"It's not a memo…"

As I continue to refine this blog, I hope my intentions for it are met, and met with a groundswell of support from friends and loved ones. I wanted to begin writing about clothes much sooner. Now, spurred by the events of November 4th, and by warnings from the media of our country’s impending financial doom, and by an overflow of email I sent to myself with the subject “Something Else for the Blog,” I’m finally starting.

In an article in today’s New York Times, Mike Albo states that as a country we’re bound to start reexamining the impact of appearance and the importance of quality.

Albo’s glorious account of a visit to Paul Stuart, one of my favorite stores to stroll through on a lunch break spotlights one of my favorite PS employees—the impeccably clad Manolo Costa who oversees their younger gentleman’s line, Phineas Cole.

Recently, I’ve explored ways I can buy American, organic, recycled, or (my mother would say, “heaven forbid!”) used. Michael Williams, of A Continuous Lean, published The American List, which outdoes any I’ve seen in terms of well-curated, downright cool stuff being made right here at home. If only when Bush’d encouraged us to shop, he’d taken it a step further and said, “… if yer gonna buy, buy Amurican,” maybe today’s headlines would look different.

Instead of bad news bear markets, Big Three bailouts, and bankruptcies, the cable news crawl would read “Buying American Pays Big for Business,” “Menswear Shapes Up: Trim Looks for Men Mean Fatter Wallets for Retailers,” or “Bush Elected to Unprecedented Third Term.” Ok, maybe not the last one, but Sam Cooke’s right—a change is gonna come.