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.
Weekend Video | Suit Construction
Critical Shopper | Jean Shop
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.
Mad Men: Men's Vogue vs. Details.
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.
Sartorial Radio.
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:
Further Reading:
Jonathan Menjivar on Studio 360
Russell Smith: Men’s Style: The Thinking Man’s Guide to Dress
The Rusty Knot.
Last night, wincing and expecting a crush of humanity, a friend and I went to the much talked about Rusty Knot (425 West St., at 11th St.; 212-645-5668). What we found when we arrived was pleasant (granted we went fairly early and on a Monday) and accommodating. No huge crowds, no bridge and tunnel. I suspect everyone in the bar was a blogger of some sort. At least from the quantity of coverage the “dive bar” has been receiving, that would be a logical assumption. We quickly managed to score one of the wooden booths (faux wood carvings and all) and got to work on some very well made Dark N’ Stormys served in tiki glasses. The menu was limited, but very well done. Being from Cleveland, I have been in my fair share of dive bars. Places that have a happy hour at 6am (for the third shift factory people) and a good jukebox. The Rusty Knot is the Manhattan interpretation of that – like Disney World Pittsburgh – with more of a nautical theme and appealing to the upwardly mobile.
The Good News.
The Details team seems to be dedicating more space to the front of book news pages these days. I noticed the new look in March but I didn’t get a chance to go over it here. I was impressed with the improved section from the April issue. The art direction has been cleaned up and redesigned creating a fresh new look. There are a few enjoyable pages of news and service in the section. One that I particularly enjoyed is a breakdown of presidential style through the years. I noticed that Details didn’t play favorites and featured four Democrats and four Republicans. The story was an interesting way to discuss the 2008 presidential candidate’s style because normally those features are brutal.
T.O.N.Y. Spring Fashion.
I have to say that I enjoyed the Time Out New York spring fashion issue. It seemed very preppy this time around – which I obviously liked. Two of the profiles stood out to me, The Andy’s and Mister Mort AKA Mordechai Rubinstein.
The Andys.
