Bulletin Board 53

Spanish nachos, my striped tee collab inspired by Paul Newman, and American bespoke shoes

We’ve got some great stuff in store for today, but first, a little housekeeping: Yolanda and I are taking our annual vacation later this month, and unplugging to the fullest extent that either of us can. Which means that this newsletter will be taking a brief break, too. You can count on seeing us in your inbox again starting September 7th, which will kick off a string of strong fall content we’ve been eagerly planning. I won’t give away too much, but I will say these four words: Paris Black Book soon.

Now, back to our regular programming:

WORK IN PROGRESS

If you've been paying attention to me for any period of time, you’ll know that there are a handful of garments I’m forever obsessing over: white jeans, waxed jackets, safari shirts, etc. Another item on that list would be the long-sleeved, striped crewneck tee, which for me conjures images of Picasso lounging about his studio, Cary Grant romancing Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief, and just the general feeling of a French summer, where I’ve spent much of the current season.

I recently had the chance to put my own stamp on the style, when I got a call from my friend Chris Molnar of Cacio Pepe (we had worked together before when he was at Good Life–remember the Brody sweatshirt?!) The brand—so named because it makes simple, quality garments from good ingredients, much like the pasta dish—has a program called Second Chance, which takes deadstock fabrics and turns them into new garments through its manufacturing partners in L.A. As part of that initiative, Molnar had come across a beautiful striped jersey fabric that had been sitting in a Los Angeles warehouse since 2017. As soon as I had the fabric in my hands I thought of one of my favorite pictures of Paul Newman, and thought we should reinterpret it, most importantly, replicating Newman’s collar, a design detail I hadn’t seen before in all the striped shirts I own. The jersey is incredibly soft with an airy feel to it, and it looks as great above a pair of shorts as it does under a linen jacket with a bandana artfully tucked under the neck.

Deadstock being deadstock, there were only 30 shirts made, which are available on Cacio Pepe’s website now. Go get ‘em!

YOU SHOULD MEET: Drew Altizer

Photo on left by Christopher Bishop

It’s rare enough these days to encounter a multi-brand men’s shop—the type of store that’s not subservient to a single brand, but rather serves up a curated edit across multiple labels and makers, expressing the tastes of the owner himself. Old House Provisions, which opened its doors in Alexandria, Virginia, this past December, is one such place, stocking everything from  handmade shirts by 100 Hands to Drake’s pocket squares to J. Mueser pearl snaps. 

But what’s even more remarkable is that the shop came about as a way to support its founder’s true calling, which is rarer still: the nearly lost art of bespoke shoemaking. Drew Altizer, a native Virginian, had an existing career as a consultant, but over the course of the pandemic developed an interest in shoemaking he describes as an “all-consuming obsession.” “I can’t really explain it in a reasonable way, but it just sort of gripped me, and I had to do it,” the 30-year-old continues.

So, Altizer did the logical next thing, which was to move to Florence for 10 weeks to train at the legendary maker Stefano Bemer. Upon returning to the States, he knew that he wanted to ply the craft, but ran into the logistical brick wall of being a self-employed artisan who could only make so many shoes per year from very expensive materials. “Basically, my roundabout way of problem solving for that was to sell other brands’ merchandise too, and have that subsidize what is ultimately a very small part of the business revenue-wise, but what I feel is the heart and soul of it,” Altizer says.

If you visit the shop, which is located on the second floor of a historic building in Old Town, you’ll find Altizer working the floor and ready to find your size in a pair of Alden Leisure Handsewns or a double-breasted Ring Jacket blazer. But whenever he can get away, Altizer is with his tools at a small workshop in the back, where he sculpts the wooden lasts that are the first step in the bespoke shoemaking process and later completes every step of the finished shoe by hand.

Per his 2024 pricing, a first pair runs the client $6,200, with subsequent pairs priced at $5,200 to account for the last already being made. These are eye-watering figures in isolation, but par for the course in the world of bespoke footwear. And when you factor in that each pair may require 100 hours of labor from Altizer himself, it starts to look downright reasonable. “It’s a pretty low return per hour when you think about how long it takes,” he says.

As of this past spring, Altizer had netted his first two clients, one of whom was the legendary British-born tailor Leonard Logsdail, who operates his own bespoke business in Manhattan and famously cut Denzel Washington’s suit in American Gangster. Future clients have already been put on a years-long waitlist, as demand is high, the craft is slow—and Altizer still has a shop to run, after all.

Photo by Melissa Maas

But there may be some helping hands in the future, as his long-term goal is to train apprentices to work under himself. And if Americans no longer have to travel halfway around the world to learn the craft, domestic bespoke shoemaking may have a brighter future. “It really comes down to the lack of skills and training here. There’s just not the infrastructure to get people trained as bespoke shoemakers. That’s one of the problems I’m hoping to solve with the model I have,” he says.

Also, he’d love to get a few more folks on the floor. “I’m really loving what I’m doing right now, but everything comes back to the 10-year-plan of ultimately being able to hand off most of the retail operations to actual professionals, rather than just some shmuck like me. And then I can spend most of my days back in the workshop, making shoes.” —Eric Twardzik

THE SNACK

Who doesn’t love nachos?! Either from your favorite mini mall Mexican joint or from your home pantry they have always been a dish that satisfies (even in their microwaved ploppiest state) There is something about the combination of crunchy chips, cheese and meat that is a win-win for flavor and texture! This latest interpretation was inspired by my many trips to Spain and a deep dive on IG reels that reminded me how to put this combination together. It starts with a bag of your favorite potato chips (I used Spanish ones), a good Iberico ham, (like Pata Negra, but  you can use a quality prosciutto in a pinch) marinated anchovies, Basque pickled hot peppers, (peperoncini work well too) and an aged sheep’s milk cheese like Manchego grated on top.

It’s so easy…open your bag of chips and dump onto a platter, top with your ham, anchovies and peppers. Then generously grade the cheese on top. Gently toss through with your hands, then dig in, making sure the perfect bite has all the elements! They are terrific as a snack for a few, or even a lunch for two. I will drink a cold beer or have a glass of Spanish rosè if I have one kicking around. Salud!