Another month has gone by, and with it, another thousand pages of glossy, gently perfumed menswear journalism has arrived on our doorstep.
Naturally, we’ve got a few opinions.
Here’s everything you need to know from this month’s magazine crop»
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“J. Crew”
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.
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Here’s another watch to add to your post-Submariner lineup. It comes from J.Crew, who convinced Tourneau to bring back the defunct label Mougin & Piquard for one last hurrah.
The result, available here, is just what you’d expect: a slightly nicer European twist on the military Timex chic they’ve been mining for the past few years.
Our favorite update is the second, smaller circle in the middle—just to give the hour hand its own space. Nicely done, gentlemen.
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.
Businessweek dropped a minor bomb last week with a piece titled, “Where J.Crew Shops for Ideas.” The answer, surprisingly enough, seems to be Freemans Sporting Club and Steven Alan. We’re fans of all three—and also fans of squashing beef—but the whole piece seems to be under the impression that a retail style is the kind of thing you can just copy, like a haircut or a term paper. Not quite…
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Another round of glossy style mags has arrived on our doorstep (and possibly on yours), so we’ve put together a reader’s guide for everything that happened in print style this month—including Justin Theroux’s Serpico style to Details’ ode to the male posterior. (Not a joke.)
Proceed at your own risk.
Todd Snyder was one of the great heroes of this year’s market week, impressing with a blend of stripped-down sportswear and continental tailoring. In short, it’s a more elegant take on the staples of menswear—the kind of thing you’d expect from a former creative director of J. Crew.
And now, it’s all finally trickling online.
Unionmade just unveiled seven pieces from his fall/winter crop, including a selvedge oxford shirt and a linen crewneck that might be the best sweatshirt we’ve seen all year.
And if that whets your appetite, you may be able to see the rest in person. Word is, the Bergdorf Goodman in New York is showing the full line by appointment. Just think of it as the early edition.
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In honor of the U.S. Open (and the newly trending tricolor stripe), we thought we’d take a look at an early tennis sweater on Mr. Jean Borotra, circa 1935. The shoes aren’t half-bad either, although they’re easier to find.
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via WBEThe Weave of Our Lives: A gentleman’s guide to the latest developments in oxford cloth. There have been quite a few. [Valet]
Around the Neck: A trad’s take on the spring scarf. They’re in favor. [A Suitable Wardrobe]
The Same Old Crew: J.Crew’s F/W presentation is pretty handsome. Also, a lot of tucked-in scarves. [Hypebeast]
There Can Be Only Four: The style choices of the final four. [Sports Illustrated]
As the downpours of the last few weeks suggest, it’s raincoat season.
So, in the interests of keeping you one step ahead of the torrential downpours of the next few months, we’ve rounded up our favorites of the year, from traddish classics to monsoon-ready ponchos. In out book, it’s the best 2011 has to offer. Choose wisely.
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via Fashion CopiousThe New Class: Mister Crew does what he does best, obsessively analyze the latest offerings from J.Crew. [Mister Crew]
Season’s Warnings: Crepe soles have serious problems in winter. Consider yourself warned. [Magnificent Bastard]
Soap Dish: Watch 23 years of The Bold and the Beautiful in under seven minutes. Then, apply the lessons of dramatic upheaval to your life. [Boing Boing]
True Story: A Thanksgiving morality play. Be warned: it takes kind of a downer twist at the end. [The Awl]
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via WBEA Man in Earnest: You can never have too many longform profiles of Jeff Bridges. [Cowboys & Indians]
Start Your Engines: J.Crew has kicked off another typically excellent seasonal sale. Early reports indicate lots of windowpane plaid. [The Choosy Beggar]
A Brilliant Polisher: A gentleman’s guide to well-maintained leather shoes, from a woman with many, many tattoos. [A Suitable Wardrobe]
We Are All Jackasses: Jackass 3D may be the finest documentary film of our time. Hey, you never know. [The Awl]
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via GQBalloon Animals: Takashi Murakami hits the big time, getting “Kaikai” and “Kiki” balloons into the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade. Expect it to be the most frightening parade yet. [Josh Spear]
The Bearded Man: Journalism at its finest: Julia Felsenthal tracks down a bearded gentleman from the J.Crew catalog. It turns out he does IT consulting and has feelings just like anyone else. [Browbeat]
The Rebirth of the Shoe: A pair of beaten-up loafers gets a new lease on life, thanks to Alden’s in-house restoration team. [Red Clay Soul]
You Can’t Be Right All the Time: A tech guru revisits his first take on “twttr” circa 2006. Not surprisingly, he didn’t think it would catch on. [TechCrunch]
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via BlackbookCrew Cut: The Journal goes inside Mickey Drexler’s J.Crew, and the day Gap broke his heart. [Wall Street Journal]
Come on Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean: In honor of the country singer/sausage tycoon’s death, Esquire tells us what he learned. The best one: “the majority of all wounds are self-inflicted.” [Esquire]
Not the Science Guy: Bill Nighy has extremely strong feelings about linen suits. [The Telegraph]
One More Time: Would you like to see an amateur reenactment of one of the 80s most exciting World Cup matches? Of course you would. [World’s Best Ever]
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We’ll start this one off with a disclosure: Andy Spade is behind not one but two of our favorite shops in New York, so at this point, we’d let him get away with just about anything.
In this case—caught at a Teach for America benefit with J.Crew’s Mickey Drexler at his side—he’s sporting a pitch-perfect example of the style that got him where he is. It’s not all perfect or on-trend. A lesser blogger might complain about the utility parka or jeans that could be characterized as paternal in nature, but we’re more interested in the big picture. In this case, that means an unforced approach to style that’s not afraid to wear something colorful and functional. And a having a pitch-perfect madras shirt in your closet certainly doesn’t hurt.
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The Muse of Mumblecore: Greta Gerwig is ready for her grainy closeup. [The Moment]
The New Kids: The GQ/CFDA nods big-up (among others) Billy Reid, Burkman Bros and, most surprisingly, J.Crew’s new menswear guru Frank Muytjens. Congrats, gentlemen. [GQ]
Going Off All Half-Shod: A public salvo against the shoeless party. Sounds like someone’s ashamed of his sock drawer. [Gawker]
The Man in the Box: A fitting sendoff for J. D. Salinger. If you haven’t read Franny & Zooey, now might be a good time. [Vulture]
J.Crew’s done a pretty good job bringing workwear flavor to their stock of button-ups and work staples, but it’s hard to know what that means for more practical items like a laptop case. What does a fisherman keep his MacBook in?
Well, it’s probably something like this. SwipeLife drew our attention to this collab between J.Crew and the Quebecois design house Want Organic (also known as Want Les Essentiels de la Vie), which brings together sustainable Norwegian leather, organic Turkish cotton, and a surprisingly spare design aesthetic. There are interior pockets for a smartphone, business cards and a few papers, but in general it’s as stripped down as possible…which feels about right, given the gear it’ll be sharing the store with.
We got a look at the J.Crew Spring/Summer 2010 preview today, and in addition to adding Hill-Side ties and Clarks Wallabees to their stable of collaborators and buddy brands, they’ve kept things moving in the same solid direction as the last few seasons. If it ain’t broke…
There’s a new navy sharkskin version of the Ludlow Suit and a reliably pleasing assortment of chambray, but we also really liked the rugged Fireman’s Jacket, a light, clasping jacket that should be the perfect antidote to summer rainstorms. (No word yet on how it holds up against fire.)
The Scottish sweater-maker Inverallan has been getting a fair amount of blog love in the past few months, but the gear itself is still pretty hard to come by without crossing an ocean—either to the UK or Japan. Fortunately, all good things make it stateside eventually…
J. Crew’s Frank Muytjens let slip in a recent interview that Inverallan’s Aran fisherman sweater is next up for a J. Crew collab this fall, which means cable-knit cardigans are about to make a serious play at trendhood. And by the time cold weather comes around again, we’ll probably be beating down the doors for thick wool like this. Just don’t call it a grandpa sweater.
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Drive Us Mad: Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks seems extremely well-prepared for her closeup. [Esquire]
Shoot the J: A sit-down with the lead designer behind J. Crew’s recent renaissance. [Valet]
On Fire: A Public Service Announcement: Do not leave your BMW on the streets of Berlin. For real. [BoingBoing]
Outfoxed: The Day Without Megan Fox begins tomorrow, so you’d better start stockpiling pics now. [Asylum]
Bad Influence: We can’t help but think that Terry Richardson is a bad influence on the Olsens. [Olsens Anonymous]
Graphic Imagery: A Liechtenstein-biting Forever 21 shirt inspires a sprawling discourse. [ThisRecording]
Pop Goes the Weasel: Men’s Health suggests popcorn as the next natural sex aid. We believe last month it was avocado. [Grub Street]
Part of the Crew: J. Crew’s online shop is currently 50% off, making it the best chance at seersucker shorts you’ll get all summer. [The Choosy Beggar]
Our friends at UrbanDaddy just tipped us off to the latest J. Crew store opening in New York. It’s a lot like their Tribeca outpost, the Liquor Store, but they’ve got a few new tricks up their sleeve too.
For one, they’ve tempted Richard Haines, one of our favorite sketch-bloggers, to make an appearance at the store from noon to 2pm and 4pm to 6pm this Tuesday and Saturday. He’ll be making and handing out original sketches of whoever happens by, on whatever paper’s handy.
It’s not a bad idea: A good artist can be more trustworthy than a mirror if you’re trying to figure out whether that blazer’s a good fit.
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One of the highlights of Britain’s current turn in the style spotlight is the steady stream of heritage brands taking their star turn. This month, it’s Baracuta, a lightweight jacket company recently been favored by a J. Crew collab, a quasi-placement in the latest Bond flick and seemingly endless supply of good press.
Of course, a history of showing up on the shoulders of everyone from Steve McQueen to Joe Strummer doesn’t hurt.
Print may be in bad shape, but the listicle is perfectly suited for the internet age. No matter how thorough the research is, there’s always a few bones to be picked…
For instance, we were impressed by the dent fashion folk made in Crain’s latest “Top 40 Under 40” list—including the Mme. Obama-approved Jason Wu and Steven Alan’s new chief executive Ed Rosenfeld—but what happened to the menswear crowd?
The folk at J. Crew have been on quite a hitting streak lately, and it look like they have every intent of keeping it going.
We got our hands on their latest fall catalog, and once again, we’re impressed. There are the usual assortment of old school ties and cardigans that J. Crew made their name on, but this time there’s a more rustic edge too, with a few of the usual easy-iron button-ups traded for chambray workshirts.
As usual, the real gems are in the collaborations. They keep up old collabs with Mackintosh Coats and Alden Shoes, but our favorite is the boots from W. C. Russell Moccasin Company out of Berlin, Wisconson of all places. It would be a pretty good find for a boutique, but for a national brand it’s practically a statement of principles.
Bringing heritage brands onto a larger stage is what the workwear movement is all about…and bringing a bit more chambray into the world isn’t so bad either.
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