Friday Fashion Faux Pax - Brooks Brothers Black Fleece Sale

I get email from Brooks Brothers all the time, and I'm usually very happy to review their classic American traditional offering.  Other than the custom clothes I design myself, I have more Brooks garb in my closet than anything else.  If you've read my blog for a bit, you'll remember a post I made regarding what I deemed "a complete mistake" by the Brothers Brooks astonishingly ridiculous Thom Browne "Pee Wee Herman" Black Fleece Collection.

So this particular email was a 75% off sale on all Thom Browne - Black Fleece items.  At 75% off, they are looking to move some inventory!  The fact that they are putting the stuff on sale is not only NOT a surprise at all but really pretty smart.  They need to move that crap out of the warehouse as quickly as possible and sever the relationship with Pee Wee Browne even quicker.  In the past 10 years, I believe the latest owners of Brooks have now completely revived the once standard in American men's clothing.  But in their haste to project a seemingly edgy renderance, they went too far.  What they missed was that the next generation of Brooks customers, currently 18-24 years old, want the traditional classic offering that's made Brooks not only famous but cutting edge since the late 1800's.  A great example is when Brooks introduced the now industry standard button down collar, a totally outrageous new design, bringing a polo necessity into mainstream fashion.

So I guess they've tried to be outrageous again, but this time I think they didn't design a new standard, they failed by trying to create a fad, something the young skinny population could get behind.  Of course the other thing they didn't realize was that the population of skinny college kids and young upstart executives in their early 20's that could actually pull off such a look is the same population that can't afford to even walk into their store.

So now it all goes on sale!  Now the college boys that want edgy, faddish style can get the clothing at cut rate prices and flaunt their finds around campus.  Needless to say, their professors will be wondering why Joe Bob has decided to wear his Pee Wee Herman Halloween costume to class.

Please Mr. Brooks, get back to what you do best, outfitting the mass of the population that still wants roomy, classic, traditional American Standard, high quality men's clothing.  Stop going trendy, it just doesn't fit! And oh yeah, I hope your sale goes well!

How good does a new suit feel?

What's it like to don a brand new suit?  Pretty darn good is the answer to that simple question.  There is just something awesome about a new suit that is hard to describe.  It makes you feel like a new man.  Like the ills of the world have been shed and your embracing life with a new suit of armor, ready for battle, all wounds healed.  I would dare say that the first time a gentleman wears a new suit is somewhat akin to the loss of his virginity...well maybe not quite the same but close. You can only wear a new suit for the first time once.  It will never feel the same.  It will never be flawlessly un-wrinkled, never again have that brand-new smell and never again give you the proud feeling of fashionisto dominance.  It will settle in as your favorite for a while, but just until you get the urge to bring the next new draped innocence into your closet to re-start your continued clawing efforts to stake your claim the world.

Okay, that was a little dramatic, but true nonetheless.  One of the reasons I got into the custom clothing business was to make a living in a job that involved a true passion of mine that's been brewing since childhood.  The other was so that I could wear really kick-ass clothes every day!  But amazingly enough, although new clothing for me is quite common and often, every time a new suit arrives it's like a brand new day. 

So last week my newest creation arrived and Monday was its debut.  This bad boy is a Super 130's wool gangster chalk-stripe in a deep dark charcoal.  I got a little daring with this guy and opted for pic stitched peaked lapels on a single breast with side vents in the rear.  And of course, it's got my standard shiny purple pimp lining on the inside.  One of my Dad's favorite phrases when everything is going haywire is, "I'm like a duck on the water...calm on the top and paddling like hell underneath."  That's how my purple lining works...elegant on the inside and crazy mad on the inside.  The pants have pleats that turn inward, something you rarely see with off-the-rack except in Ralph's creations.  Larger than normal cuffs on the bottom and working buttonholes on the sleeves.  Of course this guy fits like a dream, along with the ability to design the garment head to toe, are all beautiful aspects of "The Custom Suit".

A Man in Full

Peaked Lapels

Fancy Purple Pimp Lining

Functional Buttonholes

A nice big cuff paired with suede cap-toed brogues.

I thought I'd throw in some shots of some new shirts that just came in for customers.  Absolutely gorgeous!  As the ladies on SNL say, "That cotton is like BUTTA".  The silky smooth feel is so soft to the touch, like a brand new baby's behind...well maybe not THAT soft, but close.

Easter and Seersucker...

Easter Sunday finally got here!  It was late this year and was much cause for fashionisto related controversy.   You see, the seersucker, linen, white bucks and summer type items were eagerly awaiting their seasonal debut. But as Easter came late this year, it was a long, hard wait.  Yours Truly made it though!!! While I watched closely as others cheated the system and pulled the summer weights out early, I chose to respect Miss Manners and hold off until yesterday, when a proper gentleman can make an entrance in full peacockedness.  Shame on the others for hastily coming out of the closet before the ceremonial date had arrived.

A peacock and wonderful family

So yesterday was Easter Sunday and it was a glorious day.  It all started with the mad dash hunt for Easter eggs delivered by the lovely and talented Easter Bunny.  MyKala declared herself a non-hunting teenager while Daniel, clad in full SpongeBobedness brovado, took on the search for eggs with great gusto.  He did real well...only needing a few guided tips along the way to finalize the haul of eggs.  EB had hidden a few tricky ones just for grins!

Daniel and EB's bulk delivery

Momma explaining why EB has brought a parachuting soldier toy...

Daniel investigating EB's tricky egg placement while Riley queries the basket

Then the Sudduth Family made its way to St. Luke's UMC for the 10:00 service where Dr. Tom Pace filled us with a great fever to "LIVE"!  Jesus suffered so that we may live...so live your life!  Live it!!!  I love St. Luke's on a bright clear Easter Sunday, with all the children in their Sunday best, the ladies in their new Spring outfits and a scattering of men in seersucker, poplin and Hermes neckwear.  St. Luke's on Easter Sunday is like going to a sold out playoff game, where there's not a seat in the house and the whole church takes it up a notch in both volume and power.

Next up was a trip to the Houston City Club for the wondrous over-stuffing of buffet food that included a large helping of macaroni and cheese from the children's section for the Big Man.  It's just so good. Paired with lamb and roast beast on a small bun with mashed potatoes, shrimp cocktail, tuna salad and plenty of bread, it was just scrumptious.  All hosted by my sweet Father Dan, we were joined by my brother Drew and his 2 children and my youngest brother Cade with his new sweetheart Amanda. 

Pop explaining to Jack how cup lids factor into global economics

Cade, Amanda & Bloody Mary's

My always lovely, curious and perfectly coiffed niece Mary Caroline

"Yes, I thought the Mac & Cheese was just wonderful. What did you think Daniel?" 

We retreated back to the Sudduth Compound where I took on the Sunday paper and a nap.  Jen and the kids headed to the backyard where Jen planted a new pallet of flowers in the one spot that won't grow anything (more on that spot as it progresses) and 4 backs of top soil were placed in the circle of dirt created by the absence of the statue we removed two weekends ago.  Daniel once again played in the above ground pool and MyKala intermingled bass clarinet practice with visits outdoors and a Lego color separation project.  All in all, a really nice Easter Sunday.  I hope you had a great day as well!

Hangin' with the Mayor, BBQ and Egg Hunting

In my book, Good Friday is a holiday.  And since I own the company, with Corporate Resolution in hand, I am hereby allowing myself the day off.  Of course, as we all know, when you own the company, you never get a holiday.  So I'm sure I'll sit at the desk and bang away for a bit anyway.

This is going to be one of those hodge podge posts where I share several small items with you that don't have enough depth for a post of their own.  So let's get started shall we?

Hangin' with the Mayor

Last Friday I attended the "State of the City" Address held by the Greater Houston Partnership and featuring our dynamic new mayor Annise Parker.  I try and take politics out of city government and focus on the person's ability to effectively and properly run our city...which is really just a big business.  And with the budget shortfalls and a continued down economy, I think she's doing a pretty bang up job.   Her speech was good and her message strong...continue to whittle away at the budget deficit while maintaining job security for our municipal workers while bringing growth and continued business prosperity to this great city of ours.  I was even so bold as to shake her hand and thank her for her hard work and service.

Houston's Mayor Annise Parker

BBQ in Beaumont

So last week I had to made a trip back to my birthplace - Beaumont, Texas.  I have a prospect in Beaumont that needed a personal visit.  So I made the trek 90 miles to the East, which nowadays isn't much longer to reach than some of my Houston clients!  The high point was that the meeting let out about Noon, which gave me a unique opportunity to find a new BBQ joint, one of my favorite little hobbies.  I headed South on 11 St. and found the Wendy's, Hartz Chicken, McDonald's and several other fast food joints.  I was just about to turn around for the Wendy's when I saw a true roadside joint with a big sign for Broussard's Links, Ribs & BBQ.  How could I go wrong!

So I quickly turned in and jumped out.  That's when I realized just how "roadside" this place was.  It had no dining room, just an order window and a pick up window.  I asked the nice robust woman in front of me if this place was good and she quickly replied with "Best in Beaumont" so I decided to give it a shot.  I ordered a chopped beef sandwich and a diet coke, paid my tab of $4.75 and found 3 makeshift picnic tables on the side of the building to enjoy my lunch and take in some South Beaumont scenery.  I also began to notice that I was clearly the only Caucasian in the area which brought both smiles and stares when they saw me on the porch.  One thing I've found is that no matter your color, creed, sexuality or nationality, all of us enjoy some good Q.  And it was very good!  So next time you find yourself on the South side of Beaumont, stop into Broussard's and tell them Britt sent you...

Egg hunting at St. Luke's

Every year our beloved church St. Luke's Methodist throws a huge picnic and egg hunt the Sunday before Easter.  And every year it's a load of fun.  It feels like an old country picnic where the men take off their jackets and roll up their sleeves...where ladies saunter around in pretty spring dresses...and kids run with reckless abandon hauling their Easter baskets ready to attack the eggs.  The eggs are roped off into quadrants based on age and after the hamburgers and hot dogs have been consumed, the bell rings and the kids make the dash to collect eggs.  It's really quite fun to watch.

Today is Good Friday and Sunday is Easter.  I hope all you dear readers enjoy the long weekend and have a blessed and spiritually filled Easter Sunday.  I'll have plenty of pictures for you on Monday and yes, it's time to break out the Seersucker Suit!

Heavy D and the Cowboy Boots!

There are moments as a Father that happen just once...the day your son is born, his first baseball game, his first day of kindergarten, his first loose tooth, his first cowboy hat, etc.  Well...it's time to show you kind folks my boy's first pair of cowboy boots.  As a proud Texan, this is one of countless small steps through a boy's rite of passage into manhood...in Texas anyway.

The Boy and his Boots

Having shopped eBay, the local stores and everything in between without finding just the right pair, it was time to go for gold and stop into The Texas Junk Co. for a browse.  So on a cool sunny Saturday morning, we loaded up and headed over to Taft & Welch St. in the Fourth Ward part of Houston.  This little hole in the wall store has been there forever and is widely known for the vast supply of used cowboy boots for sale in every size.

Texas Junk Co.

The owner - Bob

Rows and rows of used boots waiting for their next life...

Daniel, although a tad timid about entering the store (this was no Target or Cavender's Boot City), embraced the challenge of finding just the right pair of boots...in black.  We tried on several with no luck and then came across a very basic black pair that did all the right stuff.  They fit nicely with a little grow room and are straight up plain black boots.  With a little dusting off and cleaning up by Dad, these babies are gonna shine.  So my young boy walks along through his early years, proudly sporting his new boots, whilst a very proud father watches him the whole way...enjoying every moment.

Hangin' with Tycoons at ZaZa...

Last week Jen and I, well really Jen, hosted the Justice for Children VIP Party.  This was a special evening to thank the big spenders and table buyers at the upcoming 2011 JFC Gala on May 21st.  The event was held in the 2,000 sq. ft. Texas Tycoon Suite on the top floor of Hotel ZaZa.  Absolutely gorgeous!  ZaZa really went all out with complimentary appetizers, wine and champagne, not to mention the breathtaking views overlooking Hermann Park and the rest of our beautiful city.  Did I mention that there was a hot tub on the veranda?  Late night tubbing anyone?

The event was a huge success as we hosted over 60 excited JFC contributors, including Dr. Carolyn Farb, this year's Harvey Houck Award Winner.  The award will be presented at the Gala in May.  There were many laughs and a wonderful time was had by all.  A late evening dinner followed at the Monarch on ZaZa Floor One.

JFC Board Members

Jen and I are very passionate about this cause, so if you are interested in joining us for the JFC Gala in May or just making a kind donation, please go to http://www.justiceforchildren.org/.  All proceeds are greatly welcomed and go straight towards the legal fight against child abuse.

Yours Truly with lovely bride and Gala Honoree Carolyn Farb

If you're looking at my rig and wondering who made it...well it's all Britton Sudduth Clothier, from the navy blue solid power suit with internal purple pimp lining, bright white shirt with spread collar, English Position monogram and french cuffs all rounded out with an absolutely daringly cool Milan rendered raspberry tie.  I did pair it all with my Gucci Slip-Ons just for some additional Italian flare.  Jen is flaunting her lovely persona wearing a very recent polka dot arrival from Black/White Market.

What's up with Jos A Bank?

What in the world has happened to Jos. A. Bank?  In the 1980's in Houston we had several high-end haberdashers and just barely a rank below was good ole Banks.  The trustworthy, never gonna do you wrong provider of quality, moderately priced men's clothing that could really stand up against the Brothers Brooks.  I know some of you readers will argue that J Banks never really competed, but there were lots of us who were perfectly happy buying heavy duty cotton oxfords, khaki's, blue blazers and rep ties from Banks.  Most of us even got our first business suit from these fine folks from Baltimore.

  

Somehow over the past 20 years they have now managed to make themselves just part of the retail slammer society...a commodity.  They plaster the world with coupons claiming one-day only sales that seem to happen daily.  Or special buy one suit and get 4 shirts, a sport coat, 3 pairs of slacks and 3 ties for free deals.  Come on!  They are just telling the world, yes, I am raping you for a huge margin on one item so I can sell a bunch of other crap and move product through my stores.  Heres' the latest example from just this morning:

So let's look closer at the $99 Poplin Suit special. There ain't know way they can make a quality suit, get it to there store, pay their rent and salespeople, advertise and then sell the suit for $99 a make a profit.  And they'll give you free shipping if you buy more than $195!  The word we need to examine is quality.  They are making the suits in some 3rd world country with super cut-rate labor. 

I just don't get it.  They took a high quality, attention to detail retailer and turned it into a hyper-mart of suits and shirts.  Mr. Joseph Bank would be mortified and ashamed.  I guarantee you this was not his vision and would probably take his name off the building!

Alright, now this is where all the folks that still buy from Banks tell me that I only wrote this concoction to talk you into buying custom garments from me.  Well you're wrong!  As most of you know, I was already ranting about the absurdity they've become.  So please go ahead and buy from Banks if you like and when your shirts shrink and the collars don't lay down, or your suit just doesn't look new after 6 months, come see me.  The least you can do is step it up and go see the Brothers at Brooks!

Sorry for the rant, but it just needed to be said!

Removing an old lady from the backyard...

This was a project on the books for quite some time.  During Hurricane Ike, our nice big tree in the backyard fell on our water statue of "Lady with the Look", basically removing the head completely.  I believe the statue was original to the house in 1957.  So the headless statue has remained for about 2 years, providing us an unsolved mystery project.  What to do?  Jen battled with replacing it or turning it into something else.  The final resolve was to simply remove the statue, replace with grass and create a larger playing area for our son. 

"The Removal Project"

After borrowing a sledgehammer from our good friend Andre Lehr (he has everything), we were ready to go.  Our first hit with the hammer yielded literally nothing and we were faced with the truly daunting task of successful disassembly.  The second and third hits yielded little more.  Then we hit paydirt.  With the fourth mighty blow I not only blew out my back but put a big dent/crack in the base of the fountain.  Then we went to work...brick by brick, stone by stone and concrete piece by concrete piece. Poor Jennifer was doing the heavy lifting due to my injury.  I was still in the game but playing a limited role.  I kept hitting and dis-assembling and she kept filling boxes and hauling away.  She is some kind of trooper!

Jen thinks I look Sexy in my Safety Goggles!

And there goes the back!  Ouch!

Progress...

And a little more progress...

And done!

So what we have left now is a odd shaped mess of monkey grass, some dirt and a leftover eletrical conduit.  Phase 2 of the project is get Lehr over here with a hacksaw to remove the conduit.  I'm going to leave it to him to determine if that electrical line is hot or not...he'll figure it out!  Then we can cut out the monkey grass, drop some new sod and make it look like additional lawn covering.

So good-bye dear Lady!  We'll miss you.  But wait a minute, is something watching us?  Oh no!  We have kept what's left of her head and it now sits in a side bed ready to ogle the dog, cat, dinner party or whatever she deems worthy.  The good news is that at the time of this posting, my back seems to be feeling much better...thanks for asking!

She watches us...still...

New posting schedule!

Dear Readers:

I am going to start posting on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  My workload has increased so much that I'm having a hard time completing a quality post on a daily basis.  This should allow me to provide better content without putting undue stress on the part of my life that provides income.

A huge thanks to all my regulars!  Please continue to enjoy The House of Riley...3 times a week!

Britt

The (L)Astros get started on a losing note...

As I have done every year for past many, I joined several old friends (Gardner, Mike, Ken & Lars) for the Houston Astros Opening Day festivities.  At game time the Astros are off to another miserable start of 1 win, 5 losses as Mr. McClane continues his quest to sell the team.  As such, the player payroll is at an all time low so that the new owner can then re-structure the team as he/she sees fit without worrying about long-term contract obligations with expensive players.

The festivities begin at The Flying Saucer

Nevertheless we had a wonderful time.  Our ticket acquisition expert Gardner Biggs did a bang up job and got us tickets nearly behind first base about 25 rows up...prime foul ball territory - more on that later.  A little background on tickets.  For the past few years Mr. Biggs has done a eloquent job of placing us in the worst tickets in the stadium, literally in the top row of the upper deck.  To say that he has redeemed himself is an understatement.  While we did endure a little sun for the first couple of innings, once the sun went down we were in hog heaven.  The beer flowed nicely, great views around the stadium and the Astros playing slightly better than expected, until the 7th inning of course.  The game was very exciting with the Astros giving it their best shot with a home run in the 9th to bring it close.  With a runner called out stealing at 2nd it was all over but for the long walk back to our cars.

Pre-game introductions

My first $7.50 contribution of the season

Ken enjoying himself!

Gardner, Lars and Butterfingers on the end

A beautiful night for baseball

The really big excitement came in the 8th when a foul ball hit a chair 2 sections in front of us, bounced up behind us and then quickly came screaming and spinning right at Mike sitting in the aisle seat.  This ball was angry!  Mike was able to get a few fingers on it but it then scurried on down a few rows before being picked up by another fan.  Although we knew catching that sucker would have been extremely difficult, don't think we didn't give Mike a complete ration of crap for missing his opportunity!

Anyway, another opening day done and as always, a load of fun.  It's great to have old friends and have a chance to just go be boys.  Thanks guys for including me and thanks again to Gardner for his strategic ticket procurement.