Spending Less Will Cost You More: Why the rich ARE richer

Recent studies show that to a point, money does indeed make you happy. Frankly I would have charged the researchers half of what the study may have cost them to figure that out. Then again I would not have had all the hard data that they had, just my street learned lessons. When it comes to clothes, something I am qualified to speak on, I can assure you similar logic applies.

I had the good fortune of being born into a family of tailors, so it wasn't unusual that before I was 8 years old I already had my first cutom tailored jacket and pants. At the same time, because birds of a feather indeed do flock together, my father also had his friend make my brother and I custom shoes....Brown Desert Suede Boots.

I've heard people bemown the cost of high end clothing without the knowledge of what goes into the making of a garment. I was always quick to point out that they should never consider spending the money without understanding why. I've watched as people forsake quality for quantity, and believing they are coming out ahead.

I will put it as simply as possible. Clothing that is made from better materials and constructed better will not only last longer, look better and fit better, but it will also give you what may seem less obvious before the purchase.....a better feeling. How much is feeling good worth?

When purchasing lower quality garments, you will need to buy several to cover the lifetime of one well made garment, this is simple mathematics. Materials, and by this I mean fabric, accesories etc. are richer looking, take and keep color better have more intricate weaves, feel better to the touch and on and on. Not all garments are cut or sewn in the same manner. The thought that goes into the design of the garment in order to have it fit the body in a flattering manner is important and hard work. The way in which the fabric is cut makes for a better fit and accuracy in being the proper size. The sewing process that doesn't skimp or cut corners makes for an item that not only wears well through time but fits well also.

These are the tangibles of a garment, but what about the question asked earlier...have you given it a thought? How much is feeling good worth? This is not so simple as there isn't an answer that fits all. So, the extention of the question should be....to you. How much is feeling good worth..to YOU? Will you carry yourself better? Will you make a better impression on those you meet? Will they treat you better? Will feeling better about yourself lead you to a better position and doing a better job at it?

Well you see where it all leads, and the opposite is true with all the negative results. Quality and quantity are to be balanced, but if you are to tip the scales a bit....tip them on the side of quality.

I love Your Shirt

So my postings on Facebook have taken a funny turn, I say funny simply based on the responses, but you can be assured there will be hits and misses.
Making fun of oneself is not only important....it's funny right? Right. So I will start with this one and will also blog some of the other previously posted "ads" and "whatnots".

Can you just see it? Can you hear it? I think it's important to hear a heavy accent in reading it...French would be a good one..a bit pretentious, she's an American visiting Southern France for the first time. Perhaps if we heard the rest of the conversation it would go like this...

     He: eet was from zee first moment I saw you....your hair...your eyes...I love your shirt

     She: hmmm yes....it's 100% cotton...soft don't you  think?

     He: yes soft like your skin, I notice your walk, zee buttons details...how zee designer engrave each leetle
           button wit zee name ooohhh eet makes me..how you say...like an imbeecil...stupeed...crazy

     She: I understand, every detail is...why, the way it fits my body

     agitatedly interrupting

     He: YES, YES YOUR BODDY I love your boddy ees ah so uh nice

     She: I love your shirt too baby those buttons are making  my head spin

     He: tomorrow we must order some more.....I never want thees moments to end.....

As they spooned into the night dreaming of logging on together onto alwaysgetLucky.com
     

How much pretentiousneess can $1000.00 buy?

Last night I was reminded why I had stopped reading GQ Magazine. Pretentiousness.

I had to stop and look up the word...and there it was, disillusioned that I wasn't wrong, but there it was just the same. I was hoping that English, my second language, was failing me. It wasn't.

pretentiousness - the quality of being pretentious (behaving or speaking in such a manner as to create a false appearance of great importance or worth) wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn 

My son Daniel brought home the March 2010 issue, he is currently following in the family trade which is fashion and GQ I'm afraid, has come to be what we call "FASHION". On the bedroom floor among the bedlam that is the picture of the prolonged adolescence of the times it sat, still, waiting for a turn of the page to scream the reckless words it came to believe just merely because... they had put them into print. It beckoned me like a long forgotten adversary that had broken from the ranks without fanfare. Thinking somehow that in the heat of battle it might have ridden past the sunset...it had not. It beckoned me as the apple drew Adam and with as much intent and venom.

So here I was, weakened by the state of television today, I did....I picked it up. By page 100, not even half way through, I had had enough. The mental convulsions were more than I could bare, why was I doing this to myself? Why would I put myself through the agony that even an Anbien CR could not tame? There could only be one reason...I was the chosen one to slay the dragon. Have you ever noticed that if you don't fall asleep within minutes the Ambien will give you a slight buzz? Ok, well, that's it, my pretentious moment, that's my excuse for feeling so grandiose as to be the "chosen one" and no, I wasn't seeing dragonS...just one....one...well that's it, just one...GQ.

These pants at the top of page 100 started the ball rolling, I was just looking at the ads and pictures for the first go around. Did you read that? I actually thought I was going to do this twice. Pay close attention to the price at the bottom of the picture.

Hey you, short attentioned Blogger reader!!!! That's $1,950.00....move over King Tut, Barneys has some of your gold in the Men's department.  I scan further down ...oohhh wait, there's a shirt that goes with that, I feel better now  uh......what? You want to charge me for that too???? Uh-huh says Mr. Barney with his hand on his hip and his head trying to decide if it wants to be on his right shoulder or on his left shoulder.
Ok then, let's take a look....you see, Mr. Barney Sir, I design shirts and have manufactured them in three different continents...Uh-huh...my head's not steady on my shoulders either!!

You see the one on the left? That's theirs. The one on the right? That's mine. Most shirts have 72 sewing steps, this way surpasses that. The fabric is 100% cotton from one of the best mills in the world, out of Austria to be exact. The shirt is made by the finest craftsmen and women in Italy. No, not made in Romania and then we slap a made in Italy label, no Sir, it's really, really Made in Italy. Do you see the price? $130.00. You see theirs? $750.00. If you want the remaining long list of the details drop me a note because I have another item to bitch about. I am feeling like Pacino in Scent Of A Woman "OHHHH I'M JUST GETTING STARTED HERE!!!!!"

Take a look at this. Are you kidding? Bill Lavin is among the best in the business and the belt retails for $85.00. Nothing against the belt from Barneys but $1,255.00? So there you go, to me the cost of  pretentiousness is the difference in cost between the two belts, $1,170.00. I understand that one product can have better materials, it might be made in Italy vs. China where labor is cheaper, I GET IT, but $1,170.00?

Pretentiousness should be defined as: the act of  allowing someone a power grab, an ass kiss, to self medicate with self righteousness by another that is less educated as well as senseless. Lethal cocktail those two. Educate yourself, ask the questions so that you may allow yourself to laugh and laugh heartily at the pretentiousness that is hoisted your way at the turn of each page like a whip striking your very consciousness. With 100 pages behind me, my sentence was 100 strikes....then I freed myself so that I....could slay the dragon.

Calling all Vluxe LoVers

Once upon a time in the land of fashion there was a collection called Vluxe.

By the name underneath it you can see who designed it. Ok, I am the one saying it....but it was truly inspired...everything about it quite frankly. The fabrics, the models, the marketing (largely contributed to by my friends at BOLT in Charlotte, N.C.), the vibe was just....well great. The inspirations came from my travels and the people I met along the way.

Many of you became loving, wearing fans and purchased Vluxe products from the very top men's stores throughout the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and yes as far as Russia. The details and love that went into every product was spectacular, I know, because I am the one that put the LOVE into it. There was a great team behind it to say the least and I am forever grateful to the men and women that walked beside me, in particular the sales team that was among the best in the country.

Like everything in life...things change. Today you will be able to find the same LoVe and Passion in the shirts I design like IDENTITY, X and XTDM for women, as well as a very special collection of handmade ties at a site called....go figure....www.alwaysgetLucky.com

Not only will you find my work, but that of contemporaries such as Bill Lavin and Vivek Nagrani doing what they do best....belts, socks and more. Not just any socks or belts friends....SPECTACULAR BELTS and SOCKS.
        

Due to the fact that we now come to you direct and these shirts and ties are Made in Italy, you will now get twice the value but at the same price and in some cases lower than before. This is not the same company as before....it is a completely separate enterprise but with the same care, loVe and Passion as I have always given you...thus www.alwaysgetLucky.com

I look forward to reconnecting with you all,
Lucky Nahum

The Window Of Opportunity

I am fifty-four years old and that is a fact, beyond this point it's all mere speculation.

I will die at eighty-four leaving me thirty years to do all that I want to do. I will live to experience the joys and to avoid the pitfalls that life is sure to dispense with impunity. It's hard to imagine what else there might be, but the impressive aspect of life is that it inevitably surpasses the ever expanding imagination of man. "Expect the unexpected" they say, but none of us are ever truly ready to do so. It's always a surprise. Expectations are tricky little things right? Expectations can be big as well. Expectations in the end are colored by the result of reaching them or falling short of them, how we proceed or how we take the next step. What will we have learned? Will it be fear or confidence that will determine the rest of our days?

At birth we are all given a window of opportunity. We are all different, so not two windows can be exactly the same. One can't control what he's given, only what he does with it. Be thankful for the window given...and be mindful of those with smaller windows.

A Hotel to Remember

There are reasons why certain moments in time feel as though the world around you vanishes and your senses seem to take on supernatural powers, this was one of them.

As you turn into what seems like a small forest, you feel engulfed by nature and as you approach L'Albereta Hotel in the Franciacorte area in Northern Italy. You are facing a spectacularly restored house, which at that very moment, epitomizes the expression "it took my breath away".

 

The vineyards embracing the structure spoke of its history and care in what Italians do best...live with passion. This was going to be a culinary delight, which I new from everything I'd been told about this fine establishment. What I didn't know was the comfort that would await me when I would be shown the two floor suite by Carl. His heavy German accent surprised me, but I soon realized that this was a hotel that attracted the very best in the business as he was about to show me where I was to reside over the next two days.

  

Carl explained that with a push of a button the roof over the bed on the second floor of the suite would simply open up and so that night I slept under the stars.

There are reasons why certain moments in time feel as though the world around you vanishes and your senses seem to take on supernatural powers, this was one of them.

www.alwaysgetLucky.com

The Union of My State - Intro

As the minutes tic down closer and closer to our President's address of the State of the Union I got to thinking of my very own life, how together it is at 54. Is it too soon to ask of oneself? Is it too narcissistic to ask "out loud"? Today's technology allows me to do it, does it mean I should? Perhaps it will save a few dollars at the analyst, perhaps.

Thinking that I'll watch the President speak to the nation and the world preceded by American Idol may be very telling of myself and considering the viewership, I would say of all of us.

This may very well be the beginning of a long and beautiful relationship with my blogging, walking the fine line between truth and fiction, right and wrong, entertainment and reality. A time to search the soul...one way or another....stay tuned.