Good Will Stunting: The Washington Post has the first day of Cannes in slideshow form. Most notably, more Sacha Baron Cohen stunts—involving a model and a yacht. [Washington Post]

Unsure, Unsure, Unsure: Esquire investigates parabens—the latest scapegoat in personal hygiene products (like deodorant). [Esquire]

Olympian Ablaze: A heartwarming sports story of an American Olympian hopeful known for being “the McEnroe of Ping-Pong” and his penchant for herb. [Grantland]

The Newest Americana-phile: Jay-Z is headlining/curating a Made in America concert in Philly. Rolling Stone gets the details, while standing in front of a Pop-Up-Flea-sized American flag. (Watch the throne, Mr. Lean.) [Rolling Stone]

Finding the ideal tie width can be a very personal thing—especially for the kind of person who wears one almost daily. Once you’ve got it nailed down, it’s something that will make or break every subsequent tie purchase—which is why many well-heeled outfits like Drake’s of London have offered the bespoke treatment to their regular in-shop customers for some time now. All that changes today—cancel the flight to London—because they’ve opened their custom tie program to anyone with an Internet connection and a discerning taste in ties. It’s all the quintessentially British fabrics you’re used to (50-ounce silk twill, grenadine, cashmere), but now you can get them in whatever length, width, lining and tipping you’d like. For some, this is revolutionary news. You’ll want to have your metric conversion table handy.

Even at the height of the Great Depression, as the United States braced for unemployment rates to surpass 25%, the milkman’s job was secure. In 1931 there were 70,000 nationwide—a veritable army of affable, white-clad emissaries dispatched from local dairies and creameries, hand-delivering 75% of all milk products consumed in America.

And we’d like to dust him of…»
 

The heritage trend has done a lot of good—especially in the quality department. When you “make ’em like they used to,” they’ll last that way, too. But there are still a few things out there that have yet to board the heritage revival train. Case in point: this spectacular set of hard-sided alligator suitcases from Samsonite. Usually such a find would require a lot of vintage digging, but luckily our friends over at UrbanDaddy Perks have unearthed a handsome collection of vintage luggage from the likes of Louis Vuitton, Goyard and Valextra—most of which you’ll find at a fraction of modern-day retail—to be added to your already dapper travel regimen.

Ladies and gentlemen, Gisele Bündchen is back. (Pun only slightly intended.)

Just hours ago, Paris Vogue revealed their June cover—we rarely get excited about this sort of thing, but we’d be doing you a disservice by not sharing such a great moment in beach photography. (Yes, there is a beach somewhere in this shot.)

This was the one day it paid off to be Condé Nast’s chief sand removal expert…

Fass’ and Loose: GQ cover boy Michael Fassbender wore a lot of Tom Ford during this shoot, and it shows. [GQ]

Feeling Campy: A nostalgic collection of summer camping gear inspired by Wisconsin and Moonrise Kingdom. [Valet]

Beet It: Outside extols the recently discovered virtues of drinking beet juice. [Outside]

More to Offerman: We’ve got the full transcription of our Nick Offerman interview below, but here it is in article form. [UrbanDaddy Chicago]

The legendary Russian theater director Constantin Stanislavski knew a bullshit actor when he saw one. Before entering his studio for the first time, performers were required to answer the following question: “Did you come here to serve art, and to make sacrifices for its sake, or to exploit your own personal ends?”

This seems like as good a barometer as any for measuring the acting prowess of professional athletes.

If Stanislavski were to sift through all the car dealership commercials, deodorant ads and soft-core porn films featuring ballplayers (as we have done for the past 48 hours), we’re confident that these 10 performances would rise to the top. That’s assuming, of course, he pressed on despite stumbling upon this Wilt Chamberlain commercial for laxatives.

So without further ado, we count down the 10 Greatest Thespian-Athlete Performances of All Time…»
 

Our brothers in arms over at UrbanDaddy Chicago recently caught up with Illinois’s native son Nick Offerman, best known for his mustachioed brawniness (and playing a guy named Ron Swanson on TV). Below, we’ve got the full interview, including a few additional nuggets of wisdom that didn’t make it into the article.

We’ll spare you the Ditka jokes.»

Anyone not living under a rock for the past few seasons has watched Club Monaco up its menswear game by leaps and bounds. The materials have become more hearty, the cuts more modern, and the vibe: less yacht-hopping-Euro and more #menswear-poster-boy. In the center of this monumental evolution has been a man by the name of Aaron Levine. Since he’s been handed the design reigns, things have taken off—and if these new snaps for fall 2012 are any indication, his star is still rising.

Get a look at more good stuff to come after the jump, and keep watching the throne. (Rest assured, there’s plenty more where this came from.)

See more of Club Monaco fall 2012.»
 

Workwear That Works: The Carhartt Heritage lookbook is in—with healthy doses of both duck canvas and beards. [Hypebeast]

A Scotsman’s Advice: The Late Late slot can be a rough gig, but old Craig Ferguson seems to always make the best of it. (Like taking the show to his homeland.) [Vulture]

Pictures Worth a Thousand Bucks: Esquire gives us a look at the makings of a limited-edition Leica from Hermès. It’ll make your pictures more handsome. [Esquire]

Toy Story: Henry Ford decided he needed a wooden convertible to drive to his beach house. And the rest is history. [Driven]

The entire Eastern Seaboard is in for a wet week. Your respite: this blaze orange fishtail parka from Erik Schedin by way of Grundens—they’ve been supplying Sweden’s seafaring folk for nearly a century. It’s the ideal spring accomplice in a featherweight PVC-coated cotton, and the best way to keep you dry while ducking between work and home. (And you’ll be right on trend now that the fishtail parka is having a moment.)

Not to mention, the orange will alert any cabbies to your darting across the street.

The sun has set upon another legendary Texan. You’ve likely seen his name emblazoned on the back of a Mustang GT or obsessed over his automotive masterpiece, the Shelby Cobra, or maybe even picked up a packet of his expertly spiced chili powder blend. (It’s one hell of a legacy.) The man ran on pure guts and octane—when he was a race car driver, and later in life when he changed the face of the American sports car industry. So we’d like to salute Carroll Shelby with a few iconic photos of the legend standing next to his legendary works of art. (And Steve McQueen, in the above.)

A look back at Mr. Shelby and his cars.»
 

They hadn’t won a championship in 44 years. Down 2-1 with time running out, it seemed Manchester City would once again concede the English Premier League title to its crosstown rivals, Manchester United. Then, the impossible happened: Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero scored back-to-back goals with seconds remaining in stoppage time—and the city of Manchester partied like it was 1968.

Other nice shots from the weekend, after the jump…»
 

And So Does GQ: To celebrate, they’ve put together a comprehensive slideshow of mothers who’ve graced their pages. A beautiful tribute. [GQ]

To Match Your Spring Socks: On the heels of our spring “ditch the wool for cotton” sock roundup, Valet gives cardigans the same treatment. Good stuff. [Valet]

Still Learning: One man’s journey back to his prep school reunion teaches him (and us in the process) that reality and menswear’s current loud-plaids-and-green-pants vision of the look don’t exactly match up. [Esquire]

Your Mother’s Day Reading: If you’ve looked at a newsstand recently, you probably gave the exposed-left-breast-ed Time cover a double take. Here’s the story behind that. [Time]

Not to belabor the point, but it’s still spring. Hence, we’re not into the sockless, throw-caution-to-the-warm-breeze weather quite yet. Odds are, you’re still spending some time in socks, but much like you’ve done with your sweaters, you should be ditching the wool for lighter, airier cotton knits. So we dug up the six finest cotton-blended specimens on the market right now, ranging from outrageously colorful to Breton-striped to linen-woven.

Sock up after the jump.»
 

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.

FYM Unmasked: The anonymous menswear poets better known as Fuck Yeah Menswear have finally fessed up to The Observer. We should’ve guessed it was Schlossman. [The Observer]

For Pete’s Sake An open letter to Pete Campbell regarding the most recent Mad Men episode. First, you’ll want to have read our Kempt Liner Notes below. [The Paris Review]

Female Bonding: A kind soul has put every Bond girl in one place: this sizeable infographic. [Vulture]

The Sports Coat Derby: Here’s what it looks like when a few hundred English blokes get together to compare their bespokery. [Put This On]

We’ve filed the appropriate paperwork and submitted the requisite $89.50: from now on, May 10 will also be known as No More Bullshit Holidays Day. As you may have gathered from our recent posts on No Socks Day and National High Five Day, we’re done with meaningless celebrations of nothing at all.

Allow us to explain.»
 

We’ll admit, we’re suckers for 1940s gangster-chic. The fedoras, the wingtips, the tommy guns. So today’s release of the trailer for Gangster Squad (Ruben Fleischer’s Brolin-Penn-Gosling vehicle set for mid-October) piqued our interests to say the least. The homage to LA film noir is strong—and so is the gangster swagger. Naturally, the good guys are playing by bad guy rules, so the well-dressed-yet-sinister aesthetic is working for everyone. (Even for Emma Stone, playing the underworld siren caught behind enemy lines.)

Not to leave you hanging, the trailer’s after the jump. Enjoy.»
 

Golf, it has been said, is 90% mental. The other 10%: choosing your shirt wisely…

Enter adidas Golf and their new FASHION PERFORMANCE gear, a handsome selection of polo shirts, shoes and pants that are so dapper, you’ll already be dressed for the 20th hole (the 19th hole is so 2011).

The good news, beyond sharp looks: these threads are still designed with the game-enhancing technology you’ve come to expect from adidas. For a good idea of what the stuff looks like in action, check out PGA Tour pro Jason Day.

Consider us your sartorial caddie.

Even in this digital age, the charms of a leather-bound notebook are not lost on us. Especially when said notebook was bound in a 19th-century barn.

This screen-printed one comes from the newly minted Baltimore outfit Almanac Industries, and even more than the striped leather cover, we like what lies beneath it: deadstock ledger-type pages. See, more often than not, you’ve got to choose between a notebook with blank or lined pages, but this one gives you both options—with lines starting about halfway down and red margins should you need them—so you can jot down a shopping list, balance an account and draw yourself a reminder of what a kumquat looks like all on one page.

We have yet to see an app for that.

Donald Draper isn’t a Beatles fan, but his creator sure is. The New York Times reported yesterday that Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner didn’t blink at the $250,000 price tag that came with concluding Sunday’s episode with “Tomorrow Never Knows,” the first song written and recorded by the Beatles to be licensed for use on a television series. Why this particular track, though? As Weiner explains, “That song to me is revolutionary. [The Beatles] were constantly pushing the envelope, and I really wanted to show how far ahead of the culture they were.” And how far behind Draper had become. Roger Sterling, on the other hand, having recently returned from his jaunt with Lucy in the sky with diamonds, was likely a much bigger fan of the song.

As are we, after discovering some fascinating facts about the psychedelic anthem that changed everything…»
 

Target Acquired: On the heels of successful capsule collections with a few womenswear bigs, Target is now planning one with the impossibly stylish New York men’s shop Odin. Definitely something to keep an eye on. [A Bullseye View]

As the Crow Flies: An aerial slideshow of the secret New York City rooftops that lay hidden to most city dwellers, high above the fray. [NYMag]

Suit Yourself: Mark Zuckerberg’s hooded-sweatshirt-ness has been all fine and dandy until now—when you’ve got a few billion dollars (of real money) at stake, it might be time to get serious. [Bloomberg]

A Good Vintage: Mr. Lean embarks upon the yearly pilgrimage to Brimfield, MA, with fellow vintage enthusiasts, Americana-philes and our very own camouflage-panted editorial director. [A Continuous Lean]

Before all the bright lights and legitimate businessmen showed up, the gambling scene was dominated by a handful of flamboyant and mostly unsavory characters. The face of that scene: a cantankerous Texan by the name of Thomas “Amarillo Slim” Preston, who lost his battle with cancer just last week. He was a pool shark, a rounder, a proposition bettor, a bookie and a four-time WSOP champ.

The man would wager on anything and stack the odds in his favor whenever possible—he once talked a Wimbledon champ into a one-on-one tennis match, then insisted they use skillets instead of racquets (and won). He played poker with the likes of LBJ, Nixon and Pablo Escobar. He wore a ten-gallon Stetson with everything. He was a recurring Johnny Carson guest. And along the way, he took gambling from its smoky backroom roots to the mainstream. (It’s no coincidence that the most televised and popular form of poker today is his beloved Texas Hold’em.)

Here’s a look back at some iconic photos of the gambler in the ten-gallon hat.»