Out and About: Another #TieDayFriday, Fall Colours Edition

Although, strictly speaking, it is not Friday. Still, I felt I wanted to get this one out there, late or no. I was busy on Friday, with a new contract, and then the weekend, and finally, poetry on Canadian Thanksgiving. So, here then is the new #TieDayFriday:

I tried to smile in this one, I swear.

My colleague remarked that this is a hard colour to pull off. He thought I did it well. It was nice of him to say that. It can be tough, and truth be told, this is about as late as you can pull it off. Any later, and you risk looking a tad Hallowe'en-y. 

A closer, more focused look.

Out and About: The Return of #tiedayfriday

Yesterday—Friday—I woke up too early and went to sleep too late. Thus, I am a day late with this post, ostensibly about Friday.
But what a post! What had been an idle promise on facebook has now become real, Gentle Reader.
Some years ago, once again influenced by the wonder of the menswear internet, pressured by over thrifting of a few too many very nice ties, and suffering from the graduate student's general lack of occasions to wear said ties, I decided to take action.
Attempting to institute Tie Day Friday was a moderate success. My recent return to the selfie has inspired me to reinstitute the hallowed tradition starting here and now.
Therefore, I give you #tiedayfriday:

Still no smiles. I'm smiling in one after the jump, inside the Hall. I swear.

When a young man's thoughts...

My mother is mad for portraits. She has always wanted one of me, one time (just one, gentle reader, just one) I actually visited a portrait studio, to look into the state of affairs that is portrait photography.
Long story short: my mother did not get a portrait.
However, I'll always remember something the photographer told me. He said, "Son, back in the day, men would have a portrait taken anytime they felt good about themselves. Buy a new hat, get a portrait. Haircut? Portrait". Something to that effect, in any case. To sum up: Feel good? Portrait.
I'll go out on a limb here, and suggest that maybe digital photography has changed this axiom somewhat. It's spring, here. I read somewhere that Canadians own more summer clothes than winter clothes, despite winter being the harsher, longer season. Something about denial, if I remember correctly. Could be, gentle reader. Could be. It's spring here though, and I don't care about the particulars.
And spring makes me feel good. So, armed with a digital camera, I took some self-portraits. I sure as sugar didn't do much of that during the winter.

Sunny day. Not Friday, though

 More pics inside.

Tie-Day Friday.

Inspired by several worthy gents on the internet, I decided I'd wear a tie on Fridays. I though, "hey, I'll call it Tie-day Friday, and it'll be fun". So I did. A few Fridays in a row. And I put it on facebook. SOme of my friends, they seemed to think it was a good idea, so I kept it up. Maybe they did too.

It's a bit of an attack on Casual Friday. I had started making sure I was less casual on Fridays quite some time ago, and when people asked why (if they noticed), I'd say, "'cuz it's casual Friday."

But the Tie-day thing, that's relatively new. I like it though, and I think it's here to stay. I'd be happy if it caught on, too, so if you happen to have a tie, wear it on a Friday, and let me know about it.

 

Made in Canada

American menswear and lifestyle blogs and sites all seem to place a premium on American-made goods. And I understand the argument. As a Canadian, however, I've begun to notice that the Made in Canada idea doesn't seem to get as much traction. I've talked about this with some of my friends, but we've never really come to any conclusions or had any major insight. Market size, I suppose. Or Canada's long standing habit of buying from the US.

In any case, I've been keeping my eye out for Made in Canada stuff, and today I came across a company that makes ties, called Dolbeau, right here in Montréal.

Ties. Gotta love 'em. I'm thinking of instituting some sort of Tie-day Friday (get it? do ya get it? Friday, Tie-day?).

Sigh. Look, let me know if you know any good Made in Canada stuff, and whether or not you wear a tie, especially on Friday, k?

Thrifting

I spend some time last weekend combing through some church basements, looking for a few key pieces to round out my wardrobe.  I found what I was looking for, mostly, and because I took a friend, I had a good time doing it.

More details after the break. Read on...