A Beautiful Day in The Neighborhood: Please join us on March 20th by wearing a sweater in honor of Mr. Rogers, won’t you? [AP]

Teenage Wasteland: Okay! Enough with the Cory Kennedy already. [Everyone, Everywhere]

Man of Letters: Original preppie king, Goldwater Conservative and trad icon William F. Buckley grabs a wing chair in that great club room in the sky. [Observer]

Theme Song: Remember Rock&Roll? Their new tribute to Milan Fashion week is called, “Coke Freaks and Fashion Whores.” Sounds right to us. [WWD]

“You’ll Never Go Wrong Dressing Plain and Dull”: This only works when running for national office. Otherwise, feel free to dress like a Somali elder. [Chicago Tribune]

The Keith Richards Workout: “For me, doing a Rolling Stones show for two hours a night, that’s enough f*in’ exercise, you know? Then I’ve got to go to bed with the old lady, bonka bonka. You know?” We know, Keef. We know. [Digital Spy]

Simple Statutes: Oh, sorry, did we forget to post Esquire’s New Laws of Casual Style? Here, let’s fix that. [Esquire]

Negative Reaction: Kenneth Cole falls $3.1 million into debt. Where be your cheeky billboards now? [DNRNews]

Cardigan Cabal: The international press is conspiring to make the Cardigan today’s, “dead sexy chick magnet.” Almost Orwellian, ain’t it?

Restoration Hardware: John Varvatos’ conversion of CBGB’s is taking for-frigging-ever. [Racked]

Lil’ Bit More: Crunk poet and Renaissance man Lil’ John not only has his own celeb clothing line on the way, but is currently vintnering up a storm at Little Jonathan Winery. All class that one. [Pro Hip Hop]

Collateral Damage: The new Bond film is an absolute blood fest, destroying one innocent Tom Ford suit after another. [VogueUK]

Co-Ed Naked Design: Matthew McConcaughey and his old lady create new clothes to shed while walking on sunny pacific beaches. [Gawker]

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]

Gisele Wears Naught But CGI Water: Damn you, Photoshop! [Popcrunch]

Sonia Rykiel Closes Men’s Line: And we’re not going to stop her. [VogueUK]

Blue-Blood Style: 2108 Vintage releases sweaters for those Ivy League shits who’ve been making your life miserable (not that we’re bitter for being waitlisted). [AnimalNY]

Blue-Collar Style: Way on the other side of the economic spectrum, our boy at ACL revels in 1940’s workwear. [A Continuous Lean]

“Why Are Straight Men Seeing Sex and the City”: They are? Really? Are you sure? [Gawker]

Cannonball!: Finally, some good advice on swim trunks. [Hint]

Deal Alert: Get down to Opening Ceremony and Acne you dirty, dirty hipster. [Racked]

Bill Cosby is a pretty unlikely style icon, but we’re willing to bite. He’s put three of his iconic sweaters up for auction on eBay, and so far no one’s taken the bait.

We have to admit, we’re a little surprised. These jazzy numbers pack more 80s baggage than all the Members Only jackets and guyliner in SoHo. And it’s to benefit the Cos’s education charity, so high-rollers shouldn’t balk at the four-figure price tag. Maybe M.I.A. wants one?

More on the Cos»

It’s easy to overdo the knit look but, as this Nordic fellow demonstrates, overdoing it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. As things get colder, looking comfortable can be as important as looking sharp, and this piece of needlework looks very very comfortable.

It comes from Scandanavian designer Carin Wester, who’s currently only selling at Tres Bien Shop, a surprisingly consistent online boutique, but if they keep building up press like this, you may see them in person before too long.

Fast Times: In the wake of Yom Kippur, Complex counts down their 9 favorite Israelis, including Moran Gros (at left). Oddly enough, Ben-Gurion doesn’t make the list. [Complex]

Ever Since I Can Remember I’ve Been Poppin’ Them Bottles: Champagne sales plummet in the face of economic uncertainty. Where are the rappers when we need them? [Luxist]

Small Arms Fire: Mailing severed chocolate limbs may not be the best PR move. Although, given their client base, we’re not sure AXE could do much worse. [Gawker]

Button Up: Take heed, bankers! What the world needs now are shawl-collar cardigans. Plan your weekend accordingly. [Selectism]

The Block: A guide to getting Don Draper’s hair. Be warned: you’ll need a partner’s salary to afford that much pomade. [The Moment]

The Shawl: The debate over shawl collared sweaters rages on. [Magnificent Bastard]

My Dinner with Hodg: The inestimable John Hodgman deigns to participate in a livechat. [WashingtonPost]

The Spoils of the Orient: Apparently Japan is a treasure trove of specialty labels. We must not let America fall behind! [A Continuous Lean]

Trim sweaters have been in style for a bit too long, so it’s no surprise that the floppy backlash is beginning.

It’s starting in Italy (as evidenced by this genuinely puzzling Dolce & Gabbana knit) but, according to the latest International Herald Tribune, we can count on it reaching the states in one version or another by this time next year. Hopefully by then it will have shed some of that golden fleece…but even that won’t be enough to change our minds.

Why we’re so pessimistic»

The cardigan resurgence is in full swing, but our favorite finishing touch has yet to take hold. We’re talking, of course, about the patched elbow.

It’s hit and miss on blazers, but on a sweater it gives a sense of permanence that can be hard to come by. This version comes new from Brit firm D.S. Dundee, but we bet it’ll look even better after it starts to show wear.

We stopped by the semi-annual floor show that is the (capsule) show yesterday, and while we aren’t quite ready to spill the goods on everything we saw, we thought we’d start off with a roundup of some of the best-dressed gentlemen on hand.

Naturally, there was a lot to choose from, but one of our favorites was this gentleman repping Yuketen boots. The bowtie is crisp, the round glasses are on-trend and the boots are impeccable, as expected, but the real genius here is the perfectly tanned leather apron. It’s a legit workwear item, even if it’s a little too extreme for mainstream consumption. (We predict an apron trendlet in fall of ’09, based entirely on this picture.)

See a couple more well-dressed gentlemen»

Loose-knit fabrics were one of the biggest trends to emerge from this season’s capsule show, and while we got a tiny taste of it with Raf Simon x Fred Perry’s S/S 09 collection, we’re now ready to upgrade it to a full blown happening.

This version is from Raf Perry’s Fall/Winter line, but we’d say approach it with caution. If you’re an undershirt type, you’re going to have a lot of glaring white peeking through…and even if you aren’t, you might have to worry about a few chest hairs making a break for it. It’s a good look if you can pull it off, but it’s not for everyone.

A more accessible option…»

Now that loose knits are taking off, it may be time to take another look at Scotland. They’ve been working on the loose sweater for a few centuries now, and mixed in with a Highland tweeds, it may the best equipment you can find for next winter.

Coventry is our favorite Scot so far. Coming from menswear vet Matthew Terry, the label combines traditional Shetland wools with a paint-it-black design aesthetic not that far from downtown staples like Comme Des Garcons.

They’re unveiling their F/W 09 line in a scant few weeks, but this sketch comes straight from Mr. Terry’s pad, which suggests there are a few plaid overcoats in our future.

See a few looks from previous lines»

Retro style can be a powerful force, but you’re still only getting things second hand. The genuine article can be a bit harder to come by.

Luckily, Cleveland’s Ohio Knitting Mills (via Uncrate) has a stash of 22 models dating all the way back to 1947, and they’re just now putting it on sale.

Finds include this red mohair sweater, a pitch-perfect acrylic polo from the 50s, and cardigans from the same factory that outfitted Mr. Rogers. It’s mostly what you’d expect from digging through a local vintage shop…only you’d be pretty lucky to find all this in one pile.

See what they’ve got in store»

The Loose Knit Sweaters of the People: DVMan turns in a vaguely socialist ode to the nautical life. [Hypebeast]

In Essence: The perpetually sartorial Mark Ronson weighs in with his Ten Essentials. Tie bars are conspicuously absent. [Men.Style]

Close to the Chest: The paisley waistcoat is much, much cooler than you thought. [A Suitable Wardrobe]

In the Past: Woodstock’s 40th birthday prompts hazy recollections, indecision, and drug use. Shine on… [NYTimes]

We snuck in for an exclusive peek at Rogues Gallery’s Spring/Summer 2010 collection, and the words “more of the same” have never sounded so sweet. The biggest surprise is the madras suit, which looks like it would be more at home at the fairgrounds than a fishing boat, but the rest of the gear shows off the same faded, loose-knit, maritime, worn-in vibe that’s made Rogues a favorite. Some pics after the jump of their new Fair Isle sweaters, t shirt goodness and a showstopping cotton navy sweater.

Take a look at the gear»

The Scottish sweater-maker Inverallan has been getting a fair amount of blog love in the past few months, but the gear itself is still pretty hard to come by without crossing an ocean—either to the UK or Japan. Fortunately, all good things make it stateside eventually…

J. Crew’s Frank Muytjens let slip in a recent interview that Inverallan’s Aran fisherman sweater is next up for a J. Crew collab this fall, which means cable-knit cardigans are about to make a serious play at trendhood. And by the time cold weather comes around again, we’ll probably be beating down the doors for thick wool like this. Just don’t call it a grandpa sweater.

We just got a peek at the latest Fall/Winter gear from southern gentleman Billy Reid, and it looks like he’s been spending a little time on the water.

He hasn’t lost his affinity for seersucker suits and elegantly cut slacks, but now there are a few more nautical pieces mixed in, including a Roguish anchor sweater and an eye-catching bright yellow slicker, which might be our favorite of his outerwear pieces. It’s more Newport than Tupelo, but we’re certainly not complaining.

See the rest of the line here»

It’s been a while, but we’re ready to call trend on a new item: the flecked sweater.

The look’s been building steam for a while, most notably in the marled sweater resurgence that popped up last fall, but between this autumn-hued jumper in APC’s latest shipment, and this Utility Coop crew neck, along with earlier entries from Our Legacy and Paul Smith, pushes it over the threshold into trendhood. Four’s a trend, right?

Naturally, we’re in favor. Sweaters can always use a bit of texture, and giving a contrast color just means more to look at. The APC jumper is the most extreme of the lot but we’d more conservative versions to keep their sheen long after they’ve stopped being hip. And in the meantime, a static-dappled crew neck should be the right kind of eye-catching.

It’s a classic, but the Christmas sweater has its share of issues. Bright colors and big patterns? Sure. Baggy, shapeless wool? Not so much. We’d say an update is in order.

This Folk sweater just arrived (already on sale) at Bblessing, and while the window for wearing it is probably limited to the next three weeks, we can’t help but gawk a little. A standard downtown version of the classic item would have been interesting enough, but the real prize here is the Carmen-Miranda-meets-Space-Invaders pattern running across the arms in place of the usual fair isle variant. We bet it goes great with egg nog.

More fuel for the flecked sweater trend: They keep popping up at the world’s cooler boutiques.

Opening Ceremony, for example, just dropped the price on this speckled knit from the Tokyo-based Sabatino. At sale prices, it’s a good deal cheaper than the APC equivalent, and if you’re moved to jump on this particular bandwagon, it’s a pretty good place to start.

Harsh weather calls for gear from a harsh climate. This one comes from Denmark by way of Manchester, thanks to our friends at Norse Projects, and it can’t get here fast enough.

The Breton-striped crewneck is having quite a moment, but this is our favorite of the crop thanks to a medium gauge-knit (which means it’s not too thick to layer under your ultra-chunky duffel coat) and certain Scandanavian intangibles. When the chips are down, we’ll take it over the French equivalent any day.

We’re always been on the side of clothes with character—which is another way of saying “very old clothes.” That means resoling shoes, repairing worn jeans and, if you’re particularly committed, doing something about those holes in your sweater.

If your tailor isn’t much for darning, here’s an unorthodox alternative. Toss in one of these puffs of wool from Woolfiller (hat tip) and, after a few pokes with an unthreaded needle, you’ll have a brand new patch. Sure, it looks a little bit like your sweater has a growth, but with the right touch and the right contrast colors, you may be on the cusp of the perfect shabby sweater. Assuming the moths cooperate.

It’s not exactly cardigan weather—in fact, we haven’t worn socks or wool in well over a week—but in preparation for the colder part of the year, we thought we’d call your attention to this sleeveless one-buttoner from Avon Celli.

It costs too much and the odds are you’ll never see anyone actually wearing it, but we’re hoping to see a lot more like it by the time fall rolls around. It’s the kind of thin Italian wool that filled up Hollywood costume departments circa 1955, but this one’s a little more adventurous. The missing sleeves are a start, but the sternum-level button almost pushes it into avant garde territory.

Pair it with a tie and a white button-up (or possibly waistcoat-style under a suit) once September comes around and the trads will never know what hit them.