You'll know what we know.
via Ovadia & Sons
It’s not quite summer yet, but we’re close enough now to start daydreaming about hitting the open road to spend a sun-dappled weekend in the great outdoors.
We’d suggest following Gregory Peck’s lead here by remembering to bring a couple fishing rods and an attractive accomplice—looks like on this particular weekend, Ava Gardner was tagging along.
Summer’s so close we can nearly taste it.
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Gentlemen, we are all one step closer to being the Rocketeer. This past week, a fellow by the name of Yves “Jetman” Rossy successfully completed an 11-minute jetpack-powered flight across Rio de Janeiro, and Popular Mechanics has the video evidence to prove it.
Start planning your future morning commute accordingly.
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via The PantalonesWe’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: unlined grenadine makes for the perfect tie.
And this, gentlemen, is how you pull it off—courtesy of Mr. Connery (exactly five decades ago) on the set of Dr. No. (The fact that it looks like he might be holding an iPhone 5 prototype makes this photo seem all the more timely.)
Though you might want to re-button your collar and tighten up the knot on your way back into the office from that three-martini lunch.
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That moment when you think things couldn’t get any weirder on a lookbook shoot for a quirky Belgian heritage label… and then somebody wheels out a cage full of owls. #menswear
See the rest of the Bellerose F/W 2012 lookbook over at Contemporary Standard.
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Clockwise: Thomas Bede, suborning a witness, 1928; Hampton Hirscham, Cornellius Joseph Keevil, William Thomas O’Brien and James O’Brien, burglary, 1921; Valerie Lowe, stealing a saddle and bridle, 1922; Sydney Skukerman, fraud, 1924
Our continuing report on the well-dressed criminal continues today with a collection of mug shots from the New South Wales Police Department in Australia, taken between 1910 and 1930.
As curator Peter Doyle explains, an anonymous photographer working in Sydney’s Central Police Station took the photos of “men and women recently plucked from the street, often still animated by the dramas surrounding their apprehension.” We’re particularly fond of the passive resistance employed by Thomas Bede, left.
More photos are available here and the complete collection is now on display at the Sydney Justice & Police Museum.
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The first stills from Quentin Tarantino’s hotly anticipated Django Unchained have hit the interwebs, and this shot of Leonardo DiCaprio playing the villainous plantation owner is a study in devilish handsomeness. The gist of the movie is “Spaghetti Western set in the Deep South during slavery,” so we can safely assume that the customary black hat has been swapped out for a red ascot. Add to that the hammer-wielding, the velvet lapels and the silk waistcoat, and you’ve got one sinister-looking rake.
Though we would have rather seen the ring on his pinkie.
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This photo, from the New York City Department of Records’ recently released batch of about 800,000, was taken at a baseball game—but you’d never have guessed it with all those fedoras in the grandstands. Aside from the sight of Babe Ruth signing autographs front and center (this was snapped right before Game 1 of the 1936 World Series), we might as well be looking at Times Square in the ’30s. There’s not a single Yankees cap in the bunch. Compare that to a baseball game nowadays (or anywhere outdoors, for that matter) and it’s a much different story.
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We won’t spend any more time extolling the virtues of chinos. You’re probably wearing a pair now. We’ll just say this: a classic is a classic—from British officer khaki to go-to-hell red. It doesn’t matter what you’re hearing right now, you’ll be wearing chinos of every stripe, summer after summer, regardless of what #menswear is telling you. Which is why we’d rather survey the whole spectrum—a little reminder of what was and a little inspiration for what will be. Whether you’re going full-on Lapo Elkann or keeping it classic, Miles Davis-style, let this be your guide.
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Dubbed “Chic is…,” this picture comes from Harper’s Bazaar circa 1964, but it’s finding its way to an auction block in London next month. Luckily, chic hasn’t changed too much in the interim.
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Courtesy of Duncan Quinn, the toughest anyone has ever looked while wearing a bow tie.
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It’s been said before, but it bears repeating—unlined grenadine makes for the perfect tie. This snap comes from Drake’s grenadine workshop, where they’re putting together some of the finest specimens we’ve seen. Keep it up, gents.
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Linen’s been our summer go-to for a while, but this year it’s taken a sophisticated turn. We’re seeing navy hues instead of the standard hazy taupe, along with a heartening number of summery DBs. The bottom line: it’s not just camp shirts anymore.
And to prove it’s not just talk, we’ve rounded up a few specimens after the jump…
One of our favorite F1 icons just got the artistic treatment courtesy of designer Piotr Buczkowski. Naturally, our hat is off. See the full collection here.
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When they don a brimmed hat, most men end up in the vicinity of either Sinatra or Indiana Jones—but there’s another way, shown off today by Mr. James Jean. This flat-brim is more like something you’d see on the Man with No Name. Think of it as the ominous, enigmatic way of keeping the sun off your nose.
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This near-perfect spring kit is brought to you by Close Up and Private, who just unveiled their spring/summer issue with a perfect tutorial on wearing prep school gear without looking like you’re still in prep school. Take notes, men.
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You might not wear it out on the town, but sharp sleepwear is among the more elegant things a gentleman can own. Case in point: this snap of bandleader Louis Jordan resting up before a show in a paisley housecoat. Not bad, sir.
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This snap comes via The Selvedge Yard, where they’ve dug up some great mid-’60s snaps of Capote’s Hamptons home. Hard to beat those shades.
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As we mentioned on Tuesday, floral prints are having a bit of a moment these days. They’re best used as an accent—more likely to show up in a pocket square or a jacket lining—but since flowers have been showing up more and more lately, we thought we’d pull together some of the best specimens the Web has to offer. It’s been a good year for the roses…
Now that the weather’s warming up, we’d like to direct your attention to one of the most overlooked items in your spring/summer arsenal: the cotton sweater. It’s an airier version of the wool and cashmere pullovers in your closet, and perfect for those couple weeks in mid-March when the summer sun butts up against the last gusts of winter. These will fare well against both.
It’s been a good day for watches. First, Ethan Newton posts this beautiful soft-focus shot of an Omega Seamaster. Then two similar Omegas come up for auction in England. Sometimes, the world just works out.
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As we head into cotton suit season, Aussie tailor P. Johnson has put together a near-impeccable guide to the camicia spalla or Neapolitan shoulder. It’s the puckered version on the left, compared with the regular, unstructured shoulder on the right. By our lights, the non-Neapolitan version is a little more classic, a little less trendy, but it’s still useful for anyone looking to spice up an otherwise standard jacket. It’s even better as a way to test your tailor’s chops. Any suit maker who can pull this off is worth whatever he’s charging.
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These pics come from Sydney, Australia’s Palace Emporium Bicycle Club, taken in July 1899. Think of it as the original tweed run. We assume they’re all wearing their wool base layers.
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Embroidered slippers have been gaining traction for a few seasons now, but we may have found our favorite pair, a custom job from legendary Australian tailor P. Johnson. In a just world, someone would FedEx a pair of these to Grandmaster Flash.
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This shot comes courtesy of Retronaut, as a visual record of what skate culture looked like before the era of Vans and oversized tees. Not too shabby.
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This shot comes from a William Eggleston auction coming up next month, boasting three dozen photos. Between the cowboy hat and the muscle car, we wouldn’t be surprised if this one ended up on a few inspiration boards.
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