Overpriced Scarf Round Up

Two scarves, as awesome as they are overpriced, are now available after a seasonal hiatus.  First up is Drakes' incomparable black watch wool silk reversible number.  Featured on Mister Mort a while back, this has to be the coolest scarf on the market.  For your money you not only get the ultimate tartan, but to make matters that much more stylish, there is a silk navy and white pin dot pattern on the opposite side.  Part scarf and part ascot, is this really worth $212?  Drakes enthusiasts will tell you you're getting two $106 scarves (not that outlandish of a pricepoint) and how the quality is unmatched by anyone.  I'll leave any reasoning up to you.  Up next we have a scarf some of you might recognize from its cameo on a hit teen drama featuring sex, drugs and good looking people.  J. Press' silk patchwork scarf is a one of a kind item being sold at a one of a kind price.  This is probably as bold as a scarf gets before your less stylish friends start making fun of you.  Actually, your friends will probably make fun of your for wearing a scarf in the first place.  I'll spare you the talk of putting your funds into investment pieces.  We're all adults here, for the most part, and can manage our own money.  At the very least you now have a postscript for that letter you're writing to Santa.

-L.A.S

By Popular Demand

Hamilton 1883's cult like following has asked for pocket squares and, like any good brand should, Hamilton has given the people what they want.  The pocket squares are based on the lovely fabric they use for their shirting and will run you $35.  For 10 dollars extra you can even get you own made to order ones.  Not bad, especially considering how good Hamilton's swatch game is.  These new accessories are hitting the webstore shortly, but if you just can't wait to snatch a camo pocket square and get one step closer to Wooster you can call the Houston store to place an order - 713.264.8800.  One last tip of advice: no matching.

-L.A.S

Rogues Gallery F/W 2010

Rogues Gallery is in a curious spot.  Designer/founder Alex Carleton currently has his hands full with L.L. Bean Signature and I've heard rumblings about RG cutting back due to this very fact.  F/W 2010's first offerings have hit the web and I can't say for sure who is responsible.  It could be Alex himself, the last of Aaron Levine's gear from when he was handling menswear or someone else entirely.  The selection is small, 10 pieces in all not including tees, but I can't imagine this is it.  Regardless of any slowed down production, a company with this level popularity and amount of stockists would be foolish not to have some more gear lined up to be released over the next few months.  The pants are the highlight for me personally, with snapfronts popping up at yet another Americana inspired brand.  This style pant, along with front pocket cargos in general, really seems to be all over the goddamn place these days - interestingly enough, two of these options come from Carleton lead brands.  Luckily, they kick ass and it's always good as a consumer to have a ton of options to choose from.  Whether you hate blaze orange or love it, at least Rogues is giving you something to talk about.

-L.A.S

Hickey: A Quick Retrospective

For a brand that virtually no longer exists I sure do talk about Hickey a lot.  After reading Angelo's (one of today's foremost Hickey historians) post today I did get a little nostalgic, I'll admit.  If people are still writing blogs in 20 years or so, which is up for serious debate, I would not be surprised at all to see quite a few The Trad-esque style posts referencing Hickey as one of the great brands of our time that unfortunately feel by the wayside.  There is a great tradition of men's clothing brands that rose almost as fast as they crashed and Hickey is no exception.  I'll spare you any excessive praise, but if you really want to read about one of my favorite brands ever you can hit the tag at the bottom of the post.  The purpose of all this, however, was to draw your attention to a great video circa early 2009.  Below you can watch Hickey's extremely talented Design Director, Aaron Levine (now with Jack Spade), talk about the concept behind the brand at one of its Pitti Uomo showings.  Looking back, would Hickey do things differently?  I, obviously, can't answer that for them, but I truly hope they wouldn't change the clothes all that much.  This stuff was, and still is, perfect.



-L.A.S

The Cutaway Collar Sport Shirt

For a while there I was in full on all button down collar everything mode when it came to my sport shirts.  From a consumer standpoint they are ubiquitous and don't take even the slightest bit of thought to pull off.  After paying close attention to my more stylish friends it soon became clear that my narrow sport shirt worldview was just that - narrow.  Whether knotted up or tie-less, the cutaway collar sport shirt started looking damn good.  As with most sartorial elements I was particularly drawn to to the dichotomy of it all.  The juxtaposition of two things as simple as a casual shirt and its "dressed up" collar drew me in.  A large part of this freshly ignited flame has to do with the collar itself.  A sport shirt, or any shirt for that matter, with a terrible collar is always going to look like shit regardless.  In this particular case it's all about finding a middle ground.  If the collar is too intense it will look awkward without a tie, thus limiting the versatility of a shirt meant to be worn on a regular basis.  On the other hand, if the collar is too flimsy or weak you pigeon hole the shirt as one that can't be worn in an office environment or when you want to break out your favorite neckwear.  The best designers in menswear, like Michael Bastian, place an emphasis on cutaway collars, but most guys don't have the coin necessary to pick up one of these shirts whenever they see fit.  That's why I really dig Wharf's "The Four" - it's accessible, high end style  The pattern is on point for this time of year, the fit is slim, it's made in the USA and, most importantly, the collar is exactly the kind you should be hunting for.  A shirt like this is pretty unstoppable no matter what occasion you're dressing for.  And that, my friends, is what's known as value.

-L.A.S

Today's Headlines

Allen Edmonds Gets That Paper, Son

The good folks over at Allen Edmonds just got hooked up courtesy of the great state of Wisconsin to the tune of a $1.5 million Community Development Block Grant Economic Development loan.

Sid Mashburn's Face Time in Paste

"The Best of What's Next: Fashion Designer" talks about his plans for the future. Spoiler alert - he wants to bring the shop to new cities.

Marc McNairy 

Tres Bien has a little fun at their good friend's expense.

Bastin Tweets

The extremely talented and always hilarious Gant Rugger Head Designer hits Twitter.

-L.A.S

Brunello Cucinelli F/W 2010

Who in their right mind would deem a 190 page lookbook/catalog appropriate?  Why, the self proclaimed "Italian Ralph Lauren" of course.  AKA the "King of Cashmere".  Brunello Cucinelli's F/W 2010 collection is most definitely what we've come to expect from him at this point - "so much dough I can swear I won't change" comes to mind.  But I can't blame the guy.  He knows exactly what his sweet spot is and he always hits it out of the park.  It's quintessential Brunello from head to toe - perfection in the form of fabric, texture and cut with tailored goods that would make 99% of the designers in this industry jealous.  BC's catalog mannequin shots always crack me the hell up for some reason, but, at the end of the day, are a masters class in layering - you gotta always credit where credit is due.  After enjoying clothes I cannot even remotely afford this much I think I'm gonna call it a day.

-L.A.S