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

10 Comments

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.

8 Comments

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.

25 Comments

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.

35 Comments

With New York fashion week within arm’s reach, The Observer’s Joe Pompeo reports on the decidedly non trendy trend of Trad. The article gets some great analysis from two very honorable gentlemen, namely John Tinseth from The Trad (which is one of my favorite reads; Tinseth has amazing taste and is a helluva story teller) and David Wilder of J. Press. I have had the pleasure of talking shop over spirits with both gents on several occasions and can say without reservation that few do it better. When I worked with David at Press I would joke that he was sent from central casting. David possesses an insane knowledge about Ivy League style and WASP culture. Many thanks to Joe for including me — this is the kind of style coverage that I love. Read the article here.

J. Press suit and Blackwatch sport coat. Photos by Lee Clower.

12 Comments

The name GANT is synonymous with East Coast prep. Founded in New Haven, Connecticut in 1949, the company basically perfected the American shirt by making private label for J. Press, Brooks Brothers, the Yale Co-Op and many more. By the 1960′s (one could say the Take Ivy era), GANT was the shirt for students, popularizing the button-down on college campuses all over America. Since then the company has changed hands several times and has had its share of ups and downs, but recently it has been all ups, no downs.

A more recently focused GANT has established a great presence for its casual Rugger line (which the company launched in the 1970′s) everywhere from Scoop to Barneys Co-Op and in the process become one of the great revivals of the American heritage look. For spring / summer 2010 GANT looked to one of its own designers, Mr. Christopher Bastin, to further develop the Rugger range. Bastin (who possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of classic American sportswear) literally combed through the company’s archives (not to mention vintage dealers and eBay) to infuse the collection with historically accurate detailing and fabrication. I stopped by GANT’s offices last week to get a sneak peek at the new offerings, and ultimately found out exactly what I’m going to be wearing next summer.

25 Comments

My thoughts on the Japanese retail scene have been pretty well documented, but I could resist posting some slightly out-of-reach items from MAPS. The men’s shop is another one of those amazing stores where I would buy most everything within arms reach. The classic styling and attention to detail get me every time. With that being Japan and this not Japan, the only consolation is the internet — at least you can look at all of the cool things you can’t buy. That is, unless you have a friends in good places. So the moral of the story here is, get yourself a friend in japan. Some of my favorite items from MAPS are after the jump.

Engineered Garments green duffel

17 Comments

Carhartt is one of the things on my wish list this holiday season. The Duck Coat is a classic and one of the few items that is still made in the U.S. It requires more effort to make sure you get an American made version, but places like the Wisconsin based Midewest Workwear offer them online as do a few others. Another Carhartt jacket that I like is the very nice looking 3-in-1 Parka in black. The coat adds a technical twist on the more traditional products the company offers and reminds me of the Carhartt European collection. More of my favorite Carhartt pieces after the jump.

Carhartt 3-in-1 breathable parka

14 Comments