What’s the latest over on The Contender Newsletter? There’s a story on my ideal suit to lay down in. There’s a dispatch from the Maine North Woods. There’s the latest Q&A, which ranges from belt theories to Swedish cars to the Cure to storage tactics to what to do with an old J. Press suit. There’s also the latest Central Division podcast with Michael Williams, where we discuss our love of the state of Maine, theories of time and the legend of the Blue Goose.
Read MoreHey now! Welcome to Central Division, a weekly conversation with my dear friend Michael Williams. It’s recorded, it’s digital, it’s what is known in the wild as a podcast. Though out of modesty I prefer to call it a conversation. We discuss things that matter to us: travel, design, men’s style and bad beer. With detours into fly fishing, golf, Japan, cars, marketing and other obscure interests.
Read MoreAlright kids. We’re going to try to evolve with the times and overcome procrastination and start The Contender Newsletter. I started the site to share stories about travel, style and fishing and other good things in the world. The newsletter is a chance to get a little more personal, like a dinner party.
Read MoreSome stories from around the internet, including the Falklands, bonefishing and the merits of suede shoes.
Read MoreHey now! The Contender is one year old today. Did anything important happen recently? Something big? Any world altering events? Of course everything happened in the last six months and it happened to everybody. The world feels a lot bigger (in the sense we can’t go where we want to) and at the same time more connected (well, you know why).
Read MoreWhenever I’m in Minneapolis I try to visit Lowry Hill Meats. It’s a terrific butcher that also happens to serve great food—the breakfast sandwich, only available on weekends, has a cult following. A good butcher is such a great resource, like a wine merchant, who can offer advice, expertise and moral support.
Read MoreSome good stories from around the internet including the future of a beloved restaurant, the future of menswear and the future of a legendary shoe store.
Read MoreWell, the Masters was supposed to start today. It’s been moved to November, which is strange, since the Masters signifies the beginning of spring, days getting longer and the opening of Riesling season. Now it will be in the fall, when the days get shorter and you start to think about whisky by the fire. In the scheme of what’s going on right now it’s low on the list of what’s important, but I think a lot of us are missing diversions and rituals we grew to love.
Read MoreIt’s strange to be inside an apartment when you can’t leave. I think Tolstoy said that you can be sitting perfectly at ease but if you’re told you can’t move then it’s suddenly uncomfortable. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that in many ways I’m a naturally quarantinable person—I like being at home. I can read, write, watch the Criterion Channel.
Read MoreWe’re on all relative lockdown, so let’s get down to answering some of your questions.
Read MoreAlright, we’re inside, we’re isolated and we’re down. But hopefully we’re not underdressed and we’re definitely not out (in all senses of the word). I’m working on a book and that makes this both a perversely good time to focus and a difficult one. Let’s not get into that now, but if you have any questions about style, design, travel (it will happen again one day), go ahead and ask.
Read MoreSome recent work that was written in a world that now feels very far away. But we’re all inside now, so if you’re in the mood for dreaming about Argentina or considering seaside clothing.
Read MoreTiffany’s Table Manners for Teenagers is a delightful and enduring book. Joe Eula’s drawings are charming—a more sketchy, descriptive Bemelmans—and Walter Hoving’s advice, he was chairman of Tiffany & Co., is useful, insightful and light-hearted. The book was an inspiration for Men and Manners, which makes it very exciting to have a book signing at Tiffany’s this Wednesday night.
Read MoreI recently had an enlightening conversation with Avi Klein, a young therapist, and the writer Sam Graham-Felsen. It was for their Hey, Man podcast, which focuses on what might be called self-awareness issues. That might sound intense but they’ve got a light touch and are terrific hosts. We talked about growing up with creative parents, how we develop passions and feel connected to what we care about. Naturally, it got personal. I’m very happy with how it turned out and I hope you like it.
Read MoreWhat’s the younger generation obsessed with on eBay? We went to Tim Booth to find out. Tim’s a promising young man—a senior at FIT. You might have seen him working at Drake’s or Stubbs and Wootton. He grew up in Philadelphia and sold suits (yes people still wear them!) at the mainstay Boyds. Let’s bid, kids!
Read MoreRichard Baker’s wonderful still life paintings are both disarming and slightly improbable. Their collection of objects is familiar and jarring (why is a pickle jar near a paintbrush?). For a traditional art form—still lives have been a staple of Western art for centuries—they seem almost radical. We’re just not expecting to see things we know arranged like this, and the effect is magnified by the distorted perspective.
Read MoreFor some reason my sister and I were members of the small, depraved cult devoted to Grease 2. In some ways this made sense, we had the original on video and had seen it about twenty times. My sister, in my absence, watched it about a hundred more. That is not an exaggeration If you text her any line, no matter how obscure, she will text back the next one.
Read MoreI’ll be answering questions periodically, so feel free to ask about travel, style, fishing and other urgent topics of the day.
Read MoreYou know and love Jeremy Kirkland because he invented the podcast. Well if he didn’t invent it, with Blamo! he made a place for himself having enlightened, enthusiastic conversations about style with the people you want to hear from. And a few you might not want to hear from (I am confident that I was Jeremy’s only guest who ever drank Riesling during the recording). But don’t let his friendliness fool you, he’s insightful, opinionated and informed.
Read MoreI like old things. I respond to what’s been used and ages and starts to show its character Tweed jackets, canvas bags and the rest. But sometimes it gets so worn in it can't function. Naturally, I have a hard time admitting this is the case. It’s been hard to say goodbye to my beloved white bucks that have been re-soled three times—there can’t be a fourth. I drove my even more beloved Saab about four years too long (the check engine light was celebrating its eight anniversary of being illuminated).
Read More