September 23, 2011 world of men's style / fashion / grooming RSS
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09/23/11
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Labeled

The Fall Jacket

The perfect fall blazer is a beautiful thing. Pick up the right one, and it’ll be the most versatile item in your closet through to December—equally at home with denim and wool, wingtips and sneakers. As for finding the right one, we’d opt for an outfit that’s either very old or very good at faking it…

For instance, Southwick—a New England shop that’s been stitching together made-to-measure jackets since the 20s.

And since Jack Spade just drafted them for a mini-collection devoted entirely to blusterproof suiting, you won’t have to bother with the measuring tape. The full collection includes camelhair topcoats and hopsack blazers, but the prize is this wool herringbone jacket—a prime example of one of the best fall pieces out there.

Now all you need is a scarf and a pile of leaves to walk through.

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09/22/11
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LinkOut

Karlie Kloss is Taking a Minimalist Bubble Bath

Karlie Klossvia Fashion Copious

Double Time: GQ’s guide to the etiquette of dating two women at once—also known as The World’s Most Dangerous Game. [GQ]

A Bat is Involved: Answering the age-old question, “What the Fuck is Cricket?” [The Morning News]

The Legacy Pick: Our Legacy’s latest lookbook is every bit as handsome as you’d think. [Selectism]

Our Inbox Runneth Over: Survival strategies for the flood of email which threatens to consume us all. [Betabeat]

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09/22/11
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Storefront

The Alfred Sargent Trunk Show

We stopped by the Alfred Sargent trunk show at Leffot this afternoon and, as you might expect, we saw some pretty spectacular shoes. But rather than go on about welting, lasts and skin stitching, we’ll just let you see it for yourself. Behold, some of the best British cobbling has to offer.

A visual guide to the Alfred Sargent trunk show»
 

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09/22/11
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Sound & Vision

Tales of the Drifter

It looks like we’re about to get one last Hank Williams album. The story starts with the Hillbilly Shakespeare’s legendary songwriting notebooks, which somehow found their way to Bob Dylan. Apparently Dylan’s spent the past few years rounding up fans like Jack White and Merle Haggard to set the lyrics to music, Mermaid Avenue-style. The resulting album arrives October 4th with the first new Williams songs in 50 years. If you’re not clear on why that’s a big deal, we’d direct you here. It’s everything that’s great about Americana: tragic, brilliant and scary as hell. Enjoy.

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09/22/11
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Shelf Life

Gentlemanly Stain Removal Circa 1905

Edwardian Gentleman

The gentlemen of Edwardian England really knew how to act.

So in a fit of nostalgia, we recently picked up A Bachelor’s Cupboard (published in 1905) for a few tips on gentlemanly etiquette in the days of yore. It’s pretty fantastic. Of course, we can’t show you the whole thing here, but we thought we’d pass along the laundry chapter, which covers vital, everyday topics like how to remove blood from your waistcoat after being wounded in a duel.

If it hasn’t happened yet, it’s only a matter of time.

A few timeless tips on garment-cleansing, below…»
 

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09/21/11
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LinkOut

Katrin Thormann is a Shadowy Figure

via Fashion Gone Rogue

Top 10: Domenica Vacca’s ten essentials include four-leaf cigars and To Catch a Thief. The man knows how to live. [GQ]

The Clothes, The Man: Are 50s-era satin souvenir jackets the next big thing? Drive’s costume designer makes the case. [Grantland]

Almost Blue: Driven shows off the beauty of Dunhill’s midnight blue tux. A thing of beauty. [Driven]

Roll On: Here’s your chance to own a roll of toilet paper rejected by the Beatles. We live in a strange time. [The Daily Mail]

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09/21/11
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The Past

Dusting Off: White Socks

As connoisseurs of history, we sometimes find styles, habits and turns of phrase from the past that we wouldn’t mind bringing back to the present, Doc Brown-style. This time around, we’re dusting off white socks.

The usual line on socks is pretty simple: gray, blue, brown or black. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can get into crazy patterns and fluorescent hues, but that’s pretty much the limit of blog-approved style.

It wasn’t always this way. In the Kennedy era, the tube sock was one of the great American staples alongside crewneck sweatshirts and pressed khakis—but somewhere along the line, the snow-white tube sock became a sartorial faux pas. By our lights, it’s due for a revival.

Rehabilitating the tube sock…»
 

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09/21/11
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Object

Today’s Beautiful Jeans

These jeans come from the dye-minded Brits at Tender Co., by way of Amsterdam’s Tenue de Nimes—and they’re the best pair we’ve seen all year. Instead of the traditional indigo, they opted for a reddish hue they’re calling “flowerpot,” which should match the season even better. That fabric is 15-ounce duck canvas, the same kind used for tarps and sea bags. Look close and you’ll see tiny streaks from the vat-dyeing process—making each pair one-of-a-kind. And since they don’t want them to get too popular, they’re limiting it to a run of 12.

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09/21/11
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Labeled

Steven Alan Bundles Up

Steven Alan unveiled his fall/winter crop this morning, full of high-buttoning blazers, shackets and chunky sweaters. You can see the goods here, but there’s plenty to learn just from eyeing the lookbook.

This snap in particular nails down the quadruple layer just about perfectly. (We assume there’s a tee under there.) The big shift is that Alan’s feeling for the shawl-collared v-neck sweater along with the crew necks this year, thanks to some chunky new knits from Relwen. Otherwise, this is as close to timeless as it gets.

If you needed a playbook for tweedy fall style, you just got one.

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09/21/11
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Big Picture

The Cars of Yore

This snap comes from the Goodwood Revival—a festival of 50s-era motoring that took over Sussex last week with Tweed-Run-style vintage getups, some WWII-era planes and a staggering number of handsome automobiles. You can check out more pics here.

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09/20/11
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LinkOut

Sofia Loren is Scowling at the Beach

Sofia Lorenvia WBE

Rounding Up: A thorough roundup of the season’s wool pants. Our money’s on the Rugger herringbone…as soon as it’s on sale. [Valet]

Get Quilted: Nic from the Bengal Stripe runs down his favorite trends, including old-man ties and quilted jackets. A fine crop. [Details]

Baseball Gloves and Red Wings: A tour of NothernGRADE, Minneapolis’ own pop up flea. Taylor Stitch makes a pretty great showing. [The Midwest Style]

The Faces of Beer: In case you were wondering, Germans get pretty sloppy at Oktoberfest. Here are the photos to prove it. [The Atlantic]

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09/20/11
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Current Affairs

Online Poker Goes Underground

Word came down today that Full Tilt Poker, one of the largest poker sites on the internet, has been playing fast and loose with its bookkeeping. There’s $440 million missing, and more than a few people are likely headed to jail.

If you were waiting on a payout from them, it’s very bad news. If you were hoping to play an honest online game of hold’em at some point in the next decade, it’s just moderately bad news. But if you’ve ever had a nostalgic pang for the days of genuinely sketchy black-market games…it might actually be a good thing.

Allow us to explain…»
 

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09/20/11
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Across the Sea

The Five Pillars of the Hong Kong Scene

To most gents, Hong Kong is still the land of cheap suits and great dumplings—but in the past few years they’ve kicked off a full-scale tailoring renaissance, with a blend of colonial style and globalist panache that you won’t find anywhere else in the world. It’s on its way to having the best suits in Asia—and we’ve got five reasons why.

Hong Kong, in five easy pieces…»
 

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09/20/11
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Filmic

The Worst Date Movie Of All Time

We thought we’d take a moment to salute Blue Velvet, on the 25th anniversary of its original wide release. The psychopaths get all the press, but it’s a more stylish movie than you remember—full of Orbison kitsch, invisi-ties and the same sense of creeping dread that fueled so much of the 80s underground. And as The Squid and the Whale reminded us, masterpiece or no, it’s still the worst date movie ever made. You can see a fond remembrance and that Orbison cover here.

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09/20/11
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Object

Get Well

If you play around with an ax for long enough, eventually you’re going to need a first aid kit.

So it’s only natural that the gentleman behind Best Made Axes would eventually get into the first-aid business. This metal box holds everything you’d expect—bandages, antiseptic wipes, and so on—but it’s also handsome enough to hang on your cabin wall instead of stashing it under the sink.

If you’re less worried about the design, there’s always the plain-old plastic version…but where’s the fun in that?

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