Stephen Colbert is definitely "Old School", eagerly awaiting the day we can recognize our neighbors by the "hat they wear".

In the wake of all the attention given to "Joe the Plumber", I had never stopped to think about what I am. I run a men's store; so am I Ami the Haberdasher? But our primary channel of business is our website; so am I Ami the E-tailer? Does it matter what you sell? If it's "Wendy the Waitress" whether she works at a greasy spoon or a Michelin-rated restaurant, am I just Ami the Shopkeeper?

More importantly, who are you? We've got a $50 gift certificate to the customer with the most interesting Name & Title combination that can prove it (driver's license & business card for example, or website, or whatever).

What Would Tony Stark Do? 

I'd have to think really hard about my favorite movie of the year, but I'm pretty confident that the most inspiring movie I've seen -- to the extent that it made me want to give up menswear to become a military industrialist -- was Iron Man. Granted, I haven't yet seen W., and that movie might inspire me to become President, but I'm not holding my breath.

Since I just don't have the engineering background required to design advanced weapons systems, I can at least wear the same silk knots that Iron Man might wear if he chose to wear silk knots. Knotz is the brainchild of Jonathan Boos, the inventor of the magnetic collar stays by Wurkin Stiffs, and the best thing to happen to men's accessories that you always needed but didn't know it. Seriously. No one needed magnetic collar stays until he invented them; once you try them, you wonder how you ever lived without them.

Knotz - colorful silk knots packaged in cool little cork-topped vials - are not in the same league since "monkey fists" [as they're also known] have been around since Charvet invented them back in the early 19th Century (thank you Wikipedia). But as a self-described, occasionally-absent-minded, modern gentleman, the value proposition for me is simple: I keep a pair in my dresser, my suitcase, my briefcase, glove compartment, gym locker, and at the office. Because, like you, I never know when I'll wind up wearing a French cuff shirt with no other cufflinks in sight. 

Knotz has a "Suit Collection" with dozens of color combinations for every suit you own, as well as collections for Birthstones, Holidays, and some cool shapes like the Barber Poles and Square Pegs. If you're like me, part-Clark Kent, part-Peter-Parker, you'll start by collecting the Superhero Collection...

Long time visitors to the site or the blog have probably detected that I'm a bit of a news junkie. The features on the home page often incorporate some kind of angle from current events, and many of the blog posts have borrowed a title or a punchline from news on the Interweb. So it's tough to ignore a story that is getting a little attention today. Originally sourced by the Politico website...

The Republican National Committee has spent more than $150,000 to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family since her surprise pick by John McCain in late August.

It will be interesting to see if this story sticks considering (1) the state of the economy, and (2) how much grief John Edwards received for a $400 haircut. As the Huffington Post notes, "if Edwards had gotten one of his legendary haircuts every singe week, it would still take him 7.2 years to spend what Palin has spent."

Meanwhile, On The Fly wants to categorically deny rumors that one of the male candidates has spent $150,000 with us in the last 2 months. While we do have a couple of customers that are Presidents of their countries - seriously, we do - neither McCain, Obama, nor Biden has spent exactly $150,000.00 with us since August 1st, 2008. These rumors are scurrilous character assaults by a vast right/left-wing conspiracy.

With that behind us, we're now working on the business plan for our women's store...

So my first pass at a safety razor shave came last night with my beautiful new Truefitt & Hill Ebony Safety Razor, and it was quite an interesting experience.

First, my thanks and apologies to mantic59, the Badger & Blade veteran with the YouTube tutorials on safety razor shaving. Thanks for the vidoes; apologies for mentioning your name in this post as it will trigger your Google alerts any second now.

After massaging in some Pre-Shave Oil and applying my trusty Truefitt & Hill Shave Cream with a badger brush, I took my first swipes with the razor. I was amazed how easily the razor wiped up the shave cream & hairs -- I didn't feel anything. Everything was going smoothly until my dad called to get directions, at which point, I stopped mid-shave, talked on the phone, and returned a couple minutes later. At this point, some of the shave cream had disappeared (hopefully not onto the living room carpet). I returned to the bathroom and thought I'd just keep going, but I could really feel the pulling of the razor on the hairs. I tried a couple of strokes, and then decided to reapply more shave cream.

What a HUGE difference. The shave was instantly more pleasurable, and I finished my first Safety Razor shave with just 3 small nicks on my neck -- much better than I anticipated. If you really do get better with practice, I suspect I'll be enjoying my shave again at 1/25th the cost per blade! Assuming I live another 50 years, and shave at least 4 times a week, and each blade gets me 3-4 shaves, I am looking at a lifetime savings of $13,000. And if my dad taught me this when I started shaving...well, I'd have lost it all in the market last week anyways!

Unless you've been living in a cave palling around with terrorists, you've no doubt learned a lot more about economics than you ever thought you would. TED spreads, credit-default swaps, collateralized debt obligations, auction-rate securities and so much more. In fact, we almost considered making Das Kapital our Book-of-the-Month selection for October! The turmoil in the stock market has prompted a "flight to safety" to things like Treasury bonds and safety razors, and I'm jumping on the bandwagon too.

Like many men, I'm always looking for a better shave. I've actually been very pleased with my current regimen which involves Pre-Shave Oil, a badger brush, Truefitt & Hill shave cream, and the Gillette Fusion razor (the 5-blade one). The only problem is that the Fusion blades are something like $4/cartridge. Because I have a tough beard, I'm lucky if I get 3 good shaves out of a cartridge before the moisturizing strip loses its color. Using a blade after the strip has lost its color is a lot like drinking milk the day after the expiration date -- it might be good, but do you really want to risk it?

Truefitt & Hill's CEO, Todd Fisher, has been very keen on safety razor shaving for the past few months, but I have not had the time to learn the technique properly. Yesterday, I received a gift from Truefitt & Hill -- my very own Safety Razor! Aside from providing a closer shave, the blades are something worth considering in times like these as they cost something like 15 cents rather than $4.

I'll be spending the new few weeks mastering my technique, but promise to check back in to tell you the results. If you're interested in seeing how it's done, user mantic59 has a series of videos on YouTube that will teach you just about everything you wanted to know about safety razor shaving. And for that, my face and our nation are ever grateful.

My bartender is Bradley. My tailor is Andy. My barber is Jodi (male). And my belt maker is Floyd. How do I know that? Bills Khakis has entered the belt business with 2 new belts [cleverly named the Model 1 and Model 2] which are made exclusively by Floyd. 

We can't say it enough, but there are a lot of reasons why we love Bills Khakis. Their pants, their people, and their brand. One reason, which normally is not that important to us, is that they make all of their products -- every single one -- in the USA. Most are made in their headquarters in Reading, Pennsylvania.

The belts, however, are made by a guy named Floyd, a second generation Amish beltmaker. The belts are very reasonably priced at $65 USD (we feel like we may have to start using that to be clear). They are made of a high quality English bridle leather with stainless steel rivets & belt buckles. While we have every belt in stock right now, it is a two-week lead time for them once we run out of a size or color, so best to reserve one now. Best of all, when someone compliments you on the belt, you can say "My beltmaker Floyd made it for me".