Bulletin Board 4

prepping for summer with my latest collab, watch highlights from Geneva, and a Japanese gin discovery

SUMMER UNIFORM

About a year ago I was introduced to Prasan Shah from The Original Madras Trading Company, whose family has been producing Madras in Madras, India (the birthplace of this lightweight cotton plaid) for three generations. They have been responsible for producing some of my favorite Madras fabric from Ralph Lauren to Orvis and I am a massive fan of this fabric, wearing it for years as a part of my East Coast preppy wardrobe. We met at a review of his newest designs of hand-loomed classic button down shirts, shorts, and Cuban style four pocket camp collar shirts, to name a few. We talked about doing a specific Wm Brown capsule collection, and he gave me permission to take a deep dive into their archive—an activity that was overwhelming to say the least—so many choices! I selected several unique color ways to produce a lightweight summer blazer, Cuban shirt, shorts (which we are leaving unfinished so you can cut to your desired length—they are designed to fray!), and we included a traditional Indian Lunghi (think sarong wrap) perfect for the beach, pool, lounging or spa! This Wm Brown Special Issue Madras will be available on my site shortly, and also at several stores like Grady Ervin in Charleston, and Dick’s in Edinburgh. In the meantime, take a look at a couple of the styles here, and stay tuned on Instagram for drops and more store locations.

DISPATCH FROM WATCHES AND WONDERS

It’s that time of year again folks, when I head to Switzerland to check out some of the latest and greatest from our favorite watch brands. Though I spotted some terrific watches from all of the brands, here are my standout favorites, in alphabetical order:

A. Lange Söhne: The big reveal was the beautiful (and sporty I may add) Odysseus Chronograph, the brand’s first self-winding chronograph made in a limited edition of 100. Go get ‘em!

Cartier: A very strong women’s game (lucky for Yolanda)—a favorite being the Baignoire. I leaned into the latest Tank Américaine (below), and I loved the Tank Normale which references the first one created in 1917—a part of their Privé Collection—a selection of limited edition numbered watches.

Chopard: The Alpine Eagle 41XPS in Lucent Steel A223 made of an exclusive material of 85% recycled steel.

Grand Seiko: The Spring Drive created by Micro Artist Studio of an engraved platinum case meant to emulate a snow-filled birch forest.

Hermés: The sporty HO8 now in composite materials and sporty, cool colors like blue, yellow, orange, and green.

IWC: Ingenieur Auto 40, a remake of Gerald Gerta’s 1970s SL, now with an integrated H Link bracelet.

Jaeger-LeCoultre: The Reverso Tribute Chronograph in stainless and gold with leather bracelets crafted by legendary Argentine bootmaker Casa Fagliano.

Oris: Wins the smile inducing watch with its latest titanium Propilot X Kermit the Frog inspired watch. The dial is as green as Kermit and Kermit shows up the first day of the month at the 6 o’clock date window.

Panerai: I love the small case trend of the newest 18k gold 40mm Radiomir called Quaranta Goldtech PAM 01026.

Parmigiani: The Tonda PF GMT is a winner.

Patek Philippe continues to wow. I’ll take the Aquanaut Chrono in rose gold brown on brown combo.

Piaget: While I’m still hoping they bring back one of my favorites, the 80s gold Polo, I love that they’re embracing the 60s, 70s, and 80s DNA—like their high jewelry cuff watches for women.

Rolex presented a mind boggling array of new timepieces. The Yachtmaster in titanium is stellar, but I was walking out with the GMT Master 2 in 18k gold on a jubilee bracelet with a new black and grey insert, if I had the chance.

Tag Heuer: I’m a longstanding fan of this brand and its car racing heritage. The Carrera Chrono 24 is a looker, but the big surprise for me was how much I liked the 40mm solar powered, titanium Aquaracer.

Tudor: I always look forward to seeing what they revive from their archives, and this year did not disappoint. Sign me up for the Black Bay 54—a 37mm dive watch inspired by the original Oyster Prince from 1954.

Vacheron Constantin: More small case sizes here, which I love—this year they released two new Overseas Self-Winding in 35mm made in pink gold or stainless steel.

Zenith: New Pilot editions and reissues of their classic editions like Defy Revival Shadow 37mm in titanium.

OBSESSION

Ki No Bi ( translation: The Beauty of the Seasons) is my new gin obsession. I first had it at my Japanese spirit-obsessed friend Tony’s house. I knew if it was on his shelf it HAD to be good and it was. I made VERY dry martinis from the ice cold bottle of gin (it was placed in the freezer before serving), garnished with a twist of lemon for me and a briny olive for Yolanda. It’s made with Japanese botanicals like yellow yuzu, wood chips (Japanese red pine), bamboo, gyokuro and green sanshō (Japanese peppercorn) berries. Bottled at 45.7% abv, it uses a rice spirit base and pure ground water sourced from the famous sake-brewing district of Fushimi.