February 7, 2012 world of men's style / fashion / grooming RSS
“Plaid”
01/30/12
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The Focus Is Soft

via YHBTI

A Good Trench Will Make You a Spy: Marisa Zupan goes all Nerd Boyfriend on this year’s Best Actor nominees—including one of our favorite pairs of glasses. [The Significant Other]

The Gentlemanly Go-Bag: An emergency kit we can get behind, including everything to revamp for an after-work date. [Valet]

Going Big: A trad’s case for big plaids, outside of the Pitti crowd. [A Suitable Wardrobe]

Florentine Details: And speaking of Pitti, here’s Mister Mort’s favorite style from Florence. [Mister Mort]

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01/18/12
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Scene

Scenes From the Capsule Show

The trade show/blogger convention known as Capsule has come and gone, and apart from a few stand-outs (which you’ll be hearing about in the weeks to come), it was a blur of handsomeness: plaid after plaid, camo after camo, and more good ideas than we’ve ever seen in one place.

So we thought we’d pass on the menswear headrush in the best way we know how—lots and lots of photos.

Our favorite photos from Capsule, including Monitaly, Velardi and a certain vintage Brooks Brothers jockey helmet…»
 

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11/29/11
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Object

The Hippest Teddy Bear on Earth

Gifts are hard—especially when the acquaintance involved is too young to appreciate a bottle of bourbon—so we were pleased to see these aggressively plaid teddy bears come down the transom. They come from Head Porter, where they’re surely savvy enough to remember when Comme des Garçons was splashing the same tartan on everything in sight. The result is one of the hipper toys you can give—assuming the parents are in on the joke.

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11/17/11
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Bad Idea/Good Idea

All Blackwatch Everything

We do not necessarily endorse the project of outfitting yourself in head-to-toe blackwatch plaid.

However, if you decide to take it on and ascend to your rightful place in the fall/winter hall of fame, you’ll find a suitable shirt, scarf, blazer, smoking jacket, peacoat, boxer shorts, umbrella and kilt here.

And by all means, send us a picture.

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06/27/11
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Sale-ing

Blank Check

summer plaids

File this one under “summer plaids.”

Granted, it’s not the first pastel-hued windowpane check you’ve seen this summer, but it’s one of the better ones. And more importantly, it’s on sale.

And since you’ve got a minimum of four colors working through the check, you’ll have a lot of options in terms of pairing it up. The classic navy blazer will play off the dark blue stripe, while your khaki suit plays off the small horizontal stripe running across your chest. Even a white blazer will have something to play off, thanks to those tiny squares above and below the pocket.

And if you happened to have a sea-foam-colored cardigan…

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05/11/11
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Eva Green Would Like You To Zip Her Up

Eva Greenvia Fashion Copious

The Monks are Double: An interview with the gents behind Run of the Mill shop, and those cutaway oxfords that have been making their way around. [SwipeLife]

Plaid in Full: Apartment Therapy surveys the state of plaid in America. [Apartment Therapy]

Home Run: A sharp new watch collection dedicated to, for some reason, Reggie Jackson. [A Timely Perspective]

Nice Try, Firehose: A personal essay offers a glimpse into the private pain of the well-endowed. An excerpt: “I don’t hate my big penis. I just hate what having a big penis means to everyone else.” We’ve all learned something today. [Good Men Project]

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04/29/11
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Object

The Other Contrast Collar Polo

Wings + Horns Polo

The contrast collar marches on. Our latest example is this plaid-collared polo from Wings + Horns.

It’s quieter than the Left Field version (think David Byrne instead of Golden Age Burt Reynolds), but still summery enough to see you through any road trips you might have planned. You can count that collar as your daily allotment of plaid.

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01/14/11
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Michelle Williams is in Need of a Massage

michellewilliams_crop.jpgvia Fashion Gone Rogue

The Persistence of Plaid: Ray Smith explains why plaid has stuck around. [WSJ]

Necks Will Be Protected: The $50 check wool tie. [Commerce with a Conscience]

Sander Strikes Back: The Beggar pegs the return of Uniqlo +J to next Wednesday. You’ve been warned. [The Choosy Beggar]

Lonely at the Top: An interview/factory tour with Top Shelf, one of the largest sellers of custom clothing in the U.S. [Secrets of the City]

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10/19/10
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Labeled

Your Ties Are Here

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With wool tie season in full swing, the plaid-minded folks at Gilbert & Lewis have finally ventured into the glorious world of eCommerce, bringing with them a crop of handsome, well-priced flannel ties.

As luck would have it, they also make the only pair of cargo shorts we’ve ever considered wearing…but we’ll have to wait another few months for that one.

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08/31/10
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Object

This Year’s Plaid

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As a followup to our Fall layering manifesto, we thought we’d draw your attention to this wool scarf from Browns that should be the perfect accompaniment to that tweed jacket we’ve been furiously urging you to purchase.

The bright blue means it’s a good deal more eye-catching than the standard gray and brown versions—and you’ll have an extra reason to pair it with heavy denim. But most importantly, it’s got the homegrown British tweediness that made the look worthwhile to begin with, and it’s important to get your tweediness straight from the source.

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05/17/10
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Sale-ing

Plaidfest 2010

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We usually try to keep a healthy remove from the sample sale hustle, but if you’re at all in the market for something plaid, you should swing by the Steven Alan online sample sale. For our money, they’re the best plaid button-downs on the market—here’s a dated but worthwhile look into why, if you’re curious—and for today and tomorrow, you can pick up plaids for $68 that you’d normally be lucky to find for under $100. Happy hunting.

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08/24/09
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Labeled

Plaid and Simple

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Tom Ford’s latest Fall line has a lot of noteworthy goodies—including Moncler-style bubblegooses, windowpane suits and Matthau-esque check undershirts—but what stood out to us was this mildly costume-y velvet-and-plaid ensemble.

Most of the garments in question can be traced back to Mr. Ford’s well-documented yen for the mid-70s, but the tartan pants reach all the way back to the days of Leave it to Beaver. The jacket’s pure Hefner—familiar territory, to be sure—but it’s easy to forget that Hugh started out in the 50s too, even if it was more the decade of Henry Miller than Fred McMurray. Apparently Mr. Ford remembers.

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08/20/09
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Object

One More Time

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The shacket has been a hipper-than-thou staple in New York circles for some time—here’s the culprit, if you were wondering—but it mostly stuck to equestrian tweed and aside from a few flagship models, there wasn’t too much variation.

Luckily, Band of Outsiders is picking up the mantle with this heavy plaid shirt, which arrived today in Blackbird. It makes sense, since you can find that quasi-Buffalo check on both overcoats and button-ups. And while you can wear it in place of a blazer, like the gentleman in the picture, in less wintry times you can also throw it on over a light t-shirt and count on the lining to protect you against any errant breezes. It’s one trend that definitely deserves its second act.

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03/31/09
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Scene

Tartans

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Naturally, the most interesting folks at Dressed to Kilt weren’t necessarily on the runway. And while we saw our share of kilts, the more common choice was just to throw in as much plaid as possible as a more inventive way of staying true to Scotland. Which lead to some interesting choices…

Think of it from a sporting perspective: whoever wears the most plaid and looks the best wins. It’s not a bad sartorial challenge, and the result was nothing short of enlightening.

Our takeaway? Without fail, the best dressed gentlemen in the crowd were rocking plaid blazers and bowties. We saw the occasional kilt too, but as far as mainstream style items, we’d put our bets on tartan jackets first.

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03/31/09
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Scene

The Kilting

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It’s always nice to see an entire event devoted to a single item of clothing. And we’ve always had a soft spot for the kilt in particular…

So we had high hopes for Dressed to Kilt, a charity fashion show put on by Homecoming Scotland 2009, and boasting more tartan than we’ve ever seen in one place.

Of course, we were most impressed by the GEICO caveman—we were big fans of the show—but there were a few other noteworthy models too»

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03/30/09
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Object

Gone Skankin’

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For a few years in the 60s, the plaid blazer was the height of country club sartorial adventurousness. But for the past 30 years, it’s been worn with a decidedly different intent.

These days you’re most likely to see it in a record store, accompanied by a Mohawk and a full set of piercings. The off-color patch makes it clear Junya Watanabe is on the latter side of the equation with this Commes des Garcons item. But maybe he should have checked with Vivienne Westwood before he took this one on. He seems to have missed the point.

The appeal of the loud plaid blazer doesn’t just come from the fact that it looks like something Curtis LeMay wore on weekends. It also looks like something you picked up at a vintage store for $5, which might make its boutique appeal somewhat limited…

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03/26/09
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Taking a Knee

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As much as fashion media tends to focus on clothes, real style comes from knowing how to wear them…which doesn’t go without saying.

H(y)r Collective just posted a smart take on correctly approaching plaid shorts, which contains crucial info surrounding what might be the preppiest item of clothing on earth. The main gem is this: Stay between one and three inches above the knee, and everything will be ok.

And, if at all possible, try to wear them on a yacht.

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03/17/09
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Stam, Stan, and Andre

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Lost in Translation: Ms. Jessica Stam travels to Tokyo. [FashionIndie]

The Man, the Myth: Hypebeast lands an interview with Stan Smith, and traces his shoe’s evolution from one-off endorsement to style icon. Our jealousy is palpable. [Hypebeast]

Check It: Behold, the plaids of spring. [Shoptometrist]

Mr. Bixby: Andre Benjamin unveils a few more wearable items from the Benjamin Bixby line. Sadly, no balloon this time around. [The Steel Closet]

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02/10/09
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Labeled

Scotch Guard

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Now that loose knits are taking off, it may be time to take another look at Scotland. They’ve been working on the loose sweater for a few centuries now, and mixed in with a Highland tweeds, it may the best equipment you can find for next winter.

Coventry is our favorite Scot so far. Coming from menswear vet Matthew Terry, the label combines traditional Shetland wools with a paint-it-black design aesthetic not that far from downtown staples like Comme Des Garcons.

They’re unveiling their F/W 09 line in a scant few weeks, but this sketch comes straight from Mr. Terry’s pad, which suggests there are a few plaid overcoats in our future.

See a few looks from previous lines»

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01/13/09
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Object

Scarfed Up

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We have to hand it to the Brits; they make a damn fine scarf.

The latest example is from a small London studio called Leto & Ariadne. They claim to pay most of their attention to drape and texture, but their approach to color is what caught our eye. The scarves blend simple colors in a way that’s equal parts Scottish plaid and Southwestern quilting, all with nothing more than fancy loomwork.

Now if they could just find a stateside shop…

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11/21/08
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The Return of the Mack

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We’ve been a little hard on plaid lately…but maybe it’s because we haven’t seen anything from a real Scot.

This Tartaned trench comes from one more of J. Crew’s impeccable collaborations.
This time, it’s the Scottish brand Mackintosh: the company more responsible than any other for protecting the Britons from near-constant rain. Their first collab showed up at the Tribeca store in a flat navy, but they just updated it into a plaid that gives it a little more cultural charm.

It might venture a little below the waist, but in this case we’ll make an exception.

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11/19/08
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Object

Great Scot

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Scotch plaid has always been a little too garish to be taken in anything but the smallest doses, but a bowtie happens to be just the right amount. It’s so colorful that you’ll have to be careful not to clash, but we assume you’re clever enough to handle it.

And it should stay comfortably above the waist.

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11/11/08
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Object

On the Hunt

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The Britons have many fascinating customs, but few are more sartorially lush than hunting. American hunting outfits tends to be waxed canvas, flannel, and the occasional silly hat, but the Britons are a bit more stylish.

For instance, this Stansfield Hunting Jacket. The patches give it a military look, but it’s never less than noble, and the off-kilter pockets and exposed buttons are icing on the cake. Of course, that beige plaid isn’t for beginners, but it’s probably the shortest path to looking like the Duke of Windsor.

At least without passing through Savile Row.

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08/20/08
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Counterfeits, ScarJo, and Plaid

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The Impostor: A tour of some of the more innovative uses of the Louis Vuitton pattern, not counting Mr. Murakami. [Gawker]

Scarlett Fever: A critical consideration of Scarlett Johansson. With bikini pics. [ThisRecording]

Tartan Love: A user’s guide to the plaid suit. [AskMen]

Kind of Gray: Style tips to see you through the non-summer months. Don’t forget your mittens. [A Suitable Wardrobe]

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07/16/08
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Behind the Curtain, LOVA Boys, and Nike Enlists

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All Access Pass: Here’s your VIP badge for to the
backstage loveliness at Victoria’s Secret. [ href="http://www.hornyoyster.com/?p=6829"target="_blank">Horny
Oyster]

Holy C+ Batman!: A complete ranking of Batman’s best
and worst gadgets—and you thought Bond liked his toys. [ href="http://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/commentary/alttext/2008/07/alttext_0716"target="_blank">Wired]

Marching Orders: Nike teams up with the Army to
create the fastest soldiers on earth. [ href="http://www.psfk.com/2008/07/nike-boots-for-special-forces.html"target="_blank">PSFK]

The Shoe Hound’s Dog House: A brief profile of
Leffot. [The
Moment]

Let The Games Begin: Every one of these Olympic
hotties deserves a medal. [ href="http://gawker.com/5025316/glory-of-the-games-25-olympic-hotties"target="_blank">Gawker]

Hot LOVA: A little bit “Mad Men,” a little bit
Revenge of the Nerds—all good. [ href="http://pipeline.refinery29.com/on_the_verge/james_dean_meets_ward_cleaver.php"target="_blank">The
Pipeline]

Check That: Real Mad Men wear plaid. [ href="http://acontinuouslean.com/2008/07/16/august-gq-plaid-men/"target="_blank">A
Continuous Lean]

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