If you’re part of the Australian menswear crew, best be proud.
There’s a skrong footwear movement going on in Melbourne, click through to see what I have to say about one of its up and coming champions: Christian Kimber, over at Four Pins.
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OOTD 09-04-2013
In between attempting to find a working DDL link for the Mad Men season 6 premier and furiously cramming for my intergovernmental immunities examination Jeffrey and I found time to head to the city. In the course of our other work he took some quickly staged snaps of me as we went about our business.
This part of Australia is finally laying off the whole ‘Dante’s Inferno’ tip and is becoming pleasantly cool. So today I thought I’d share - for your amusement - a very casual lazyboy outfit I donned.
This cold weather kit can be improved with the addition of wide wale cords (my favourite in a forest green - Ovadia & Sons are doing great takes on the corduroy trouser), a large knitted scarf and a ribbed sweater. I really just wanted an excuse to throw on my CP chukkas and Club Monaco gloves to be real though.
Supreme cotton jersey shirt
Thrifted plaid hunting vest
Band of Outsiders cotton chino trousers
Common Projects chukka boot
All images by Jeffrey Hamilton 09-04-2013
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OUR PICK OF THE WEEK - Saphir Renovateur
Here at Styleternity, I’m all about that long lasting sartorial quality. As somebody caught up in this whole #menswear thing I think we sometimes attach too much importance to the ‘next’ big purchase. The problem with this obsession is that your closet fills up with a whole bunch of stank product that you thought it was an appropriate idea to purchase ‘at the time’ while the things that are heavy in your day to day rotation get worn into the ground without proper maintenance/alteration.
Nowhere is the problem more apparent than footwear: the foundation of any solid kit, fresh footwear sets the scene for a correspondingly great outfit. Unfortunately many of us lack the time and patience to really care for our shoes the way we should, and while Saphir Renovateur will not make a regular and thorough cleaning of your favorite C & J unnecessary its a pretty good temporary fix when you don’t have the time to stomp out a proper shoe shine.
Made with mink oil, the Saphir renovateur is the very very next level version of an all points leather treatment. Throw that ratchet Zanolin Kiwi shit into your nearest incinerator because Saphir is the benchmark when it comes to footwear maintenance. This oil based cleaner re-hydrates and cleans leather while simultaneously giving it a low matte shine. Used alone its a great temporary fix or as part of a routine (with separate polish and buffing) will result in that glass like patina the lads at The Armoury have been on for some time already.
Available at Kent Wang
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RAPID REBLOGS
- (‘A series where we talk some more about what we decide to reblog’)
I’ve been posting alot of videos in the ‘Rapid Reblogs’ series for the last few weeks and this is because (chiefly):
a. My slothful herb ass finds itself kicking around on Youtube a significant amount more than usual these days (assessment time I see you homie). As a result, I’m inclined to share - fancy way for saying recycle - stuff that people more talented than I have created
b. The quality of the style/style aligned videos is on that silent OG rise-up. Whereas the majority of Youtube’s landscape is littered with ironic videos about tying some on that wack Eldritch knot shit, there are gems emerging here and there that are genuinely delightful to watch.
The latest in this vein of videos is another of the ‘The Way I Cook’ videos from Mr Porter. On a side note, Mr Porter are doing the ‘Food Issue’ of their weekly journal, recommended reading with lots of useful information for the cuisine conscious gentleman. Style in food is no new concept, and I feel an appreciation for luxury in clothing translates readily to a palate for hearty and indulgent food on the table. Mimi Thorisson: author of the blog ‘Manger’ is front and centre in this latest episode, and schools us all on how to make an Apple & Calvados tart. Simply amazing; if you’re thinking about cooking something for that badass lady in your life consider Thorisson’s down to Earth and devilish as fuck approach. Creme Fraiche with apple tart? Church.
Oh and let’s not pretend this is really about #mahnswear guys, I think today great dessert deserves its time to shine.
(Source: MR PORTER)
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OOTD 26-03-2013
So long story short: I asked a college dorm mate if he’d like to help shoot some images for a couple articles I was supposed to write over at t.X (shameless plug initiated) and after a while it sort of morphed into me being a fucking herb and - all but - forcing him to take some images of me as I walked slowly up and down stone roads at my University.
Having said that the homie JJ Hamilton did his best to make me look 30 % smangable so shout out to him for having the patience to pull the Canon 5D strap on me and produce these lovely photos.
Hopefully this won’t be a regular sort of thing but we had so many outtakes left over from the article photos that we took that I couldn’t help but post them here. Now awaiting the inevitable torrent of impending hate mail.
Bless bless.
Gant Rugger hopsack blazer
Gant Rugger madras oxford cloth button down
The Knottery silk knit tie
Charvet pocket square
Brooks Brothers woven d-ring belt
Edwin straight fit selvedge denim
Meermin Linea Classico tasseled loafers
All images by Jeffrey Hamilton 26-03-2013
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OUR PICK OF THE WEEK - Nanamica linen/navy cruiser jacket
Nanananananana-MICAAAAAAHH! Right, now that that Adam West fueled embarrassment is over let’s turn our attention to this jacket shall we? Nanamica makes some really nice outerwear: like steely-Japanese-dudes-with-half-French-half-Vietnamese-mistresses level nice.
Shout out to Tres Bien for being like the third and a half store in the West to stock this shit because let’s be honest: I am not navigating a metric fuck tonne of kanji just to holla at some technical polyester drawers. This jacket on the other hand, give me a dictionary, because I fuck’s with it something fierce.
Made of a 100 % navy linen with a nylon interlining this will keep you covered in those very specific climates that are both humid and windy. It also has snap fastened back and chest pockets: so you can keep your essentials on deck without carrying round that free tote you picked up at Capsule.
I honestly can’t even front about going to Capsule, living in Australia neutralizes all attempts to engage in relevant fronting because you’re not even in the same damn hemisphere as half the stuff you’re pretending to go to.
Still beats being an intern though, amiright?
Available at TRÈS BIEN SHOP
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Strong flex with the fresh collaboration Finamore & Frans Boone style. Pindot chambray with the stereotype cutaway collar, now € 181.
An exercise in simplicity
It seems like every other day I post something from Ovadia & Sons, so in the interest of mitigating the ‘dickrider’ label I’ve attempted to attach a couple of their Spring Summer 2013 items to other pieces which will take you through those reasonably temperate mid-season weekends.
Seriously though, that combat jacket is some murder murder. Its like an unrealised very rare outerare Travis Bickle concept via Ralph Lauren. Throw a couple hundo #menswear approved bracelets on it and call it a day, straight up finesse my friend.
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GODDAMN SON, HOW LONG IS THIS POST? Here goes…
I appreciate the time you took to answer my query: I must admit that I was hopeful you would provide a comprehensive reply, and consistent with all my expectations that is EXACTLY what happened. Bien.
With regard to NTB, he has been an inspiration to me since day 1 of this menswear malarkey. While I initially dabbled in the self administered lunacy that abounds on Lookbook *shudder* it was Trunzo who quickly provided me with some sound sartorial oversight (cuff length, button stance, all those pleasantries) all the while making me feel like a gigantic herb. I think some of the most important lessons in #menswear have been learned via humiliation, but I would be remiss if I didn’t say that your slice of the web doesn’t evoke the nostalgia of belly laughing at NTB’s daily disses all those years ago.
Additionally I’d like to freely admit that I am part of the never ending circle jerk that is #menswear + #hype. I suppose my readiness to join in this collective self-aggrandizing comes from a longing for a sense of community. As a much younger cad I had no interest in sport, organized religion or LAN parties so I was often off on my own doing me. Menswear has been a significant centralising experience for me in that the ‘icons’ (that you yourself have alluded to) who initially inspire us are by and large reachable here within Tumblrworld. How many social niches can claim this phenomena? I’m willing to wager the answer is ‘decidedly few’. Its for this reason that I’ve often - at the certain risk of sounding like a corny bloggah - gotten swept up in hype, promoting the same guys, marching to the same drum, reiterating the same shit. But with that frequency of interaction comes a certain amount of self awareness and so I try my best to do what I can to ‘own’ (through commentary, analysis and opinion) the content that exists in Tumblrland.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you tackled defining DBTI (an acronym which I ironically hope to appropriate from you with little to no due credit XD). Its not the adoption of internet #menswear tropes that is the biggest problem, the issue at large is of people swaggerjacking existing taste makers and reiterating the same trends repeatedly. Which presents us with dire consequences since we have a menswear community that now stuck in a cyclical rut. When one considers the highly individual nature of fashunz as well, it becomes apparent that just because Woostgod wears a bowler hat that does not mean YOU can, much less claim credit from a practice put into the public eye by someone else.
And while you did make the excellent point that comfort (or ease of dress if you would prefer) is central to determining whether a person’s style is genuinely individual, I would make the tenuous connection that people who look like the internet discharged its #menswear vomit payload dress in such a manner simply because they lack individuality. So as a safety measure they steal from someone much more credible/trill/ill/crispy/based/swag than they. I’m ashamed to say I have done it more than once.
It is on that note though that I touch off this correspondence with blatant optimism. I do not regret my saturation in the hype of #menswear, I do not regret my often disastrous and borderline psychotic dalliances with ‘fashunz’. There is a simple reason for this, one for that matter that many of us here in Tumblrland will relate to: youth. Alex Delany has written at length on this subject and how we should find the opportune moment to take chances, its menswear not nuclear fission, we are allowed by virtue of our fallibility to try new things and fail. And while I certainly won’t be trying a day cravat or a goddamn shawl any time soon I think all the chiding I have received from fellow blogger scum (kidding guys, homies out here one and all) has taught me valuable lessons and given me lasting insight. After all: it is just clothes, and if we’re able to laugh off our - hopefully - infrequent fuckups we’re all the better for it, in style and in substance.
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An irrefutably iconic part of the whole Tumblr #menswear shit storm, the black doublemonk is a shoe that is as versatile as it is infamous. With a polished captoe, rakish straps and quite a unique silhouette I am unashamed to say it was this shoe that drew me into the good life.
And here 3 years into the game, I’ve finally got my shit together and present you with the latest segment in the ‘Product In Review’ series. This time starring everybody’s favourite shoemaker Meermin Mallorca and their iteration of one of the cornerstones of the crispy gentleman’s wardrobe.
MORE AFTER THE DROP.
Real G’s move in that double breasted ish…
Head on over to t.X for a full article on Suitsupply’s ‘Soho’ fit!
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New Ovadia & Sons Lightweight Blueberry Wool Suit
Excellent details: flap ticket pocket, structured body, lapel roll and lowered 2 button stance. Also peep the contrast color lapel buttonhole.
Source: Ovadia & Sons
Bromantical times in Italy with Gant Rugger, coming to a theater near you.
RAPID REBLOGS
- (‘A series where we talk some more about what we decide to reblog’)
The latest video from the Gant Rugger SS 2013 campaign has hit the web for over a week now, but its still worth mentioning since the whole #menswear clique seems to be on that crew times in Italia ish.
Making good on his promise to bring a more tailored edge to the Gant Rugger mise en place, Raggah creative director Christopher Bastin has grounded this season’s aesthetic in things learnt from Italy via Pitti.
And braj oh what things do we have for you: the menswear trilluminati frolicking in the brocean, enjoying the crispy yet tender embrace of the Italian sun. Everything from traditional sprezz to cosy boy makes an appearance in this campaign (shot by your boy Justin Chung) and if I didn’t know any better I’d swear these steez kings were actually really good mates in real life.
And for those of you who don’t really feel the whole ‘menswear kings’ vibe, just enjoy the clothes. The houndstooth print is kind of my favorite.
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![OUR PICK OF THE WEEK - J.Press York St. Navy Trench Coat
Like every nauseating and tritely written ‘style’ publication tells you, the trench coat is indeed an indispensable part of any self-respecting #menswear homie’s getup. Despite the clichés that surround the trench it is the most compelling manifestation of both form and function, acting as both rain and overcoat.
But why bother with that whole ‘smells like R Kelly sheets’ thrifting business? Ain’t nobody got time for that! Ain’t nobody got time for ‘vintage’ trenches smelling of ammonia. Save that for the dudes who run industrial laundromats who can afford to soak that shit long and hard.
For the rest of us, the J Press X Ovadia & Sons collab is an on-point alternative. For the modern #menswear devotee, luxe is all about simplicity and Ovadia & Sons’ classic take on the English via Ivy League trench oozes clean uncluttered sophistication.
While you could wear it as a typical cover up - its made of 100 % double faced twill cotton - under whatever internet approved bespoke tailored crispiness you happen to have on, the details of this jacket make it much more interesting when substituted in for the typical overcoat (Chesterfield, car coat etc).
The large flap pockets, shoulder detail and ticket pocket combine to take this garment to the very-trill-very-rare level while the tapered back (complete with D-rings) means you can tie [albeit disastrously] that oh so skrong belt knot I’ve been hearing so much about.
Available at J Press Online
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OUR PICK OF THE WEEK - J.Press York St. Navy Trench Coat
Like every nauseating and tritely written ‘style’ publication tells you, the trench coat is indeed an indispensable part of any self-respecting #menswear homie’s getup. Despite the clichés that surround the trench it is the most compelling manifestation of both form and function, acting as both rain and overcoat.
But why bother with that whole ‘smells like R Kelly sheets’ thrifting business? Ain’t nobody got time for that! Ain’t nobody got time for ‘vintage’ trenches smelling of ammonia. Save that for the dudes who run industrial laundromats who can afford to soak that shit long and hard.
For the rest of us, the J Press X Ovadia & Sons collab is an on-point alternative. For the modern #menswear devotee, luxe is all about simplicity and Ovadia & Sons’ classic take on the English via Ivy League trench oozes clean uncluttered sophistication.
While you could wear it as a typical cover up - its made of 100 % double faced twill cotton - under whatever internet approved bespoke tailored crispiness you happen to have on, the details of this jacket make it much more interesting when substituted in for the typical overcoat (Chesterfield, car coat etc).
The large flap pockets, shoulder detail and ticket pocket combine to take this garment to the very-trill-very-rare level while the tapered back (complete with D-rings) means you can tie [albeit disastrously] that oh so skrong belt knot I’ve been hearing so much about.
STYLETERNITY
This is a coat almost too #rare for the Internet. No, there aren’t any buttons. Buttons are for normal clothes. This is simply a comfort blanket that happens to have a high collar and arm holes. As for that design, 100% illuminati. Stupid Rare. The tag says “Eddie Bauer” but that’s a lie. Eddie Bauer didn’t exist 1200 years ago. This coat was made 1200 years ago. Very #rare.
NEVER FORGET.
RAPID REBLOGS
- (‘A series where we talk some more about what we decide to reblog’)
Sometimes the internet creates the holiest of grails by way of simply existing, and this holiest of the ‘melt your face off’ holies is no exception. Akin to a greatest hits of The Thin White Duke anthology, this jacket comes popping with all the menswear trends of the past half decade that have actually worked.
Taking inspiration from classical soft tailoring, the cozy boy movement and every asshole menswear nerd’s obsession with #veryrareverycrispy prints, this is the jacket to end all jackets.
Behold the future homies: life sans buttons. On my next level French word substitution shit. Real G’s move in Eddie Bauer (apparently).
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