italian inspiration

Hello world,

apologies for the lack of my updates. I have been very busy with school work and finally finished a large presentation that was months in the making. Now that all of that is over, it’s time to get back on this blog once again. Thanks to Trey for holding it down for a bit.

p.s. Expect a new contributor very soon.  – Brad

 

Blogs, magazines and designers seem to like to react to what they deem as staples of European and more specifically Italian style. The complaint I most often hear or read about is the crispness with which Italian men wear their clothes. A blog like The Sartorialist tends to praise the men of Milan and their ability to roll a sleeve perfectly, while The Magnificent Bastard has stated a dislike for the meditated measure of a perfectly rolled sleeve, as the MB (as does Trey) prefers to see a bit of “artful dishevelment”. Nothing wrong with that of course because when it’s done well, it’s awesome.

GQ

Other points of contention are the large knots worn on Italian’s ties, the fact that the ties are too wide, and their preference for large collars, which are apparently out of date and too European.

Though these traits of Italian style are not approved of in the US fashion and style community, it seems to me that at the same time the  people who pick on these characteristics of Italian style can easily switch gears and tell you that if there is one group of people to dress like, it is the Italian men. Wearing brown suede boots with a gray suit or leaving the collar unbuttoned on your oxford are just two little tips GQ and others will tell you to follow. But a general recommendation on their part is to dress like the men of Milan.

The Italian Cut

Needless to say this is all very confusing for a kid who really knows nothing about fashion and style besides what I like. I dont know if the others are saying that there are certain Italian traits I should ignore such as large knots, but appreciate their style as a whole, or adversely if I should pick up little hints such as keeping the collar unbuttoned. I really don’t know.

But what I do know is that I like the Italian style and I am using these sites and blogs as inspiration.

The Sartorialist – I know you know about this blog as it is something like in the top 25 most influential blogs in the world or something along those lines. Point being, half of the men on here are from Italy, specifically Milan.

GQ (Tommy Ton’s Street Style: Men of Milan: A simple 65 image slide show of various men around Milan. It’s a nice simple source for inspiration.

tredici e lupo – A great amalgamation of items, photographs and the occasional Italian car.

The Italian Cut – Like tredici e lupo but perhaps with a slightly stronger emphasis on “everything italian” be it clothing, cars, design or pop culture. Worth checking out in its own right as it seems tredici e lupo gets alot of their material from The Italian Cut

 

Check em out – Brad

Topman Gaffe

Usually I am a huge proponent of the Online Store – Topman. Topman is a modern man’s link to sharp british style, and it really helps that they offer an United States Online Store. And before I post my complaint with one of their stlye selections, I really really want to stress that you should go take a look at their site for quality, slim fit mens wear.

However,

I do not understand their Grey Herringbone Drop Crotch Pants. I don’t understand any thing that has a drop crotch, and certainly not a drop crotch on slacks. They look to be more MC Hammer than Cary Grant. And if you remember correctly internet world, on our scale of Cary Grant – “Your-next-door-neighbor-steve-who-wears-camo-often” , Mc Hammer runs right next to your neighbor.

So here is a picture of the pants and I have just one simple request. Tell me what you think about these pants. Am I wrong in thinking they are horrible and awful?

wooden watch wow.

I know I just posted something about Shwood, makers of wooden sunglasses, but I just discovered this company WeWood that makes wooden watches.

Now I’m not too hyped on either of their current designs, but they offer them in a variety of woods and colors and that is always pretty rad. I think I am going to wait for a new model to come out whenever that may be because I find the model pictured to be a pretty standard design and the other model they offer is not really my style. But if you are diggin’ either of them I say go for it because it’s a pretty solid talking piece that has a one in ten chance of getting you laid at a party.

-brad

What is Cool?

I want to start this post with a picture from the Sartorialist I stumbled upon a few weeks ago.

Cool Guy And His Girl

To me, this picture captures the question: what is cool? So often we post on this site linking you to places we think sell cool things, or write cool posts, that we rarely get time to decide what cool really is. Defining cool isn’t cool, I know that is rule 1. But I feel the need to post a little bit about this picture, to describe what is in it that speaks to me.

This man is cool from the debonair grin on his face down to the casual way his chinos rest above the ankle (which is a look by the way I’ve been trying to master but I can never tell if I’ve under-cuffed or over-cuffed my pants). Do you know why he is cool? Well foremost, there is a beautiful woman whose eyes are fixed upon him suggesting to the viewer that she is utterly enamored with his presence. But also because of his casual elegance: the grin and the cuffs, the cigarette half in his mouth, the wrinkles in his shirt and pants – the not so perfect details of his outfit. You get the idea from looking at him that he just threw things together that day and his confidence shined right on through to his outfit.

So if I had to give one piece of fashion advice out there to my fellow man and woman, I would say don’t sweat it. Every blog wants you to buy something else or wear something some other way. But you can only read so many blog posts telling you how to cuff your shirt before you don’t really know which way is the right way any longer. Just do what you want and be confident. Check a magazine, ask a friend, or read a blog ( I hear this one is fairly decent) but don’t get too worked up about not fitting “the mold”. Your presence will speak for itself.

(This Public Service Announcement has been brought to you by some sips of whiskey and a head full of thoughts)

-trey

Nerd Boyfriend

When Brad and I are together, we usually spend our time perusing Men’s fashion blogs during math class or enjoying a drink. (Ok, maybe a little of both but don’t tell our math teacher Mrs.Deszcz). But since you and I can’t share a drink over the internet yet, I figured I’d steer you towards another one of my favorite sites.

Nerd Boyfriend has a simple concept. They post an iconic photo of some sharply dressed famous folk and then underneath, link you to an online store where you can create a similar style. Do you want to dress like Marvin Gaye but you’re unsure where you can find those gruff denim shirts he wore with such casual elegance? They’ve got you covered.

I’m a personal fan of their most recent post, the Tony Curtis. It takes a real man to wear shoes and socks to the beach.

Ps: If you haven’t seen him in the film, “Some Like It Hot” then you’re definitely missing out.

-trey

“A Gentleman’s Style Cheat Sheet”

Some nice basic style rules for the every-Gentleman. Not sure I agree with everything, but it’s generally pretty spot-on.

courtesy of Harrison Fjord.

-brad

Tiger Tree Shwood

As I am sure you all have heard, Portland, Oregon based wooden sunglasses company Shwood has collaborated with Wish (a retailer from Atlanta that I frankly know nothing about and will not pretend to) and have created a special edition pair of shellac coated sunnies.

aokayofficial.com

Now I like these well enough, but the real appeal to Shwood’s glasses are the fact that you can actually tell that they are made of wood. I’m not sure it’s as evident with this pair.

If you like what you see here or on Shwood’s website, you can always order online. But if you’re more inclined to walk  into a store and try them on and you happen to be in the area of Columbus, Ohio you can pick a pair up at one of my favorite stores, Tiger Tree.

Outside of Shwood, Tiger Tree carries a ton of locally made products and hand made products such as these one of a kind Book Cover Belt Buckles. And if you aren’t in Columbus, you can also order any of their products online

-brad

Early Morning Accesories.

It’s 10 O’clock in the morning and I surprisingly don’t have a lot to say. However, I do know that I need to immediately post a link to the #1 place on the internet to pick up a tie. The tiebar.com is a simply laid out website that features any basic tie pattern and color you can think of, for the low price of 15.00.

No really, I swear. Every skinny, long, bow, skull, whatever tie is 15.00. 100% woven silk too.

I went ahead and picked up this beauty for myself.

OH YEAH! ASCOTS TOO.