Category Archives: style

Tommy Hilfiger

Posted on January 13, 2009 | Leave a comment

“My God, don’t they know? This stuff is simulacra of simulacra of simulacra. A diluted tincture of Ralph Lauren, who had himself diluted the glory days of Brooks Brothers, who themselves had stepped on the product of Jermyn Street and Savile Row, flavoring their ready-to-wear with liberal lashings of polo kit and regimental stripes. But Tommy surely is the null point, the black hole. There must be some Tommy Hilfiger event horizon, beyond which it is impossible to be more derivative, more removed from the source, more devoid of soul.”

—William Gibson, Pattern Recognition

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Posted in quotes, style

Tagged Brooks Brothers, Jean Baudrillard, Jermyn Street, Ralph Lauren, Savile Row, Tommy Hilfiger, William Gibson

A Look Inside C.C. Filson Co.

Posted on January 7, 2009 | 1 Comment

On a recent trip to Seattle, I stopped by C.C. Filson Co.’s flagship store (1555 4th Avenue South, Seattle, WA 98134) and snapped some photos. In addition to having perhaps the most badass corporate motto ever — “Might as well have the best” — Filson makes some of the highest-quality, handsomest-looking outdoor clothing and gear in the world. Some of it is still even made in the USA.

I especially love their bags, but my favorite thing they make might be the Mackinaw Cruiser (pictured below), an item that’s gotten a few high-profile endorsements recently.

Mackinaw Cruiser

More photos after the jump.

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Posted in endorsements, style

Tagged Filson, Made in USA

Academics Who Dress Well Part III

Posted on November 6, 2008 | 2 Comments

Cary Grant as Dr. Praetorius, a medical professor at a small midwestern college, in Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s People Will Talk (1951).

(Via.)

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Posted in academe, style

Tagged academics who dress well

Academics Who Dress Well Part II

Posted on October 18, 2008 | 3 Comments

When it comes to all things sartorial, academics often get a bad rap, which — to be frank — is often deserved. But while academics in real life may not dress well, academics in the movies usually do. Take, for instance, the late Paul Newman in Alfred Hitchcock’s Torn Curtain (1966), see here with his co-star Julie Andrews:

At the beginning of the film, Newman’s character is en route to an academic conference, of all things.

The “college professor look” glamorized in movies such as Indiana Jones, moreover, is a classic Anglo-American look that’s considered the height of style in some circles. If academics in real life dressed anything like academics in the movies, they’d probably be thought of as one of the best-dressed occupational groups in America.

Related Posts: “Academics Who Dress Well.”

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Posted in academe, style

Tagged academics who dress well

Mad Men and Women’s Business Wear

Posted on August 25, 2008 | Leave a comment

Tomorrow Museum’s got a great post on Mad Men and women’s business wear. I found this tidbit especially interesting:

Prior to watching the show, I thought of the women’s struggle in the workforce as a problem perpetuated by male bosses. But Mad Men demonstrates just as much tension comes from the other women, who, either jealous or comfortable with the status quo, don’t want to see Peggy get ahead. Secretaries wield an enormous amount of power in office politics.

Thematically, Mad Men keeps getting richer and richer.

(Via The Moment.)

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Posted in Links, quotes, style, TV

Tagged Mad Men

Right Off the Rack

Posted on August 25, 2008 | Leave a comment

Q: Who are your style icons?

A: Cary Grant; and I knew him too. The first time I went into his office he said, “Is that a Brooks Brothers jacket?” I said, “Yes.” And he said, “Right off the rack, right? They’re great.”

—Peter Bogdanovich

(Via Izzy.)

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Posted in Cary Grant, Links, movies, style

True Preppyness

Posted on August 5, 2008 | Leave a comment

Off the Cuff on true preppyness:

I also have a lifelong appreciation for designs that respect a product’s utilitarian roots. Classic style has always done that because modern versions of traditional products are often based on functional roots. This is one reason that preppy styles are so long lived. The hallmark of true preppyness is the re-purposing of utilitarian items for everyday life: foul weather gear as fashion statement, prep school ties and jackets appearing in the office and that old steamer trunk great uncle Dan used at Yale is now a snazzy coffee table at the beach house. You get the idea.

It follows, then, that true preppyness is also environmentally friendly, as it is fundamentally about re-using things. Interesting.

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Posted in style

Yikes Indeed

Posted on July 7, 2008 | 2 Comments

The New York Observer reports that “A growing number of style-conscious men are becoming more comfortable with the idea of showing some leg during the hot summer months.” God help us.

(Via A Continuous Lean.)

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Posted in articles, masculinity, style

Tagged shorts

Academics Who Dress Well

Posted on June 21, 2008 | 1 Comment

Gary Cooper as Professor Bertram Potts in Ball of Fire (1941)

Loved this aside from Russell Jacoby’s recent profile of Paul Piccone:

Another leftist Italian-American of working-class origins coincidentally chaired my department at Rochester. Eugene Genovese, the historian of American slavery, also dressed to the nines. He once addressed us motley graduate students, mainly from New York City and its suburbs, as we clomped about in work boots, blue jeans, and work shirts: “You think the workers like what you are wearing?” he sneered. “They despise it and you.” He fingered his own fine threads. “This is what they like. This is what they would wear if they could.”

The point is that academics need not dress in a slovenly manner; indeed, many academics dress very well, or at least they used to. This is something of a hobbyhorse of mine.

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Posted in academe, articles, style

Tagged academics who dress well

Shorts

Posted on May 19, 2008 | 3 Comments

It’s warm enough out now where I live that guys are starting to trade pants for shorts. It would behoove most guys, however, to remember that shorts are, as Bernard Roetzel puts it in A Gentleman’s Guide to Grooming and Style, “a very dubious proposition stylistically,” and thus must be worn with the greatest of care. If you’re a guy wondering when shorts are appropriate attire, the following image — made using AutoMotivator and Picnik — should, I hope, help clarify things for you.