Mini Marcs: These kids may eventually have Marc Jacob’s cache, but will they ever match his crazy? [NY Observer]

Dapper Discounts: Loehmann’s to open it’s first men’s store in L.A. [DNRNews]

Thread Bear: Never say that Karl Lagerfeld isn’t cuddly. [WWD, 2nd Item]

Forward Russia!: Vlad Putin enjoys his own martial fashion show. [London TImes]

Cole Trickle Rides Again: Tom Cruise finds a new, expensive reason to make whooshing, overenthusiastic onomatopoetic noises. [NYDN]

Muffled: Berlin Fashion Week will crush your head. [Manolo for Men]

Deal Alert: Big savings at Stuart Wright. [Racked]

The Do Is Done: The best hair on the campaign trail calls it quits. [CNN]

Today, our friends at UrbanDaddy take a look at Stock, one of New York’s best vintage stores. It’s equally beloved as a source for designers, a reference point for devotees of Early American Menswear, and a secret weapon for aspiring MOTHs throughout the city. And naturally, there were more than a few items that caught our eye.

See our favorite finds»

Jennifer Livingston for Details

The globe-trotters over at Details just put up a few backstage snaps from the Fall ’08 shows in Milan and Paris, and we were a little surprised at how many up-collar leather jackets and tough fabrics there were. From Calvin Klein’s woven take on the biker jacket to Louis Vuitton’s helmeted models, motorcycle fashion seemed to be the order of the season.

More on the European biker look»

You don’t hear much about biker culture as an influence on modern day designers, partly because the references are hard to name. John Varvatos usually gets a few references to The Wild One, but that’s like tracking British suiting back to James Bond. The look had to come from somewhere…

Rin Tanaka’s Harley-Davidson Book of Fashions gives a pretty good explanation of where. Covering the 1910-1950, Tanaka tracks the evolution of the bike from a useful novelty to a badge of outsider status, along with 40 years worth of bike helmets, any one of which would be enough to get a fledgling designer noticed.

With gas prices showing no signs of slowing, we may be on the cusp of a scooter renaissance, so the book couldn’t have come at a better time. It may not have our favorite biker jacket, but it’s got more inspiration than anything we’ve seen on the racks lately.

Among all the rising greenery, mopeds may have been lost in the shuffle. Without the Mediterranean charm of a Vespa or the simian appeal of the Segway, we’d almost forgotten they were out there. Luckily, a clever designer was out there to remind us.

This Derringer model sprung from the mind of Adrian Van Anz, modeled off the board track racing motorcycles of the 1920s. After a few extra modernist curves and angles, he ended up with a Parisian style peddler that just happens to get 150 mpg. Of course, like Segways, this gadget is primarily a West Coast operation, so if you want one you’ll have to head out to their shop in West Hollywood.

Pictures and an address after the jump»

Now that we’ve set you up with a moped, you may need a tougher jacket to get you through the occasional wipeout. After all, even the briefest brush with the pavement will leave your peacoat well and truly tattered.

Our friends at UrbanDaddy tipped us off Smith & Butler, a biker-inspired shop in Brooklyn that happens to have some of the best gear in the borough. Old favorites like Barbour and Belstaff should keep you protected while you’re riding, but there’s plenty else to check out while you’re here.

Brands like Filson, Pendleton and Pointer make up one of the best workwear collections you’ll find anywhere, alongside nautical sweaters from Saint James and some choice photography books from Rin Tanaka. Add in a few well-chosen vintage items, and you’ve got one of our favorite new stores.

Hopefully your moped makes it to Brooklyn.

Take a look around the store»

Tumblr is a many-splendored thing, but the casual nature of the microblog, together with the ocean of images now available online, make it perfect for the peculiar phenomenon known as the inspiration blog.

Our current favorite is The Barstool Romantic, a more literary cousin to The Impossible Cool. They’re most impressed by the motorbike style of the 50s—in fact, we know a store they should check out—but the blog is broad enough to throw in a Rimbaud quote, pictures a few Francophone chanteuses, and a quick introduction to flaneurism—something any dedicated man about town should look into.

All the Pretty Broads: Pinup-style one-pieces come back into style. We heartily approve. [The Cut]

Tales of Bromance and Woe: A roundup of the great historical bromances, in honor of the final time we will ever use that word. [Men.Style]

Into the Sunset: The downturn comes to Harley-Davidson. Isn’t there anything Dennis Hopper can do? [Racked]

Genius at Work: Complex documents the tortured creation of the Air Yeezy for posterity. Our grandchildren will study this blog post in school. [Complex]

Frankly, Scarlett: ScarJo lends her image to Moet, and expresses her deep love of ice. [FashionIndie]

Endorsements From Beyond: The late, great Steve McQueen may be in danger of having his name put on an inferior motorbike. Expect a zombie press release. [Selectism]

Fela Was Right: Lagos may have more sartorial acumen than we thought… [Slate]

The Online Jungle: Shana Tabor of In God We Trust shares her favorite finds from the strange world of Etsy. Unfortunately, our handmade lint sculptures didn’t make it on the list. [NYMag]

With vacation season in full swing, a week of off-roading looks pretty good. But now that your Hummer’s out of style, you may want to think smaller. Much, much smaller.

BMW’s new R1200 GS (MRSP $16,750) doesn’t have the bulk of the usual off-road vehicles, but a couple saddlebag-style storage units and an adjustable suspension mean it can take you and your gear just about anywhere with a trail, whether it’s the Grand Canyon or the Yukon. (If it’s the latter, the heated handlebars might come in handy.) Best of all, it got its first road tests courtesy of a pair of dashing Scottish actors on a two-month road tour of some of the spottiest pavement in the world.

As Italian motos have worked their way into American culture, two distinct schools have appeared. There’s the polished Vespas for the Apple crowd, and then there’s the ones with a little more kick…

This would be the latter. Ducati’s new Hypermotard 796 is smaller and lighter than the two-strokes they’re used to turning out, making it more useful for urban pursuits, but it still has the look of a powerful, well-engineered machine—and it doesn’t have to cover it up with polished metal. If you were looking for something to bridge the gap, this is it.

Schott’s Perfecto motorcycle jacket is in the midst of quite the revival lately (it’s better known as a Ramones jacket, if that’s not ringing any bells), but the biggest surprise of the movement has been the non-leather side-zips popping up in its wake.

This Haversack knit, for instance, takes the style to the twee confines of the cardigan, swapping in a shawl collar for the Schott’s iconic notch collar, and ends up with a light jacket that looks considerably more rugged than it is. It won’t stand up to any wipeouts—even if you’re on a Vespa instead of a Harley—but if you’re looking for a clever twist on biker style, it’s the best one we’ve seen so far.