I’m home from Japan! It is seriously the most fantastic place, I can’t wait to go back. Some interesting things that I discovered while there….#1. WIFI is totally impossible to find, even in big hotels. #2. Sushi is way more popular in America. #3. The Japanese are the best dressed people in the entire world. #4 Those super advanced computerized TOTO toilets we giggle at? THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY THE GREATEST INVENTION OF ALL TIME. #5 Everyone uses giant flip-phones.

Here are some snaps before I pass out again from the absolute worst jet lag ever.

The view from the hotel in Osaka.

If you find yourself in Japan, you can buy Hamilton 1883 shirts at this VERY cool store called Journal Standard.

I did not eat this.

I did eat this!

Japan clearly hasn’t gotten the “smoking is bad” memo yet.

Can you imagine? A courtyard belonging to a fabric mill that created fabrics for Samurai and the royal families of Kyoto.

A very cool guy in his kimono with North Face messenger bag.

Kimono-clad cuties at the Kiyomizudera Temple in Kyoto – the “Pure Water Temple”.

Gorgeous temples everywhere in Kyoto, one of the prettiest cities that I have ever seen.

And, of course, The BIG AMERICA 2 TEXAS 2 Burger at McDonalds. Oh, great…

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Joseph, we need to talk.

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The best part of getting a custom made shirt is imagining all the potential details that you can add to make your shirt totally unique. Looking at historical photos of men with memorable style, most of these guys wore shirts that had exceptional details that eventually became their trademark look – certain kinds of cuffs, collar shapes, pocket styles, etc.

Marilyn Monroe wearing an example of a custom monogram

One of the most enduring and fun details that can be added to a shirt is the MONOGRAM.

From initials, slogans and symbols – our new state-of-the-art computerized embroidery machine can make almost anything a possibility. Right now in our Hamilton 1883 ready to wear line, two new styles that were inspired by custom monograms are currently available: The Bar H is our take on a Hamilton rancher logo; and the “MINE” Monogram, cleverly states that the shirt belongs to you, and you alone.

For many of our custom clients, adding the monogram is the one decorative element that sets their shirt apart from all others. With initials being the most popular request, here in Texas having your ranch name or symbol is also a very common addition.

Image YOUR possibilities….stylish Fiat heir, Lapo Elkann, with the Italian flag monogrammed on his cuff

A great custom monogram story happened a number of years ago when a Hamilton client ordered a dozen shirts with the request of his special brand to be sewn onto the lower front panel of each and every shirt. Quite by accident, the actual words SPECIAL BRAND were sewn spelled out onto each and every shirt. The customer received the order, called the shop to question the mistake, and was so amused by the result that our client still orders Special Brand monogrammed on all his shirts to this day.

Another rogue client once placed an order using a famous deceased politicians initials on his shirts as his own…just to impress the ladies with a VERY odd conversation starter.

Examples of monograms belonging to the the Duke of Windsor

While we haven’t made that mistake again, and we don’t necessarily recommend deception as part of your style – its certainly makes it fun to think outside of the box. A one-of-a-kind shirt can go a long way in really defining your style, and its also great way to inject a sense of fun into your wardrobe. Keep our monogram detail option in mind for the upcoming holidays, a personalized shirt would make a really great gift.

A couple more ideas…check out these recent examples of awesome Texas football pride monograms that we’ve been making up for clients:

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Check out this take on High Style on Wall Street from the Houston Chronicle website. The rules of business may not have changed very much over the years, but the dress codes certainly have.

Fun fact! Did you know that David Hamilton worked on Wall Street at Lehman Brothers from 2001 to 2003?

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If you haven’t noticed, we here at Hamilton Shirts really appreciate craft and the attention to fine detail.

The fascinating chocolatiers -  The Mast Brothers – represent the epitome of craft and detail, and we really like what they do. There seems to be a lot of similarity between the Masts and the Hamiltons…we both like great materials/ingredients, we both take the time to make things right, and both companies are run by a pair of siblings!

We were really excited by this credit that just appeared in the recent September issue of Men’s Journal. We like these brothers unique style, and are thrilled that Rick Mast is wearing a Hamilton 1883 shirt. They are just the kind of guy that we love to see in our clothes. So cool!

Thank you to Men’s Journal for thinking of us.

Check out this great video from Coolhunting about Mast Brothers Chocolate and how it gets made:

The credits from Men’s Journal:

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Over the next few weekends Mr. David Hamilton will be spanning the globe! The next two weekends have David conducting Hamilton Shirts trunk shows at various stores around the country.

If you happen to live out in the Pacific Northwest you can stop by and visit with David at the Mario’s store in Portland on Friday (tomorrow 8/20) and at their Seattle store on Saturday (8/21).

The following weekend you’ll be able to meet up with David at Bauman’s in Little Rock, AR on Friday, Aug 27th, and again on Saturday, August 28th.

At these events you’ll be able to chat with David about the amazing heritage of the Hamilton’s unique fourth generation family business – and experience first hand the process of getting a hand-crafted shirt made just for you. We have some great new fabrics for Fall/Winter 2010-11 and at these events you’ll be able to see all the brand new shirting options for Fall/Winter 2010-11 for yourself.

Stop by and see us! We’ll have additional dates with more stops coming soon.

Mario’s, 833 Southwest Broadway, Portland, OR 97205 ph. 503.227.3477 & 1513 6th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 ph. 206.223.1461

Baumans, 8201 Cantrell Road #150, Little Rock, AR 72227 ph. 501.227.8797

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Over on the Houston Press website, noted food writer/critic/historian Robb Walsh, has been slowly releasing his 100 favorite Houston dishes in Houston week by week. His final stand-out meals have added to the list and his slide-show countdown is now totally complete. The exemplary dishes that made the cut were included “because they are such quintessential Houston creations, others because of their cultural or historical significance, and others just because they are so damn tasty.”

In addition to reading through this valuable Houston Press master list, a clever guy by the name of Kyle Nielsen (“sometimes I get really bored at work“) has uploaded all these stats and Google mapped it all out for your dining convenience:  Robb Walsh’s Top 100 Houston Dishes, Houston Press. Therefore, not only do you get to see all 100 items in one place – you can map out the directions, find out which restaurants are closest, and you can handily download the map into your smart-phone.

Just think…you’ll never have an excuse for a bad meal ever, ever, again.

View Robb Walsh’s Top 100 Houston Dishes, Houston Press in a larger map

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Take Ivy by T.Hayashida is back…yet again.

If you are a regular reader of all the various style blogs out there, there is no way you’ve overlooked the upcoming re-release of the Japanese style-bible Take Ivy. Even the New York Times has recently written an article about it. This new edition is sure to get all the fashion folks worked up – with its translated English text, brand new photo reproductions, and most of all…its super low price tag.

I’ve written about this cryptically named book before – vintage copies of the tome are very hard to find, and often sell at auction for thousands of dollars. As an owner of a vintage copy (bought back in the good old days when there was such things as expense accounts..what?) it will be interesting to see how the new edition affects the price of the rare vintage copies. Luckily I got my original copy for a song. Newly listed on Amazon, the book will sell for $14.97 when it gets released on August 31st.

The small photo book takes an outsiders look at life inside the private, wealthy world of the American Ivy League – photographs of students back in sixties when the prep styles of the men’s clothes were really only worn by the entitled, privileged classes. Fashion designers, editors, and stylists worship the book – it’s a rare snapshot into this unique period of time and has influenced many fashion magazine stories, and countless menswear collections.

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If you find yourself at home tonight in front of the TV be sure and tune in to PBS. The fantastic series of American Masters documentaries profiles legendary singer, and songwriter, Merle Haggard.

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Currently airing on cable’s Cooking Channel during the day, The Galloping Gourmet, is a vintage TV show that has to be seen to be believed. This instructional cooking program aired on American television during the late 1960′s, probably as a foil to Julia Childs french cuisine precision.

The globe trotting chef and host, Graham Kerr, selects a dish from his world travels that gets prepared step-by-step in front of a live audience. Famous for his loose and free style, his “hedonism in a hurry” cuisine highlighted a heavy use of eggs, butter, cream, and of course, deep frying. With audience participation, spilling, missing ingredients, dropping stuff on the floor, insanity prevails.

At the start of the show, the Galloping Gourmet comes running out from backstage with a large glass of wine and proceeds to scramble around the room, jumping on, around, and over the furniture on the set. His totally bizarre sense of humor, coupled with what seems to be his on air wasted-ness, has to be seen to be believed. Set your DVR, its awesome.

In a unrelated fashion observation – the big shirt collars on Johnny Carson and Graham Kerr look really great. Don’t they?

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