What happened to Saks?

[adamgottschalk]

Last time I went into Saks, in NYC, was almost 10 years ago. I went in today, here in Portland, thinking I might pick myself up a nice pair of two-tone summer shoes. OMG! My requests were met with ignorance at first, followed by a special trip out from the back for a manager to say, "Were you asking about two-tone oxfords? Right, that would be more like...Las Vegas." [huh] Not quite sure if that was a dis or just a way of saying "You wouldn't want to wear those in Portland," or both (probably both), but it really ticked me off. Especially 'cause I'm so damn hip and stylish Seeing such shoes in Portland this summer they will be for sure!

But I looked around, all over, in the men's section, and found not one thing, not one single item worth spending money on (especially not if it would come with oodles of extra tailoring charges...). The casual stuff was way, way overpriced for what it was, and the formal stuff was only so so (and also astronomically overpriced). They had not a single decent pair of shoes. They're specializing in Gucci shoes now, I gather, and while the Guccis were nicely made, what ever happened to "timeless"? Anyway, here I was, more than happy to plunk down some coin...and I found nothing. I felt like I was at Marshall's that had re-created itself as something pretending to be more. I'll try Meier and Frank next time.

Does anybody like the style of sportcoat/jacket that seems to be in vogue at the moment with visible contrast stitching at the edges? I find it unsettling, almost too reminiscent of the grotesque "derelicte" (sp?) travesty, but then maybe I just haven't seen a good enough example.

Coming up, I always knew that Saks or Bloomingdales or Barney's had some fine material waiting to be found. Where do I go now?

 

[Tomasso]

Saks ain't quite the menswear mecca that it once was but as far as shoe selection they do carry Edward Green shoes. EG makes a few two-tones models, so even if Saks had none in stock a good manager would have offered to special order a pair for you.

You need to go to Bergdorf Goodman's Store for Men. It's the best menswear store in NYC, some would say the best in America.

 

[Senator Jack]

For me, the vintage score is when I find a piece, look at the the label, and read 'Sak's Fifth Ave.' I can only imagine how great their men's department was back in the 50s. Everything I find from them has held its shape over five decades - everything is of solid construction. I think their buyers were actually defining men's fashion back then, from formal down to leisure wear.

And then there's Sak's today. Forget it. I can't even discuss, because it's not worth discussing. Lord and Taylor is probably worse. ('Excuse me, how much for this ill-fitting dinner jacket?' 'That's $3,800, sir.') I haven't been to Bergdorf for some time, I'll have to stop in and see what's going on over there.

As for the visibly stitched jacket: No, in italics. I've had several clerks try to sell me these jackets for the past few months and I've had to politely reel in horror. 'Er...no, and uh, no again, thank you.' It's a bit of a revival of the lesiure suit stitching, isn't it? And while there are some articles of clothing where a contrasting stitch is visually appealing, I don't find it very much so on jackets.

But Adam, I was under the impression that Portland is now a hip little town, and from my friend, a Portland native, I hear that vintage culture is very popular there. She's been living here for two years, though, so maybe things have changed. What gives?


Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[anon`]

I dared to make the mistake of wandering into the Portland Saks about a month ago. It took all my courage to not run away, but at least nobody tried to sell me anything.

I've wandered all over the downtown/NW parts of town trying to find gems of places to go, and I've basically retreated to John Helmer for the most part. Still can't find a decent place to pick through vintage stuffs [huh]

Adam... if you do ever find some place carrying real spectators nearby, please share. And Seattle ain't nearby

 

[Barry]

Adam... if you do ever find some place carrying real spectators nearby, please share. And Seattle ain't nearby

At least a couple of 'loungers have ordered Allen-Edmond's broadstreets in chestnut and golf-white. They're a great pair of shoes - just not cheap. I'm pretty sure the Allen Edmond's store is still open in Portland.

Here is a picture that Zohar posted some time ago:

Only a few more weeks then I can wear 'em.

Barry

 

[adamgottschalk]

But Adam, I was under the impression that Portland is now a hip little town, and from my friend, a Portland native, I hear that vintage culture is very popular there. She's been living here for two years, though, so maybe things have changed. What gives?


Regards,

Senator Jack

Oh, it is now a hip little town, which is part of why I was surprised. Honestly, I don't "go out shopping" all that much so I'm not clear on where the good vintage stuff is. There's a store in my general vicinity called Well Suited; I could swear I'd been told they were a vintage store. I called; no vintage. There are at least a couple of vintage shops that come highly recommended, but I have yet to go. I'll have to look harder for "vintage culture;" I suspect it's downtown. I will say, though, that my attention to looking good is definitely rubbing off on people around me

I live in the Northeast, which is a lot like the East Village was maybe 15 years ago. "Downtown", or the Northwest part of the city, is the real urban part of town. One can be dressed to the hilt down there and not feel out of place (well, almost). I've started something I call the "Huber's Roundtable:" a bunch of us put on our finest attire and meet once a month at Huber's downtown for drinks. Huber's is the oldest bar/restaurant in Portland (1879), and the bar part is huge, very classy, and very 1800s. That's about as often as I make it downtown. I'll get pictures next time (featuring some of misfits poets and sculptors mentioned at left...who meet at my loft several times a month for other "events" having to do with our becoming Portland's next wave of creative breath takers (the "hipperazi")).

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Adam... if you do ever find some place carrying real spectators nearby, please share. And Seattle ain't nearby

Try eBay! They're there. Even dead stock (never worn) vintage spectators from the '40s are there.

 

[anon`]

Try eBay! They're there. Even dead stock (never worn) vintage spectators from the '40s are there.

I look at eBay on ocassion, but to be honest... the place scares me. Ok, so maybe "scares" isn't the right word, but I'm stingy enough with cash to be very leery about buying stuff there. Maybe someday I'll work up the courage...

@Barry~ There's a store out on NW Glisan that carries AE shoes, and I've looked at the Broadstreet before. I've only seen the black and white version, and IIRC the white leather was smooth leather (or worse, synthetic) as opposed to suede. I've never found a local source for the latter
On that subject... does AE still produce the brown/golf-white shoe?

 

[adamgottschalk]

I look at eBay on ocassion, but to be honest... the place scares me. Ok, so maybe "scares" isn't the right word, but I'm stingy enough with cash to be very leery about buying stuff there. Maybe someday I'll work up the courage...

I've been buying and selling on eBay since summer of 1999. I've seen a lot of "things" during my participation, but in all my transactions (218 pos feedback, with one negative), I've only run into two bad folks, and that's out of hundreds I've dealt with one way or another. Additionally, those two bad seeds only cost me the one negative feedback and some annoyance from an annoying oddball. I've never gotten a bad deal or paid too much. You MUST be careful when you browse to look closely at the details (which the shadier sellers try to obscure), to find out as much about the seller as you can, and to ask every question you can think of. I have a rule that if I email a question to a seller and don't hear back with some degree of promptness, I won't bid on that particular auction. Of course, all this only really applies with more expensive items. Quite literally, the only thing I don't buy on eBay anymore is groceries. (I didn't ask for the Saks certificate ). Everything from underwear to vintage musical instruments (guitars, double basses, saxophones...) to vintage suits and hats to electronics to hard-to-find screenplays to great deals on colognes...you name it, and if you look hard enough, incredible deals are readily available. That's what the whole It campaign is about. Shopping anywhere else, once you really know how eBay works, is throwing money away. Then again, I'm a person who is somewhat mobility challenged, so eBay, and every other online market, is a real help with everyday difficulties in my life. I'm also a big supporter of and advocate for my local businesses and my local economy, so I am torn at times. I know what's most morally sound; I also know what's most economically sound and agreeable with my own circumstances.

Take for example the Caswell-Massey Number Six cologne (favorite of George Washington) mentioned on another thread: I'd be hard pressed, if successful at all, to find that locally anyway; it's $28 without shipping on CM's site. There's a new bottle on eBay right now for $18 with $5 shipping. Some colognes (I've been on an endless cologne hunt lately) are really expensive and difficult/impossible to find samples of; savvy eBay sellers know which colognes those are and buy them with their own money then sell samples themselves (Creed brand scents are an example). Might not be strictly legal, but it's sure helpful and useful to me and many others.

 

[anon`]

I think, perhaps, I didn't use the best choice of words in my first reply about eBay. I figure that, if scammers and other unsavoury sorts were a significant problem at every turn, eBay would've folded by now.
What turns me off about eBay is the idea of "OK, I've now found this perfect-enough [whatever], now all I have to do is watch this auction for the next 14 days, 3 hours and 42 minutes to make sure I don't get outbid." Whenever I start looking through eBay that's what comes to mind. Then I go downtown and pick through the vintage shops. Less selection, but at least I get to try it on first

Perhaps someday, when I have more disposible income to play with.

 

[Twitch]

Adam- that contrast stitch on jackets was around in the 1970s and carried over to some leisure suits. Just wait it'll all come back.

We all get crabby or surprised when we don't find what we're looking for as retailers change to meet new demographics. I pretty much hate to shop for anything in any store any more! It's all gotten so alien from the hardware to the clothier. We gotta realize that mainstream retailers don't stock things that they don't get calls for anymore and 2-tone shoes is one of those things. At least specialty stores exist.