Striped Shirts Are Hurting America

May 23, 2013 world of men's style / fashion / grooming RSS

12/20/07

Striped Shirts Are Hurting America

You wouldn’t know it from Tom Ford’s entourage, but apparently the fashion industry saw a downturn in the past few months, with sales flagging well into the holidays. But thank heaven for the financial press. *Fortune* has figured out the problem and help is on the way in the form of a trend piece. The headline? Boring Fashion Hurts Economy.

Of course, the fashion industry has always been the engine of America’s prosperity, so there’s only one conclusion to draw: your deep v-neck tee is a threat to our nation. And of course…

The Single-Button Blazer weakens wartime machismo.

The Stovepipe Trouser Erodes our pleated heritage.

The Shawl Collar skeeves out our allies.

Project Runway requires no explanation.

—R.B.

TAGS

·Tom Ford

CONTRIBUTORS

— Russell Brandom

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Style: some people have it, and some neighborhoods really have it. To show you what we mean, we’ve partnered with Cadillac to present Style Shifters—a five-part, in-depth look at what the hippest gents in some of the country’s coolest neighborhoods are wearing now. Our intrepid photographers have roamed the streets in search of the most stylish guys around. Herewith, a few photos of what they found...

New York

Brooklyn

Williamsburg

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is home to some of the country’s best bars and coolest restaurants—and, of course, some of the best menswear shops in the world. Naturally, you’ll find more than a few stylish individuals perched outside those locations (and no, not all of them are Billyburg hipsters). See what we mean below...

On The Streets: Brooklyn

Drew Ledbetter Actor

Lives: Providence, RI

Hometown: Chattanooga, TN / Bay Area, CA

What We Like Drew’s shoes are made by Cole Haan.
Drew Ledbetter Actor

Lives: Providence, RI

Hometown: Chattanooga, TN / Bay Area, CA

What We Like Drew’s shoes are made by Cole Haan.
Justice Hampton Works for Club Monaco

Lives: Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Hometown: Dallas, TX

What We Like Leave it to a Texan to know that a linen jacket is the perfect bit of outerwear to transition you from spring to summer.
Justice Hampton Works for Club Monaco

Lives: Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Hometown: Dallas, TX

What We Like Leave it to a Texan to know that a linen jacket is the perfect bit of outerwear to transition you from spring to summer.
Jamie Clawson Runs a leather accessories business (valentinegoods.com)

Lives: East Village, New York

Hometown: Cleveland, OH

What We Like Jamie’s shirt is called the “Expensive” shirt by Wil Fry. Ironically, it goes for about 30 bucks.
Jamie Clawson Runs a leather accessories business (valentinegoods.com)

Lives: East Village, New York

Hometown: Cleveland, OH

What We Like Jamie’s shirt is called the “Expensive” shirt by Wil Fry. Ironically, it goes for about 30 bucks.
Koppel Verma Researcher at Google

Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Hometown: Cambridge, MA

What We Like Turns out, the Swiss Army makes more than knives—they also made this jacket (it’s vintage).
Koppel Verma Researcher at Google

Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Hometown: Cambridge, MA

What We Like Turns out, the Swiss Army makes more than knives—they also made this jacket (it’s vintage).
Chris Afzal Audio engineer

Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Hometown: Baltimore, MD

What We Like If you needed any more proof that Brooks Brothers has shed its stodgy image, these shoes should do the trick.
Chris Afzal Audio engineer

Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Hometown: Baltimore, MD

What We Like If you needed any more proof that Brooks Brothers has shed its stodgy image, these shoes should do the trick.
Malik Alokpovi Host for a hotel

Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Hometown: Born in Togo, West Africa, but lived in the South of France

What We Like Malik’s red suede shoes came from A.P.C. Try not to step on them.
Malik Alokpovi Host for a hotel

Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Hometown: Born in Togo, West Africa, but lived in the South of France

What We Like Malik’s red suede shoes came from A.P.C. Try not to step on them.
Billy Cadden Musician

Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Hometown: Woodstock, NY

What We Like Billy’s worn this shirt, which he got at H&M while on tour, at every show since.
Billy Cadden Musician

Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Hometown: Woodstock, NY

What We Like Billy’s worn this shirt, which he got at H&M while on tour, at every show since.
Sam Bowstucky Bartender

Lives: Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Hometown: Chicago, IL

What We Like He’s actually on his way to a working audition for a bartending job at the Blind Barber. Good luck, Sam.
Sam Bowstucky Bartender

Lives: Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Hometown: Chicago, IL

What We Like He’s actually on his way to a working audition for a bartending job at the Blind Barber. Good luck, Sam.

California

San Francisco

Mission District

Style. The Mission’s got it. Union Square’s got it. But each of them goes about having it in a different way—the Mission rocking a more bohemian coffee shop vibe, Union Square hosting some of the best higher-fashion shops (and shoppers) on the West Coast. We rounded up a few of the most stylish folks from both. Have yourself a gander below…

On The Streets: San Francisco

Brian Cunningham Shop clerk

Lives: San Francisco, CA

Hometown: Boston, MA

What We Like The first rule any SF transplant learns: always bring a light coat. Brian sticks with a denim jacket from AllSaints. (Button to taste.)
Brian Cunningham Shop clerk

Lives: San Francisco, CA

Hometown: Boston, MA

What We Like The first rule any SF transplant learns: always bring a light coat. Brian sticks with a denim jacket from AllSaints. (Button to taste.)
Erik Newton Attorney

Lives: San Francisco, CA

Hometown: San Diego, CA

What We Like Erik likes to throw on an interesting sport coat with a pocket square and skip the tie—on days he’s not in the courthouse, naturally.
Erik Newton Attorney

Lives: San Francisco, CA

Hometown: San Diego, CA

What We Like Erik likes to throw on an interesting sport coat with a pocket square and skip the tie—on days he’s not in the courthouse, naturally.
Jason Moo Banker

Lives: San Francisco, CA

Hometown: New York, NY

What We Like Jason picked up his prized pocket square at his favorite tailor, tucked away in NYC’s NoHo—Michael Andrews Bespoke.
Jason Moo Banker

Lives: San Francisco, CA

Hometown: New York, NY

What We Like Jason picked up his prized pocket square at his favorite tailor, tucked away in NYC’s NoHo—Michael Andrews Bespoke.
Presyler Galvin Bon vivant

Lives: San Francisco, CA

Hometown: San Francisco, CA

What We Like A good carry-all bag is a necessity in the city—and you won’t do much better than a Goyard. Extra points for the monogram.
Presyler Galvin Bon vivant

Lives: San Francisco, CA

Hometown: San Francisco, CA

What We Like A good carry-all bag is a necessity in the city—and you won’t do much better than a Goyard. Extra points for the monogram.
Randal Ruiz Design student

Lives: San Francisco, CA

Hometown: San Jose, CA

What We Like Randal fashioned those elbow pads himself—ensuring he’ll never bump into the same blazer anywhere else.
Randal Ruiz Design student

Lives: San Francisco, CA

Hometown: San Jose, CA

What We Like Randal fashioned those elbow pads himself—ensuring he’ll never bump into the same blazer anywhere else.

Florida

Miami

South Beach

June 6

Forget everything you know about Miami style. Today’s Miamian is more LeBron James than Crockett and Tubbs—as you’ll soon see in our next edition of Style Shifters…