You'll know what we know.
A blog dedicated to the interesting, scandalous, useful and cutting edge in the world of men’s style, fashion and grooming.
Photographed by our fearless lensman, Patrick McMullan.
In his capacity as a graphic design demigod, Chip Kidd routinely transforms books into objets d’art. In the course of a celebrated career he’s done dazzling dustjackets for everyone from John Updike to Bret Easton Ellis. Some of his work, like the famous dinosaur skeleton he designed for Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park, even takes on a life of its own.
On the heels of the Bond collection, we thought we’d take a closer look at the old Kempt bookshelf.
The Art of Manliness recently put up a list of the Essential Man’s Library, which seems like as good a place to start as any. After all, a well-stocked bookshelf is as vital as a well-cleaned floor if you’re trying to make an impression.
The 100 books range from middle-school English class fodder (Lord of the Flies, To Kill a Mockingbird) to dense philosophy (The Republic, Beyond Good and Evil), but there’s something oddly syllabus-like about it. After all, it would be nice to have something you’ll actually want to read»
Stripes of Summer: The dangerous allure of the white striped tie is considered. [A Suitable Wardrobe]
Vlogs, and the Media Moguls Who Love Them: A Facebook group stunt goes awry and a long-suffering underling pays the price in this web short. [Vanity Fair]
Western Homes: Considering American houses…no, that’s not a metaphor for anything. [A Continuous Lean]
Is Your Refrigerator Running?: A brief overview of the rich world of prank phone calls. [AV Club]
Shirts, Books, Shirts, Books: Taking a literary inspiration for your style is a great idea. If you’re that into sci-fi, you’re probably screwed anyway. [Details]
Photo by Anula MaibergThe “manly advice” market is really taking off lately, between a few blogs we could name and GQ’s ever-increasing “rules” pieces. And, if you remember the Tribeca J. Crew store as well as we do, you know there’s a pretty good book form of it too. Say hello to What a Man Should Know, Volume 1, available at a bookstore and preppy menswear retailer near you.
While suit-makers look increasingly towards the accountants and ad men of the 50s and 60s, it’s amazing to think they’re overlooking one of the best subcultures of the era. Forget the twenties: the fifties and sixties were the real jazz age.
Miles Davis speaks for himself, but a whole generation of icons stood along with him, ditching the porkpie hats and traditional chord structures in favor of a new kind of music and a new kind of style. Taschen did us a favor rounding up 500 pages worth of album covers for their appropriately named Jazz Covers. We can’t think of a better window into the age…other than the albums, that is.
There’s a lot of logos out there, especially on shirts. Even if you go the “art tee” route and end up with an engraved Chinese Dragon on your chest, you might have a sneaking suspicion that your shirt is saying more than it should.
We recommend a solitary non-corporate symbol stamped right above your sternum. The ampersand has a few hundred years of typography behind it, so you can choose between the officious “Arial” and the literary “Baskerville,” which you may recognize from the cover of Wuthering Heights.
As for what it means, that’s just part of the fun. You & me? Milk & sugar? Us & them?
via t-critic
Now that Tom Ford can do whatever he wants, he’s decided to direct a movie. He’s roped in Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, and the sainted production designers from Mad Men, so he’s off to a good start, but we’re still a little unsure about Ford’s new incarnation as movie mogul.
The movie is adapted from A Single Man, a day-in-the-life novel about a bereaved gay college professor in California in 1962. The novel is a gay touchstone—Elton John named an album after it, to give you some idea—so Ford’s interest isn’t completely out of left field, but it still seems like an odd choice. Ford’s ads and even clothes seem designed to project a guy’s-night-in-Vegas aesthetic. How well will he transition to measured musing about the passage of time? Is this just getting back at Thom Browne for snagging the Mad Men wardrobe? We’ll have to wait and see.
At least those goggles are going to a good cause.
As the saying goes, writing about music is a lot like dancing about architecture. When you’re dealing with intensely visual directors, writing about movies isn’t much better. Most of the time, you’d do better telling the story in pictures.
Taschen has been doing just that, telling stories through notes, production stills, and frame englargements. Their most recent edition for Stanley Kubrick takes a tour from his early noir trappings—especially the overlooked Killer’s Kiss—through the immersive, dreamlike approach that made him famous.
His frames also make better coffee table fodder than any other Hollywood director we could name, which matters a lot more than you’d think.
Now that gift season is upon us, we’re eyeing our bookshelves unhappily. In our opinion, everyone could use a few more hardcovers. After all, a good book is nice, but good binding is fantastic.
This pale calves’ leather edition comes from Penguin Books and Bill Amberg—and Raymond Chandler, if you want to split hairs. Naturally, we recommend The Big Sleep, but the full range includes five of Amberg’s other favorites, including Brideshead Revisited and A Room with a View.
You can pull it off the shelf when your Kindle goes on the fritz.
Classic novels have had a rough shake lately, but the problem may be with the shabby covers you’re used to seeing at Barnes & Noble. After all, a hardcover is still a hardcover.
This series from Penguin Classics may help things out a bit. Designer Coralie Bickford-Smith came up with these, and they’re just about perfect, from the aristocratic chandeliers of Great Expectations to the vulgar geometry of Crime & Punishment.
Sadly, it’s only available in the UK through Waterstones…but we’re sure there’s a trick or two that can get it to your door.
Tweed has never been the hottest look, but it may be having its own trendlet. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to academic-chic.
This “Academia Jacket” from Visim has been making the Japanese retail rounds, and caught the eye of the streetwear tastemakers at High Snobiety and nascent King of all Media Kanye West. It’s a natural step from the accountant fetishism of Thom Browne—who, coincidentally, was just named GQ’s Designer of the Year—but we can’t help but wonder where this leads. Glasses can always get nerdier, but we imagine we’ll see library-themed nightclubs popping up next summer.
Our advice is to start snapping up hardcovers now. After all, you’ll need accessories.
There are a lot of reasons to troll used-book stores, but whether you find the title you’re after or not, there’s always a few interesting covers.
This gallery of old Pelican covers should be a reminder: they don’t design them like they used to. (Although Chip Kidd might have something to say about that.) And judging a book by its cover isn’t as bad as it’s cracked up to be.
In the worst case, it sits prettily on your end table while you turn to more interesting pursuits. After all, it’s an object too.
via TsutpenInspiration can come from many places, but it’s usually best in small doses. So while we heartily endorse fedoras, peak lapels, and even the occasional pinstripe, you should resist the powerful temptation to dress like someone on the cover of a dime novel.
For women, of course, this rule does not apply.
