J. Peterman rocks!

I must admit, I've been out of touch.

Could've sworn that The J. Peterman Co. went out of business several years ago.

Apparently, I was wrong. And I'm quite happy about that.

My first J. Peterman pieces were purchased in the Los Angeles area (I believe it was Camarillo) in 2000. The store had a going-out-of-business sale, and I got some classic pieces, including the "J. Peterman shirt," a banded-collar, four-button garment with a long tail. I was stunned to find one my size at the time, because much of the merchandise was already sold.

Nine years later, I encountered a couple who are avid J. Peterman fans (seemingly before the TV show "Seinfeld" thrusted the company into the pop culture spotlight) told me about its Web site.

And there I was, enthralled by the catalog copy, which includes a very colorful story before getting down to the item's specs. Whoever's writing J. Peterman's copy is clearly gifted. Small wonder there's a fan page on Facebook.

This time around, I ordered four pieces: the Hemingway cap, a faithful replica of what the author wore; an all-cotton, tan Peaked Lapel Jacket, an all-cotton Kinsale Sark, and a pair of Ghurka Shorts.

All four of these pieces were on sale. And they sell out pretty quickly, so it pays to pay attention to this site.

It's worth it.