I’ve written about The Bitter Southerner before and the wonderful apparel they sell. The t shirts I mentioned then were mostly about food. While I love those shirts, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention their political apparel line too. You can find it, here.
While I may disagree on the idea that everything is political — I wrote about that, here — I do support the message on most of their shirts. Go check them out (and the rest of their merchandise as well).
Remember:
I don’t write as much about the 80s these days, possibly because the media has shifted their nostalgic articles and stories from that decade to the one that follows. So I have decided to combine both decades in this one post. Hey it’s my annual indulgence, so bear with me. 🙂
The fashion giant Giorgio Armani passed away last week. While his greatness spanned decades, he really dominated the 80s with his flowing and beautifully cut clothing. There was a number of things written about him on the day of his death, but this piece in Wallpaper I found was the best. I’d also recommend this older piece that explains why 80s Armani still matters. And while I was a huge fan of his back in the 80s, as this piece in the New York Times showed, the man never stopped.
I was not the only fan of Armani obviously. Scott Schuman a/k/a The Sartorialist had a special Instagram account dedicated to him. Worth visiting.
If you are in the mood for more great photos of the 80s, I think this photo essay is excellent: the 1980s turned out to be magic… david bailey on the era of excess in pictures.
Not as many photos in it, but this essay on The Cameron Public House and 1980s Toronto is a fine remembrance of the beginning of an era at that famous Torontoian establishment. Another famous Toronto establishment, By the Way cafe, also began then. Sadly that restaurant will be closing after 40 years. It won’t be quite the same on the corner of Bloor and Brunswick with it gone.
If you want to know what we were eating in the 80s, read this. If you want to know what were listening too, go here.
One of the people I was listening to back in the day was Tracey Thorn. Nowadays she has a reoccurring column in The Independent where she writes about our current times, such as this: seeing endless faces in the city brings me comfort and relief. Always worth a read. Check out her books too.
Did Tracey Thorn go to clubs like the Limelight in London? Possibly. Did I go into one of the clubs that Sharon Smith captured with her polaroids of NYC nightlife in the 1980s? Definitely. Was I happy to see ‘The Breakfast Club’ stars reunite for the first time in 40 years? You know it. Am I glad that Giancarlo Esposito found happiness and success after a difficult struggle? Most certainly.
Moving from the 80s nightclub scene to the 90s, I give you this story on the famous cafe tabac in NYC. If you had gone during that time, you might have seen Kate Moss there. Zara had a special collection devoted to her not so long ago: Collection Kate Moss. This led to coverage in places like British Vogue and The Guardian. It may be the reason why someone decided to write this: why fashion keeps selling us the 90s.
PeeWee Herman was another celebrity who rose to the top in that era. Even if you are not a fan of the 90s or Herman, I recommend a recent documentary on him…it’s brilliant.
Finally, here’s a piece on technology that was big at the end of the 20th century. Also big at the end of the 20th century: Friends. For fans of that 90s show, here a recent review of friends at 30…inside story writers and producers tell all. More friends at 30 sitcom cultural phenomenon here.
For the last few years I’ve shared interesting links I wanted to write about some day and maybe I will. Last year it was 28. The year before it was 85. As in other years, I think these links are all interesting, even if I don’t have much to say about them.
First off, let’s look at some cool links/sites. These retro design choices are cool. As are all the things Clive Thompson writes about. Anything Dan Sinker writes about is cool. Is Sonny Rollins cool? Of course he is. As was Min Matheson, the Labor Leader Who Faced Down Mobsters. Is the home of Roberto Gerosa home in Milan cool? I happen to think so.
Moving on from cool, this story, on Only fans and being good, is interesting. Edmund White’s sex memoir may also be interesting to some. Same goes for this story of Stormy Daniels and the gofundme she set up to deal with alleged threats due to testifying against Trump.
I was curious about where does the expression “peace be with you” come from. I was also curious about Christian masses other than Christmas. For example, Childermas. Speaking of Christmas, I liked this piece on the shepherds and the Magoi and this piece on shepherds or wise men at the birth of Jesus. If you wonder if churches still matter, read this.
Some historical pieces I liked: this on 1177 BC bronze age societies and this on the world’s oldest known song, hurrian hymn no 6. Likewise, this story on rare anti-nazi resistance pamphlets. What’s this? A good reminder that there were still old people when life expectancy was low.
Three things on Canada worth reading: MAID has led to soaring euthanasia deaths, where the primary care crisis is hitting ontario hardest, and a story on a Canadian woman sentenced for inuit benefit fraud.
Not on Canada, but by a Canadian, are these two posts by Lloyd Alter: why i am thinking about giving up and if only i could sleep on the overnight train.
Some good articles on fashion and design/decor: a piece on how Google is reaping the benefits of big ad spending from fast fashion companies temu and shein. Meanwhile, Burberry shows signs of decline with job cuts worldwide. Here’s a slight piece on wearing white in summer. Here’s something on a minimal entrance way. And I liked this fake window for windowless rooms and this transformer table that goes from a workstation to dining table in seconds.
For some time I was wanting to write a critique of Peter Singer and his arguments about affluence and morality. So I read a number of pieces on him and his argument here, here, and here. In the end the cartoon shown above (and found here) summed up what I wanted to say, so I leave it at that for now. In addition, I wanted to also write on the correspondence theory of truth (more on it, here) but didn’t. Same goes for Compatibilism.
Did I care enough to write about Ellen Degeneres and her netflix special? I guess not. Do I care about Bill Gates closing his Foundation in 2045? Not really. Do I think much of Niall Ferguson’s tendentious op ed? I do not. Do I think even less about Elon Musk and xAI? I do. Is any thought of RFK Jr (as seen here) worthy of consideration? Nope. Is Richard Hanania a terrible person? Yep.
Finally I thought these random pieces were worthwhile: on soldiers shortage due to population changes, when Dietrich Bonhoeffer theorized how stupidity enabled the rise of the nazis, on the changing of plant names that contain a racist slur, on antitrust suits, on whether or not you are entitled to severance pay, on how parents are stressed and how young undecided voters voted in the 2024 US election.
The folks at Stone Island make very nice, very expensive clothing. They also did an interview with one of my favorite people, Philippe Starck, here.
Fans of Starck, check it out. (Here he is, wearing their parka. Some of the 100 questions/answers also appear).
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According to this piece, What Is ‘Unexpected Red’? in The New York Times
“The ‘unexpected red’ theory is basically adding anything that’s red, big or small, to a room where it doesn’t match at all, and it automatically looks better,”
That makes sense for homes. It also makes sense for men’s clothing, especially if the colour palette of your clothing is neutral, black or navy. A pop of red — a toque, some shoelaces, a tote bag — can add some pop to your look. So grab some red accessories and add them to your wardrobe.
If you like to shop online, do what I do and on the search line type in “men red”. I find it will come back with all the men’s clothes that are red or have red in them. I’ve found toques, scarves, T shirts and socks that way.
For more thoughts from me on red in fashion, go here.
P.S. I think this theory could also apply for colours like purple and yellow.
While fashion is more associated with youth, this post is going in a different direction, starting with that fashion icon Iris Apfel. Sadly she passed away recently but she was shining right up until the age of 102, More in her here.
Someone else who was a fashion icon until the age of 81 was Vivienne Westwood. While she has passed on, her fashion line continues, although based on this here, it has seen better days.
This is a good piece on Linda Evangelista, who is still with us and only 58. That may be not old for most of us, but it is old for a fashion model. Or is it? Edward Enninful, who is stepping down as editor in chief of British Vogue, put together this last cover for the magazine (shown above), and it has dozens of great models of all ages, including Evangelista. I was impressed with the cover shot not being a splicing together of images: all those women came together at the same time for it. Quite amazing.
Also old and still going strong is the beefcake-y Calvin Klein underwear ads. Here’s a story on that and the latest man to step into them Jeremy Allen White.
Not so fashion oriented, but still aging oriented, here’s nine stories on women going gray. I liked this piece on 72 year olds. I guess 70 is the new 60. This here is a good story on a 93 year old man as fit as a 40 year old, and how he does it.
Two pieces of advice: 1) as you get older, you should have a bucket list and also a chuck it list. 2) Meanwhile, here’s some advice on why you should never waste a midlife crisis, from Austin Kleon.
It looks we have reached peak chore coat, based on this: How Paynter Jacket Co. Found Success With Limited-Edition Chore Coats )in The New York Times).
I’ve seen more and more men wearing them, especially around the time of peak pandemic. But men have been wearing them for ages. In some ways a chore coat reminds me of a denim jacket: once the domain of workers, it has been absorbed by the fashionable.
If you’re interested, note that you don’t need to snag a limited-edition version that costs hundreds of dollars. You can see plenty of them on ebay, for example. Plus some retailers sell them from time to time. I purchased some at Old Navy not too long ago.
Hard to say if chore coats will go out of style or remain classic the way denim or khakis have. I hope they do: they fill a niche that no other coat does.
(Photo of the late great Bill Cunningham, known for wearing chore coats as he cycled around New York.)
There was a weird time on Twitter in 2023 where Mr Derek Guy (i.e. @dieworkwear) was appearing everywhere in people’s feed. So odd. Anyway, here’s a piece he wrote on professional workplace respectability dressing. Here’s something else he did on men’s wear wins and fails on the campaign trail. He also weighed in on the topic: do dress sneakers belong in the oval office.
With the fall of Twitter, I suspect his star will fall as well. He’s a smart guy, though. And not a snob. For example, reading him, I ended up reading this on value focused brands. Worth a look.
Also worth a look is this good look for men in summer: garb tourist. It works for men going away to someplace warm this winter, too. If it’s still cool where you are, grab a chore coat. Here’s a nice one: outerknown utilitarian chore coat.
This is a good take on the recent Vogue september issue featuring the supermodels of the 90s. Another good take, this time on the decline of the brand Balenciaga.
This was funny: GQ on how celebrities do not know how to dress in summer style. This was ridiculous: the mschf microscopic handbag from Louis Vuitton.
I’m not a watch guy, but Timex’s Reclaimed Ocean Plastic watch (above) got my attention. According to uncrate.com:
Its lightweight 40 mm case is made from upcycled, ocean-bound plastic collected from the coastlines by fishermen. The waste is then washed, shredded, and shipped to Switzerland on carbon-neutral transportation, where it’s repurposed. The material gives the piece a speckled texture and is complemented by a matte black dial with contrasting white handers and numerals.
Given that “at least 14 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year”, this sounds like a smart use of materials by Timex.
If you want something more classic, here’s a story on the Hamilton eatch featured in the latest Indiana Jones film. I had one like it: it’s a fine timepiece.
Finally, if you are an Apple Watch owner like myself and want to go with an aeronautic theme, consider the MobyFox NASA Apple watch bands, seen below:
Beige has a bad reputation. That’s why you get advice like this: 9 Non-Boring Ways to Wear Beige Now. If you think poorly of beige too, then I’m here to convince you it is a great, non-boring color.
Let me backup a bit by dealing with the question: what even IS beige? According to Wikipedia, “Beige is variously described as a pale sandy fawn color, a grayish tan, a light-grayish yellowish brown, or a pale to grayish yellow.” Geez, when you put it that way, no wonder people think poorly of it. But also: “It takes its name from French, where the word originally meant natural wool that has been neither bleached or dyed, hence also the color of natural wool. It has come to be used to describe a variety of light tints chosen for their neutral or pale warm appearance.” That’s better. But still, you can see why people think lowly of it.
To use it and get around it’s bad rep, stylists will use synonyms for it. Instead of saying something is Beige, they’ll use: Cream, Buff, Sand, Ecru, even Khaki. Khaki pants or a ecru colored dress sounds better than a beige dress or beige slacks.
Part of the beige’s problem also is due to the overuse of it. It seemed there was a lot of it in the 80s especially, from Armani clothing to office space. That was partially a reaction to the explosion of color that came from the 70s. People moved away from it and were reluctant to return to it.
I would ask you to consider returning to it, at least in terms of clothing. Beige is something you should wear more often, especially with the warmer weather coming. To look sharp in beige — i.e. not be boring — use it as your main color but add some contrast, the way the man in the photo above does. The light blue shirt and dark red tie go wonderfully with beige.
Give it a go this summer. You won’t be sorry.
(Image from: Where To Shop For a Suit — Die, Workwear!)
Fashion is for the rich, and those who aspire to look the part. For the rich, the challenge is coming up with ways of using fashion to designate that you are in fact rich. The new way to do this is with quiet luxury, as the actors in the TV series Succession illustrate.
Of course not everyone is into rich normcore. Some of the well off dress in the high end line Thierry Mugler. For those with less means who aspire to wear Mugler, H&M has once again stepped in by offering up a low cost version of the high end line. I especially liked that piece on H&M: it details the history of the low end store offering high end fashion lines, and it’s as much a sociological study as it is a fashion one.
On a serious note, I thought this was a good initiative by Saint Laurent: saint laurent launches production company to develop films by david cronenberg abel ferrara wong kar wai jim jarmusch and more.
Otherwise…one fashion guy who was in the news due to twitter was @dieworkwear, Derek Guy. There’s a profile of him here in GQ. Why he became twitter famous and newsworthy, no one but Elon Musk knows. He does know his stuff.
P.S. Image of Karl Lagerfeld from the Times. He was the first to experiment with his clothes and H&M, a risky initiative at the times. It paid off for him and H&M.
I’ve written about Karl Lagerfeld often on this blog. In the past I found much to admire about him: his drive, his levels of energy, his capability to go in different directions, his ability to change mentally and physically. He was also quite the wit, as can be seen here and here, and I admired that too.
Not everyone feels this way, however. The Guardian gives you a sense of that here. The New York Times calls Lagerfeld a “firehose of offense”, and they are not wrong. His disparaging remarks about any woman he considered “fat” are infamous. Over at hyperallergic they open their own firehose of criticism back at Karl. Not my approach, but again, some (not all) of what they related is true.
Despite all that, Lagerfeld still has allies. Like Anna Wintour, a friend who thought highly of him. It’s not a fluke he was the focus of the recent Met Gala, run by Wintour. And anyone who cares for fashion and design that flipped through this retrospective the Tines did of his work at Chanel, Fendi, H&M would agree just how influential and powerful his work was.
So what to do with difficult people? I often think the best way to think and talk about them is like this. Instead of saying “I admire Mr/Ms X”, I try to say, “There are things I admire about Mr/Ms X” or “I admire anyone who can do Y”. That is the case when it comes to me and Karl Lagerfeld now. There are things I admire about Lagerfeld. And I admire anyone who can do some of the things he achieved.
Like any famous person, Karl Lagerfeld is not my friend, my foe, or even a member of my family. I don’t have to accept or reject him unconditionally. You don’t have to either.
P.S. All this was driven by the recent Met Gala. Here’s more from the New York Times on this year’s event, which was based around Lagerfeld. Also here’s a look back at the Met Gala’s red carpet shenanigans from the last decade.
Besides being a famous fashion designer, he is also well known for the Karl Lagerfeld diet. You can read more about that here and here and here and here.
For some, the weekend is either a time of relaxing or a time of catching up. I think that it can always be a time to improve yourself in some way. Here’s some ideas for you:
Get a hobby: Here’s a good piece on how to start a hobby. Perhaps drawing could be that hobby. Here’s how to get over yourself and start drawing. And if even if you don’t think you are very good, remember: drawing can also be good for your mental mental health.
Improve your plant game: Plants make me and others happy. If you feel the same, maybe take some time this weekend and upgrade your plants: here’s when its time to repot indoor plants.
Get fitter: start with this piece, two simple ways to get fitter faster. If you need exercise routines, try these, fitness routines from Darebee. Or use this: strength training. Some people do better with devices to help them. If that’s you, then use this device to improve your fitness.
Like drawing, fitness can help you in many ways. For example, read this: How To Reframe Your Relationship With Exercise. And don’t forget, fitness is more than exercise. It is also about eating well. Here how you can eat better: 4 easy strategies for adding more vegetables to your plate.
Get fashionable: sometimes new clothes can help you get out there. If that’s you, I recommend these new balance 574h hiking sneakers, the new balance 997h ice blue sneakers, this intro ponto footwear. Maybe even jordan system23 clogs .
Finally, here’s a guide to stop ruminating, if that’s something you do.
Regardless of what you decide to do, I hope your weekend is a good one.
I’ve long contended that gray is one of the best colours a person can wear. Especially a man. Just like black or navy, gray can fit in anywhere. High quality gray clothing stands out, and low cost gray clothing does not. If you dress in monochrome gray, the many shades of gray can make it interesting. You can pair it easily with any color, from hot pink to coal black. No other clothing color is as versatile.
For more on the greatness of gray, read this piece in Vogue.
If you need more ideas, Uncreate has you here:
That’s a good reminder that you can dress gray up or you can dress it down.
Now that we are in the bleak midwinter in the Northern hemisphere, it’s time to dress warmly. That doesn’t mean dressing badly. For instance, this selection of clothes has a great palette of dark blues, carmel browns, and even some red for a bit of pop:
And if you need ideas for when it is exceptionally cold, why not go with this:
If you have to shovel, do it well.
Some men know this, but it bears repeating: men have lots of options when it comes to clothing and style. Which is why when I read this: Menswear easiest look, I thought I dunno…I guess? Never mind this: the dad ification of fashion in 2022. Try harder, is all I’m saying.
For something on fashion that is very smart, I recommend this: The Fabric of Women. It’s a fascinating study of the relationship between woman, fabric, and linens. If that makes you want to get some new fabric to put over yourself, check out these options:best white t shirts for women.
(P.S. All images from the Garb section of Uncrate.com, except one from Wikipedia)
Sure, you could go out and get a new puffer coat. I get it: they’re warm, they’re lightweight, everyone else has one, you like looking like a marshmellow…:)
Seriously, puffer coats are….fine. But if you want to get a warm winter coat, you want to listen to me and Jeremy Scott. If your problem is lacking a winter coat…
The solution, said Jeremy Scott, creative director of Moschino, is “a sleek ankle-length greatcoat” — most notably the sort once favored by the military, looking to keep the cold out during periods of long exposure. The key to trapping in heat, he added, is choosing a double-breasted style.
There you have it. Get a great coat. You’ll be warm and stylish and sleek and timeless. You’ll look — dare I say it? — great.
For more on this, see this piece in the nytimes.com. For more on the great coat, see wikipedia. (Image above is also wikipedia: Stalin wears a great coat, while Churchill wears a British warm coat which is shorter than a great coat and not to be confused with a pea coat which is shorter still).
P.S. If you must get a puffer coat, consider this one: the Vollebak Indestructible Puffer. According to Uncrate:
Vollebak has taken the puffer jacket — traditionally one of the weakest and most delicate pieces of clothing you can buy – and rebuilt it from the strongest fibre known today. Dyneema Black is 15x stronger than steel, which is why it’s used in body armour and anti-ballistic vehicle armour.
If you are going to wear a puffer, be cool. And warm.
I’ve been wanting to to simplify and minimize my style lately. If that’s appealing to you, check out this link to minimal classics that never go out of style. Want to simpify your watch? Well you could get this one. But maybe that’s too minimal. This might be better. (shown above)
Also pretty minimal are these New Balance 327:
I’m a big fan of the 327s in general. Those would go great with this very casual men’s wardrobe. It’s not really my style. Personally I prefer this gray wardrobe:
Very minimal and simple. The over shirt in it is featured here.
Speaking of great clothes to put over things, this very cool Bestall Astern Peacoat is all that. You can see it included in this striking wardrobe:
All gray is great, but you can’t beat a black on black wardrobe.
What’s cool and fashionable? This T shirt: “The Garbage T-shirt diverts waste like old clothes and plastic bottles from landfill and repurposes it into sustainable clothing.” Relatedly, the New Balance 57/40 are also using sustainable material. Also cool and minimal AND vegan: Oliver Cabell Vegan 481 sneaker. This scooter is cool. These Yeezy Shades are cool no longer.
(All images: links to Uncrate).
The suit is dead! Well, if not dead, likely on death’s door. To see what I mean, read this: The end of the suit: has Covid finished off the menswear staple? The suit has been already dying off somewhat in the last few years, with the decline in necktie use and the introduction of more casual shoes to go with it, among other adaptations. Perhaps it will be gone altogether in the next few years.
I was thinking about the death of the suit when I was eyeing this work above in London last spring. That form of business attire has been dead for centuries! No doubt in centuries from now people will be standing in galleries looking at painting of men with neckties and double breasted blazers and thinking how odd it looks, just like how we think the Dutch men above look odd. Suits — of all eras — eventually die off.
What will not die off, though, is the need for some form of fashion to indicate the person wearing it has a specific business function. What form that will take, I don’t know, but there will be something, some form of “suit”, that indicates you are talking to a doctor or a lawyer or a banker or a businessman (or woman) of some stature. Of that you can be sure.
The suit (as we know it) is dying: the suit (will come to know) is being born. Long live the suit.
Is Kanye West a good clothing designer? That’s a good question, and one this piece spends many words considering. Part of the problem is what is the standard for “good”. His work resembles the work of other good designers. His work, like the products he makes for the GAP or this Goyard Robot Face Backpack, seem to be sought out by people:
I don’t think he is good as some of the best clothing designers, from Armani to Valentino. But I don’t think he is bad either. Just how good he is will be best measured over time. One thing for sure, he is not dull. That’s a good thing.
Now if you are thinking: I could do better than Kanye! Well, here’s just the course for you! It will show you how to Cut and Sew a Jacket from Start to Finish. You too can soon have your clothes in the GAP! 🙂
As people head back in the office, I wonder if styles like these Japanese inspired Moshemi pants will stay in vogue. I did like that particular pair.
I liked these NB trail shoes too:
Men’s running shoes often have boring colour palettes: those don’t.
Finally, thanks to Cup of Jo for this piece on Striped shirts. Like dots, stripes never go out of style. If you are freshening up your wardrobe this Fall, why not add some bold stripes to the mix? There are so many ways you can bring stripes into your wardrobe. If you are leaning to the sporty side, you cannot go wrong with Adidas:
(Images from the good folks at Uncrate)
There are three good suits you can wear in the summer: cotton, linen and seersucker.
Seersucker is lightweight and doesn’t wrinkle easily, but it tends to be limited in terms of colour options. (The one on the left in the photo above looks good though). If you have to wear suits in the hotter months, having a seersucker suit will help you get through them.
Cotton is also lightweight and can come in a wider range of colours than seerksucker. However cotton wrinkles. Alot. Really it is a dry cleaners dream. It looks great well pressed, but after a few minutes it looks wrinkled and disheveled.
That’s why I like linen: it looks great pressed, and it looks great wrinkled. Plus it comes in lots of colours and cuts. Hands down it is the best looking of the three types of summer suits and it has been for some time. I had a black linen suit from Hugo Boss and even in the heat I could wear it and feel comfortable.
That’s why you should ignore the Guardian when it talks about how the loose linen suit became retirement wear. They use Boris Johnson wearing linen as an example of why (younger) men should not. I mean, please. The other comparison point is Brad Pitt who wisely decided to promote his new film in the hotter months by suiting up in linen. A smart choice. (Also note the style of Pitt: draw string pants, loose necklines, casual shoes….all good looks to steal.)
It would be a shame if men, especially young men, gave up wearing linen suits. They are extremely versatile in terms of cuts, colours and styles. They are supremely comfortable. You can wear them to a wedding and you can wear them to a show. You can wear them in the city and you can wear them in the country.
Need more convincing? See the site Man of Many, which has good tips on wearing a linen suit. Stay cool, stay stylish, get linen.
I’ve been a fan of the late great Issey Miyake since the 1980s. No one at the time was doing anything as wonderful with fabric as was. Perhaps Armani, but Armani’s cuts seemed conservative in comparison.
It’s an odd thing, but this week when he died, many of the news articles kept mentioning how Miyake designed the classic turtlenecks that Steve Jobs wore all the time. And it’s true, he did make those black tops of Jobs. However, those were among the least interesting thing he designed. To get a sense of just how beautiful his clothing designs could really be, see this: Issey Miyake’s best celebrity fashion moments at the Daily Mail. As well, Vogue has some highlights. (This piece in the Guardian is the best by far in recognizing his greatness.)
It’s quite a legacy. And right up until the end, he was making beautiful clothes.
Besides the clothes, he has always been associated with great fragrances. Next time you can, pay your local fragrance shop a visit and see if you can get some. You may not be able to wear his garments, but you can wear his scents.
(Image: link to image in Daily Mail piece)
The New York Times thinks men should replace their baseball cap with a bucket hat. I say, No.
First off, a baseball cap can look stylish if worn the right way, even with a nice summer suit. But if you insist on switching it up, you CAN go with a bucket hat, sure. I mean, they are very trendy right now. In his latest film, even Brad Pitt’s character wears one.
And that’s one of the problems with them. For young men, bucket hats look great. But as you start pushing into your late 20s or more, you look like an old guy trying to look like a young guy. That’s never a good thing.
The other problem with bucket hats is a practical one: the brim is often too narrow. It doesn’t provide any shade for your eyes or protection of the sun. Other than hiding a bald spot, all it does is make your head hot. Who needs that?
What you do need is a good straw hat. A straw hat works in any situation. You can wear it to the beach, you can wear it to a fancy restaurant. It provides coverage from the sun. It’s lightweight. It breathes. It comes in all shapes and sizes. It never goes out of style.
So toss the baseball cap, skip the bucket hat, and get a good straw hat. Or several. They don’t even cost much. This Straw Hat from H&M costs 12 bucks. And looks great.
If this shoe was coming out from anyone other than Nike, I would just straight-up praise it. It’s a practical shoe. It will likely wear well over the months and even years. If you are someone who likes to wear the same shoe all the time (e.g. Birkenstocks or Blundstones) then these could be perfect for you.
Coming from Nike, though, which is famous/notorious for making rare and high priced shoes intentionally, the fact that they make these and portray these shoes as typical of them is …well, something.
To step back, Nike does make shoes for different markets. The Pegasus brand and the Air Force 1 lines are for mass markets, just like these are. Just like the Jordan brands and other high end lines are for different markets. It’s all just capitalism: they have a model for whatever you value and whatever your values are. For more on the these shoes, check out Uncrate and Yanko Design.
It’s funny: the reason my blog was able to get so many visits initially was because someone at the New York Times took me to be a influential fashion blogger and put me on their blogroll many years ago. Talk about good luck!
Since then I have not wrote much about fashion. I don’t know why. It’s not like my deep thoughts on other things are all that great. Maybe I wanted to come across as smart and not shallow and scattered like I am.
Time to change that up. So here’s a good story on The end of the Gap and their Rise and Fall. Very good journalism.
Speaking of good journalism, the Guardian has a great weekly newsletter on fashion. Here’s one such piece: A shopping guide to bold men’s sweatshirts. Highly recommend subscribing to their fashion newsletter.
For sneakerheads: these Nike X black Comme des Garcons Eagle sneakers look great:
Who knows if I can link to this image on the Bay for long, but I love this unconstructed madras blazer from Ralph Lauren, below. I had one like it when I was in my 20s and I loved it.
Pair this up with linen top and pants that pick up the colours in the blazer and you will be well suited up. Add some espadrilles and thin socks and you will bear any heat in style.
…So I decided to share these links I’ve been collecting that all relate to that great city:
It’s easy to mock any era for its excesses – and the 80s had those – but it still had much good about it. Perhaps that’s one reason why some Zoomers are so wistful for that era. Your mileage may differ, but I think the kids are alright.
One of the things about that time that was great was Giorgio Armani. I love his clothes and his look then, and I still do. Here’s a good piece on what makes it great: Permanent Style.
Finally this is fun: New Yorkers and Their 80s Routines, Block by Block (NY Times)
Top image from the Armani piece, bottom from the Times piece.
After reading these two pieces:
I want to pile on and recommend monochrome. As they say, monochrome dressing (i.e. wearing only one colour at a time) is a good way to simplify your dressing. It’s also a good way to travel too: having only one colour to wear means you need to take less and everything goes together.
You don’t have to be as bold as to wear lime or violet: black, blue and gray all work nicely. And if you are wearing summer clothes, all white or all beige is excellent.
If you kind of like the idea but find it too much, mix in some neutral colours: blue and a bit of gray, black and a touch of white, brown and beige combined. Easy!
However you do it, monochrome dressing makes it easy to get dressed and make a statement at the same time. What’s not to like?
The best thing written on AOC and the Met Gala was written here: Activism Is Now In Fashion – The Atlantic.
I had planned to write something, but that piece is so good I can’t possibly express my meh feelings to the empty activism and her presence there better than that piece does. For example, this is just one sliver of goodness from the Atlantic piece:
Ocasio-Cortez has fired up her base, raised her profile, and reminded everyone that she is the standard-bearer for today’s activist left.
At the same time, the Met Gala is essentially a costume ball, which removes the potential for actual subversion…the Met Gala red carpet is now an arena where people go to make statements, which inevitably robs those statements of their power. No one here is rebelling against the Man. The Man loves the extra publicity; it helps sell more $35,000 tickets to socialites who love a frisson of revolution as long as it’s safely divorced from the threat of actual tumbrels. … The Met Ball is … a safe space for political statements that all attendees will applaud, regardless of whether they truly believe them. … no one gets booed, or thrown out, or shunned by their peers for wearing an ensemble supporting any progressive cause to the Met Gala. … So what is the risk of wearing a sloganeering outfit to the Met Gala…? For Ocasio-Cortez, that’s just a day ending in a Y. (Emphasis is mine)
I like AOC for her intelligence and her seriousness and I like the Met Ball for it’s vapid ridiculousness. The two don’t mix. I am glad she got to enjoy the party and wear a great dress and support a good designer, but either go and acknowledge you are part of the ridiculousness, or stay serious and avoid it.
Image from the New York Times. Their piece on it is worthwhile too.
It looks like minimalism has had it’s time and now it’s time for maximalism to take over. At least that’s the sense I get, reading this:More Is More: The End of Minimalism | The Walrus
My thoughts are this:
For more on maximalism, here’s some other pieces I wrote. I also wrote more on minimalism too. 🙂
(Image via vinterior.co …I love it)
After the hype of the collaboration of Kanye West and Gap, we now get to see the first item from what should be a long partnership. The jacket (above) is a bit of a surprise for me. I am so used to West using muted colours that I was pleasantly pleased to see he went with an electric blue. That’s a good sign. And the price is reasonable too.
Here’s hoping the pairing of the brand with the artist is beneficial to both of them.
For more details, see Uncrate.
According to this piece in Esquire, Crocs are back.
Well, I guess. I can’t ever see them having the classic appeal of Stan Smiths or Converse high tops, but I can see why people might pick them up from time to time. I wear them around the house every day. I find them perfect if you do a ton of standing. But wear them outside? Nope. Strictly a utility shoe for me. I suspect they will go back to being that for a lot of people after this latest craze.
To me, athleisureware is athletic clothing worn for some activity other than working out. Nike is taking that to another level with their Every Stitch collection. It’s made of similar materials to work out gear, and it comes from a company that makes workout gear, but it’s not workout gear. One example is in the photo above.
It’s a great collection, I think. If you want to see more on the collection, go here.
If you love it, you can buy it here. Nice it is: cheap it isn’t.
Perhaps this is the next progression in men’s and women’s fashion, just as the sport coat went from being clothing you wore for hunting or horseback riding to something worn every day.
From: Nike Spring ’21 Every Stitch Considered Collection | Uncrate
With the pandemic, we’ve all been shopping a lot more online. Even when the pandemic is over, I suspect we will still do so, though not as much. To do it better, I recommend you read this: ‘Will you wear it 30 times? If not, don’t buy’: the experts’ guide to online shopping | Fashion | The Guardian
It’s a smart guide to getting the most out of online shopping.
(Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash)
Like many of us, Fashion has thrown in the towel and has decided to embrace sweatpants. Don’t just take my word on it; here’s one of the Guardian’s fashion writers explaining, well, How to dress up sweatpants.
Once the pandemic is over, I predict we are going to see a wave of fashion that is the total opposite of sweats. In the meantime, if you are going to wear them, use that article to be both comfy and stylish.
New Balance has been making some form of the 990s for a very long time. If you are a clydesdale runner you may have owned one of more of these.
I wanted to highlight this pair because I just love the styling of them. Long after they no longer provide you the cushioning you need to run with, you can still walk around in them and be stylish IMHO.
For more info on them, check out this Uncrate piece.
Of course, you can also go to the New Balance site. The all black ones look great too.
Finally! Advice we can all use: How to wear a statement cardigan | Men’s fashion in The Guardian
You might think I am joking but I am not: the cardigan is my favorite article of clothing. It’s dressier than a hoodie, more comfortable than a jacket, adjustable for different temperatures, and definitely stylish. I mean look at that one above! A cardigan with a shirt and tie is casual chic. Add more layers and you will be the picture of elegance.
I only have one piece of advice about cardigans: if you see one you like, do not hesitate to buy it. Clothing lines usually have a very limited number of cardigans they make every year, and often those are boring. Some years I have not found one good cardigan worth owning. A good cardigan is a rare and wonderful thing: don’t hesitate to get one or more.
Earlier in the week, I wrote about the importance of wearing red. While red is great, there’s much to be said for wearing black, and Grace Dent says it so well, here. As for me, I’ve argued that if a man has to have only one suit, it should be a black one. Gray and navy are great colours for suits, but black is best. After all, if you wear a white dress shirt, solid black tie and suit, you will look cool .
You could do worse than look as cool as this:
Men don’t wear enough red, in my humble opinion. That’s too bad, because red is a great color to wear. Especially so in the cooler months, when men’s clothes tend to go towards darker and neutral colors.
If you are interested but unsure how to proceed, then check out this Guardian article. It has the tips you need. (The above picture is from there. The red shoe laces are really great. Consider getting a red watch band or a red scarf too.)
Meanwhile, here are my rules for wearing Red, written in 2008. They never go out of style:
If you are transitioning your clothes from summer to winter, you might be asking yourself: why do I have all these clothes? Do I need so many pieces? What can I do to pare down?
One option is to aim for a capsule wardrobe. Here’s a piece on how to create one.For more on this, see this.
As for me, I am a failed minimalist, and I would likely fail at this too. But I feel the need to do it.
P.S. These guides are directed at women’s wear, but people who wear traditional men’s clothing can easily adapt this.
Is simple: it’s wanted less and less. As this piece shows, No One Wants Your Used Clothes Anymore.
What’s changed? Well…
For decades, the donation bin has offered consumers in rich countries a guilt-free way to unload their old clothing. In a virtuous and profitable cycle, a global network of traders would collect these garments, grade them, and transport them around the world to be recycled, worn again, or turned into rags and stuffing.
Now that cycle is breaking down. Fashion trends are accelerating, new clothes are becoming as cheap as used ones, and poor countries are turning their backs on the secondhand trade. Without significant changes in the way that clothes are made and marketed, this could add up to an environmental disaster in the making.
I think there is no easy remedy for this, unless you’re someone happy to wear a limited number of pieces of clothing over and over again. But something will have to change. If you thought all those clothes you put in the donation bin are going on people’s bodies and not to the garbage dump, then read the piece.
Yesterday I asked that about Muji. The short answer for Muji: not doomed yet, but in trouble.
For Forever 21, it appears to be a different story. If you read this, The Failure of the Fast-Fashion Forever 21 Empire – Bloomberg, you see an organization in big trouble, with poor management and poor demand for their product. It is still possible for them to pull out, but I would be surprised if Forever 21 is still a going concern in 2021.
Smart People I Know 