thats..MISTER Bentley

to you.



(these are all in Ramon's words)
Picks for spring/summer season.


People generally get a little happy with the pastels and bright colors during this time of the year so I know that for this season I’m choosing to stick with a basic color scheme that centers on navy blue, gray, khaki, and white for my day-to-day look. Consider it the broccoli, salmon, and brown rice approach for my closet (because, obviously, buttery red wine reductions and duck confit are for special occasions only, lest we gain weight). The more festive occasions, of course, require a lot more panache so I’m going with particular accents that I think will speak volumes on their own..


V.K. Nagrani
I’ll be implementing more of V.K. Nagrani’s luxury sock collection because I enjoy being slightly tongue-in-cheek at this age. Besides, men generally never put much thought into their socks and I’m about showing some love to that area between the bottoms of my trousers and the tops of my shoes. What I like most with his collection is his utilization of geometric & art-deco shapes and provocative color schemes that push the boundaries on sock design but don’t extend past good taste.


Robert Godley’s “Psycho Bunny”
Over the fall/winter, I admittedly went a little too “old man” in my reintroduction to the prep look (I recently moved back to Connecticut). Looking back at some recent pictures, I think I was taking myself too seriously and some of that youthful edge was lost in translation. I want to bring back that youthful edge with Godley’s “Psycho Bunny” because I think his line has a tasteful bit of vulgarity to it that still honors the design element of these pieces but maintains a flare to it at the same time.


Moore & Giles
This is more of a lifestyle pick but it does pertain to fashion in a way. In the following months, Moore & Giles will be coming out with a leather accordion-like pocket-size notebook called “The Mind Traveler.” In it there will be several tabs that each hold blank paper pads and these tabs are labeled “Money” “Health” “Family” and “Life” (along with some other ones that I’m forgetting), and each tab allows us to almost compartmentalize our perspective on these subjects. And with this easy access, we can constantly update it and chart our growth. Now being an avid journal writer, this fits into my lifestyle but what’s just as great, is that it’ll be styled in beautiful leather thanks to the folks at Moore & Giles. These folks know good leather, people.



Check it out...


What people Will See Me In...and NOT see me in.
WILL: Trousers. There’s something organic about them that I think is being neglected or rather unappreciated about this look. Maybe it’s because you have to iron them more frequently, I don’t know.

WON’T: Denim pants, at least not most of the time. Denim is the most overused item, along with cargo shorts, during the summer. Hell, all year around. While I appreciate their rugged appeal and all-American look, I think there’s nothing wrong with wanting to look a little more refined in places—ESPECIALLY during these economic times.
WILL: More shoes. I don’t know why but I’m gravitating toward brown monk strap shoes (from Edward Green) this particular season. Add that to my growing collection of saddle shoes, wing tips, cap toes, and boat shoes.

WON’T: Less sneakers. ALTHOUGH, I will be coppin’ me some Air Yeezys in black (yes, I’m drinking the kool-aid on this one) and a couple of high-top Supras at that.
WILL: Solid ties. There’s a timeless effect to them that I’ve learned to appreciate a lot more now that I’ve thrown out most of my old ties from high school and college.

WON’T: Pattern Ties. Godley’s Psycho Bunny ties will be my only exception to this rule. Well, that and Rugby.
WILL: More humor and candor. Not long ago I was wearing this amazing black pinstripe suit that was originally my father’s. It was tailored by some Italian gentleman who still lives in the neighborhood today. I returned to that shop to get things taken in here and there and before we got started he said, “When I’mma done, I’mma gonna make-a-you look like bull.” And DAMN, I must admit, I looked rather beastly after he was done. It had that true Italian arrogance that they’re known for—but that’s not where this story ends. Pretty much everyone who still has a job can’t help but complain about the economy. I don’t blame them, but I wanted to have a better attitude about my day-to-day life. So I went out and got me a yellow plastic Spongebob lunch box, stripped off the sticker of spongebob on it, and then wrote: “…have a sense of humor.” in big letters. I took that to work with me the next day in my fresh black pinstripe suit, black wingtips, threw on my SICK-ASS 80s throwback plastic Ray-Ban aviators (also my Dad’s) with the subtle leopard print-like strip at the top and I was ON. MY. WAY. The serious business suit and cheeky lunch box was one big contradiction and I think that’s what made people stop and share a laugh WITH me about it. Of course, it’ll be a while before I do that again but I’ll never forget that moment.

WON’T: A negative attitude. Yeah, times are bad and being a delusional optimist doesn’t help either, but do what you can to not beat yourself up about it.