Trailer Trad Grooming: Pinaud Clubman Au De Quinine Hair Tonic

I was recently in the barber supply isle shopping for Clubman talcum powder (good stuff) when I decided to sample some of the other Pinaud Clubman items sold there. Pinaud Clubman Au De Quinine Hair Tonic looked interesting and kind of mysterious. Why was it the color of port sherry? Does it have quinine in it? If it does, will it make you smell like tonic water? If so, can you make G n' Ts with it? Why does it have inscribed across the label "for professional use only?" Does that mean that I should rubber gloves when handling it?

I took a flyer on it and bought it thinking that it was cologne. It turns out that it is hair tonic. -I'm using hair tonic! Fogey alert. However, I will continue to use it because I love the way that it smells. Kind of peppery like sandlewood with perhaps a tiny bit of tobacco scent. In fact, I like it much better than my everyday aftershave Royall Spyce. I've found that none of the Pinaud Clubman colognes have that soapy, chemical smell that some fairly pricey ones have. -Maybe Clubman is so cheap that they can't afford to put whatever that chemical is into what they produce!

Where can you buy Pinaud Clubman Au De Quinine Hair Tonic ? How about that cool place that I profiled previously? Fore Club Supply has a good price on it. By the way, they've begun stocking cans of Clubman shave creme that look interesting...

 

Buy Your Cologne Where You Buy Your Janitorial Supplies!

What is the most trad place from which to buy grooming supplies? Before you answer London's Trumpers or New Haven's J. Press, hear me out. What is more trad than finishing your tennis match or golf round at that old, forgotten club in the leafy suburbs and limping exhausted into the men's locker room. Although the lockers are rusty and the floors are mildewy concrete, you enter the dingy sanctum and set your gear on the splintered oak bench and step with trepidation into the showers. The calcified shower head spits out sulfurous streams of cold water. -But you'd have it no other way. That, my friends, is trailer trad.

After the bracing shower, you grab a white, utilitarian towel and dry off. Ah, there's half used bottle of Lilac Vegetal provided by the club to freshen up with. You exchange an old joke with an equally old duffer then wander into the plastic fern and knotty pine paneling adorned 'grill' for that perfect Plymouth Gin G&T. Various wonderful things lay around the card room like score cards, tees, club napkins. On the shoe-shine stand lay brands of excellent shoe polish that you'd never heard of. -Where do all of these weird, cool clubby things come from?

Since the Depression, Fore Supply Company out of Chicago has been a major supplier to country clubs and others in need of personalized service and a wide selection of hard to find  'club' supplies. The business was started out of the trunk of a 1937 Chevy early on and the young German immigrant family sought to provide items that clubs and athletic facilities might need. During the Depression, founder George even had the kids sharpen golf pencils!

Supplies were in short supply after the war so, in 1945, George K. and Helen organized 'Fore' Supply Company and revolutionized the idea of marketing specifically to clubs. For example, they went so far as to manufacturer their own shower shippers, largely by hand. They were so shrewd that they used their garage to store stock and didn't even get a real warehouse until forty years after their founding!

The company's still thriving and family owned. I've only purchased a couple of things from them but their customer service was great and, even though they're commercial suppliers, their prices are low and shipping charges fair. And there are no minimums!

Pinaud Club products are getting hard to find, especially rarer ones like Pinaud Clubman Citrus Musk cologne and Portugal Hair Tonic. They are also a good source for brushes, combs and other grooming supplies.


Fore could also be your go-to if you go through aftershave by the gallon.

Dandux is an american made classic and I thought that this Dandux canvas laundry hamper would perfect for cleaning up that dump of yours.

Alright, suppose it's poker night at your abode. How are you going to fleece your pidgeons...er..friends without legit poker chips?

Restocked!

I've found a great source for my favorite old barbershop aftershaves. I've been going through my Lilac Vegetal like mad, so it's great to have a fresh bottle of Pinaud Clubman's most famous (infamous?) scent. It's relatively easy to obtain, unlike another favorite of mine Pinaud Lime SEC cologne. Lime SEC is very citrusy and addicting. Combine it with Florida Water to give it added depth or to make it smell less like Pledge furniture polish.

I decided to try Stephan Bay Rum since it's another old-time brand like Pinaud's Spice Island Bay Rum and Superior 70 Bay Bum. It's OK but it goes on a little 'soapy' and the Bay oil content is pretty low.

So, what's my new source for this and some other cool stuff? -I may get around to sharing it in a future blog and I'm keeping it a secret for now!