Now that the holidays are over and we can start shopping for ourselves again…a new suggestion for a book title that Santa prob didn’t bring – Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo from MIT Press.

A historical and fascinating account by Nicholas de Monchaux of how Playtex won the bid over military and industrial competitors to create and manufacture the Apollo spacesuit. This book combines all my favorite topics – politics, media, fashion design, and technology…a must read for all you Houston NASA history buffs (i.e. everyone at Hamilton) out there.

Order it up at Amazon, B&N, or locally here at Brazos.

via Selectism via Brainpickings

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TV tip for tonight!

The American Masters series puts a spotlight on famed design couple, Charles and Ray Eames. Airing on PBS tonight from 10pm to 11:30pm (12/19) this documentary is certainly one not to miss if you are at all interested in style and design.

From the PBS website:  American Masters presents the first film made about America’s most important and influential designers, Charles and Ray Eames, since their deaths in 1978 and 1988, respectively — and the only film that explores the link between their artistic collaboration and sometimes tortured marriage. Jason Cohn and Bill Jersey’s definitive documentary delves into the private world the Eameses created in their Renaissance-style, Venice Beach, California studio, where design history was born.

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Last but not least…the ACME Plaid arrives into our online store – our final 1883 introduction for the fall winter 2011 season. Originally inspired by Pacific Northwest style, the updated coloration of this burgundy pattern is a modern take on a classic ‘royal stewart’ plaid. Black, loden, gold, and white contrast beautifully with the dark red – a red similar to the color of your favorite merlot.

Perfect to wear during the holidays, the shirt looks great worn with black, dark greens, or even khaki. The soft Italian cotton has a super crisp hand that gets better and better the more you wear it, even more so after a couple washings. I speak from experience…the ACME shirt comes with a personal endorsement – mine! This favorite style has become my most worn shirt of the season- I’ve been happily wearing the prototype sample since September!

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Esquire asks “Start with your shirt, then choose your tie” or is it “Start with your tie and choose your shirt”?  They claim that either method works…but for us choosing the shirt (or shirts!) first ALWAYS works best.

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Have a wedding to attend this season? A holiday black tie function? The winter issue of The Knot features two Hamilton Shirt options– a classic tux look and a summer seersucker suit option. It seems with planning wedding details, its never to soon.

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James Bond’s 007 wishes he had this…from the latest (Nov./Dec. 2011) Society Diaries of Austin, San Antonio, and South Texas.

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With the timely arrival of additional fall 1883 shirts styles to our website, we take a look at the making of the new Cashmere Cotton shirts from start to finish. A very popular new style this season, this cashmere and cotton combination really raises the bar. This updated cloth totally redefines a fall fabric – it has the comfort and ease of cotton with the additional luxury of the softest cashmere wool. Similar in feel to the most amazing brushed flannel, this cashmere cotton blend far surpasses that fabric in every way.

Combining the best materials along with the top craftsmanship of our Houston workshop, quite simply, make this “Made in the USA” garment one of the finest shirts you can buy.

Each shirt starts out here. The selected bolt of fabric is brought over from the shelves to the worktables…

Notes on the shirts styling are checked and the appropriate pattern pieces are laid out…

The cutting begins. Each shirt is cut out individually with a knife.

Pattern pieces are carefully laid out to match the lines of the plaid fabric perfectly…

Exact measurements are key to provide symmetry and balance…

Interfacing is cut to give the shirt structure, but since non-fused is used the shirt remains soft…

The construction begins…

Facings are applied that will never get wrinkly or creating bunching…

Labels and size tags get applied at this stage…

Pockets are cut and pressed very precisely and must match the fabric pattern…

A template shows exactly where the pocket is to be applied to the shirt…

Double and sometimes triple checking exact measurements…

The pocket is applied and the final assembly is completed…

The end product…the blue version of the cotton cashmere plaid button-down.

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Looking for ideas on what to wear to work? Our good friends at Free/Man put together another one of their excellent Kits, this time featuring our staple 1883 ecru oxford. With an eye on what would be appropriate for the office, but also cool for going out afterwards — our basic button-down collar oxford can be super versatile for a busy day.

Check out the Free/Man site here..and the Kit #6 post with all the details here.

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The site of a recent Hamilton Shirts after work dinner, the farm-to-table restaurant “Haven” is definitely a place to visit. From the locally sourced meats and seafood (shrimp corn dogs) and all the top quality farmers market produce, this place is a winner. Creative twists on Texas favorites like chili, gumbo, cornbread– these southwestern and creole classics take on modern forms and new flavors. This would be a fantastic place for a dressed up date night..or just meeting friends in the more casual bar area. Located in what feels like someones beautiful modern home, you can chill out, eat great, and have a fantastic evening. We sure did.

Haven – 2502 Algerian Way, Houston Texas, 77098 tel. 713.581.6101

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Texas Monthly takes a look at the various men’s & women’s prints in play for fall and features a fall 1883 shirt in their current November issue. Sadly, this style sold out so fast we never even had a chance to post it to the website. One of the very first new styles we introduced for the season, the shirt was exclusive to our Houston store and was snapped up by all our lucky Texan shoppers. If you are looking for something similar… the Shadow Shirt (a heavier weight) and the navy Buffalo Shadow Plaid (& burgundy version) both have a similar vibe.

This picture also reminds me a funny quote by Hamilton friend and menswear style-guru, Nick Wooster, who stated “camouflage pattern is to men what leopard spots are to women”. Very clever!!

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