March 20, 2010 world of men's style / fashion / grooming RSS
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KEMPT

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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“JFK”
06/11/08 ·

Object

Blue Serge Shoes

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An iconic French tennis shoe worn by the likes of style heros Serge Gainsbourg and JFK is finally making its way stateside for fall.

Ironically, La Tennis Bensimon, as they call it back home, was originally inspired by American Army surplus following World War II. Made of canvas and suede with rubber soles and a hand-finished look, they have a classic, timeless quality; unsurprisingly the women’s version was a fave of Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin. We like the basic navy blue cotton toile version pictured here, which comes in 10 colors and several variations.

Canvas sneaks are enjoying something of a vogue at the moment—hello Steven Alan—but we think these puppies will probably outlast the vagaries of fashion.

02/18/09 ·

Object

Thirty Five

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A little history will get you a long way…although you usually have to pay for it.

John F. Kennedy wore this watch for swimming for just under a year, and since then it’s passed from Jackie O to Aristotle Onassis, and eventually to a New York auction house. It’s going on the block in March, and costs a truly staggering amount, but as presidential memorabilia goes, this looks better than anything else we’ve seen.

It’s also worth more than five times as much as a watch on the same block that once belonged to Ghandi—just one more sign of what a little style will get you.