I've always thought "acquired tastes" just applied to food, alcohol and cigars, but having "acquired" (read: stolen from myself) clothing & accessories from our different brands over the past 4 years, I have a new appreciation for a variety of things: styles, colors, materials, fits, and more. One taste that I certainly had not acquired a decade ago was an affinity for Alligator. 

My initial impression of alligator was that it was expensive and gaudy; it was something really rich people bought to show off how rich they are. This is not to say that's not true, but with all the faux alligator and faux crocodile on the market (including from brands that do real alligator and crocodile), just seeing the signature scales alone is not enough to determine if the person wearing or carrying it is real or faux.

I had also assumed alligator was so expensive because it was rare & exotic (do you have any idea how hard it is to find a cobalt blue alligator?!) And that is true. But about 4 years ago, I bought a Mulholland Brothers Alligator Breast Pocket Wallet because I deserved it (for what, I don't remember). I have used the wallet every day since, and it has spent as much or more time in my back pocket as in my breast pocket. Yet four years later, there are no signs that the wallet is anywhere close to done. Sure, the color has developed a patina (as all skins do), and the internal slots are looser than they were the day the wallet was new. But there has never been a loose stitch, and more importantly, the skin looks and feels like it may outlast me (and I've got a lot of life ahead of me, knock on wood).

I have always rationalized my clothing & accessory budget on the premise that I am "investing" in nice things that will far outlast a cheaper alternative. It is the reason we carry the brands we do. But considering most leather wallets might last a year or two, I'm confident mine has another 4 in it, if not more. And if it does last that long, it will have actually saved me money. Taste acquired.

July means it's time for market, and that means the bi-annual trip to New York. While I would have preferred to travel by private jet, I am suffering from a "mental recession", and chose instead to use the opportunity to try out Virgin America. I was really looking forward to the flight for a number of reasons:  

1. Having read Losing My Virginity: How I've Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way years ago while writing the business plan for On The Fly, I have always had a special respect for Richard Branson as an entrepreneur;
   
2. Virgin makes everything cool, and  it seems like flying commercial needs that badly right now;
   
3. The company is headquartered in San Francisco so I was supporting the local mom-and-pop.
   

It's hard not to notice something is different when you board the plane and it's very dimly lit by purple neon lights with hip lounge music playing quietly in the background. The seats were very small; at 160 lbs, I had a hard time imagining a normal size person (my size is only one area where I consider myself "abnormal") fitting comfortably into the seats. But that is my only real complaint and it was a minor one.

While JetBlue's in-seat DirecTV is a nice amenity, Virgin goes beyond that with a system called "RED". Red allows you to watch live TV, premium TV (which you pay for), about 60 movies that include relatively recent releases, video games, and even a chat feature to message with other passengers (although I'm not sure that feature really ever gets used). Unfortunately, there is nothing good on daytime TV so I ended up immersing myself in a book and a nap.

The verdict: priced similarly to JetBlue for a cross-country trip, and more fun than United or American, I am actually looking forward to my return flight!

On The Fly is significantly increasing its revenue projections for 2009 on the assumption that a sequel to the movie "Wall Street" will drive sales of contrast-collar shirts and suspenders to all-time highs. It just may be the event that propels the company into the venerable Fortune 500.

A customer/blog critic/former roommate-of-mine directed me to a New York Times story I missed back in May announcing that Fox movie executives reached an agreement with Edward Pressman, producer of the original movie, and Michael Douglas, who won an Oscar for his role as Gordon Gekko.

Only a few details are known about the plot of the sequel, to be named "Money Never Sleeps" which was a Gekko mantra in the first film (certainly not remembered as well as the best-known mantra: Greed is Good). Mr. Pressman confirms that Gordon Gekko went to jail for his deeds, and will now "resume his machinations on a global scale in the hedge-fund era". Apparently, Messrs. Pressman & Douglas tried to get Oliver Stone to direct the sequel, but he has passed.

If greed is indeed good, On The Fly, with a healthy assortment of contrast-collar shirts and braces, is well-positioned to capitalize on the film. As Pressman explained to the NYT, "If you weren’t wearing suspenders before ‘Wall Street,’ you were certainly wearing them after."

God Bless America. 

We would be remiss if we didn't link to the trailer for the new Bond movie, Quantum of Solace.

The movie has generated a lot of news already, with one stuntman in a coma and several others injured during filming, an Aston Martin DB5 was driven off a bridge into a lake, and word that Daniel Craig would be wearing Tom Ford instead of Brioni. You can keep up to date on everything at the website, www.007.com.

Counting down to November 7th...