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Billy Reid’s winter sale just cranked up another notch, which means you can pick up long-sleeve polos for under $50, shawl-collar sweatshirts for under $100 and an impressive array of sub-$50 dress shirts. Note the mother-of-pearl buttons and the loose Southern charm.
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Now that our wardrobe is firmly in winter mode, we’re donning some variety of tweed on a near-daily basis. It’s some of the most versatile stuff in our closet. So to celebrate the season of tweed, we’ve put together a quick photoset of the fabric at its best. Take notes, gentlemen.
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Another day, another post-holiday sale. This one comes from Billy Reid, who’s knocked 50% off a set of fall/winter gear for an impressive collection of $400 blazers and $50 ties. (The Quail Jacket should be especially useful once March rolls around.) Good browsing, gentlemen.
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For the third and final installment in our gift guide, we’re going straight to the heart of the matter. The good stuff. The clothes. The trick is knowing your giftee’s style, and finding an item they’ll still be wearing next year. It’s tricky stuff, but we’ve got a plan for you…
This snap comes from Billy Reid’s newly arrived Holiday book, in which a sharp gentlemen has stacked a tweed overcoat, a double-breasted sweater and a scarf. Winter skills at their finest.
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You may have noticed a certain shift in neckwear over the past few weeks, with shantung and linen ties giving way to herringbone wools and rough flannels. It’s one of our favorite seasonal shifts, and the source of some of the best stuff in our closet. So we thought we’d take a moment to recognize the bucolic charm of the fall/winter tie… and highlight a few of our favorite specimens below.
via Why You MadOne of the perks of the Italian Invasion has been a serious uptick in adventurous blazers. Like raw denim before it, an odd jacket can be a great way to dress up without looking like you’re trying to impress the boss—which should make it one of the more versatile items in your closet. But as with any patterned piece, it can be dangerous territory if you don’t know your way around.
So to help you get the most out of your next odd jacket, we’ve put together a quick roadmap of what’s great and what’s risky. It’s simpler than you think…
We try to steer clear of anything that isn’t hitting stores in the near future—but there’s more impressive gear on the docket for Spring/Summer ’12 than we could keep to ourselves, so we’ve put together some detail shots and some well-chosen info to whet your appetite. The bad news: you won’t be able to get your mitts on any of it until February. The good news: you’re in for quite a February.
As the show says, winter is coming.
So naturally, we’ve been pulling late hours getting our sweater game together. And after weeks of careful scientific study, we’ve narrowed the whole knit spectrum down to three key items. Between the three of them, they should cover you for just about any situation you encounter for the next five months—including any fishing voyages you may have planned.
And to save you the late hours, we’ve tipped you off to our favorite pieces in each category. Gentlemen, take it to heart.
We’ve gushed quite a bit about Billy Reid’s taste in style, but he’s also the owner of a distinguished last.fm profile, which you may have seen linked from his online shop. So we thought we’d take a look at Mr. Reid’s fall/winter selection (arriving in stores this month), with an eye towards its musical inspirations. As it turns out, listening to that much Drive-By Truckers can have quite an effect…
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When it rains patterned ties, it pours patterned ties.
On the heels of yesterday’s Americana-soaked tie, Billy Reid has let loose a new line of spring ties, including this dense floral-patterned one, which offers a more colorful silk variation on the same down-home idea. Either one would look pretty good under any soft-shouldered shackets you might have lying around, or tucked between the buttons of a dress shirt.
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You’ve probably heard the old card about not wearing white after Labor Day.
You’ve also probably heard that those old rules are made to be broken. But you probably haven’t heard exactly how.
This is how. It’s a double-breasted dinner jacket from the latest Billy Reid show, arriving in stores around Labor Day.
It might look like yachtwear from a distance, but it’s a good deal cozier than that. The fabric is undyed velvet, so it’s every bit as warm as your chunkiest sweater—cut to fit our own double-breasted rulebook and colored to match the snow.
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via Oh Snaps CarlosDr. Yes: Scientists have located the perfect suit. As you might expect, it is worn by Sean Connery in Dr. No. [Clothes on Film]
The Thinking Man’s Swimsuit Edition: Abe Sauer praises the women of the Title IX catalog. [The Hairpin]
Please Please Please Stop Talking: A lesson on the benefit of saying less, courtesy of a sore throat. [The 99%]
The Sounds of Well-Dressed America: Billy Reid and Josh from Street Etiquette stop by NPR for a winter style guide. [Put This On]
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Billy Reid is having a good year.
After winning GQ’s nod for best menswear designer in America—and putting together a handsome Levi’s collab in the bargain—last night saw him named as the winner of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, cementing his status as the most exciting thing happening in menswear.
Naturally, we’ve got a few ideas as to why…
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Billy Reid just kicked off his fall/winter sale and, perhaps predictably, we’re headed straight for the thickest pair of pants he’s got.
In this case, it’s the autumnal classic known as the herringbone pant. (Take a closer look here.) It’s the lower-body equivalent of the tweed jacket: a rugged, woodsy take on an essentially formal item. That also means it’s thick enough to light a match on—and more importantly, stand up as one of the toughest non-denim trousers in your arsenal.
There’s a matching suit and waistcoat in the wings if you decide to double down. But by our lights you’re better off just pairing it with flannel and boots and comporting yourself in as rustic a manner as possible.
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Here’s a late-breaking addition to yesterday’s winter hat compendium: our favorite southern gentleman Billy Reid has thrown his cap into the ring, in the form of a collaboration with the fedora godfathers at Stetson.
This one is our favorite, but there’s plenty of more wintry models to be found, including a pair of sharp driving caps and an achingly handsome cordovan aviator. It’s the kind of classic gear you expect from Stetson, given a modern brush-up and a bit of swamp-friendly flavor by Mr. Reid. It’s tough to go wrong with any of these—even if you’re more interested in warmth than style.
We didn’t even know they had winter in Alabama…
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As our final gem from Fashion Week, we thought we’d draw your attention to an item getting a lot of attention—the tennis sweater.
Brooks Brothers has a straightforward “anyone for tennis?” version hitting stores in February, but for our money the best one is the cotton/cashmere Billy Reid model shown here. All that collar space provides the perfect stage for all manner of tie/ascot/neckerchief shenanigans—or an unusually handsome collar, as here. Remember, despite appearances, it’s a spring/summer item, so it’s a good deal lighter than it looks—and you’ll have plenty of room to layer.
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via Fashion CopiousDirty on Purpose: Billy Reid works his weathered magic on some classic K-Swiss. Well played. [Acquire]
Going on a Trip: Patton Oswalt christens a new party game: you can live anywhere, at any point in history, for five years. Choose wisely. [A.V. Club]
New Dinosaurs, Act Like You Know: A new type of dinosaur pops up in Spain. Honestly, we’re still getting over the ’09 Triceratops. [Gizmodo]
The Little Blue Dot: And just because it’s Friday, here’s a photomosaic of the entire planet. [Lonely Planet]
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Billy Reid is having a good day.
First, his Levi’s collaboration arrives with uniformly handsome gear—already a victory lap from last year’s CFDA awards—and then he unveils his fall collection with even handsomer gear.
Our favorite from both crops would have to be this chocolate moleskin suit, which single-handedly sold us on one of the fustier fabrics in the menswear canon. It’s velvet’s understated cousin and one of the thicker fabric anyone dares to make a suit out of—which also means it won’t be seasonable until November at the earliest. But for this one, we can wait.
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via Cool MaterialThe Need for Tweed: A gentleman’s guide to the most gentlemanly of fabrics. [Esquire]
The Soap of the Strong: You can never know about too many obscure soaps. [Archival Clothing]
Mind the Raincoats: Billy Reid’s final summer sale continues to be awesome, most recently with $150 raincoats. [Sartorially Inclined]
The Outsiders: As it turns out, Band of Outsiders makes a hell of a saddle shoe. [High Snobiety]
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So, we spent yesterday touring the Compass Show and taking in a truly mind-boggling quantity of shoes, and we couldn’t resist a quick roundup. To that end, here’s three of our favorites, ranging from back-country wingtips to Hef-worthy slippers.
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via Refinery29
This Isn’t Dallas, It’s Nashville: Billy Reid does his part for Nashville flood relieve with a handsome faux-vintage tee. [LA Times]
Topkapi, Here We Come: An art collector in Marseilles gets pilfered, the day after the big Parisian MoMA heist. That “gentleman burglar” gig is looking better and better. [UnBeige]
In the Loop: Quite possibly the coolest gadget video we’ve seen all year. And it doesn’t involve a phone. [Gizmodo]
Tracy Morgan Has Not Been Doing Crunches: A roundup of May’s editorial photography highlights. Who knew Christina Hendricks eating a watermelon could turn out so badly? [Vulture]
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Fine Art: BAM’s latest photography show dredges up some unusually memorable summer moments. [Refinery29]
A Gentleman’s Guide to Laundry: How to tackle any kind of stain, from coffee to flavored vodka. Bookmark this one. [Lifehacker]
Are You Ready for the Country: Yet more awesome gear from Billy Reid. The seersucker in particular. [Selectism]
Unsampled: The Roots just released a mixtape full of live versions of J Dilla tracks. A bit of a brain twister…but in a good way. [Hypebeast]
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Now that we’re caught in the puzzling medium between deep winter and t-shirt weather, we’re breaking out one of our favorite spring items: the heather gray sweatshirt.
A good one will be every bit as warm as your fall sweater, but it comes off a whole lot more summery thanks to memories of outdoor gym classes and Sunday leaf raking. Throw a collared shirt under it—you’re a long way from gym class, after all—and you should be all set.
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via Evan Sung/NYTIt’s already all but disappeared in the Fashion Week hustle, but we thought we’d take a moment to dwell on Billy Reid’s moment in the sun. We’re referring to his new status as the GQ-anointed Best New Designer in America, beating out J.Crew helmer Frank Muytjens and globe-trotting up-and-comers Burkhman Brothers. We’re going to go out on a limb and say he deserves it. Don’t call it a comeback…
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