Chubbies: A New World Order?

Oh boy. Am I the so called "slave to a trend" that Chase and Status were referring to? I'd like to think not. But one look at the meteoric rise of Chubbies and some might think otherwise.

Started by four Stanford grads, the aim of Chubbies is to "liberate" men's thighs. If you somehow have not heard of them yet, go check out their website at www.chubbiesshorts.com; it will pretty much tell you everything you need to know. From their "cargo embargo" to the "32 facts", Chubbies relies on over-the-top comedy and satire to advertise their brand. And damn does it work.

In 2012, their sales increased by over 600%; even more so in 2013. Expansion is to be expected, as they just introduced draw string shorts and swim trunks. Despite being based out of San Francisco, the company is becoming synonymous with the Southern style, neo-prep/frat in particular (people still wear them in other ways, such as this). They have hundreds of college ambassadors across the country preaching the gospel to their peers, and applications recently reopened. It's not unreasonable to expect Chubbies to take over the world within the decade.
And what a liberating thigh-volution it would be.

I first found out about these bad boys a little over a year ago by way of some sartorial research. It was right at the beginning of my clothing metamorphosis, and, at the time, I was simply not prepared for something so...well, short. But as I became more and more aware of traditions and perhaps a bit, ahem, "ballsier" in my choices, it was simply a no-brainer to at least give them a try. Price wise, the Chubbies are actually relatively cheap. At $50 a pair, they're about $30 less than any comparable shorts from Ralph Lauren, Vineyard Vines, Southern Proper, Brooks Brothers, etc. And much more comfortable, too.

I opted for a pair in light green, or as the company calls them, "The Three Commas" (Chubbies creates clever, often irrelevant names for every style). Officially, it's "seafoam green", but I am irreverent of the color spectrum.

What I've found best about the Chubbies so far (3 or 4 wears) is that you can wear them casually with a t-shirt, or go slightly ritzier with an OCBD. They can emanate a youthful "greek" vibe, or a classic, down to earth one, as pictured below. I'll let you decide which is which.

Ready to sink a few at a social function

Ready to sink a few after a nice cruise in a convertible 3-Series

The toughest challenge Chubbies will face in the coming years is the struggle of relevance. Is it just a fast fad, or a true re-imagining of the way men casually dress? My fear is that too many will write it off as "fun while it lasted", and not look to the past for inspiration. Long, break-at-the knee shorts are a relatively modern phenomenon. While I do love the fit and elastic waistband that Chubbies offer, they are not the first short shorts (or simply shorts as they like to call them). But this can and should work to their benefit. The Chubbies brand is the first in recent history to embrace the buyers cognizance of the inseam, instead of simply selling 5 inch shorts. By this I mean that they are sold around the premise of showing some thigh. It is not that men did not do this before, it was just not very popular outside of high fashion and uber prep circles.

For now, we can only hope that the phenomenon will continue its apparent tour de force. But we should not forget to have fun along the way. Confucius once said, "He whose shorts end before the knee, will be drowning in endless seas of...". I suppose you get the point?

Bass Weejuns

As I write this post, tears slowly fall from my wet eyes. My hands tremble ever so slightly. I normally like to fancy myself a man of ostensibly placid emotion. To hell with that. You see, this moment is rather monumental. I suppose I should preface my excitement.

I began my foray into the sartorial world just under two years ago. While I never truly acted upon my interests until fall of last year, the seed had been planted, and was indubitably germinating. The first, and I mean the very first, article of "nice" (back then I had no idea what to truly call prep/trad) clothing I wanted was Bass Weejuns; from them stems nearly all of my experience. At that time, I sort of lumped loafers and boat shoes into the same category, but both had the same classy appeal: classic without being pompous. And today, a day of glorious days, I have finally procured a pair of the good ol' Weejuns.

So did I preface well enough?

To recount the tale of the shoe seems a rather daunting task, but one of my favorite sites, Ivy Style, did a fantastic profile on them not too long ago. Check it out; if you don't know about Bass, you are not a true renaissance man/woman.

President Kennedy playing golf, GOLF, in  loafers. I mean...

I opted for a burgundy pair, less dressy than the black, but a bit ritzier than smooth brown (at least in my humble opinion). 

Given the choice of penny and tassel loafers, I decided the tassels were just a little too uppity for my current style and age. Plus, the allure of being able to put vestigial coins in my shoes proved overwhelming.

Bass loafers should, if properly cared for, have quite the life span. While admittedly less comfortable than cushioned driving shoes, the soles of the Weejuns are known to be resilient.

The only chance I've had to wear them so far has been with this combo of a yellow OCBD and chinos. The pants aren't summer-weight, so I more than likely will not be wearing them too often anymore. That being said, the timelessness of this particular look makes it pretty tempting to give Mother Nature a less than gentlemanly hand gesture and just sweat it out.

Clark's Wallabees

The Wallabee. Iconic, classic, tacky, crepe-y, lovely, comfy...there are a plethora of words that seem apt to describe Clark's second most popular shoe (Desert Boots reign supreme). Curious styling matched with quality materials render the Walls, at least in my opinion, a perennial classic.

Introduced in 1965, the Wallabees have had many different connotations. My first exposure to the shoes was through early 20-somethings who wore beat to hell Walls that they'd has since 15 or 16. I became aware, however, of the fact that the shoes have been much more than marks of longevity. Experiencing a heyday in New York City during the 70's and 80's, the Wallabees are extremely, and I mean immensely, popular in Jamaica (a new book about the islands love affair with the shoe is set to come
out). Wu-tang Clan repped them in their prime, wearing the Walls in odd combinations of dual colors, with Ghostface serving as unofficial spokesman. Regardless of this funky amalgamation of cultures and subcultures that seem to adore the shoes, Clark's Wallabees have never truly "gone out of style".

So that brings us to the present. I personally have noticed a spike in popularity, particularly in fratty and preppy circles. Several of my friends have Wallabees that they wear, and on occasion we have Wallabee Wednesday. To me, the intrinsic beauty of the Walls is their versatility. Literally everyone, regardless of their sense of style, can pull of Wallabees. Wear them with shorts, wear them with pants, wear them in plaid, wear them in feudal banner colors; they all look good (the opinion on shorts seems to vary from person to person, I like the look, even though it's distinctly fratty). I've found that Wallabees weather nicely as well, and instead of looking ratty wind up appearing broken in, like you've earned your creases.

As if the look of the Walls wasn't enough, they are as comfortable as...well they're just really damn comfortable. The Wallabees I have are the boot style in sand suede. Typically, I wear them with pants, as any good man should. But earlier this week, I was feeling markedly fratty, and decided to indulge my inner GTH (pictured above I am wearing them with white Adidas socks, seersucker shorts and a white polo; open to opinion). The low tops, however, look much more natural with shorts (also pictured is one of my friends with the taupe brown low tops).

So what do you think of Wallabees? Multifaceted icon or odd looking fashion faux pas?

Easter Sunday

Ahhh, good ol' Easter. The official beginning of seersucker-madras-GTH-pastels season. While still a young man developing his own sense of faith and spirituality (I will try to refrain from discussing religion or politics on this blog in order to not alienate any reader), I could never pass up the opportunity to adorn myself in some southern style. This was truly my first Easter as a tradster/preppy, and it proved much more enjoyable than any Easter past. Most young men (and even some adults) at the church I attend simply wore polo's and khaki's, with the more refined assuming seersucker suits (something that I would like to procure). My point is that, without trying to sound haughty or arrogant, I truly was one of the only people there dressed in a classic style (save for the older men I described earlier), and in the case of others my age, perhaps the only one in a coherent outfit at all. It just goes to show that even minimal effort, particularly while young, can go a long way in regards to overall perception (I know this last little tangent probably made me sound like a cocky prick, I apologize!).

I chose to go with a bit of a southern classic look, using the sunglasses and Costa neoprene's to to contrast the dressiness and add some youth. Were I older, I probably would have opted to wear a sports coat, but seeing as I'm still under 18, I figure that it is acceptable to simply go with an OCBD and tie (plus, I don't own a sports coat ;)). 

I should note that basically the entire outfit is J. Crew.

• J. Crew essential chinos in urban slim fit, a gift ($70 new, less on eBay)
• J. Crew factory washed button down, bought as final sale for $30
• J. Crew cotton tie, a gift
• Columbia double loop belt, Christmas present 
• Cole Haans Air Colton Saddle Shoes, a gift ($198 retail, less on eBay)
• Ralph Lauren socks, bought at Marshall's in a pack of 3 ($8)

I reveled in the chance to lace up my saddle shoes, which, contrary to my previous post about them, aren't always the most comfortable (they narrow towards the toes). I got pretty lucky that all of the blues coalesced, tying the outfit together, at least in my humble opinion. 

The pants kind of ruffle up at the back, and in this photo look like some sort of Beta Theta Phi go-go pants. In reality, they hug the legs a bit more without being too "urbane," or at least I think so. There's a fine line between James Bond and Nostalgia, Ultra (I'll try not to make obscure references that I too wouldn't understand if I hadn't written them).

So there you have it: my first Easter in the gentlemen mindset. What could I have done to improve? Please feel to free to comment anything you wish!

Cole Haans Air Colton Saddle Shoes (w/blue laces)

I love these shoes. While I have only worn them once due to their dressy nature (homecoming dance, holler), I will more than likely be donning them on Easter Sunday. More urban prep than trad or frat, I like to think these shoes are modern enough to bring a certain avant garde look to anyone's wardrobe.

The sole are made by Nike, interestingly enough, which actually provides the wearer with a certain level of comfort that is rather unexpected (I danced, or attempted to, just fine without any period of break-in).

A brief examination of the history of saddle shoes provides a bit of insight into the whole Nike thing.

Originally introduced in 1906 for use by tennis and squash players, and considered by some the precursor to modern athletic footwear, saddle shoes became commonly worn by teenage girls in the 50's and 60's. As time wore on, however, saddle's became more of a novelty than fashionable craze. Nowadays, prepsters can be seen wearing them, particularly in classy situations, as the line between saddle shoe and their parent oxford shoe has blurred (wingtips fit into the same category, at least from what I have observed).

Perhaps my favorite aspect of these (or any) saddle shoe(s) is that you can customize them without being ostentatious. In fact, I think these shoes beg to have colored laces. The woman at Nordstrom (under normal circumstances I would never pay full price for these, but my grandmother bought them as a gift <3) even insisted that to not get at least an extra pair or two of laces would prove a regrettable act (admittedly she had some bias towards me making another purchase). The blue laces I have in them now matched the button down I wore to the dance, but I also have the original brown laces and a pair of orange ones.

So maybe they don't exactly meet the criteria for being truly trad, but I do enjoy these Cole Haans shoes very much. Normal retail is $198, but I've seen used ones on eBay for as little as $100. Something I'd definitely recommend, at least on the merit of looks alone (I'll make a post later describing their longevity, as that remains to be seen). Happy Hunting!