We just got word that, after probably a 5 year run, Bills Khakis is going to retire the Bentley Oxford ($135). Their beefy interpretation of the classic Oxford cloth shirt in 3 colors -- White, Blue, and Pink -- will come to an end in a couple hundred shirts. If you like them, now is your chance to pick up a few in every color; if you've been meaning to try it, you've probably got 4-6 weeks to pull the trigger. 

We'll miss you, Bentley Oxford. R.I.P. 

Michael Toschi's Onda -- the best-selling shoe in his collection -- is now available in a new Carbontech finish. What better than a driving shoe made of the same carbon fiber* from which Ferrari built its latest model, the 458 Italia? And like the Ferrari, the Onda is hand-built. $425.

 *Ok, it's not actually carbon fiber, but leather treated to have the same woven appearance as the high-tech material.

We're not sure if we're even allowed to say anything about these boots yet, but at long last, the limited edition shell cordovan boots -- a.k.a. 721LTD -- have arrived. Only 1,000 of the boots were made, and they retail for $725.

If you live in the Bay Area, we are hosting a launch party on Tuesday, October 26th at our new club, Wingtip. Details here: http://www.onthefly.com/blog/gentleman/entry/party-for-the-wolverine-721ltd

We apologize that the photo is so bad -- we were so excited to receive them, we just had a store employee shoot them with his iPhone. Professional photography coming soon...

According to Golf Digest, photos of the US Ryder Cup team outfits are embargoed until September 19th, but those that have seen them are giving them rave reviews. Golf Digest's website has a review up already here. All of the golf attire was designed by Peter Millar, with suits & sportcoats from Hickey Freeman and outerwear from Sun Mountain. We're not sure what, if any, pieces will be for sale to the public, but you can bet we'll get as much as we can get our hands on.

The conclusion from the article: "On a scale of 1 to 10, I rank the effort 10.5, and the results a 9.98. Nothing's perfect."

We'll do our best to bring you photos as soon as we see them!

There are at least 3 different Bills Khakis corduroy pants on the website and in our store (with a 4th one coming soon), and we thought we should take a second to explain the subtle differences: 

• The 11 Wale Cord is back. This is the basic cord in Khaki and Sage that Bills has stocked for a while, but disappeared during Spring and Summer. It's a mid-weight fabric in basic, neutral colors, and they will never go out of style.
  
• The Dixie Wale Cord is a feather-weight cord, and we've started calling it the "Global Warming Cord". It weighs in at 5.1 oz, which is lighter than their Lightweight Cotton Poplin! So you get the look of corduroy (which is great for Fall) with the comfort of a Spring/Summer pant. And we bought them in a handful of colors for those that want something more interesting than khaki.
  
• The Pima Corduroy is the Cord Aficionado's cord. It's a 17 wale cord made of American grown Supima cotton woven in Italy with a little bit of stretch for comfort. Obviously, you pay for it (they're $245/pair), but they are scrumptious. They are so irresistible that we have them coming in a 5-Pocket (jeans-like) model in another month or two.
  

Due to rising health care costs and wages, Bills Khakis will be making the first increase in their prices in six years. As a result, the prices will go up for almost all of the year-round, in-stock pants. As of August 15th, the pricing will be as follows (in other words, stock up on some khakis now!):

• Original Twills: $115
• Lightweight Poplins: $115
• Vintage Twills: $145
• Chamois Cloth: $155
• 11 Wale Corduroy: $155
  

Shorts will increase from $89.50 to $95. We hate to have to break the news, but at least we're giving you a heads-up so you can order some now!

As luxury items have become "democratized" over the past decade, the biggest issue from a retailer or manufacturer's standpoint becomes the dilution of certain words. "Cashmere" used to be a very rare, very expensive fiber that you would find only in the finest stores; today, Macy's sells a cashmere sweater for $75. So is a Peter Millar cashmere sweater 4 times as expensive just because?

Of course not. And while our salespeople can tell you about the features of a Peter Millar cashmere sweater, we were thrilled to see Peter Millar take the kashmir goat by the horns and develop this handy little diagram to illustrate the details that make their sweater different. It's these details that mean the sweater will look better, longer (and in this case, probably keep you warmer too since it's a 2-ply cashmere) than less expensive alternatives.

 

Cashmere is named after Kashmir, the mountainous areas of Pakistan and India. A cashmere goat lives in cold, windy climate and develops a hard, protective fleece to withstand the extremes. In the Spring, the soft silky undercoat is combed to collect the fine under down. A cashmere fiber is 1/3 the size of a human hair. It takes four years for a single goat to produce enough cashmere to make one men's sweater.

When the cashmere is collected, it goes through a sorting process. The fibers are divided into extra short, short, medium, and long batches. Peter Millar is very unique in that we use a 36mm staple to spin our yarn, which is considered a long fiber. Special care is needed when using this quality of yarn; it must be spun correctly and have enough packed into the sweater to ensure a quality product. Control of the yarn tension and weight are essential so the sweater will not be limp and flimsy. Peter Millar's size large in men's weighs over 300 grams. We have taken measures to ensure all sweaters are to a proper weight scale to allow for year round enjoyment.

Peter Millar's care label suggests hand washing and to lay flat or dry clean. Hand washing is better for a knitted cashmere sweater in the long run as chemicals used in dry cleaning can be hard on cashmere fibers. In addition; hand washing will actually make the sweater softer over time.

We received the new In-Stock book from Ike Behar earlier this week, and new shirts are en route. We expect to have them up on the website within the next 2 weeks, if not sooner. 

In the meantime, there are a number of fancier dress shirts from last season that are now on sale -- most at 50% off -- in, admittedly, scattered sizes. If you find something your size, we probably only have 1 left, so act fast. 

You can quickly see all the Ike Behar shirts on sale here. Happy hunting!

Michael Toschi has introduced a special offer on the SL line of shoes. Between now and September 30, 2009, save $100 on any pair of SL Shoes. Regularly $395; now $295.

The SL line is made in Spain, and are ultralight shoes featuring Toschi's NEST system. NEST is a 3-D midsole which creates a standing platform that supports the foot's anatomy and dramatically reduces foot, leg and back fatigue. The technical shape and construction of Michael Toschi's NEST component has set a new standard in integrated comfort in the footwear industry.

View the entire collection of SL shoes here. 

Golf season has kicked into high gear, and Michael Toschi's golf shoes are climbing up the Top Sellers list. As of this writing, the G4 is the fifth best-selling shoe from the whole line, while the discontinued (and on sale) G1 is #8 on the list (most likely because it's not available in all sizes and colors anymore). 

But the real reason for this post is that we finally got a photo of the GX in Steel & Orange. Michael Toschi realizes not everyone is comfortable making a statement like this, but for those that are most passionate about the brand, this is vintage Toschi. 

A package arrived on Thursday. A new golf shirt in white with blue stripes and a tag we've never seen before that read "F&G Tech". 

F&G Tech is produced from the finest technical yarns available today; nothing less than you've come to expect from Fairway & Greene. Featuring multi-directional stretch fabric, anti-microbial treatment and UV protection, the quality, performance and ease of care of this shirt will surely make it one of your favorites (and ours) going into the 2009 golf season and beyond. 

This year, the shirt will be offered in 6 solid colors and 6 stripes. The F&G Tech line should hit our shelves in March. 

As a courtesy to our Alerts subscribers, we wanted to let you know that select Ike Behar casual shirts are on sale at 25% off. We will publicize the sale to our entire customer base via email on Monday, December 29th, so grab your size before it's gone. Quantities are very limited, and not every shirt is on sale, but there are some great deals to be had...

Don't ask why it left, just be glad that it's back. From the detail page of any Toschi shoe, you can now search for all Michael Toschi shoes that are available in your size. No more clicking on every sale shoe only to discover it's only available in 6 1/2! To search by size, go to a product page like this one, and you'll see "Search by Size" just underneath the "Add to Cart" page.

A few caveats: 

• The search includes shoes that are "in-stock" [ready to ship immediately] and "on order" [somewhere in the production chain which could be mean on the cutting board in Italy or on a plane for the States].
  
• The photos shown in the search results are the main photo shot of the shoe style -- the actual colors available in your size may vary. So if you see a chocolate brown shoe in the list of results, don't assume it's not also available in Black.
  

It's our little holiday gift from us to you. Happy searching!

We'll probably be doing an email campaign about this shortly, but wanted to get the news in the hands of our hardcore Khaki Aficionados first. 

One of the biggest challenges we face as a retailer of Bills Khakis is buying Limited Edition products for each season. Invariably, if we buy Seersucker pants pleated, we'll have customers that wanted plain fronts. If we buy M2, we have customers that only wear M1. And if we bought Sandstone, Kiwi, and Sky, of course we have the customer that wanted them in Coral. 

Well, now there is a solution to that problem. Bills Khakis just launched a new website called BillsKhakisPub.com where you can preview the Spring 2009 line and buy them from us through their website! To preview the line, you first pick your preferred retailer (we hope that is us for Free Shipping & Free Hemming!), and then reserve whatever pants you want. If it helps, our zip code is 94107 so you can set us as your preferred retailer.

We are hoping to have a video of our Spring appointment online soon which features the Founder, Bill Thomas, going through the entire Spring line. In the meantime, take their preview and reserve your M2 Pleated Kalamkari Shorts in size 35 today!

Ike Behar has stepped into tailored clothing with a number of Sportcoats designed for the modern gentleman. How so? 

For starters, they have a soft construction which is certainly the trend for sportcoats these days. As the workplace has become more casual, the days of coats with heavily padded shoulders are fading. And men want a coat that they can wear to work, and then to dinner or a bar afterwards, and these new coats fit that bill perfectly.

In addition, the interior of the jacket is certainly not your granddad's coat. Rather than the traditional inside breast pockets and a lower pocket, the "Traveler" model coats feature one standard breast pocket, and on the other side is a buttoned-up cell phone/eyeglass pocket and an earbud loop for your MP3 player or iPhone earbuds to rest comfortably. It also features two lower zippered pockets for those items you can't risk losing (i.e. passport).

All of the coats are made in Italy, and feature a high-stance 2-button, notch lapel model with side vents. While we show them in U.S. sizes, they are based on European sizes (50R = 40 Regular, 52R = 42 Regular, etc.), so expect a slightly trimmer cut than a typical American sportcoat.