May 24, 2013 world of men's style / fashion / grooming RSS
“office”
04/11/12
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Good Idea

The Power Trip of the Standing Desk

Donald Rumsfeld

Ah, the siren song of the standing desk. So close, so seemingly healthy…and yet so far.

Adrienne Jeffries tangled with the calf-destroying monster recently, and lived to tell the tale in this morning’s Observer. It’s a familiar story, starting with good intentions, medical statistics and kind words from start-up CEOs. By the end, the kind words have been replaced by back pain and the ridicule of her co-workers.

It’s enough to make you wonder, what leads a person down this path to begin with? And before you say, “well-established health benefits,” we’ve got another possibility we’d like to propose…

The macho allure of the standing desk»
 

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05/18/11
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The Past

Dusting Off: Taking Dictation

Dictation

As connoisseurs of history, we sometimes find styles, habits and turns of phrase from the past that we wouldn’t mind bringing back to the present, Doc Brown-style. This time around, we’re dusting off taking dictation.

You spend a lot of time typing.

There are emails, nostalgic blog posts and dozens of other daily tasks, all channeled through your fingertips. After a while, you start to wonder if there’s a better way.

Once upon a time, there was. You’d pace purposefully around your desk, orating whatever urgent missive needs to be sent to the head office, while a dutiful assistant typed it all up at speed. When you were done, you could send it off without even looking at it—and at the bottom, you’d stamp the ultimate mark of correspondence-related mastery: “Dictated but not read.” If you’re not familiar, it’s the gray-flannel-suit equivalent of “deal with it.”

But what was awesome once may be awesome again»

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11/24/10
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LinkOut

Anna Kaminska is Unhappy with Her Sheets

annakaminksa_crop.jpgvia LikeCool

Fell On Black Days: A frighteningly comprehensive guide to tackling the orgy of commerce that is Black Friday. God be with you. [CrunchGear]

British Whimsy: McSweeney’s new London shop is predictably delightful. They sell “monster supplies,” apparently. [Creative Review]

Just Steer Clear of the Copy Machine: Getting drunk at your office party: a great idea, or an awesome idea? [Fast Company]

Blue Moon: Michelle Williams talks a good game. [In Contention]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. We’ll see you on Monday.

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06/17/09
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Object

A Water Cooler Topic

watercooler_crop.jpg

The water cooler is getting pretty tired, even by the standards of office equipment. Of course, we’ve got nothing against water, but maybe it would taste better coming out of something that looked a bit less industrial. Might we suggest…a samovar?

This ceramic job does a pretty good job, mostly because it looks as likely to dispense coffee or tea as water. The bottom bubble holds a staggeringly complex filtration system without giving up any old-school cred. Of course, 19th century style doesn’t come cheap, so this is probably an item for well-heeled offices only. Anybody have some TARP money leftover?

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05/20/09
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Good Idea

Low Rider

okamura_crop.jpg

The office chair has been around roughly as long as the office and, give or take an Aeron, surprisingly little has changed. Of course, that’s just what designers are for…

New York’s Design Week just staggered to a close—the curious can check out Core77’s coverage—and this low-riding chair called the Luxos from Okamura caught our eye. All the cushions are right where you remember them, but the whole thing is about a foot lower to the ground, giving you a more reclined approach to the workday.

There’s a matching desk to keep everything in perspective, but so far it’s not quite clear whether it’ll inspire more productivity or just more naptime. Maybe both?

See the Luxos in action»

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Style: some people have it, and some neighborhoods really have it. To show you what we mean, we’ve partnered with Cadillac to present Style Shifters—a five-part, in-depth look at what the hippest gents in some of the country’s coolest neighborhoods are wearing now. Our intrepid photographers have roamed the streets in search of the most stylish guys around. Herewith, a few photos of what they found...

New York

Brooklyn

Williamsburg

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is home to some of the country’s best bars and coolest restaurants—and, of course, some of the best menswear shops in the world. Naturally, you’ll find more than a few stylish individuals perched outside those locations (and no, not all of them are Billyburg hipsters). See what we mean below...

On The Streets: Brooklyn

  • Drew Ledbetter Actor
    Lives: Providence, RI

    Hometown: Chattanooga, TN / Bay Area, CA

    What We Like Drew’s shoes are made by Cole Haan.
  • Drew Ledbetter Actor
    Lives: Providence, RI

    Hometown: Chattanooga, TN / Bay Area, CA

    What We Like Drew’s shoes are made by Cole Haan.
  • Justice Hampton Works for Club Monaco
    Lives: Greenpoint, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Dallas, TX

    What We Like Leave it to a Texan to know that a linen jacket is the perfect bit of outerwear to transition you from spring to summer.
  • Justice Hampton Works for Club Monaco
    Lives: Greenpoint, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Dallas, TX

    What We Like Leave it to a Texan to know that a linen jacket is the perfect bit of outerwear to transition you from spring to summer.
  • Jamie Clawson Runs a leather accessories business (valentinegoods.com)
    Lives: East Village, New York

    Hometown: Cleveland, OH

    What We Like Jamie’s shirt is called the “Expensive” shirt by Wil Fry. Ironically, it goes for about 30 bucks.
  • Jamie Clawson Runs a leather accessories business (valentinegoods.com)
    Lives: East Village, New York

    Hometown: Cleveland, OH

    What We Like Jamie’s shirt is called the “Expensive” shirt by Wil Fry. Ironically, it goes for about 30 bucks.
  • Koppel Verma Researcher at Google
    Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Cambridge, MA

    What We Like Turns out, the Swiss Army makes more than knives—they also made this jacket (it’s vintage).
  • Koppel Verma Researcher at Google
    Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Cambridge, MA

    What We Like Turns out, the Swiss Army makes more than knives—they also made this jacket (it’s vintage).
  • Chris Afzal Audio engineer
    Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Baltimore, MD

    What We Like If you needed any more proof that Brooks Brothers has shed its stodgy image, these shoes should do the trick.
  • Chris Afzal Audio engineer
    Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Baltimore, MD

    What We Like If you needed any more proof that Brooks Brothers has shed its stodgy image, these shoes should do the trick.
  • Malik Alokpovi Host for a hotel
    Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Born in Togo, West Africa, but lived in the South of France

    What We Like Malik’s red suede shoes came from A.P.C. Try not to step on them.
  • Malik Alokpovi Host for a hotel
    Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Born in Togo, West Africa, but lived in the South of France

    What We Like Malik’s red suede shoes came from A.P.C. Try not to step on them.
  • Billy Cadden Musician
    Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Woodstock, NY

    What We Like Billy’s worn this shirt, which he got at H&M while on tour, at every show since.
  • Billy Cadden Musician
    Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Woodstock, NY

    What We Like Billy’s worn this shirt, which he got at H&M while on tour, at every show since.
  • Sam Bowstucky Bartender
    Lives: Greenpoint, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Chicago, IL

    What We Like He’s actually on his way to a working audition for a bartending job at the Blind Barber. Good luck, Sam.
  • Sam Bowstucky Bartender
    Lives: Greenpoint, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Chicago, IL

    What We Like He’s actually on his way to a working audition for a bartending job at the Blind Barber. Good luck, Sam.
California

San Francisco

Mission District

Style. The Mission’s got it. Union Square’s got it. But each of them goes about having it in a different way—the Mission rocking a more bohemian coffee shop vibe, Union Square hosting some of the best higher-fashion shops (and shoppers) on the West Coast. We rounded up a few of the most stylish folks from both. Have yourself a gander below…

On The Streets: San Francisco

  • Brian Cunningham Shop clerk
    Lives: San Francisco, CA

    Hometown: Boston, MA

    What We Like The first rule any SF transplant learns: always bring a light coat. Brian sticks with a denim jacket from AllSaints. (Button to taste.)
  • Brian Cunningham Shop clerk
    Lives: San Francisco, CA

    Hometown: Boston, MA

    What We Like The first rule any SF transplant learns: always bring a light coat. Brian sticks with a denim jacket from AllSaints. (Button to taste.)
  • Erik Newton Attorney
    Lives: San Francisco, CA

    Hometown: San Diego, CA

    What We Like Erik likes to throw on an interesting sport coat with a pocket square and skip the tie—on days he’s not in the courthouse, naturally.
  • Erik Newton Attorney
    Lives: San Francisco, CA

    Hometown: San Diego, CA

    What We Like Erik likes to throw on an interesting sport coat with a pocket square and skip the tie—on days he’s not in the courthouse, naturally.
  • Jason Moo Banker
    Lives: San Francisco, CA

    Hometown: New York, NY

    What We Like Jason picked up his prized pocket square at his favorite tailor, tucked away in NYC’s NoHo—Michael Andrews Bespoke.
  • Jason Moo Banker
    Lives: San Francisco, CA

    Hometown: New York, NY

    What We Like Jason picked up his prized pocket square at his favorite tailor, tucked away in NYC’s NoHo—Michael Andrews Bespoke.
  • Presyler Galvin Bon vivant
    Lives: San Francisco, CA

    Hometown: San Francisco, CA

    What We Like A good carry-all bag is a necessity in the city—and you won’t do much better than a Goyard. Extra points for the monogram.
  • Presyler Galvin Bon vivant
    Lives: San Francisco, CA

    Hometown: San Francisco, CA

    What We Like A good carry-all bag is a necessity in the city—and you won’t do much better than a Goyard. Extra points for the monogram.
  • Randal Ruiz Design student
    Lives: San Francisco, CA

    Hometown: San Jose, CA

    What We Like Randal fashioned those elbow pads himself—ensuring he’ll never bump into the same blazer anywhere else.
  • Randal Ruiz Design student
    Lives: San Francisco, CA

    Hometown: San Jose, CA

    What We Like Randal fashioned those elbow pads himself—ensuring he’ll never bump into the same blazer anywhere else.
Florida

Miami

South Beach
June 6

Forget everything you know about Miami style. Today’s Miamian is more LeBron James than Crockett and Tubbs—as you’ll soon see in our next edition of Style Shifters…

Kempt
Style Shifters
Cadillac