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A blog dedicated to the interesting, scandalous, useful and cutting edge in the world of men’s style, fashion and grooming.
Dumpster Diver: Ever wonder what happened to “Joe Boxer”? He’s going through your trash (in a good way.) [SFGate]
Pig Out: Three big big sales from big big labels. [FashionPig]
Project Runaway: Marc Jacobs continues to spiral downwards, upwards, sideways.
High Octane: A preview of Diesel’s new luxury line Black Gold [Fashion Week Daily]
Endgame: Pick-up artist/sociopath Neil Strauss promises to revise his bestselling The Game and then disappear from the face of the earth. [Neil Strauss Online]
Bargain Hunting: English moped bandits with impeccable taste raid Ralph Lauren, Lulla Bartley, Marc Jacobs and Christopher Kane. [FemaleFirst UK]
Big Shoes Filled: Picking up where Yves Saint Laurent left off. [Telegraph UK]
Bag Men: Poncho conspiracy theory. Do not try this at home. Or anywhere. [Brandish]
Cool Cobbler: Cool Hunting checks in with Aussie shoe maestro Tristan Blair [CoolHunting]
Canadian Geese: Catching up with the half-Canuck design team Duckie Brown. [Canadian Business]
The ink flies again as even more brands and designers become new pals. As you were metabolizing turkey, Italian denim domo Diesel shook hands with Germany’s Adidas, American institution Levi’s partnered with Nike’s Jordan line and H+M survivors Viktor + Rolf teamed up with luggage maker Samsonite. According to our calculations, this latest round of cross-market collaborations means we’ll only have to wait a year or so before there’s a Marc Jacobs section in every Uniqlo, a Starbucks in every Herm‚àö¬Æs and a Crazy Robertson in every Foot Locker.
History in Knots: As went the vest, so went the bow tie. [A Suitable Wardrobe]
Meat Packing: Ain’t no party like a Details Block Party. [See Jack Shop]
Journey of the Sole: The Sartorialist visits a Florentine cobbler. [The Sartorialist]
Stinking Up the Joint: The how-tos of cologne shopping. [Men.Style]
In Sync: Justin Timberlake’s William Rast line gets a gravitas infusion from J. Lindeberg. [DNR News]
Men in Tights: Superheros and fashion? Throw in beer and cheerleaders and this would be the best exhibit ever. [WWD, 2nd item]
Filmed to the Brim: A preview of “Made in Ecuador—The Panama Hat Story.” [Vimeo]
Rat Tails: Hollywood’s into the Man-Nytails. As the poets say—get a haircut, and get a real job. [She Knows Best]
Apples and Oranges: “Steve Jobs is the Marc Jacobs of computers.” Please to explain. [The Motley Fool]
Future Threads: Solar-powered handbags. Bulletproof fabrics. Robotic exoskeletons. The exiting thing about this forecast is itch-free wool. [Live Science]
In our never-ending thirst for knowledge, we sat down for a few words of wisdom with Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne, veterans of urban education and creators of Public School, the rugged, multi-purpose streetwear label that hits stores mid month.
Kempt: What is the inspiration behind Public School?
Chow: New York City—of course—and anyone who’s ever survived public school. Our man is someone who’s well-traveled and appreciates details.
Kempt: So than who is your ideal model for Public School?
Osborne: We are our best models.
Kempt: How modest. What parts of New York inspired this line—and don’t say your apartment?
Chow: I don’t think it’s any one place. It’s more of the idea of New York, all the five boroughs. Moving around the city and just collecting that energy everywhere you go.
Kempt: What are your favorite haunts in the five boroughs?
Chow: Max probably goes out more than me—but Bar Pitti and Freeman’s for sure.
Osborne: Naw, naw—I don’t go out that much. I just go with the wind. Someone tells me something’s going on, I’m gonna go.
Hickey
Perfect Harmony: In a meeting of oft-misunderstood, semi-reliable, ex-druggie geniuses, director Harmony Korine is the new face of Marc Jacobs. [Kitsune Noir]
A Leg Up: See which young designers just got an infusion of Ecco Domani Foundation funds. [Cynana Trendland]
Boy Zone: Our favorite playwright/underminer/conceptual go-go dancer Mike Albo takes a critical trip to Hickey. [NYTimes]
Branching Out: OAK to open store at Bond and Bowery. [Racked]
Mini Marcs: These kids may eventually have Marc Jacob’s cache, but will they ever match his crazy? [NY Observer]
Dapper Discounts: Loehmann’s to open it’s first men’s store in L.A. [DNRNews]
Thread Bear: Never say that Karl Lagerfeld isn’t cuddly. [WWD, 2nd Item]
Forward Russia!: Vlad Putin enjoys his own martial fashion show. [London TImes]
Cole Trickle Rides Again: Tom Cruise finds a new, expensive reason to make whooshing, overenthusiastic onomatopoetic noises. [NYDN]
Muffled: Berlin Fashion Week will crush your head. [Manolo for Men]
Deal Alert: Big savings at Stuart Wright. [Racked]
The Do Is Done: The best hair on the campaign trail calls it quits. [CNN]
Plan-B: Hungry for lovin’? Film a webisode. Or better yet, keep it to yourself. [NYTimes]
Playing With Dolls: Still hungry for lovin’ and bored at work? This should blow about a half hour right here. [FOXNews]
Rear-View Mirror: If you hadn’t noticed already, nostalgia is the new futurism. [Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette]
Big Poppa: While his ex-wife circles the drain, K-Fed will be enjoying the Marc Jacobs show at the Armory. Seeing as you have neither impregnated Brittany Spears or dropped a rap album, you will not. [Catwalk Queen]
Payola: On the subject of Marc and the Armory, prosecutors are screaming, “Shenanigans.” [Gawker]
Benefits Package: A review of sex between co-workers suggests another meaning for “Casual Fridays.” [City News]
Moby Dick: If you’re a weasley-looking, self-righteous vegan of limited musical ability and even more limited muscle mass who manages to bed Natalie Portman, please try to be a gentleman about it. [NYPost]
N’Stink: Ever wonder what all that stuff in Justin Timberlake’s hair smells like? It’s Givenchy. [Catwalk Queen]
“The Bubbles Tickle My Nose”: Behold! The chick drink of tomorrow![PSFK]
Who Knew?: In a city of queues and lines, perhaps the strangest is outside of Abercrombie & Fitch. [Racked]
Offensive Foul: Crocs, the ideal merchandising tie-in for the today’s uptempo, run-and-gun NBA. [Just-Style]
My Beautiful Launderette: Design is only a rinse cycle away. [Kitsune Noir]
“Does Tom Ford Hate The Straights?”: Sorry, Gawker, we were a bit distracted by these pics here. What were you saying? [Gawker]
“Marc Jacobs Plagiarized My Dad’s Scarf”: Just imagine how pissed he’ll be when the knockoffs start showing up on Canal Street. [The Local, Sweden]
Love For Sale: Scarlett puts herself up for auction on eBay, meaning it’s only a matter of hours before our PayPal bill dwarfs our student loans. [Gawker]
Hip To Be Square: The Roots of American Prep. [Men’s Flair]
“Most Females Lie More Cleverly and Successfully Than Men”: Or at least that’s what they want you to think. [NYPost]
Wedding Bells?: Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. and Mrs. Marc Jacobs. [NYMag]
Transition of Power: In his first appearance as Russia’s new President-elect, Dmitry Medvedev greets the nation in a turtleneck and jeans apparently from Sears. Weep for the Motherland. [Reuters]
Trading Sideways: Geeks fighting to replacing hipsters? Let’s settle this one at the playground during recess. [Scrawled in Wax]
Bloggerati: Rising fashion blogger Kanye West is shut out of Balenciaga, says he doesn’t really mind and declares that his “first love is for fashion.” Jesus, it’s Faran Krentcil all over again. [The Celebrity Truth]
Kate Moss by Irving PennGoing, Going…: Christie’s will auction off a 135-piece collection of glamour photography by Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus and Man Ray which will include tastefully nude shots of Gisele and Ms. Moss. The Irving Penn cheesecake pics will likely go for $30,000 or so?about the same price as a night with Kristen. [Vogue UK]
Advocacy Journalism: A popular men’s fashion magazine contributes to a major shift in American foreign affairs. No, it isn’t The Economist. [Jezebel]
Cat’s Out of the Bag: Paul Smith is having a sample sale, just try to keep it on the down lo… crap… never mind. [Racked]
Four Eyes: Pull out your prescription lenses because cute/wacked nerd-chaser Verena Von Pfetten admits, “I just love me some myopia.” [Huffington Post]
Man’s Man: Jason Preston is everything women could want - fashionable, attractive, connected and willing to throw down to defend a lady’s honor. Too bad for them he’s engaged to Marc Jacobs. [NYPost]
All Aboard: By the next decade, New York Fashion Week may have a new home on top of the West Side Rail Yards, forcing poor Conde Nasters to walk more than half a block to the tents. [NY Daily News]
No Accounting for Taste: Dolce & Gabbana may be the most famous Italians slammed for tax evasion since Al Capone. [DNRNews]
Portland Cares: Mr. T-related art is found to be more valuable than non-Mr. T-related art. [Boing Boing]
LVMHTMMJ: Louis Vuitton’s new print will be a camo-inspired collab with Marc Jacobs and Takashi Murakami. Somewhere in Los Angeles, Kanye cries tears of joy. [Fashion Week Daily]
The O.G.: Rachel Bilson expands her expertise to include designing jeans. [My Fashion Life]
Bubble Pit: Sony fills a Miami street with foam for no apparent reason. [Josh Spear]
Our #2 Export: The possibilities of polluting the world with lameness. [PSFK]
Easy Marc: Fake Marc Jacobs ads come from real jokers. [Forbes]
The Great Divide: H+M line Divided opens it’s first standalone store in the English-speaking world. No news yet on a US location. [Vogue UK]
Monarchist Republic: In other Brit boutique news, The Banana Republic opens it’s first store in England. No news yet on a US location. [Telegraph UK]
Vandalism: We might just have to break some windows and steal these new Raf Simons boots. [Hypebeast]
“From Caped Crusaders to Hoodies”: Sounds like Middle School to us. No, seriously, read on. [WSJ]
Board Liar: Some clever jasper was fronting like he was a board member of the Gucci Group. Why didn’t we think of that? Might have had something to do with 20 years of hard time. [DNRNews]
Fred’s Flair: Are you properly dressed for Fred Rogers Sweater Day? [Huffington Post]
Fashion Police: India has banned “Fashion Television” (which, frankly, we thought had been cancelled years ago). Next time you’re watching models traipsing down a runway on the tube, just remember how lucky you are to be an American. [MeriNews]
Takashi Murakami has been gaining profile for a while now—he designed the slightly hideous album cover for Kanye’s latest, and is collaborating with Marc Jacobs on a pattern for Louis Vuitton—but his nouveau-Warhol shtick has always left most of America shaking their heads.
Witness, for instance, the kerfuffle surrounding his upcoming exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum. The fashion press went wild over Vuitton-based rumors—would the museum be hawking LV bags? Would they get a peek at the new Marc Jacobs pattern?—without giving thought to the exhibition itself. Naturally, the art world is skeptical.
The gala opening of Takashi Murakami’s exhibition was predictably packed last night, with Marc Jacobs among the attendees. Kanye took a break from managing his new travel site to put on a show and keep the crowd on their feet. And, aside from the eminent-domain protests outside, things couldn’t have gone better.
Louis Vuitton was well-represented with an outdoor table of pointedly non-counterfeit goods, but they had more than a few representatives in the crowd as well»
Marc Jacobs and Takashi Murakami’s long-discussed Louis Vuitton Monogramouflage pattern was unveiled at Thursday’s gala exhibit opening and, as you might have expected from the impish Murakami, it takes the logo to some very new places.
Messrs. Jacobs and Murakami keep LV’s geometric symbols, but switch up the regal purple-and-gold pattern for a squiggly pop-art camo that’s more suited to comic books than oil paintings. It’s more in line with Murakami’s aesthetic than Jacobs’ or Louis Vuitton’s, and it raises more than a few questions about where Jacobs plans to take the brand»
Marc Jacobs’ ads have been eye-catching since the start, and we’re starting to get curious about the man behind the lens. For the curious, his name is Juergen Teller, seen in the picture above discussing aesthetics with the incomparable Charlotte Rampling.
Thanks to our friends at GQ, we managed to get our hands on the five-page profile of Marc Jacobs from the May issue, hitting newsstands next Tuesday.
The piece takes a closer look at Jacobs’ transformation from mop-headed shut-in to flamboyant tabloid fodder, as well as his rise to power as creative director of Louis Vuitton. Apparently his secret is ulcerative colitis, a disease that forced him into a restricted diet and ruthless exercise regimen. The piece’s best line is this bon mot: “If Ralph Lauren is a lifestyle, Marc Jacobs is an ethos.” Does that make Tom Ford a nightclub?
It looks like Mr. Teller is up to his old tricks again, seducing the lovely Ms. Maya Arulpragasam into this voluptuous pose for the latest Marc Jacobs campaign.
That’s M.I.A., for the non-Pitchfork-educated. She’s been climbing the charts, soundtracking movie trailers, and getting big-upped as this year’s future of rap (according to Nas, the future of rap circa 1992). Add in a little subcontinental glamour and she should be the perfect spokesmodel, right? Well, almost»
Frau Claudia Schiffer Topless in German Vogue: Ja vol! [Egotastic]
Part-time Model Rips Off Boss Marc Jacobs: Good thing the cops got him, because Jacobs will fucking cut you. [Gawker]
Huffpo’s Von Pfetten Doesn’t Go For Pretty Boys: Seriously, girl, why haven’t you called us yet? ]HuffPo]
Clip On Ties: Thom Browne’s rules of the tie bar. [WSJ.]
Tips for Tall Guys: Jalen Rose and Allan Houston share their 6’ and over secrets. [AskMen]
Jugs off the Menu: Williamsburg’s Radegast shelves their traditional-Czech-cleavage-revealing outfits due to the wandering hands of drunk patrons. Way to ruin it for the rest of us. [Gothamist]
A Solid Grip: Eva Mendez’s hands are always in the wrong place at the right time. [Use My Computer]
The Answer: Guess is targeting the high-end market. Stay tuned. [DNRNews]
The Bum’s Rush: Marc Jacobs was kicked out of an art gallery for looking unacceptably grungy. Oh the shame. [NYPost]
Cinéma Vérité: Josh Brolin gets into a drunken bar fight while filming Oliver Stone’s George W. Bush biopic. If he lost after one punch, he’s really in character. [AC]
Will Chick Pillow Fights Sell Real Estate?: We just made our down payment. [Observer]
Cutting-Edge Prep: That Comme des Garcons Brooks Brothers line is looking pretty damn sharp. [High Snobiety]
A Handle For Your Beer Can: Is as logical and obvious as an eraser on a pencil. [Uncrate]
Have you ever had the feeling that the person you were speaking to was subtly mocking you? Maybe it was nothing tangible, just a touch of aloofness, a sense that everything was proceeding with a slight touch of irony…
Well, now you can get that feeling from a New York Times style piece.
The Gray Lady’s latest offense is about band aids as an accessory, pointing to recent offerings from Marc Jacobs and Alexandre Herchcovitch as examples—the latter recently featured at Opening Ceremony—and taking Mr. Nicholas James Brown as its unfortunate centerpiece.
George Carlin once said that America is good at two things: taking a good idea and running it completely into the ground and taking a bad idea and running it completely into the ground. We’re feeling charitable, so we’ll say this is a case of the former.
We like Takashi Murakami, and Marc Jacobs has been on his game lately, but their Monogramouflage pattern has officially reached the saturation point. This, for instance, is just embarrassing. Designed as a reader giveaway for Numero Tokyo, a Japanese high fashion mag, the mousepad may mark the moment when we got tired of the whole idea of luxury patterns.
That’s right. It’s a mousepad.
It’s no wonder Jacobs is trying to scale back the collaborations. If he isn’t careful, he may end up in the computer business.
Photographed by our fearless lensman, Patrick McMullan.
Back before he became a big time music producer and multi-Grammy winner, Mark Ronson used to DJ all the hottest parties in town—and some out of town as well (ask him about the time he flew to Milan to DJ at a Gucci soirée and got in a shouting match with Charlize Theron.) His sartorial acumen has increased appreciably since those days behind the decks; onstage these days he affects a sort of dapper nouveau-rockabilly vibe, necktie always knotted just so.
Bad Fox: Transformers 2 femme fatal and GQ covergirl Megan Fox has a loose-lipped Mom. Mrs. Fox chatted with her hometown newspaper and confirms your biggest dreams—Megan as a very, very naughty teenager. [Palm Beach Post]
Tight Helmut: We must concur, Marc Jacobs, you’re not the only one in the Fashion District hitting the gym. [Men.Style]
Louis Canvassing Connery?: Great Scot Sean Connery could be the next face in the ongoing Annie Leibowitz-shot Louis Vuitton campaign, joining Francis Ford Coppola and Catherine Deneuve. [Fashionista]
Mocc’ing Luxury: Valet offers a peek at Arrow Moccasin Company’s winter offerings, featuring sheepskin upgrades and even a pair of made-to-measure if you send them an exact trace of your feet. [Valet]
The Camera Man: A web-based photo retrospective of Marc Jacob’s favorite photographer. [FashionIndie]
Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Men: Apparently casual misogyny and the occasional angry crotch grab go over pretty well with the Park Slope housewife set. [New York Observer]
A Gaping Void: Documentary proof that Europeans love the Gap. When we said continental flair, this isn’t what we had in mind. [IHT]
The White Anglo-Saxon Protestant Whale: Ladies and Gentlemen, the preppiest movie of all time. [A Continuous Lean]
Just when it seemed like things were cooling down for Takashi Murakami, the holidays roll around and everyone in retail goes completely insane.
In the case of Louis Vuitton, that means wrapping an entire store in a vinyl sheet imprinted with your latest pattern. As branding moves go, it’s hard to beat dressing up your store as an enormous handbag, although Marc Jacobs could still top it by tattooing his name across his forehead.
Mostly we’re just surprised they’re still standing by Takashi after so long. After all, the store doesn’t look that different from one of the walls at Murakami’s Brooklyn Museum exhibit when this whole crazy trip started off.
Maybe they’re in it for art after all.
Marc Jacobs’ favorite photographer is bringing out some new work to the Dutch gallery De Haan Haarlem, and lucky for us it found its way to the internet.
It’s a bit more abrasive than his ad work, naturally, but his absurdist streak is still alive and well. Our favorite—other than the pharmaceutical snap at left—poses the famous William Eggleston in a rural parking lot behind a grand piano. As homages go, that one takes a lot of brass—but apparently Eggleston liked the joke enough to play along.
If you find yourself in Haarlem (no, not Harlem), you should swing by.
Being men of the world, we tend not to look to Dear Abby for sartorial advice. And this week, we were reminded why.
In Wednesday’s paper (via The Cut), she took up the question of a Pennsylvania man who, as he delicately puts it, “wears skirts for comfort.” Her advice? “As long as you have the testicular fortitude and shapely enough legs to wear skirts, then you have my blessing.” Oh dear…
Feet of Clay: Rene Russo takes a tour through high fashion shoe fetish country. Whatever happened to the girl from Major League? [The Cut]
Tea Time: The Style Salvage folks take a closer look at E. Tautz. [Style Salvage]
Settling Down: Marc Jacobs ties the knot. How many tattoos does that count for? [HintMag]
Down and Out in Paris and London: Our favorite style guy tours Paris the way only he can. [Men.Style]
The U.S. doesn’t see much menswear from Marc Jacobs, but apparently London’s got more than enough. But there may be a reason for that.
For instance, this double-layer cardigan probably goes over a lot better on Carnaby Street than Canal Street. Something about the British temperament takes to complementary colors better than staid Americans, and the double-layered knit only makes the contrast stronger.
But if you’re feeling anglophilic, you know where to find it.
The ID holder tends to be overshadowed by the wallet, but as long as you’ve got two back pockets, there’s no reason not to carry them both.
Marc Jacobs’ new Rosetta Stone-style card holder has the benefit of well-kept leather and the basic beauty of Chinese script, but it’s also priced at only $8, which makes it the most attainable thing we’ve seen from Mr. Jacobs all year.
Most importantly, though, it presents you with a choice of virtues. You can pick up holders devoted to happiness, love, health, wealth or luck…which, depending on your priorities, might present quite a conundrum. Just remember: it’s better to be lucky than smart.
