Eau de Bro: Dude, Matthew McConaughey will be totally banging his bongos for D&G’s new scent. [FashionWeekDaily]

Brogue State: Ex-English PM Tony Blair believes, “Cheap shoes are a false economy.” I guess that means we’re “New Labour” too. [Manolo For Men]

Stain Fighter: Michael Bastian’s essentials, from aviators to Spray and Wash. [Men.Style]

Topshop, Topshop, Topshop: Because one isn’t enough. [Racked]

Brit Top: Christopher Baily for Burberry wins the British Fashion Award for menswear over Alexander McQueen and Cassette Playa. [VogueUK]

High / Low Tops: Herringbone and wingtip Chucks? See. Believe. [Uncrate]

Photographed by our fearless lensman, Patrick McMullan.

At the house of Bill Blass, where he was recently installed as creative director, young designer Peter Som is overseeing the women’s line (Michael Bastian has control of menswear). But Som, who worked for the late Mr. Blass himself after graduating from the Parsons School of Design and who debuted his own collection in 2001, is no sartorial slouch.

At a Le Cirque dinner the other night celebrating his new position, Som was in far nattier form than the laid-back Bastian usually musters»

There’s nothing like a little competition to stir the blood.

The nominations for the CFDA Awards were announced today, with Kempt favorites Thom Browne and Tom Ford picking up menswear nods, along with Michael Bastian. Due respect to Mr. Bastian, but we’re more excited about seeing the two T(h)oms face off. We like to think of it as bare chest vs. bare ankle. Mr. Browne took the prize last year, but we wouldn’t put it past him to bring it home again.

Having said that, our heart is with Mr. Ford.

Close Shave: Tom Ford releases men’s toiletries line (soap, shower gel, aftershave) to complement his signature cologne. Scratch the screen for a preview. Not working? Keep trying—it’ll happen. [DNRNews]

Season Opener: Suit up for the vernal equinox. [Refinery29]

Big Stink: Related - How to look like Colin Farrell smells. [Style Dash]

Mea Culpa; Apparently, a red club tie with contrasting white stripes is the universal signifier for, “Sorry, I was thinking with my jock.” [NY Times]

The Chicer Picker Upper: Ever eloquent with her actions, if not her words, Paris Hilton gracefully ends the celebrity-fashion-line era with her new collection of paper towels. [LA Times]

Plain White Ts: Gap will continue it’s indie designer collaborations program with Band of Outsiders, Michael Bastian, Philip Crangi and 3.1 Phillip Lim. Somehow, Threeasfour snuck in while no one was looking. [Racked]

Photographed by our fearless lensman, Patrick McMullan.

Here making his second MOTH appearance, the multi-talented André Benjamin (aka André 3000) stole the show at the Met Costume Institute’s gala Monday night.

What won us over was his beautifully-cut cream shawl-collared dinner jacket with a subtle tone-on-tone glen plaid pattern, which could be from his Benjamin Bixby line, though it looks a little on the formal side—perhaps Ralph Lauren or Brioni is a better call—worn with Hollywood-waisted dress trousers, velvet evening slippers and a perfectly-proportioned pointed-end black velvet bowtie. His signature flourishes were apparent in the straw fedora, pearl shirt studs and a somewhat faded-looking but nonetheless brassy boutonniere»

Photographed by our fearless lensman, Patrick McMullan.

Seems we were way out ahead of the curve when we praised Julian Schnabel pajama clad magnificence back in January and handed him an unexpected MOTH. Some of you scoffed at the time, but several months later Schnabel’s signature style is all the rage in menswear circles, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The paper reports that designers including Michael Bastian, Bottega Veneta, Dolce & Gabbana, Giorgio Armani and Prada are now all flogging various versions of haute sleepwear made to worn in public. (Schnabel’s own, by the way, are made by his wife. So what does this all mean for the man on the street? Will we soon be able to go straight from bed to the office?

Well, no»

On the Shelf: Refinery29 raids their DVD shelf for some of the strangest sex scenes on celluloid. [Refinery29]

The Man in the Fog: Michael Bastian gets a glowing profile in today’s style section. Judging from the photos, his apartment’s also quite tasteful. [NYTimes]

Getting a Buzz On: Buzz Aldrin reveals himself to be quite the man of style, which goes some way towards explaining this. [Material Interest]

History in the Making: On the off-chance this is the only blog you read, there’s something called the Palm Pre… [Gizmodo]

We’re in favor of elbow patches in just about all their forms, so we were glad to see this zip pullover come down the transom from Michael Bastian. We’re crossing our fingers for a trend here, but only time (and Parisian runway shows) will tell. And like anything, it’s always possible to take things a little too far.