TRUE STORY ABOUT THE PROTECTIVE QUALITIES OF TWEED

Contribution by Chris Kavanaugh from a thread on Ask Andy About Clothes http://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/
The best mens online clothing forum

Your flight is delayed at O'Hare Airport. Somebody neglects to complete a de icing of the wings. You take off in a fog and moments later the plane is broken in three pieces, half in icy water and half in slick, frozen shoreline.There are numerous fires burning.You get up, and in leather shoes walk on debri, some still glowing with heat. The wing is slippery, you slide into waist deep water, but manage to gain the shoreline. You collapse, but the tweed is just enough to keep your core temperature from falling dangerously low.At triage, they remove your jacket and waistcoat. You let out a sudden gasp. You have 3 broken ribs the clothing kept relatively immobile.looking around, you see people with melted polyester wounds literally from head to toe. They are lucky.Many post crash survivors succumbed to shock hastened by the onset of hypothermia.weeks later, you get the newly cleaned and pressed suit back from the cleaners. You see numerous ember burns that give it a peened surface. But by God not a fiber is completely seperated. You, and it are still presentable.* This actually happened in another part of the world to an online acquaintance who asked me for clothing advice while traveling

To order your own highly effective protective yet affordable travel suit go to
http://www.tweed-jacket.com/

TALE OF AN OLD TWEED JACKET

A charming promotional booklet produced by the venerable Moss Brothers, probably in the 50's.
We hope to reproduce the full illustrated story for your interest and amusement soon, it was a rare find indeed,costing a fair few shekels, and can only have been produced in relatively small numbers.For those of us with a favourite jacket it is all too relevant!

THE HISTORY OF JOHN G HARDY CLOTH

Almost 100 years ago John G Hardy founded the company which today holds the undisputed position of market leader for the supply of elegant country fabrics. The founder, being something of an eccentric gentleman, became well known for having collected his fabric samples, he would return to London with them stacked under his top hat. He was on of the first cloth merchants to visit the Scottish Highlands and Islands, accordingly acclaiming to have been responsible for the introduction of both Shetland and Harris Tweed cloths to the major markets of the world.

In 1829 the Duke of York, who was to become His Majesty King George VI, used a John G Hardy cloth for the regimental Tweed of the Brigade of Guards. He was the Colonel in Chief of the regiment and the cloth consisted of Black and White, with Royal Blue and Crimson colourations.

King Edward VIII when, as the Prince of Wales, was known to acquire the distinct checked fabric that would later bear the name from John G Hardy. Today, the extensive fabric range still includes several Prince of Wales checks and the expression has become instantly definable.

The company is privileged to hold Royal Warrants granted in the mid 1930’s for the supply of Balmoral Tweed fabric to the Royal Household.

For the discerning purchaser John G Hardy offers a vast array of jacketings and trouserings for all occasions, including the famous Alsport Tweed. Based in Yorkshire, the heart of the UK textile industry, the company enjoys an enviable reputation as one of the worlds foremost cloth houses with its fabrics being sold in over 50 countries throughout the world.

Bookster now offer an introduction to John G Hardy Cloths with six new offerings of light medium and heavy weight Alsport Tweeds. More lightweight patterns will be on offer in the New Year. Visit http://www.tweed-jacket.com/

SANTA FE STICKS

Handcrafted from Rare Hardwoods in Santa Fe by Two Wood-Culture Enthusiasts
Santa Fe Sticks Classic canes, cane stands and walking sticks hand-carved, custom-made from exotic hardwoods; you choose wood, tip, handle and length. Our canes and walking sticks are the perfect combination of majestic beauty and incredible strength. Each is unique and takes hours to complete.

ELEGANT SURVIVAL Beauty, Fashion and Health

M-J de Mesterton's website is a style sanctuary for women. The Lady herself has style in abundance and shares some of her secrets on how to look and most importantly feel good. Her site also includes recipes, wine of the month, plans for entertaining and many useful links to recommended sites.

Elegant Survival

This is an article from the site which I think would be useful for gentlemen too!

Ironing a Man's Shirt My Swedish grandmother taught me how to iron men's shirts. Like Scandinavians of all social strata, she adored being at the ironing board. I don't know how other people do it, but here is our system:
Flattening and folding the yoke (found under the collar at the back of shirt) at its bottom seam, iron it. You can iron-out the resultant crease later, when ironing the whole of the back.Iron the underside of the collar, then its topside, then iron a crease at the seam where it meets the shirt.
Iron the insides and outsides of the cuffs, before doing the two sleeves. Then you are ready to execute the easy parts: the two front sides and the back.
Hint: keep a spray bottle of water nearby to mist the shirt's stubborn wrinkles, even if you have a steam iron. If you use steam, empty the iron, refill it, and test-run for rusty water which can be difficult to remove once it is on the shirt. Do not use the highest temperature setting: crispy brown edges are for tortes, not chemises!
Besides the great feeling of accomplishment one gets finishing each shirt, it saves money which one may have spent having a cleaning outfit doing the work. There is dignity in ironing; don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise.
UPDATE: The very best iron that I have ever owned is this one from Panasonic. I have owned irons from Germany that cost three times as much, and each one ruined my silk clothes by dripping on them. This one is totally reliable, and costs about $30.00 US. I choose the the Japanese over the Germans here, and if given the same choice in cars, I would do the same.
Washing Your Shirts
I forgot to mention that your shirts will last much longer if they are washed by hand and hung to dry. Don't use so much detergent that it takes a rinsing marathon to remove it. "A little dab'll do ya", as the old Brylcreem jingle said. If you don't want to get hanger-marks on the shoulders, just put wash-cloths under them, over the ends of your hanger. The worst thing to do, even if you wash your shirts in cold water in the gentle cycle, is to dry them in a machine.--doing so will quickly degrade your shirt's fibres. You'd be surprised at how swiftly they dry naturally, and when they are just a wee bit damp, they're easy to iron.

M-J de Mesterton

WWW.TWEED-JACKET.COM

www.tweed-jacket.com is the website specifically set up to launch
Bookster1uk's own range of made to order tweed clothing
THE BOOKSTER ORIGINAL RANGE.

Since 2003 Bookster have operated bookster1UK, a specialist clothing shop on eBay, offering a wide range of classic vintage & tweed clothing to customers around the globe. The Bookster Original Range was launched by bookster1uk in early 2007 and due to popular demand you can now order their new range of tweed jackets and 2,3 & 4 piece suits on this easy to use website
 www.tweed-jacket.com

ABOUT WOOLLEN CLOTHS

If you are baffled by the names of woollen cloths and would like an expanation, click on our the TEXTILE DICTIONARY link and you can find out about twill, gabardine, loden, worsted and many more including covert which is a cloth with a mix of two shades of brown used to make the true Covert Coat (commonly called racing coat), a three quarter length coat usually with a velvet collar.