SAVE THE DATE: On Friday, April 30th, the San Francisco store will be hosting a Fall 2010 Preview and Trunk Show for Bills Khakis, Martin Dingman Leathergoods, and Jan Leslie cufflinks. The event will be a chance to see -- and special order -- items coming out this Fall. Of course, you can also immerse yourself in Spring's assortment of goods from each of these folks as well.

Some appetizers will be served throughout the day, and we'll probably decide on Springy drinks to serve as well (fresh lemonade, Arnold Palmer's, and maybe Southsides for those that need alcohol to get through their workday).

No need to RSVP. 

What:  Trunk Show @ On The Fly
Who:  Bills Khakis, Martin Dingman, and Jan Leslie
When:  Friday, April 30th from 10am til 6pm
Where: San Francisco store, 1 Embarcadero Center, Street Level
Why:  Food, drink, a sneak peak at Fall 2010, and giveaways!

I think I first understood how powerful the name of a color could be in clothing about 10 years ago. I don't think I was "shopping" for a cashmere sweater, but I came across a Brunello Cucinello with a very unique collar style. I was looking for a reason to buy it, but I was hesitating because it seemed to be this weird purplish-navy color. The buyer was near, and upon seeing me oogling it, said, "I love that eggplant sweater." SOLD! After all, I didn't have anything eggplant, and I didn't have to agonize over a bastardized color name like "Purplish-Navy".

This shouldn't be news to anyone in the business. Of course Chocolate sounds more appealing than Dark Brown, or Charcoal sounds more rich than Dark Grey. But put me in the category of consumers that can resist the light green corduroy pants until I'm told it's actually Asparagus.

If you're like me, and you're looking for a reason to buy a new piece of clothing, some of the colors below may help you out: 

• Bills Khakis Sporting Plaid in Blood Orange -- sweet shirt, sweeter name
• Peter Millar Melbourne Stripe shirt in Amaretto (add a little Scotch and you have a Godfather).
  
• Mulholland Alligator products in Tangerine
• Michael Toschi SL800 in Cinnamon Suede
  
• Agave's Supima L/S Jersey in Nine Iron Navy (the color pictured)
• Derek Rose "Naturally" Basel T-Shirt in Ice
  

My words of wisdom to a repeat customer shopping for her husband's birthday present who has already gifted the cufflinks at left: 

"You can never have too many monkey-themed cufflinks." 

Truer words have never been spoken.

I've spent two blog posts writing about the S.T. Dupont Neo-Classique Chinese Lacquer President Fountain Pen and I have yet to talk about how it looks. And upon seeing this pen in real life, there really is no way around one central fact: it's incredibly phallic.

How phallic is it? 

It's so phallic, when I opened the box, the first thought that came into my mind was: this is really phallic. The second thought was: I have to have one.

When I showed it to a loyal customer of ours and asked him the first word that comes to mind, without prompting, he said, "Phallic" (at least I know it's not just me).

Beyond the size, though, the pen is exquisite. It's black Chinese lacquer with palladium accents. Chinese lacquer is a living material that is resistant to handling and very  difficult to work with. Only a master lacquer maker with a long experience and a confirmed know-how can master the craftsmanship and the techniques involved in the processing of Chinese lacquer.

Most esoterically, I won't accidentally melt this pen with my cigar or lighter. S.T. Dupont's Chinese Lacquer does not melt, even when held over an open flame. I would suggest you try that with a Mont Blanc or a Cartier, except you'll melt your pen. I have no history of accidentally or intentionally melting pens, but it's nice to know this will be safe if lightning strikes.

Most superficially, it's also a fountain pen, which I prefer because everyone's penmanship looks better with a fountain pen. If you don't believe me, grab a ballpoint and a fountain pen and sign your name with each. I'd put money on which one you'll prefer. 

It is rare I'll spend three blog posts raving about a single product, but for some reason, I felt this pen worthy of the time. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Yesterday, we covered the historical events that have forged my strongly held belief about the value of using a fine writing instrument to seal a deal. Today, in Part II of III, I'll explain why I'm particularly enamored with the S.T. Dupont Neo-Classique Chinese Lacquer President Fountain Pen.

Hidden in the bottom of the pen, like you could only imagine in a James Bond movie (or Mission: Impossible, or Get Smart, or even Austin Powers) is a 4 GB USB key. That's right, the bottom of the pen comes off to reveal a USB drive.

Now, I've never been the type to keep a USB thumb drive on my keychain because the last thing I want in this world is more stuff in my pockets. At the same time, I can count hundreds of occasions where I've wanted to move a file or two between computers, and it usually involves emailing files from one account to another. And with the double-secret project On The Fly is working on now, there have been a few occasions where I have wanted to share the plans with someone but didn't have my computer with me. Now, I can just pull out my pen as they watch in disbelief.

In an ideal world, I'd keep all those same files "in the cloud" and there would be no need for things like USB drives. But until the day that Internet access is as ubiquitous as water or electricity, there will be a market for USB drives...and an even smaller market for the gentlemen that want their USB drives hidden in their pens.

In Part III of the series, I'll finally get around to describing the aesthetic features of the pen that I like, for there are many...

I would love to explain why this is my new pen in one blog post, but I think there's necessary historical context that needs to be established first. 

Almost every customer that has ever bought something in our San Francisco store has signed their receipt with a very nice pen (most recently, an S.T. Dupont Alligator Havana Pen). There is a very simple story behind my insistence on finalizing each sale with a proper flourish.

Years ago, I took some friends to one of San Francisco's finest restaurants: Charles Nob Hill (unfortunately, it no longer exists). This is the type of restaurant where each course involves 3 dishes, only 1 of which is really necessary to hold the food for that course. In other words, opulence.

The chef's tasting menu was probably 5-7 courses, and lasted close to 2 hours. Everything was excellent: the food, the wine, the service, the ambiance. The bill for three ended up around $1,000 (those were the dot-com days when you could barely get Chinese take-out for less than a C-note).

Then the bill came in the typical black leather folder accompanied by a white, plastic Bic pen. Dissonance was the word that first came to mind. Absolutely everything was best-in-class until that moment, which happened to come at the very end of the evening. As you can tell, it has stuck with me ever since.

I don't get to work on multi-million dollar deals anymore, but we do sell nice things. I want our store customers to leave remembering that everything was top shelf: the products, service, atmosphere, gift wrap, the business cards that double as emergency collar stays, the espresso we pour, and last but not least, the consummation of the sale. Now you know.

But that's just context. Tomorrow, I'll share the first reason why I'm enamored specifically with the S.T. Dupont Neo-Classique Chinese Lacquer President Fountain Pen...