Archive for the ‘Accessories’ Category
Accessories, Heroes and Celebrities, Polls
By Will Reid on April 20th, 2009
Mickey Boardman is the infamous columnist at Paper magazine as well as a social butterfly and fashion extraordinaire. He is also the proud owner of a rather distinctive and intriguing look. Boardman blends paired down basics in block colours (Lacoste polo shirts, chinos, simple cardigans in luxury cashmere,) with extravagant costume jewellery and accessories. Chunky necklaces and lavish loops of gorgeous beads add a high-fashion touch to any simple look. But I worry it might raise a few eyebrows (and maybe a few fists) down at the local supermarket.
So what do you think- Yay or Nay?
Tags: ballantyne, brandish, fashion, Jewellery, lacoste, magazine, mickey boardman, necklace, paper, paper magazine, poll, Polls, polo shirt, reid, shiny media, style, style icon, will, will reid
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Accessories
By Colin Chapman on April 20th, 2009
It’s probably a first that Alexis Petridis at The Guardian picks up on a trend before the Brandish team but here’s an exception. Whilst Petridis’s column on Saturday featured the said accessory with a standard suit, I recently spotted a Liberty sales assistant making a much more imaginative use of the pocket square. He’d paired a vintage-looking, ‘farmer’ check Barbour shirt in cream/khaki with a Liberty pocket square in one of their classic, ‘arts and crafts’ prints in a cool, pale blue. Perfectly folded into the shirt pocket, the pocket square positively fizzed against the rural check of his shirt. Were this boy walking down the street in New York City he’d have been a moving target for The Sartorialist.
As I’m attending a stylish wedding reception this weekend, I’d already decided to give the pocket-square-in-shirt-pocket look a spin, but how to be sure about that folding?
As ever, YouTube comes to the rescue with its delightfully titled ‘The Art of Manliness‘ guide to the pocket square.
Pocket squares: Liberty, Image source: Dandy and Wit
Tags: Alexis Petridis, guardian, liberty, pocket squares
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Accessories
By Colin Chapman on April 3rd, 2009
On a recent visit to Matches boutique on Marylebone High Street, I couldn’t take my hands off this amazing mlutch bag. Whilst the Matches website (and no doubt producer, Zagliani) coyly describe it as a ‘document holder’ it’s most definitely a mlutch. Too big to be a lady clutch bag, expandable to fit um, a few flat items like the essential glossy mag, passport (I’m struggling here), spare pants.. ‘documents’? The amazing python leather has to be stroked to be really appreciated. Of course, such perfection comes at a price: £688.
Still reading? Though I’ve since failed to find anything quite so lovely in my luxury mlutch quest, Matches also stock this ‘pouch’ also by Zagliani at a less eye-watering £194. My suspicion is that alternatives could only really be tracked down in Italy, where no doubt there is an elegant store frequented by camp, document-wielding men with a penchant for expensive skins. If you find it, the Brandish team would love to know.
Tags: clutch, document holder, man, matches, mlutch, Zagliani
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Accessories, Luggage & Travel
By admin on March 25th, 2009
This bark-tanned leather shopping bag (239 Eur) looks slightly feminine, but that’s part of the appeal, there’s no faux macho-posturing from this bag, it’s just a simple over the shoulder tote. The true tan colour will look great with a navy suit or a pale Harrington jacket and it’s more interesting than your average laptop bag.
Manufactum produce the bag, so you can guarantee that it will last you a lifetime, and get better with age. They recommend cleaning it with a damp cloth until a patina starts to form and they guarantee the only synthetic material used is the stitching thread, old school class!
Tags: bark tanned, leather, Manufactum, shopping bag
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Accessories, Brand Spotlight
By Colin Chapman on March 23rd, 2009
Currently gracing all the best mens glossies is the Mulberry ad for the Eliot Tote bag. It’s rare for a particular model to be touted as the equivalent of a male ‘It’ bag but I guess Mulberry are applying a trusted formula here.
What makes this bag so lovely? The ad photography brings out the heavy grain of the thick leather looking creamier and much less starkly white than in the storefront image here. The ad styling also helps – layered neon knits under leather, low slung jeans also (crucially) in white. But nothing attracts attention away from that bag. Other selling points: the canvas handles look sturdy and practical. Its a tote – as with the cotton tote this exudes youthful exuberance, no PC-laptop lugging or sweaty footie kit here. It’s value suggests you only carry the best items – Fantastic Man natch, Tom Ford shades and it’s roomy enough to slot in your yoga mat. The price? Oh yes, a very It-bag £495.
Tags: advert, bag, Eliot tote, fantastic man, it, leather, mulberry, Tom Ford
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Accessories, Clothing, Polls
By Will Reid on March 3rd, 2009
At a disco the other night, the theme was ‘City vs. Country’ and stuck for ideas, a friend and I decided to go as tacky tourists. Cue vintage novelty braces, high-waisted denim shorts and charity shop shirts.
My charity shop bum-bag has been the focus of much attention. While it was only a joke item, a few friends have since been talking about it and I wonder if it could be worked into an actual outfit.
Outside of an outrageously-themed disco, I think I will wear the accessory when I go to India in March with cartoon-print Harem trousers, white plimsolls, a plain white vest and vintage sunglasses (at right.) Practical and high-fashion!
Yay or Nay?
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Tags: brandish, bum-bag, charity, charity shop, Clothing, disco, fanny pack, fashion, jeremy scott, party, plimsoll, plimsolls, poll, Polls, reid, retro, style, sunglasses, vintage, will, willl reid
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Accessories
By Colin Chapman on February 18th, 2009
There’s something very liberating about the tote bag for guys. Clearly ‘recreational’ in outlook – its very simplicity makes it clear that you’re not lugging a laptop and however Boho your leatherware is there’s nothing quite so carefree as a simple cotton tote. We’ve been there with slogans and brand names in the last couple of years, both as intentional shout-outs and as the sought-after-though-indirectly-fashionable (hello Daunt Books bag carriers).
The most refreshing option for your cotton tote bag then is something purely graphic: Topman have great, cheap options available in abstract diamond or mesh patterns. Acne has a gorgeous still life print. Though my favourite remains Deer Dana who make up totes in any of their hand-drawn T-shirt designs – the most well-known of which being the Agyness Deyn print, as worn by, ahem Agyness Deyn. So now the only thing left to do is to check what’s needed for the park/beach/lunch date: Kiehls SPF moisturiser, Penguin Classic, chunky headphones and moleskine notepad. Go be carefree.
Items: Left, Deer Dana, centre, both Topman, right Acne
Tags: acne, cotton bags, Deer Dana, summer, topman, tote bags
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Accessories
By Colin Chapman on February 13th, 2009
Given the dramatic changes in weather recently you may be thinking a sowester is your best option for cover, but once the sun breaks out, a hat looks like an essential accessory for SS09. Lanvin, naturally, have the most romantic and expensive options, available from Browns as well as their store. Wide brimmed fedoras come with ostentatious trimmings of ribbons, flowers or both. Perfect for channeling your inner Quentin Crisp, they also have an air of Brideshead about them, though you probably need a bit of confidence to carry it off comfortably. Suggest keeping the rest of your outfit simple – white shirt, classic shoes. More wearable might be a straw trilby, some great options available at Matches right now, team with a classic Fred Perry polo and flat-front trousers for the full Mod-ish rude-boy look. Finally, YSL‘s blue linen sailor hat will add 50s elegance to dark denims, stiped matelot and espadrilles – just make sure your holiday snaps are in black and white and pose by a Vespa scooter (if you’re not riding one yourself).
Top row: Lanvin from Browns
Bottom row: Straw trilby and YSL sailor hat from Matches
Tags: browns, lanvin, matches, summer hats, YSL
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Accessories, Trends
By admin on February 10th, 2009
Click image to enlarge
How could we have missed the boat on this one? We heralded the age of the ‘medge’ aka the male wedge and we all witnessed the explosion of guyliner, manscara and what have you but somehow the ‘mlutch’ evaded us.
Charlie Porter‘s been gadding about town sporting the BOT (Bang On Trend) accessory but everybody knows that the trend started with Kel Knight of Kath and Kim fame and his manpurse, a vision in grey leather. I’ve picked out a few women’s clutches that you could happily pass off as a mlutch, jump through to find out more.
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Tags: bag, charlie porter, clutch, faith, Man Bag, medge, mlutch, mulberry, Philip Lim
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Accessories, Designer Spotlight, sunglasses
By Will Reid on February 9th, 2009
Kris Van Assche, creative head of Dior Homme, and luxury sunglasses label Oliver Peoples have already put out successful collections of their collaborative designs but this week has seen the launch of the Spring/Summer 2009 collection.
The sunglasses for this season are still over-sized but thinner and sleeker than the thick-rimmed versions of previous seasons. Available in black, white and a divine tortoiseshell, these sunglasses (yet to be given a pricetag) are sure to feature on the WISHLIST of the entire Brandish team.
(Source: Hypebeast)
Tags: Accessories, brandish, Clothing, design, Dior Homme, fashion, Glasses, hypebeast, Jay-Z, kanye west, Kris van Assche, new, oliver peoples, s/s, Spring/Summer, style, sunglasses, vintage, willl reid
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Accessories, Luggage, Trends
By Colin Chapman on February 5th, 2009
Sometimes online shopping can be as exhausting as a trudge round the real shops (remember them?) So whilst all the coolest backs in town seem to have an old-school canvas rucksack slung across them, tracking said item down online is more tricky. ASOS had the most perfect option by Cuckoo but are now out of stock. If like me you lack the patience to request a restock, what else is out there? Foregoing the sometimes-scary world of army surplus sites (gas mask anyone?) there are still some options online.
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Tags: american apparel, asos, Bill Amberg, boy scout, canvas rucksack, Chapmans, Cuckoo
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Accessories
By admin on January 23rd, 2009
Click image to enlarge
Forzieri‘s target consumer for this pendant could be a number of people, Tiger Woods fans, golfing enthusiasts or a golfing widow, I’m not really sure.
Either way it’s a pretty spectacular piece of jewellery although Jon’s reaction to it was less than favourable shall we say! I can’t really imagine how you’d wear the pendant, if you’re going to give it a go you might as well go down the chic euro-lothario route and wear it with an open-necked shirt, linen trousers and slip-on suede mules perhaps? Should golfing not tickle your fancy you can also choose from cats, horses, dogs and a mother holding cherubic babe aloft. I want them all!
Tags: cameo, del gatto, forzieri, golfer, golfer pendant, Jewellery
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