Trailer Trad Grooming: Al Dente!

Who are more known for craftsmanship and beauty in products than Italians? Need I mention Brioni suits, bridle-bit Gucci loafers, Salvatore Farragamo silk ties? They are also pretty good at stuff like painting chapels. And what organization produces more great, clean design than an air force? Ever heard of a little contraption called a Spitfire? So something designed and manufactured for the Italian Air Force must epitomize beautiful form and function.

Behold my new Italian Air Force toothbrushes. Manufactured by Ponzini (sounds so much better than 'Reach' or whatever, doesn't it) in the late 1990s, the generous heads are large and full of long bristles.
They have features that you can't find in modern toothbrushes. They are white. Just white. They don't have weird  contorted shapes to make them appear more technologically advanced than they are. Let's face it. Toothbrushes are not that different than when George Washington had dentures made of bone, leather and wood. Honest design is trad design and these white, utilitarian (with the just the right amount of marine blue) toothbrushes are nice little luxuries.

 

Trailer Trad Grooming: Ivory Soap

Sometimes, change can reach up and surprise you. Even in the soap section of the supermarket. Growing up, my mom instilled certain brand loyalties in her kids. Many of them have changed over the years but some have stayed the same. Domino sugar, Tide detergent, Skippy peanut butter (Jiff? Jiff. -Do you really want to fight over peanut butter? We can you know.).

Some have changed. I no longer eat Kraft singles or Chef Boyardee. I no longer use Crest toothpaste or wash my hair with Prell. Oh, and I no longer shine my shoes with Kiwi shoe polish (sorry dad).

I'm glad that I've said farewell to most of these things. However, there is one item that I never, ever thought that I would stop using. Ivory soap. The good news is that I haven't. The bad news is, inexplicably, the shelf space devoted to it has shrunk to the size of the space devoted to replacement leather shoe laces for work boots. I'm sorry to ever say anything negative about you Harris Teeter. You know that my love for you knows no bounds.

It's just that finding a flagship product of mighty Proctor & Gamble relegated to such small shelf space is like finding out that GM autos must now be bought online like 'Teslas' because there are no longer any GM dealerships.

What's to blame? Axe. Axe is to blame. For everything. Everywhere. Here's a rule fellas. Get clean first, then smell good. Don't mix. You wouldn't just slop more fresh oil over sandy, dirty gears. You wouldn't just take a dirty, grimy wall and paint over it. And you would not disinfect a dirty trashcan by just gassing it with Fabreeze? -Well, maybe you would. Buddy, Axe is AWESOME!.

Me, I want to clean (not disinfect. That's different and not as manly as 'clean') myself efficiently  and thoroughly and then, at the end, apply a subtle cologne to finish.

But Monsieur Trad, you say, Ivory soap evaporates like the morning dew leaving me with little nubs of worthless soap bits that I rub over myself in a futile effort to raise a lather. To that I say, "have you a heart of stone, Sir?" Think about the poor working man who manned the machine that stamped Ivory on every bar of soap for P&G who retired at 42 in 1967 and has been collecting retirement ever since?

Listen, since you won't listen to reason I'm forced to paint you a picture. Buying something that comes in a 'tough' looking oil can container and is marketed by implying that you will become a chick magnet if you use it is like wearing a Harley Davidson muscle shirt before taking off to wow the gals at Hooters.

Now that we've cleared that up, go and enjoy Ivory's intoxicating scent of tradition and practicality.

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...

 

Trailer Trad Grooming: Royall Lyme Aftershave



Royall Lyme Bermuda

I miss Bermuda. Although its been many years since my honeymoon there, I still have many fond memories of the island; especially the place where my wife and I stayed, The Reefs. I recently purchased some Royall Lyme aftershave and it really captures the tropical, civilized nature of Bermuda.

Fifty years ago Mr. Anthony Gaade, a renowned Bermudian yachtsman and competitor in international races brought the very first Royall fragrance to market in 1957. As the name implies (hopefully the spelling doesn't throw you off), Royall Lyme is from native West Indian limes. In addition, according to the company, it also contains a secret blend of 78 ingredients, beating Kentucky Fried Chicken by a full 66.

Adding to its pedigree, In 1960 Royall Lyme was introduced at Brooks Brothers New York and you can still buy it there. Following Royall Lyme, Mr. Gaade created other fragrances which capture the essence of Bermuda. Royall Spyce, Royall Bay Rhum and Royall Muske. The Royall Mandarin fragrance joined the other successful family scents in 2001 followed by Royall Vetiver in 2006 and finally

Royall Rugby was added in 2011 and I bet that I'd love it but I haven't seen any in stores where I could sample it.

Even Though I Use Speed Stick, I Love This Ad

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?

Prague Plush! New Old Stock Bath Robes

In my picking travels, I found a stash of really great cotton bathrobes. These were made around 1960 in Czechoslovokia and are absorbant without being too bulky. Also, unlike a lot of vintage, they are amply roomy.

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!

Rock the Veg!

I finally broke down and bought a bottle of Pinaud Clubman Lilac Vegetal aftershave from the barber supply place. The scent is fairly unique among aftershaves. Its basically French Lilac water and smells very old-fashioned, even anachronistic. Southern Gothic. The smell of black suited deacons in a Faulknerian church in July, their L.V. aftershave propelled through the congregation by frantically waving hand fans. -Or was that the aroma of flower arrangements from Saturday's funeral fading in the heat? Floral with a hint of something sinister beneath the surface.

I guess that leads up to the big question. Is wearing a Lilac- infused cologne masculine? Are wearing a pink Lacoste, sporting day-glo Lilly pants or slipping a carnation into your lapel masculine? No. And yes.

Rock the Veg!

That's the rallying cry over at Badger and Blade blog where they are actually selling t-shirts with that slogan emblazoned on a bright green bottle of Lilac Vegetal. Check out these amusing L.V. youtube videos.

Trailer Trad Grooming: So Wrong It's Gotta Be Right

The Trailer Trad grooming tip that I'm about to share is just wrong. It really is. But hear me out. Carrying bottles of expense aftershave around in your gear bag or travel luggage can be messy. And TSA's guidelines on the permittable size of bottles in carry on lugguge can make carrying around your favorite aftershave even more of a pain. And those little tiny travel bottles are expensive!

What's a penny pinching trad to do? Well, you know those cologne ads in magazines with the sample strips? Yep. Tear them out and cut out the sample strip. Then, place some in a resealable baggy. They fit neatly in the side pocket of your tennis bag or your dopp kit. When you get out the shower, pop that bad boy open and rub it for a perfect amount of aftershave. Classy!

"I Don't Want Fop Dammit! I'm a Pinaud Clubman Man."

Trailer Trad Grooming: Dr. Woods Peppermint Castile Soap (Re-shown)

When the zombies attack and everybody’s heading for the hills, Whole Paycheck (my term for that granola supermarket with Prius’ and Suburus filling the parking lot) is not the first place that I would rush to. However, there is one product there that will be bartered along with cordwood and genetically unaltered vegetable seeds. That product is Dr. Woods Peppermint Castile Soap.

This stuff makes a Swiss Army knife seem impractical. I have washed my hair with it, my face with it, put it in a pump and used it as hand soap and washed my clothes with it. In addition, you can wash your dishes with it. You can even wash off your vegetables with it. It is reasonably priced and lasts for a long time. It is perfect for camping or to have on hand at the weekend cottage. It epitomizes WASPy practicality and, boy, your buttondowns will smell better than ever!

Trailer Trad Grooming: Make Your Own Aftershave FAIL

Wouldn't it be great to have an aftershave that smelled real? By that I mean that most department store aftershaves (even expensive ones) smell good I guess but what do they really SMELL like? Take a whiff of that stuff you've got in your medicine cabinet. It smells like..... what? -And they all smell the same! Time to be adventurous and make your own!

Blogs like 'Badger and Blade', 'The Art of Manliness' and 'Unchained' list a common recipe for making your very own bayrum aftershave. It is really easy (compared to making your own beer, anyway) and I've got a couple of tips that make it even easier.

It calls for a rum base with a little water with bay leaf oils extracted into it. That's the starting point for a bay rum. After this step, you can customize it in any number of ways. Here's the first short cut I'll offer. You've seen my entry on Superior 70 Alcoholado, haven't you? ....Haven't you? It is made in Puerto Rico by The Puerto Rico Distilling Co. It's sold as rubbing alcohol combined with the Bay leaf's essential oils. Using Superior 70 enables you to skip the above step while saving your rum (combine that with Barritt's Ginger Beer for the perfect Dark n' Stormy and you won't care what you smell like).

Since this was my first time trying this, I made a Frankenstein's brew of cloves, spearmint leaves, cinnamon, orange zest, and other spices. I obtained the assistance of Lil' Bean for the ingredient combining process. -She's made her own, less jumbled, scent and it probably came out better than mine. The second cost saving short cut I'll offer regards the spices used.

As I've mentioned before when discussing Dr. Woods Peppermint Castile Soap, Whole Foods normally isn't the first place you think of when you think of bargains. -But this is a good one. When you need spices like cloves or allspice as well as harder to find spices, go to their bulk spice isle and buy the stuff by the ounce. -It's a REALLY cost-effective way to experiment with spices. (As an aside, roast a chicken with their 'herbs de provence' spice mix from the bulk isle and that lady you're cooking for will be really impressed.)

We carefully placed the ingredients into the Superior 70 bottles and stored them under the sink for two weeks. We then strained the mixture through coffee filters into a vintage lab bottle with a cut-glass stopper. The color was very similar to my own Pinaud Clubman bayrum and smelled a little like it. Not awful for a first attempt but not quite up to splashing on before a night out.

Most recipes for bay rum aftershave call for zesting citrus fruit. Since we weren't using the peel in an actual food recipe, we peeled oranges and just scraped most of the white rind off. I also think that I used too much ground clove. My aftershave came out smelling like the cooking pan of a Christmas ham. -Not really what I was looking for. I would suggest actually zesting lemons, limes or even grapefruits or a cleaner, brighter fragrance.

This process can be modified to suit the season too. In the spring, make it very citrusy along with rosemary, mint, thyme or ginger. For cooler weather or for around Christmas, add more cloves, allspice, cinnamon, even tobacco or woods like sandlewood.

It was a fun experiment but I don't think that the folks at Creed have anything to worry about just yet.

Trailer Trad Grooming: Pinaud Clubman (Reshown)

Why write about an aftershave that has no advertising budget, no cool ads and no celebrity endorsements? Because when you think of it, what is more trad than mildewy old golf locker rooms with communal urinals, barber shops with $10 haircuts or your granddad’s medicine cabinet? You could always expect to find Pinaud Clubman grooming products in these places. Sure, the bottles are no longer glass and the formulas may not be what they were 75 years ago but I always feel just a little manlier splashing on Pinaud Clubman Lime SEC aftershave even if does smell a little like Lemon Pledge going on.

Need more evidence that Pinaud Clubman products are trad? Let’s examine their signature scent ‘Lilac Vegetal.’ Its violet color and delicate decanter don’t resemble most other dimestore aftershaves that are named after woodcutting tools and come in motor oil bottles. That’s good. Second, it was originally formulated in the 19th Century by the French perfumer Pinaud for the Hungarian Calvary. Hungarian. Calvary. Third, it proudly proclaims that it smells of Lilacs while not claiming to make you a chick magnet. Fourth, It’s called ‘vegetal.’ While I’m not sure what that means, at least it doesn’t smell like V8 (although smelling like a pitcher of Bloody Marys at the office could get you that devil-may-care rep you've been going for).

Legend has it that it alone is stocked in the member’s locker room at that Holy Grail of preppiness, The Everglades Club.

Yeah Skippy, Clubman is preppy enough.

Trailer Trad Grooming: British Bargain

Few things are more trad than British-made goods. This, we can all agree on! However, there are far fewer British-made things that are trailer trad. I'd like to give you a wonderful example of something made in the U.K. that is and tell you why. Amy Winehouse is just trailer, by the way.

Christy of England primarily makes towels and linens. And this they do very well. According to its web site, "Christy was founded in 1851 and created the first manufactured terrycloth towel as we know it today. The story goes that founder Henry Christy visited the Palace of the Sultan in Constantinople and he bought back with him a sample of a hand made, loop pile fabric which was new to the western world. His brother, Richard Christy analysed how to mechanically reproduce the loop pile, and patented a machine to produce terry towelling on a large scale. When the founding Christy brothers showed the towel at the Great Exhibition almost 160 years ago, Queen Victoria immediately ordered more for her personal use. " Since then the Christy name has been synonymous with quality and luxury.

So far, this sounds similar to Barbour, Church's or any of the other great British brands. Great quality with a great history. True, but its the quality and reasonable price that makes Christy towels trailer trad. The term 'affordable luxury' is bandied about a lot but rarely is it anything more than a marketer's slogan. Christy towels and bath robes (as well as bed linens) are routinely found in the very, very best hotels and spas in the world. But how could a peon like you ever hope to afford them?

Does twenty dollars sound like a lot to pay for a thick Christy standard bath towel? It doesn't to me but that's what they commonly cost if you look around. Consider this. My family routinely use Christy towels day in, day out for a decade or more. That's right. They are as shaggy as a Golden Doodle and as tough as Michael Vick's pit bulls. And they are still made in England.

At Wimbledon in June, history was made when American John Isner and Frenchmen Nicolas Mahut battled it out in a titanic eleven hour marathon of a match. When the epic was over, it was perhaps symbolic that they buried their weary faces in Christy Wimbledon towels, the epitome of strength and quiet excellence over the very long haul.

Christy Linens

Christy Towels at The Company Store

Christy Towel Outlet

Sale Page at Christy's Web Site

Trailer Trad Grooming: True Bay Rum

Barbershop Aftershave – Superior 70 Bay Rum
I first found out about bay rum aftershave in college when I hung out with some really traditional boarding school preps. Wire-rim eye glasses, pre-sellout Brooks Brothers oxford cloth buttondowns, thin J Press club and rep ties knotted at their waists and used as belts, and bay rum aftershave. Bay rum aftershave? -That sure didn't smell like Polo. I don’t remember the brand but I remember that it wasn’t expensive or dispensed from an expensive decanter. It came in what looked like a rubbing alcohol bottle and barely had a scent. It smelled like an old-time barbershop. That was cool to me. And the girls that clung to the kid who wore this stuff (my roomate) sure seemed to like it.

That kind of low-key traditional grooming product is great but is that stuff even available anymore and where do you look to find a natural bay rum without spending a fortune? Seriously, who would know more about rum than a Puerto Rican rum manufacturer? Then why go any further when looking for bay rum aftershave than Puerto Rico? Superior 70 Alcolado (it's labeled as ‘Alcolado’ on one side of the bottle and ‘Bay Rum’ on the other side) is basically bay rum aftershave masquerading as a rubbing alcohol. Given, it is very mild. But a more honest bay rum like you remember from your old high school barbershop you will not find.

Superior 70 Alcolado is perfect for sterilizing your tweezers and shaving razor or for splashing on after a shower. It is also ridiculously cheap. If they could make it a bit more concentrated, it would be ideal but I have no idea how to contact the company to tell them that. Just recently, a local Walgreens added a Latino section where I can now go and pick it up. Otherwise, the easiest way to get it is to go to Walgreen’s web site and order it on line. Go ahead and order a number of bottles and give them away to friends. -It is that cheap.

Trailer Trad Grooming: The Right Toothbrush

The Right Toothbrush

What’s happened to toothbrushes? While I realize the benefits of motorized toothbrushes, I have working wrists and am more than capable of generating the action needed to cleanse my big yap. However, where are the plain ol’ toothbrushes that can fight plaque and, if needed, clean the grime from M-1 rifle barrels?

What I don’t need is a five dollar toothbrush that looks like something that you hop on and fly around on at Hogworts Academy. And then, after a week, the bristles bow outward or get stuck in your teeth. A plain, well-made plastic toothbrush at a good price was no where to be found. Until now.

Reach by Johnson & Johnson puts out an economy pack of plain acrylic sturdy toothbrushes in cool colors like emerald green and cobalt blue. Four for $6.00 at Target works for me.

Blog entry update – As with most traditional products that are good, solid values, the Reach toothbrush four packs were removed from my Target much to my chagrin. They have been replaced by more of the flimsy, flashy jobs. So, as it is with most traditional products that are good, solid values these days, I rooted around on the internet to find what I want. At Walgreens, the manager found some in the back for $1 a toothbrush and I bought every one.-Score!

Dr. Woods Peppermint Castile Soap

When the zombies attack and everybody’s heading for the hills, Whole Paycheck (my term for that granola supermarket with Prius’ and Suburus filling the parking lot) is not the first place that I would rush to. However, there is one product there that will be bartered along with cordwood and genetically unaltered vegetable seeds. That product is Dr. Woods Peppermint Castile Soap.

This stuff makes a Swiss Army knife seem impractical. I have washed my hair with it, my face with it, put it in a pump and used it as hand soap and washed my clothes with it. In addition, you can wash your dishes with it. You can even wash off your vegetables with it. It is reasonably priced and lasts for a long time. It is perfect for camping or to have on hand at the weekend cottage. It epitomizes WASPy practicality and, boy, your buttondowns will smell better than ever!

Barbershop Aftershaves: Clubman Products

Why write about an aftershave that has no advertising budget, no cool ads and no celebrity endorsements? Because when you think of it, what is more trad than mildewy old golf locker rooms with communal urinals, barber shops with $10 haircuts or your granddad’s medicine cabinet? You could always expect to find Pinaud Clubman grooming products in these places. Sure, the bottles are no longer glass and the formulas may not be what they were 75 years ago but I always feel just a little manlier splashing on Pinaud Clubman Lime SEC aftershave even if does smell a little like Lemon Pledge going on.

Need more evidence that Pinaud Clubman products are trad? Let’s examine their signature scent ‘Lilac Vegetal.’ Its violet color and delicate decanter don’t resemble most other dimestore aftershaves that are named after woodcutting tools and come in motor oil bottles. That’s good. Second, it was originally formulated in the 19th Century by the French perfumer Pinaud for the Hungarian Calvary. Hungarian. Calvary. Third, it proudly proclaims that it smells of Lilacs while not claiming to make you a chick magnet. Fourth, It’s called ‘vegetal.’ While I’m not sure what that means, at least it doesn’t smell like V8 (although smelling like a pitcher of Bloody Marys at the office could get you that devil-may-care rep you've been going for).

Legend has it that it alone is stocked in the member’s locker room at that Holy Grail of preppiness, The Everglades Club.

Yeah Skippy, Clubman is preppy enough.