via Style Salvage1) Neckerchiefs can still be rugged (although we might tuck this one in a la J.Crew).
2) Herringbone tweed is forever.
| ALL Big Picture |
TAGS
|
An
UrbanDaddy
Publication
SIGN UP FOR UPDATES
You'll know what we know.
Must Haves
“Tweed”
via Style Salvage
via ZimbioHere’s the scenario: you’re an maturing scenester, in the thick of promoting your first arthouse lead. It’s a New York screening, which means no black tie and no dress code, but if you show up in a leather jacket, everyone’s going to think you’re a jackass. That never bothered you before, but somehow, this time’s different…
In this case, Steven Dorff went full professor. That means a checked tweed suit and grenadine tie that makes him look like Indiana Jones on the first day of classes. It’s quite possibly the stuffiest thing he’s ever worn. Of course, it helps that it’s a subtle check, the fit is perfect, and the tie is subtle enough to stay under the radar to anyone who might not appreciate such things.
He wears it with more than a little cheek, given his decidedly non-tweedy reputation, but that’s probably about right too. Well played, Mr. Dorff.
| ALL Scene |
TAGS
|
ADVERTISEMENT
The Takeover: Olivia Wilde continues her domination of glossy print. We have no complaints. [Details]
Victory Lap: Kanye nabs a perfect 10 from Pitchfork, and finally becomes the person he kept telling us he was. [Pitchfork]
Out in the Woods: We take it back, this is the jacket from Jeremiah Johnson. [Selectism]
Tweed Life: A dispatch from last night’s Brooklyn Tweed Run. [Daily Intel]
| ALL LinkOut |
TAGS
|
Billy Reid just kicked off his fall/winter sale and, perhaps predictably, we’re headed straight for the thickest pair of pants he’s got.
In this case, it’s the autumnal classic known as the herringbone pant. (Take a closer look here.) It’s the lower-body equivalent of the tweed jacket: a rugged, woodsy take on an essentially formal item. That also means it’s thick enough to light a match on—and more importantly, stand up as one of the toughest non-denim trousers in your arsenal.
There’s a matching suit and waistcoat in the wings if you decide to double down. But by our lights you’re better off just pairing it with flannel and boots and comporting yourself in as rustic a manner as possible.
| ALL Sale-ing |
TAGS
|
Southern Harmony: The Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson has a surprisingly solid grasp of style and grooming. [Esquire]
We’ll Always Be a Step Behind Him: A typically mind-expanding interview with Brian Eno. Apparently we’ve got too much grid-based music. [Pitchfork]
Tweed For Life: A gentleman’s guide to the wonderful world of tweed. [GILT Manual]
Not Today: In honor of Election Day, here’s a little history on why it happened to be today. [Good Men Project]
| ALL LinkOut |
TAGS
|
ADVERTISEMENT
And if you were wondering how that lightly scarfed look works, the heavily tweeded gents at Oliver Spencer were good enough to provide a master class on the subject in their latest lookbook. The big lessons are as follows: find yourself a light jacket, pile on as much texture as you can, and don’t be afraid to go unbuttoned.
| ALL Good Idea |
TAGS
|
via The Kingmaker: Sean Parker got in on the ground floor of Facebook and Napster. At 30, he spends his time wearing beautiful suits and hunting people for sport. (We’re pretty sure that’s in there.) [Vanity Fair]
Pant of the Year: If the phrase “corduroy tweed trousers” isn’t enough to sell you on this, we don’t know what will. [Sartorially Inclined]
The Greatest: An obsessive breakdown of the greatest diva of our time. Pay particular attention to the “Aging into a Drag Queen” category. [The Awl]
A Better Lightbulb: The lightbulb just got a little bit cooler and a lot more tentacle-shaped. [Creative Review]
Now that we’re headed into prime layering season, it’s worth brushing up on your fundamentals—and see how the pros do it when they’ve got a whole collection at their disposal.
This gentleman, lifted from Wings + Horns Fall/Winter lookbook, pulls it off just about perfectly. The goal is to keep your deep-winter coat in the closet as long as possible, and a good supply of sweaters, scarves and blazers can carry you all the way to Halloween.
The most important item, as you might have guessed, is that jacket. It’s a little professorial, but as you might have guessed from this month’s GQ, that’s not such a bad thing these days. And since older is better in this instance—and the magic words “Harris Tweed” just about assure you’ll get something beautiful—you should be able to find some real treasures in the vintage world. Just know your sizes and don’t be squeamish about taking them to the tailor.
| ALL Good Idea |
TAGS
|
Along with all things mulled, fall brings a bit of an outerwear conundrum: to bundle or not to bundle? Our favored solution is the vintage tweed jacket, recognized worldwide as a staple of bookish gents. And as luck would have it, we’ve found a new source for them.
It’s called Tweedman’s Vintage, an online shop gathering together Harris Tweed blazers, velvet smoking jackets and skinny silk ties—in short, the best British vintage has to offer.
Based out of Cambridgeshire (naturally), the duo behind this online emporium has done a superb job of combing through charity shops and the closets of British grandfathers alike to maintain a variety of impeccably preserved woven relics. They’re the perfect transitional piece for fall—polished and, when paired with your knit of choice, just shy of winter weight.
We can neither confirm nor deny the residual scent of pipe tobacco.
via Cool MaterialThe Need for Tweed: A gentleman’s guide to the most gentlemanly of fabrics. [Esquire]
The Soap of the Strong: You can never know about too many obscure soaps. [Archival Clothing]
Mind the Raincoats: Billy Reid’s final summer sale continues to be awesome, most recently with $150 raincoats. [Sartorially Inclined]
The Outsiders: As it turns out, Band of Outsiders makes a hell of a saddle shoe. [High Snobiety]
| ALL LinkOut |
TAGS
|
This weekend saw the 2010 incarnation of London’s tweed run, the trad version of critical mass. Naturally there were plenty of curled mustaches and boneshakers on hand, but we were most impressed by the staggering volume of fantastic fabrics on hand. But strangely enough, the gentleman in the red cravat was the only one with the wit to sport an actual biker’s brim.
Second Hand: She better hope Bloomberg doesn’t find out about this. [Fashion Gone Rogue]
Goody Two Shoes: A charitable gift guide, for any leftover bag money you have lying around. [TBD]
Thugs and Backpackers: Harris Tweed goes in for a streetwear collab. We’re just not sure how to feel about this one. [Hypebeast]
The Who Sell Out: David Lynch tries his hand at directing ads for Christian Dior. We guess this means they’ve forgotten about this. [Telegraph]
| ALL LinkOut |
TAGS
|
Back to the Garden: Either that, or she’s planning an organic farm. [Fashion Gone Rogue]
Knit Picking: Selectism takes a peek inside the SNS Herning factory. [Selectism]
Ride, Sally, Ride: The Tweed Ride comes to Washington, D.C.. [Washington Post]
Still the Greatest: If you need a palate cleanser from the NME business, here’s a list of the ten worst albums of all time. At the bottom… Muhammad Ali? [Neatorama]
| ALL LinkOut |
TAGS
|
This tweed-on-tweed tie comes from Motto and Crest’s New Forest line, available online as of this morning. The double tweed is a nice twist on the usual wool tie, but more importantly—like most of the rest of Motto and Crest’s stock—it allows for a uniquely stealthy sartorial move.
If you’re wearing it under a jacket (or waistcoat, or cardigan), you’ll only show the lighter top half of the tie, turning a piece of deconstructed neckwear into a surprisingly staid item. And later, possibly after the boss has left the room, you can unbutton and put your bifurcated sartorialism on full display. It makes for a pretty versatile item…provided you don’t blow your cover.
| ALL Object |
TAGS
|
We love Engineered Garments, so it pains us to say this, but this is a bad idea. It’s almost impossible to make a belly-side pouch attractive, even when you’re working with the most respectable fabrics in the world. You can cover it in tweed and call it a “waist bag,” but it’s still a fanny pack. Sorry gents, but we’re not buying it.
| ALL Bad Idea |
TAGS
|
Really?: To be fair, the blindfold does make things difficult. [Fashion Copious]
Threadless: The future of Harris Tweed is surprisingly bleak. Get it while you can… [Style Salvage]
Designers Gone Wild: Where the Wild Things Are finally leaches into the fashion world. [High Snobiety]
To the Dogs: Dubai’s Ed Hardy shop just got busted for selling pets. We’d say we’re surprised, but after this, nothing that happens at the Dubai Ed Hardy shop could surprise us. [Transracial]
Steven Alan tends to be a pretty understated designer, so we were to happy to see him take on a few of our favorite grace notes in his latest collection. For one, there’s a pleasing prevalence of tweed. For another, it looks like Mr. Alan is bringing back the flat cap, the preferred headgear of newsies everywhere. September can’t get here soon enough.
| ALL Labeled |
TAGS
|
We’re of the opinion that tweed can never be in too many places. So it’s nice to see it expanding into the summer shorts.
These slim shorts from London’s Blaak Homme might be a bit warmer than the usual seersucker, but it’s worth it to introduce a bit more texture into your weekend suitcase. We wouldn’t take them on the beach, but it’s hard to do better for the rest of your summer outings.
As for the cargo pockets…tweed heals all wounds.
After years of tireless effort, it looks like the blazer might finally be coming back.
A Continuous Lean just posted a few snaps of Band of Outsiders’ latest fall line, and we couldn’t help but notice the 70s vibe running through the whole thing. Tweed and corduroy both make strong showings, along aviator glasses and uncannily helmet-like hair.
At the risk of sounding gushy, this is pretty much the fashion line we were looking for when we started praising the 70s. They even got the button tabs right! Well played, gentlemen.
Antonio Azzuolo’s been a solid designer and label for a while now, but judging by his latest work, the 70s are about to get a more cred.
We stopped by last night to see a.a.’s F/W ’09 series, and we were pleasantly surprised to see him indulging in some of our favorite sartorial quirks, like rope-shouldered blazers, double-breasted jackets, and our favorite of all, tweed. Add in a bit of swagger and the occasional polished shoe, and you’ve got yourself a design aesthetic. The fall can’t come soon enough…
| ALL Labeled |
TAGS
|
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.
If you’re really trying to nail the Old Hollywood look, a bit of tweed should help.
This Bentley Tweed cap harkens back to a time when London was still a fashion capital, and the occasional non-fur-lined earflap was still acceptable. It may seem like an unlikely style revival, but when Robert Downey Jr.’s take on Sherlock Holmes comes out in November, it may seem a whole lot likelier.
| ALL Object |
TAGS
|
Where Americans have the Polar Bear Plunge, Britons have the Tweed Run, which saw hundreds of fully-tweeded patriots taking to Savile Row last Saturday on fixed gear bicycles. (We assume their Penny-Farthings were in the shop.)
| ALL Big Picture |
TAGS
|
Tweed has never been the hottest look, but it may be having its own trendlet. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to academic-chic.
This “Academia Jacket” from Visim has been making the Japanese retail rounds, and caught the eye of the streetwear tastemakers at High Snobiety and nascent King of all Media Kanye West. It’s a natural step from the accountant fetishism of Thom Browne—who, coincidentally, was just named GQ’s Designer of the Year—but we can’t help but wonder where this leads. Glasses can always get nerdier, but we imagine we’ll see library-themed nightclubs popping up next summer.
Our advice is to start snapping up hardcovers now. After all, you’ll need accessories.
| ALL Good Idea |
TAGS
|
As anyone who’s been perusing our must-haves knows, we’ve got a soft spot for Yuketen Herringbone Boots, but actually finding a pair can be quite a task. Luckily, the rest of the world seems to be catching up.
Acquire put us onto this similar pair from UK brand Maharishi. It’s not quite as good…but you won’t have to hire out a personal shopper just to find one.
| ALL Object |
TAGS
|
