Walt Whitman has never been so cool

You've probably already seen this , and I'm sure that plenty of people have already blogged about it. But that doesn't make this commercial any less great. I think that it really does a great job of capturing the American (and particularly Californian) heritage of Levi's while also linking it to the idea of youth. Plus, it's hard to not like a poem with lines like "Follow well in order, get your weapons ready/Have you your pistols? have you your sharp-edged axes?"

Shopping Around: J. Crew Bowery drafting tote

Although I don't really go in J. Crew as much as I used to, I was near one the other day and stopped in to look around. I feel like J. Crew has been really heavy in the whole "workwear" thing lately and has gotten away from the conservative, traditional ("preppy," if you will) clothes that I enjoy so much, so I usually don't see too much that piques my interest in the catalogs. Well, while walking around the store, I spotted the Bowery drafting tote and went in for a closer look. It is made of waxed canvas with leather handles, has a zip closure, and features a bright orange lining and several interior pockets. It is a pretty interesting shape as well in that it is fairly square (as opposed to rectangular). However, when I looked at the price and saw $98, I was initially put-off.

Going on the (pretty solid) assumption that most everything J. Crew sells nowadays is overpriced, I thought to myself, "I bet I could do a good blog post of comparable bags than can be found for a good bit cheaper."

However, when I sat down to do some research, I really couldn't come up with any good alternatives. On the cheaper side of things you have the Bean Boat & Tote, of course, and you have the Hunter's Tote, which is a pretty good looking bag for $25.

However, neither of these bags are made of waxed canvas or have leather handles (or shoulder straps, for that matter), so I think that this makes them poor comparables.

And while the Chubby Briefcase from Porter Street Bags (as previously mentioned on Disaffected Prep) does look pretty good, it is one-of-a-kind item and doesn't represent a readily-available option.

Above the $98 price, you can get a lot closer. Lands End has the Suede Snap Tote (labeled as a "woman's" product, which is it a bit of a turn-off) for $119.

Then Filson has their Tote Bag With Zipper for $129.50.

And LL Bean has their leather Town and Field Tote, but it also comes in at $129 and seems to be a bit lacking in the masculinity department.

Then, of course, you can get into the even higher-end stuff like Billykirk and all of those Japanese things that all of those other bloggers gush over that can only be bought in boutiques in New York City. While this stuff is obviously well-made and good-looking, personally I find it hard to justify $300+ for a canvas bag that I'm just going to stick paper and books in.

So what does all of this mean? It means that if you are in the market for a new tote bag, the J. Crew Bowery drafting tote really does seem to be a pretty good item for the price. Though if you're willing to go up a little higher in price, you've got some good (and well-made) options.

John Mayer- "Who Says"

I feel like John Mayer gets an unnecessarily bad rap. The guy is a talented songwriter and guitar-player, and when his original EP Inside Wants Out came out in 1999, I would say that it was something that was pretty original and refreshing. I still remember getting a burned copy of this CD back in 2000 from my friend, Greg (who is an occasional A Trip Down South reader and commenter), and falling in love with it.

OK, granted, he does have a bit of a reputation for being a womanizer, celebrity-dater, and all-around douche, and I seriously doubt there is anyone who still enjoys the song "Your Body is a Wonderland" after it has been played to death. And I will be the first to admit that he definitely hit the "sophomore slump" with the release of Heavier Things (wow that was a bad album). And while it is doubtful that he will ever achieve the respect shown to artists like Radiohead or Ryan Adams, I think that his marginalization as nothing more "frat boy music" is a bit much.

He showed some promise with the release of the John Mayer Trio album, and with his last album Continuum. "Who Says" is the first release from his upcoming album Battles Studies, and I think that it sounds pretty good. At the very least, his vocals sound really solid and I think this song shares some of the same simplicity that made Inside Wants Out such a great album. Give it a listen as I don't think you will be disappointed.

Southern Staple: Bean Boots

In spite of their Yankee origins, Bean Boots from LL Bean are some of the best shoes for the South. Given our recent monsoon-like weather, this has become even more evident.

I personally have two different pairs. I have a pair of the Rubber Mocs which get worn year-round. They go with jeans, khakis, cords, and even shorts during warmer. They can be worn with our without socks (though if you go for the latter approach, loafer socks are a must) and with or without rain.

I also have a pair of the 10-inch Maine Hunting Shoes. These don't get nearly as much wear as the rubber mocs, but they area nice to have for going out in particularly cold, rainy, or muddy conditions, and work well in the dove and quail field (provided you don't run into any snakes).

Now, in spite of how well-suited for the South these boots are, it is interesting to note that their popularity is not spread out very homogeneously. I remember my mom having a pair of navy blue rubber mocs in her closet when I was growing up, but I'm not sure I have ever seen another pair in Georgia (though I do understand that they are quite popular at UGA). I got my first pair after I went off to school in Alabama, though that decision was based on their endorsement in the Official Preppy Handbook. I have seen a few people wearing them in Birmingham, though they were not popular at my college.

Interestingly, though, when I went to school at Clemson, I found that nearly all of my classmates that were from Charleston owned a pair, and many students at Clemson could be seen wearing them throughout the year (though I'm not sure if I ever saw anyone wearing a pair of the rubber mocs). It is my theory that this is best explained by popularity of hunting and other outdoor activities throughout the state. One of my friends from Charleston inherited his pair of Bean Boots from his dad and they are almost completely bald. I've let him know that LL Bean does have resoling services, but I don't think he was interested.

Here is a friend of mine from Birmingham sporting the 16-inch Bean Boots he bought for med. school in West VA

I would be interested to hear anyone else's observations of these shoes south of the Mason Dixon.

Ellie's Bow Ties review

A couple of weeks ago I gave an endorsement for Ellie's Bow Ties based on what I had seen so far, though without actually trying one of the bow ties myself. Well, after writing that, Ellie's husband Andy got in touch with me and he and Ellie were generous enough to offer me a discount on a tie in exchange for a writing a review. Well, I picked out the Red Plaid Wool bow tie (which can currently be seen on the website), and it arrived this past Friday.

While it may seem convenient to write a positive review on a product that was provided at a discount, I am being completely honest when I say that this may be the most well-made bow tie that I own. The standard width and length are both good, it has a nice weight, the fabric is soft, and it ties nicely.

However, for whatever reason, I think the thing that I might be the most impressed with is the slider. It is very well sewn and I like the black material and black slider. Also, I love the label and think that it is a great touch.


So now, having actually experienced one of Ellie's Bow Ties myself, I can honestly say that I think these have to be the best bow ties you can get for your money (if not just the best bow ties, period). At $23 these things really are a steal, so I suggest going and buying one today.

Oh, and the best part is, these ties are made right in the great state of South Carolina. That is definitely something that few other companies can boast about.

Pumpkin carving

I was hanging out with my friend, Sarah Margaret, in Birmingham on Sunday and she, being in possession of an uncarved pumpkin, suggested that we do something about it. With Halloween past us, we looked for a turkey pattern online and upon finding one, Sarah Margaret used her amazing artistic skills to basically free-hand this turkey. I provided the manly knifework. It turned out to be pretty much the best pumpkin turkey ever. Feel free to set this as your desktop image.

In the News: "From farm field to cotton mill: The making of America's denim"

A hat tip to my friend Dusty for this story. Glad to see that denim is still being made here in the great state of Georgia. If only it wasn't being shipped south of the border to make the jeans.

Blog of Note: My Parents Were Awesome

The website My Parents Were Awesome is great for so many reasons. It's like The Sartorialist meets SEXY PEOPLE meets the LIFE Magazine Photo Archive meets your family reunion. Enjoy some recent highlights.

The Best Dressed Cook in America

Photo credit: Boston Globe
Easily the Best Dressed Cook in America is Christopher Kimball--founder, editor and publisher at Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country magazines and host of the America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Country shows on PBS. Always wearing his signature bow tie and suspenders, this guy is as well-dressed as Guy Fieri is poorly dressed. Aside from being well dressed, though, he knows a lot about cooking. He's got a serious Vermont attitude and doesn't take crap from anyone. He also raises and slaughters his own pigs, and makes his own maple syrup. I think that his cooking shows are some of the best on TV right now, so check your local PBS listings to find out when it's on.


Photo credit: Boston Herald
If you're interested in learning more about Mr. Kimball and his cooking media empire, check out this recent article from the Boston Globe.

New jeans: Gap "Authentic" fit

I bought some new jeans this weekend. Since I was still not ready to drop $150 on APCs, I decided to go with Gap's (relatively) new "Authentic" fit in the Resin Rinse color. I'm quite happy with these jeans so far. For the Authentic fit, Gap combined the narrow leg of their Straight fit with the higher rise of their Standard fit. In doing so, they created the Goldilocks of jeans that have a narrow thigh (Gap calls them "slim") but come with a decent rise. In other words, they created a slimmer jean for those who don't want to (or can't) wear skinny jeans. The color is very dark blue with no artificial wear marks (whiskering, fading, etc.) on them. They also have back pockets without any stitching on them, and the only label on them is "1969" painted on the band right waistband, easily covered up with a belt.

While it would have been nice to get the selvage version of these jeans (my friend who works at Gap corporate fell through for me on this--bad job, Matt), they're not sold in most stores, and the $55 price tag for the regular version is hard to beat. If you are in the market for a new pair of jeans, and aren't ready to take the step up to "premium" denim, I would highly recommend these. I think that these are just as good as any of the jeans that J. Crew is selling--in cut, color, and quality--and cost half as much. After all, if you're going to buy a pair of jeans non-selvage made in China, why spend 100 bucks?