Sad news for honky-tonk and the music world in general: George Jones has passed on.
The man was a bona fide living legend and exactly what you wanted out of a country star—even if it wasn’t always the healthiest way to live. His reputation preceded him (Waylon Jennings once sang, “He may be, unconsciously, the greatest of them all”) and we may never see another like him.
| ALL Icon |
TAGS
|
The other day we received a curious invitation to a 24-hour sleepover with promises of reading, writing, painting and pondering…
Naturally, we obliged, and ended up happening upon one of the most unusually spectacular scenes we’ve ever encountered: pajama-clad ballerinas draping doorways in calisthenics, jazz-fueled pillow fighting and the soft, familiar scent of whiskey and bedsheets.
| ALL Scene |
TAGS
|
Breaking news: today is, apparently, Tweed Day.
Now, we’ve taken a pretty hard-line stance against bullshit holidays in the past. We even spent the requisite paperwork and fees to name a “No Bullshit Holidays Day” (get excited for May 10, gentlemen).
But we’ve also been known to bend the rules every so often, because… tequila. And today, we’re revising our stance once more to include the glorious celebration of a fabric that we rely on so dearly during the fall and winter months but won’t see much of for the next six or so. Like most of these holidays, the founding is dubious at best—but ultimately, it feels like a good enough reason to give the rugged wools a proper farewell until we meet again.
So, we present to you: a photographic ode to the handsomeness of tweed.»
This new menswear shop that’s landed in an impossibly small corner of NYC caught our eye because of its ingenious use of space: it’s basically the two-story equivalent of an imperialism-era traveling wardrobe trunk.
It goes by the name of FOG and they’ve managed to pack as much handsomeness as humanly possible into its well-appointed sliver of NoHo by putting everything on casters that can be pulled and pushed around to reveal a rack of Italian sport coats, or perhaps a few shelves of D.S. Dundee sweaters, or even a drawer full of boat shoes (needless to say, they’ll have you ready for summer). What’s more, our friends over at UrbanDaddy NYC—who got the scoop—created an equally ingenious animated GIF of the shape-shifting shop in action, to really give you a sense of the experience…
| ALL Storefront |
TAGS
|
It’s a big day for basketball, with March Madness finally kicking off this morning.
And it’s been a big week for basketball here on Kempt, with our own bracket pitting icons of the sidelines against one another in our quest to name the most stylish NCAA basketball coach ever. You can catch up on the first-round action here, the second-round action here and yesterday’s Final Four here. But you’ll have to tune in tomorrow for the grand finale…
Strong Willis: A Continuous Lean explores the rise and fall (and subsequent re-rise and re-fall) of legendary American expedition outfitters Willis & Geiger.
Google Melee: In the wake of Google’s spring cleaning of five products—most notably, Google Reader—Wired names the next five Google products on the chopping block.
Underground Snapper: Take a photographic safari through all 173 of Berlin’s U-Bahn stations, courtesy of Kate Seabrook.
The Power of Doves: The Atlantic asks the hard questions on why there aren’t any women magicians to speak of.
World Class: Four Pins sits down with the reigning champion of #menswear street photography, Tommy Ton, to count down the most stylish men of the world.
Jeaneology: Vice recounts the evolution of the now-ever-present pair of jeans.
Bowie to Bowie: Cribbing some style cues from David Bowie, courtesy of Cool Material.
Shine Bright: Making the case for the questionably expensive shoe-shine kit.
| ALL LinkOut |
TAGS
|
The recent opening of the Basquiat retrospective at NYC’s Gagosian Gallery reminded us of one of our favorite peculiarities about the artist: his penchant for painting while wearing shockingly expensive Italian suiting. And for that matter, while generally regarded as a subversive vanguard, the man knew his way around a pocket square and bow tie pretty well. So we dug a little deeper, and found a good deal of trad items hiding in his wardrobe—even a herringbone blazer.
| ALL Art Threat |
TAGS
|
Our friends over at UrbanDaddy Perks have dug up a good-looking cache of vintage cameras—some of which are still operable—and it’s reminded us of the simple charms of old-school photography. (Not to mention how they’d be a nice addition to any well-appointed desktop.)
When film was the only medium, there was something more meaningful about taking each picture—the result was akin to a handwritten note only you could’ve written (there was no telling exactly what you’d captured until the film was developed). It made for the kind of perfectly imperfect moments that were lost with the digital viewfinder and 32GB memory card. And while you can be sure your 10-city trip through Europe benefited from the compactness of the digital age, we still think there’s plenty of merit to doing things the old-fashioned way every once in a while. So, in case you ever feel the urge, we rounded up a few good filmic options on the market today.
Revisiting the film camera with our favorites on the market today.»
Who Even Goes to These Things?: Four Pins does a fine job of explaining Fashion Week to the uninitiated by answering a few FAQs.
Sub Bourbon Flight: How the Samuels family took bourbon from backroom tipple to the revered drink it is today.
Being Frank: The story behind the photo behind the equally mesmerizing NY Times Frank Ocean profile (he’s balancing on a diving board hanging over a cliff above LA).
Cupid’s Arrow Looms: The editors of Details recount their most memorable Valentine’s stories.
| ALL LinkOut |
TAGS
|
For Whom the Bowl Tolls: Grantland puts the Ravens’ Super Bowl win last night into context.
Slam Dunk in the Dark: How Oreo managed to use the bizarre mid-game blackout to launch a viral Twitter Super Bowl ad that cost 0.0 million dollars.
Photo Finish: The best photos from last night’s big game, courtesy of CNN—plus a five-sentence summary for those who missed it.
Clydesdales and Octogenarians: The Washington Post counts down the five best commercials from last night’s festivities.
| ALL LinkOut |
TAGS
|
“The way I figured it, I was even with baseball and baseball with me. The game had done much for me, and I had done much for it.”
Six more iconic snaps of the most important ballplayer who ever lived, after the jump.»
Fly Girls: The Trad flies the friendly skies of yore and finds more than a few flight attendants who are easy on the eyes.
Picture This: Gear Patrol has dug up the 10 best vintage cameras—so you can fulfill your old-timey photography needs sans Instagram.
Liestrong: Bleacher Report breaks down everything you need to know about Lance Armstrong’s tell-all interview with Oprah (in the event that you don’t subscribe to her obscure new cable channel).
For Next Time: Esquire gets the lowdown from design mastermind Michael Bastian on the proper inauguration #menswear.
The civil rights movement was born out of an ugly time in US history, but we’ll be damned if it didn’t make for some good-looking protesters.
With the always-impeccable Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. leading the way, a sea of crisp suits, skinny ties and Wayfarers led our country into equality. In honor of the great man and movement, we dug through the archives and were surprised to find a handsome lot of style icons also heading up the charge for civil rights—a veritable who’s who of impossibly cool gentlemen—everyone from Brando and Newman to Belafonte, Dylan and Davis Jr. Hell, even Charlton Heston got in on the action. It’s as if somehow impassioned, selfless endeavoring has a way of adding an extra layer of dapperness—not to mention being on the right side of history.
Now presenting: A Pictorial Demonstration of Style Icons Rallying for Civil Rights.»
Say It Ain’t Sosa: Sammy Sosa has a Pinterest page. It’s full of amazingly staged shots of him. Almost equally mind-boggling: how the photos of him in the canary sweater didn’t instantly become a meme sensation. Internet, consider this a formal challenge.
Street Legal: Our octane-enamored partners in crime at Driven give us an in-depth look at the new face of American muscle coming out of Detroit.
A Gentlemanly Soak: One man’s journey to bathtub enlightenment, as told by Valet’s editor. (Good to know, in case your nearest hot tub is out of order.)
Bucking Branca: Esquire hips us to a solid wintry cocktail—that gets extra points for incorporating Fernet.
via Boss Hunting
Kilt It: The Style Guy finally delivers the verdict on the leather skirt that Kanye’s been wearing. (Spoiler alert: it’s a no-go.) [GQ]
A Twitter Feed About Nothing: If the Seinfeld crew were still around, would Elaine write nasty Yelp reviews? Could Jerry make #soupnazi trend? One Twitter seeks the answers. [WSJ]
Socialites and Lions: A photographer shoots the daughters of Mexico’s super-rich. It’s like an MTV reality show produced by Siegfried and Roy. [Slate]
No-Fly Zone: The Internet announces the arrival of “meggings” in Manhattan. We’re not sure what’s worse: the trend or the gratuitous portmanteau. [Business Insider]
| ALL LinkOut |
TAGS
|
You’re probably familiar with the Impossible Cool—a site dedicated to black-and-white photos starring everyone from Alain Delon to Kurt Vonnegut looking, well, impossibly cool. And you might even be familiar with the ongoing collaboration with Sonic Editions—who are in the business of archival-quality prints of iconic photos of mostly rock stars.
For their latest limited-run batch, they’ve come up with a new twist: color. It’s a revolutionary idea, we know. Almost blasphemous if you’re a longtime Impossible Cool fan, but something you’ll quickly get over once you see how ravishing Marilyn Monroe’s bright red dress looks or the way David Bowie’s strawberry blond coif adds intrigue to the mostly gray palette of a 1976 photo. It’s a whole new world of impossibilities in coolness.
| ALL Storefront |
TAGS
|
We’re working off a hunch here, but you’ve probably got a few semiformal gatherings to attend in the upcoming weeks.
And if you’re looking for some guidance on what to throw on, the latest holiday lookbook from Gant Rugger is a pretty good start. The middle one here is our favorite of the bunch, but there are plenty more after the jump—whether you’re thinking jeans and a blazer or head-to-toe green. In addition to the snaps, Christopher Bastin et al filmed a short video featuring the clothes in action, some textbook champagne sabering and a fond kiss from an Emma Watson look-alike—all set to the curiously spot-on tune of “The Promise” by British New Wave band When in Rome.
| ALL Labeled |
TAGS
|
If you haven’t already, it’s time to get started on some epic gluttony, football watching and an appropriate amount of familial rabble rousing. Let’s also take a brief moment to recognize how awesome this photo of Marilyn Monroe is. (Sexy Pilgrims do exist!) Gentlemen, start your carving knives.
| ALL Big Picture |
TAGS
|
Lovebirds: Bellerose is back with more of the same awkward ornithological lookbooking. [Esquire]
Velvet Fever: GQ spends a moment with Justin Bieber to dissect his leather-tank-topped, drop-crotched and studded-slippered getup at the AMAs. [GQ]
Gangsta Chap: Leave it to Put This On to dig up this video of a rapping dandy. [PTO]
Stone Cold: The blokes at Esky across the pond have got a sneak peek at some never-been-seen Rolling Stones photos from when they bunked up at that French villa. [Esquire UK]
| ALL LinkOut |
TAGS
|
Barack Obama’s status as a pop icon has already been solidified, but here’s some more icing on the cake.
Terry Richardson—the closest thing fashion photography has to an Andy Warhol—has just unveiled a vintage photo shoot that starred the president himself. Judging from Obama’s more youthful visage—notably the lack of gray—we guessed that Richardson has been sitting on these photos for a few years (and they most definitely were taken before the “Uncle Terry” scandal), so we did some light research and found that they were taken during a Vibe magazine photo shoot in 2007. Start making room in your reelection scrapbook…
Because we’ve got the rest of the shoot, via Terry’s Diary, after the jump.»
This is what Manhattan looked like for the better part of last week. (This snap comes from the New York Magazine cover shoot.)
But after spending nearly a week in darkness, lower Manhattan has finally regained power and is quickly returning to normalcy today. Kids are heading back to class, most offices are open for business, cell phones are at full charge and Mayor Bloomberg took the subway to work this morning. Things are still rough around the edges (and people could still use your help), but seeing the city light back up over the weekend was a heartening sign of return. And now, back to our regularly scheduled handsomeness…
We’ve seen a sharp rise in the semiserious celebration of the mustache—from finger tattoos, to the charitable monthlong growing contest known as Movember—and all this time we thought it was a relatively new phenomenon…
Until we stumbled upon this cache of photos from the inaugural meeting of the “Handlebar Club” at London’s Windmill Theatre. In 1947. That’s right, a slapstick crew of mustachioed men began a club dedicated to mustaches (beards strictly disallowed) nearly 70 years ago. They even went so far as to print mustaches on their silk ties (somebody write that idea down). Not to mention, it’s a surprisingly handsome lot of hirsute upper lips—which we’ll assume took longer than a month to grow.
| ALL Big Picture |
TAGS
|
via Fashion FavesSandy’s Photo Album: With the effects of Hurricane Sandy still slowing down everything on the Eastern Seaboard, some intrepid tweeters managed to take live pictures of the storm (presumably just before their batteries died). [BuzzFeed]
Float On: Now might be the time to take up canoeing—and Art of Manliness has the four best routes to paddle. (Aside from lower Manhattan.) [AoM]
Not… Jeans: The Sandy-induced descent into chaos continues—now the Yale Club has suspended its dress code policy. [Observer]
Unbreakable Bond: Esquire talks to the man behind the harrowing stunts in the latest Bond film. [Esquire]
| ALL LinkOut |
TAGS
|
LinksUrbanDaddy DRIVEN A Continuous Lean A Headlong Dive A Suitable Wardrobe Archival Clothing Art of Manliness Blackbird Blog BULLETT The Choosy Beggar Coolhunting Cool Material DETAILS Die, Workwear! Four Pins GQ Hypebeast The Impossible Cool Jake Davis The Midwestyle Mister Mort The Moment Put This On Racked The Sartorialist The Selby Selectism Valet Vanity Fair Daily Vulture Wax Wane What I Saw Today Well Spent |
Urbandaddy.com
|
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...
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...
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…
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…
via 
