This afternoon I went to an Oxxford trunk show at Carroll & Co in Beverly Hills. I met and chatted with Mike Cohen, the raffish young president of Oxxford Clothes which is based in the west side of Chicago - "city of the big shoulders". In operation since 1916, Oxxford makes what many consider to be the best RTW and MTM men's suitings made in the US (assuming here that quality is defined primarily by the amount of handwork and handstitching).
Mike took a few measurements along the chest and sleeve and recommended the Radcliffe model for my body type (narrower shoulder and lapel). It looks like Oxxford is making an effort to update their classic full silhouette to reach a perhaps younger clientele. Before my abbreviated fitting with Mike, the representative from Holland & Sherry spent a few minutes going through their latest fabric swatch books - including some beautiful lighter worsteds in their Crystal Springs line.
He also took note of my loafers and thought they were made by the English shoemaker Edward Green, a Northampton-based firm that quite a few shoe aficionados consider to make the finest ready-to-wear men's shoes in the world. Actually they were a pair of English Grenson shoes that I got on sale from Bennie's Shoes. Though not an Edward Green, the Grenson Masterpiece is an elegant shoe with a channelled sole.