The Wall Street Journal unveiled a new weekend lifestyle section today called Off Duty and the lead story was something about a heritage trend. Have any of you heard about this newfangled heritage phenomenon? Apparently all of these companies are giving the big luxury brands something to think about by just going back to their archives and re-releasing a bunch of dusty old stuff. Hmm, this seems like something I should explore further.

In all seriousness, Off Duty looks promising and is yet another signal (the Greater New York section being the first) of the Journal’s battle to overtake The Gray Lady. I’m just happy to see more good things happening in the print world. Especially since I subscribe to both papers. Off Duty is in this weekend’s edition, on newsstands today. [Update: the story is online]

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Have you seen Monocle’s new iPad app? One actually came in the mail for me this morning. No, seriously.

This app isn’t Apple compatible, it is a special summer-edition of Monocle printed on newspaper stock. Because you can’t read an iPad on a beach. I first heard about Monocle Mediterraneo at a lunch with a contingent of Monocle staffers (including a very pleasant Mr. Brûlé) at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Now don’t get too excited, that’s not how I normally roll. But the Monocle crew was at the hotel for a conference, so it was an obvious choice.

Apparently the idea behind Mediterraneo was that, while this is the “summer of the iPad,” you can’t use one of those things at the beach. So being the rebellious pub that they are, Monocle went the other direction and struck gold. The summer edition is laid out beautifully and is an equally interesting read. The only problem is that while Mediterraneo can transport me in spirit, it can’t get the physical me to the Côte d’Azur. Or can it? [Monocle Mediterraneo]

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These days, the sad reality is that print magazines are dropping like flies. I for one appreciate the tactile sense of seeing words and photos beautifully laid out on printed paper. I also appreciate the irony of me saying that through my blog via your computer monitor. The good news is, while print is retracting it certainly is not dead. And with the recent launch of the men’s magazine The Rake, there is actually reason to be excited. I got an opportunity not long ago to pose a few questions to The Rake editor Mr. Christian Barker about what exactly makes The Rake tick. Our Q&A after the jump.

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If three makes a trend, two down and one to go. Seems W and Vanity Fair are feeling patriotic presidential this month with Tina Fey and Blake Lively cloaked in the stars and stripes. The choice here is obvious, but I will say that I enjoy Tina Fey on 30 Rock. I think Blake has a TV show too, although I could be wrong. These covers remind me of this.

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If you haven’t heard, the menswear trade publication DNR put out its last issue today. It is a sad day for the well respected editors at DNR that lost their jobs, and also for the menswear industry as a whole. John Birmingham’s Editor Letter says all you need to know about the past and future of DNR.

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Three makes a trend. Isn’t that what people say? Booth Moore has a nice article in the LA Times about the rise in popularity of workwear. This comes on the heels of both The Observer and The New York Times devoting space to the topic. I was excited to see that ACL was included in the article (thanks to Ricky Swallow for spreading the good word) along with two of my favorites Reference Library and Archival Clothing, not to mention many of my most-liked labels. The full article can be seen here.

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The August, 2007 issue of Free & Easy includes one of my all time favorite articles from the Japanese publication, a buyers guide for dogs. I can see someone like New York Magazine doing this sort of feature (actually my pal Rosecrans wrote a much more logical piece on the topic in 2007), but not with the endearing absurdity that only Free & Easy can produce. After seeing this issue it became clear to me that the magazine is just a guide-book to living like an American. That was also the same day that Free & Easy — with all its quirkiness — became my all time favorite magazine, after Vitals of course.

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Our friends at DETAILS put together another great Rules of Style with Consuelo Castiglioni, the forward thinking creative director of Marni. As I have said before, these types of Q&As are hard to do in an interesting manner, but DETAILS is on a roll. Some of my favorite bits from Ms. Castiglioni:

5. Shoes define the kind of man you are. They should never be too trendy or showy but lean toward the classic. There are a lot of ugly shoes out there, and they can ruin even the most sophisticated attire.

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Ray Smith from The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article in this weekend’s paper about China’s emerging role in suit construction.

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Article here.

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Yesterday, Mike Albo from The New York Times reviewed the denim destination Jean Shop for the Thursday Styles. To get the name out there, Jean Shop relies mostly on word of mouth referrals and reputation as one of the most authentic companies making and selling denim. The brand is fairly press shy and it doesn’t actively seek coverage, so I was excited to see the compnay profiled in the Thursday Styles. Jean Shop is one of the few denim brands that only uses Selvage denim to make its jeans. The store received mostly positive marks for their offerings in Mike Albo’s review. Granted some of the things are expensive, but in my opinion the jeans 100% justify the price tag. In my crazy mind, I break down the cost of a pair of jeans by the number of times that I will wear them. So that makes $240 less of a big deal, because that’s only 32 cents per wear! I’ll admit, it is not based on any sort of common sense or logic.

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Everyone must be dying to see the new season of Mad Men. There are multiple Mad Men references in the April men’s mags and the show isn’t even doing its press assault for season two (schedule to begin airing this summer). I know for a fact that the cast is being shot for at least one major magazine, due out later this year. Do you know who is going to be the biggest benefactor? Michael Kors. Once the fall books start coming out (September issues hit newsstands in August, the same time the show starts up again) you will see the Mad Men inspired Michael Kors AW08 collection everywhere – it is going to be a PR perfect storm.

A-Rod vs Seacrest! Mad Men references for April.

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Did you ever think you would hear Band of Outsiders on public radio? Kurt Andersen (who bought his first tuxedo for Harvard Lampoon dinners) followed WHYY’s Jonathan Menjivar for the public radio show Studio 360 to be fitted for his first ever suit. After unsuccessfully trying the off-the-rack options at the Macy’s mens store, Menjivar hooked up with Scott Sternberg of Band of Outsiders for a much more stylish option. The journey takes them to the venerable (and now very fashionable) Martin Greenfield Clothiers in Brooklyn to be expertly fitted. The result is sartorial radio at its best. I loved when style expert Russell Smith quipped, “The shorter jacket is starting to look a little bit like a school boy outfit, this is an unfortunate look if you are portly”.

Audio here:

Download

Further Reading:

Jonathan Menjivar on Studio 360

Russell Smith: Men’s Style: The Thinking Man’s Guide to Dress

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