I love Gibson Gardens like a brother, but I still think he was wrong on this one.
Ian Strachan, as we know, resisted selling outsourced items at the Ivy Shop.
I feel guilty at buying budget pasta in Aldi; wondering how much the farmer is making back in Calabria.
Same, I suppose, with Astorflex (even at full price, which I did not pay).
So JS used to sell Saville Row Co shirts for a while and I had him recommend them to me personally as a cheap but right BD. Outsourced I'm sure....
How is Astorflex okay but other brands not? It seems to be whether you like it or not.
Last edited by An Unseen Scene (2021-10-18 10:19:48)
I went in the Kingston Uniqlo last week looking for some ‘trackie bottoms’ as they call them in Liverpool. They didn’t have the cotton, or, if you want to be pedantic, 95% cotton/5% polyester ones that I like. They pnly had the full polyester versions that I can’t tolerate.
Uniqlo are good for basic sweatshirts and polos and trackie bottoms.
But I did notice that they had good looking lambswool crew neck sweatersthat were quite Shetlandesqe with saddle shoulders and a ribbed neck. They were a bit on the thin side although that might mean they were more wearable in today’s aircon world. They were good value for £25, if you can live with the Chinese manufacturing bit.
I find Uniqlo most disappointing these days I must say. I only buy their merino wool polo necks as I still have this fantasy that the polo neck gives me the McQueen Bullit vibe. They have largely abandoned the Ivy stuff after a good 7-8 years consistently producing excellent seersucker and cotton jackets. Still worth keeping an eye on them though. Being Japanese they still have immense sartorial taste and clout. Two other points - JS is not against outsourcing. His concern would more be one of the finished product not looking right rather than conditions of employment in the factory. And Astorflex are made in Verona in the Veneto region of Italy, one of the wealthiest parts of the country. Not sure how exploitation applies there.
Make it quick please - Andy's in there right now and he's getting funny looks from the security guards. (Again.)
Haven't been to Uniqlo for a while. If I'm at Stratford Westgate it's one of the few shops I visit. Over the years I've bought socks,boxer shorts, t shirts, a parka type of coat,merino wool jumpers, selvedge jeans. All made in China cheap and cheerful. I get a kick out of shopping for clothes and getting a bargain. A few years back I thought I detected that they had a young ivy vibe going on that might appeal to cash strapped students.
Haven't shopped in Aldi for some time. I remember buying a bottle of gin from there that won in blind tasting competition against expensive brands.
I like Aldi - no, I tolerate Aldi, I hate all supermarkets - because it doesn't play crappy music and offers a bag of sherbert fruits superior to that of Morrisons' (which is my main other choice). Unlike the Co-Op it doesn't strike virtue-signalling political poses. Their gin is not at all bad, nor is their Jack Daniels knock-off, which I will sometimes drink by the half pint whilst watching movies like 'Beverley Hills Cop'.
Lidl Queen Margot 3 year old blended scotch is the bargain spirit offering.
Uniqlo merino jumpers are very good, inexpensive and well regarded. They used to offer rugged fleeces in the old days too. Nowadays their down sleeveless vests are also well priced. Socks too, as you may have mentioned before this forum went offline Woof.
Pleased to see Kingers again, over here, getting to the heart of the matter. 'Old School' 'TI' like Chris_H, Brideshead and Richmond Hill.
Uniqlo - yes Kingstonian socks are good.
Aldi - their top of the range single malt whisky at about £16 a go is very acceptable, Islay, Highland or Speyside variants, but they are coy about which distilleries it is produced at.
I haven't seen their Kingstonian Socks - great name though! I shall seek them out.
Whisky is for losers. Ivyists drink grappa.
Ahem, some slip into their Teamsters polo shirts and slurp bourbon (on occasion). Real Ivyists drink Strega. As you very well know.
Grappa is shite - along with most schnapps and Poire Willem.
You try to look grateful when it is offered for free at the end of a meal in an Italian ski resort.
The glorification of all things Mediterranean is complete wank.
Last edited by Kingston1an (2021-10-19 12:40:21)
Thanks for correcting my punctuation 2RS, haven’t come across that on the internet for years.
Kingy > like people who gamely drive classic Alfas, pretending that the ‘Italian flair’ makes up for rusty bodywork and dodgy electrics.
Woof, yes same sort of thing.
I do like Austrian Stroh rum which has a very artificial taste, but its not a ‘lifestyle’ beverage.
Not the drink of choice for flaneurs and boulevardiers.
Last edited by Kingston1an (2021-10-19 13:03:44)
Limoncello is about the only alcoholic drink that has ever impressed me.
^ I like the candles
You think limoncello candles give you Italian flair? You need to stop glorifying all things Mediterranean.
Kingers is funny. I experienced no great hardship going from a camping holiday in South Wales in 1970 to a fortnight in lovely Liguria in 1971. Magical. Absolutely magical - just like my first trips to 2 Russell Street. I'm not knocking England too hard here - there are a couple of spots that remain sublime, within a forty five minute drive of my front door. Alsop-En-Le-Dale. Just go into the churchyard, wander round to the south door, and marvel. Some quite decent pubs can be found nearby, often selling Landlord.
The only place in Italy I never really took to was Florence. Better in its suburbs, though, where a modest eating place served deep-fried vegetables. I went twice for those. Pisa I liked, although I was clocked by, I think, Italian football fans. Maybe it was my Clarks' desert boots they had their eyes on. In Florence I was asked if I knew Harry The Dog.
Sorry, for the benefit of any puzzled American (or other) posters, Harry was a notorious Millwall hard case. Ginger Bob, I think, is running a pub. Our old DCFC lunatics are now often respectable old gentlemen running successful businesses.
I was having a chat about drinks the other night and we all agreed that Grappa was the crapiest of the spirits we had tasted in our time.
Places visited around the Mediterranean are amongst my favourite holiday locations. Venice and Florence I didn't rate very highly. Big fan of Sicily and Croatia. What's not to like about the food?
In the UK I quite like a 'free' limoncello at the end of an Italian meal although it never quite tastes the same as in Italy.
A taxi driver in Pisa tried to wind me up about the crap English football team but I wrong footed him by agreeing. I got the argument back on track by slagging off Italian football
Last edited by RobbieB (2021-10-20 08:22:17)
Horses for courses. I like grappa with coffee at an Italian restuarant, pastis with coffee at a bistro, sometimes a brandy in an English pub. I cooked the lunch on Sunday and served up a very nice Chardonnay but my wine-club-belonging sister-in-law insisted on cracking open some Syrah which was okay but no better than some New World stuff I've drunk. Some malt whisky I've been given I've disliked. Best drink at the moment on an everday basis is something from Aldi - Italian, served with most of our Italian meals. Better than Soave or Frascati. Red and quite decent for the money.