A blog dedicated to the interesting, scandalous, useful and cutting edge in the world of men’s style, fashion and grooming.
You'll know what we know.
Tall Story: Kimora Lee Simmons is as much a “corrections officer” as she is a “designer”. [The Newspaper]
Oui, Oui: Reports from Paris fashion week. [DNRNews]
Window Dressing: In Amsterdam, storefront prostitutes are being replaced by mannequins and some are noticing the difference. [London Times]
Dita Von Teese Wonderbra: Is all you need to know. [Vogue UK]
Fleet Afoot: One shoe in seven minutes. [A Suitable Wardrobe]
Almost There: Coming Soon is coming, soon. [Material Interest]
We applauded Daniel Day-Lewis’ Oscar win Sunday night as recognition for both a great actor and a great man of style, but also an excellent cobbler.
Everyone needs a hobby.
Roger, Wilco, Out: StyleDash thinks Jeff Tweedy needs a style intervention due to his SNL appearance in a nudie suit. Similarly, we think Style Dash needs a music intervention due to their apparent ignorance of the Flying Burrito Brothers (video). [StyleDash]
Team Colors: An interview with sideline style leader and coach of the 5-and-11 49ers, Mike Nolan. [HuffPo]
Housing Futures: Figuring that all the collapsing real estate market needs is a fresh blazer, “Fashion Futurist Geoffrey Beane” (say whaa?) is teaming up with Century 21 (not the store) to redesign their iconic gold jacket. [Business Wire]
For Absolute Beginners: Buying into Mod style. [ModCulture via Retro to Go]
Best Men: Engineered Garments brings home the inaugural GQ/CFDA Best New Menswear Designers in America award (oh, and $50,000). [Men.Style]
Leading Lights: Luring men toward a new shaving cream is much like luring mosquitos to a high-voltage death. [NYTimes]
Historical Threads: Classic American style parsed. [A Continuous Lean]
It’s Not Easy Being Green: Kermit the Frog gets his slimy, webbed hands on Terry Richardson—or is that the other way around? [Skidknee]
It’s hard to go wrong with English style, especially if you’re looking for a good pair of brogues.
We suggest Loake, a family-owned British marque that’s been hand-making shoes since 1880, and catching the eye of everyone up to the queen. They’re getting some recognition lately as they get ready to cross over to the States. Their catalog may not be varied, but it’s certainly broad, including our favorites the Norwich (pictured), the Chester 2 and the 290, if you’re in the mood for a beetle boot.
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]
Chuck Rock: The collision of Converse and gabba-gabba-hey. [The Guardian]
Labor Pains: That BR sweater you’re wearing for casual Friday might have blood on it. [One World]
Along Came a Spider: We knew a kid in High School who drove an Alfa Romeo, which was so cool because it was as sexy as a Porsche but cost less than our used Saab SE. We don’t know what to think about this new one. [Luxist]
Deal Alert: Suit up for your next expedition at Freeman’s Sporting Club and then stop in for a cut and shave. Tell Van we sent you. [Racked]
Hairy Beast: Arctic Muskox is the new hotness, dontcha know. [A Suitable Wardrobe]
Outside The Lines: Martin Greenfield shares his craft with Band of Outsiders. [Men.Style]
Screen Shots: DJ/Designer Matt Creed professes his love for Gawker - meaning it’s only mere moments before they sully his good name. [VanityFair.com]
Leather can be a tough sell. After all, there are only so many ways to make a shoe, and you’ve got generations of European cobblers looking over your shoulder. The same goes for belts and most other accessories on the rack. So when we see someone pull it off, we figure they’ve earned a little recognition.
Gordon Rush has been around since 1998, but it’s only recently that his work has caught our eye. For instance, this belt that blends subtle texture and stitching with ostentatiously visible thread for a look that’s both formal and irreverent. Rush is all about multiculturalism, and he throws in a few self-consciously Asian touches in his line—like Kanji on the soles of shoes, which should lead to interesting footprints—but his heart is with craftsmanship.
Which, as it happens, is just what we’re after.
As we enter the rainy season, it’s worth considering the options for a well-shod gentleman on a rainy day.
Galoshes, naturally, are out of the question. While it can be quirky and striking on a young enough woman, the solid rubber boot has always been overkill. The naked shoe, on the other hand, is just asking for it.
That’s why we’re glad we ran across Swims, a lightweight slip-on that will cover those crucial bottom three inches of shoe most vulnerable to soaking. Slip a few into the bottom of your briefcase and you may be able to make it through the season with your shoes fully intact.
Duty Free: Paul Smith takes off at Heathrow, unlike some. [Vogue UK]
Rabbit, Run: Furry chic makes its unsettling debut at Tokyo Fashion Week. [Boing Boing]
“Composition with Yellow, Blue, and Red”: Nike goes all Neo-plasticist on us with the Piet Mondrian Dunk Lows. [NikeSB.org]
Goose Steps: The Cut hashes out this whole Adidas-Puma-Third-Reich thing. [NYMag]
Repeat Performance: Daniel Craig, star of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and some other stuff, wins GQ’s best-dressed award for the second year straight. [Vogue UK]
Signing Out: Portfolio’s fashion blogger Lauren Goldstein Crowe waves a “Peace the Fork Out” to the rest of the linkable world. [Portfolio]
Pig-malion: The classiest classy guy in the world of high class wants to play Henry Higgins to Ashley “The Governator” Dupré’s Eliza Doolittle, though we suspect she’s already had her elocution lessons if you know what we mean. No? Us either. [NY Daily News]
Big Top: David Coleman snuggles up to our favorite dandy fabulist and his long, thick hat. [NYTimes]
Freak Folk: Always on the hunt for a deep, sensitive mate, Natalie Portman is reportedly nuzzling up to Cripple Crow crooner Devandra Banhart. Yeah, we don’t know how we feel about this one either. We mean, he is wearing a woman’s jacket. [Egotastic]
Napoleon Complex: Lil’, wee plutocrat Nic Sarkozy is kicking up a press dust storm in his fierce heels. [Shoeblogs]
What Would Moz Do?: Dress like Morrissey and you’re set for life. [Style Salvage]
Spit and Polish: The geopolitics of the shoeshine. [NYT via On The Fly]
Throwing Sparks: Sharp dockside looks from Philip Sparks. [Philipsparks via Notcouture]
Blinded by the White: N.B. to African-American society partygoers - some photogs may require you use nametags. [Radar]
Environmental Hang Up: Going green starts at your dry cleaner. [Fox23]
Out of Africa: A brief history of the safari jacket. [Mercury News]
New Journalism: The Wall Street Journal is set to launch a new luxury magazine to compete with the Times’ glossy insert, T. Yes, yes - you’re right - they’re calling it WSJ. [Editor and Publisher]
Luxury Hacks: Next time you’re in Moscow, flag down a Maybach. [Autopark]
Home, Jeeves: In other auto news, The Chauffeur magazine has named its “Car of the Year.” The Chauffeur magazine? We should really get our guy a subscription for his birthday. [Autoblog]
Foxy Boxing: Adriana Lima, Doutzen Kroes and, sigh, Karolina Kurkova have been practicing the sweet science at a local gym. We kind of like the fact that they could beat the snot out of us. [Observer]
“Women Love You in Pink Shirts”: We have personal, experiential evidence that this is true. [Just a Guy Thing]
Barney and Friends: The appearences of Michel Gondry, Timo and Panama-hat wearing ping-pong champs at Matthew Barney’s National Arts Club dinner add up to the first party report that actually made us jealous. [VF Daily]
One Step at a Time: Just like everything else there, shoemaking in Iraq is a study in tragedy and persistence. [IHT]
Neighborhood Watch: How could we have missed this one? Not only has our beloved Style Guy returned from the front with a new report on CBGB’s, but he also waxes nostalgic (in his own unsentimental way) about causing a minor riot with his “socialist-realist rock band.” Awesome. [GQ]
Acne Treatment: What? You still haven’t hit Acne? [Paper]
Banging the Gavel: With the recent sale of Carla Bruni nudes and the new offering of this Michael Comte Gisele shot, it’s clear that British auction houses are becoming the place for top-drawer spank fodder. [Vogue UK]
Penny Pusher: Every time blue-eyed, honey-blond men’s fashion blogger Amanda Brooks writes a tribute to a male dress staple, we fall a little harder. [Men’s Vogue]
More Cushion for the Pushin’: If you’re using padded underwear to get laid, there’s really nothing we, or anyone else, can do for you. [NYMag]
Supercops: English bobbies may soon have cool designer capes. Maybe it would be cooler if the government gave them firearms, but what can you do? [BBC]
Big Bubba: Bill Clinton uses big fat, dies to distract the eye from his big, fat mouth. [HuffPo]
Stupid is as Stupid Does: England’s premier scientific journal, The Sun reveals that the more educated a woman is, the harder it is to satisfy her sexually. Well, duh. [The Sun]
Preppy is as Preppy Does:Brooks Brothers debuts their Black Fleece collection. [Luxist]
Hump Day: You totally owe us for these Alessandra Ambrosio shots. [Hollywood Tuna]
NY-LON Suits: Paul Smith’s London bespoke team takes a field trip to Soho (sorry, our Soho). [WWD]
Sidelined:And thus ends an epic season for the NHL’s Dennis Rodman. [NYTimes]
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: The Lookbook captures a sculptural dresser. [NYMag]
Miley Who?: You might have noticed that we’re not covering a certain controversial photoshoot by a certain 15-year-old teen-pop star in a certain general-interest magazine. Really, we’ve got better things to do with our time. [Maxim]
Saddle Up: If you’re excited about Country-and-Western singer Tim McGraw’s new fragrance, you might be a redneck. [She Knows Best]
Surf and Turf: Put on your bib - these Nikes are best with melted butter. [Trash Bag Aesthetics]
Long, Strange Trip: Our beloved Keef gets the weepy video treatment. [FashionIndie]
Watching the Detectives: In the In the Criminal Justice System the people are represented by two separate, yet equally important groups. The police who investigate crime and the tailors who dress them. These are their stories. [New York Times]
The Wright Stuff: This Grandpa Simpson mash-up is about as close as we want to get to national politics these days. [VanityFair.com]
Abboud Face: Meet Joseph Abboud’s newest label, Black/Brown 1826. [DNR]
Sensible Shoes: Armand Limnander’s picks for socially acceptable sneakers. [The Moment]
The Gospel According to Paul: Loden Dager designer shares his theories on manhood. [Dejour]
Heresy!: Tim Gunn tears apart the new Polgymaist chic—not like he wasn’t going to hell anyways. [AOL]
Pabst Can Coffin: And now we can die. [HuffPo]
Wrinkle-Free Suits That Look Good: For real? For really real? [We Are The Market]
England’s Finest: We don’t know many of the names on Esquire UK’s best-dressed list. We do know, however, that David Beckham is not amoung them. [IndependentUK]
Tennis Anyone?: Crocodiles kill more people in Africa than any other animal. These Lacoste’s are killers too. [Hypebeast]
Greener Pastures: Like it or not, John Deere is the new hotness. [DNRNews]
Ink Blots: Your new touch-senitive tattoo will receive even more female attentions than that Tasmanian Devil piece on your bicep. [PSFK]
Pure Oscar Gold: There’s something about Fridays and Charilze Theron that just works. [Egotastic]
Bush Warrior: A Scottish pilot get’s top-brass approval for his handlebar mustache. Good to see there’s some progress in Afghanistan. [BBC]
Kick Up Some Dirt: Seeking a leather alternative to sneakers in these hot times? These boots are perfect for navigating the sand storms of Manhattan. [The Moment]
We Can’t Fix You: Aww, poor self-deifying mope rocker Chris Martin didn’t like the questions Radio 4 asked him. Bono never had to put up with this. [BBC]
Sweet Leaf: Hicky Freeman reopens, stoner iconography intact. [NYMag]
Fighting Over the Flow: Some sucka is suing the Jigga claiming he thieved his style. This may be the worst idea ever. [New Kerala]
Van Beirendonck’s Skeleton Suits At Pitti Uomo: Since it’s the weekend, we’ve got a joke for you. A skeleton walks into a bar and says to the bartender, “Give me a beer and a mop.” That has nothing to do with these wack suits. [Men.Style]
What Again?: Yeah we know, that’s two Kristen Bell links in two days. But in these shots she’s slugging booze for her new film. Is it wrong to think that’s hot? [Hollywood Tuna]
Purple Moccasins, Yay or Nay?: Our vote—Um…uh…can you get back to us on this? [Brandish]
Vivienne Westwood Couldn’t Sit Through Sex and the City: Finally, we have something in common. [NYMag]
Top of Their Class: Take a gander at the best graduate designs from the London College of Fashion [Selectism]
With designers grasping for ideas and movie tie-ins multiplying at an alarming rate, it was only a matter of time before something like this happened.
Still, we were hoping it would take longer.
After years of agitation from Neatorama, Nike is finally rolling out an “Air McFly” model of the kind predicted in Back to the Future Part II. To the cinematically uneducated, the sneaker looks like your usual 80s throwback—making it perfectly in tune with today’s style—but those in on the joke will recognize history in the making.
To play along, Nike has refrained from mentioning the shoe’s inspiration in any of the press materials. Perhaps they have a little shame left after all.
Picture Perfect: The only thing hipper and wackier than Adam Kimmel’s clothes are Ryan McGinley’s lookbook shots. [Selectism]
Newly Available: These starlets are all suddenly single. Have at it boyos. [Radar]
H&M is Pushing Menswear: Yes, but where to? [Fashion United]
Pull The Blinds: There’s something deeply creepy about Hussein Chalayan’s new T-shirt. [Men.Style]
Lanvain + Acne: Equals one very cool, very classy hightop. [Scotch and Plaid]
How to Get The Tom Brady Look: Giselle Bundchen not included. [Valet]
Squash is The New Golf: Yes! We can finally make good use of our super tight shorts! [Vanityfair.com]
Chic Rock: When we boot up Guitar Hero at home, we can only wish things like this happened. [Crave Online]
All Access Pass: Here’s your VIP badge for to the backstage loveliness at Victoria’s Secret. [Horny Oyster]
Holy C+ Batman!: A complete ranking of Batman’s best and worst gadgets—and you thought Bond liked his toys. [Wired]
Marching Orders: Nike teams up with the Army to create the fastest soldiers on earth. [PSFK]
The Shoe Hound’s Dog House: A brief profile of Leffot. [The Moment]
Let The Games Begin: Every one of these Olympic hotties deserves a medal. [Gawker]
Hot LOVA: A little bit “Mad Men,” a little bit Revenge of the Nerds—all good. [The Pipeline]
Check That: Real Mad Men wear plaid. [A Continuous Lean]
Olympic Sized Beauties: Rating a few Olympians not for their athletic prowess, but for their attraction. Any volunteers for sharing the news with the lowest rated? [Ask Men]
Summer Shoe-ing: With heat waves like this comes changes in your attire. Here’s a guide and appropriate, even appreciated, footwear. [A Suitable Wardrobe]
Artsy Fartsy: A new fashion draws its influence from different artistic movements. It’s almost as if fashion was an art itself. [Refinery 29]
Stimulus Checks Do Not Stimulate!: In stunning news, stimulus checks had little to no affect on the sluggish economy. Apparently, most consumers spent their tax rebates on food and “fuel.”[DNR]
“Brideshead” Loyalists Revolt!: It seems that remaking an “epic television event” inspires nothing but angst and rage. Perhaps, by now, Brideshead has been visited one too many times. [NY Times]
