Tag Archives: clothes

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GQ | Getting Questionable

This is exactly why I stopped buying American men’s fashion magazines.  The content is so lean in terms of what is actually meaningful, and so full of off-topic pandering fluff pieces– I can mine any nuggets that may be there in about five minutes or less at the magazine rack, and save my four bucks for something useful.  Case in point–

The magazine: GQ March 2009.  

The title: The 10 Most Stylish Men in America, Starring Justin Timberlake.  

My reaction: “You can not be serious.  Hell, he’s not even a man, let alone stylish.”

GQ— short for Gentlemen’s Quarterly, and once the gold standard for men’s style is now GQ— Getting Questionable.  Yeah, your credibility takes a hit in my book when you’re consistently extolling the virtues of teeny-boppers and hip-hoppers.  I think of those guys as trend-seeking, fashion-wagon opportunists, not icons of style.  Weren’t they wearing white belts not too long ago?  Give them their props somewhere else– not in GQ.  I used to laugh at what rags FHM and Maxim were, but now everyone is starting to migrate to the shallow end of the style gene pool.

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Brooks Brothers’ Continental Bent (is more like it)

I’m still not getting what I want from Brooks Brothers, and I’m starting to wonder if I ever will.  Bring back the pure, unapologetic, timeless icons of American sportswear & clothing– make it fresh, get the fit right, and roll it out.  It still feels too much like a European (Italian) interpreting classic American style.  It has a very continental feel in these photos from WWD.

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BILL BLASS CLASS

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“The beauty of being able to draw, or paint, from an early age is that you never feel trapped, least of all by your immediate circumstances.”

–Bill Blass

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From The New York Times—

In early December 1999, the mood in the Bill Blass showroom at 550 Seventh Avenue was as gray as the film of dust on a potted plant that sat in the corner and always seemed to be dying.

Blass, arguably the most famous of all the American designers, had shown his farewell collection that September and sold the company a few weeks later.  He had been ill for some time, living with throat cancer for years — he was then 77 — and he didn’t seem much inclined to argue with the new owners about who would fill his oversize shoes.  They wanted a name.  So the future of Blass’s longtime assistants was far from certain.  Laura Montalban, one of two top designers, left to work for Oscar de la Renta; Blass called the other, Craig Natiello, who had been with him for a decade, into his office.

“You’re not going to like the people who bought the company,” Blass said.  He made a phone call, then told Mr. Natiello, who recalled the conversation in a recent interview, that there was a job waiting for him at Halston.  “Here is your out. Do you want it?”

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That, Ladies and Gentlemen, is class.  Keep a stiff upper lip, tell it straight, and repay loyalty with loyalty. This kind of character is an increasing rarity, unfortunately. Kudos, Mr. Blass.

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Jimmy Stewart’s Honorable Style

Jimmy Stewart Rope

With seemingly every known sportswear brand with a nickel’s worth of history coming out with an “authentic” or “vintage” line, I’m left wanting to step away and rediscover the “heritage” of dressing well.  At least I won’t have to worry about being stoned to death for not wearing the correct of-the-moment hipster boot anymore.  So I’ll have that going for me- which is good.

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In Like Flynn | A Swashbuckler’s Legacy

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“A boat is like a horse… every ship has her own personality, the tricks she does, the foibles she has.” – Errol Flynn

Errol Flynn was born in the British Commonwealth seaport Hobart, Tasmania, on June 20, 1909. His father, a distinguished marine biologist, introduced him to the sea at a very young age. Flynn always said the one true love of his life was the ocean. Sailing became a lifelong obsession and his favorite escape.

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“I like my whiskey old and my women young.” – Errol Flynn 

A young Brigitte Bardot cooing over 47 yr old Errol Flynn. –1956. He passed 3 yrs later. The phrase “In like Flynn” originated as a coarse reference to his powers as a seducer.  

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Classic Roots

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Menswear designers new and old are tracing fashion roots and embracing brand heritage– whether it’s their own or borrowed.  Ralph is the true master of classic American sportswear, and no one is more in their element at this time than him.

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OLD NAVY

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U.S. Navy recruiting poster– circa 1917.  She’s sporting standard naval issue enlisted dress blues– or “crackerjacks” as they were commonly called in reference to the sailor boy on the popular Cracker Jack box.

Women have served as an integral and invaluable part of the U.S. Navy since the establishment of the Nurse Corps in 1908.  Nine years later, the Navy authorized the enlistment of women as “Yeomanettes.” In 1948, the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act was signed, making it possible for women to officially enter the U.S. Navy in regular or reserve status.

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It’s commonly thought that the “bell bottom” trouser was introduced in 1817 to permit men to roll them above the knee when washing down the decks– and to make it easier to remove them in a hurry when forced to abandon ship or when washed overboard.  Old Navy folklore has suggested that they may have also been used as a life preserver– by knotting the legs at the opening and filling them with air.

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Great Depressionista

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Recesionista is one of those buzzwords of 2008 that’s getting a little overplayed.  In my small world, it’s feeling more like Great Depressionista— in regard to fashion and the economy.  Looking at these pictures from the 40’s, they look like what you see in a lot of Soho shops & vintage Americana brands these days like– RRL, LVC, Warehouse, etc.  There are great, rugged pieces, and little, honest details not to be missed– like our friend’s chambray workshirt (above) that’s been mended time and again over the years– out of necessity, not for fashion.  That looks like a great old pair of Levi 501s.  I like how the front belt-loops are placed nice and snug to the fly.

 

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