February 7, 2012 world of men's style / fashion / grooming RSS
“China”
10/31/11
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What's What

The Reentry: October 31

Public swimming pool in Suining, China

Halloween is hardly the scariest thing going on today.

At some point in the next couple of hours, the world’s population will top 7 billion people. The United Nations has gone out on a limb and predicted that the milestone baby will be born somewhere in India, where an average of 51 women give birth every minute.

Nearly four times as many people now inhabit the earth than did in 1930. As New England shovels its way out of the most severe October snow storm since the Civil War and the western world continues to weather the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, it’s worth asking the question: How much does overpopulation have to do with all of the very worst things affecting us today?

And what does 7 billion people look like?»
 

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10/11/11
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High and Tight

The Barbershop Book

Barber

All things change except barbers, the ways of barbers, and the surroundings of barbers. These never change. —Mark Twain

Jay Seldin gets it. His new tome, The Barbershop Book, is a sort of No Reservations-style look at barbershops in some of the most remote corners of India, China, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Haiti and Cuba. Seldin, an “environmental portrait photographer,” steps out of the way and lets the grooming rituals do the talking. The Barbershop Book is a fascinating glimpse into one of man’s oldest and most common rituals: a haircut and shave at the local barbershop—some of which boast nothing more than a wooden plank, a semi-sharp blade and a couple of chickens frolicking about.

We recently had the pleasure of speaking with Mr. Seldin about The Barbershop Book…»
 

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03/03/11
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The Biz

Denim Economics

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We’re not generally fans of $20 pairs of jeans—with denim especially, a little extra will get you a lot better stuff—but it looks like the days of cheap jeans may be numbered. The culprit: cotton prices.

The Telegraph spills the beans in a great report from Xintang, a southern Chinese city that turns out 260 million pairs of jeans a year for everyone from Levi’s to Evisu. But the price of cotton’s skyrocketing, the workers are becoming slightly better-paid and the factory owners can’t make a profit on budget priced jeans anymore. The result? Absent some globalizing shenanigans, the denim rack at H&M is going to get a bit more expensive.

We’re sure the head office isn’t too happy about it, but If that’s enough to spur anyone to move up a rung or two on the denim ladder, we’re willing to call it a win.

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02/17/11
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LinkOut

Live-Action Betty Boop is Unimpressed

bettyboop_crop.jpgvia LikeCool

The Seagull: Michael Williams tracks down a Chinese heritage watch brand. A deep cut. [A Continuous Lean]

Centurion: Tyler Brule sits down with the CEO of Zegna to celebrate the brand’s 100 year anniversary. [Monocle]

The New Standard: The Standard Hotel teams up with Happy Socks for some unusually geometric foot coverings—quite possibly the quirkiest thing Andre Balazs has ever done. [Hotel Chatter]

Neckerchiefs and All: The latest crop from Apolis Activism. [Secret Forts]

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09/24/10
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This Sporting Life

For the Birds

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Done right, a birdman rally can be a celebration of human potential, a DIY tribute to the power of flight. Done wrong, as in the most recent rally in Jiangmen, China, it’s spectacular . In sum, two well-constructed ultralights managed to glide the required 50 meters while no less than half of the 34 contestants plummeted directly into the water in crafts like a dragon head, a cardboard television or an immobile statue of a horse. Please, someone get these people an ESPN deal.

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02/10/10
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Labeled

The Chinese Chuck

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We’re always on the lookout for a new stripped-down sneaker—especially now that Chucks and Vans are on the low swing of trendiness—but we may have found one with a good deal more heritage than we’re used to.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Warrior Footwear»

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11/04/09
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Across the Sea

Sleepy Town

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One of the charms of travel is seeing the world’s different style quirks: drop-crotch pants in Seoul, flat grays in Stockholm and in Shanghai…pajamas. Since the Middle Kingdom’s home to some of the better PJs in the world, it’s a sartorial highlight in an otherwise drab town, but it looks like the tourist bureau doesn’t see it that way.

In anticipation of the city’s 2010 world expo, the cops are getting the city dressed up…which includes cracking down on anyone seen outside the house in loungewear. It’s a debatable point, but a style fiat is never a pretty thing and it’s already drawing criticism. Even beyond the indignity of fashion police, Shanghai is likely to look a whole lot worse when they’re done with it.

Anyone up for holding a pajama day in protest?

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03/16/09
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China, Suitcases, and the Sea

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Chinese Democracy: Complex surveys the female talents of the Middle Kingdom. [Complex]

Tally Ho: We can never get enough nautical ephemera. [Selectism]

Bennesquire: Esquire struggles valiantly to make Ben Affleck interesting, and succeeds. If you only read one celebrity profile this week… [Esquire]

The Pack: Packing a suitcase is now a spectator sport, and Mismo comes out looking pretty good. [h(y)r collective]

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03/05/09
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Bad Idea/Good Idea

Your Very Own Robot Tailor

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eCommerce and Flash media have developed together to the point that it’s possible to customize just about anything—with the right site, naturally. But we’re a little unsure of whether taking on tailoring was a good idea.

Shirtsmyway.com is a customizable shirting site that lets you enter your measurements, select a style, and generally oversee your oxford from conception to completion. Then it’s stitched together in China and shipped to your doorstep, just the way you imagined. Of course, we would never speak ill of tailoring, but something about this setup just doesn’t seem right…

We elaborate on our misgivings»

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11/18/08
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Good Idea

This Land is Your Land

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American manufacturing has been hit pretty hard lately, but boutique brands have a little more flexibility…and at least some of them are staying put.

Of course, it’s hard to know for sure, so A Continuous Lean has put together The American List, a handy guide to which brands are manufactured stateside, and it’s required reading for anyone interested in modern Americana. It’s also a surprisingly short list.

Our favorites are Red Wing, Billykirk, and Engineered Garments, but it’s striking how much they all have in common. There’s a lot of denim, a lot of flannel, and a lot of weathered fabrics; it’s what you might call the American style.

At least, the part of it that isn’t made in China.

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11/03/08
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Object

I’m Only Sleeping

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Sleepwear tends to get overlooked by the non-Schnabel parts of the world, but having a set of matching pajamas on-hand is priceless. Chinese cotton has been the go-to for a while, but it looks like France is getting in on the action.

This cotton set comes from A.P.C.’s new Madras winter collection. You can get the same print on a button-up, but we prefer it this way. After, a shirt is just a shirt, but a good pair of pajamas is practically a suit.

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09/18/08
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L.L. Beijing, Wearing Her Diamonds & Ashley Does Dudes

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Orient Express: LL Bean will open shop in China this month. Beijing will receive the first of four retail locations, but unfortunately missed the Michael Phelps’ Mom Endorsement train. [DNR]

English Rain: A Continuous Lean’s Michael Williams offers a decidedly British fall look, from bags to bumbershoots. The whole lot exceeds $5,000, which is great for aesthetic but painful if you’re on this side of the exchange rate. [A Continuous Lean]

Tough Tooth: Liev Schrieber wears his wife’s jewelry and doesn’t care what you think. At least it’s a gold and diamond shark tooth. [W]

Draped in Olsen: Stock market meltdown, Palintology and menswear by Ashley Olsen. Isn’t that a Nostradamus prediction? [The Cut]

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08/26/08
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Scandals

Stop Snitching

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You might not know it from their ad budget, but Nike’s had brand problems for a while now. They make the right moves with the indie crowd, but they can still come off a little…evil. And their latest Chinese forays may not help. A rule of thumb: When you start calling for the heads of your critics, you may want to reconsider your PR strategy.

Gawker reports on a rumor that Nike had hurdler Liu Xiang fake an injury and drop out of the Olympic Games because of his poor chances. It’s not the most damaging rumor Nike’s faced—after all, the haters are always with us—but (as Gawker points out) they’ve come under fire for tampering before. And as bad as the scandal is, Nike’s response has been even worse. They reached out to their friends in the Chinese government to “investigate those that started the rumor,” meaning some poor blogger is about to get reeducated. A mess of back-pedaling followed, which ended up making everyone involved look worse.

It’s familiar business to anyone who’s seen *Rollerball*»

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08/14/08
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Poseidon, Suits through the Ages, and China My China

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Cute as a Chinese Baby: Radar rounds up Chinese propaganda posters in honor of their underage gymnastic team. [Radar]

The Poseidon Adventure: Earnest Borgnine provides the internet with one more headline you will wish you could unread. [Gawker]

Memory Lane: 75 years of suiting, compressed into a 42 page slideshow, interspersed with cheesecake pictures of Halle Berry. [Esquire]

Good Genes: Low tech denim and a quasi-low tech website add up to yet another solid ACL post. [A Continuous Lean]

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08/12/08
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Lad Mags, Chupacabras, and a Superbowl Redux

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Sic Transit Gloria Lad: The decline and fall of the lad mag, including more instances of the term “underboob” than you ever wanted to read. [Radar Online]

They Live: Video of the famed chupacabra surfaces…unless it’s just a steroid-enhanced pit bull. [Guanabee]

Slow Rider: The virtues of the everlasting suit. [Men’s Vogue]

The True Test of a Patriot: Tom Brady and Eli Manning face off on the covers of Esquire and Men’s Vogue. Apparently Brady starts off perfect but chokes in the last paragraph. [Daily Intel]

Chinese Democracy: Not even American Idol results are respected in China! Free Tibet? [Vulture]

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08/11/08
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Chinese CGI, Madison Avenue, and Hot Buttered Soul

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The Story of Isaac: Refinery29 bids goodbye to a soul legend. [Refinery29]

The Man in the Gray Flannel Pajamas: Madison Avenue just got a little shlubbier. [NYT]

China My China: Apparently part of the Olympic opening ceremony got a little assistance from the People’s Glorious CGI Department. [Boing Boing]

Behind the Mask: The smog-mask look is really taking off in Beijing. Expect it to hit L.A. within the decade. [AdAge]

Hitting the Bottle: What the world needs now are designer soda bottles, sweet designer soda bottles. [Marktd]

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08/05/08
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Pole Dancing, Andre 3000 and Rampant Emasculation

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Chinese Fire Drill: Pole dancing comes to China, in an act of western imperialism we can all get behind. [IHT]

Girly Men: British men are sad, emasculated. Film at 11. [The Guardian]

Get a Cardboard Box…: A chef on the Today Show gives a lesson in how to end a television career. [Today’s Big Thing]

Movin’ Up in the World Like Elevators: Multi-MOTH Andre Benjamin offers up his favorite things on the heels of the launch of his fashion line, Benjamin Bixby. [Men.Style]

Puffed: For the first time in decades, someone actually misses Diddy. [The Cut]

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04/07/08
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Geishas, Ties and Monograms

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Mr. & Mrs. Z: Jay-Z once rapped,”Y’all be frontin’,
me give my heart to a woman? Not for nothin’, never happen’, I’ll be
forever mackin.” He lied. [US
Magazine]

“Why does anyone in New York buy ties fully priced?”:
Good question, mate. [ href="http://permanentstyle.blogspot.com/2008/04/englishman-in-new-york.html">Permanent
Style]

Team Polo: While the Olympic Torch is struggling to
stay lit, Ralph is busy outfitting American athletes. [ href="http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSN0745084120080407">Reuters]

Party Politics: Pro war. Anti war. Conservative.
Liberal. The only thing that really matters is where the candidates
stand on beer issues. [ href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-tepper-marlin/its-new-beers-eve-how-do_b_95271.html">Huffington
Post]

Fresh Fruit: BR Monogram opens today in the Village.
[WWD]

Kempt Kept Men: Thanks to the changing
face of Japanese sexual politics you can finally be a geisha. [ href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/04/07/japan.geishas/index.html">CNN]

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04/02/08
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LinkOut

Grab Your Hoodie, It’s A Very Athletic Wednesday

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Love All: One of the few eligible bachelors with a
155 mph serve is engaged to S.I. swimsuit model, href="http://usemycomputer.com/show.html?i=/indeximages/2008/March/brooklyn-decker-uhq-celebrity-images-0.jpg">Brooklyn
Decker, which is a solid excuse for us to run pictures of her.
Thanks, Andy. [ href="http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=3322409">ESPN]

Tailgate Party: In other sporting news, this is how
24-year-old, Heisman-winning, multimillionaire starting NFL
quarterback Matt Leinart rolls. How ’bout you, Brah? [ href="http://www.sundaymorningqb.com/story/2008/4/1/94013/78258">Sunday
Morning QB]

Local Uni-Watch: New York readers may have a chance
to check out the Blue
Jay’s new powder-blue throwbacks href="http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=nyy">today
and tomorrow. Still, no one’s got more baller style than this guy.
[ESPN]

Swapping Spit: In the grand Gallic tradition of poor
public hygiene, several Frenchmen invaded Manhattan and attempted to
set a world record for kissing. Gross, right? [ href="http://fleshbot.com/374650/">Fleshbot]

In The Hood: Blue-eyed, honey-blond men’s fashion
blogger, Amanda Brooks, finds style and substance in the lowly hoodie.
[Men's
Vogue]

???????????!: Moscow Fashion Week just doesn’t
translate to Western style – but God bless them Ruskies for trying.
[YouTube]

Chinese Take Out: With its increased high-end
offerings, improved manufacturing techniques (not to mention its low
valuation of human sweat) China is poised to take on Italy in the luxe
suit game. [WSJ]

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03/25/08
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Clooney’s No Clothier, Lapin’s Playboy and Tibetan Team Colors

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Je Le Lis Pour Les Articles: Naughty, naughty Amy
Odell loves French Playboy almost as much as we do. [ href="http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2008/03/french_playboy_turns_us_onto_f.html">NYMag]

Whew, That Was Close: For one horrid moment we
thought George Clooney was about to join the celebrity-clothing-line
craze. Thank God for hoaxes and hearsay. [ href="http://www.wwd.com/issue/article/123698?src=newsletter">WWD]

Flip Floppers: Desperately fashionable Men.Style
reverses its position on mocks – looses several key superdelegates.
[Men.Style]

Against The Grain: Sit down with out-of-the-box
outerwear makers Wood Wood. [ href="http://www.thepopmanifesto.com/issue04/issue04.html">The Pop
Manifesto]

Dapper Don: Mr. Mort shows the Ivy League how it’s
done. [A
Continuous Lean]

Free Tibet: A strangely eloquent protest you can wear
to the gym. [V
Magazine]

Advantage, You: If nothing else, at least you can
beat Andy Roddick at Wii. We’re sure the girls will be impressed. [ href="http://www.vanityfair.com/ontheweb/blogs/daily/2008/03/mii-and-andy-ro.html#more">Vanityfair.com]

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02/29/08
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Kanye Blogs, Tom Poses and Colin Get Pikey

angela_crop.jpgAngela Lindvall

Angela Lindvall Buck Naked: Get the (NSFW) picture?
[Goldenfiddle]

We Can Relate: href="http://themoment.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/live-from-colette-kanye-west/">Kanye
West is an under-appreciated fashion blogger, which, along with
the beats, Benjamins and biddies, makes him exactly like us. [ href=" http://gawker.com/5003438/kanye-west-loser-fashion-blogger">Gawker]

Extra Yards: Loser quarterback of the losing New
England Patriots, Tom Brady to slip on briefs for money. Loser. [ href="http://www.nypost.com/seven/02292008/gossip/pagesix/make_it_briefs_99770.htm">NYPost]

There Goes The Neighborhood: The Garment District is
on deathwatch. Where oh where will we go for our $20 velour
tracksuits? [Observer]

Resurfacing: SubMercer, the famed semi-secret bar
under the Mercer Hotel, href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS5fkPFUskQ">where a certain
someone once practiced her poll dancing for a certain video, to
open for friends and family. Invite us any time. [ href="http://www.timeout.com/newyork/the-feed-blog/restaurants-bars/?p=2621">Timeout
via The
Moment]

Natty Dread: Coby Kennedy is just trying to do what
he do. [NYMag]

From The Caravan to The Red Carpet: Colin Farrell
does “traveller chic,” href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Traveller">a definite diss in
the Queen’s English. [Showbiz
Ireland]

Emerging Economy: Despite having birthed a few
billion souls, China is just now figuring out this whole sex thing.
[Sun
Times]

Always Bet on Black: Irony does not always redeem the
white tuxedo. [ href="http://www.independent.com/news/2008/feb/28/wear-white-tuxedo/">The
Independent]

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