The Great Pants War: Two competing revolutionaries, Bonobos and Cordarounds, square off against the “Soviet Bloc” of vertical corduroy with the introduction a horizontal variation on the classic fabric. Watch out for the crossfire. [VanityFair.com]

The Long Haul: Back off you vultures. Giorgio Armani ain’t going nowhere. [WWD, 2nd item]

Russian Male-Order Bride: Iron-fisted autocrat beloved legally elected Federation President Vladimir Putin tries his best to emulate Nicolas Sarkozy’s recent marital success. Fails. [Gawker]

Wigging Out: Unofficial Kempt mascot Rachel Bilson plays blonde for a day. [Egotastic]

Loop de Loop: Harajuku t-shirt maker does it oldschool. [PSFK]

More Celebrity Stink: James Franco, who we actually like, will be the face for Gucci’s latest scent. [Luxist]

Boob Tube: Because he hasn’t reached complete market saturation, Tommy Hilfiger will soon have his own TV channel. [DNRNews]

Madras Explosion: Ahh! Our eyes! Our eyes! [A Suitable Wardrobe]

A Continuous Lean clued us in to this early instance of Sartorialist-style fashion photography. Photographer T. Hayashida took a tour of the Ivy League circa 1968, snapping pictures for posterity. Given that preppy style of that era is a touchstone for everyone from J. Crew to Shipley & Halmos, there’s more than a few pointers to pick up if you’re watching closely.

More pics from the bygone era»

Photographed by our fearless lensman, Patrick McMullan.

Ah, a benefit bash in Southampton during the high season. Where the fuck else would you find people dressed like this? And god bless ‘em for it. It’s been rather a dull summer so far sartorially, and we welcome this demonic display of madras as much as we would one of those cocktails they’re clutching.

Now let’s examine their full tribal regalia a little more closely - not only are they wearing madras, which any amateur can do, but patchwork madras and clashing bowties. Guy on the left - we’ll call him C.K. Dexter Haven - also has on shorts embroidered with little green lobsters. Guy the right - aka Sniffin K. Bellows IV - is wearing a contrast club collar shirt and a chronic case of lockjaw.

Now please put those jackets away until next year.

Head to toe madras got a boost this summer from the likes of Ralph Lauren and Thom Browne’s Black Fleece collection. However, the full-on matching madras suit effect is a bit much, we feel, even in this realm.

Trust that old dog Glenn O’Brien to show us how it should be done. His plaids are complimentary but not identical; what’s more they’re obviously well-worn and look as if the fabric might be authentically Indian to boot.

More on the madras»

Sleepwear tends to get overlooked by the non-Schnabel parts of the world, but having a set of matching pajamas on-hand is priceless. Chinese cotton has been the go-to for a while, but it looks like France is getting in on the action.

This cotton set comes from A.P.C.’s new Madras winter collection. You can get the same print on a button-up, but we prefer it this way. After, a shirt is just a shirt, but a good pair of pajamas is practically a suit.

The Spring 09 collection from perennial favorites Band of Outsiders is currently making the rounds (thanks, Kanye), but this time they’re in video form.

Instead of a set of static pictures, we get a series of people fading gently in and out of frame in madras hoodies, tartan shorts and, of course, bow ties. The shoes are mostly Topsider-esque boaters, but there’s nothing here to suggest the BoO folks are slipping. Mostly, we just wish it were warmer.

See the videos in full»

Gingham is already a summer staple, but there are always a few new ways to do it. This Black Dollars Double Check is one of the best. The outer check is the kind of madras-flavored pattern that makes summer clothes worthwhile, but the gingham lining is the real treasure here. Look close and you’ll see it through the larger check, creating the kind of double-patterning Tom Ford is so into these days.

See detail shots after the jump»

Fresh on the heels of their CFDA nod, Band of Outsiders posted another video projection full of thick plastic shades, madras trenchcoats, and trilbies as far as the eye can see.

It’s nothing too different from last time around, but we’re glad to see a few more suspenders get in there, and the welcome addition of topsiders to their lookbook. And they still do men’s shorts better than just about anybody.

The hitting streak continues…

See the video»

Madras has been picking up steam as a look for some time, but it’s still best kept to the fringes of your outfit to keep from overdoing things. Maybe a bowtie or two?

Luckily, the ur-preppy outfitters at J. Press (via ACL) happen to be in the midst of a spring sale, meaning you can walk away with this particular bowtie for less than $40, and plenty of statelier neckties for only a little bit more. And if you have a seersucker jacket handy…it might be time to get it out of storage.

We just caught a peek at Burkman Brothers’ new Spring/Summer 2010 line, and we like what we see from our favorite Bali/Ivy League/resortwear-loving brothers. Namely, great new shorts, their debut tie collection, and a welcome riff on the linen shirt, along with the same old madras.

The new: a new set of patterned shirts (as seen on the gentleman to the left) along with their first collection of linen shirts (a staple for most sandy vacations and a nice compliment to all that madras) and their first stab at neckwear (which land somewhere between Ward Cleaver and Rudyard Kipling—not a bad combination, if you ask us).

They’ve also cut their shorts a little trimmer and introduced a jersey-lined yellow pair that we’re eagerly anticipating hitting Barney’s in January. And since this is still Burkman Brothers, there are more exclusive plaids sourced from the brothers’ latest trip to India, more great details from Doug and Ben and more random name tags sewn in summer camp-style.

All we need is a mai tai…

See the new gear from Burkman Brothers»

Hypebeast just brought word on the latest batch of Seavees and we couldn’t help but ogle their Gitman Brothers collab. You don’t see madras and suede rubbing shoulders very often, but Seavees’ SoCal low-top works surprisingly well with Indian cotton on the toe. How long until we can get one in Glen Plaid?