Steven · C

• Chelsea boots in black leather by RM Williams
• narrow trousers in lightweight wool, mid-grey with blue and white pinstripes, by Pierre Cardin
  
• mid-width stitched belt in black leather by Country Road
  
• fitted dress shirt in baby blue fil-à-fil with woven herringbone stripes, wide lapel, french cuffs
• vintage wide tie of Italian polyester with narrow diagonal stripes of ocean blue, white and beige, knotted Windsor
• rectangular cufflinks in chrome and diamonti
• plain vintage homburg in grey and beige houndstooth, in superb fettle, of French origin
• vintage Ray Ban Wayfarer II sunglasses, tortoise shell finish

Saturday we explored the Glebe Markets, where I obtained a fetching  indigo pinstriped waistcoat from a gent who imports vintage Japanese garments. Most flattering when worn over an English Laundry dress shirt.

Then we made haste to the Sydney Opera House and enjoyed a lavish production of Carmen - a superb experience, with tenors singing from horseback, real campfires onstage, corsetry galore and a nice glass of Jansz at the interval. My lady was simply luminous in her high-waisted dress of beige and black floral chiffon, while I played the part of her humble accessory wearing:

• black dinner suit with satin lapels
• black high-collar waistcoat
• woven dress shirt with open collar
• braces in burgundy with black leather furnishings
• pocket square in burgundy cotton folded Cagney-style

This morning we brunched with her parents at a little waterside cafe in Neutral Bay called "Thelma and Louise", where her mother surprised me with her kind manner and vivacious wit, while her stepfather proved quite the superior bibliophile to yours truly. Very well met, I feel.

Reluctantly we hit the road, enjoying a pleasant drive to Nan Tien Temple on the south coast, thence to the small town of Robertson in the highlands. My lady found a wonderful Stilton-style cheese at the deli there. We also explored the antique shop and I found a marvelous swagger-stick of Rhodesian origin, which I have now made my own, bound in traditional braided leather but furnished with an unconvential horn handle and fur trim.

Exhausted upon our return to Canberra, I have now retired to my apartment to indulge the filthy habit of cigar smoking (a lovely H. Upmann Purito) and to type this journal entry you now find yourself reading.

Salut.

• brogues in oxblood with matching belt
• fitted single-breasted Italian suit in cream cotton
• Darq dress shirt in pink cotton as described earlier
• necktie in silver silk
• rectangular cuff links in silver with a triangle and diamond motif, very art deco
• a classic Panama hat

• RM William Macquarie boots in black
• black wool trousers, double pleated
• taupe cotton dress shirt, full cut with medium spread collar and button cuff
• modern width necktie in black silk with taupe and blue dots in a stripe pattern, Windsor knot
• Country Road sportscoat in beige tweed
• black pocket square

• button-on braces in burgundy viscose with black leather furnishings
  
• a magnificent dinner suit in black wool, rounded satin lapels, trousers of the high-waist variety, satin stripe down the leg, all correct size
• a military uniform of the Australian Army in olive wool, no emblems, as new, all correct size
• RAF ground crew jacket in khaki cotton, dated 1941, attractively frayed, complete with all buttons, bayonet frog and bakelite-buckled waist belt
• a single-breasted suit in brown and blue pinstripe, far too large for me and as it happens with a cigarette burn in one leg which I completely failed to perceive
• china egg cups and butter tray for my lady
• neck tie of modern width in lime green striped damask silk
• a smashing Darq brand business shirt in pink cotton with french cuffs and broad collar, which I immediately proceeded to wear with black wool trousers and a floral tie for the rest of the day