Have you guys seen the documentary The True Cost? It’s on Netflix. I watched it last night.
The film vividly highlights the global effects of a fashion industry on meth – an industry that pushes fast fashion with a furious fervor for more: more clothes, more stores, more stuff, more profits. Though it is often repetitive and redundant in making its point, the film’s point is an inconvenient and albeit important one.
The basic design of the bicycle was perfected a long time ago. With the exception of advances in gear shifting, braking and niche flourishes that benefit professional racers, any design changes over the last half century or so have been derivative and largely unnecessary, especially when it comes to aesthetics.
I had the recent pleasure of being interviewed for Modern Renaissance Man, an up-and-coming Seattle-based style blog focusing on accessories. They posed some very interesting questions, giving me a free soapbox from which to spout my perspective on suits, “fashion” vs. “style,” trends, dressing for your age, and affordability.
I've been away from the blog for a while, but I think I have a good reason. On June 21st, I decided to turn my life upside down again by adopting another puppy.
In this episode, I talk about my first experience with Suitsupply, my first visit to the sensational new Whitney Museum in the Meatpacking District in NYC and a fabulous new Hanx Writer typing app from Tom Hanks. (Yes, that Tom…
I have been – and remain – an advocate of putting plastic taps under the toes and the heels of shoes in order to preserve the soles and extend the overall life of the shoes. I’ve been doing it for years, and it has worked very well.
Every time I bring a new pair of shoes to the cobbler to get “tapped,” he points at the leather sole and asks if I want rubber, which is a thin protective layer of rubber adhered to the leather sole. When I tell him I want taps, he asks again: “You sure you don’t want rubber?”
His obsession with rubber instead of taps under the toes made me wonder: Was rubber really the right way to go?
One of the keys to the perfect weekend getaway is the perfect bag. My friends at Owen & Fred have a very smart collection of duffel bags that fit the bill, coming in several color and material combinations to accommodate any taste.
Tim Gunn is a huge advocate for shopping on a budget, and I love him for that. This is a guy who is not only a major television personality, but a fashion and style expert, a best-selling author and an exquisitely tailored influencer who always delivers. Perhaps most interestingly to me, Tim is also a man who can afford to outspend most high-rollers who aspire to look half as good as he does, and he chooses to get his suits from Suitsupply. Not a luxury label. Not a high-end designer. Suitsupply – maker of beautiful, high-quality suits at an incredibly affordable price point.
My serious suit and tie dress shirt of choice is a slim fit with a semi-spread collar and French cuffs in regular cotton (NEVER no-iron/wrinkle-free). But for casual modes on the weekend, I love white pinpoint oxford shirts with a button-down collar. They’re perfect with jeans, chinos or even shorts outside of the city. I have four of them, all identical, and count them among my favorite garments in my entire wardrobe.
Few things make me cringe more than a man who gets “experimental” with black tie. It’s doubly disappointing when it’s a movie star, who has unfettered access to more resources than we average mortals could touch in four lifetimes. But when a man – movie star or mortal – gets it right, it’s thrilling.