I was also a fan of Katie Puckrick. I think I used to watch her on TV with my 'beer goggles' on when watching The Word. That Terry Christian fella always seemed to deserve a slap however for how he used to present.

I find it frustrating shopping at JS. They never seem to have clothes in my size and I am average build, generally. I can't be the only one so I think who ever is in charge of their ordering needs to up their game . They must be losing sales because of this.
On a separate issue I made enquires re the sale of the 4 Aalto chairs, left my email and they didn't get back to me. The chairs are described as excellent 'vintage' condition which having seen them is absurd but I already have a lot of Artek furniture and know about refurbishment of 'vintage' items.
Rant over.

Last edited by RobbieB (2022-08-06 04:59:34)

I recently helped a cousin, who is downsizing, clear his attic and double garages of tools, clothes and all sorts of stuff. Because he is working to a deadline re moving most stuff went straight into a series of skips. He had someone round to price his dark brown furniture and his missus' ornaments and figurines. Most of the gear had no sell on value even though they weren't cheap, originally.
We put some items outside the house on tables for neighbours to help themselves. Someone moved the goods and knicked one table!

Long lead times from the factory they use and supply chain matters i.e. not being able to get hold of enough of the cloth they need. But they could rebalance the ratio of the different sizes towards the more popular ones.

^2RS

I guess trying to anticipate demand is a classic conundrum for small, specialist retailers.

Mark Baxter has done a superb job in helping to raise the wider profile of the store. The end result is that it's pulling in a much wider range of customers. Demand has out paced supply.

That's great because above all I want John Simons to continue way into my dotage.

Strange, I always remember Russel Street for their impressive array of footwear especially loafers and yet Chiltern Street has struggled in this area.

I'm sure there are lots of reasons why stock levels are low but I  also miss the branded product Pendleton 'Seaside Shirts', the Rancourt loafers, Duckhead polo shirts and chinos, Florsheim driving shoes and the one that got away the plain melton GoldenBear jacket.

Cole Haan.

My first visit to Russell Street in the mid Nineties, I think, was to look for shoes. I had read that it was the best place in London for loafers.

I ended up with some amazing Sebago deck shoes instead. They were navy suede. I was so desperate to wear them on a pending holiday I had to settle for half a size up from my regular size.  They were superb.

Whilst in the store there were some amazing chocolate brown strap loafers by Cole Haan. They were slightly out of my price bracket at the time as I was saving for Sagres and Vinho Verde.

I also remember a very light blue ( PANTONE 9462 U) Harrington. Previously I had only seen black, red and blue. It just looked so different it's hard to explain how much it resonated with me.

Sadly by the time I came back from Portugal the Cole Haan and the Harrington jackets were gone.

I have never heard of Wilkes, Frye, Shiner or Dunham.

So sad to think of the demise of so many brands

I recall one visit to J Simons trying on their new made in UK trim high-waisted khakis with oxblood bass weejuns and, I'm sure, Ken L who tried to convince me this was a classic look. He was entirely right and more than a decade and a half later I haven't changed my views. That shoe cabinet remains a strong memory, too. Funny how those moments can change things and push you in certain ways...

^FSC
Yes, I too was told several months ago that this was on the cards. Unfortunately nothing has materialised yet.

If the pics on the Rancourt website are anything to go by they look really nice. The bit appears slightly smaller than some of the old Gucci loafers. Less in-your-face.

Hope you didn't spill your soup down it, haha,

Those Finns don't know what they're missing, the most un-appertising seafood I've ever tried were barnacles in Portugal, but you've got to try these things, not a fan of razor clams although we had some last Saturday in Richmond,(my friend's Chinese partner ordered them as she'd never had them before), excellent tapas restaurant overlooking the Thames, and I'm with you regarding snails,

I saw those BDB's as well Stax, like red/white stripe and the olive.

Harrington stocked BDB's for a short while back in the late 80's, I bought a pale yellow one which I really like and still have. After the Sero's in RS faded away I started buying BDB's from there, I had quite a few, which stupidly got culled 10+ years back.
Ian from Harrington's gave me a nice white one in VGC which didn't fit him, it was probably one from the late 80's. At the moment it has a chocolate stain around the breast pocket. It was one of those choc's you get at the Indian when finish with a coffee, I left it in there and washed it, it obviously melted and left the stain. So if anyone is reading this and knows how to get rid of it (the stain that is) it  would be appreciated.