remember the scene in Spectre when he's asked if he exercises at the Hoffler Klinik, he replies when he needs to. Suggesting he's not very health conscious at all
plus one of my favorite lines in Spectre in relation to the prolytic digestive enzyme shake... )
I thought he meant the 6 months, 8 hours a day in the gym when getting ready for another Bond movie )
Very interesting stuff about the hear rate being up because he drinks, smokes, doesn't sleep, and generally doesn't care about his body except as a tool to get the job done. This idea is very inline with the literary Bond, so I like that theory a lot. That is one thing I don't like about Craig's Bond, the fact that he is so bulky. They can portray him as having a haphazard approach to health and exercise all they want, but he is clearly a gym rat. And, I'm fine with him being a gym rat, but I would rather see him own up to it then. The literary Bond seemed to prefer calisthenic type exercise that he could do on the fly wherever he was; this makes the most sense for his lifestyle. I can't see him having the time to keep up his gym rat ways while on mission. And, in Skyfall they tried to say he was down and out and out of shape, but the man still had impeccable muscle tone. He would not have gotten out of breath from those pull-ups with a body like that. Would have been nice to see him more withered. This has always been a discontinuity issue that has bothered me with Craig. The exact opposite issue is with Moore and how he looked completely incapable of action for his last few movies.
Thanks Jb and C2 for the ID on the footwear, I swear in one shot in the villa when he's talking to M they look like some sort of sandal! I've got chukkas coming out of my ears so definitely dont need any more.
You are most welcome Chriscoop. I can agree that I too have more chukkas than I know what to do with! ) if you like tan loafers with that outfit, Brosnan wore a pair in DAD, as detailed at:
Maybe Matt S could weigh in on this if he is watching.
Those look like they definitely could be the shoes! I'll update my article. The perforated leather must be very comfortable in Cuba. Now I need to have a look to see if Brosnan wears socks or not with there. I don't recall being able to tell from the film. These are the kind of shoes that are best sockless.
Thanks Jb and C2 for the ID on the footwear, I swear in one shot in the villa when he's talking to M they look like some sort of sandal! I've got chukkas coming out of my ears so definitely dont need any more.
You are most welcome Chriscoop. I can agree that I too have more chukkas than I know what to do with! ) if you like tan loafers with that outfit, Brosnan wore a pair in DAD, as detailed at:
Also, I haven't really looked into the validity of this yet, but the shoes were apparently signed by Broz and sold:
They look like they could be the real deal. The are pretty cool looking shoes with the mesh and all. -{
I refer a lot to Matt's excellent site, he does a great job,
With regards the sandals, I was looking for some alternative summer footwear to wear with some mink linen trousers during the day, I know SC wore some in tb but tbh they're just a bit too sandaly, Ive never owned a pair of sandals, as I thought DC wore some in CR it would kind of validate it for me
I think I'll just update my flip flops with some leather ones.
I've actually bought some dark tan double monks to pair up with the linen trousers and midnight blue shirt for evening.
The summer wardrobe is coming on great! -{
Very interesting stuff about the hear rate being up because he drinks, smokes, doesn't sleep, and generally doesn't care about his body except as a tool to get the job done. This idea is very inline with the literary Bond, so I like that theory a lot. That is one thing I don't like about Craig's Bond, the fact that he is so bulky. They can portray him as having a haphazard approach to health and exercise all they want, but he is clearly a gym rat. And, I'm fine with him being a gym rat, but I would rather see him own up to it then. The literary Bond seemed to prefer calisthenic type exercise that he could do on the fly wherever he was; this makes the most sense for his lifestyle. I can't see him having the time to keep up his gym rat ways while on mission. And, in Skyfall they tried to say he was down and out and out of shape, but the man still had impeccable muscle tone. He would not have gotten out of breath from those pull-ups with a body like that. Would have been nice to see him more withered. This has always been a discontinuity issue that has bothered me with Craig. The exact opposite issue is with Moore and how he looked completely incapable of action for his last few movies.
FYI you can still have muscle tone and not be fit.
If Bond stopped working out for 3 months (after his disappearance in Skyfall), drank lots of beer and did very little or no cardio, he wouldn't lose too much of his muscle tone, but he would not be fit. So I'm not surprised he was so out of shape as portrayed in SF.
I used to work out on a regular basis for years. I would keep my muscles but lose my overall level of fitness quickly if I did not keep working out. I've been asked before if I work out when I hadn't been in the gym in six months. When I did go back I was amazed at how much weaker I had become and how quickly I would get winded just from that break in activities.
Pussy Galore: “My name is Pussy Galore.”
Bond: “I must be dreaming.”
Hard to tell from the pics, but is looks like the soles/treads have changed. What little I can see from the SA pic it looks like a normal leather loafer sole, but the rubber treads on the Stemar site look more appropriate for driving shoes.
I had my wisdom teeth removed on Monday, so I've been a little out of it for the last couple of days. But I hope to have some new stuff published by the end of the week. By the sounds of things here, no one is desperate for alternatives to the CR brown suede chukkas, so I'll put those on the back burner for a while. )
Very interesting stuff about the hear rate being up because he drinks, smokes, doesn't sleep, and generally doesn't care about his body except as a tool to get the job done. This idea is very inline with the literary Bond, so I like that theory a lot. That is one thing I don't like about Craig's Bond, the fact that he is so bulky. They can portray him as having a haphazard approach to health and exercise all they want, but he is clearly a gym rat. And, I'm fine with him being a gym rat, but I would rather see him own up to it then. The literary Bond seemed to prefer calisthenic type exercise that he could do on the fly wherever he was; this makes the most sense for his lifestyle. I can't see him having the time to keep up his gym rat ways while on mission. And, in Skyfall they tried to say he was down and out and out of shape, but the man still had impeccable muscle tone. He would not have gotten out of breath from those pull-ups with a body like that. Would have been nice to see him more withered. This has always been a discontinuity issue that has bothered me with Craig. The exact opposite issue is with Moore and how he looked completely incapable of action for his last few movies.
FYI you can still have muscle tone and not be fit.
If Bond stopped working out for 3 months (after his disappearance in Skyfall), drank lots of beer and did very little or no cardio, he wouldn't lose too much of his muscle tone, but he would not be fit. So I'm not surprised he was so out of shape as portrayed in SF.
I used to work out on a regular basis for years. I would keep my muscles but lose my overall level of fitness quickly if I did not keep working out. I've been asked before if I work out when I hadn't been in the gym in six months. When I did go back I was amazed at how much weaker I had become and how quickly I would get winded just from that break in activities.
Good point man. I felt kind of stupid after making the comment to. E honest. I use to work out years ago, but do not work out to any capacity anymore, something I need to change. But, people still ask me all the time if I've been lifting because I'll look bigger just from a weekend of swimming or heavy lifting during home remodeling or something. It's that damn muscle memory, you always appear tone. I would be interested to know how much Craig stopped working out, if at all for those scenes in Skyfall that he was suppose to have been out of shape for a few months. My sense is that he did not stop working out, but I could be wrong because, your right, muscles like that don't go away in a few months. Thanks for keeping me honest on that one -{
Very interesting stuff about the hear rate being up because he drinks, smokes, doesn't sleep, and generally doesn't care about his body except as a tool to get the job done. This idea is very inline with the literary Bond, so I like that theory a lot. That is one thing I don't like about Craig's Bond, the fact that he is so bulky. They can portray him as having a haphazard approach to health and exercise all they want, but he is clearly a gym rat. And, I'm fine with him being a gym rat, but I would rather see him own up to it then. The literary Bond seemed to prefer calisthenic type exercise that he could do on the fly wherever he was; this makes the most sense for his lifestyle. I can't see him having the time to keep up his gym rat ways while on mission. And, in Skyfall they tried to say he was down and out and out of shape, but the man still had impeccable muscle tone. He would not have gotten out of breath from those pull-ups with a body like that. Would have been nice to see him more withered. This has always been a discontinuity issue that has bothered me with Craig. The exact opposite issue is with Moore and how he looked completely incapable of action for his last few movies.
FYI you can still have muscle tone and not be fit.
If Bond stopped working out for 3 months (after his disappearance in Skyfall), drank lots of beer and did very little or no cardio, he wouldn't lose too much of his muscle tone, but he would not be fit. So I'm not surprised he was so out of shape as portrayed in SF.
I used to work out on a regular basis for years. I would keep my muscles but lose my overall level of fitness quickly if I did not keep working out. I've been asked before if I work out when I hadn't been in the gym in six months. When I did go back I was amazed at how much weaker I had become and how quickly I would get winded just from that break in activities.
Good point man. I felt kind of stupid after making the comment to. E honest. I use to work out years ago, but do not work out to any capacity anymore, something I need to change. But, people still ask me all the time if I've been lifting because I'll look bigger just from a weekend of swimming or heavy lifting during home remodeling or something. It's that damn muscle memory, you always appear tone. I would be interested to know how much Craig stopped working out, if at all for those scenes in Skyfall that he was suppose to have been out of shape for a few months. My sense is that he did not stop working out, but I could be wrong because, your right, muscles like that don't go away in a few months. Thanks for keeping me honest on that one -{
No worries mate. I did not intend to make you feel stupid lol. -{
Pussy Galore: “My name is Pussy Galore.”
Bond: “I must be dreaming.”
Very interesting stuff about the hear rate being up because he drinks, smokes, doesn't sleep, and generally doesn't care about his body except as a tool to get the job done. This idea is very inline with the literary Bond, so I like that theory a lot. That is one thing I don't like about Craig's Bond, the fact that he is so bulky. They can portray him as having a haphazard approach to health and exercise all they want, but he is clearly a gym rat. And, I'm fine with him being a gym rat, but I would rather see him own up to it then. The literary Bond seemed to prefer calisthenic type exercise that he could do on the fly wherever he was; this makes the most sense for his lifestyle. I can't see him having the time to keep up his gym rat ways while on mission. And, in Skyfall they tried to say he was down and out and out of shape, but the man still had impeccable muscle tone. He would not have gotten out of breath from those pull-ups with a body like that. Would have been nice to see him more withered. This has always been a discontinuity issue that has bothered me with Craig. The exact opposite issue is with Moore and how he looked completely incapable of action for his last few movies.
FYI you can still have muscle tone and not be fit.
If Bond stopped working out for 3 months (after his disappearance in Skyfall), drank lots of beer and did very little or no cardio, he wouldn't lose too much of his muscle tone, but he would not be fit. So I'm not surprised he was so out of shape as portrayed in SF.
I used to work out on a regular basis for years. I would keep my muscles but lose my overall level of fitness quickly if I did not keep working out. I've been asked before if I work out when I hadn't been in the gym in six months. When I did go back I was amazed at how much weaker I had become and how quickly I would get winded just from that break in activities.
Not to take this thread on a tangent, but I somewhat agree with you. I have worked out continuously for 20 years, only stopping when injured. Whenever I would take a break, I would drop down from my top form and lose size but still look well above average for size and tone. Only I would know how far I was from top form and how long it would take me to get back there. Even when I didn't lift for 8 months after shoulder rehab, I looked pretty good and no one would really know I was not currently lifting or doing as much cardio work. It took me 6 months to get back to top form where I currently am.
I will say that training like I am 25 at 40+ is hard on the body. My right elbow is suffering quite a bit from much lifting and a lot of tennis. It sucks because my left side was bad with shoulder and wrist issues last year and now I am healed on that side and suffering on the right side with wrist/elbow issues from tennis and lifting. You can't win with age.
Hi Canoe2, your excellent site has prompted me to post this. -{
I wanted to share with you a decent budget alternative to the Church's Ryder chukka boots. These are brown suede leather chukka boots from Coogan's of London (no, I hadn't heard of them before either ), but they have a good score with Trustpilot).
They arrived today - promptly after I placed my first order on Monday. The quality is good, the fit is true to size (I'm a 44 which is roughly 9.5 in old money). The colour seems to be spot on, a nice dark chocolate brown, and the shape seems close to the Ryder's. They even have the Dainite sole!
Price is brilliant too, £39 including delivery. Only time will tell (my last pair of brown suede chukkas lasted about six years of frequent use) but at the moment, I'm delighted. -{
Hi Canoe2, your excellent site has prompted me to post this. -{
I wanted to share with you a decent budget alternative to the Church's Ryder chukka boots. These are brown suede leather chukka boots from Coogan's of London (no, I hadn't heard of them before either ), but they have a good score with Trustpilot).
They arrived today - promptly after I placed my first order on Monday. The quality is good, the fit is true to size (I'm a 44 which is roughly 9.5 in old money). The colour seems to be spot on, a nice dark chocolate brown, and the shape seems close to the Ryder's. They even have the Dainite sole!
Price is brilliant too, £39 including delivery. Only time will tell (my last pair of brown suede chukkas lasted about six years of frequent use) but at the moment, I'm delighted. -{
Those Lucinis look great - and Goodyear welter too. Great find too, Chriscoop! -{
I've got 3 pairs of the lucini's they wear really well, I'll be interested to hear how your Coogan's wear, I have heard of Coogan's before, in fact I may have a pair of their black derby's in the shoe cupboard somewhere.
I can't believe £39 and free shipping!! That really is a top budget bond find. I'd give them a go if I was in need of some.
They look quite good, and I was a tad disappointed when I saw this post as I just just ordered a much more expensive pair of chukkas from Herring.
However, I see that Coogan's only delivers to the UK (I'm in Canada) and it's a "Dainite style" sole (not sure how that will wear compared to true Dainite).
I'm really surprised that, given the interest in the last several years now, there haven't been more options for chukkas like these. From what I've seen in Canada the options are either very high end, or much cheaper low end (with quality to match).
Hi Canoe2, your excellent site has prompted me to post this. -{
I wanted to share with you a decent budget alternative to the Church's Ryder chukka boots. These are brown suede leather chukka boots from Coogan's of London (no, I hadn't heard of them before either ), but they have a good score with Trustpilot).
They arrived today - promptly after I placed my first order on Monday. The quality is good, the fit is true to size (I'm a 44 which is roughly 9.5 in old money). The colour seems to be spot on, a nice dark chocolate brown, and the shape seems close to the Ryder's. They even have the Dainite sole!
Price is brilliant too, £39 including delivery. Only time will tell (my last pair of brown suede chukkas lasted about six years of frequent use) but at the moment, I'm delighted. -{
They look quite good, and I was a tad disappointed when I saw this post as I just just ordered a much more expensive pair of chukkas from Herring.
However, I see that Coogan's only delivers to the UK (I'm in Canada) and it's a "Dainite style" sole (not sure how that will wear compared to true Dainite).
I'm really surprised that, given the interest in the last several years now, there haven't been more options for chukkas like these. From what I've seen in Canada the options are either very high end, or much cheaper low end (with quality to match).
Hi Canoe2, your excellent site has prompted me to post this. -{
I wanted to share with you a decent budget alternative to the Church's Ryder chukka boots. These are brown suede leather chukka boots from Coogan's of London (no, I hadn't heard of them before either ), but they have a good score with Trustpilot).
They arrived today - promptly after I placed my first order on Monday. The quality is good, the fit is true to size (I'm a 44 which is roughly 9.5 in old money). The colour seems to be spot on, a nice dark chocolate brown, and the shape seems close to the Ryder's. They even have the Dainite sole!
Price is brilliant too, £39 including delivery. Only time will tell (my last pair of brown suede chukkas lasted about six years of frequent use) but at the moment, I'm delighted. -{
I can only refer you to the lucini Harrison boots, as a reasonably priced well made boot, I have these boots and their quality stands up next to my John white boots etc they also have a proper Goodyear welted sole. I can't recommend these enough they also come in 4 colours (I've got them all )
Only thing is if you can get them to Canada?
Maybe it's time we started some form of ajb cooperative post service? ?:)
Yeah, great idea. I'm in!
The only trouble I see is sizing, it is always difficult to guess the correct size, especially when it comes to shoes. And with sending, fitting, sending back etc. the original sender might not be in time to return the goods to the store.
I wouldn't mind helping but having 7 pairs of size 8 chukkas in my house isn't something I'd look forward to )
Well I think the owness for sizing has to be on the purchaser, I was thinking along the lines of say someone from the UK ordering on an American website to a USA based member who would then forward on to the UK member, the finer details would need some thinking about but it seems a shame we all can't enjoy the same products.
Saw these in my local fuel station, which for UK members is a BP one with spar shop. I'm not sure how they get away with the tom ford style t on the temples but at only £4.99 they're certainly budget. I didn't buy any as I have some genuine tom ford and Persols but thought they were due a mention!
Charmed & Dangerous: Those are great! I'll get them added to the post ASAP, credit to you!
Re: cooperative shipping
Right now, I've found it is much easier for someone in the U.S. to order from a UK shop than vice versa. A lot of bigger UK vendors already have U.S. versions of their sites and U.S. shipping programs in place (often shipping is free over certain minimums). Additionally, new U.S. Customs policies mean you can now order up to $800 worth of international goods without paying taxes or duties ($200 used to be the threshold):
There are also many U.S. and European companies using 3rd party services like Border Free to get things shipped internationally at reasonable rates. And of course, many vendors using Amazon or Ebay often include free shipping, no matter where they're located in the world. Just to give you two examples: I ordered a jacket directly from Vedoniere (Ireland), shipped to Miami for free in 4 days and paid no duties or taxes on it; I also recently ordered the Badgery Belts plaited leather belt from Amazon U.S. and paid $6.00 for shipping from Australia, and I won't pay taxes, duties etc. because the total price is under $800. However the belt is going to take about a month to reach me, so there's that
Normally, if I search a merchant website for alternatives, one of the first things I do is check which countries they service and their shipping policies to make sure the product I'm sharing on the site is going to be available to as many people as possible. It's not always possible, especially with rarer or harder to find items.
Of course returns are still going to be a pain and many of the smaller, boutique stores and vendors still only operate locally, so their lack of experience with international shipping and how to handle their own local VAT is going to result in higher (sometimes MUCH higher) shipping rates, duties and taxes.
Having said all that, if enough people feel that some type of "coordinated community shipping help center" service would be of value, then I can definitely try and set up a section of Iconic Alternatives focused on that. It wouldn't be a forum (that would be redundant since we have such a great community here), but I can try and work up some sort of strategy to help people connect for this specific purpose and share it with you all for feedback. Let me know what your think.
Should have a new post this afternoon or tomorrow morning at the latest!
Comments
I thought he meant the 6 months, 8 hours a day in the gym when getting ready for another Bond movie
CR/QoS, TLD, DN, GE, TSWLM, LTK, TND, TWiNE, TMWTGG, TB
http://www.iconicalternatives.com/author/james-brosnan/
https://www.instagram.com/shawn.michael.bongiorno/
You are most welcome Chriscoop. I can agree that I too have more chukkas than I know what to do with!
http://thesuitsofjamesbond.com/the-tan-linen-suit/
Also, I haven't really looked into the validity of this yet, but the shoes were apparently signed by Broz and sold:
They look like they could be the real deal. The are pretty cool looking shoes with the mesh and all. -{
CR/QoS, TLD, DN, GE, TSWLM, LTK, TND, TWiNE, TMWTGG, TB
http://www.iconicalternatives.com/author/james-brosnan/
https://www.instagram.com/shawn.michael.bongiorno/
http://entertainment.ha.com/itm/movie-tv-memorabilia/costumes/a-pierce-brosnan-pair-of-signed-loafers-from-die-another-day-/a/7092-89189.s
Maybe Matt S could weigh in on this if he is watching.
CR/QoS, TLD, DN, GE, TSWLM, LTK, TND, TWiNE, TMWTGG, TB
http://www.iconicalternatives.com/author/james-brosnan/
https://www.instagram.com/shawn.michael.bongiorno/
Those look like they definitely could be the shoes! I'll update my article. The perforated leather must be very comfortable in Cuba. Now I need to have a look to see if Brosnan wears socks or not with there. I don't recall being able to tell from the film. These are the kind of shoes that are best sockless.
With regards the sandals, I was looking for some alternative summer footwear to wear with some mink linen trousers during the day, I know SC wore some in tb but tbh they're just a bit too sandaly, Ive never owned a pair of sandals, as I thought DC wore some in CR it would kind of validate it for me
I think I'll just update my flip flops with some leather ones.
I've actually bought some dark tan double monks to pair up with the linen trousers and midnight blue shirt for evening.
The summer wardrobe is coming on great! -{
FYI you can still have muscle tone and not be fit.
If Bond stopped working out for 3 months (after his disappearance in Skyfall), drank lots of beer and did very little or no cardio, he wouldn't lose too much of his muscle tone, but he would not be fit. So I'm not surprised he was so out of shape as portrayed in SF.
I used to work out on a regular basis for years. I would keep my muscles but lose my overall level of fitness quickly if I did not keep working out. I've been asked before if I work out when I hadn't been in the gym in six months. When I did go back I was amazed at how much weaker I had become and how quickly I would get winded just from that break in activities.
Bond: “I must be dreaming.”
The site says Stemar. And, the shoes still exist!
http://www.stemarshoes.com/stemar-lipari/pid-467.html
But not in the SA color.
CR/QoS, TLD, DN, GE, TSWLM, LTK, TND, TWiNE, TMWTGG, TB
http://www.iconicalternatives.com/author/james-brosnan/
https://www.instagram.com/shawn.michael.bongiorno/
Thanks, James Brosnan. {[]
Hard to tell from the pics, but is looks like the soles/treads have changed. What little I can see from the SA pic it looks like a normal leather loafer sole, but the rubber treads on the Stemar site look more appropriate for driving shoes.
Great job nailing down those DAD mocs, James Brosnan! {[]
Teenage Bond: that J.Crew could also be a good match for the Craig Gerry jacket that TheExit148 ID'd a while back.
http://www.ajb007.co.uk/post/814131/#p814131
I had my wisdom teeth removed on Monday, so I've been a little out of it for the last couple of days. But I hope to have some new stuff published by the end of the week. By the sounds of things here, no one is desperate for alternatives to the CR brown suede chukkas, so I'll put those on the back burner for a while.
Good point man. I felt kind of stupid after making the comment to. E honest. I use to work out years ago, but do not work out to any capacity anymore, something I need to change. But, people still ask me all the time if I've been lifting because I'll look bigger just from a weekend of swimming or heavy lifting during home remodeling or something. It's that damn muscle memory, you always appear tone. I would be interested to know how much Craig stopped working out, if at all for those scenes in Skyfall that he was suppose to have been out of shape for a few months. My sense is that he did not stop working out, but I could be wrong because, your right, muscles like that don't go away in a few months. Thanks for keeping me honest on that one -{
CR/QoS, TLD, DN, GE, TSWLM, LTK, TND, TWiNE, TMWTGG, TB
http://www.iconicalternatives.com/author/james-brosnan/
https://www.instagram.com/shawn.michael.bongiorno/
No worries mate. I did not intend to make you feel stupid lol. -{
Bond: “I must be dreaming.”
Oh, trust me. It doesn't take much.
CR/QoS, TLD, DN, GE, TSWLM, LTK, TND, TWiNE, TMWTGG, TB
http://www.iconicalternatives.com/author/james-brosnan/
https://www.instagram.com/shawn.michael.bongiorno/
Not to take this thread on a tangent, but I somewhat agree with you. I have worked out continuously for 20 years, only stopping when injured. Whenever I would take a break, I would drop down from my top form and lose size but still look well above average for size and tone. Only I would know how far I was from top form and how long it would take me to get back there. Even when I didn't lift for 8 months after shoulder rehab, I looked pretty good and no one would really know I was not currently lifting or doing as much cardio work. It took me 6 months to get back to top form where I currently am.
I will say that training like I am 25 at 40+ is hard on the body. My right elbow is suffering quite a bit from much lifting and a lot of tennis. It sucks because my left side was bad with shoulder and wrist issues last year and now I am healed on that side and suffering on the right side with wrist/elbow issues from tennis and lifting. You can't win with age.
I wanted to share with you a decent budget alternative to the Church's Ryder chukka boots. These are brown suede leather chukka boots from Coogan's of London (no, I hadn't heard of them before either
They arrived today - promptly after I placed my first order on Monday. The quality is good, the fit is true to size (I'm a 44 which is roughly 9.5 in old money). The colour seems to be spot on, a nice dark chocolate brown, and the shape seems close to the Ryder's. They even have the Dainite sole!
Price is brilliant too, £39 including delivery. Only time will tell (my last pair of brown suede chukkas lasted about six years of frequent use) but at the moment, I'm delighted. -{
http://www.cooganlondon.com/hampton-brown-suede-chukka-boots.html
They are similar to my lucini Harrisons, but a better price.
I can't believe £39 and free shipping!! That really is a top budget bond find. I'd give them a go if I was in need of some.
However, I see that Coogan's only delivers to the UK (I'm in Canada) and it's a "Dainite style" sole (not sure how that will wear compared to true Dainite).
I'm really surprised that, given the interest in the last several years now, there haven't been more options for chukkas like these. From what I've seen in Canada the options are either very high end, or much cheaper low end (with quality to match).
http://www.caineleather.co.uk/Men-s-Brown-Harrington-Leather-Jacket.html
On their site they have some interesting jackets including a couple that resemble DC's tan leather he wore promoting sp
Only thing is if you can get them to Canada?
Yeah, great idea. I'm in!
The only trouble I see is sizing, it is always difficult to guess the correct size, especially when it comes to shoes. And with sending, fitting, sending back etc. the original sender might not be in time to return the goods to the store.
I wouldn't mind helping but having 7 pairs of size 8 chukkas in my house isn't something I'd look forward to
Re: cooperative shipping
Right now, I've found it is much easier for someone in the U.S. to order from a UK shop than vice versa. A lot of bigger UK vendors already have U.S. versions of their sites and U.S. shipping programs in place (often shipping is free over certain minimums). Additionally, new U.S. Customs policies mean you can now order up to $800 worth of international goods without paying taxes or duties ($200 used to be the threshold):
http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-u-s-rules-make-foreign-goods-better-deal-for-online-shoppers-1462411116
There are also many U.S. and European companies using 3rd party services like Border Free to get things shipped internationally at reasonable rates. And of course, many vendors using Amazon or Ebay often include free shipping, no matter where they're located in the world. Just to give you two examples: I ordered a jacket directly from Vedoniere (Ireland), shipped to Miami for free in 4 days and paid no duties or taxes on it; I also recently ordered the Badgery Belts plaited leather belt from Amazon U.S. and paid $6.00 for shipping from Australia, and I won't pay taxes, duties etc. because the total price is under $800. However the belt is going to take about a month to reach me, so there's that
Normally, if I search a merchant website for alternatives, one of the first things I do is check which countries they service and their shipping policies to make sure the product I'm sharing on the site is going to be available to as many people as possible. It's not always possible, especially with rarer or harder to find items.
Of course returns are still going to be a pain and many of the smaller, boutique stores and vendors still only operate locally, so their lack of experience with international shipping and how to handle their own local VAT is going to result in higher (sometimes MUCH higher) shipping rates, duties and taxes.
Having said all that, if enough people feel that some type of "coordinated community shipping help center" service would be of value, then I can definitely try and set up a section of Iconic Alternatives focused on that. It wouldn't be a forum (that would be redundant since we have such a great community here), but I can try and work up some sort of strategy to help people connect for this specific purpose and share it with you all for feedback. Let me know what your think.
Should have a new post this afternoon or tomorrow morning at the latest!
http://www.torinoleather.com/Italian-Braided-Leather-Belt--Brown_p_153.html