Braces

Violinist/Art Collector Louis Kaufman by Milton Avery.

Calvin Klein Collection Donegal Tweed Suit

Italo Zucchelli designed this number. It's getting to be that time when you ought to get out the tweeds.

Letterman Sweaters

Glacier National Park, Montana

Bears live here. Don't forget to lock all the foodstuffs in the car or suspend them in bags from tree branches.

Montana Watch Company

You might think you recognize these watches from any number of photographs in any number of Ken Burns' documentaries about 19th century America. Such watches might have been on the grainy wrists of Union officers or Western frontiersmen. But you can't remember now. You fought to stay awake through umpteen hours in the name of learning and in order to support public television. Alas, the soft banjo underscoring lulled you to sleep.

No, you're not familiar with these watches. Two to three hundred of them are currently made per year in Livingston, Montana, by Montana Watch Company. Founded by Jeffrey Nashan, the company's mission is to "rebuild the great American heyday of watchmaking one watch at a time, to rekindle the spirit of the West and produce high quality American timepieces."

Brigadier Field Watch.
Model 1930 with Western Single-Point Engraving.
Officer's Watch.

Amazing Beards #2

Henry Clay Frick.
Karl Marx.
Gandalf the Grey.

Filippa K

This is a photograph of Filippa Knutsson.

In 1993, she and Patrik Kihlborg founded the Stockholm-based fashion label, Filippa K.

Simple, sophisticated, elegant clothing for men and women.

Mundaka, Basque Country, Spain

Sean Rowland took these photographs of this tiny Basque fishing village for Surfline. As always, click images to enlarge.

It just so happens that the town is home to one of the greatest and most fickle waves on the planet. The rivermouth sandbar must form. The tide must be receding. The swell and the wind must be just the right direction. If it all comes together, as it did last week, it looks like this.

Count Bass D

KLING by KLING

Karolina Kling was a graphic designer before launching this brand in 2006, and it shows in her beautiful prints and patterns. To see more of her garments, visit www.klingbykling.com.

Gabe Kling

Surfer Gabe Kling is from St. Augustine, Florida. He is of no relation to the Swedish designer listed above.

A Broken Umbrella Theatre: Thunderbolt

If you are in New Haven, Connecticut, on Saturday, October 31, check out A Broken Umbrella Theatre's original production of Thunderbolt. This theatrical event, complete with spectacle and music, brings to life a true story about Captain Thunderbolt, a notorious New England highwayman and pirate. The information is below, or you can visit abrokenumbrella.org.

j.a. daye: Moustache

The good folks at j.a. daye were kind enough to pass along information about Moustache, their Hong Kong-based, ready-to-wear menswear line. The idea was "to design a casual, tropical 'weekend' wardrobe to compliment their year-old custom tailored collection, j.a. daye." In addition to their vintage-inspired clothes, they will soon introduce small leather goods, canvas bags and totes, shoes, and grooming products. Here are some pictures.

If you are in Hong Kong, check out the flagship Moustache store at 31 Aberdeen St, Central. You can also visit them on the web at moustachehongkong.com, or check out their blog, jadaye.wordpress.com, which will keep you in the loop.

j.a. daye

j.a. daye is designer Ellis Kreuger's "idea of what a good 21st Century tailor should be: a bespoke experience for a generation raised on the ease of ready-to-wear shopping [and] classic styles made with a modern point of view in unexpected colors and fabrics."

Based in Hong Kong, the idea is that you visit jadaye.com, select garments from the collection, measure yourself (detailed step-by-step instructions are on the website), and place your order. The construction and tailoring are done promptly by craftsmen in Hong Kong and shipped to you. Not a bad idea.

John Irving

You’ve been thinking about reading more. Though you’re grateful for public transportation, the iPod alone is not enough to drown out the monotony of the commute. You love the feeling of being caught up in a good page-turner, but you want a book with some substance, some bite, perhaps a book that will make you think or feel something. John Irving writes books you might like. Here is a photograph of his face.

This picture was probably taken around the time he wrote The World According to Garp, which was published in 1978.

In it you will find nurses, prep school wrestling, first district Viennese prostitutes, physical dismemberment of varied degrees, a transsexual who formerly played tight end in the NFL, and plenty of radical feminists.

Secondary Education