'Wear and Tear Repaired at a Reasonable Cost' on York Street, New Haven

One of the most comforting things to read in a store is the phrase "Wear and tear repaired at a reasonable cost."  This tells you that the company is selling things that they know well and that they expect to be of service for a while.  This is the case at J. Press on New Haven, Connecticut's famous York Street.

(In contrast. last week at L.L. Bean a friend brought into the Freeport store a pair of Camp Mocs to be resoled, something he has done countless times over the decades.  To his surprise,  he found that L.L. Bean no longer offers this service, and instead,  handed him a new pair of Camp Mocs.  While this is superb customer service, it is wasteful, and ultimately, not what he wanted.)

Today we returned to J. Press with two of their navy blazers, a tweed jacket, and a navy suit in hand.  Two of the jackets are a little over twenty years old and belonged to my husband, and the other is over thirty-five years old and was my father's.  It was time to hand them down to the next generation.  The suit had a small tear that needed mending.

Tony, who has been at J. Press for 45 years and worked on my father's clothes.

I perused the new tweeds...

...under the watchful eye of Jacobi.

We headed up York Street...

...and popped into Mory's to inquire about reservations for a future trip.

One has to admire the well-dressed people on the New Haven streets...

...and we even saw some familiar faces.

It was the perfect weather for wearing my Barbour Linhope Berwick Tweed jacket, and my new J. McLaughlin pants were exactly what I had hoped they would be, including versatile and very comfortable.

Slim Fit Dixie Corduroys

Pierson Gateway

University Theatre

 We cut through to the Old Campus.

Harkness Tower

Phelps Hall (1895)

Connecticut Hall (1753) is Yale's oldest building.

I already look forward to our trip back to pick up our repairs and alterations.

Patagonia vs. The North Face. A Poll

Some of My Patagonia amd All of My TNF

I received two correlated notes:

Muffy, I'm now looking for some nice winter jacket. I remember you mentioned some brands considered preppy but aren't ( For example, j.crew and the north face). I don't see any big difference between Patagonia and The North Face in terms of brand concepts and products. Could you tell me why TNF is not a part of preppy brands, please? Maybe I don't quite grasp the idea of preppy.

And:

For the past month, I traveled about England and Scotland. On such trips I always bring and wear my 30 year old Barbour Beaufort jacket. This trip, at two hunting and fly fishing lodges, I noticed many, many people wearing outerwear by The North Face. Typically a Denali fleece under a Barbour or under a shell by The North Face. These people were natives to Great Britain. 

All of this brings me to the North Face Denali jacket of which I have several of and have found to have good qualities of very long wear, primarily due to the substantial polar-fleece fabric and the extra fabric layer on the elbow and shoulder area. I have found that Patagonia fleece tend to pill and fuzz in the elbow area. Your recent blog about Patagonia kelly green fleece got me thinking.

I know you have stated that The North Face is not preppy. Does this apply to the whole range or could the Denali jacket get special dispensation? : )

Just a trend I noticed this year in Great Britain and I would like to know your thoughts, if any. Thank you.

While I have always had a strong opinion in this matter, it is time to open up the moot court.  Patagonia vs. The North Face - which is preppier?  And why?

---

** Poll Closed - Final Results **

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from The Daily Prep

A Muffy Thanksgiving Tip

Heritage Breed Turkeys

If the turkeys' free-range foraging takes them onto public roads, don't herd them from behind (as a sheep dog does), but call them towards you with the promise of food.  This can save many Thanksgiving dinners in the community.

A Few New Items

The Ascot from Eliza B.

I have a few new items for fall.  I am greatly looking forward to wearing my new Eliza B. shoes and have several events in the city lined up for them.

A new blackthorn walking stick will join the others.

I stopped by Bridgham & Cook in Freeport and bought these four lambswool tartan scarves made by Lochcarron of Scotland. I will keep two and give two away, but I am in a quandary as to which falls in which camp. 

 I have a great-grandfather who was a Scott and another who was a Smith, but that has not helped the elimination process.

Lemon and Line sent these new bracelets, which are made in Newport. They are a good "dress" nautical rope bracelets, now that I have mastered the clasp.

I took these "Dress Nauticals" to an event by the beach.

This is the result of our annual L.L. Bean Ragg Sock stock-up. Given we all wear the 12 inch Gray version, I have to sew a tiny bit of "designated color" thread at the top of each sock to insure the right person wears the right socks.

And I got the Men's Classic Fit cotton tattersall buttondown and Women's cotton cableknit crewneck.

Preppy Music? A Reader Question and Question for Readers

There are distinctively preppy cars, clothes, and hobbies.  Is there such as thing as 'preppy music,' and if so, what is it? 

Specifically, there was a question in the last post that read:

On a wholly separate topic, you have told us a little about your taste for British television and about some of your favorite books, but how about music? Beyond the Prelude to Bach's Cello Suite 1 in G, is there an artist, genre, etc. that is, IYO, quintessentially preppy? What does TDP's playlist look like?

This is, of course, very complicated. First, it may not even be "playlistable". Preppy music may in part be defined by the attributes of: high quality, live, intimate, shared across generations, and ideally played in venues that don't involve tickets.

More so, when it comes to music, most of us are "of our time."  Nevertheless, some would argue, intellectually, that the traditional hymns might be high on the preppy music list. Consider:

• Hymns cross a range, from piano to organ to a cappella, from professional to amateur, and from formal events to more casual gatherings. 
• They are at home at a Vineyard wedding, graces before meal at summer camps, all-school meetings at prep schools and, of course, Sunday services.  (At Choate they sing "Rejoice Ye Pure in Heart" and at Groton and St. Paul's they sing "Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones." Many prep schools have an official hymn where the words have been written by an alumnus.)
• They are close to timeless, and will likely be around hundreds of years from now.  (Obviously, that has not always been the case. Even beyond the 95 theses, Congregationalists did not sing hymns until the late 19th century, and thought that the organ was the instrument of the devil. For a timeline comparison, it was in 1865 that Lord Tweedmouth developed the Golden Retriever in Scotland.)

Now, hymns are timeless.  I picked up this 1888 edition this morning...

...and quickly came across a hymn reference.

• Hymns were undoubtedly a context in the life of so many role models of prep in the last century and earlier.
• Friends to this day include snippets of hymns in email signatures.  One sailor signs off with "Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee, For those in peril on the sea!"

Still, this answer, while very left-brain for most, may not be emotionally satisfying to many including myself, and even too Calvinistic on its own. Given that, what might be other examples of preppy music?

Many would nominate Cole Porter (the first Whiffenpoof?).  Here is a program from a Rainbow & Stars review put on by a prep school friend.

Here, from our home movie of a Christmas Party, Lee Roy Reams commands the room where he is a guest. (Press the play button to hear it.)

The Vineyard Sound, Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard

A Few Classic Jackets

Ursa, the Maremma Sheepdog, is looking for the last sheep.

Academic institutions aside, there is an almost migration instinct towards the goal of homecoming.   So for me, any autumnal wardrobe would be incomplete without the inclusion of some classic (I dislike the word 'vintage,' while still acknowledging its linguistic acuity) jackets.

I like the shape of my made in Vermont,  Johnson Woolen Mills (unfortunately named) "JacShirt" with its front and back cape.

Richard Press (former J. Press president) after lunch yesterday showed me his great Willis & Geiger jacket (and label).

I also took out a Burberrys jacket, made for the late great Chicago store (once owned by Abercrombie & Fitch, back when A&F was a force for good)...

It still is in need of a bit of care.

...And this wool quilted houndstooth check John Partridge jacket

I would not wear this in the wood off of our property during hunting season.

Older garments do require some extra care.  One example is reproofing, which, as a once-a-year ritual, is satisfying..

I credit reproofing with the excellent waterproof quality of this old Barbour hat which, though frequently mocked (as in, my "nutter" hat), keeps rain and wet snow away from my face.  This was useful for tracking down a lost hen and returning her to her roost.