Ladies and gentlemen, we’ll see you next year. In honor of 2012, we present our 12 favorite New Years Eve photos of all time…»
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Before Stanley Kubrick got into film, he made his bones shooting pictures for LOOK Magazine—and now, a batch of the photos are hitting the market, courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York, shot between 1945 and 1950. His main subject was the nooks and crannies of New York, from boxers to carnival barkers to street kids, all shot with his famous eye for surreal compositions. We’ve thrown together a few of our favorites after the jump.
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We were thrilled to learn that an actual hurricane was headed all the way to Manhattan.
Those of us in the northeast only got the tail ends growing up – the oozing (yet benign), detached organs once belonging to Hugo and Andrew and Gloria, and so on. Kids our age in Miami and Charleston and some magical place called “The Outer Banks” were being interviewed by Tom Brokaw on the evening news while horizontal rain pelted them every which way – the type of natural disaster that looks a whole lot like the coolest water park in the world.
The tri-state area, on the other hand, was soon thereafter blanketed with five-to-seven days of non-descript gray piss – just enough to cancel a little league game or a weekend camping trip or (almost) anything else a 12-year-old boy had to look forward to at the end of the summer.
But under the right circumstances, it can be a grand old time…»
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The Tucked Tie: Some lookbook-quality stuff from Ryan Plett’s latest collab. [You Have Broken the Internet]
Expected Duration: Forever: The Wu-Tang is seeking interns, although we really prefer the term “disciple.” If we stop style-blogging tomorrow, this will be why. [Boing Boing]
The Turtleneck: London’s Fiongal brand is looking pretty handsome. And the pomade doesn’t hurt. [This Heart’s On Fire]
The Mighty Oak: A cinematic tour of one of New York’s last repositories of yesteryear cool. [Atlantic Wire]
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On of the most reliable sources of style wisdom in the business, Glenn O’Brien has finally channeled his wit into an all-encompassing 300-page guide to life. The book is titled How to Be a Man, and it lives up to its name with chapters like “How to be Sexual,” “How to Exit” (on death), and “Immortality: What to Do Later.” We sat down with Mr. O’Brien for a conversation about manhood, manners and when New York was at its coolest.
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Flamboyance. Stylistically, it’s a tricky game to play. By its very definition, one has to go all out. (There’s no such thing as “a little bit flamboyant”). Yet one must remain tethered to the sartorial earth to pull it off. Case in point: Knicks’ Hall-of-Famer Walt “Clyde” Frazier.
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via EsquireNorwegian Pride: L.L. Bean still makes a great crewneck sweater. Just steer clear of the quarter zip. [Sartorially Inclined]
The Mythic City: Tony Judt gets all misty about New York, and gets all brilliant in the process. [NYTimes]
Buzzing: A rundown of alcohol’s effects on the body, in addition to making you cooler. [Lifehacker]
Today’s Gadget: A new arcade-friendly kind of combination lock. [Gizmodo]
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As you may have heard, Ralph Lauren overhauled their New York store in the Rhinelander Mansion, and the result is a pretty spectacular new men’s only shop. The new version sprawls out over four stories and 20,000 square feet—an easy contender for the largest single-brand men’s clothing store in the world, and the perfect capstone for a $4 billion behemoth of branding.
There are already plenty of gushing tours through the place (hey, here’s a good one), but what struck us passing through is exactly how many nooks and crannies there are in the RL empire and how much space it takes to do justice to them all. There are tons of collaboration mixed in contextually, stuff like glass skulls, motorcycles and vintage dumbbells—all genuinely for sale. Even if you don’t buy them, they say a lot about what Ralph is, and the different personas of Black Label, Purple Label, RRL, RLX and Polo. It’s a smart move, and it makes the space feel more like a museum than a mansion. “Store” is a distant third.
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In honor of the shiny ties and eye-popping suits of the NFL Draft, we were lucky enough to catch up with one LaDainian Tomlinson, both one of the better-dressed gentlemen in the game and a surefire winner for any fantasy football team lucky enough to have him. We found the new Jet at a recent Gatorade event in Tribeca to talk New York, California and musicals.
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Chambray is nothing new as a shirt, or even a blazer, but Manhattan’s Jean Shop has finally hit on something new: chambray jeans.
Since Jean Shop takes its fabrics seriously, that means Japanese selvage, spun in the airy lightness of chambray, tumbled and softened to perfection in-house for one of the lightest summer pants this side of linen. And since they’re jeans, and not trousers, they’ll be weighty enough to feel like light denim—and hold a summer roll.
At the moment, these haven’t even made it to their website, but if you want to get your hands on a pair you can stop by one of their New York outposts or shoot them an email.
Just tell ‘em Kempt sent you.
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We’ve got a soft spot for fashion-industry scrappers, so we couldn’t pass up a chance to talk with the sharp gentleman behind HBO’s How to Make it in America—one Ian Edelman, born-and-bred New Yorker. They just wrapped their first season, and you can catch up through On Demand if you aren’t already a fan.
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An advance warning: This past June’s Pop-Up Flea is getting ready for a repeat performance from ACL’s Michael Williams and our very own Randy Goldberg. We’ll pass along more info on who will be peddling their wares soon, but expect some new names and fun offerings. In the meantime, we’d save the date. And, of course, prep yourself.
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via BehanceIn honor of the definitive end of beach season, here’s a peek at Jones Beach during the deepest stretch of the off-season, courtesy of Lee Balzano. If you were waiting to get your duffle coat out of storage, now might be a good time.
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The appeal of army boots is as much functional as sartorial, so the usual ad tricks—people wearing them, for instance—don’t work quite as well. Luckily, you can always get creative…
These spots for the French Legion-approved Palladium Boots line explore New York’s abandoned spaces, some of which are pretty fantastic and all of which require some pretty rugged footwear. The campaign comes with a documentary on a few of the more interesting spots, and it’ll presumably tell you how to find them in the bargain. And if the style seems familiar, there’s a reason: the whole thing was cooked up by Virtue, the advertising wing of Vice Magazine. No wonder Brooklyn’s so well-represented…
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Mickey Rourke has been stuck in sartorial purgatory for longer than we care to remember…but he still manages to surprise us from time to time.
Guest of a Guest managed to catch up with our favorite middleweight at a Merkato 55 brunch bash where they got this strangely compelling snap. We’re not sure if it’s Mickey pulling the old rose routine, the young woman’s palpably nervous expression or the deft combination of an argyle sweater and peak lapels, but for some reason we can’t look away.
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New York’s Oak is taking a shot at recession-friendliness with their new mini-web store A.Ok.
Of course, there’s already an ongoing 60% markdown on a few items, but this particular corner of their online store is dedicated to finds under $100. For now, the men’s pickings are limited to t-shirts, slippers, sunglasses (like the quay shields pictured above) and the occasional duffel bag, but we hear there’s more in the pipeline, and if the women’s items are any indication, they should be worth the wait.
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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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The exodus of Earnest Sewn’s braintrust continues…
Our friends at UrbanDaddy just let us know about a new coffee shop/general store called The Smile and masterminded by Carlos Quirarte, one of the brains behind Earnest Sewn’s rugged store design. His new project looks intriguing—especially the Ronnybrook Ice Cream—but we can’t help but notice how all of ES’s bright minds are jumping ship lately. It’s enough to make a denim man nervous.
At least we have our straight-legs to remember them by.
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We tend to stay towards the sunnier end of the artistic spectrum, but with the right artist and the right tools, the more unpleasant corners of the art world can take on a style all their own.
Our latest favorite collection is Penny Rockwell’s Plugs (on display at Pavel Zoubuk through Friday), which documents the artist’s descent into psychosis, institutionalization in Bellevue, and gradual recovery over the span of 20 years. It’s a rough ride, and literally nightmarish in places, but it’s hard to think of a better way to plum the depths.
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The buttoned dress shirt is such a staple that it’s easy to overlook. That is, until an enterprising designer reminds you that it’s not all easy-irons fronts and spread collars.
Our friends at UrbanDaddy just turned us on to Lee Harkness Shirt Co., a New York shirtier (and American List candidate) with a few changes in mind. The label brings together designers Oliver Harkness (a famed vintage dealer) and Jussara Lee (a upscale woman’s designer) to create a middle ground somewhere between bespoke and vintage. The result is a line full of well-shaped club collars, tuxedo-esque pullover shirts, and shackets (high fashion for “shirt/jacket”) that give Freeman’s a run for their money, all available in sizes and made-to-measure.
When it comes to store openings, John Varvatos has basically never let us down. So now that his SoHo outpost has emerged from renovation, we figured we’d take a look. The result is a new emphasis on tailoring space, along with the same vintage rock stills and leather boots we all know and love.
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Speaking of neckwear, the New York Garment District stalwarts at Mountain & Sackett are knocking their stock down 50%, which should be a good enough reason to spend a few minutes perusing their wares.
Our favorite is this herringbone cashmere version…even if it won’t do you much good at a clambake.
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The street artist known as Poster Boy has been cutting up subway ads for over a year now, growing from a neighborhood curiosity to a citywide phenomenon. And naturally, when the Museum of Modern Art took over a station in downtown Brooklyn with posters of some of their finer pieces, he had his work cut out for him.
Of course, he had the ad exec behind the MoMA campaign along for the ride, so it’s hardly an anti-establishment move, but this time around it may be more about art than politics. After all, he can’t stay an outsider forever, and these reworkings are the best case for mainstream recognition he could have arranged.
Mining subcultures is a tricky business, and nobody knows it better than Converse. They were already known as a hipster brand…and a whimsical web video full of Williamsburg landmarks probably isn’t helping anything.
Online boutiques are a good idea, but the Black Buoy is the first time we’ve seen three labels with small stocks join together in a single site. It’s a good idea; no one of them would have been able to hold our interest for very long, but together they make up quite a store. Plus, we managed to find this charcoal button-down, from the small Max & Suzanne, and stitched together right here in New York.
The Choosy Beggar turned us onto the site, and has a code that should get you 15% off.
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