We try to avoid the word “cool” around here, particularly when referring to Lamborghini owners. (And Lamborghini smartphone owners.) So it’s safe to say we rolled our eyes at this custom-camouflaged, “check-me-out-I’m-like-a-Swedish-playboy-slash-ski-jumper” Lamborghini Gallardo LP560.
Then we checked him out and realized he is precisely a Swedish-playboy-slash-ski-jumper…»
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The Swedes have a way with knitwear.
Case in point: one of our finds from Capsule was the Malmö brand Svensson, which combines soft Italian fabrics with a Swedish appreciation for extremely warm sweaters. The result is cozy versions of some of our favorite knitwear, including the shawl collar cardigan and the SNS Herning-style button-up, both coming in under $300.
They haven’t trickled into US markets yet, but there’s plenty of good stuff to be found on their site. Our suggestion: a white sweater in February is legendary stuff.
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Tweed and corduroy start getting a lot of love once cold weather rolls around, but it’s still remarkably hard to find our favorite wintry fabric—the velvety wonder known as moleskin.
Unlike its corded equivalent, this is basically a December-and-January item, but don’t be surprised if it becomes your favorite pant in the world for that nine-week span—something like the lower-body equivalent of a Barbour coat.
Dunderdon is responsible for the best version we’ve found, this slim-fit cotton pant. (Trend or no, we’ll skip the cargo pockets, but suit yourself.) It’s the latest in a long line of good winter gear to come out of their Gothenburg shop. Not coincidentally, those Swedish winters don’t kid around.
via Vanity FairThe Black Hole: Breaking: Courtney Love is out of her goddamn mind. [NYTimes]
For Victory: Free & Easy takes a look at the triangle of fabric above the close of a buttoned jacket, traditionally filled by a tie, a scarf or a dense matt of luxurious chest hair. [Mister Crew]
Favorite Son: A new batch of never-before-seen JFK snaps, including some advanced crew necks. [LIFE]
Bundle Up: The Swedes at Dunderdon continue to win the winter. [Hypebeast]
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New York’s Fjallraven shop just completed a transformation into a full-on camping store, and amid the sardine tins, scout harmonicas and reindeer pelts, we stumbled onto a surprising slice of Americana. Ladies and Gentlemen, feast your eyes on the wonder that is Specklewear.
It’s been a U.S. camping staple since the 1880s—the kind of thing you find in your grandfather’s attic—but finding it in a Swedish outerwear shop in Soho is a sign of the times if we ever heard one. Score one more for Americana.
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via WBEFrame by Frame: Impossible Cool’s Sean Sullivan nails down the brilliance of Antonioni’s L’Avventura in six frames. And one of them’s the title card. [Complex]
Take a Hike: For their 50th birthday, Fjallraven takes a 50-mile hike through the Swedish Laplands. Can’t they just buy a convertible like everyone else? [GQ]
The Crafty Swedes: Speaking of which, Sweden is outpacing us in per GDP pop hits. We must not allow a club jam gap! [Foreign Policy]
To the Moon, Alice: Are the next generation of tech entrepreneurs headed into space? [TechCrunch]
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This handsome assortment of gear comes from a new Norwegian street style blog. We’re pretty sure this is all they’ll need, give or take a laptop.
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The beloved Swedes at Fjällräven launched their eCommerce site last night, which means those ubiquitous backpacks are one step closer, and we finally got a chance to peruse some of their more functional items, like this Oban parka.
It’s the same waxed cotton that keeps the packs sealed up, but with a fuzzy inner shell warm enough to get you through a Scandanavian winter. It’s a lot more low-tech than it looks, which might be its biggest strength. After years of seeing Barbour on the backs of outdoorsy scenesters for so long, it’ll be nice to see a fresh Swedish version.
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On the heels of Mr. Varvatos, the Swedish Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair has finally opened up an online shop. The prices, while not bad for a boutique brand, are also all in Kronor, so you’ll want to keep Google handy. (It’s 15 cents to the kronor, if you’re the calculator type.) There’s all the avant-Scandanavian gear you’d expect—drop crotch trousers, check; contrast patch dress shirts, check—but on the off-chance you aren’t signed on for the Swedish look just yet, there are still a few items ripe for broader appeal—these wool scarves for one. If Sweden can be counted on for one thing, it’s a good muffler.
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At the high end, hotel swag can include anything from a dash of cologne to a full tweezer set, but one Swedish hotel is venturing a little further. Check into the Berns Hotel in Stockholm and you’ll get this impeccably packaged 3-pack of condoms, known to the manufacturers as “a pack of love.” It’s a good idea, considering what goes on in most Swedish hotel rooms, but turn the box over, and you’ll find a more sentimental inscription: “It’s about love.” Well, not necessarily…
Nantucket reds have a pretty solid rep as the preppy pant of summer, but they’ve made things easier for less pinkish hues to get in the door as well.
Take this gentleman, caught by Street Peeper on the streets of Oslo. The blue-on-cream getup is straight out of the GQ playbook, but our interest is in those pants. The orange-red trousers sub for the bottom half of a khaki suit just about perfectly, but it has to be seen to be believed. This time of year, they’re a whole lot more versatile than you’d think.
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The Swedes are Different From You and I: The Swedish press continues to supply us with artful cheesecake. [Refinery29
The Grand Design: The National Design Awards are upon us once more, bearing overwrought chess sets and a warehouse full of weird looking cars. [Material Interest]
The Magic Number: A rundown on three piece suits, specifically whether or not vests should have lapels. High level stuff. [Esquire]
Please Pleat Me: Like disco, pleats are back with a semi-ironic vengeance. [WWD]
We weren’t quite sold on the Swedish label POUR, but it’s hard to be sure until you see their goods in the wild.
This gentleman, for instance, pulls off the monochromatic look just about perfectly, and POUR’s big-cuffed button-up is the best part of the look by far. The sunglasses don’t hurt, of course, but the best part is that, he was snapped on the street in Melbourne, which is about as far from Stockholm as you can get.
Maybe we just needed to see how the shirt looked in sunnier climes.
Some of our favorite shoes are the most lightweight—espadrilles and top-siders in particular—so it’s nice to know this particular shoe won’t be weighing us down too heavily.
Sweden’s Gram labels their shoes by weight, and they rarely reach above 500 grams. This one is the 366g, stitched together from denim and kept as light as possible at every stage in the process. We wouldn’t recommend wearing it under jeans (or getting it wet, for that matter), but don’t be surprised if your summer wanderings take you a little farther than usual.
We’ve always been on the side of precise tailoring, but it takes all kinds, and there are always a few new fits to try out.
Acne has been pushing clean, unbroken drapes as much as anyone outside of Japan, and we’re starting to come around. The typical dig is that they make you look like a clothes hanger—skin and bones, as our mother would say—but if the colors are right, you could do a lot worse. In this case, the colors are deep maroons and somber grays, which is about right.
And if you’ve ever passed through Stockholm, you’ll know why.
As brands go, Obama’s doing pretty well, so it’s no surprise companies are jumping at the chance to associate with him. And if he’s the first slim suit president, there’s also the risk of becoming the first IKEA president. He’d better tread carefully…
In an attempt to sway the new President, the Swedish design magnate has set up a faux-oval office in D.C.’s Union Station to show what a Swede-furnished executive branch would look like. The web component is a virtual Oval Office dollhouse, but we have to say, without rounded couches, the options are pretty limited.
In this case, we’re hoping Obama goes with something a bit more… convervative.
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We ran across this Ronson-esque Swedish fellow on Lookbook and we have to saw, he’s raised our opinion of the entire country. Maybe it’s the suit, but we’re suddenly warming to the idea of suspenders too.
Take notes, gentlemen.
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They don’t get much respect, but there’s a quiet, thoughtful dignity to bar games, especially the jumping solitaire offered by this Swedish nut bowl. It’s not a bad way to hold all those seasonally roasted chestnuts either, assuming it’s not wrapped up at the time.
Could We Love Carla Bruni Any More?: We didn’t think so. Then we read these lyrics. [Radar]
Hot Rods: That emblem on your car’s hood may indicate more than your choice in brands. [Jalopnik]
Turning Japanese: Hedi Slimane is the natural muse of Vogue Homme Japan much as Sean Avery is the natural muse of Men’s Vogue US. [WWD]
Victoria Beckham’s Menswear Line Canceled: Whew. That was a close one. [Female
First UK]
Totally Swede: A review of Stockholm Fashion Week.
[The
Pipeline]
Ah, the Scandinavians. Always pushing those margins and always, somehow, still looking sober and strangely sensible (is it the months of darkness? The vodka?) Somehow between the madness one might see on your average Harijuku street-fashion site, the louche, Parisian reportage of The Facehunter and the imminently restrained sensibilities…
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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...
Williamsburg, Brooklyn is home to some of the country’s best bars, 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...
Oh, and up next: we take a peak at another handsome-as-hell neighborhood, the Mission District in San Francisco. Stay tuned...
