Saturday, February 16, 2008

Archival Cruelty: Old Town Clothing





Digital fabric samples (top down): Harris Tweed, Corduroy, Moleskin:





I'm always lamenting the remote location of my preferred retail sites: namely, Tokyo boutiques selling hyperrefined revisions of country clothing and 40s era workwear. Though thoughtful readers continue to suggest means of accessing these items online, I'm holding out for a future, in person spree--perhaps sometime in 09??? Today, I'm distracted by another longstanding retail cruelty--my inability to order items from a UK company called Old Town Clothing. Here, I submit visual examples of what makes Old Town so seductive. Each garment in their product range receives the same visual treatment: an upfront grayscale silhouette, followed, a page away, by a photograph and digital fabric sample. Returning to the site every once in awhile, I like to prioritize the garment/fabric selection for my hypothetical order (first, the Marshalsea in irish linen follwed by the Jerkin in tweed, and on...). I'd even order a full length dress if they made it out of this fabric.

Old Town provides a link to a form which one can fill out and mail in to Ms. Wiley. However, when I wrote Ms. Wiley a letter of inquiry (with full overseas postage), I never received a letter of response. My question: did my letter get lost, destroyed, or is this just a case of mail ordering from the past (with my items arriving by way of a David Niven film on some future broadcast date)?

Contact Old Town here.

8 comments:

amy said...

oh dear. suddenly i am overcome with the desire for an entire new wardrobe. you should just call them - at least they speak english!

Lesli Larson said...

O, phone contact would break my archival consumer contract. I need to employ a special envoy or buffering agent to negotiate these shopping exchanges.

Quixotic Bicycles said...

Oh, come now. Its only an 8hr difference- I'll buffer for you as needed.

I think I really could live in the stove pipe pant (denim or navy twill, please) forever...

Ashley said...

Prefer to buy my dresses from Goody's...

Tony333 said...

Kmart is my favorite store which offers jewelry, apparels, home decor & electronics products at reasonable prices....

Quail said...

My label, Quail, is annoyingly being compared to Old Town, which used to be known as Tin Town. From what I hear ladies who want functioning pockets, box pleats and crisp organic fabrics come to me because they don't want to wait 4 weeks to find out if Town stuff fits or not! Lovely stuff Town stuff, but I plow my own furrow.

I think you might like or dispise: http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/

Ms S. Chapman
www.quailbymail.co.uk

Anonymous said...

So, anyone know of a clothier like Old Town who'll deliver to the U.S. or is based in the U.S.? Mens clothing?

Jim Green said...

I am in the UK and order from Old Town, why don't you place an order, get it sent to me and I would happily forward on to you. it's ok I am not a kleptomaniac.

I would suggest phoning them, email is good but from experience placing an order is best done on the phone.