F-Yeah Pitti Uomo

While I'll be posting any noteworthy news coming out of Pitti Uomo, the thing I am most excited about (as many regular readers are sure to know by this point) are Tommy Ton's street style shots.  There is just too much awesome shit going on with the buyers and general attendants to convey with words, so you probably should just peep that slideshow already.  God, I love Tommy Ton.  No Uomo.

-L.A.S

Florence National Guard

From field jackets to cargos to aviators to camo, military inspired gear seemed to be having quite a moment at this spring's Pitti Uomo.  While you can always examine the booths for what's trending it's also interesting to pay attention to what the actual tastemakers/buyers/guests are rocking to the tradeshow.  Some of these looks are definitely not for everyone, but it's cool to see how all these guys incorporate certain aspects of classic military styling into their outfits - from the simple (i.e. a pair of shades) to the extremely complicated aka not safe for work (i.e. a camo pattern blazer).

[Pictures courtesy of GQ.]

-L.A.S

Florence Street Style

Tommy Ton is on the case once again, this time taking his unparalleled skills and eye to Florence for Pitti Uomo.  The results, as to be expected, are some of the most incredible shots of guys who bleed steeze.  This is the epicenter of all that inspiration I talked about in my last post.  I could go ahead and break this down, but I believe that would be doing all these dudes a disservice.  Almost all of these kits aren't about single elements here and there, but how to put everything together expertly.  No tips this time, just a primer on how it all works when you are at the top of your game and living everyday within your style sweet spot.

-L.A.S

Done Right: Black And White

I may not be live blogging from Pitti Uomo (I'm not even remotely that awesome), but that doesn't mean Italian style isn't numero uno on my radar right now.  Great photos are already all over the internet thanks to sites like The Sartorialist and Web Uomo - to say the inspiration was flowing would be quite an understatement.  As of right now I can't shake the idea of some white pants and black hardbottoms, specifically double monk straps. Go figure, right?  It's a look that somehow strikes the perfect balance of bold (I mean, we're talking white pants), yet classic (these items are arguably menswear staples).  The Italian guys even lose some break in their trousers to turn up the clean lines to eleven.  See for yourself...

Both of these guys are killing it as far as I am concerned.  I'll be the first to admit that brown shoes trump black ones in my book, but that may soon to be a thing of the past.  The pairing of black and white is so undeniable and so unwavering that I may have been going about things all wrong - or at least partially wrong.  I figure 25% of the guys reading Sart Inc have white pants.  Of that 25%, about 12% probably own a pair of double monks and I assume half of those guys have a black pair.  So if my math is correct, and keep in mind you're dealing with a guy who forgot how to do long division like five years ago, this post was useful for approximately no one - sounds about right.

In all seriousness, if you've got the tools (i.e. white jeans and black brogues) on hand why not take 'em out for a test drive?  You could end up with more Pitti panache than you know what to do with or, at the very least, another exploit to file under "Things to do when I fake my own death and move to Italy".

-L.A.S

CFDA Awards Street Style

Tommy Ton is back snapping pics for GQ and he recently covered Monday's CFDA awards shooting all the nominees and various guests.  While the awards mean pretty much nothing in my opinion it is a nice gesture to honor an industry flush with talent.  As with anything some people had their shit together while others did not.  Check the all in good fun Sart Inc breakdown...

Zachary Quinto and Swarovski Award for Menswear (best new designer) nominee Simon Spurr look a little too wonder twins for my liking.  They both kill in their own right, but together it's, how do I put this nicely, bromantically matchy-matchy.

Ed Westwick's wardrobe in real life is pretty much the complete opposite of his flashy, dandy television persona Chuck Bass.  I'm a huge fan of the crisp white shirt and no tie look so this gets a high grade from yours truly.  The aviators are a nice touch as well adding to the overall casual nature of this suited look.

David Bowie was smart not to upstage his woman.  Iman got some lifetime achievement award for being really hot and the last thing DB wanted was to be sleeping on the couch later that night.

Waris Ahluwalia (left) is killing it especially compared to Lindeberg who looks like he woke up literally 5 minutes before heading over to the awards ceremony.

Richard Chai ended up winning the Swarovski Award for Menswear so big ups to him.  It's nice to see him get some shine between this and his nomination for GQ's Best New Designer In America earlier this year.  Richard is a pretty classy dude and he can be seen here wearing one of his own jackets.  It's an interesting slim take on the double breasted jacket, but a little too tech-y for my tastes.  Not seen in the picture are the heavy duty zippers that adorn the front of the jacket.

Hayden Christensen was wearing a Richard Chai tux - I think he and RC are pretty good buddies.  Discounting the tie, which looks like it was just pulled out of a suitcase, the overall fit is a good one.  Rule of thumb - really skinny dudes can get away with really skinny suits.

Patrik Ervell, another Swarovski nominee, is the physical manifestation of his own clothes - kinda schlubby, but minimalist and clean.

Victor Glemaud shut it down, end of story.  Now that right there is a double breasted tux ladies and gentlemen.

Cut Brian Atwood some slack. He just came from the Jersey Shore season 2 premier.

While Kenneth Cole is looking quite put together what's not pictured are the black square toe shoes he's also wearing. Just kidding, maybe not.

Christopher Bailey is someone who gets crazy amounts of love, but I'm on the fence about some of the stuff he does.  He took home the International Award for his unrelenting assault of Burberry plaid.

It has been scientifically proven that Phillip Crangi has a rare medical condition where his level of badassness is 3 times that of the average male.

[Bonus]

Oh look, it's Thom Browne doing that thing he does, whatever that is.

Bastian got snubbed for a 4th time (?) by the CFDA.  He was nominated for Menswear Designer of the Year, along with Tom Ford, but ended up losing out to the Rag & Bone crew.  Everything that's said about this travesty has already been said so I'll leave it at that.  I doubt MB is stressing with arm candy like that and a t-shirt under his suit that apparently read "wait 'til next year".

-L.A.S

It's Not Whether You Win Or Lose...

...it's how you dress during postgame.  I normally frown upon brown, but I think this is an overall win for Stevie who is one of the best dressed athletes working today.

-L.A.S

Snap x Snap

I have been seeing so many links to Web Uomo recently that I had no choice but to click over.  Turns out I was missing a lot.  This Japanese website houses some of the most impressive street shots, dubbed Snap x Snap, I have seen in quite sometime.  It's a treasure trove of double breasted jackets, ticket pockets, cigarettes, suede, double monks, and color - pretty much everything that makes those oversea gents blow us Americanos out of the water.  There may be a tad too many fashion sneaks and stunner shades for my personal taste, but I guess you take the meh with the brilliant.  As expected, Lino is everywhere.

-L.A.S