The beach has been my number one priority of the summer, you know, on my attitude adjusted priorities list. So after a particularly relaxing day at the ocean I decided to document some of my preferred beach attire. Obviously, you need to consider swimming and sand, but also post-beach drinking. For this look I mostly focus on the post beach drinking part. Actually, this is everything I wear with the exception of my swimsuit. So think of this as my real life ‘That Summer Look” (just like the autumn looks I have done in the past) and use it for inspiration. If you see me at the beach chances are I’ll be wearing some variation of this. And don’t forget the sunscreen — you don’t want to literally be “crispy,” just figuratively.

• Vans Original Classic in Navy
• Hattan Navy Hopsack Hat
• Alexander West Custom Shirt (Made from Thomas Mason fabric)
• Mark McNairy Expo Shorts
• ACL & Co. Large Canvas Coal Bag
• ACL & Co. waxed canvas bag
• Ernest Hemingway: To Have and Have Not
• Randolph Engineering Sportsman Sunglasses

(Please note that I do press for McNairy and Alexander West. That said, they didn’t pay me to wear this to the beach.)

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The past few days have been spent running around (though actually I have been biking) looking at all of the spring 2011 clothes that have rotated over to New York. These times of the year are always fun and inspirational. It is also great to be able to see friends that have come to town from all over the world. I tried to stay focused (which was especially tough yesterday after Monday’s late night activities) and document the good stuff I found and saw. Hope you enjoy.

That's a tasty shirt from Billy Reid

Hamilton Shirt Co.

Garbstore does such a good job. I want everything from their line.

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The Billy Reid design space and office. Photo via Mr. Brandon Capps

Over the past two years, Billy Reid (the man and the company), have organized a party dubbed “The Shindig” which takes place during the first weekend of June at the company’s home-base of Florence, Alabama. The booze soaked weekend is a combination of good food, music, nice people and of course good looking clothes. Basically, all I could ever ask for. The party was so much fun it took me a month to actually say anything about it and put this post together.

If you have ever been to Northwest Alabama, it is the picture of laid-back, down-home Southern living. The type of living I could get used to. A group of six of us took a big plane from New York to Atlanta, then a tiny wobbly-scare-the-shit-out-of-you-propeller-plane straight into the Northwest Alabama Regional Airport. As you can imagine it is not a massive airport (on our way home we arrived about 10 minutes before our flight departed), but it gets the job done. The airport serves “The Shoals,” an area made up by four cities: Muscle Shoals, Florence, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. Prior to Mr. Reid’s arrival to the area and subsequent American-fashion-domination, the Shoals were most famous for The Swampers (who are known for a song or two) and all of the the music that has been recorded at Fame Studios.

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In my mind, the guys from Columbus, O. based Homage do tee shirts better than anyone. The physical shirts are super nice (not to mention made in America), plus the designs are old school classic and insidery. Homage has succeeded in elevating the often sad graphic tee to higher levels. My appreciation for the company and their shirts is of course heightened by our shared allegiance to the Buckeye state. The thing is, I’m not really a tee shirt guy, but I keep finding myself going back for more. This morning I picked up this wine & gold “Cleveland is the City” number to rep my city through the NBA playoffs. More cities after the jump.

CLEVELAND IS THE CITY

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It couldn’t have been a more beautiful spring day last Thursday at the penthouse at Milk Studios when J.Crew presented its fall 2010 collection to editors. The sun was shining, the wind was blowin, the Dark ‘N’ Stormys were flowin and there were lots of familiar faces in attendance.

It has just started to get warm in NYC and looking at autumn clothes took some concentration, but J.Crew really nailed it with this collection. As I studied the looks at the presentation I told a friend — this is how I would dress everyday if I wasn’t so distracted or lazy, or a combination of the two.

Since the event and clothes have been out there on the internets, I thought it would be fun to take a different sort of approach and give you a comprehensive wrap-up of what was shown and what was said. That way you will be prepared come late summer when the collection starts hitting stores.

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The new California brand Riviera Club came together as three friends — Joe Sadler, Derek Buse and Greg Ullery — combined their individual strengths to create something new. The launch collection (which is seen in the images below) is inspired by the real life adventures of surfer and wayward rich-kid Bunker Spreckels and the company’s home base of Santa Barbara, California.

I first met Joe, Derek and Greg a few months ago and was impressed by the clothing — not to mention the people. While the guys were in NYC we ended up hanging out, having a few beers and talking about how everything started and how the line is coming along. It all goes back to something I have said before, good people making good things. Since my first opportunity to see the line I have been telling people it is one of the best new brands I have seen in a long time. The line is wearable, made from great fabrics, has good detailing and smart fits. The kicker is, all of it is made in California. As far as prices go, the shirting retails for $155; outerwear from $175 – $195; shorts range from $115 – $155.

Since the focus of ACL can drift to seasons far away, I decided to wait to do a post about Riviera Club until it was actually hitting stores — even if that meant seeing it on some other blogs. I really like the clothes, as well as the gentlemen involved and hope they do well with their new endeavor. You can check out Riviera Club at Saturdays in NYC, Blackbird in Seattle and Ron Herman in sunny L.A.

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I have been excited to see Aaron Levin’s interpretation of the heavily Maine inspired Rogues Gallery ever since he landed there as design director — coming from the much loved, but doomed Hickey. I’m happy to report that his first collection of masculine and wearable clothes does not disappoint. I sat down with Mr. Levine for a quick question and answer session to discuss the new fall collection, beards, inspiration and the new Rogues tailored goods.

Hmmm that model looks familiar…

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Every single stitch, button, thread and piece of fabric is Grown & Sewn in the United States of America. That was half of Rob Magness’s concept, to source everything domestically. The Ralph Lauren alum’s other idea was to combine denim fits with khaki cotton twill fabrics. The result are some very nice looking, wearable, washable goods.

I first heard about Rob’s collection at the second Pop Up Flea in November. A very nice young lady told me about their new store in TriBeCa, but it wasn’t until a few weeks ago in Las Vegas that I could meet the designer and see the collection. I’ll be honest, at first pass I wasn’t sold on everything (and there are a few pieces that are definitely not for me) but on the whole, the line is excellent. There are three fits to choose from, and just like with denim, there are varying wash options — everything from raw to distressed. (Note the top photo, distressed on the left, medium in the middle and raw on the right.)

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The gentlemen at Spurr invited me (and you by proxy) over to the showroom to get a little advance look at the new AW10 Spurr collection. Simon took some time out of a busy Friday preparing for the brand’s first full-scale fashion show (which will take place on February 14th) to personally walk me through the collection. (That was nice of him.) At the fashion show, the company will present two different collections (also a first for the brand), the contemporary Spurr range (which is shown in the photos below), as well as the new higher-end Simon Spurr line.

In good company

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The first factory tour I posted on ACL was Rocco Ciccarelli’s suit factory in Queens.  Previous to that, my friend took me to a tie factory in Manhattan but that predates ACL and it was never posted. Watching the ties being made was my first foray into the spectator sport of apparel manufacturing. This week — with a trip to the Hamilton Shirts factory in Houston — I finally completed the trifecta of menswear staples: suits, shirts and ties.

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Last night the gentlemen from Odin and Duckie Brown held a small cocktail party to toast their new collaborative men’s line Edward. The capsule collection, which was on display at the gathering, is a desirable mix of goods that would fit any modern man’s wardrobe. From the fatigue green waxed M-65 jacket to the woven shirts with their micro-collars (as Eddy Chai described them), Edward is firing on all cylinders. And the best part about the modest 17 piece collection is the value for money. Nothing in the Edward range retails for over 500 bucks and all of it is made in America. So tell me, who can’t use a new pea coat for fall, or a nice tweed sport coat? And anything military inspired in waxed canvas just goes without saying. The good news is you won’t have to wait five months to get this stuff, actually you won’t even have to wait until the announced November 1st drop. Our sources tell us the line will be in Odin stores this coming weekend. If you head by look for us, we’ll be in line.

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Impatient shirt lovers rejoice! The good people at Hamilton — America’s oldest family owned shirt maker — today unveiled Hamilton 1883, the Texas concern’s new collection of ready-to-wear men’s wovens. The 1883 range is a casual and comfortable compliment to Hamilton’s custom shirt making operation which has been turning out high quality American made shirts in Houston for over 125 years. While the custom route is always a wonderful journey, the styling and details in the 1883 line are a welcome new addition to the company’s line-up.

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