A Gem in New York: Leffot

For such a large (and stylish) city, New York is curiously devoid of good men’s shoe shops. Most of the well-known European brands have outlets here - Berluti, JM Weston, Church’s - but there is little variation outside of that. Unlike London, there is no proliferation of great, local shops (Cleverley, Foster & Son). Even Paris, historically the second string to London for menswear, has some wonderful shoemakers such as Aubercy that do not sell anywhere else.

In New York, variation is limited to the high-end department stores. Their lines vary, stopping and starting with little warning (example: Lidfort at Barney’s). And they’re all up town.

For all these reasons, Leffot (pronounced le-fot) is a breath of fresh air. Located on Christopher Street in the west Village, it has only been running for a month. But the stock is impressive. It carries Aubercy (previously only available in Paris), Gaziano & Girling (only Hawaii in the US), Corthay (only Bergdorf Goodman in NY), Artioli (Baldini and Saks in NY), Edward Green (only relabeled at Ralph Lauren) and the more widely available Church’s and JM Weston.

With five to seven styles in each, the range is not vast. Such is the limited volume of some of these lines that as soon as one line sells out, it takes five months to order more in. One Gaziano & Girling order was delayed because the man who did the hand-stitching on one type of shoe was ill, putting back the delivery time by two weeks. But the range is well chosen - I dare anyone to contend there isn’t something for them, from the chunky, storm welted, double-soled Church’s to the ultra-slim and pointy Artiolis.

Being downtown enables Leffot to carry a more eclectic range of shoes styles and colours. Apparently JM Weston’s best-selling colour uptown is black, despite the tans, reds and even greens on offer. Downtown, black sits in dowdy last place. In fact, Steven Taffel, the personable and welcoming owner of Leffot, tells of one man and his wife who wandered in looking for inspiration. Despite being a conservative, office-bound gentleman, he ended up buying the more extreme pointed Artiolis, as “he already had black oxfords and wore them all week. He wanted something different, something exciting.”

It’s certainly hard not to be excited by the Corthay two-tone shoes in tan calf and brown suede, or the tapered, beveled waist of the Gaziano & Girling shoes. A favourite of The Sartorialist as well, it’s hard not to see this store succeeding. But just to be on the safe side, let’s troop down there and support a start-up company.

P.S. If it’s still there when you go, have a look at the copy of Japanese magazine Last that’s on display. It has step-by-step instructions on how to re-heel your shoes, demonstrates the value of polishing a shoe with champagne, and still has room for better photo shoots than you’ll find in any UK or US magazine. They need to launch an international (read English) version. Now.

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How to Buy Luxury: Globetrotter

No one makes nice luggage anymore. Suitcases are usually plastic, bulbous and age badly. They’re black, or possibly silver. There is little possibility for using something you particularly like, or you can get the remotest joy in using.

If it’s a weekend bag you’re after, there’s plenty of choice. Mulberry is always a staple – I recommend their scotch grain range. Bown makes beautiful bags – particularly the overnight cabin bag. In fact, almost anyone that makes lovely leather items can do you a good weekend bag.

But there’s nothing like the same range in suitcases. Even Mulberry’s cases look like they have little to do with the soft, malleable leather of the smaller bags. They are awkward, largely made of a woven fabric with leather detailing. The recently launched Samsonite Black Label range is similar – despite high design, their best feature is a lime-green lining. Little on the outside really appeals.

The problem is leather. It is too heavy for a suitcase, but no one quite knows what an attractive alternative would be. Louis Vuitton suitcases are made with canvas. This is lighter but still not so light you could carry it around for any length of time. They were designed, after all, for the age when porters carried your cases for you everywhere. (Plus a decent size will cost £3,000 and everyone will think it’s fake anyway.)

Fortunately, I recently stumbled across Globetrotter. Its suitcases are made with vulcanized board – essentially compressed paper with a protective coating. They are therefore light, while been famously strong: a famous old stunt featured an elephant from London Zoo balancing on top of one.

What’s more, Globetrotter fulfils all my criteria for buying luxury. It is built for longevity. It is something I will use often (I probably travel on business an average of eight times a year). And it has a history behind it: it was founded in 1897; Queen Elizabeth took it on honeymoon; it was used in the first ascent of Everest; and Churchill carried a Globetrotter briefcase.

It also seems to have wasted little money on advertising. The website is slick (globe-trotterltd.com), but few people have heard of it. The store, just off Bond Street, is nice but small and personal. So you can rest assured that your purchase is not funding a huge branding exercise.

Like any luxury item of worth, the company has an easy system for quickly repairing and refurbishing. They are happy if you only ever buy one.

On the more frivolous side, they also come in a fantastic array of colours, from orange with brown leather to blue with white, from red with tan to cream with yellow.

The Original range offers the best value for money, with a decently sized suitcase starting at £350. For more leather straps and leather corners (Centenary) you pay disproportionately more, as you do for the Safari range, which just offers another two colours. If you do take a liking to the leather straps, I recommend buying one or two separately. They cost £25 each, which is a lot less than the step up to Centenary.

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Ralph Lauren Spring Sale?

Last Wednesday was very exciting. I got an email from my pal Ralph Lauren, informing me there was to be a “private sale” over the following five days – May 15 to May 19. In my experience these private sales mean that the items in the store are on sale, but not marked as such. The sales assistants will reluctantly admit that there is a sale, if pushed (see this posting).

The email promised 40% of most lines, and an extra 20% off on the Thursday. I had bought a pair of Purple Label monk-front shoes at a similar discount a year ago, and they are the most comfortable thing I have ever worn, including slippers and trainers (the Purple Label is made by Edward Green – see this posting). So I was beginning to get excited.

When I turned up on the Thursday, there were no sales signs up. No surprise there. No discounts on the price tags. Again, not unexpected. But when I asked a sales assistant which lines were on sale, he denied all knowledge of it. Given previous experience, I asked a more senior assistant, showing him the print-out of the email. This produced a sigh.

“That sale is only at stores in the US sir, and online,” he said.
“And the online sales are only available for US delivery, is that right?” I asked.
“Yes. We were going to have a spring sale here as well, but that’s been shifted back to June. Management upstairs will be pleased to know this went out to everyone, not just those on the US mailing list. I’ll go tell them now.”

Off he stomped to deliver the bad news. As I turned round I saw someone else walk into the store, clutching a print-out of the same email. I felt a little sorry for the staff. They were going to have a long day.

So, no sale for me. But you heard it here first – there will be a private sale at Ralph Lauren in the UK in mid-June. I couldn’t get them to confirm a date, but there aren’t many weekends in mid-June – my money’s on June 14/15. Also, if any US readers went to this sale on the May weekend, can you report back on what the discounts were? If I remember from last time, there was 40% off Polo and Black Label, 50% off Purple Label.

On a separate point, an article in The Times here last week predicted record discounts this summer, as stores struggle to get cash out of us before the whole world goes into recession. The sales can only be more extreme in the US. So start saving now.

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Filling the Hole in Menswear Retail

When I fantasise about winning the lottery (which is more often than is probably healthy) I wonder what I would do with my time, what small bookshop or café I would set up, to potter about in, spending the day obsessing about having the “right” clientele and making a small loss year after year.

I’ve decided now I would create a menswear shop to fill a hole in the market. Much like my desire to find or create the perfect magazine, this shop may not prove economically viable. But then if I’ve won the lottery that wouldn’t matter.

Here’s my business plan. All the suits would be made in Hong Kong by my current tailor and the facilities he uses. I can get a decent suit from him for around £150, but given that I would become a bulk customer, and I could offer him some share in the profits of the enterprise, I’m sure this amount could be negotiated down to nearer £100.

The shop would emphasise fit above all. To that end, it would carry a limited ready-to-wear line, but one with odd chest fittings as well as even – 39, 41 and 43 as well as 38, 40 and 42 – and with unfinished sleeves and trousers. The customer would pay a small surcharge on top of the suit price to have the sleeves and trousers finished for him to the correct lengths. He would also be encouraged to have the waist adjusted. All these adjustments would be done by a tailor on site, and priced at cost. If the suit costs me £100, I would hope to do this for under £200, with all the costs and overheads taken into consideration.

The ability to have a more accurate chest and shoulder measurement, and other parts of the suit adjusted cheaply, would mean that this ready-to-wear line would fit better than almost any other.

I am aware that most shops only carry even chest measurements because it is more costly and inefficient to carry them all. I would compensate slightly by narrowing the range available – perhaps going from 37 to 43 inches. Other retails outlets have to carry a wider range given their wider clientele, but the racks are always filled with 46 inch chest suits at the end of a sale. I would hopefully avoid that.

More than half the business would come from bespoke clothing – measured by the tailor in London (I might even do a little training myself in order to be able to measure customers accurately) and made in Hong Kong. Given that suits out there are turned around in less than a week, the whole process for a customer in London would not take more than two weeks.

The suit that arrives in London would be unfinished, to enable something approaching a second fitting with the customer in London. Also, all suits, particularly ready-to-wear, would be made with excess material in the jacket to allow for easy adjustments.

If the priority of the shop is fit, the second priority would be individuality. The ready-to-wear line would only include a handful of identical suits, perhaps one in each of the sizes. Each small group would vary from the others by the materials, linings and buttons, making each almost unique to that customer.

This really would be personal tailoring – unique and individually adjusted.

The shop of course would be a haven for the sartorially minded. It would include a small library of rare Apparel Arts issues and a seating area with free espresso for those who fancy hanging out, browsing the glen plaid swatches and considering their next purchase. There would likely be a shop tie and individual pattern of check, available only to the best customers.

These are more superficial considerations. But I think the business plan could work, and the shop would certainly be unique. As with my considerations on a new menswear magazine, if anyone has the money and the courage to help me launch something, do say!

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Environmentally Conscious Timekeeping

I am a watch guy; not dedicated to one particular style or maker, my tastes run the gamut. Vintage, brand new, elegant complications or chunky dive watches; I like them all. I have become a bit of an evangelist about one thing though – I think people should wear mechanical watches or watches that don’t need traditional batteries, if any.

With all the talk about going green, we should each take along hard look at ourselves; at our wrists, specifically. Are you still wearing one of those battery powered timekeepers? Well, shame on you. Just think about what it takes to manufacture, ship, store, replace and throw out millions of those little batteries each year. It’s enough to make a Swiss master watchmaker cry.

These days we have some great high-tech and low-tech options for marking time in an environmentally friendly fashion. Mechanical watches in particular have made a big comeback in recent years and they are the perfect investment if you’re looking for something to pass down to your kids. You can find quality mechanical timepieces in a range of prices, from $500 to $50,000.

Leaving aside the $25,000.00 Patek Philippe that most of us will not be acquiring in the near future, there are many affordable mechanical watches that will last a lifetime and remain stylish through most any trend.

The Rolex Submariner is a classic sports watch and at around $5,500.00, while not exactly cheap, it is a possible choice for many professionals. If you are looking for one “good” watch, you can’t go wrong with at Submariner. A very affordable alternative is the $375.00 Seiko “Orange Monster.” Yes, I said Seiko; watch aficionados know that they make some of the most reliable mechanical movements in the dive industry and the Orange Monster has its own cult following.

Want microsecond accuracy without having to shake your wrist? Citizen’s Eco-Drive technology transforms your watch into a big solar collector. The watch’s face and crystal absorb all types of light and convert it into the energy that runs your watch indefinitely. One of the most popular is the Citizen Skyhawk Black Eagle which lists around $475.00. It’s tough enough that no one will make fun of your social consciousness.

If you’re a fan of the unstoppable Jack Bauer from the TV action drama “24”, check out a favorite of mine, the Blackhawk by MTM. This is the very one Jack wears and it has a cool illumination feature that can be used to signal commandos, blind an assailant or just track down your car keys. The company’s revolutionary rechargeable lithium ion battery is good for 10 years and the watch needs only an overnight recharge every three months or so to keep it running strong. And don’t worry; the Secret Service and Delta Force have already tested it for you, so it’ll survive a rough afternoon on the back nine.

These are just a few of the hundreds of watches that can help you look sharp, telegraph your values and interests, and take a small but important step to reducing you personal carbon footprint. They also give you an excuse to add to your own collection.

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