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.
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on Italian’s ties, the fact that the ties are too wide, and their preference for large collars, which are apparently out of date and too European.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.
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
Nothing and nobody can teach you to be artfully disheveled, especially schlock like GQ. It comes from waking up drunk for the third day in a row and throwing your kit on. Don’t dress like and Itialian, dress like a motherfucker.