Some Background and Some Resolutions

Here we are again, at the changing of the calendar year. To think that just a few years ago there was that whole Y2K problem and now we enter 2011. Where does it go?

In the migration of the http://www.FourInHand.com site to its new home, I have been retaking pics and relabeling items and I am up to these.  The Double Sided Silk and Cashmere Scarves, perfect for an elegant night on the town.  I hand picked the vintage silks from my tie makers stock (some of them you might recognize as pocket squares) and backed them with what I thought was an appropriate colored Italian cashmere scarf.  Of course, the joining of the two was done by hand, and the result is what you see here:

As the Vintage Silk here has the Burgundy Field I Chose the Burgundy Colored Scarf.  Easy.

Here is the Back front Detail:

Same with the Navy Vintage Paisleys and The Navy Cashmere Scarf

Back/Front:

Here I took a Black Cashmere Backing to work off the Burgundy of the Vintage yet classic Pin Dot Twill giving you a Burgundy/Black Contrast.

Back/Front:

Here I felt Visually that the yellow worked nicely with the charcoal grey cashmere scarf.

Back/Front:

As far as the resolution part of the post…last year at this time I posted about the need for readers to resolve better.  Now its my turn;  as I have been remiss (for a good cause, but remiss nonetheless) in posting my resolution is to spend more time on this blog, and incorporate it into the new website.  This way we can all be happy. 🙂

Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy 2011, I remain, Yours truly.

Jonathan J. Fischer

Your Second Coat

Your second coat can and should be one with a little more life i.e. color to it.  A great option is a camel colored coat or something in that family like the Colombo Cashmere Caramel one pictured below.

A camel colored coat as you will see in the pictures below works very well with many suit colors, Black, Brown, Navy, Charcoal, Tan and lots of others as well.

Here again the options in neckwear accessories (thats fancy talk for scarves, dude) are manyfold and I have pictured only some below.

Again with the Alex Begg Dark Grey Cashmere Scarf:

The Colombo cashmere Double Pin Stripe Scarf in Black with Camel Stripes:

Incidentally this is actually the accurate color of the Caramel Coat and scarf:

A lighter Grey Medium Stripe from Colombo cashmere:

A dark Chocolate Chalk Stripe from Colombo Cashmere:

An Olive and Tan Horizontal Stripe (not on the site…hmmmm…) from Colombo Cashmere:

And as I have mentioned before, quite possibly my favorite solid color of the season, the hunter green from Colombo Cashmere (Looks warm all nestled in there!) :

Have a great Weekend All!

(EDIT:  I have written and shown more on the versatility and scarf options on a camel coat in this post, Camel is King)

PS:  If you want some questions answered in this weeks Q&A  feel free to email me!

PPS:  By popular demand the Cashmere sale on the site has been extended till after the Holidays.

Reverse Psychology

If we accept yesterday’s premise that the most versatile (albeit sedate) coat color is grey as it goes with everything, it would naturally follow that the most versatile scarf color would be grey as well.

Here are some pics that in my opinion uphold that thought:

All outerwear shown with an Alex Begg what they call Dark Grey color cashmere scarf:

Navy Coat

Black Coat

Camel Coat

And this combination as a lesson to those uneducated that claim that brown and dark grey do NOT work well together:

Brown Coat

Agree?  Disagree? Abstain?  Lets hear you!

Colors are like friends

Usually the not so popular, not so loud and entertaining people make the best friends. They are reliable and dependable and don’t often hog the room by demanding the most attention when they enter the room. Heck, they might sometimes be boring. And that’s exactly why they can be counted on. They don’t have their own agenda and they always have your back covered.

The same can be said for outerwear.

The question of what color should one get for a first coat often comes up on ask Andy and Style forum and my feelings on the matter is that the correct answer is grey.  From medium greys to dark charcoals grey is the trusted friend. So many colors go with grey because grey is boring. It doesn’t have it’s own agenda. It doesn’t demand attention when it enters the room and much like a quiet friend unless paired with the right accessory it will go unnoticed. In the case the search for a versatile coat that’s a good thing.

I have said this before in matching and coordinating with suits but the concepts are the same and bear repeating.

You can wear a grey coat with…

Black, Navy, Grey, Brown (Grey goes rather well with Brown and I am pretty sure that I have shown that here already in many different posts, most recently in this picture.), Purple, Lilac, Pink, Green, Burgundy, Rust, Orange, Camel and Tan to name a few.  Greys disadvantage in not being the center of attraction make it the ideal team player.

Here are some pics that I snapped with scarves that were immediately at hand, to give you a feel for color.  Take the colors and apply them to suits.  It works.  Bear in mind that the lighter and truer the grey (less black, more grey) the better these colors will go.

Here a dark charcoal Prandina Raglan Coat with the Colombo Cashmere double sided scarf.  Here you get to see the almost black-like Charcoal and Purple working with the charcoal coat..

The Colombo Cashmere Navy Chalk Stripe Scarf.

The medium Striped Medium Blue Colombo Cashmere Scarf:

For a twist here is the deep Hunter Green Colombo Cashmere Scarf.  A seasonal favorite of mine.

The Colombo Cashmere Burgundy Scarf:

The Colombo Cashmere Mink and Cashmere Blend in Tan and Grey:

And the Colombo Cashmere in Light Brown:

More ways to skin this cat

On Wednesday I wrote about one way to tie a scarf. Of course there are many ways to “skin that cat” and here are some more.

There is the typical flip around to the back which looks like this in the front.

The downside is that 1) on a long scarf it hangs too far over the back looking like this, a bit clumsy (and even being dangerous, as the circumstances involved in Isadora Duncan’s death show):

and 2) it can easily blow back over even if its not windy, by simply turning or leaning over quickly or the wrong way. A solution for that would be to wrap it around the neck a full time. Flip it over, and the part that is on your back, bring to the front again. Its not that convenient, and is a little uncomfortable as you cant really loosen and tighten the scarf easily.

Alternatively, here is a knot that I prefer using as its quick to put on, adjusts freely and usually stays up against the neck keeping you nice and warm.  Its easier to work with a knitted scarf like this black small striped seen above and further below but certainly works well enough with a woven too like this  Colombo double sided scarf (Seen Here)

In both cases they are shown with the Prandina Ribbed wool 3/4 coat with detachable hood. (fabric by Piacenza)

Here are the simple steps.

1) Double up the scarf and drape it around your neck in the middle of the doubled up scarf. One side now has two fringes and one side has a loop created by the doubling of the scarf.

2) Feed the fringes into the loop and draw the scarf tighter.

Your scarf should now look like this and you are done. You can leave it hanging out or:

Tuck it into your jacket like so.

This works better with a long scarf of about 70 inches. and less and you will have the end result that looks like this, A little skimpy.

I have also seen this knot being used.

I personally think that it comes across as too effeminate. Maybe because the first time I saw it was when my Alex Begg Rep was wearing her floral scarf in that pattern. Maybe I think it looks too affected. To each his own 🙂

Enjoy the weekend!

PS: The Cashmere sale on my site ends on the 1st of December. Take advantage!

Tying the knot

Over at Styleforum.net the question came up as to how I did the knot on the scarves a few posts back in more black ops.

Here is how its done.  Simple, really:

4 easy steps:

1) Cross the scarf over in front like so:

2) Take the top part and swing under the lower part and up through the neck like so:

3) Bring the part that is up down like so.

4) Spread it wider while pulling it up like so:  Pull the bottom part so as to tighten the scarf around your neck thereby bringing the top up.

Your close up should look like this:

6) And close the jacket over it so it looks like this:

This type of knot functions well as it 1) displays the pattern of the scarf and 2) it stays tight against the neck unlike the typical crossover of the two ends of the scarf in front of the throat which invariably opens up after a few moments.

More Black Ops

Well, the conventional understanding of black ops would be clandestine operations but in this case its more OPTIONS for a Black coat.  Sorry, I just couldn’t resist.

Here are some classic looks (The wine color scarf and the camel colored) and some not so classic looks, (the green and the grey stripe).  But not so classic I don’t mean way out there.  I simply mean not your basic look.

Here shown with a Deep Green Colombo Cashmere scarf.  Great rich color.

Here, the classic camel/Tan Color scarf.  In this case a Colombo cashmere Scarf as well.

This grey stripe Colombo cashmere scarf is nice and just slightly different without being loud.

Finally, the Wine Colored Scarf from Alex Begg of Scotland (not shown on the site but available) .  a classic combination.

Incidentally you may have seen this identical scarf (as told to me by my Begg Repp) before. (But I do NOT approve of the tie color with the scarf nor do I approve of the olive colored gloves with the coat the First Lady is wearing, maybe someone direct them here 😉 )

Oft Overlooked

Face it, if your coat is black, charcoal or even navy its relatively boring as compared to your suit which might have a pattern because most coats do NOT have patterns.  Even basic construction details will be overlooked due to the nature of the garment which is to fit over your well tailored suit.  What better way to wake it up then with a dash of color like a scarf.

So get out there and dont be afraid, wake up the danged thing.  Here, as always, contrast is your friend.

An oft overlooked color scheme would be the Classic Black (or charcoal) coat with a strong rust or orange type accessory.

Here you have the knitted grey with charcoal and rust stripe knitted scarf in play against the 3/4 Colombo Cashmere coat.  (Only 2 more of those left in a 42 and 44 and at 850 they are a great buy.,( Not on the site so email me.)

Tucked into the coat it will look like this:

And getting a little more comfortable with color you might want to try a rust Colombo Cashmere scarf (also, not on the site, email me) with brown stripe and section which looks like this.

And this when adjusted properly.

It’s getting cold out there, enjoy the weekend!

( Not on the site so email me.)

Camel is King

Well…Cash is king usually but here the idea is that camel is a great versatile color that goes with so many colors.  I will stop short of saying that it goes with everything but I will not say what the exceptions are as nothing comes to mind quickly.

By way of email communications I was talking with a customer who recently purchased the camel coat shown below and was contemplating a coordinating scarf.

Here are some options, but by no means should this post be considered a comprehensive list.  In fact one look at the scarf pages on my site will show that so many options work with that coat or one of similar colors.

I show here a Colombo cashmere scarf (pricey),

an Alex Begg wool angora (not pricey) and

a house label double sided knitted scarf. (very not pricey)

and more of the same: