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A blog dedicated to the interesting, scandalous, useful and cutting edge in the world of men’s style, fashion and grooming.
Usually when someone uses the phrase “old school,” they don’t have a specific place in mind, but when it comes to tailoring you can pin it down to a single street. Savile Row in London has been the go-to spot for bespokery since the days of the empire, and anywhere you happen to be fitted—even in Hong Kong or Dubai—it’s likely that most of your suit’s flourishes started out in the West End.
Of course, just like the empire, the Row has had some hard times lately»
Love All: One of the few eligible bachelors with a 155 mph serve is engaged to S.I. swimsuit model, Brooklyn Decker, which is a solid excuse for us to run pictures of her. Thanks, Andy. [ESPN]
Tailgate Party: In other sporting news, this is how 24-year-old, Heisman-winning, multimillionaire starting NFL quarterback Matt Leinart rolls. How ‘bout you, Brah? [Sunday Morning QB]
Local Uni-Watch: New York readers may have a chance to check out the Blue Jay’s new powder-blue throwbacks today and tomorrow. Still, no one’s got more baller style than this guy. [ESPN]
Swapping Spit: In the grand Gallic tradition of poor public hygiene, several Frenchmen invaded Manhattan and attempted to set a world record for kissing. Gross, right? [Fleshbot]
In The Hood: Blue-eyed, honey-blond men’s fashion blogger, Amanda Brooks, finds style and substance in the lowly hoodie. [Men’s Vogue]
фантастично!: Moscow Fashion Week just doesn’t translate to Western style - but God bless them Ruskies for trying. [YouTube]
Chinese Take Out: With its increased high-end offerings, improved manufacturing techniques (not to mention its low valuation of human sweat) China is poised to take on Italy in the luxe suit game. [WSJ]
Photographed by our fearless lensman, Patrick McMullan.
As a counterpoint to the toothsome model duo we presented you with the other day, here’s a well-tailored pair of gentlemen who provided a rare moment of sartorial splendor during a mostly humdrum Fashion Week.
On the left, former MOTH Zac Posen, the social butterfly fashion designer; on the right, a certain rich clown with an oversized ego and an identity crisis to match (what’s is it this week? Puffy? Diddy? Poncey?) The two met up at Mr. Posen’s runway show, where the designer sported an elegant ticket-pocketed tropical weight woolen number complete with boutonnière.
Some time ago—and we’re going way back here—a man’s wardrobe was like a house. He bought pieces of clothing and he maintained them so they would last. He did laundry and if something split he had it mended. If he outgrew a suit, he took it to a tailor.
These minor alterations didn’t make the suit shabby; it gave it a sense of character and personality. You might be able to tell from looking at a man whether he had bought his suit as an old or a young man, whether he had bought it in San Francisco or New York, Chicago or London. Season to season, his clothes would tell you something about the path of his life that could not be changed or put on.
Today’s luxury works very differently, as today’s International Herald Tribune can attest. The IHT’s gripe is an environmental one—think of all the off-season merchandise in landfills somewhere—but mending clothes doesn’t have to be a green enterprise. Mending used to be as common a service as alterations. It was part of the artisan’s pledge to the customer, a way of saying that they were getting something valuable and worthy of respect. Prada and Gucci still repair old merchandise (as IHT points out), but most luxury houses turn over employees almost as fast as merchandise, and their commitment to a five-year-old suit is about the same as their commitment to yesterday’s newspaper.
For all the nostalgic style, it’s still an industry focused more on the future than the past.
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.
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.
