AFS I think I read on here the pocket polo was a Jeff G look from Rusell street. You'll know more.

As Runninggeez says, Kenny did indeed wear something of that nature, with jeans and dirty bucks.  In fact, I don't recall seeing him in anything else.
Interesting point about Lacoste.  I was told last autumn, by someone who'd worked for them in Paris, that the pique was currently of much better quality.  They're another who have an outlet at the nasty 'retail park' about thirty minutes drive from where I live.  I paid a single visit, did not get any further than their front door, then fled in horror and disgust, never to return. 
I bought a white, USA-made Lacoste polo for about £8 on the Bay a few weeks ago.  Also Bean, Reebok and Cross Creek.  It seems crazy to me to pay top dollar for so basic an item.  How many days during the average English summer will I be wearing a polo shirt?  My wife's birthday is toward the end of July.  Out, I've often ended up wearing a raincoat.

Alvey - I hadn't explored the Merchants website that much so thanks for mentioning they have Hartford polos, the last polos I bought was 10 years ago, 3 Brooks with the logo embroidered in the same colour, so acceptable to me, I have to say they have stood up exceptionally well but showing their age now,
I had a Hartford pocket polo from Russell St maybe 15-20 yrs ago, good quality, thinking about the Hartford navy one now !
On the subject of polos Sunspel have 30% off selected items at the moment, I thought RobbieB would have brought this to our collective attention but I guess he's off somewhere in a claret & blue bubble at the present time, haha

Alvey - I dropped an email to Merchant's about the sizing on the Hartford L polo, had a really quick response, that 'L' is 21.5" p2p, 29" neck to hem, to me 21.5 " p2p is more like a medium, unfortunately just too ' neat' for me, maybe works for you,
Robbie - I was pleased for WHU, hope they go all the way,

After a daily look at the Sunspel website, and seeing ads for their sale daily I finally took the plunge yesterday and ordered 2 polos, 1 x pocket pole in pink, 1 x non pocket in  navy, both on decent discounts, I signed up for their email alerts which offered 10% discount on your first purchase, ( excluding sale items), well I put the discount code in and hey presto got the additional 10% off ( even though they were sale items), so a good deal, first polos I've bought in 10 years but with a holiday in the sun booked for June and maybe another later in the year I thought I'd treat myself, I'll report back on them when they arrive,

Robbie - I'm getting better with on line buys, now if I'm not a 100% sure I return them, I ordered the Jersey Classic in navy, I liked the look of the pique polo but the piques weren't discounted and £105 for a polo shirt is more than I want to pay, I'll let you know, BTW - SoS is charming at this time of year I hear !

Thanks Stax. The dressy collars are what I like about the shirts, I think. Made in Portugal I can accept (as you say better than China).

I'm just wondering if anyone has seen the JS Madras "ad" that has been on the JS Fb & IG page.

What are your thoughts ?

It's a strange one IMO.

Why does anyone fall for these obvious stunts?  I prefer the traditional, time-honoured way of doing things.

Are they really of any great interest?  If so, what makes them so?  This is only one man's opinion, based upon looking at a few online images, but I think I'll carry on buying 'Hunt Club' and other inexpensive options.  I quite like the single John Simons Madras popover I currently have folded away in a drawer but have only worn it twice.  Sized XL it fits more like a Medium.  The 'Hunt Club' shirts are a far more accurate sizing. 
Having said that, I rather like - still - the old modern jazz/bebop connection.  It reminds me of the great old original website, put together by TRS with such love and affection and quite, quite different to the current version, which boasts all the excitement of a mail order catalogue.

^ Fair comment.

We all like a bargain it’s true but vintage shopping is an inexact science at the best of times. Shipping costs and import charges tip most buys from US eBay from the ‘worth a punt’ category into ‘not worth risking’ or ‘not worth bothering’. From UK eBay the only things I’m really interested in are quality British brands, Grenfell, Burberry’s, Aquascutum etc. I would rather buy one good quality new item every month or two than half a dozen hit and miss eBay bits. Adding yet another worn secondhand shirt to my collection gives me little satisfaction unless it’s something really out of the ordinary. Don’t get me wrong, eBay has done me well in the past but I’ve largely broken the habit of trawling it like I used to.

Lots of good points above. I just thought I'd chime in with my shopping/spending habits. I have most of the basics covered so I probably only make a purchase every 4-6 months. Due to this paying retail isn't prohibitive and I know that if I want to see these things around in the future I need to make a purchase or two. I used to thrift a lot. It wasn't so much out of enjoyment but more so that I had more time than money which isn't true any longer (I am by no means well off). What little free time I do have I want to spend outdoors.

One caveat is that I cannot bring myself to purchase ties at full price. I currently have about 100 and these are one of the items that can thrifted or second handed online with ease.

Last edited by oxford cloth button down (2022-04-27 10:39:15)