THE WEST IS DEAD
Perfect summer tees should have a few basic qualities: simplicity, timelessness and above all, comfort. The West is Dead makes one of the best styles out there, and while pricier at $70, it’s worth it for an item you’ll live in June through August. Conceived in the woods of Northern Montana by two friends, The West is Dead collection is entirely handmade in the USA, with each garment designed using high quality raw materials. Their tees are 100% cotton and will age like raw denim. If you’re that guy who’s still wearing (more…)
ZARA WEEKENDER
Here’s a sharp, affordable bag option from Zara, well suited for the upcoming travel season. It’s just big enough to hold a pair of shoes, change of clothes, toothbrush and book, yet small enough for the office, with laptop and gym clothes. The best part? The price – at $99 it won’t break the bank. And while it’s not leather, it still looks pretty darn luxe. $99, available at Zara. Hit the road in style this summer. More pics: (more…)
ARTEMARE HARDWOOD PADDLE SET
Artemare is a small company based in California specializing in beautiful artisanal luxury beach accessories. The paddle set above is crafted in the USA using a mix of no less than five natural hardwoods reclaimed from surfboards – American walnut wood, teakwood, mahogany wood, purpleheart wood and pine. The result is a stunning set of paddles that could just as easily be displayed on the wall of your house, and never step foot on the beach. $228, available at Terrain.
GANT SUMMER STYLE
At first glance this looks like a classic rugby shirt, but in fact it’s a far more chic summer option. Instead of a traditional heavier cotton fabrication, it’s constructed as a woven knit using a fine cotton-viscose-wool blend. The end result is a knit that drapes loosely, breaths easier and stays cooler, while still retaining that classic American sportswear look. Think cocktails along the Mediterranean vs. light beer and wrestling in the backyard. $165, available at Gant. Here’s a close up of the fabric: (more…)
2014 RANGE ROVER SPORT
Daniel Craig reportedly earned 1 million USD for his role in Land Rover’s glitzy unveiling of the 2014 Range Rover Sport in New York last week. The overall design is dramatically different from its predecessor – exactly what the company intended. Anyone caught driving the 2013 model, beware. It’s 800 pounds lighter and a bit longer, but still shorter than comparable 7 passenger SUV’s – with the push of a button 2 “children’s seats” appear as a third row. The 2014 model has the dramatic sloping angle of the futuristic entry level Evoque and has adopted the new tear drop headlights of the new Land Rover. Here’s Craig discussing his role at the launch:
PRADA CANDY L’EAU
Prada “Candy L’eau” directed by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola.
KNOW THIS BRAND: BALL & BUCK
Ball & Buck is a Boston based lifestyle brand and retailer “built for sporting gentlemen.” Whether that means the new breed of hipsters donning camouflage bow ties in Williamsburg, or an actual pick-up-driving Midwesterner who knows. Either way, founder Mark Bollman’s approach to retailing is genuine and clever. His ability to create a relatively new brand that feels substantive and routed in tradition is no small feat, and is incredibly timely as the love affair with heritage brands shows no sign of abating. For companies that are looking to freshen up their online shop, take a cue from Mark and his creative team. They combine a sharply edited collection of clothing and accessories with smart content, from beautiful photography and short-attention-span-friendly films tricked out to look like 8mm, to choice quotes: “A crown is merely a hat that let’s the rain in” – Frederick the Great.
A quick look at their designer collaborations and you can tell they play with the big boys: Allen Edmonds, New Balance and one of the best looking stereo set-ups we’ve ever laid eyes on, by Seattle based SOTA. Most importantly, everything carried at Ball & Buck is American made, which is important to Mark’s customers: “when they’re voting with their dollars, we want them to be able to make that vote for domestic production.” BallandBuck.com
VINTAGE SPORTING STYLE
Jurgen Klinsmann rocking the vintage look last night at Estadio Azteca as the Americans pulled off an improbable draw against Mexico in a critical World Cup qualifier. This is a fun shirt to own and perfect for the summer when you want to dial up a little patriotism without overdoing it. Dark obsidian (navy), with contrasting white v-neck. $100, available at Nike.
GOPRO ALANA BLANCHARD
Great video “Surfer Girl,” by GoPro featuring the stunning Alana Blanchard. And here’s a suit that will look right at home on the beaches of Kauai, where Alana grew up. The “Thomas” is inspired by surf films of the 1960′s and comes in five colors. $75, available at Saturdays Surf NYC.
Kauai is geologically the oldest island in the Hawaiian archipelago and lies far to the west.
DOCKERS KHAKI RULES
I recently helped style a special advertising section for Dockers, titled “Khaki Rules,” featured in the April issue of GQ that just hit newsstands. We started by picking out our favorite khakis – a cross section of important styles, including the Alpha, an all-time favorite. In the past, a project like this would end with photographs in the magazine. Now, seemingly every program includes live special events, creative social media extensions, and additional customized content. For Dockers, that included a behind the scenes video shown below, that can be played directly on your smart phone by simply viewing the ad in the magazine and snapping a pic using the “GQ Live” app.
Virtually every ad in the magazine is click-able, and the technology recognizes the image without the need for an ugly bar code or website address. To bring the section to life further, Dockers is parking a smartly styled Airstream in Philadelphia and Chicago this month, where I will be on hand to provide style advice. Here are a few pages from the section: (more…)
THE STARS ARE OUT TONIGHT
David Bowie caught the music world off guard and released a surprise album out of nowhere on March 8th, his first in over a decade, and his 27th overall. “The Next Day” has been met with critical acclaim, with the lead single “Where are We Now?” hitting number one in sales on iTunes within hours. His music video “The Stars (Are Out Tonight),” starring Tilda Swinton is blowing up YouTube. A little new music taking you into the weekend.
THE GQ STYLE BIBLE
Keep an eye out for GQ’s “Style Bible” April issue, hitting newsstands this week. There are three separate covers, featuring Bruno Mars, Jimmy Fallon and Jason Bateman, all shot by legendary photographer, and 22 year GQ veteran Peggy Sirota. Inside the issue she describes each stars personality. On Fallon: “Top of the heap. Willing to take it anywhere. A little boy in a handsome man’s body. Love!” On Mars: “Super-friendly dude. He sang for us. We all died. (more…)
SERGIO MENDES
For that spring playlist you might be working on, here’s a look back at legendary musician Sergio Mendes. Often lost in the shadow of his Brazilian countryman Antonio Carlos Jobim, Mendes emerged in the late 1950s just as bossa nova was becoming popular. This classic video below shows a young Eartha Kitt in 1967 introducing this “new sound.” Fluid, beautiful and inspiring – ideal for imagining warmer days ahead. “Ma Que Nada” is perhaps Mendes’ most recognizable song. And unlike many legendary musicians, his career has had an incredibly long run, with a recent Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song in 2012 as co-writer of the song “Real In Rio” from the animated film Rio.
THE ORIGINAL: HUDSON’S BAY COMPANY
As February’s fashion shows proved, the obsession with history and heritage in menswear remains strong, with the unfortunate side effect that many of the collections were hard to tell apart. You could have saved time and just lined up four or five and had them go directly one after the other. Professorial tweeds, preppy stripes, layers upon layers upon layers – has menswear become repetitive?
If there was a quest to find true authenticity, Hudson’s Bay Company, the oldest commercial corporation in North America, and one of the (more…)
GQ NAMES BEST NEW MENSWEAR DESIGNERS IN AMERICA
GQ has announced their next crop of talented emerging designers as part of their hugely successful “Best New Menswear Designers in America” program. The honorees include Paige Mycoskie of Aviator Nation, shown above, Ernest Alexander Sabine of Ernest Alexander, Matt Baldwin of Baldwin Denim and Liam and Sam Fayed of Bespoken. Being chosen for this prestigious award is a huge achievement, and has proven a launching pad for past winners, including Billy Reid, Robert Geller and Band of Outsiders. The list for 2013 has been narrowed from 6 to 4 and you can view the full story here.
Ernest Alexander Sabine, Ernest Alexander, shot by Jason Frank Rothenberg:
Being selected helps each brand immensely, and can lead to lucrative collaborations – last year’s winners Ovadia & Sons now design the York Street label for J.Press, while Todd Snyder, another 2012 winner, designs for Champion. All a result of GQ’s incredible mentorship and reach, lead by the highly respected menswear visionary, Jim Moore. As with 2012, each of the designers will create a capsule collection in collaboration with Gap, to be sold in select Gap stores globally in September, as well as online.
Matt Baldwin, Baldwin Denim:
Liam and Sam Fayed, Bespoken:
