The Sartorialist tipped us off to the latest troubling fad among monk-shoed Italians: they’re leaving the straps dangling loose. Of course, we have nothing but love for monk shoes, but to our eyes, that loose strap is just waiting to end up in the mouth of a teething basset hound with a taste for fine leatherwork.

But of course, that doesn’t mean it’s going anywhere. Trends like this rarely follow the usual rules, and assuming the shoe fits well enough to stay on without the strap, there’s nothing to stop the Mediterranean youth from leaving their straps dangling for the better part of the decade.

Think of it as a backwards ballcap for the bespoke set.

The fine folks at Remington just alerted us to the fact that November is National Beard Month, which got us thinking about the mountain man look, in addition to making us wonder exactly how high the bar is for national month-long holidays.

Of course, the grooming end of workwear has always been amenable to a little well-trimmed stubble, but a full Morrison-style chin-hanger requires the kind of dedication you don’t see much outside of hipster enclaves anymore. It may not make your HR director happy, but that’s just the price you pay.

If you think you’ve got the follicles for it, feel free to live the dream.

We’ve often been in the position of trying to convince a friend of the riskiness of heavily knit belts. Yet, as logical as we can be, it’s often hard to convey what a niche item they truly are, and how sparingly they should be applied in any wardrobe.

This picture, we feel, sums it up pretty nicely.

Much as we try to keep things classy, the bulk of the internet has always been composed of two things: pornography and pictures of cats. So when someone has a good idea—like, The Sartorialist, for instance—it’s a sure bet that it’ll filter down into one of those two arenas.

And now, the less interesting of the two possibilities has finally become a reality. Ladies and gentleman: The Catorialist.

The above image, by the way, is captioned “the power of men’s accessories,” and the sound you hear is the internet swallowing itself whole. As for The Nudetorialist, nobody’s snatched up the domain name yet, but it can only be a matter of time.

40 years in, James Bond is less of a character than a rotating stable of brands. Sony Ericsson, Smirnoff, and Aston Martin are all part of the current package, but what about the villains? While Bond is off winding his Omega, the Goldfingers of the world have to make do with Swatches.

Nicolas Hayek, founder and head of the Swatch group, has decided to cash in on the semi-cachet of the Bond villain with the 007 Villain Collection. The line follows villains from Goldfinger to Casino Royale, outfitting the most stylish with a watch just slightly less expensive than Bond’s own.

We’re usually partial to product endorsements from imaginary characters, but we’re still on the fence with this one. Is there anyone out there trying to dress like Jaws?

August is usually a deathly slow news month, but thus far it’s already being filled with senatorial infidelity, a steady stream of Olympians, and an all-out war. All of which means that we’ve missed out on the important filler stories that usually fill up this wonderful month.

For instance, the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, named for the author of the infamous first sentence, “it was a dark and stormy night.”

Each year, the judges choose the worst opening sentence to a novel and present it to the world, relieving the crushing burden of finding something to report in the middle of August. Of course, this year, as the judges note, “it appears that many newspapers have allowed themselves to be distracted by a large athletic contest being staged somewhere in Asia.”

Indeed.

See the winning sentence»

As the Web 2.0 era progresses, the overshare is getting more and more refined. It’s not enough to tell your friends where you are at all times. You tell them what you’re doing, how you’re feeling, and most importantly of all, what you’re eating.

Into this unsavory mix comes FoodFeed, a twitter mod devoted entirely to what you, and others like you, are eating right now.

In addition to providing dieticians with some fascinating research fodder, we can’t help but think it’ll be useful to the restaurant industry. Also, as research will confirm, there are currently two people eating jello and one person eating soap.

O brave new world…

The appeal of Bond has always had more to do with the man’s accoutrements than his geopolitical nuance, but it’s taken surprisingly long for all that swag to be gathered into one place.

Apparently that day is here. Allow us to introduce Bond Lifestyle, a one-stop compendium gathering together everything from the man’s favored cologne (according to Fleming, anyway) to the Swiss villa that provided the setting for Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The catalogue is somewhat skewed towards the more recent (and more thoroughly branded) movies, but you can still find a replica of the Trilby Hat from Doctor No or the two-button gray suit in From Russia With Love.

More on the Bond Lifestyle»

Bill Cosby is a pretty unlikely style icon, but we’re willing to bite. He’s put three of his iconic sweaters up for auction on eBay, and so far no one’s taken the bait.

We have to admit, we’re a little surprised. These jazzy numbers pack more 80s baggage than all the Members Only jackets and guyliner in SoHo. And it’s to benefit the Cos’s education charity, so high-rollers shouldn’t balk at the four-figure price tag. Maybe M.I.A. wants one?

More on the Cos»

This week’s Loose Thread comes courtesy of the nonist, who just introduced us to the Japanese concept of chindogu, or unuselessness.

The utili-tie to the left is a prime example. At first, it seems like the ideal combination of the sartorial charms of the necktie with the practical need to carry safety scissors, a set of paper clips, a ruler, a passport, and various other office essentials. But after you consider it for more than thirty seconds, it becomes clear that the tie is wildly inefficient at both its intended uses. It’s not entirely useless, but even if it existed, it would never be used. It is, in other words, Chindogu.

More on this intriguing categorization»

Seems when it comes to sunglasses, Kanye West is the man to follow. Since the release of his new album, the hip-hop product ho has been hosting pics on his blog featuring fans from all over the world wearing his 80s-tastic “Stronger” specs.

Sensing a market opportunity—the man is a player after all—West has teamed up with Aussie hipster outfitters (and Assembly-goers Ksubi for a line of sunglasses under the rapper’s Pastelle fashion line.

More on Mr. West’s latest endeavor»

Apparently the Norwegian Salvation Army stores are a good deal less depressing than the stateside ones, or at least they have a bigger ad budget.

This eye-catching spot follows a winsome Scandinavian Alice down the thrift-store rabbit hole, as she explores a series of single-color rooms that connect to each other in confusing and inconsistent ways. Click on the green circle and you’ll see her model a series of 60s-inflected one-pieces, surrounded by green bookshelves, cabinets, and planters. Click on another circle and you’ll see her walk to the right…into whatever color room you picked and whatever style goes with it. The overall effect is somewhere between Project Runway and stumbling onto a foreign satellite channel at 4 in the morning.

The aesthetic is bizarrely matchy, but that’s more or less the point. If you’re looking for a duvet for your mauve guest room, they’ve probably sold you. Otherwise, we’re skeptical. Maybe we’d like it more if she sang…

Ah, the Scandinavians. Always pushing those margins and always, somehow, still looking sober and strangely sensible (is it the months of darkness? The vodka?) Somehow between the madness one might see on your average Harijuku street-fashion site, the louche, Parisian reportage of The Facehunter and the imminently restrained sensibilities…