Roundup

Great Things Found in Unlikely Places. (A Continuous Lean)
“A lot of folks on these internets have heard about Leather Soul via Guido Wongolini or Tumblr or just through word of mouth, but I think that Leather Soul really doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Tom Park, the store’s founder and owner is too humble to scream the self promotion that some shops do. Tom is more concerned with providing amazing service and dealing in great product available to focus too much on that.”

Grenson: Traditional English shoemaking made contemporary (The Rake)
“In Grenson’s defence, Little notes that it is not alone in its outmoded attitude. “Much of English shoe manufacturing is stuck on an old-fashioned, stuffy presentation, banging on about quality and nothing else,” he says. “They understand craft and manufacturing, but not how to fit the product to the market, because they have grown out of a time when that wasn’t required: men wore black oxfords to work and that was that. English shoe manufacturers need to understand design, and yet most don’t even have a designer. It’s just bizarre.””

A visit to shoe maestro, Pierre Corthay (Om Malik)
“That said, they are no cheaper than any of those fashion brands. The prices will most certainly give you a 220-volt sticker shock. Of course, they do prove the dictum, best things in life are not cheap. Their shoes are simply sublime. From the choice of leather, to the colors to the stitching, Corthay for me are an elite and a real aspirational brand. Not because some magazine says so, but because they just make great shoes and treat each pair like a work of art. Corthay shoes are simply a class apart.”

ESQ&A: Mary Zophres, Gangster Squad Costume Designer (Esquire)
“The 1940s silhouette for a man is very flattering. It emphasizes all the right things, and it’s a silhouette that almost any kind of body type can wear, whereas the most fashion-forward suit now — with thin lapels and a shorter jacket — not everyone can wear that. But men should not be slaves to fashion. I think tailoring is a huge component of looking put-together and handsome. Even if you don’t have broad shoulders, a suit jacket gives you them. And if you tailor it correctly, it can give you a nipped waist, or cover a stomach or a little bit of pudge. I love a man in a suit. And there’s a reason why it will never go out of style: It does all the things that a perfect black dress does for a woman. So if guys walk out of this movie and say, “I’m gonna go get my suit tailored,” that would make me very happy.”

In Italy, a British Outpost (The New York Times)
“Regardless of whose name was on the label, designers here all seemed to have gotten the same Anglophile memo. Savile Row sartorial customs, horse-and-hound sportiness, garments originated or perfected by the armed forces of the United Kingdom, and regional outerwear like Aran Island sweaters exerted an irresistible influence on all kinds of Milanese runways this week. And they made for some pretty unlikely kinship.”

Interview with Massimiliano Bresciani (Claymoor)
“After socks come out of the machines, we have 12 steps still made by hands by skilled ladies, who have years and years of experience. We have at the moment 120 different kind of yarns in the warehouse, the start point of the entire process.  240 new styles are styled, sampled and go in production every year. Our machines have 216, 240 and 260 needles; high number of needles ensure the best knitting and fitting to the socks.”

Flax of the matter: Linen suits and how to wear it (The Rake)
“At the turn of the 20th century, natives and visitors to sophisticated southern climes — Italy, Cuba, the American South, Spain — would have encountered plenty of men in white linen suits, heavily starched and pressed, which didn’t keep them from creasing, but that was part of the charm and panache. Today, in an age of indestructible synthetic fibres resembling aluminium foil, that charm remains. What’s wanted in linen is nonchalance — that insouciant sang-froid that says you’re too cool to care. Think Nöel Coward at the Monte Carlo Casino, Gary Cooper poolside in Beverly Hills and possibly even George Clooney at Lake Como. And let us not forget distinguée writer Tom Wolfe’s je ne sais quoi as he wanders about Manhattan.”

Massimo Dutti – Personal Tailoring Part 1: The Appointment (Men’s Flair)
“So what exactly is ‘personal tailoring’ as defined by Massimo Dutti? Well, if you are used to attending a traditional tailor and being wrapped in measuring tape, this will be an unusual experience. After selecting your fabric and being asked your chest, waist and shoe size, you are led to a fitting room. Hung in this fitting room is a suit jacket and a pair of trousers, in your selected sizes, cut on the Massimo Dutti Personal Tailoring block. After donning the suit, you step out to meet your tailoring assistant who, quite simply, will judge how well your body fits the block and make adjustments accordingly.”

A Most Useful Necktie (A Suitable Wardrobe)
“There are two types of grenadine, each woven by Fermo Fossati of Como, Italy, whose old shuttle looms also produce the world’s finest shirtings. The more textured is the honeycomb patterned Garza Grossa worn by Bond and the other the finer, more mannered Garza Fina. Either is appropriate for business as well as more serious occasions such as funerals or the failure of one’s government to do anything meaningful to address governance and financial challenges that make those of Greece and Spain look trivial.”

The process behind a handmade tie (Manolo.se via Google Translate)
“Furthermore stitched front and back together via a fottrampad old Singer sewing machine. This is because it sews slower and the tie manufacturing with precision can yield better results. This is the only machine stitching throughout the production, but it also caters for a slightly better durability. When it is joined this happens a rigorous quality control where they are investigating so that the balance is right and that the feed is good. When done, close the seam by hand with a silk thread.”

Refashioning a Cuban Classic (Wall Street Journal)
“A few retailers are pushing wild new incarnations including guayabera-inspired baby wear, dresses, tunics—and even outfits for dogs. The main focus, though, is on trying to make the shirt cooler for the young people who are now among the city’s chief fashion consumers.”

Dress Rehearsal: Why you need to know Suitsupply (The Rake)
“Suits from Suitsupply are made using the similar techniques to those learned by the masters on the Row. The structure or “canvas” of the garmnet is cotton reinforced with horse and camel hair. Fully canvased rather than fused, this means that the horse hair eventually conforms to your body shape resulting in a natural tailored fit. We spoke to Fokke de Jong and he told us the secret, “We control the quality of our suits through fabrics and rather than use machines, we train tailors in Asia using very old fashioned techniques. The truth is, the cost of labour in Europe is really high which means that a lot of producing the garment is incredibly industrialised. The inside of the shoulder should be handworked which we can only do in scale in Asia because labour costs are lower.””

Cleverley Bespoke: Dandy Enablers (The Dandy Portraits)
“Cleverley, as you can imagine, has been enabling dandies for decades: current bon vivants Tom Wolfe and Ed Hayes, Andre Churchwell, as well as those legends from the past like Bunny Rogers (he liked those difficult button up boots that require a contraption to get into them), and “aristocratic aesthete” Baron De Rede.”

Canvas & Leather: A Visit to J.W. Hulme (Gear Patrol)
“Hulme’s bags are nothing short of sumptuous, their supple leather begging to be stroked and admired. Their giant Classic Duffle, modestly, if inappropriately, named a “medium”, is rich in features: a foldover dust flap that secures with three sturdy brass buckles, a double-thick stress point, a padded shoulder strap and a cavernous main compartment full of interior-zipped pockets. The bag has all the subtlety of a steam locomotive and was obviously designed for an era when overland travel demanded toughness from luggage. All of J.W. Hulme’s bags use American-tanned leathers and canvas and are made in the small factory by the capable hands of the workers. Each employee works to stamp out the leather, cut the fabrics, glue, stitch and rivet pieces and then hand-buff a bag to its final glory.”

The tailors I have known: Part 1, London (Permanent Style)
“Following a recent request from a reader, here is a breakdown of all the English tailors I have tried. I include a description of the style and then one of my experiences.”

The Creators of NYC: Menswear Icon Nick Wooster (Storyboard)
“Getting dressed for me is like a window to my soul. I grew up in the 60s and 70s when men were required to wear a suit, shirt, and tie every day to be taken seriously. I was at the tail end of that generation, and it had a significant impact on me. I always favor being overdressed –- if I’m not wearing a suit, I’m wearing a jacket.”

How to Wear A Pocket Square (Put This On)
“For pocket squares, that means not picking things at random, otherwise your square can become a distracting element, but also not matching things too closely, otherwise you’ll look too studied. Instead, you want to your pocket square to be complementary to whatever else you’re wearing. It should seem like you grabbed something at random (even though you didn’t) and things just happened to work out well.”

Patrick Grant, the savant of Savile Row (Wax Wane)
“To me that spirit is what is most significant about Grant – he makes clothes for right now, they’re a simultaneous homage to the past and a glance ahead.  E. Tautz and Norton & Sons stand as a time capsule of menswear in 2012, it’s built for Cary Grant, but it’s also built for an up-and-coming generation that’ll already have the vocabulary for what they’re looking at.  And that’s what I love about Patrick Grant, and why I think he should be heralded on so many levels.  You look at Grant, and you can see E. Tautz and Norton & Sons in each stitch of his clothing (and no it’s not because all of his clothes are most certainly made by his own labels) because his style and his two brands all come from the same place, a place that is distinctly his own.”

A Lecture on Men (The Genteel)
“Fashion writer and editor Bruce G. Boyer believes that part of what made M so special was its lack of pretentiousness. “The people who did M magazine… had just a very high level of taste and a broad knowledge and understanding of the world… they never talked down, they never simplified for their readers, they really educated them on a very high level…I can’t help but think that the magazines of today simply pander to the lowest common denominator of their readers. I just can’t get it through my head that doing a dozen-paged fashion layout of distressed jeans and t-shirts… constitutes a high-level of taste.””

Interview: Steven Taffel, Owner of Leffot in NYC (The Shoe Snob)
“On a negative note there seems to be a sense by consumers that long lead times and certain policies put in place by manufacturers are uncaring. I‘ve read things to suggest that manufacturers don’t appreciate the customers and even “conspiracy theories” of all things.

This kind of discussion is ill informed and could not be further from the truth. The fact is in 2008-2010 when the economy was at its worst orders were hardly rolling in. Now that companies are busy they have had to make adjustments to scale up production. They care nothing more than producing the highest quality footwear for their clients and it saddens me to think that a company’s success is fodder for consumer’s disparagement. Any product of quality takes time and shoes are no exception.”

Exclusive Interview with Dave Hill of the Red Wing Shoe Company (Denimhunters)
““For Heritage, we’re constantly looking at what makes sense for the brand. If it doesn’t look like a Red Wing we have probably missed something. Soon we will be introducing a new construction type and new outsoles that allows us to take some of our silhouettes and make them lighter and more flexible. It’s probably going to appeal to a slightly younger audience that grew up wearing sneakers. The challenge is to create something new without straying too far away from who we are. But we’ve got some really cool products that we are working on right now that will help grow our business and still be true to the brand.””

The New Shape of Casual (Wall Street Journal)
“Now, “dress casual,” or “business casual,” is expanding to include relaxed items such as denim shirts, which are being retooled and restyled to serve a more formal purpose. Casual standbys, such as cargo pants, are taking on a more sober, streamlined role, and unstructured toppers are being thrown into the mix. The turtlenecks that Steve Jobs popularized are moving up in the hierarchy, taking the place of a shirt and tie. Traditional sport coats now have competition from garments that require some vocabulary—time to try on “swackets” (sweater jackets) and “shackets” (blazer-meets-shirt).”

Araldi1930: The name luxury brands count on. (The Rake)
“Araldi1930 practices what’s called an “integrated manufacturing value-chain”, this means that unlike most other leather goods makers, they control the whole process from the procurement of the leather, the tanning of it (beginning at the crust level I might add) and even the metal fittings found on belts, bags and wallets.”

Mastering the Mismatch (Wall Street Journal)
“Technically speaking, throwing a blazer on with khakis or jeans qualifies as spezzato, although that’s a bit like putting gas station coffee in a tiny cup and calling it espresso. More deserving of the moniker are those jacket-and-trousers combinations, increasingly common on runways and menswear blogs, that push the boundaries of formality and yet still get the balance of harmony and contrast just right.”

Guerilla Fashion: The Story of Supreme (The New York Times)
“Then, as now, the merchandise was every bit as coded. Supreme channels various underground style currents: the punkiness of Dogtown-era skatewear, the macho utilitarianism of military gear, the brash colors of ’80s hip-hop — and merges them into a singular aesthetic.”

Thoughts on Buying Good Sweaters (Put This On)
“If your budget is limited, I recommend aiming for sweaters made out of lambswool, Shetland, or merino wools. The first two, all things being equal, are harder-wearing. I also think they can often have more visual depth in their texture and color than most, lower-end merinos, which can be useful if you want to wear the sweater without a jacket. The sweater pictured above really shows off the nice lofty nap on lambswool, I think.”

Cover Your Ass (Most ExeRent)
“Finally – if your jacket body is too short (as in not covering your ass), your sleeves will look too long & hence throw the whole visual proportions out & the above will make no impact.”

The Best Razors (The Wirecutter)
“A double-edge (DE) safety razor like Merkur makes is a simple, cheap, and extremely comfortable way to shave. With a single, large and rigid blade, a DE razor will glide cleanly over skin and seldom cause any ingrown hairs, razor burn, or skin irritation. DE blades are also, compared to cartridges, incredibly cheap. With a $35 handle and a bulk pack of blades, you can shave for years on less than $60. The one major drawback is that this type of blade takes patience and a bit of learning to get good at. If you can apply yourself to mastering the angling and stroke patterns required for a DE razor, it’s the best way to shave for anyone who can take the time to give himself a proper shave.”

Drake’s: The New Formality (Billionaire)
“Drake’s offers British style as seen through the eyes of the French or Italians. That’s what marks it out from its more classic British rivals that do everything correctly — and therefore predictably. Drake’s has a far more relaxed, insouciant style, very like what the Italians call sprezzatura or “a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought”.”

Review: Proper Suit (The Silentist)
“The difference is that I don’t believe there’s a legitimate comparison. For one, the fit I received from Proper Suit absolutely blew away the fit I received with Indochino (and I even received an in-person fitting with them during their Traveling Tailor program). The attention Proper Suit just pays to their suit’s shoulders is more attention than what Indochino paid to the fit of my entire suit. Proper Suit even hand-stitches the shoulders of their suits to make sure it fits you better.”

Talking with Tailoring’s New Guard: Otis James (The GQ Eye)
“There are several marks of a quality tie, many of which are not easily apparent from looking at the finished product and especially if you’re looking online. A lot of what goes into making a great tie is invisible once the tie is complete. But I think the easiest way to know is by the details. Look at the visible stitching- does it look like it was stitched by a machine or a practiced artisan? Feel the weight- does it feel sturdy or flimsy? Check out the labels — are they likely to fall off after three or four wears? Finally, feel the fabric. A quality material should be obvious, even if one isn’t studied in textiles. Basically, does it look like someone actually took time to develop and produce this product, or like it was churned out quickly and cheaply?

More than anything else, a fine tie should inspire a sense of joy, self-respect, and confidence in the wearer. To me, that is the most valuable quality a tie can possess. A tie is, after all, a fashion accessory and a choice, not a product of utility.”

A Bespoke Tailor Explains James Bond’s Suits (Vulture)
“How would you tailor a suit or tuxedo to make it fighting -ready?

Armholes would be high. That’s the key thing — armholes have to be high. The shoulders have to be natural, so as little shoulder pad as possible. Small armhole, but the sleeve has to be a little bit fuller, so you’re able to just raise your arms up. Also, it has to be the correct width for the arm. It shouldn’t be too wide or too close. There’s no general rule on how it should be – it depends on the customer’s arm.”

Should I Cuff My Trousers? (Put This On)
“So: should you cuff your pants? It’s really a matter of personal choice. The traditional answer is that cuffs go with pleated trousers, and plain hems with flat fronts. To some extent, that’s true. I think a pleated pant really cries out for cuffs. The American traditionalists, though, have long cuffed their flat-front pants. I say cuff pleated trousers, and decide whether to cuff flat-fronts based on personal taste.”

Big Cuffs and Minimal Break (Most ExeRent)
“They say that men of my stature (< or = 5’7”) should avoid cuffs let alone 2” cuffs (as the standard is 1.5” – 1.75”), but we come back to my previous statement regarding balance & proportion not definitive measurements. Sure once you have worked out what works for you then use that as a base – but we still need to refer to the naked eye to see if the balance & proportion is there.”

Untrueisms (A Suitable Wardrobe)
“This is not to say that those who want to look good and have quality clothing must pay a lot of money. Rather, I think you can look good on almost any budget provided you have an eye for what works for you, a great alterations tailor, a great cobbler and a great dry cleaner. And time, time to search for the best quality you can find at the price you can afford, time to gain experience with what makes for a good and reliable tailor or maker and what makes for bad, time for quality to reveal itself and in so doing make its price justifiable, if not forgotten.”

What to wear to the gym (Permanent Style)
“If you are in the gym, you should wear their sweats: shorts and trousers that have a great, tailored fit and as you would expect, a luxury take on the grey cotton melange. Even better, and my personal favourite of their sweatshirts, the Bennett, which has 10% cashmere in the mix. It’s almost unnoticeable – there is no flouncy shapelessness as you might get with a higher proportion of cashmere, just a touch of luxe in the soft cotton.”

Maintenance: Minutiae (A Suitable Wardrobe)
“When removing your dress shirt, dampen the collar and cuffs with a little water. Why allow the dirt to settle in, while the shirt waits to be cleaned? I have a seven year-old shirt that I’ve kept perfectly white this way.”

School of Leather: The Essential Leather Glossary | A Buyer’s Checklist | How to: Care for leather | A Waterproofing Primer | Save Your Suede (Valet.)
“It’s one of the most hard-wearing, versatile and masculine materials around. This series offers up everything you need to know about buying, wearing and maintaing leather.”

Making More Than The California Man: An Interview With Jean-Pierre Mastey of Baxter of California And Baxter Finley (Los Angeles I’m Yours)
““We sort of trail blazed a new path of distribution for male grooming. Nobody’s really doing this yet. We specialize in selling traditional men’s grooming products that our competitors sell to Sephora or Nordstrom or other beauty chains you’d expect. When I thought about myself as a customer, I don’t go into those places. I avoid them at all costs. I don’t like going into these stores and dealing with people rushing at me, basically trying to sell me something. I like to go to lifestyle stores. If I’m going to buy men’s grooming products and accessories, I’m going to go to the same place I buy my shirts and where I buy my denim: there’s no reason why they can’t coexist and be under the same roof.””

Three Types of Chinos (Put This On)
“Khaki chinos are not, as they say, just khaki chinos. Though they’re always casual, they come in different flavors of informality, and it’s good to be sensitive to these differences when you’re choosing the right pair to wear for the day.”

Style Icon: President John F Kennedy (Mr. Porter)
“With his effortless American elegance and confident carefree simplicity, the tousled hair, the open convertibles and sunglasses, the photos on the beach or yacht, and the ties lightly flapping in the wind, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy seemed about as unselfconscious as a person can be. He definitely had the cool factor. He flirted with Savile Row for a brief time when his father was US Ambassador to the Court of St James’s from 1938 to 1940, seen in photos of the period sporting elegantly cut double-breasted suits à la the Duke of Kent, but JFK was for most of his life what he was: an Irish American, New England Eastern Establishment elite. Born in a suburb of Boston, he went to Choate, Princeton and Harvard and dressed the part. The Ivy League style was his style, as it was for his brothers and sisters.”

Fifty Years of Bond, James Bond (Vanity Fair)
“In March 1961, when he actually is the president, John F. Kennedy lists Fleming’s fifth Bond novel, From Russia with Love, as one of his 10 current favorite reads in a Life-magazine article. That same year, Broccoli, having parted ways with Allen and joined forces with another producer, a Canadian by the name of Harry Saltzman, finally gets the rights to turn Fleming’s books into movies. After an arduous and seemingly fruitless search to find a lead actor mutually agreeable to the two producers and their studio benefactor, United Artists, Broccoli circles back to one of the lesser-knowns among the candidates: Sean Connery. To confirm his hunch that this tall, handsome Scotsman could be the guy, Broccoli, while in Hollywood, ar­ranges for his new wife, Dana, to join him in a screening room at the Samuel Goldwyn Studio. There they watch the only Connery footage that Cubby has been able to rustle up: Darby O’Gill and the Little People. Dana Broccoli’s response is instantaneous: “That’s our Bond!””