It’s hard to go wrong with English style, especially if you’re looking for a good pair of brogues.

We suggest Loake, a family-owned British marque that’s been hand-making shoes since 1880, and catching the eye of everyone up to the queen. They’re getting some recognition lately as they get ready to cross over to the States. Their catalog may not be varied, but it’s certainly broad, including our favorites the Norwich (pictured), the Chester 2 and the 290, if you’re in the mood for a beetle boot.

Our Girl Friday: We don’t know if Eva Mendes posed for these shots before going into rehab and, frankly, we don’t care. [Maxim]

The Queen and The Princess: Carla Bruni visits England, making every first lady in history look downright homely in the process. [Telegraph UK]

San Francisco Treat: A brief and stylish tour of Fog City. [Refinery29]

Brotherly Love: We’re not sure if we believe in “bromance,” but we are sure we love ya, dude. [Men.Style]

“What’s In Your Manbag?”: Excuse me, it’s a European men’s carryall, okay? [Guardian UK]

Buying in Bulk: Shoppers snatch up Tim Hamilton shirts 20 at a time. Look for them soon on superfuture and eBay. [Racked]

Bathing Beauty: Get out your water wings and take a dive with Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin. [Men’s Vogue]

Rock-A-Fellas: It’s shaping up to be a banner week for ex-label mates and eternal hustlers Damon Dash and Jay-Z. [NME]

On The Trail: Will this campaign season ever end? [Guardian UK]

Ol’ Blighty: Meanwhile the sceptred isle has its own sartorial issues. [Daily Mail UK]

Style Points: This seasonal scorecard of surviving menswear designers is probably the best digest of critiques we’ve seen all year… except our own, of course. [NYTimes]

Shock Teese: Our favorite burlesque star, Frau Dita Von Teese, once - surprise, surprise - filmed some kinky girl-on-girl porn, some of it hot, some of (particularly the bit with the shoes) not so much. Not to worry, we still file her under “classy broad.” [Fleshbot, soooo NSFW]

Budget Kawakubo: H+M will borrow the outré edge of Comme des Garçons for a limited line this November. [Vogue UK]

Spelunking: Share your mancave with the world. [CNN iReport]

Guy Liner: Pete Wentz creates a make-up line for men, you know, because buying women’s make up is kinda gay. [Styledash]

Deal Alert: Get your Hicky’s. [Racked]

For Whom The Bell Tolls: Kristen Bell twice in one week? What? You got a problem with that? [FHM]

Den and Geller: Kempt fave Robert Geller opens at Odin’s satellite store. [Men.Style]

Can I Turn it Up for You?: Always classy that Dov Charney. [AnimalNY]

Pay it Forward: Got an extra, unused suit? Pass it on. [EarthTimes]

Get Ready to D.A.N.C.E.: Justice’s new clothing line is just as hip and French as you might expect. [Stereogum]

Deal Alert: Yoko Devereaux springwear starting tomorrow. [Racked]

COS Play: Monocle takes a hard look at H+M’s new branch line and the takes the temperature of European retail. [Monocle]

Rock and Roll Will Never Die: Except when it does. Hey, maybe you kids should have been out there protesting, say, three years ago. [Gothamist]

Where’s Waris?: You ask. We’ve already delivered. [A Continuous Lean]

The Man Who Would Be King: P Diddy’s fashion week documentary about his quest for LOVE! INSPIRATION! and REBELLION! and style’s CROWN! was so MIND-CRUSHINGLY AWESOME! that we couldn’t watch more than 12 seconds of it. [NYMag]

Funny Money: In these penny-pinching times, who couldn’t use a little more levity in their wallet? [Refinery29]

The Family Business: Father-and-son art aficionados bond over checks and English cuts. [NYMag]

Brooklyn Boys: Racked takes the F over to Boerum Hill’s new And Then Some. [Racked]

Drip Dry: Forget the cleaners. A new Japanese suit is designed for cleaning in the shower. Loofa anyone? [Theindian]

The Great Rock and Roll Swindle: Legendary venue goes from club to store, back to club and then right back to store again. Protestors still desperately searching for lives. [Vanityfair.com]

Sky King: Per usual, Prince William makes us commoners look like chumps. [Daily Mail]

Hail Married: Eli Manning wraps up his improbable championship season by beating both brother Peyton and arch-rival Tom Brady to the alter. [UPI]

Banging the Gavel: With the recent sale of Carla Bruni nudes and the new offering of this Michael Comte Gisele shot, it’s clear that British auction houses are becoming the place for top-drawer spank fodder. [Vogue UK]

Penny Pusher: Every time blue-eyed, honey-blond men’s fashion blogger Amanda Brooks writes a tribute to a male dress staple, we fall a little harder. [Men’s Vogue]

More Cushion for the Pushin’: If you’re using padded underwear to get laid, there’s really nothing we, or anyone else, can do for you. [NYMag]

Supercops: English bobbies may soon have cool designer capes. Maybe it would be cooler if the government gave them firearms, but what can you do? [BBC]

Big Bubba: Bill Clinton uses big fat, dies to distract the eye from his big, fat mouth. [HuffPo]

Stupid is as Stupid Does: England’s premier scientific journal, The Sun reveals that the more educated a woman is, the harder it is to satisfy her sexually. Well, duh. [The Sun]

Preppy is as Preppy Does:Brooks Brothers debuts their Black Fleece collection. [Luxist]

We’ve run a lot of bags on Kempt, but the trunk has gone mostly overlooked. It may not be much of a carry-on, but it’s perfect for that steamer voyage you’ve been planning.

These trunks are the fruit of a transcontinental collab between J. Crew and classic Brit luggage maker Globe-Trotter, which lends its expert craftsmen and distinctive color combination to the mix. As you can see, the sizes vary from a 13-inch vanity case to the 33-inch wheeled suitcase—which weighs in at 13 pounds when it’s empty. Thanks to Globetrotter’s Vulcan Fibre, the trunks can withstand up to 2000 pounds of pressure.

Which should come in handy when you’re on safari.

Wrinkle-Free Suits That Look Good: For real? For really real? [We Are The Market]

England’s Finest: We don’t know many of the names on Esquire UK’s best-dressed list. We do know, however, that David Beckham is not amoung them. [IndependentUK]

Tennis Anyone?: Crocodiles kill more people in Africa than any other animal. These Lacoste’s are killers too. [Hypebeast]

Greener Pastures: Like it or not, John Deere is the new hotness. [DNRNews]

Ink Blots: Your new touch-senitive tattoo will receive even more female attentions than that Tasmanian Devil piece on your bicep. [PSFK]

Pure Oscar Gold: There’s something about Fridays and Charilze Theron that just works. [Egotastic]

Bush Warrior: A Scottish pilot get’s top-brass approval for his handlebar mustache. Good to see there’s some progress in Afghanistan. [BBC]

Kick Up Some Dirt: Seeking a leather alternative to sneakers in these hot times? These boots are perfect for navigating the sand storms of Manhattan. [The Moment]

We Can’t Fix You: Aww, poor self-deifying mope rocker Chris Martin didn’t like the questions Radio 4 asked him. Bono never had to put up with this. [BBC]

Sweet Leaf: Hicky Freeman reopens, stoner iconography intact. [NYMag]

Fighting Over the Flow: Some sucka is suing the Jigga claiming he thieved his style. This may be the worst idea ever. [New Kerala]

Van Beirendonck’s Skeleton Suits At Pitti Uomo: Since it’s the weekend, we’ve got a joke for you. A skeleton walks into a bar and says to the bartender, “Give me a beer and a mop.” That has nothing to do with these wack suits. [Men.Style]

What Again?: Yeah we know, that’s two Kristen Bell links in two days. But in these shots she’s slugging booze for her new film. Is it wrong to think that’s hot? [Hollywood Tuna]

Purple Moccasins, Yay or Nay?: Our vote—Um…uh…can you get back to us on this? [Brandish]

Vivienne Westwood Couldn’t Sit Through Sex and the City: Finally, we have something in common. [NYMag]

Top of Their Class: Take a gander at the best graduate designs from the London College of Fashion [Selectism]

With ties trending British, it’s a good time to have an overseas source.

A Suitable Wardrobe turned us on to Drakes London, a bespoke tiemaker that specializes in Albion-inspired patterns and skinny-but-not-too-skinny cuts. In other words, the genuine English article.

More on our English Connection»