I’ve officially taken down my mammoth collection of coats from the top shelf of my wardrobe so I don’t know what Wiley is doing releasing ‘Summertime’ now, but to be fair he does a lot better job of ripping off Daft Punk than Kanye ever did.
It’s a ’90s-tastic video which reminds me of Positive K‘s epic song ‘I Got a Man’. It features clothes by cult menswear label Jaiden rVa James and styling by SUPER SUPER magazine… Fashiontastic!
Plain old trousers just wont cut it anymore, especially when womenswear retailers are frothing at the mouth over the peg-leg, carrot, and cropped varieties of the trouser this season. French Connection’s vintage trousers (£80) feature two tucks at the hip for a more traditional voluminous shape, a turn-up and a waist cinch for a perfect fit. They will look good teamed with simple, modern pieces like a grey v-neck sweater and white leather plimsolls to avoid a museum-y or overly retro feel.
Lad Musician are clearly a brand willing to take some risks. For example, take their studded gloves (pictured above). Although it’s a look associated with people who wear new rock boots, it looks surprisingly wearable, although it would look better if it were just polka dots. The other risk is their inclusion of denim jackets.
These jackets are risky not because no-one is wearing. It’s risky because everything who is wears them horrifically, matching them to their denim jeans and looking like rejects from a Bruce Springsteen lookalike competition. I’m not about to call it a comeback, but denim jackets might just be a viable alternative for people looking to change it up from bombers and trench coats. Lad Musician is available from blackbird and the site’s webshop.
It’s time for us all to start dressing like Lightspeed Champion. Seriously. Take a look at any highstreet store and you’re bound to see a mixture of chunky cardigans, clear lens glasses and trapper hats. Add these together and you have Lightspeed Champion’s look. Out of these three defining pieces, the trapper hat is the one that looks to make a big comeback.
As usual, Topman are quickest off the mark, covering all bases of the trapper hat from (fake) fur hats to Number Nine-like knitted ones. ASOS are also stocking up on trapper hats, with three currently in stock; even River Island’s online store – usually pretty threadbare – has a trapper hat available. [You can check these hats for yourself after the jump]
Given that it’s only the start of September, it’s fair to say that this will be a key headpiece for this season. The only question is whether Lightspeed Champion will carry on wearing them when he sees so many people copying his style.
If you are in need of something a little smarter and a lot more expensive than the Topman suit you bought for your court appearance then there is a guide to the coolest cool suits of A/W 08 over at men.style.com with this seasons theme being broad shoulders and wide legs, are we venturing back into the realm of shoulder pads? Sweet lord let us hope not.
I’m a massive advocate of the slimmer cut suit so this is perhaps not the guide for me but I’d say if you’ve got the money then these are a safe bet. Check the full selection out here and jump through to see my 3 favorites.
Drop-crotch jeans have been dubbed the ‘future of denim’ and ‘the next skinny jean.’ I am an unbelievable skinny devotee (yes, I am scarred after wearing them in Summer-heat London and not even joking) and for this reason, I decided to road-test an exclusive pre-production sample pair from Trousers London. I ventured into Covent Garden to get the public opinion on whether the jeans were ‘(Drop-)HOT!’ or ‘PANTS!’ Pitying glances, envious looks, angry words and self-styling monologues; the Drop-Crotch jeans certainly attracted attention-but was it praise or pity? Read on for the full report with street-style pics, interviews, comments and product details.
While the term style icon is overused, I would like to nominate Bobby Womack up for the entirely made up award of coolest glasses wearer. His overall style wasn’t amazing, but he wore square glasses better than anyone I’ve seen (not that I’ve seen many people wearing square glasses).
After reading his autobiography, I felt compelled to anoint him with this title. Aside from wearing glasses well, Womack’s worked with, toured with or played for everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Sam Cooke to Janis Joplin. In fact he was the second to last person to see Joplin before she died (the last was her dealer, according to Womack). He was also the inspiration behind ‘Mercedes Benz’ and convinced Sam Cooke to not release ‘A change is gonna come’ (it was only released after Cooke died).
With clear glasses getting more popular by the day, why not step outside the box and follow in the footsteps of Mr Womack?
Forgive that awful title but let me explain; Executive Item Execution (EIE) is the official ruin of an ever-so-stylish item as the result of a figure of authority telling you they have the same piece (and no, this has nothing to do with the fetish trend.)
To paraphrase and avoid any further confusion, I will put it into the context of my own life. Yesterday, a figure of authority commented on how “insane” my shoes were.This person went on to reveal that they actually had and often wore my shoes and broke into hysterical laughter as I stuttered and muttered a response that attempted to convey my anguish.
Call me vain, on a high-horse or simply unrealistic but how many names have been ruined for you by the child who used to pick their nose and eat it or mutter to themselves as they drew pictures of dead people? Sadly, the same applies to Margiela as it did to McDonalds (thanks, Morgan Spurlock.)
Bringing coat styles back from the dead seems to be a favourite of designers at the moment. They did it with the trench coat and they’re trying the same with pea coats, with stores from COS to Liberty stocking updated styles of this classic look.
With an item as classic as a pea coats it’s always possible that you could get a better version from a vintage store. Given the preference for slim fit styling right now, the vintage version could be a bit too outdated, so which do you go for?
While Topman do have a perfectly lovely version on their website, Vintage is the way to go with this one. This pea coat from Rokit is a better shade of navy blue and just has more character than the Topman version. It’s available from Rokit’s site and costs £30.
The Independent are talking about global hipsters and the dissolution of traditional trends, name-dropping the usual suspects like Ryan McGinley and Nathan Barley. They call the Truman Brewery “a microcosm of an international phenomenon” which is kind of depressing but overall it’s an interesting article, describing the change in trend adoption from a vertical or trickle down movement to a lateral one largely thanks to the internet.
It’s a mostly upbeat article but it does slag off Uniqlo‘s pre-trendification era saying it was thought of as “a cheap and nasty Asian C&A equivalent” in 2004. Err, by whom?! Certainly not yours truly. Anyway if that’s all a little too fluffy read this Adbusters article on Hipsterism where Douglas Haddow calls it the ‘Dead End of Western Civilization’.
Pictures of the forthcoming Comme des Garçons collection for H&M have been leaked to Fashionista and my intial verdict is thumbs up for the menswear. The women’s collection might be a little overly quirky (I’m reserving final opinion for when the range hits the shops) but the menswear is spot on, no pun intended. Rei Kawakubo has obviously retained CDG’s spirit in a surprisingly mainstream collection. From what I can see it’s a mix of quality tailoring with some well-placed, original flourishes like bias-cut fabrics and contrasting buttonholes.
Can I put in a request for polka dots to take the crown from stripes? We just need to find a successor to plaid for next spring. Answers on a postcard please.
It’s been noted for a while that the time between trends translating from runway to high street is shortening. Now Bono is the first man to jump on the medge bandwagon.
I have to say I admire his chutzpah. He obviously looked at his wife and thought ‘there’s no way you’re gonna look taller than me today’. He’s simultaneously managed to display insecurity, egotism and competitiveness, no mean feat.
Topman’s comic print bottoms might actually be pyjamas, and garish ones at that but they’re at a much more accessible price than the Jeremy Scott kecks, perfect for trying out something you might only wear once. The Fright Night bottoms are only £12, and they also come in a skeleton print and a snakes and ladders print.
Do you have thousands of pounds or dollars burning a hole in your pocket? Do you also feel it is time for a complete wardrobe change? But do you have no clue about what’s hot or not in the fast paced world of fashion? Well then it’s your lucky day because those bloody helpful chaps over at men.style.com have gotten “14 of menswear’s top tastemakers [to] name their favourite pieces of the season”. As if this wasn’t enough I’m here on hand naming my top 3 picks from the list, so click through on the jump to see how badly I lack any imagination.
When was the last time you bought something with a huge label slapped across the chest? I ask this because The Independent has recently wrote an article on the death of overt branding.
Albam co-founder states that “Logos smack of seeking approval for what you’re wearing and many customers now have enough confidence not to need that.”
It’s been a noticeable trend that logos are getting smaller, with brands such as J. Lindeberg’s logo being barely visible on their clothing. Another point to take into consideration is that newer brands logos mean nothing to people, making it pointless to have it all over a shirt. With the prominence of high street stores, OTT branding is unlikely to make a comeback anytime soon.
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