Doing You A Solid

J. Crew's final sale is not as epic as I would have liked, but there are a few things to get excited about, one of which being their solid NATO style watch straps going for $10-$15 a clip.  Keep in mind these are for 18mm watches so I recommend breaking out your ruler before breaking out your plastic.  I'm not sure what the motivation is behind a fire sale on such a versatile accessory, but one can only assume it has been determined by someone important that regimental stripes are most definitely what the cool kids are buying these days.  I guess that leaves the solid joints for all us broke ass losers. What a shame.

[Editor's note: It's open season on the striped ones as well.  Please ignore my terrible jokes/observations from above.  Looks like J. Crew will have some new options for us soon.]

-L.A.S

For Those With Monies, I Salute You

And your ability to buy equal parts ridiculously awesome and ridiculously "impractical" shoes for summer.  For a cool 600 bones you can grab those infamous Michael Bastian x Stubbs & Wootton seagull blue linen slippers from S/S 2010 or maybe you'd be more comfortable in a pair of Tod's colored suede drivers on sale for an easy $255 over at Yoox.  Either way you're probably gonna need some flexibility when it comes to that whole cost per wear thing if you plan on sleeping easy at night.  For me these joints tread mostly in the "well, if I had unlimited funds..." zone, but then again I don't think it would be to much of a stretch to assume you are richer than myself.  Anyhow, it's summer and the moral of the story here is to enjoy yourself - sartorially and otherwise.  I can actually see those last pair of Tod's working out quite well.  Let me get back to you...

-L.A.S

Attn: L.L. Bean 1912 Selvedge Denim

The good folks over at L.L. Bean continue to give the style cats what they want.  First it was their L.L. Bean Signature line with Alex Carleton and now they're hitting us with limited edition selvedge denim.  Working with Cone Denim's White Oak Plant of Greensboro, North Carolina the shrink to fit jeans are limited to 1,912 pairs (I wonder how they came up with that arbitrary number...I mean L.L. Bean was founded in 1912, but that can't be it) and come in a five pocket button fly straight leg fit.  The denim will be available in store only, but at $79 it's something even us non denim geeks can get excited about.  A resounding "well done" is surely due for my friends in Freeport.  Alright, who's gonna proxy ya boy a pair?

-L.A.S

The Wallabee Champ

Walter White aka Heisenberg aka The Mad Scientist aka The Cook aka The Coldest Dude In Albuquerque aka The Wallabee Champ.  Consider this my humble endorsement for the best show on television hands down.  Dope shoes are just the icing on the cake...

-L.A.S

Watchdogs

There are few sartorial purchases more satisfying than a new pair of summer hardbottoms.  You know, the kind of shoes you can dress up or down, ditch the socks for and just generally stunt in all summer long.  For those already rich in bucks and saddles you may want to head over and check out the remaining Cerbero joints over at Yoox.  It's tough to turn up a lot of information on Cerbero, but from the various forum testimonials I read it seems as if the Italian brand has a decent enough track record especially when you factor in Yoox's fire sale pricepoints and liberal return policy.  The suede brogues and desert boots look especially tasty and should link up with your S/S bottoms without too much effort.  From deep navy hues to easy beige the colorways pretty much range the spectrum from understated to wonderful Italian GTH style.  My Italian is pretty spotty, but Google tells me that "cerbero" stands for "watchdog" (i.e. Cerberus) which makes perfect sense in the context of the colored suede numbers - people will be watching your dogs no doubt.

-L.A.S

On The F-Word and Junya Watanabe S/S 2011

Excuse a bit of generalizing on my part, but I think it's safe to say that the men's style blogosphere dislikes few things more than "fashion".   What may sound a tad bit crazy, since we are talking about a group of dudes who think about clothes way more than what would probably be deemed healthy, actually makes perfect sense.  The focus for most of us is not so much on what's trendy in Paris and Milan or how grand of a spectacle a runway show can be, but often on a timeless brand or product that helps define our idea of classic men's style.  I guess that's why you're way more likely to read a piece on L.L. Bean's footwear options than something in praise of, let's say, Rick Owens' newest S&M jumpsuit.  And  I guess that's also why none of the guys who run your favorite style sites would ever consider themselves "fashion bloggers".   Personally, I find myself firmly entrenched in this very mindset.  The style vs. fashion argument is age old and taking sides is nothing new.  Regardless of how I may or may not feel about fashion doesn't mean I don't appreciate designers who I believe have the rare and uncanny ability to synthesize these two ideas.  Junya Watanabe is one such designer.

Mr. Watanabe's S/S 2011 collection was recently shown in Paris and I am incredibly impressed.  It's a focused collection that recalls classic genres as much as it tries to do something new.  All clothing related nomenclature aka mumbo jumbo aside, what actually struck me the most from what Junya presented was how his collection detailed the true versatility of a few classic items - sailing stripes, white bucks and white pants to be specific.  Forget about your personal feelings on the exact cuts or fabrics or models or any other specifics you want to single out for just one second - S/S 2011 truly is a primer illustrating how said timeless gear can be combined together or with what you already own to create a great summer kit.  White bucks with jeans? Why the hell not?  Rolled white pants instead of standard chinos? Absolutely.  Nautical style? Give it a go.  Fashion is always going to be, well, "fashion", but that doesn't mean it's absolutely worthless to the kind of guy who wants a timeless closet.  Thankfully we have guys like Junya around to remind us of just that.

-L.A.S

Play Ball

While the baseball jacket is undeniably iconic I've had problems in the past finding one that really did it for me.  What does it for me you ask?  I'm talkin' 'bout slim fit, breathable fabric, no branding, no nonsense.  That's what.  I ended up going with the Gant Rugger joint that came out recently and while that is pretty much sold out now you can nab a similar version from Rugby on the cheap.  Despite being less money even when it was full price, the Rugby Cotton Twill Baseball Jacket is just as dope as the Gant Rugger joint.  Hell, if you hate zippers it's probably superior.  I'm not sure how many of you still haven't got that one piece of S/S outerwear locked up yet, but you can't really go wrong with a cotton twill baseball jacket.  It doesn't require any thinking.  You just throw it on over your white tee or oxford when the night takes a turn for the chilly.  The baseball jacket aint ever going out of style, that I can assure you, so you might as well grab both the green and red.  What? You're mowing lawns to save money now? Get outta here.

-L.A.S

A Time To Bid

My buddy Nick just threw up some of of his insane collection of rad stuff on eBay and if you head over you can check out the vintage treasure trove for yourself.  Get some perfectly worn in boots for F/W or maybe one of his killer watch gems - shit, maybe even both.  Nick's watch game is pretty much unrivaled and I never thought I would see the day where he unloaded a few of his babies.  I have no doubt that he's probably going to regret some of these sales, but his loss can be your gain or your wrist's gain for that matter.  I'd head over soon too because knowing Nick's taste everything will be gone sooner rather than later.

-L.A.S

Let It Rock

To anyone looking forward to a Kevin Ruldolf post I'm sorry to c-tease you with the title.  This post is actually in regards to the new Clarks "Rock" Wallabee, which is part of their F/W 2010 collection hitting stores this August.  I may be a slave to low top "cream Wallows", but I'll be damned if these aren't incredibly awesome.  The concept here is equal parts simple and genius - take a classic Clarks' silhouette and supe it up with some killer hiking boot details (d-rings, hiking laces, reinforced sole). Bam. Done. It's that simple.  I'm assuming Clarks is going to to charge a premium on these and there is no word yet on availability on our shores, but hopefully we'll be able to get out hands 'em because there is no doubt the Brits will.  And if you ever actually go hiking in these you're probably gonna have a real dope broken ankle to go with your real dope shoes.

[Picture courtesy of The Shoe Buff.]

-L.A.S

First Look: Jack Spade F/W 2010

John over at Textbook works at Kate Spade and he posted this little preview from Jack Spade's upcoming F/W 2010 collection.  It's only a small taste of what's in store, but so far so good - that waxed jacket with the two hacking breast pockets is crazy fresh and peep the down vest in that coveted "Jay-z blue" (or at least that's what my buddy in college called it).  My man Aaron Levine (formerly of Hickey and Rogues Gallery) is now over at Jack Spade heading up menswear so I'm real curious to see what heat he can bring while staying within the confines of the distinct identity a brand like Jack Spade has already established.  Knowing Aaron I have no doubt that the "new new" coming out of Jack Spade will be straight fire.  And a belated congrats to Mr. Levine on his new gig.

-L.A.S

Attn: Gant Rugger Sale At Epaulet

If you head over to Epaulet you can snatch up some Gant Rugger gear on the cheap before it's all gone.  As someone who has some Rugger gear I can attest to both the quality and fit.  From shirts to outerwear, the stuff is top notch.  Everything runs pretty true to size - I am a medium consistently across the board and my Rugger stuff is all medium.  I particularly like their oxford, The Hugger, which is the perfect slim fit oxford for the guy who likes to wear his shirt untucked most of the time.  The blue Selvedge Oxford shirt has carved out a nice little place in my own closet and while I haven't had it all that long it has definitely gotten a ton of wear recently.  The selvedge details are nice and the shirt has a great weight that truly makes it a year round wear.  Have at it kids.

-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

S.E.H Kelly S/S 2010

When we last left S.E.H Kelly I had hopefully brought your attention to fine new brand out of England and another dude who refuses to use a period after the third abbreviated letter in his name.  S/S 2010 follows in the footsteps of what we've seen already in that the colletion stays extremely well edited and focuses on a serious attention to detail.  In the case of S.E.H Kelly it's all about the manufacturing.  From the actual process of making the clothes down to the vibe it gives off, British manufacturing is the theme.  There are only 5 pieces for S/S 2010, but each comes together to form a true cohesive idea - not bad for FIVE pieces when you think about it.  Everything can be worn together or separately and that's the beauty of it all.  It also doesn't hurt that the fit of each item appears to be as on point as you can get.  S.E.H Kelly may just be on the comeup, but it seems to me that they not only know where they've came from, but where they are going.

-L.A.S