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A blog dedicated to the interesting, scandalous, useful and cutting edge in the world of men’s style, fashion and grooming.
The White Queen: Anne Hathaway makes a hat-filled appearance in GQ UK. [GQ UK]
Eyes on the Prize: An insider’s view of the Oscar race. Conclusions: Jeff Bridges and George Clooney are kind of awesome. [NYMag]
Glued to the Screen: A critical appraisal of this year’s superbowl ads. I think it’s safe to say they won’t be buying Dodge Chargers any time soon. [A.V. Club]
Regrets, I’ve Had a Few: Singing “My Way” in Thailand might just get you stabbed to death. Real Talk. [NYTimes]
We happened upon this snap of skier Anders Johnson in Ryan McGinley’s amazing winter Olympics photospread and, after a little preliminary research, we’re ready to name him the first MOTH of the Winter Olympics. It’s got a lot to do with our enduring love of the chunky sweater, but honestly, the “never mind the snow” pose is cool enough to qualify him no matter what—especially now that large parts of the east blanketed in that same stuff. Well played, sir.
By all accounts, Rip Torn has been having a pretty rough February, but we wanted to take a moment to appreciate why we care about him in the first place, and why we hope he’s doing all right.
It’s hard being a Hollywood lifer, but Mr. Torn pulls it off better than just about everyone, which is one reason he’s spent the last few years as a go-to curmudgeon for comedies. Don’t be fooled; he’s a whole lot cooler than that. For one: he’s friends with both Harry Nilsson and Miles Davis—which is quite a feat by any standards.
For firsthand proof, we’d suggest the Larry Sanders Show, where his producer Artie was both a career peak but quite possibly the perfect specimen of the showbiz fixer. One particular high note: He describes his beloved Glenlivet by saying, “When you die and go to heaven, you’ll say hello to God, and when God says hello, this is what you’ll smell on his breath.”
But only in moderation…
An Un-Single Man: Tom Ford leaves melancholy gay cinema behind and gets back to his first love, titillating ads. We’ve missed you… [Fashion Copious]
Wim and Vigor: A tour through the denim of the rebel state, via Paris, Texas. [The Moment]
The 80s Were a Special Time: We’re pretty sure Kathryn Bigelow is the first Best Director nominee to be involved in a Bill Paxton video. Well, except for Mr. Cameron… [Vulture]
Men at Work: Junya Watanabe and Carhartt join forces for some pretty awesome jackets. [Hypebeast]
Now that everyone we know is instantaneously available, the postcard is getting pretty anachronistic. Luckily, it was never that useful to start with.
These cards embrace the retro vibe square on, borrowing the covers of classic 60s-era Penguin books. With a little cleverness, the former tourist staple becomes an ode to the tangible pleasures left behind in the digital age, whether it’s the dusty paperback, the hand-written missive, or the postal service. Now you just have to remember where you put those stamps…
Suits have gotten a lot sleeker since the 40s, but this snap of Raymond Chandler just reminded us what a little texture can do when you give it a chance. It’s a look with more than 60 years of dust on it, but other than the lapels, it’s about as fresh today as it was in ’46.
But the real delight here is seeing all the writerly affectations in one place: the pen-in-mouth, the tortoise-shell frames and the “can’t you see I’m working?” glower.
We’re guessing the photographer didn’t knock…
Miranda Rights: We’re joining the campaign to save the job of a banker caught looking at Miranda Kerr pictures online. Specifically, this Miranda Kerr picture. Passion is not a crime! [Boing Boing]
I Watch for the Ads: 38 Years of Superbowl commercials at your fingertips. [AdLand]
Chill Out: Empire names Batman & Robin the worst film of all time. Apparently, they’re just not fans of “freeze” puns. [Empire Online]
Let’s Get Lost: A gentleman’s guide to turning your iPhone into a small, pixel-y television. [Lifehacker]
An insider’s tip: when Christian Audigier starts copying your style, things may have gotten out of hand. Add in a winking style guide or two, and the recent renaissance of heritage brands and workwear starts to look dangerously close to played out—at least from a trendwatcher’s perspective.
The only problem is that workwear was always more of a movement than a trend. Which raises the question of what’s left after the trend pieces dry up.
Need an outfit for lying naked in the woods? These harnesses come courtesy of Black Sheep & Prodigal Sons, a Manhattan trinket house that seems to have moved beyond scrimshaw into equestrian gear. Our favorite part: The ebony and ivory centerpieces are made from vintage piano keys. Pants are optional.
Evening Wear: Jessica Stam brings back the Veronica Lake look. [Fashion Gone Rogue]
Seersucker Confidential: A style appreciation of Mr. James Ellroy, an Eisenhower dandy and genuine crazy man. [Inventory Magazine]
Unshankable: Learning to love prison-issue glasses frames. We really hope this catches on. [Magnificent Bastard]
Downstream: Netflix gets a little bit cooler, adding 300 indie and foreign titles to their streaming library, including our beloved Wendy and Lucy. [/Film]
We’re always up for tales of rock ‘n’ roll debauchery, so we’re more than a little excited for The Runaways. So much so, that we’re going to pretend we’ve never heard of this Twilight business.
Even if it’s not a masterpiece of film (and the jury’s still out), we’ll be happy if it means getting the band’s catalog back into the world’s DJ crates. If you haven’t bothered, you might be in for quite a surprise. This one, for instance, is a hell of an album, and the beautiful-girl-gone-badass look doesn’t hurt one bit. Their sound is more Cheap Trick than Ramones—under other circumstances, we might even describe it as cock rock—which should make it the perfect soundtrack for tales of booze, drugs and music-industry shenanigans.
At least until someone gets around to filming the Blondie story.
Although we have neither tobogganing nor whisky-drinking in our immediate future, we couldn’t help but admire the style on display in this vintage Seagram’s spot, dug up thanks to Vintage Ad Browser.
You can make all the fondue jokes you want—and yes, we’ve thought of a couple—but that cableknit turtleneck is one of the reasons we’re hoping 1972 makes a comeback. Not all of it (the belt, for instance), but there’s plenty of awesome stuff to be dug up.
That headband, for instance, is probably a pretty big hit on the Williamsburg vintage circuit by by now.
On the off-chance you’d gotten tired of American, British and Canadian heritage brand revivals, Grenson has a new trick for you. This waxed canvas and leather boot (spotted at the recent Compass Show) is modeled off Italian infantry boots circa World War One. That means they’re a lot lighter than your average American steelworker boot, and almost as tough. Think of it as a loose translation.
Stardust Memories: WBE appreciates Ms. Charlotte Rampling, best known as the vixen in Zardoz. Yes, Zardoz [World’s Best Ever]
Feeling Lost: Here’s everything important that’s happened in the past five seasons of lost. Surprisingly short, considering. [Gawker]
Galafianakimania: A tribute to Zack Galifianakis, the snubbed man of today’s Oscar nods. [Esquire]
Portrait of the Baller as a Young Man: Errol Flynn was a bad, bad man, by his own account. [Vanity Fair]
Lost among the recent shuffle of APC gear, we dug up this gray suede derby that might be our favorite item of the lot. Our favorite part? The soft gum-crepe sole last seen on our beloved Clarks desert boots. Well played, Jean.
