May 24, 2013 world of men's style / fashion / grooming RSS
“wisdom”
06/08/12
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What's What

The Gospel According to Kanye

Kanye West turns 35 today, which, if our math is correct, makes him two years smarter and cooler than Jesus Christ. (Case in point: JC’s sandals never sold for $90,000 on eBay.) Yeezy’s ability to break down the complexity of life into revelatory rhymes and 140-character musings is undeniably Christ-like. Or at least Bueller-like: “If you have the opportunity to play this game of life, you need to appreciate every moment. A lot of people don’t appreciate the moment until it’s passed.”

Sure, Ferris said it better. And quicker. And, well, first. But he didn’t say, “Never do coke with an intern … they may not be 21.” Which, we suppose, is as close to a point as we’re going to come to on a Friday afternoon. To that end, we leave you this week with:

The Gospel According to Kanye…»
 

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05/31/12
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Object

One Handy Kerchief

The handkerchief was once a central part of any gentleman’s arsenal of personal effects—at the ready to mop a brow or console a distraught stranger. Or in the case of this new set of Wildwood Wisdom handkerchiefs from Barnaby Black: ready to assist you in starting a fire or finding your way out of the woods.

They’re all cotton and a bit more rough-and-tumble than your average pocket square—meaning you can stick one in your breast pocket for the same effect, but it works just as well tucked into the back pocket of your jeans. Consider these the utilitarian entry into our ongoing coverage of summer pocket squares.

Perfect for your next semiformal camping trip.

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08/05/11
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Dept. of Corrections

The Final Exam

Fitting Roomvia Selectism

There’s a pretty good post about buyer’s remorse over at A Headlong Dive, covering the basic things you should consider whenever you step up to the retail plate. (The short version: fit matters; brands, trends and markdowns don’t.)

It’s important stuff to know, especially in the age of flash commerce, but we can’t help but think it missed a little bit of the magic that can pop up between a stylish guy, a good shop and a well-made item.

Allow us to explain…»

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03/30/11
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Dept. of Corrections

End of the Trend: Mad Men Edition

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See if this sounds familiar: a brilliant cultural phenomenon arrives to wild acclaim, and suddenly everyone wants a piece of it. There are trend pieces, magazine covers and for a solid eighteen months it seems like the whole media engine runs on the fumes of this one magical creation. Then everyone gets famous and, four years later, the tastemakers in question finally confess to being over it.

You can set your watch to it…or at least your calendar.

In this case, the magican creation is Mad Men and the sour turn comes from Esquire. And, naturally, they’re right. The two-inch tie isn’t what it used to be, and a thin-lapelled suit won’t raise the eyebrows it did in ’07. But we’d like to think there’s more to it than that.

Allow us to elaborate…»

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11/29/10
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Good Idea

A Gentleman’s Guide to Gifting

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The world is a complex and terrifying place, and never moreso than when we are seeking out the appropriate gifts for our friends and family.

Fortunately, help has arrived in the form of our latest gift guide. We’ll be updating it down to the last minute, but if you stop by now you’ll find a healthy selection of giftable items—including an old-school medicine ball, a fisherman’s sweater and a miniaturized version of De La Soul.

That should be enough to get you started.

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10/28/10
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Dept. of Corrections

Off Trend

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Now that skinny ties are past the point of trendiness, there’s a bit of confusion in the men’s style blogodome concerning the proper width for a gentleman’s tie. The ones you see in GQ seems to be getting wider, but exactly how wide is the subject of some confusion…

Allow us to rectify the situation»

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10/27/10
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Good Idea

The List

johnnycashtodo_crop.jpgSee it larger

We knew Johnny Cash was great, but it turns out his greatness reached much farther than we realized.

Exhibit A: this casual to-do list, apparently written as an in-joke between himself and his family, currently being auctioned off at Julien’s.

It might be the most self-effacing piece of memorabilia we’ve ever seen—and a pretty good guide to the simple life, if you ever decide to pursue that sort of thing. Even more impressively, they seem to think it’ll go for under $500, which makes for a pretty tempting deal. Just take it one piece at a time…

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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...

New York

Brooklyn

Williamsburg

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...

On The Streets: Brooklyn

  • Drew Ledbetter Actor
    Lives: Providence, RI

    Hometown: Chattanooga, TN / Bay Area, CA

    What We Like Drew’s shoes are made by Cole Haan.
  • Drew Ledbetter Actor
    Lives: Providence, RI

    Hometown: Chattanooga, TN / Bay Area, CA

    What We Like Drew’s shoes are made by Cole Haan.
  • Justice Hampton Works for Club Monaco
    Lives: Greenpoint, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Dallas, TX

    What We Like Leave it to a Texan to know that a linen jacket is the perfect bit of outerwear to transition you from spring to summer.
  • Justice Hampton Works for Club Monaco
    Lives: Greenpoint, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Dallas, TX

    What We Like Leave it to a Texan to know that a linen jacket is the perfect bit of outerwear to transition you from spring to summer.
  • Jamie Clawson Runs a leather accessories business (valentinegoods.com)
    Lives: East Village, New York

    Hometown: Cleveland, OH

    What We Like Jamie’s shirt is called the “Expensive” shirt by Wil Fry. Ironically, it goes for about 30 bucks.
  • Jamie Clawson Runs a leather accessories business (valentinegoods.com)
    Lives: East Village, New York

    Hometown: Cleveland, OH

    What We Like Jamie’s shirt is called the “Expensive” shirt by Wil Fry. Ironically, it goes for about 30 bucks.
  • Koppel Verma Researcher at Google
    Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Cambridge, MA

    What We Like Turns out, the Swiss Army makes more than knives—they also made this jacket (it’s vintage).
  • Koppel Verma Researcher at Google
    Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Cambridge, MA

    What We Like Turns out, the Swiss Army makes more than knives—they also made this jacket (it’s vintage).
  • Chris Afzal Audio engineer
    Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Baltimore, MD

    What We Like If you needed any more proof that Brooks Brothers has shed its stodgy image, these shoes should do the trick.
  • Chris Afzal Audio engineer
    Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Baltimore, MD

    What We Like If you needed any more proof that Brooks Brothers has shed its stodgy image, these shoes should do the trick.
  • Malik Alokpovi Host for a hotel
    Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Born in Togo, West Africa, but lived in the South of France

    What We Like Malik’s red suede shoes came from A.P.C. Try not to step on them.
  • Malik Alokpovi Host for a hotel
    Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Born in Togo, West Africa, but lived in the South of France

    What We Like Malik’s red suede shoes came from A.P.C. Try not to step on them.
  • Billy Cadden Musician
    Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Woodstock, NY

    What We Like Billy’s worn this shirt, which he got at H&M while on tour, at every show since.
  • Billy Cadden Musician
    Lives: Williamsburg, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Woodstock, NY

    What We Like Billy’s worn this shirt, which he got at H&M while on tour, at every show since.
  • Sam Bowstucky Bartender
    Lives: Greenpoint, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Chicago, IL

    What We Like He’s actually on his way to a working audition for a bartending job at the Blind Barber. Good luck, Sam.
  • Sam Bowstucky Bartender
    Lives: Greenpoint, Brooklyn

    Hometown: Chicago, IL

    What We Like He’s actually on his way to a working audition for a bartending job at the Blind Barber. Good luck, Sam.
California

San Francisco

Mission District

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…

On The Streets: San Francisco

  • Brian Cunningham Shop clerk
    Lives: San Francisco, CA

    Hometown: Boston, MA

    What We Like The first rule any SF transplant learns: always bring a light coat. Brian sticks with a denim jacket from AllSaints. (Button to taste.)
  • Brian Cunningham Shop clerk
    Lives: San Francisco, CA

    Hometown: Boston, MA

    What We Like The first rule any SF transplant learns: always bring a light coat. Brian sticks with a denim jacket from AllSaints. (Button to taste.)
  • Erik Newton Attorney
    Lives: San Francisco, CA

    Hometown: San Diego, CA

    What We Like Erik likes to throw on an interesting sport coat with a pocket square and skip the tie—on days he’s not in the courthouse, naturally.
  • Erik Newton Attorney
    Lives: San Francisco, CA

    Hometown: San Diego, CA

    What We Like Erik likes to throw on an interesting sport coat with a pocket square and skip the tie—on days he’s not in the courthouse, naturally.
  • Jason Moo Banker
    Lives: San Francisco, CA

    Hometown: New York, NY

    What We Like Jason picked up his prized pocket square at his favorite tailor, tucked away in NYC’s NoHo—Michael Andrews Bespoke.
  • Jason Moo Banker
    Lives: San Francisco, CA

    Hometown: New York, NY

    What We Like Jason picked up his prized pocket square at his favorite tailor, tucked away in NYC’s NoHo—Michael Andrews Bespoke.
  • Presyler Galvin Bon vivant
    Lives: San Francisco, CA

    Hometown: San Francisco, CA

    What We Like A good carry-all bag is a necessity in the city—and you won’t do much better than a Goyard. Extra points for the monogram.
  • Presyler Galvin Bon vivant
    Lives: San Francisco, CA

    Hometown: San Francisco, CA

    What We Like A good carry-all bag is a necessity in the city—and you won’t do much better than a Goyard. Extra points for the monogram.
  • Randal Ruiz Design student
    Lives: San Francisco, CA

    Hometown: San Jose, CA

    What We Like Randal fashioned those elbow pads himself—ensuring he’ll never bump into the same blazer anywhere else.
  • Randal Ruiz Design student
    Lives: San Francisco, CA

    Hometown: San Jose, CA

    What We Like Randal fashioned those elbow pads himself—ensuring he’ll never bump into the same blazer anywhere else.
Florida

Miami

South Beach
June 6

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…

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Style Shifters
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