A blog dedicated to the interesting, scandalous, useful and cutting edge in the world of men’s style, fashion and grooming.
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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?
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.
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.
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…
