January 7, 2009 world of men's style / fashion / grooming RSS

KEMPT

A blog dedicated to the interesting, scandalous, useful and cutting edge in the world of men’s style, fashion and grooming.

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“Glasses”
03/12/08 ·

LinkOut

Bidding War, Tax Dogers and Nerd Lovers

friday_crop.jpgKate Moss by Irving Penn

Going, Going…: Christie’s will auction off a 135-piece collection of glamour photography by Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus and Man Ray which will include tastefully nude shots of Gisele and Ms. Moss. The Irving Penn cheesecake pics will likely go for $30,000 or so?about the same price as a night with Kristen. [Vogue UK]

Advocacy Journalism: A popular men’s fashion magazine contributes to a major shift in American foreign affairs. No, it isn’t The Economist. [Jezebel]

Cat’s Out of the Bag: Paul Smith is having a sample sale, just try to keep it on the down lo… crap… never mind. [Racked]

Four Eyes: Pull out your prescription lenses because cute/wacked nerd-chaser Verena Von Pfetten admits, “I just love me some myopia.” [Huffington Post]

Man’s Man: Jason Preston is everything women could want - fashionable, attractive, connected and willing to throw down to defend a lady’s honor. Too bad for them he’s engaged to Marc Jacobs. [NYPost]

All Aboard: By the next decade, New York Fashion Week may have a new home on top of the West Side Rail Yards, forcing poor Conde Nasters to walk more than half a block to the tents. [NY Daily News]

No Accounting for Taste: Dolce & Gabbana may be the most famous Italians slammed for tax evasion since Al Capone. [DNRNews]

08/25/08 ·

Scene

Kempt Man of the Hour: Guy Pearce

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Photographed by our fearless lensman, Patrick McMullan.

We’ve admired British-born, Aussie-raised actor Guy Pearce ever since 1997’s brilliant L.A. Confidential, easily one of our favorite flicks of all time. An understated sort of fellow, we’ve never really paid much attention to his attire, but at the premiere of his new terrorist-CIA caper Traitor the other night, he caught our eye for pulling off the all-black look with a verve we haven’t seen since the unpredictable Mr. Cumming sported a similar set-up last March.

More on the monochromatic look»

10/08/08 ·

Storefront

Private Eyes: Plastic Aviators

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In our all consuming quest to keep you looking looking your nattiest, it’s high time we address your face. Or at least the glasses sitting on it. With the help of our good friends Jordan and Erik from Silver Lining Opticians—our vote for the best specs shop in all the land—we’re going to bring you the vintage shades you should be wearing, one category at a time. And if something catches your eye, just shoot us an email and we’ll point you in the right direction.

One of the secrets of vintage gear is nailing down a specific place and time. In the case of the plastic aviator, it’s the late seventies, when muscle cars, eight tracks and unreconstructed rock could all still pass as unironic. And, now that it’s being sported by celebs from Kanye to Tom Ford, the plastic aviator is enjoying a much deserved revival. Ranging from high-tech to faux-cheap, we’ve put together a list that can see you through beach weekends, skiing, and your usual daytime adventures. And, of course, they all look good with a mustache.

After the jump, see our favorite plastic aviators»

11/25/08 ·

Object

Tall Boys

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It’s hard to overstate the appeal of a very tall beer glass. It’ll help you master your pouring and you won’t have to suffer through foamless pilsners anymore, but the real fun is bringing a bit of Bavaria to your coffee table. Or, in this case, a bit of Switzerland.

Just pour down the middle and you should be fine.

12/30/08 ·

Icon

S for Style

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This month’s GQ has a primer on presidential style, and while we knew about LBJ’s glasses and Kennedy’s trim suits, we were surprised to hear about Harry S Truman’s penchant for skinny tartan ties.

Not too shabby by today’s standards, which got us thinking. It took a while, but maybe the man from Missouri’s time as a style icon has finally come.

The Truman show»

12/31/08 ·

LinkOut

Two Lists, Some Glasses, and a Dead Cat

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The Big Picture: The best photographs of the year turn out to be kind of depressing. [NY Times]

Fond Farewells: We’ll miss you, New Year’s glasses with zeroes as eyes…[Gawker]

The Small Screen: The clever list-makers at A.V. Club count down the top TV episodes of the year. Sadly, Mad Men has to settle for #4. [A.V. Club]

The Cat Came Back: Just because it’s a holiday, here’s what really happened to James Franco’s cat. [Funny or Die]

Kempt wishes you a happy, tastefully bestubbled 2009.