February 8, 2012 world of men's style / fashion / grooming RSS
“men.style”
03/27/09
·
Dept. of Corrections

The View From Paris

rickowens_crop.jpg

It’s been a while since we heard anything from Rick Owens, but apparently Men.Style hasn’t forgotten last decade’s Marc Jacobs. They stopped by Mr. Owens’ Parisian flat to condense his style wisdom into ten simple rules.

As you might have guessed, some of them are better than others.

For instance, ponder this one at #4: “When a suit gets middle-of-the-road it kind of loses me—it has to be sharp and classic and almost forties.” We were with you until the 40s part, Rick…

We catalog Mr. Owens’ wisdom»

ALL Dept. of Corrections
TAGSTags
03/26/09
·
Feuds

The Battle of the Jeans

rrlslimfit_crop.jpg

A man goes through a lot of denim over the years, but it’s hard to pick a favorite.

Men.Style is putting the matter to a vote, with A.P.C.’s New Standard, the Jean Shop Rocker, and Levi’s 501 leading the ballot at the moment. Of course, we’re on record preferring the RRL Slim Fit, which is currently ranked at #5, but we suppose everyone has their own horse in this particular race.

But if you’re rooting for Helmut Lang, you might want to reconsider things.

ALL Feuds
TAGSTags
ADVERTISEMENT
03/12/09
·
Dept. of Corrections

Get Severe

duckie_crop.jpg

Men.Style just posted another of their ridiculously influential trend reports. This time around it’s titled “The New Severity,” and while it’s all new enough, we’re not buying the severity part.

As usual, the slideshow tries to trace the common threads between this season’s runway shows, items, and architectural projects, but when it comes time to tie the whole thing together, they come up short. Everyone who’s looked at a stock ticker recently is feeling severe, but all the Condé crowd can come up with on the runways is that there are a few more acute angles going around, and there’s an awful lot of gray and black. But…isn’t there always?

And if this Duckie Brown jacket projects anything but Old Vegas opulence, we’re certainly missing it.

ALL Dept. of Corrections
TAGSTags
01/29/09
·
LinkOut

Monk Shoes, Job Interviews, and the Collins/Obama Connection

nojacketrequired_crop.jpg

Hearts and Minds: Obama’s no jacket required policy wins over Esquire, may or may not be a Phil Collins reference. [Esquire]

Streets is Watchin’: Monk shoes continue to be awesome. Also, leather gloves. That is all. [The Sartorialist]

On the Job: Job-interview style, courtesy of Men.Style’s infamous vloggers. [The Choosy Beggar]

Prance By: Google accidentally kills a deer. Let’s just pray it was a hybrid car. [Gizmodo]

ALL LinkOut
TAGSTags
01/14/09
·
Sound & Vision

Take a Number

theprisoner_crop.jpg

Obscurity doesn’t mean much these days, and the internet is giving even the rarest cultural ephemera a place at the table.

The fine folks at Men.Style just tipped us off to AMC’s internet-rerelease of the British serial The Prisoner, quite possibly the best television the UK has ever produced.

Previously only available through the occasional PBS marathon, The Prisoner took the Cold War paranoia of the late 60s to psychedelic extremes. It takes place entirely in an isolated compound called The Village—a cross between a prison camp, an Italian villa, and a very bad trip. The following seventeen episodes aren’t all golden, but at its best the show revitalized tired spy tropes like the interrogation with an existential streak more interested in the nature of individuality than the usual guns and gadgets. Needless to say, TV hasn’t seen anything like it since.

Of course, AMC is being generous to prepare audiences for its remake of the series…but we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt so far.

See the first episode here»

ALL Sound & Vision
TAGSTags
ADVERTISEMENT
12/18/08
·
Conversation

Tom Tom Club

tomf_crop.jpg

If his ads are any indication, Tom Ford has seen a lot, so we figure he’s picked up a considerable amount of wisdom along the way.

So we’re glad Details managed to keep him in one place for long enough to dish out some life lessons. The results vary from his morning routine (ice cubes over the eyes) to his unvarying commitment to tuxedos.

The big design revelation is Ford’s distaste for the high-cropped suit jacket…but it makes sense that he wouldn’t much go for the waiter look. As for the sexual revelations at the end, let’s just say he takes swinging very seriously.

The tao of Tom»

ALL Conversation
TAGSTags
10/31/08
·
LinkOut

Quantum’s Critics, Continuous Leans, and the Jersey Crew

continuouslean_crop.jpg

An American Blogger in Tokyo: A Continous Lean continues to make us jealous with their Japanese/American swag. [A Continuous Lean]

Everyone’s a Critic: Early web reviews of *Quantum* trickle in from Condé Nast. Maybe they expected more one-button suits. [Men.Style]

Midtown’s Finest: British tailors seek refuge in midtown. [A Suitable Wardrobe]

Meeting Across the River: J. Crew is opening up another version of its famous men’s shop in New Jersey. It should be more or less the same, but with a lot more tracksuits. [Racked]

ALL LinkOut
TAGSTags
09/04/08
·
Good Idea

The Usual Suspects

ervell_crop.jpg

Men.style’s Spring ’09 preview just went up and it looks like next year is going to be interesting. The names are all familiar—Condé Nast has clout for a reason, after all—but they all seem to be working just outside their comfort zone. Band of Outsiders shows up looking uncharacteristically yachty, Duckie Brown has a depressive moment, and Shipley & Halmos indulges their inner corporate raider. It’s good to know nobody’s getting too comfortable.

The outfit that really caught our eye was this vertical-striped number from Patrik Ervell. The stripes are a little on the carnivalesque side—coincidentally, Adam Kimmel has some matching pants—but it’s just bold enough to work, especially paired with a banker’s collar and neutral pants. Well played, sir.

ALL Good Idea
TAGSTags
07/31/08
·
Dept. of Corrections

The Short End

shorts_crop.jpg

Shorts. The final frontier.

Men.style is chiming in today on the growing threat shorts pose to today’s workforce. Previous salvos have come from Gawker, and (our favorite) David Colman of the NYT.

Of course, what men.style only hints at is that, for Gawker and Condé Nast (and we suspect the fashion desk at the Times), office clothing takes on a somewhat different meaning. After all, how can they expect old Coles to write trend pieces about cutoffs when he’s can’t wear them himself? That kind of trendiness is what they pay him for. The same goes for anyone else who happens to be in the trend business—leading to the dreaded Schnabel effect—while the poor folks in the rest of the office are stuck in white button-ups for the rest of their lives.

As the old saying goes, there are three kinds of tie on Wall Street: solid color ties, diagonally striped ties, and ties that set your career back five years.

We shudder to think what they’d make of a shorts-suit.

ALL Dept. of Corrections
TAGSTags
11/05/07
·
LinkOut

Tied Up, Bad Andy, Tip of the Hat

**Over, Around and Through**: A foolproof video course on mastering the bow tie (repeat, memorize.) [Men.Style via SheKnowsBest]

**Ask Andy**: We dare you. Our bad fashion site of the day. [AskAndyAboutClothes]

**Black Top**: Refinery29 schools us on the bowler [R29]

ALL LinkOut
TAGSTags