Fall Quarter: Sperry 7-Eye Boot

-In June I posted about a number of great looking deck boot options. Oddly enough, none of those options were by Sperry. That's because, at that point, Sperry was notably absent from the deck boot game. I don't know how long this 7-Eye boot has been out, but I spotted it while browsing the selection at Need the other day. They're the same price ($140) as the aforementioned Sebago collaboration, not limited edition, and certainly not made to the same quality specifications as Quoddys; but my general rule is, if you can go with Sperry, go with Sperry. They look a little awkward laced so tight, but I like that they're the only deck boots out right now with hooks¹ instead of eyelets at the top. If I end up getting these, I'll surely throw some sort of waterproofing treatment on them to help endure the Northwest winter.
1-I don't know the correct name for these things.  more

Fall Quarter: Authentic Aran Sweater

-I recently had the opportunity to visit Ireland with my girlfriend and her family, who moved to the states in 1994. Traveling with natives of the isle was a great way to experience my first trip abroad, mainly because I got to see the worthwhile sights without having to resort to overpriced tourist traps. Apart from the history and the incredible food and drink, the best part of the trip was meeting the extended family, which brings me to the focus of this post: The hand-knitted Aran sweater that Grace's grandmother made for me.
-Originating in the Aran Islands off Ireland's west coast, the super chunky knits have been a part of Irish fishing culture for hundreds of years. Grace's grandmother knits hats and sweaters, which she sells for around $200 a piece, in her spare time. The past couple winters I've been looking for a similarly massive knit, and I'm lucky and grateful to have happened upon one for free. This sweater will definitely be in heavy rotation this winter, especially considering that we try to bundle up rather than pay for gas to heat our apartment. More photos after the jump.








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Summer Vacation: Three Weeks in Ireland

-I'm about to take off for a few weeks in Ireland (pictured above,) so it's not likely that I'll have any new posts. But I am doing some very cool blog-related stuff while I'm gone, so don't forget about us. I'll try to update my Flickr and Tumblr with some preview shots while I'm away, and I'll be keeping people up to date on the Class Act Twitter.
-If you're bored over the next few weeks, be sure to check out some vintage Class Act favorites:
-Newbury Chino Remix
-A visit to Winn Perry.
-A discussion of Chuck Palahniuk  
-A cereal discussion.
-The Loose-Tie Lesson Plan. more

Summer School Supplies: Gitman Violet Chambray

-I posted about this shirt when I first ordered it, but I never gave any commentary once I had it in hand. Based on other chambray shirts I had seen and worn, I expected my first shirt from Gitman to be a bit heavier. In actuality, the shirt is the lightest of any in my closet, and in early March when I bought it, the weather didn't afford me many opportunities to work it into my wardrobe. However, as the mercury has been staying put at around 80 degrees for the past month, this shirt has become my go-to. What you see below is what I've been rocking most days this summer. I don't actually promote doing the half-tuck in most situations, I just wanted to show that the shirt can work both tucked or more casually untucked. I've kept my undershirt rotation tight, switching between light grey and dark grey v-necks, mainly because grey and purple always work well together. Most days my walking commute can get pretty hot, so I prefer to keep it open with a V rather than my usual white Hanes undershirt.
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Summer School Supplies: The White Linen Shirt

-I've mentioned often that, having lived my whole life in Washington, I've always felt more comfortable and more creative dressing for fall. Furthermore, I've been keeping it pretty casual this summer, so I haven't really felt compelled to blog my looks (though I did Tumble this one, this one, and this one.) Living in a temperate climate, I haven't invested much in summer-weight shirts, but I bought this white linen joint from J.Crew about four years ago and I'm really just starting to appreciate its value. I've only handwashed/air dried this shirt, so it has a kind of rugged, rough texture that I think contrasts nicely with its light weight. There's not a ton to say, but the shirt is steezy and breezy, and every guy should have a white linen button-down for summer. Now, if only someone would make one with a BD collar...
-As for the rest of the kit: I didn't have the dough for the Rogues swim trunks I wanted, but I did grab this pair from American Apparel. I wanted a really simple suit, and this navy pair with one pocket, a drawstring and a strip of velcro, is about as simple as you can get. Other than that, you saw my new Top-Siders two posts down, and I take my Duluth Pack everywhere I go these days. I'm going to post a few more of my favorite summer shirts in the next couple days, then I'm out of the country for a few weeks but will still (maybe) be blogging, stay tuned. more

Summer School: Giving my first pair of raw denim their first wash

-My first videos were relatively well-received mainly on the basis that they were marginally funny. You know what's a hard subject to make funny? Washing your jeans. A few people, upon seeing the great still-shot a few posts down, expressed excitement about the coming video, and to them, I am sorry. A combination of lack of forethought, planning, vision, concept, skill, etc. has left me with a video that I think is kind of bad. Sorry. BUT! The jeans did come out of the Pacific looking great, so maybe it's still worth sharing, even if it does wander about not knowing if it should be funny, artsy or neither.

eyefivestyle.com | Naked & Famous Ocean Soak from angelo spagnolo on Vimeo.
-Early on I committed to a kind of dumb and tedious editing decision about the split screen, which I realized about halfway through was a terrible idea, but lacked the motivation to go back and fix. Like everything, this was definitely a learning experience, which taught me that even on non-consequential videoblog posts a plan of action is terribly necessary. I've had quite a bit of video experience, but mostly in the realm of editing, and since I'm planning on upgrading my camera and doing some more video posts in the future, I definitely need some more content/shooting practice.
-In other denim news, I did just get a new pair of Baldwin 77s, so I'll be posting some more coherent denim-related content on DenimDebate in the next couple weeks. more

Summer Vacation: Much Needed Sperry Upgrade

-I finally got around to replacing my old Top-Siders. Unlike a lot of Sperry aficionados, I don't really dig the white sole found on most models, so I sprung for the Sahara colorway with the darker sole. Over the years I've heard of people recommend wearing Top-Siders in the shower or the ocean initially, something I didn't do when I bought my first pair back in high school. After consulting a few experts, I decided to go the shower route, which helps soften the leather a bit and also helps to keep the laces from coming untied. I also cut a few inches off my laces because I don't really go for the bunny-ear look. This time around, I'm going to make a point to shoe-tree my Sperrys after long days of wear to keep them from disintegrating and stinking too terribly. more

Day Off: Video Preview

-This is a snap from the aforementioned videopost coming this week.

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