The Real Animal House

I'm not sure how many of you guys consider yourselves southern frat style scholars, but this video of the DKE house at LSU circa 1980-something is important research material.  It's a fun watch in general, whether you were in a fraternity yourself or not, and it's cool to see southern prep in its natural environment.  Ironically enough, these guys look much more Risky Business than Animal House - gotta love the 80's.



-L.A.S

“How I Get Dressed” with Patrick Grant

"Getting dressed is a moment of calm, I think, in each day.  It's a moment that's entirely our own.  It's a moment when nothing else can disturb us. And I think it's something we need to learn to enjoy once again."  How the man gets dressed. As seen on Put This On.


Patrick Grant: How I Get Dressed from Chris Floyd on Vimeo.

-L.A.S

Patrick Grant: An Introduction

While those of us who were unable to attend London Fashion Week wait patiently for E. Tuatz's S/S 2011 collection to hit the internet and Barneys, I'd like to quickly talk about Patrick Grant.  For those unaware, Patrick Grant is arguably Saville Row's most interesting personality.  Patrick, age 38, is currently the youngest Guv'nor on Savile Row and received his MBA from Oxford.  He runs the bespoke tailor Norton & Sons and their ready-to-wear subsidiary E. Tautz, who you might have read about recently.  He's nothing short of a menswear master even if he never really planned on getting into the business in the first place.  As he told Swipe Life:

"It was an accident really, well, not an accident. A fabulous coincidence. I stumbled upon it completely by chance. I was at Oxford finishing off an MBA and a friend of mine was supposed to meet me for lunch. He called to say he couldn’t come, so I grabbed a copy of the Financial Times and sat and read it because there was nothing else to read. I got as far as the ‘Businesses for sale’ section and there happened to be an advert on that one day for Norton & Sons. There was just a little advert that said ‘Bespoke tailor for sale, 16 Savile Row. Contact Mr. Granger by letter’. That’s as much as it was planned. There was no planning whatsoever. It was just completely fortuitous.

I came and met the owner and came to the shop and looked around and having never worked in clothing before I just fell in love with the place. I’d always been very interested in craft and making things, I’d always worked in manufacturing companies and I’d always been very interested in clothes but I’d never thought ever, to work in the clothing and tailoring industry."

Seems like fate, no?  Anyway, not only is this guy renowned for rescuing not one, but two iconic English "brands", but he's also one of the rare few working in menswear today that truly gets the whole style vs. fashion thing and the relationship between the two. And lest we not forget the attention to detail and craftsmanship (I mean, just look at a picture of a Norton & Sons suit) that is at work.  From bespoke to ready-to-wear, from Saville Row to the runway,  Patrick is someone you need to know about if you don't already.

[Pictures courtesy of Swipe Life.]

-L.A.S

A Week With Nick Wooster

To this day one of the most popular posts I have ever run on Sart Inc was an introduction and style breakdown on Men's Fashion Director of Neiman Marcus Group Services, Nick Wooster.  Nick has become quite the street style celebrity recently as people seem drawn to his rugged, badass take on all things Americana.  Polarizing, engaging and thoughtful, Nick's style is, at the very least, an extremely popular talking point.  This past week he was featured as a subject of GQ's (now?) annual and highly impressive 5x7 portrait series by photographer Bill Gentle, which follows a select group of fashion insiders as they dress for New York Fashion Week.  Joined by the likes of T: The New York Times Fashion Magazine Fashion Director Bruce Pask and my dapper friends behind the men's style blog Street Etiquette, Nick and his gear were photographed every day for the past seven days.  Here is what street style photographer Tommy Ton, who also works with GQ, had to say about Nick's style:

"It's pretty safe to say that Nick has instantly become an overnight style icon and has developed quite the following on the blogosphere. From his trademark handlebar 'stache to his rugged take on prep, Wooster's badass individual style commands attention. This past summer we saw him rocking everything from pastel color-blocked suiting to a matching camo jacket and tie."

It should be noted that Nick is as humble and gracious as he is stylish.  You can find all his photos from the series in chronological order below, along with his own accompanying commentary for each day's wears.  For those interested in a similar post featuring, the one and only, Glenn O'Brien you can find that here.

9/9/2010

"Grey Quandary." 

9/10/2010

"Gray Quotidian."

9/11/2010

"Garçon-like Quality."

9/12/2010

"Gimme Qamouflage."

9/13/2010

"Grenson Quintessential."

9/14/2010

"Generally Qhaki."

9/15/2010

"Wow, what a week. Thanks to everyone at GQ, and a special thanks to Bill."

-L.A.S

Blaming On His Boots The Faults Of His Feet

Great literary figures simultaneously acting as style icons is nothing new.  We've heard many of the same names before - Hemmingway, Kerouac, Wolfe, Faulkner, etc.  Surprisingly, a name that fails to pop up is that of Samuel Beckett.  It's hard to say if the Irish writer's sometimes polarizing work has anything to do with this, but regardless of how you feel about his life's work I think we can all agree that Beckett had some serious style chops.  His look was analogous to his writing, minimalist and often bleak.  Most pictures you find of Beckett find themselves squarely in the category of F/W traditionalism, which is a timeless look.  Beckett seemed to be especially fond of the turtleneck and sportcoat combo.  This is a look I've been seeing a lot lately and one that is quite difficult to pull off no matter how simple its elements may be.  But looking back on Beckett is a wonderful cold weather primer nonetheless.  He was able to cultivate a look that was parts distinguished, ruggedly proper, brooding and clean all rolled into one.  The extremely private author's wife famously called his winning of the 1969 Nobel Prize for Literature a "catastrophe".  Despite his aversion to attention he did entertain his many admirers in Paris up until his death in 1989, though I doubt anybody wanted to talk about his hair.

-L.A.S

Study For An End Of The World No. 2

In March of 1962 Swiss artist Jean Tinguely was invited by NBC to Las Vegas, NV to do one of his metamechanic art installations.  Tinguely was best known for his self destroying kinetic art or, as the average person would say, "blowing a bunch of shit up in public".  His 1960 piece Homage to New York had partially failed in front of a large crowd at The Museum of Modern Art so you can imagine how he felt while working on Study for an End of the World No. 2 a mere two years later.  Luckily, photographer Allan Grant was on hand to document the entire thing for Life Magazine.  While in Las Vegas Tinguely and his entourage went to the city landfill to gather necessary materials and stayed at The Flamingo to assemble some of the work itself aka party their asses off.  Regardless of how you feel about Dadaism there is no denying that Tinguely was as badass as he was crazy.  One man's trash...

[All pictures courtesy of Life Magazine.]

-L.A.S

Anatomy Of A Badass: Nick Wooster

Odds are you've seen a picture of Nick Wooster on the internet.  Dude is a mainstay of the streetstyle blogs and it's not hard to see why.  Wooster, the Men's Fashion Director of Neiman Marcus Group Services (Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman), is pretty much the definition of a sartorial badass.  I see him as a more accessible version of Philip Crangi in that Wooster, while exhibiting the same level of flat out ruggedness, adds tailored pieces and does away with some of Cragi's sartorial frivolity to keep his looks actually wearable.  I would surmise that Wooster's diverse look is very much grounded in his equally diverse professional pedigree.  Stints at John Bartlett, Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein seem to have shaped Wooster's rugged, yet tailored aesthetic.  Overall, he serves as a deadly serious example of a dude finding his style sweet spot,  straight up killing it on the reg and getting yo' beard game tight.

[Pictures courtesy of The Sartorialist, GQ and this new thing called Google.]

-L.A.S

Chi-Chi

If Arnold Palmer is the king of golf style Juan "Chi-Chi" Rodriguez is the sport's crown prince.  While Chi-Chi never killed it at the major championships quite like some other legends he is the quintessential "rags to riches" icon of professional golf.  The hall of famer's style was incredibly on point and he is best remembered for his iconic golf hats and Browline style shades.  When he first turned pro Chi-Chi would actually cover up the hole with his hat after making a birdie or an eagle, but after complaints from his fellow players he switched to his now infamous "toreador dance".  Always charismatic ("How long does John Daly drive a golf ball? When I was a kid, I didn't go that far on vacation") and willing to give back to the community, Chi-Chi was, and still is, one of the best of 'em.

-L.A.S