The London Lounge

As a newcomer to this forum, can I firstly say, having read several pages of submissions, that it is great to have found a forum to discuss some of the finer points of living an elegant life that pass most people by.

To start my first posting, I thought I might start with a general run-down on a few of my likes & dislikes and would appreciate any member’s views on anything that I may be missing out on:

Tailor

I’ve always gone to a small tailor behind Victoria Station called Volpe (www.volpe.ltd.uk). I tend to go twice a year and Adrian provides everything I need - suits, shirts, knitwear etc. It is probably fair to say that he tends towards an Italian cut and sources mostly from Italy. He was written up in the FT about a year ago and has an interesting clientele to say the least.

I’ve tried other tailors but tend to find the closer you get to Saville Row, the higher the margin charged. I would love to try a Huntsman suit and have tried to get a single button suit in the Huntsman style from Volpe but I think it is a very difficult cut to get right

Film

As you can see my user name is Thomas Crown and this reflects one of my favourite movies. This is obviously the 60’s version with Steve McQueen and whilst it has been critically panned, I think it has got be one of the coolest movies of all time – the suits , the cars and just the general decadence of committing a crime when you don’t need the money

Car

Another passion of mine. As I work in the automotive industry I get a fair selection of cars to drive on regular basis, I am currently driving an Audi A5. However my real passion is Italian cars and I currently have an old Alfa Romeo Spider as a Summer run-a-about.

The vast majority of current cars are too dull for words, even the Audi A5 I am driving at the moment is not what I would call a beautiful car. I think car design has become so safe that the modern examples of great car design are few and far between

Travel

I would love to travel more, particularly in Italy. Although I have visited most of the key spots around the World, I would love to spend several months in Paris, Milan, Rome etc to get more of a feel of each city.

Watches

This is the one element of a traditionally perceived elegant life that I just don’t get. I know this may upset some forum members but I feel the prices charged for some premium watch brands are completely out of kilter with their cost of manufacture. For me I am looking for a well designed, accurate watch and in most cases I can get that with a quartz movement and I usually get watches from Massimo Dutti. They are not expensive and when I get bored with a watch or it goes out of fashion I just buy another one – I think a large proportion of the premium watch industry is driven by snob appeal. The same goes for the premium pen & sunglasses market, Mont Blanc pens have to be one of the biggest cons going, considering their iconic pen is essentially made of plastic – the profit margins must be astronomical!

Food

Again another passion of mine. We tend to source all of meat and fish from proper butchers and fishmongers – the difference in flavour versus supermarket bought is huge but you pay the price. We are currently experimenting with locally grown fruit and vegetables to see whether the time between picking and consuming makes for a difference in flavour

Books

I’m a big fan of Ian Fleming, his stripped down style of writing really suits the spy genre and having just re-read all the books, his appeal endures over time. Other great book that would be of relevance to this forum is obviously A Rebours by Huysmans, whilst a difficult book to read, the image of the bejewelled tortoise is indelible

Welcome to London Lounge Mr. Crown:

This is a great post, I to enjoy the 1968 version of "The Thomas Crown Affair." My favorite look is the grey glen plaid suit he is wearing with powder blue shirt and royal blue tie.

As for autos, even though I am unable to drive due to my vision, I still love to do research on them very much. One car I really do like is the Audi A8. There are two really good threads here on the LL about autos, have a look.

http://thelondonlounge.net/gl/forum/vie ... php?t=8043

http://thelondonlounge.net/gl/forum/vie ... php?t=8059

Looking over your first post I can honestly say you've entered the right place. You'll find a great wealth of wisdom and wit here from a wonderful group of people.

Enjoy yourself and welcome again to the LL.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

A point you might want to consider. While I share your indifference toward top-notch, top-dollar watches, I don´t think it makes sense to take a negative or dismissive attitude (¨snob appeal¨) toward someone else´s passion. After all, any of the interests in ´finer´living evinced in this forum would, to most people, seem either extravagant or even dubious. Who wants to be ¨most people¨, though.

I would, if I may, suggest this: cultivate the ability to admire the workmanship, committment, timelessness (no pun intended), sense of excellence, craftsmanship and tradition that are embodied in a fine mechanical timepiece. Or, for that matter, any other comparable piace of work that is an exemplar of beauty and excellence, even if it holds no personal, epidermic appeal to you directly.

Welcome- nice first post.

Thomas Crown- fun, but I do prefer the modern version over the 60's. Prefer McQueen in The Great Escape. By my name, you can judge where my film tastes lie.

Cars- i WANT an A5. Hopefully in the next year. Love that car. Safety regulations have certainly forced cars into certain looks. If money were no object, I'd have the new Pininfarina designed Maserati. Oh, and the new Aston DBS.

Watches- I don't get it either but then I don't like wearing a watch. I do appreciate the artistry and craftsmanship of the finest watches.

Travel- I've not done nearly enough; only Scotland, England and Amsterdam for pleasure. Hoping to spend time in the Piedmont soon.

Cheers

Hi Luca

Thanks for your comments, for me the key to this discussion is when a object transcends its original purpose and becomes a work of art. At this point the normal quality/value equation changes. A quartz watch should be more accurate than a mechanical watch so therefore why continue with mechanical watches unless it has become a work of art - I can see this point of view and have myself almost bought a Breguet - the workmanship that goes into a timepiece such as this, justifies the prices charged.

The issue for me is for other more mass produced watch brands, where the quality/value equation is out of balance. Having recently read the 'Deluxe - how luxury lost its lustre' by Dana Thomas, it illustrates how much profit some of the premium houses make out of their accessories (ie watches, pens, sunglasses).

Final thought to illustrate my point is the hatmaker Lock & Co in St James. They make the best hats I have come across, at a reasonable price considering the high level of workmanship and their service is exemplary - these are types of business that we should be supporting rather than mass produced premium goods

Hope this clarifies my point, interested in your thoughts

thomas crown wrote:Hi Luca
The issue for me is for other more mass produced watch brands, where the quality/value equation is out of balance. Hope this clarifies my point.

It's perfectly clear, now. I agree: much of what passes for 'luxury' is overpriced buffoonery and we should not fall for it. One brand of inexpensive watches that often produces some elegant pieces inspired by more expensive makers is Rotary ( see http://www.rotarywatches.com/uk/index.aspx ).

thomas crown wrote:...the hatmaker Lock & Co in St James. They make the best hats I have come across, at a reasonable price considering the high level of workmanship and their service is exemplary - these are types of business that we should be supporting rather than mass produced premium goods.

What an excellent example. I bought a couple of hats there as presents (in the first case, my mother had identified it as a supplier that the recipient would like). Great price-quality relationship.

thomas crown wrote:Watches

This is the one element of a traditionally perceived elegant life that I just don’t get. I know this may upset some forum members but I feel the prices charged for some premium watch brands are completely out of kilter with their cost of manufacture. For me I am looking for a well designed, accurate watch and in most cases I can get that with a quartz movement and I usually get watches from Massimo Dutti. They are not expensive and when I get bored with a watch or it goes out of fashion I just buy another one – I think a large proportion of the premium watch industry is driven by snob appeal. The same goes for the premium pen & sunglasses market, Mont Blanc pens have to be one of the biggest cons going, considering their iconic pen is essentially made of plastic – the profit margins must be astronomical!

I tend to agree mostly. I am still quite fascinated with watchmaking in general. However, watchmaking essentially was the highest form of technology once upon a time, like an amazing calculator with mechanical parts, but as we see throughout history, technology is continually priced down. That's why quartz killed it for a while, then amazing marketing took it to where the watch industry is at right now, I feel a significant reversal is coming. The most amazing watch in the world is probably less amazing than what goes on in our computer right now.