Boglioli S/S 2012

Of all the brands to have exploded thanks to the Internet's relatively recent obsession with Italian tailoring, Boglioli is my personal favorite.  Obviously, I am incredibly biased - it fits me better off the rack than anything, it's the exact laid back elegance I look for in tailored clothing, so on and so forth.  You may agree with me or you may not.  That's not really the point of all this.  Boglioli's S/S 2012 collection recently got some visuals and I think it serves to teach us some important lessons.  First of which is, even if you love a brand to death, don't always look to them on how to style their products.  I'm not saying you guys are slaves to lookbooks or any shit like that, just a friendly reminder, you know?  I think Boglioli's S/S 2012 styling is cool, but I'm a little hesitant on how some of this would translate in real life.  We are nowhere near Piombo territory, but something to think about.  Next, if you are still unconvinced of how unconstructed/unstructured sportcoats can change your life, look no further.  Seriously, do these jackets look like they can be any more comfortable?  I understand those of you who want something a little more jacked up for cold weather (that whole romantic idea of you clothing being personal armor), but when the weather is warmer you cannot do any better than this stuff as far as I am concerned.  Finally, I actually think we can take a queue from the styling.  I mean, keep in mind what I said before, but offset it a little with this point - S/S layering is possible.  Meaning, just because it is hot as hell doesn't mean you can't experiment with layers.  But, the right layers of course.  Many Italian brands, especially the superior ones like Boglioli, have such an understanding of things like fabrication, texture, fit and drape that they really do enable, and encourage, the sometimes foolish/ballsy idea of layering during S/S.  Think about it.  If you take away anything from the above nonsense, let it be - Boglioli makes jackets so good they'll make you wanna slap ya momma.

-L.A.S

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