First Look: Gant Rugger F/W 2011

Christopher Bastin let this first look at Gant Rugger F/W 2011 slip through the cracks over the weekend and since Gant Rugger is one of my favorite brands it should come as no surprise that you are looking at them now.  I was lucky enough to see the collection at Rugger's Twenty Four Hour Session back in December and can say, without a doubt, that this is just the tip of the iceberg.  Ironically enough, however, my favorite piece of all F/W 2011 can be seen below.  The one button shawl collar dinner jacket is probably the coolest piece of formal wear I have seen in a while.  I love how Chris added gold blazer buttons to take it to the next level and make it unmistakeably Rugger - an example of why he is one of the best designers working today and a Sart Inc favorite.

-L.A.S

E. Tautz F/W 2011

Instead of me pasting a shit ton of pictures here, London Fashion Week TV has provided us all with a nice motion picture of the E. Tautz F/W 2011 collection recently shown in London.  I'm not the biggest fan of the knits, but I can get down with those gigantic lapel outerwear pieces, especially that double breasted khaki number.  If you are unfamiliar with Patrick Grant, one of menswear's rising stars, click the tags at the bottom of the post.


To watch more, visit designer_profile.aspx?DesignerID=1165

-L.A.S

Gant By Michael Bastian F/W 2011 NYFW Video

Here is a new video giving you guys an idea of what the Gant by Michael Bastian F/W 2011 presentation was like, sans attendee pandemonium, with some choice words from the man himself.



-L.A.S

Run Of The Mill Shop S/S 2011 Is Live

Not much to say here, since I think we pretty much everything the other day, but I just wanted to let all interested parties know that all of our S/S 2011 gear, both private label and the Monitaly double breasted linen blazer, is now online.

-L.A.S

Caruso at Rugby

Were you wondering why Rugby's new spring jackets were practically $600?  Well, now you know - Raffaele Caruso is in the house.  The Italian manufacturer has made jackets for Ralph before, mainly Blue Label aka the mainline stuff, but this is their first venture with Ralph's younger, cheaper Rugby line.  If you're not familiar with what Caruso does you can brush up here courtesy of Jeremy.  Turns out Rugby has ditched the poor man's Thom Browne fit and gone with a new natural shoulder, suppressed waist and fully canvassed sport coat.  According to some intel I got today, these jackets fit insanely well off the rack if you're into a more Italian look.

-L.A.S

First Look: Run Of The Mill S/S 2011 Private Label

I normally like to keep all things ROTM related off the blog since they really don't have anything to do with each other, but I'm really proud of our new private label goods for S/S 2011 and wanted to share them with you guys as soon as possible.  When thinking about where we wanted to take the online shop it was pretty much a no brainer.  While we love working with some of our favorite brands, it came to a point where we wanted to do something that really spoke to what the brand was about.  For S/S 2011 we are offering our first ever forays into the worlds of private label footwear and shirting.

Our made in Northern Italy (between Milan and Como in Lombardia) double monk straps are probably what I, personally, am most psyched for.  The thought process behind those was to create what we believed to be the double monk strap a guy should own if he was only going to have one pair.  We skipped the aggressive toe you see on most Italian and English version and went with a more naturally rounded last reminiscent of Allen Edmonds' discontinued, but much loved Mora.  To keep things as versatile as possible we did it up in a beautiful brown calfskin and added silver rounded buckles that look fantastic when left undone.  The quality of this shoe is off the charts - the plan, all along, being to offer the best value double monk on the market.

To compliment the shoes, and simply offer a seven days a week staple item, we are also selling cutaway collar oxford shirts.  As most of you probably realize this style of shirt is virtually impossible to find off the rack anywhere.  We have both a blue and white version available that are made in the USA and speak to our love of mixing Anglo and Italian styles.  No matter how you wear your shirts, or what you wear them with, it is our belief that this shirt is as good as it gets.

All our private label items will be available on our website for preorder shorty (the plan is to launch tomorrow) and sales will be open for a month.  The double monks will retail for $405 and the shirts for $105.  We also added an incredible double breasted linen blazer from our friends at Monitaly to round out our S/S 2011 offerings.  Hopefully you guys like what we've done for the upcoming season and are a fraction of just how excited we are for all the good stuff that's coming up.  A lot more pictures and information will be available when everything launches, but if you have any pressing inquiries you can always send me a personal email.

-L.A.S

[Editor's Note: The new gear is live.]

Gant By Michael Bastian F/W 2011

Ok-k-kay, I'm back from Las Vegas and as Terrance would say, "I'm here now. Pardon my lateness."  As I have previously mentioned on Twitter, Gant by Michael Bastian F/W 2011 was one of the few "fashion" things going on during NYFW that I not only had an interest in, but was really looking forward to.  The presentation was very well done and absolutely packed with all the names and faces Tumblr kids absolutely lose their shit over. So, yeah, I was happy that I got to experience the collection in an atmosphere that was buzzing and probably on some fire marshal's radar.  Now, onto the clothes.  I knew beforehand that the vibe was going to be Bastian's version of Americana, but seen through a European lens - a Scandinavian one, to be specific, thanks to Team MB's constant jaunts to Gant's Stockholm headquarters.  What they set out to accomplish they definitely succeeded in doing and any recap that you happen to read is going to say just that.  The whole L.L. Bean by way of Sweden vibe speaks to Bastian and co.'s ability to synthesize various ideas in a way that fits in with what his customer, the constantly referenced "Michael Bastian guy", has come to expect and appreciate.  A collection firmly rooted in two very distinct styles shouldn't work and shouldn't work well, but I guess that is what separates Bastian from the countless other designers working today who lots of us menswear nerds casually dismiss.  As in each successive season (in both his Gant and namesake line) Michael has built upon his version of American sportwear, while continuing to push the envelope into ambitious territory at the same time.  For me, F/W 2011 was great because it was a little rougher around the edges than his past two Gant collections - a little more unpolished and I mean that in the best way possible.  Both Bastian and Christopher Bastin, the designer of Gant Rugger, have mentioned gang imagery as reference points recently and I think some of that comes across here.  No one will deny that the styling was bold, busy and bombastic, a Bastian signature, but looking at the individual pieces on their own reveals a F/W 2011 collection that is extremely wearable, well made and damn stylish.  At a very pivotal time in his career Michael was able to deliver his most ambitious collection for Gant yet and prove that betting against him, quite simply, is a foolish endeavor.

-L.A.S

Ascot Chang F/W 2011

Amidst the clutter of New York Fashion Week shit I couldn't care less about there are a few menswear gems worth talking about.  Ascot Chang is one of those gems.  Known primarily as one of the finest tailors in all of Asia, Ascot Chang has been running their bespoke business since 1953 and proving that "Made in China", or "Made in Hong Kong" in this case, is not the stigma everyone preaches.  The purpose of their F/W 2011 presentation was to showcase some of the new shirting and suiting they designed for the upcoming season.  Styled by Michael Macko, who you might know as Valet's Editor at Large, F/W 2011 has two "stories" - an officer and a gentleman.  I'd personally categorize it as Italian-esque alpine sportswear, if that makes any sense.  Anyhow, the shirting fabric is primarily from Thomas Mason and the suiting was primarily Loro Piana.  There were many highlights as you can see below, but for my money the cargo trousers and subtle camouflage pattern shirt were the best of the bunch.  This won't be the last time you read about Ascot Chang on Sart Inc as I was lucky enough to get fitted for a custom shirt, which I plan on reviewing, naturally, when it is complete.  A big thanks goes out to Michael Macko, Justin Chang and Thomas Yu for being such gracious hosts and doing exciting stuff during a week when I'm generally a negative nancy.

-L.A.S