you can tell a lot about a person by the shoes he or she is wearing.  Here are a couple of examples of footwear so atrocious that I can barely keep from vomiting all over my keyboard.  Keep reading at your own risk and don’t say I didn’t warn you.

In case you didn’t recognize them, the objects of my antipathy are Mariah Carey and Lady Gaga.  Seriously, what are you thinking??  These must have been taken during Halloween.

The greatest culinary experience of my life was at The French Laundry last year.  It was the meal to end all meals, never to be forgotten.  The downside of such an awesome dining memory is that the question “What can surpass The French Laundry” is not easily answered.  Naturally, the answer may lie in Thomas Keller’s east coast restaurant, Per Se.

I just read this Wall Street Journal article which describes how high-end restaurants are expanding their bar and lounge areas in order to serve more affordably priced dishes in order to boost profits in this floundering economy. 

“Even Thomas Keller’s Per Se restaurant in Manhattan, where the only dinner option has been a $275, nine-course prix fixe menu, launched an a la carte menu for its lounge area last week. Unlike the main dining room, where dinner tables typically book up two months in advance, the lounge doesn’t take reservations. Diners are seated around coffee tables.”

Coffee tables?  No reservations?  A la carte menu?  No thanks.  Although I’m certain that the food is still spectacular, this sounds like an overall cheap reproduction of the real thing.  For me personally, I’d rather walk through those blue doors and experience life the way it’s meant to be lived, which can’t be achieved by cutting corners.

Another article on Per Se’s menu offerings for your reading pleasure:

Thomas Keller Goes à la Carte