Short Shrifted

Lebow Men’s and Boys’ Clothing in Natick, MA, (about 30 minutes from Boston) is shuttering after 80 years in business. Apparently, this old-fashioned haberdashery just couldn’t weather the current economic climate. Sad for many reasons. But especially, because it seems they they were a much needed resource for short men:

Lebow attributes the store’s longevity to three factors. “We’ve got that personal touch, quality merchandise and fair dealings,” he said. That merchandise includes fashions for short men. ”There are other stores selling men’s and boys’ clothing, but nobody around here carries clothes for the short man,” said Lebow. “They’re typically bought online.”

I don’t know about that. I’m staunchly brick-and-mortar for the vast majority of my clothes purchases. There’s just something about being able to touch the fabric, feel the fit, see the color — that immediacy — that the internet has yet to catch up to (no doubt it will).

I think he’s right about the internet having something to do with it, though. People still may not shop for clothes quite as much online, but this is where folks find out about stuff. Hence you. Here. Reading this blog. An old-fashioned store like this might not have marketed itself online as much as it could have. It was on Short Support’s list of Specialty Stores, though. Take a good look at that list again. There are thousands of big & tall shops in this country, but that’s about all we’ve got. Let’s hope we don’t have to cross off any others off the list.

A bit of a silver lining: if you happen to live in the Greater Boston Area, it may be worth a drive over to Lebow. According to the article, stuff is heavily marked down:

A yellow-and-black sign in the store’s second-floor window announces a liquidation sale with all items 40 percent to 75 percent off.

Lebow notes that the store still carries plenty of merchandise. In addition to clothes, the store is selling anything that isn’t nailed down, including pant racks, suit racks, leather chairs, cabinets, desks, a television set, an alterations mirror, rugs, office supplies, a microwave oven, a refrigerator and tables.

The store will set up special hours for people interested in buying items. Appointments can be made by calling 508-907-6223.

“We’d love our old friends and our new friends to come by and save a lot of money,” Lebow said.

This week Gawker polled their readers, asking folks to pick their favorite “Obama Hottie.” The winner, with 1,492 votes: Rahm Emanuel. Seems the results came as a surprise to Gawker:

Amazing what people fetishize these days: Gray hair, dark circles under the eyes, average-at-best height, a missing middle finger? Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s chief of staff, beat conventionally gorgeous policy advisor Melody Barnes in our poll.

OK, OK. Sheesh. We get it. The guy’s not conventionally handsome. In fact, the description alone sounds like some sort of grizzled, Dickensian villain, wronged at some murky point in the distant past and hellbent on revenge. Well, throw in a peg leg, maybe.

But the numbers don’t lie. I mean, the dude was up against Reggie Love! People obviously find him attractive. Call it a mandate.

Self-confidence is a big factor. Besides that, all those supposedly unattractive qualities that Gawker listed off (short stature, gray hair, dark circles, a missing digit) at the very least add up to a striking figure. I mean, he stands out from the crowd.

That was apparent back in November at Obama’s first news conference as president-elect. At the time, I remember being really struck by this photo by Doug Mills in the NY Times:

For one thing, you can see how short Rahm is in relation to everyone else. And it totally works for him. Apparently, I’m not the only one who picked up on this. That Freakonomics guy wrote a blog post analyzing his body language:

The real outlier here is Rahm Emanuel, hands on hips, eyes scanning the room, looking ready to intervene in any way necessary. What shall we call this pose? “Football coach”? “Bad cop”? Or, as some have said of Emanuel, “absolute enforcer”?

It’s not about his clothes. In fact, his suit looks a bit baggy, the tie too long (and the brown color not working for him here). Overall, he might be the worst-dressed guy up there. But it doesn’t matter.

Sometimes style is more about who you are and how you carry yourself. Good thing to remember when you can’t find a suit that fits but you still have to nail that presentation/job interview/marriage proposal/George-Bush-ass-kicking anyway.

But enough analysis. Here’s a funny clip of Obama roasting Emanuel at a charity event:

“I used to think that Rahm was slightly abrasive because he’s short and sort of funny looking. Then I met his brother Ari who is tall and good looking and also abrasive and annoying.”

For years I hated wearing neckties. Not because they were too formal. But because they were always way too long for me. From sixth-grade piano recitals to job interviews in my 20s, my tie would be dangling somewhere around mid-calf area. OK, maybe not quite that bad, but the end result was more dog-on-a-leash than sharply-dressed-man-about-town. Not all short men have this problem, but if you’re short and skinny (or have a skinny neck), I’m talking to you.

I did some research last year, and made a list of brands and tiemakers on the shorter end of the spectrum. So now if I wanted to walk into a store and drop $25-$150 on a new piece of silk to cover up the old adam’s apple, I feel like I could easily find stuff that fits. But recently I’ve found a better way: buying used, vintage ties on eBay.

So, here are my Top 5 Reasons to Shop for Ties on eBay:

1. Vintage ties are often much shorter than today’s styles. The majority of current ties average around 58-60 inches. Years ago, people used to be a lot shorter (look at Cro-Magnon man) and a lot more stylish (look at Casablanca)
2. EBay sellers almost always list the tie’s exact dimensions. I can’t tell you how invaluable this info is. Once you figure out what length works best for you (for me it’s about 56 inches), never again will you buy another tie that’s too long (or too short). On the other hand, when you buy a brand-new tie, the size usually says “1 Size” if anything — and I’ve found that most clerks don’t even know the actual measurements of their own wares.
3. They’re usually cheap. Including shipping, I usually pay $5-$12 a piece. Since it’s an auction site, you can set an ammount you’re willing to spend ahead of time so you don’t have to worry about exceeding your wallet’s limits.
4. They’re one-of-a-kind. Well, not always, but the variety of styles, fabrics, cuts, and colors on eBay is unmatched. And there are some absolute stunners on there sometimes.
5. Shopping online is easy and quick. I guess this doesn’t need much explanation to folks who are savvy enough to find this blog. But to get eBay-specific, if you’re not willing to wait X number of days for an auction to end, you can always search for one-click Buy It Now items.

Personally, I’ve been obsessed with square-end knit ties (like the one pictured), anything wool, linen or cotton, plaids, tweeds, and tartan.