Run Of The Mill F/W 2011 Has Landed

My two buddies and I are back at it for F/W 2011.  Our own little Run of the Mill has expanded its offerings for the season with 4 new shirts and 4 new shoes (our fan favorite cutaway collar oxfords will be back up for sale later in the day).  Since day one it's been about offering the stuff we love and wear at a great value to our customers.  While manufacturing has stayed consistent (shirts made in the USA, shoes made in Italy), we tried to push the envelope.  The fabrics sourced for a few of the shirts are on another level - we're talking Albini and Albiati, which are two of Italy's most renowned mills, for those of you who care about this sort of thing.  We also updated our cutaway collar.  The new collar has a slightly wider spread and longer collar points adding up to the best cutaway we've had the pleaseure of offering.  Shoes are still coming out of one of Northern Italy's best ready to wear factories and F/W 2011's program features beautiful shades of suede and one double monk stomper that is snow ready, seriously.  All our product is still on a made to order basis and the new stuff will be up for about a month long window starting today.  Hopefully those of you who are interested will head on over and do a little browsing.  Maybe you'll even do a little buying.   Regardless, I'd like to thank everyone who supports my endeavors and me for helping make special things like this possible.  Feel free to email me with any questions/concerns/inquiries/slander.

-L.A.S

Unis F/W 2011

When I visited Eunice Lee a little while back at her Elizabeth St. shop we talked about starting over.  Not from scratch or anything too drastic, but revisiting the things that made her brand, Unis, amazing in the first place - shoring up the foundation if you will.  Fans of Unis have nothing to worry about and those looking to explore her clothing for the first time have a lot to look forward to, starting with what helped her stake her claim in menswear in the first place.  Most people have probably heard about Unis thanks to her bottoms, specifically the Gio, which was easily one of the top 5 chinos on the market.  You may remember how she "famously" (I only put that in quotes because I know not everyone is on the internet as much as I am) defended her price points to blog commenters.  For F/W 2011 the Gio got a little bit of a facelift.  There are now two completely re-engineered Gio's - a standard and a "skinny".  Yeah, you just read the word "skinny" on a menswear blog.  Did you blackout?  Are you okay?  Moving on, having two fits hopes to alleviate any discrepancies that may have existed before and satisfy as many people looking for chinos as possible.  Personally, I prefer and wear the Gio Skinny - word is bond.  Others may prefer the Gio.  Regardless, they are the best pair of chinos that I have owned since Hickey closed its doors.  The Italian cotton used is hearty enough for cold weather wear, but has a luxuriousness to it.  The whole point of these pants is to offer a tailored silhouette, much like a trouser, but in the washed comfort of your traditional chino.  The emerald and ox blood colorways are the definitive choices for those of you looking to wear not just color, but the right color for this time of year.  Eunice didn't stop with her bottoms either.  No, there is a lot more great stuff happening for F/W 2011.  She's offering USA made suiting for the first time at an affordable price point compared to her competitors.  It's a casual take on the new buttoned up aesthetic engulfing menswear, while not sacrificing an iota of quality.  For the guy looking to grab himself a sportcoat, but isn't drinking any of that Neapolitan kool aid, look no further.  I should also mention the new outerwear made in conjunction with San Francisco's Golden Bear.  Simply put, it's murderous.  Long story short, swing by Unis if you live in NYC or browse the site if you live on the internet.  Either way I think you are going to find some great stuff that's going to help you shore up your own foundation for F/W 2011.

[All pictures courtesy of Justin Chung.]

-L.A.S

Ovadia & Sons F/W 2011 Campaign B-Roll

A little while back I had the pleasure of working with a bunch of talented folks/friends in producing the Ovadia & Sons F/W 2011 campaign.  Justin took so many great images that we didn't end up using that I figured it would make sense to drop a selection of them somewhere.  I guess that's what a blog is for, right?  Anyhow, I hope you guys enjoy some of these outtakes.  Not all of them are meant to be taken seriously (though that fur stole is absolutely, undeniably ill), but they do tell another story that I think ultimately compliments the official campaign images.  Also, if this is your first time seeing Ovadia & Sons F/W 2011 then I am happy to bring you up to speed on the best new line of menswear coming out of America.

-L.A.S

Blind Barber: A Review

First off, apologies for my absence.  I just started a new job and have a lot of stuff going on so it has been difficult to find the time to hash out quasi-quality stuff over here.  Anyhow, as always, you can follow my daily nonsense (mostly, sorta, kinda about clothing) over at my Tumblr.  Moving on...

When I was younger I was intense about my haircuts to the point where a bad haircut seriously fucked up my chi for, like, a week, easily.  Somewhere along the line (see: various collegiate hazing practices) I got over all that nonsense and usually went with options that were either convenient, cheap or some combination of the two.  Yesterday I swung by Blind Barber in NYC for my first “real” haircut in a long time.  You may have already heard about BB thanks to their pretty stellar run of recent press (Details, New York Times, a bunch of menswear bloggers/vloggers/joggers/loggers/etc).  So yeah, long story not so short at this point, but I got probably the best haircut of my life.  See, that’s the thing, I forgot about quality barbershops and barbers - they actually give a shit about how your hair is going to look.  Melissa, the wonderful woman who cut my golden locks and pictured below, paid attention to how my hair grows, it’s natural direction and all the factors most people don’t think twice about.  They also give you a complimentary drink, which is better than not getting a drink in case you weren’t aware.  Check out the website, call them up and make an appointment.  If you’re not satisfied (most likely an impossible scenario) holler at me and I will come to your place of residence with clippers and give you a little perspective.

Cliff notes: Before my cut babies would take one look at my dome piece and start crying.  Since my haircut I have been getting daps from babies all over the city.  All baby daps are courtesy of Blind Barber.

Shout outs: Melissa, JB (she took all the pics), Trunzo, Eric, Matt

 -L.A.S

First Look: Ian Velardi F/W 2011

I haven't known Ian or his namesake collection for long, but that hasn't stopped me from going on record and singing his praises.  As it stands today, Mr. Velardi is one of my favorite American designers.  You might not explicitly know Ian Velardi, but you're probably already a fan of his work.  Previously, Ian was part of the Hickey brain trust, who along with Aaron Levine (another Sart Inc favorite and currently at Club Monaco) designed some incredible clothes that were arguably ahead of their time.  I truly believe that if Hickey had come out just a year or so later it would still be around today, but that's a different story for a different time.  Anyhow, Ian is only in his second season (F/W 2011 and S/S 2012), but is already on the radar of people whose taste I respect - you'll be able to find his stuff in Barneys and Park & Bond any day now.  Ian's collection actually reminds me a lot of when Michael Bastian first started his namesake line.  Not so much in terms of aesthetics per se, but both gentleman are doing similar things.  They took impressive menswear pedigrees and turned their talents to creating classic sportswear that sets itself apart thanks to an understanding of fabric, fit and details.  The end result is a collection that when looked at as a whole represents a solid wardrobe for the style conscious guy.  The only down side to this, as far as I see it, is that getting hands on with clothing like this is truly the best way to experience it.   See, that's often the conundrum that great sportwear faces.  To the untrained eye and in pictures it often appears basic.  But then, again, that's what men should be aiming for.  You shouldn't want to stand out.  You want beautifully made clothes that fit properly.  That's what Ian is doing.  Everything is Italian made (some of your favorite players are involved in the manufacturing process, especially with the sportcoats and trousers) save for some accessories so there is inherent value in each garment.  S/S 2012 images on deck...GQ has the exclusive on that.

-L.A.S