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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.
Portland, Oregon isn’t anyone’s first stop on the fashion tour, but the city’s style quotient got a much needed injection with the June 07 opening of Stand Up Comedy. A mix of women’s/men’s, Stand Up Comedy offers a remarkably hip lineup by any standard: Henrik Vibskov, Slow and Steady Wins the Race, Acne Jeans, and Pleasure Principle anchor the men’s side…
If ever you find yourself in Maine, on a whale-watching expedition or, perhaps more likely, a hunt for the country’s best lobster roll, you can now dress the part.
Rogues Gallery, a small label known for its vintage inspired t-shirts and ultra soft flannel button-ups, has just opened its first shop at 41 Wharf Street in Portland. Located in a 19th Century industrial building, the store’s wrought-iron entryway, concrete slab walls and pine plank floors reflect the antiquated aesthetic the brand is known for. The store will carry the entire men’s line, and we hear that a women’s line is also in the works.
Because there’s nothing sexier than a woman in flannel.
With WASP-fever running rampant through the industry (and Cape Cod approaching vacation temperatures), we thought we’d take a look at a staple of New England living: the canvas satchel.
Instead of the discontinued L. L. Bean version, we’re turning our attention to a version we saw on our recent jaunt through In God We Trust. The bag is canvas trimmed with leather, sewed together in Portland, Oregon (by native hipster artisans, we’re sure). It ends up as an inspired replica of the original, with a different logo to remind you where you got it.
Apparently the recently-departed Nau isn’t quite so departed anymore. The Portland-based ecowear marque has gotten a much-needed and much-deserved second chance from Santa Barbara’s own Horny Toad. The Toad favors more casual (and somewhat unremarkable) button-ups, making it a somewhat unlikely brand marriage, but we’re too grateful to hold a grudge.
Now that Nau has been shuttered and unshuttered, it looks like the streets of Portland are once again safe for eco-friendly startups.
END seems to think so at least. The newly minted footwear company has been attracting all sorts of press with its green approach to the sneaker business. Most notably, the company is helmed by a former Nike exec, who may have felt inclined to atone for his employers’ less than savory labor practices. The shoes themselves are mostly earth-toned versions of what you can already find at Foot Locker, but the raw materials are decidedly different, based in recycled rubber and laces made from recycled milk jugs.
The shoes are slated to go on sale August 1 at REI stores, so we’ll have to wait ‘til then to see how they turn out.
A well-worn leather briefcase is practically a badge of honor among the business class, but it makes it hard to sate our appetite for new thing. That is, unless you’re handy with an awl.
Portland’s Entermodal Leather has an interesting take on the problem. When you get one of their hand-stitched bags (currently at Odin, you get a handy leatherworker along with the bargain. He’ll restitch the seams, reinforce the frame, or whatever you require. More interestingly, if you decide on a change of style—maybe even a few wallets instead of an overnighter—they’ll take the same wonderfully worn leather and remake it into something entirely new.
Well, maybe not entirely.
Finger on the Button: All the Obama buttons you ever wanted to see in one place. This is what thrift stores will look like 50 years from now. [BoingBoing]
Ford v. Walnuts: Tom Ford and Paulie Walnuts: Separated at birth. [Men.Style]
Garters on the Rise: Argyle makes a strong showing in this rundown of winter socks. [A Suitable Wardrobe]
Take Five: Winn Perry’s five tips for looking good. (None of them involve tanning.) [Portland Mercury]
We were scanning over ACL’s American List when we ran across this Portland-made notebook. We’ve gushed about notebooks before, but this one has the added advantage of fitting in your back pocket…particularly useful for capturing those occasional flashes of brilliance.
And everything looks better on graph paper.
The two Portlands have gotten a lot of attention in the past year or so, so it was inevitable that a rivalry would pop up. And when a food site like Epicurious slips an item titled “Portland (Maine) is the New Portland (Oregon)” into its yearly trend roundup…it’s officially on.
Count this as another volley in the Battle of the Portlands: Portland, OR has been declared the most bearded in America by the presumptuously named Portland Monthly Magazine. As for whether they gain or lose points for it…you’ll have to decide for yourself.
The most shocking part is the range of beards the small city manages to accommodate. There’s the Anthrax-inspired chin bar, the bushy mountain man, and even a waxed moustache. Naturally, Maine has a few whiskers of its own, but we doubt they have this kind of range.
Oregon’s really on a roll lately. Winn Perry—previously known as the northwestern source for Sovereign Beck ties—just reminded us that they’re also the northwestern source for Alden shoes, one of the best cobblers still producing shoes in America.
Naturally, the best work comes from the custom shop, but anyone passing through Oregon should stop by if they want to see what modern American leatherworking looks like. Of course, if you’re closer to New York, we know a place there too.
The tie is a pretty monolithic item as menswear choices go, so it’s nice to have a few more oddball choices on-hand, in case you feel an unconventional streak coming on.
Drake’s is generally a pretty staid British brand, but summer comes to London too, so they’ve got a few repp stripes handy just in case. And, if you find yourself near Portland, you won’t even have to cross an ocean to get one.
Portland, ME just got the first real appraisal we’ve seen, courtesy of the ex-Gawker mapblog Gridskipper. Naturally, Rogues Gallery’s standalone shop comes out as a major point of interest, but we were surprised how much else there is in New England’s finest hipster enclave.
Letter-writing seems to be going the way of the videotape, but there’s still a certain gentlemanly charm to a handwritten note on a piece of fine card stock. Especially once you get the Etsy crowd involved…
This card comes from Old School Stationers, an Oregon brand that’s made their name on screenprinted stock and anachronistic designs. Now all you need is a few well-composed bon mots and a stamp.
Hopefully you still have a few lying around…
The art of packaging is making a serious comeback, thanks to Apple and a few other retail aesthetes. But what’s surprising is how much of it comes from homegrown shops in Etsy.
This comes from the Portland General Store, an Etsy outlet that caught our eye with their whiskey-scented shaving products, but the sampler pack is an accomplishment all its own. Instead of cardboard, they bundle their goods in a Dominican Hemingway cigar box, with a Mary Jane, candy cigarettes and (of course) a cigar tossed in for good measure, with a glossy pic of an anonymous older gentleman presiding over it all. It’s even more impressive since they’re putting it all together in a house in rural Maine—although they probably never want for cigars.
Your latest fabricated facial hair update: a shop in Portland, aptly named I Made You a Beard, is currently selling this felted model to anyone unable—for reasons of genetics, gender or employment—to grow one on their own.
Of course, it doesn’t have the warming properties of Beardhead, but we’d say it makes up for it in verisimilitude.
