The Dandy Project - A men's fashion and style blog for the modern dandy.

House of 950's Maiden Voyage

2012-02-01T01:04:00.005-05:00

House of 950 is a new label started by my friend Eric Holbreich, a designer I used to work with, and his partner Alice Spies. I would describe their clothes as experimental, clean and minimal, awkwardly charming, and ultimately very wearable. I had a little chit-chat with co-founder Eric about starting his new line, his inspirations, plans for the future, and wishes of dressing the almighty Tilda Swinton.

House of 950's debut collection lookbook

Tell us about your line and why you decided to start it.

House of 950 is a collaborative workshop that focuses on garments that are often unisex and multifunctional. We think about the use of garment. How can people interact with it, how comfortable is it? We wanted to bring back the innovative craft where the make and finishings are just as important as the original idea. We manufacture everything in New York City so we can monitor the process and make sure everything is the highest quality possible.

Where are you two from and how do your roots influence the way you make clothes?

I’m from Indianapolis and Alice Los Angeles. Alice thinks about simplicity and comfort all the time she thinks that is what L.A. is all about. Indiana is a really clean, flat place with lots of trees and open spaces. I don’t feel comfortable in very fitted clothes, but I like everything to have a clean look.

Who/what else influences your design?

When we start designing a garment, we will have a general idea of what it should be. We don’t really draw, or if we do it is usually of a pattern piece. When we make the garment, that’s when we play with it, what could it be, could it be something else. We then think about what is missing in clothing that we think should be there, like a detail on the cuff, or a hidden pocket in the seam. We want the clothes to be convenient and recognizable but at the same time different and simple.

Tell me about the odd, graphic shapes that your clothes are made out of.

The shapes that our clothes make are usually related to the function of the garment, or the elimination of a conventional seam and the replacement with another type of seam. Most of the garments have no fixed closures. To close the garment a person has to first choose a way to wear it. The clothing allows the user to express their own idea of how they want it to look like. The Amish shirt for example has four different silhouettes. The user has the option to choose which one is right for their mood.

House of 950's Amish shirt

And the prints?

This collection we collaborated with the artist Alphonse van Woerkon. We transformed his portrait of Kiki Smith into a textile, and then turned it into a shirt. We didn’t want it to be a recognizable face, but we wanted elements of Kiki to show through. You can see her eye and her nose, but the panels of the shirt cut it. It makes it more abstract and interesting.

the Kiki Smith shirt, one of my favorite pieces in the collection

You deal a lot with interactivity and customer participation (in your presentations, the lookbook). Why do you think this is essential to your brand?

Our brand is about the customer. We want them to feel involved in the process as well as the company itself. We are building the House as a collaboration between us as designers and the customers. We don’t like the idea of being singular, or alone. Interactivity, I think, would be the perfect one word description of who we are and what we want to be. We created this idea called the Minute Museum, where the traditional museum is reversed. The people who come to the exhibit, are the exhibit themselves. We use this to allow the people to interact with the clothes as well as showcase the clothing on real people.

the drawstring jacket, which I had dubbed "the noose jacket"

Tilda Swinton comes to you the day before a big premiere and begs that you dress her. What will you put her in?

First of all we would die. Then we would pull it together and put her in the Portrait Shirt and the Thai-Tie Pants hands down. Then we would probably die again. We know she would look amazing wearing those two pieces!

Plans for the future?

We are going to keep doing what we are doing! We are just starting and we have a long way to go. Every day is exciting and a new territory for us. The idea of creating our own path and it working, is amazing. (and frightening!)

photographs via House of 950

New Logo

2012-01-31T00:53:00.000-05:00

A new logo---cleaner, tighter, more modern---a signifier of brighter things to come for The Dandy Project, thanks to all who read and support this site.

new logo, by Kyle Morrison

the old logo, for those of you who had just tuned in

This blog will be undergoing some changes within the next few weeks. Keep abreast.

Boxers, not for Boys

2012-01-28T09:00:00.005-05:00

I love the idea of buttoned-up underwear. Irony is nice, but looking debonair in and out of your outfit is much more of a feat.

Gässling's Falsterbo button-up boxers, named after a posh area just outside Malmö

Malmö-based Swedish underwear designer Gässling makes underwear for men who have grown tired of teen-boy briefs and want something new. I applaud their attention to detail; for example, the care instructions are printed inside to avoid that annoying tag, and the waistband is covered in fabric for ultimate comfort.

photographs via Gässling

American Spirit on ASOS

2012-01-26T11:31:00.005-05:00

For this year's Future Stylist competition, online mega-retailer ASOS had chosen me to represent American menswear. The theme was "dressing up denim", and I chose to do my interpretation of the Texas tuxedo: double-denim gone surrealist. As seen on this blog multiple times, my favorite way of wearing denim is with more denim, like a cowboy. I topped off the look with saddle-leather shoes and handcuffs for arresting bandits at the saloon. Photographs are by the immensely talented Ashley Dupree.

Number (N)ine sunglasses, Vivienne Westwood x Lee asymmetrical denim shirt, ASOS necklace and jeans, vintage Florsheim shoes

metallic green ASOS handcuff necklace over the Vivienne Westwood asymmetrical collar denim shirt

silk ribbon from the Rivane Neuenschwander installation at the New Museum, Hermés bracelet, Cartier watch

vintage Florsheim longwing brogues, green laces from Hook + Albert

Vote for me here: http://asos.to/VoteIzzy

Contest ends on Wednesday, the 1st of February.

photographs by Ashley Dupree

clothing c/o ASOS

Treasured Items: Number (N)ine Monkstrap Creepers

2012-01-25T12:01:00.004-05:00

Style Salvage had asked me to contribute to their "Treasured Items" series of posts on the blog, in which I shared my devotion to my Number (N)ine monkstrap creepers. The post had come up a few days ago, and I thought I'd share it with you, my dear readers.

It would render me practically footless if I lost these Number (N)ine monkstrap shoes that I had purchased at the store's closing sale in New York two years ago. The silhouette is of a classic slim monkstrap shoe, but with punk-rock creeper detailing, tough and extremely walkable hard rubber soles by Continental, rendered in ever-wearable dark beige suede. Their era- and style-ambiguity make the shoes as great a base for dark and conceptual Belgian pieces as they would with full-on Americana, and the high vamp provides ample coverage that allows me to wear them even on the deadest day of winter.

I've worn them so much so that the lines are going squiggly and the weave goes gaping open. There is a faint white stain on the left shoe (toothpaste fell; I was brushing in a hurry) that suggests perhaps a bird might have gone to the bathroom on my shoes, but I think I'll keep it on there.

Number (N)ine is now defunct, and though the designer Takahiro Miyashita still brings his artisanal romance to his new line The Soloist, nothing would compare to the dark, theatrical exuberance that was Number (N)ine. In honor of the brilliant designer, I've affixed medal of sorts on one of the shoes: a vintage shoe clip from Kings County Salvage in Williamsburg. I could only hope that the intense brilliance of the rhinestones against the battered, seemingly bird-defiled creepers would be something Miyashita-san would find at the very least, agreeable.

The Dandy Project x Meltin' Pot

2012-01-24T11:33:00.005-05:00

Italian denim company Meltin' Pot had approached me to collaborate with them and style my favorite pieces out of their fall collection into three looks that I will share with you today. Shooting it was a lot of fun, and a little painful too, I must admit, prancing around the city mid-December jacket-less, and sometimes pants-less as well, but the clothes were Milanese as they come---form-fitting, without a whisper of vanity sizing, and I, ever the diligent blogger-collaborator, wanted to showcase this best I can. Here are the looks, aptly titled for easier comprehension.

The Rodeo Dandy

(Meltin' Pot denim shirt and jeans, Number Nine shoes, vintage cuff, native American watch band on Casio watch)

I wanted to lend an air of dandiness to the rugged double-denim look by slicking my hair back clean, stuffing a pocket square into the shirt pocket, and accessorizing with bold native American jewelry.

a cock-print Eton of Sweden silk pocket square in the pocket of the denim shirt

my Navajo-customized Casio with turquoise and coral

The Seaside Sweater

(Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses, Meltin' Pot navy sweater, vintage DIY cutoff shorts, Gucci shoes)

This chunky navy Meltin' Pot sweater reminded me of country clubs and yachts and the seaside. I paired it with my own vintage white cutoff shorts and classic Gucci loafers.

adorned with a vintage gold tie clip from my mother

a nod to the Italians: Gucci horsebit loafers in green suede and red webbing

The Urban Huntsman

(Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses, vintage cashmere scarf, Thom Browne cardigan, Meltin' Pot olive green pants, vintage Florsheim shoes)

I loved the fabric and fit on these Meltin' Pot olive green pants, and the color reminded me of an urban huntsman. On a stroll around New York City's Central Park, I wore it with a plaid cardigan and a thick Scottish cashmere scarf.

the mix: a plaid cardigan and a cable-knit scarf all under a vintage camel coat with a pin from Old Hollywood and a lapel flower by Hook+Albert

Italy and America

photographs by Mikee Tuason

clothing c/o Meltin' Pot

Meltin' Pot on Facebook

The Jante Law

2012-01-23T22:55:00.006-05:00

French-based pan-European brand The Jante Law was one of the clear standouts for me at the men's trade shows; they were all about creating simple, beautiful men's pieces and had a charmingly irreverent attitude towards their work. Rule one, they say, is: "Don't think you're anything special." It's this pragmatic, no-frills approach that drives them to create pieces as beautiful as these.

I immediately gravitated to this marbled grey turtleneck made out of Alpaca-blend yarn. It's big and chunky but feels much lighter than it appears to be.

Continuing my obsession with mint, a loosely fisherman-inspired mint green sweater in Australian wool. Apparently this one is naturally water-repellent and they say it'll be the sweater of a lifetime. Give me this one with loose white cutoffs and floppy beige suede shoes (and perhaps a little family of Hermés weekend bags all in etoupe) and that'll be the sweater of Spring 2012.

photographs via The Jante Law

Mint and Peas

2012-01-20T12:46:00.004-05:00

Mint and peas, and a little bit of carrot: the colors I'm crushing on are not quite jewel-toned, not quite neon, but are darned delectable.

pea green suede New Balance ML574 sneakers (c/o ASOS), mint green and periwinkle striped shirt from American Apparel, orange Hermés looping bracelet

It's the island boy in me craving a bit of sunshine, and on select days in the dead of winter, under my padded parka, you just might find me dressed like a cupcake.

On other days, you'd see me all black and wooly and minimal, punctuated by a pop of chunky classic sneaker in a funny color. (New Balance ML574 sneakers and my superwarm supercomfy everyday socks c/o Stance)

Clutch My Heart, Céline

2012-01-20T00:47:00.009-05:00

I like the idea of the smaller-than-A4 portfolio bag, or, dare I say, the clutch, on men. It would look as handsome with a dark suit to lunch as it would be with a tailored coat and sneakers running around town. In this day and age of paperless everything, why bother pretend we're carrying around all-important documents when all one really needs on him is lip balm, a Clif bar perhaps, and a handful of other little unmentionables?

Céline iPad portfolio in black and taupe (manipulated photo via Céline)

The Céline iPad portfolio is so plain and nondescript, it could be mistaken for a Filofax, and that's what I adore about it.

Open it up and the leaves of lambskin expand to reveal pockets of buttery beige suede goodness.

Shoot me for jumping on the Céline bandwagon, I dare you---but not before your fingertips meet the bags.

The Bag Maker's Project

2012-01-19T01:25:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago, I met this guy at a party at the Soho Grand, a bag designer, and he pulled out his phone and he showed me his stuff, and it was minimal and masculine and elegant---New York is great just like that, filled with brilliant, creative people who make beautiful things. Last week, I paid a visit to Will Lisak, the designer, and while he let me watch him craft a custom-order for a client, we had a little chat about his line ETWAS.

the ETWAS Standard # 1, the company's first bag (photograph via ETWAS)

The bags are elegant and minimal and simply crafted out of thick, sturdy leather. They are certainly heavy, and though the brand has plans of doing bags in lighter, thinner leather, there is a charm in carrying the rugged, thick-skin leather bags that only become more beautiful with age.

Tell us about ETWAS. What do you make, and what makes it different?

ETWAS is premised on the idea that the design of systems has more impact than just designing products. We want to make graceful objects in an equally graceful way, using means of production to reflect and manifest the aesthetic of our customers. When you buy an ETWAS bag you are not only conveying your sentiments through image, your aesthetic will is acting upon the world in more tangible ways.

ETWAS' designer, Will Lisak, at work

What made you shift into crafting bags after working in graphics and illustration?

I never wanted to make fake things. I decided I needed to pursue a project where I had total control and could design every step of the process. It was impossible for me then to tell a beautiful story via the medium of an ugly publishing industry. I'm not creating stories with vast and ephemeral worlds anymore as I was with illustration, but I am creating a small world and small narrative that is very tangible.

Will walked me through a few of the processes involved in making a bag. Holes are pre-punched into the leather before hand-sewing.

The corners on the thick leather are shaved off and rounded for a better hand-feel.

Lisak uses his own vegetable-based recipe to burnish and condition the leather.

Holes on straps are hand-punched as well.

What inspires you?

People. People with inventive ways of living that allow them to enjoy their lives to the fullest. They are the greatest designers.

my favorite piece, the ETWAS light pack in the special rough out black wax leather

The briefcase can be converted into a backpack by simply untucking the shoulder straps from under the flap.

Your bags are simply made and free of embellishments. What are your views on minimalism and design?

I think for what we are doing it is necessary. We are an egalitarian process, our workers are paid well, we are comfortable, but no one is getting rich. It's not a decadent process. It is empowering to the worker, and on the consumer end it is a bit rugged. Our customers are not afraid to get their hands dirty. So it's a bit socialist in that way I guess. There's not much decadence about it. The design needs to be clean then to be honest, and reflect the values of all involved. Not that I'm against decadence. It's just not suitable for this project.

a tote and the toolbag, which was originally designed to carry tools on vehicles, but has captured the fancy of many a menswear-loving woman

hardware finished with a hand-aged patina

I came across this quote on your website: "Consider not only the things we are making, but the things we are destroying." Tell us about your project, and why you choose to work this way.

I think I may have touched on this in the earlier questions, but basically we are interested in creating the most beautiful thing, and I feel it's cheating a bit when you make a beautiful product in an ugly system, which is easier, but you are making the world uglier at the same time as you are making something beautiful, so you're stuck. Not having much impact, just moving things around. I want to make the world less distasteful.

a sketch of a custom-designed duffel bag for a Canadian client

What are your plans for the future?

Our major plan is take advantage of our means of production in another way--because we are manufacturing ourselves we don't have to place large factory orders, and therefore do not have to standardize so much.

trying out a new mechanical (electricity-free) hand-sewing machine for the possibility of offering a line of machine-sewn bags at a lower price point

I want to make a line of bags that is scaleable, where customers and stores can alter the dimensions to their liking though an online interface. There is a lot of potential in giving people a little freedom, and no one else is really doing anything like this.

Will Lisak, Williamsburg, 1/11/12

ETWAS bags are available here.

Chest Action at Prada Fall 2012

2012-01-15T15:02:00.003-05:00

My eyes went straight to the models' chests at Prada Fall 2012: I saw stick pins in twos, napkin-like pocket squares, leather flowers stuffed into pockets, and other goodies. Prada might possibly be the most directional and influential mainstream luxury brand in the market, and if this means in the next few years we'll be seeing men with suits creatively adorned, I'm all for it.

football and pistol stick pins, and what looks to be a gray saffiano leather card case worn as a pocket square

more Prada stick pins: a crown and a sword

Prada stick pins on impeccable Edwardian-dandy suits that buttoned up high

a purple leather carnation stuffed into the chest pocket

the leather flower with a napkin and a pen

creative chest stuffing at Prada

So where is the pre-order link?

photographs via NOWFASHION

DIY: The Deer Antler Razor

2012-01-10T15:09:00.008-05:00

I've been pretty lean on the DIY posts as of late, and let me tell you why. One can only cut up and metallicize so many shorts and paint-splatter so many shoes before it just gets old; I can't sew, and neither can so many of the creative, stylish men who read this blog. This is why I've decided to branch out into do-it-yourself projects that go beyond just fashion and bring you easy and charmingly odd DIY projects that help you embody the dandy lifestyle. Today, I thought I'd give a facelift to one of the items a well-groomed man makes use of everyday: the razor.

small deer antler from Evolution, Gillette Mach 3 razor

Shaving is one of the everyday activities that makes us feel manly; it is in the upkeep, or lack thereof, of facial hair that reminds us that our bodies produce hormones that make us grow beards, and not breasts. And so I thought manly.. huntsman.. taxidermy.. antlers---let me make a shaving razor handle out of deer antlers! I purchased a piece of deer horn at the Evolution "Natural History" Store in NYC, took my old Gillette Mach 3 razor, and got to work.

I went to the nearest hardware store and had the kind fellows there saw the antler and the razor handle at points I marked. (EDIT: You can very easily do this step yourself with a clamp and a hacksaw.) As you can see, I had the antler cut on two points. I mocked the razor connector up on both the thicker and the skinnier segment, and decided I liked the heft and the organic detail on the thicker base piece so I decided to go with that.

Sawing left the edges rather rough,

so I sanded the ends of both pieces. On a rough emery cloth first to get rid of the splinters,

then on finer sandpaper to smoothen everything out.

I then applied Super Glue to the cut end of the razor connector. It would be wise at this point to have removed the razor blade cartridge from the connector; you wouldn't want to be holding on to the sharp blade during the quick motions of applying the glue and pressing the pieces together as the glue quickly dries.

To strengthen the bond, I added a little more glue to the edges of the razor blade connector.

I re-affixed the razor blade cartridge, and behold, my handsome new urban-huntsman deer antler razor. I love how the wild, organic shape of the deer antler flows into the iconic smooth steel lines of the metal razor.

with my two new favorite bathroom products: Buckler's Chapped Skin Remedy--a thick, hearty skin moisturizer perfect for combatting winter dryness, and Lab Series Root Power Restorative Style Wax--the lightest, subtly shiny hair wax for those days when you want to give your hair a break from heavy product and just let it hang loose with minimal control

Happy shaving.

Special thanks to Ivy for her words of encouragement and her abundance of taxidermy.

The Perfect Black Coat

2012-01-09T12:19:00.003-05:00

The perfect black coat did not come to me perfect, and it is highly likely that it won't for you either. Right after it had arrived at my apartment, I wrote down my own fit notes, compared them with what my trusted tailor thought needed some nipping and tucking, and after two rounds of revisions, I'm very pleased to have the classic trim black coat that I hope to wear for years to come. In the dead of winter, when hordes of men walk down the street in what looks to be trash bag shape layered upon trash bag shape of fleece and puffy nylon, it makes a world of difference to put a little effort into presenting yourself smart and tailored.

Illesteva sunglasses, Jil Sander for Uniqlo cashmere scarf, Black Sheep and Prodigal Sons stick pin, Maison Martin Margiela coat, vintage gloves, Uniqlo pants, Paul Smith chelsea boots

Off the rack, the coat was already incredibly beautiful: strong, slightly extended shoulders that fit me to a t, long, sweeping lines on the shawl lapel, and delicious smooth black wool with the slightest hint of sheen. But a lot of work still needed to be done: I had to get the sleeves taken in slim, the waist nipped tiny as possible to provide sharp contrast to the power shoulders, and the entire coat shortened to a much more wearable above-the-knee length from the previously more dramatic and swishy, but less wearable below-the knee. Men's bodies may not come in as large a variety of shapes as women's bodies do, but it is knowing what to do with the subtle nuances of a man's body shape that makes for great tailoring. I think Angela at G&G tailors did an impeccable job at making my vision of the perfect black coat come to life.

the perfect black scarf---a ridiculously soft and unbelievably light and warm black cashmere woven scarf from +J, and my new favorite sterling silver whale stick pin from Black Sheep and Prodigal Sons beautifully accentuate the shawl lapel on this Margiela coat

trademark Margiela power shoulders

Subtly colored shoes, like this Paul Smith pair in pale pink suede, help break the monotony of my all-black winter.

photographs by Mikee Tuason

Please Be Fat with Me

2012-01-03T18:44:00.004-05:00

There's no suit cut surgically sharp enough to hide the weight I've gained the past few days, but neither is there a vision of myself in the mirror with beauty that matches the pleasure of savoring the unctuous goodness of the holidays' delights. Let me share with you photographs of what I had eaten, as well as an excerpt--two stanzas of a piece I'm working on: "Please Be Fat with Me". Call this my (likely temporary) antithesis to Kate Moss' notorious proverb.

"My dearest, please be fat with me

Come join me in my eating spree

Bone marrow doused and dipped in lard

Truffles creamed, smothered, roast pig charred."

Pig foot “Milanese” with rice beans and arugula at Babbo was the essence of dark, fried pig, in crumbs, compacted, and lightly seasoned with shards of salt.

Osso buco, after the fall

Rock shrimp with butternut squash, sage, and creamy artisanal polenta at Il Pesce, Eataly. Rock shrimp seems to be having a moment, for good reason. It's as if they genetically modified regular shrimp to have the soft, fatty bite of Asian crystal prawns and the robust, shrimpy flavor of tiger prawns.

The sea urchin roe in Eataly's soft-scrambled farmhouse eggs with tarragon was almost like a hyperbolic extension of the eggs: they seemed to be part of the scrambled eggs, only much richer and umami-laden.

The white chocolate-dipped red velvet twinkie at Lulu's just is.

Morimoto's toro tartare with caviar and fresh wasabi is pure theatre: scrape the fatty tuna off the plank with the metal paddles provided, dip in dashi, run through the stripes of wasabi, creme fraiche, chives, popped rice, avocado and the like, and pop in your mouth. Nibble on the sweet mini-plum when done.

rock shrimp again, this time tempura with spicy "Kochujan" and wasabi aioli

the most succulent spicy king crab broiled on the half-shell

Cut into the pillowy sea bass with miso sauce and avocado tempura and the world and your mouth starts moving like the river grass in The Little Mermaid's "Kiss the Girl".

RJ's home-made-from-scratch cornbread stuffing

and my Kung Pao shrimp spaghetti with an extra pound of shrimp.

the tastiest jalapeno blue cornbread at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill

and to ring in the new year, chicken rings and fried cheese at White Castle.

"I ask of you to hold my hand

When meat meets tongue strand by strand,

I moan, my spit glands go a-throbbing

In my mouth, they gush, ejaculating."

-1/1/12

photographs by Mikee Tuason

Black and Gold

2012-01-02T15:51:00.005-05:00

lion-man coat of arms pin, cameo and wreath ring, and black rose stick pin, all vintage

In my younger years, I'd often shun the combination of black and gold; in my mind it was gaudy, and my princely pipe dreams had not yet manifested. There is a warmth and opulence to the marriage of the two colors, and in tiny touches, fine or faux---say, a pin on a plain suit, or a ring with thermals and jeans---they make daily wear that much more debonair.

The Leather Blazer

2011-12-30T13:41:00.005-05:00

The leather blazer gets a bad rap. I've never really seen a leather blazer that is to my taste; often they're unflatteringly cut, poorly made, and just plain unimaginative. But my Hisham Oumlil blazer in the butteriest burgundy lambskin, cut sharp but still swingy, half-zipped and vaguely detailed like a perfecto, is an impeccable rendition of the infamous jacket.

Number Nine sunglasses, Hisham Oumlil leather blazer, Brook & Lyn harness, DIY-overdyed Alexander Wang top, sifr band pants, Number Nine shoes

Brook & Lyn's silk rope and Brazilian agate harness is deceptively wearable. Not wearable for me are clothes in olive green and brown, the colors that my top and trousers originally came in. Both natural/synthetic blends, I dyed them in both Jacquard iDye and iDye poly, both in black, and they're now in my daily rotation.

ring of my own design, Cartier Chronoscaph 21 watch

photographs by Mikee Tuason

Scarlet Sneaks

2011-12-26T23:45:00.003-05:00

Ever the dress-shoe-as-sneakers person, I thought I'd turn the tables this holiday season and wear something colorful, skater-esque, and decidedly casual on Christmas day. I dug up a pair of Vans Old Skools in bright red, from the old old days when I was still in college. It was inevitable---the LN-CC look book, Pelayo Diaz, and that dashing Japanese gentleman walking around the Lower East Side in head-to-toe boiled black wool Comme des Garçons and Batali-esque orange Chucks---capping off a quirky "fashion" outfit with casual, classic sneakers was something I had to try out myself.

Comme des Garçons jacket, Junya Watanabe for Comme des Garçons sequined batik and silk shirt, Uniqlo pants, red Vans Old Skool sneakers

I thought my new vintage lion-man head pin was very Philip Crangi.

my scarlet sneakers on Ivy's cow rug

photographs by Mikee Tuason

La Maison Kirzhner

2011-12-19T11:25:00.007-05:00

Saturday evening was the annual holiday party at the home of my friends Ivy Kirzhner, shoe designer, photographer, and all-around creative soul, and her husband Alex, Grammy-nominated art director and superchef, whose skills as a hosting-with-the-most team I could only aspire to slowly learn. Soon, perhaps, and it'll be cemented on the day I could afford to build a dwelling place as beautiful and as indicative of my personal style as this is of theirs. Walking into their abode, decorated for the festivities in Ivy's splendid maximalism---tapestry, taxidermy, and pelt---was bit-by-bit creatively inspiring.

Their tree was decorated with bird wings,

and little storybook rabbits.

Ivy's Giambattista Valli patent leather slippers

and "Alexey Romanovich, Il Re della Cucina"

welcome you to the holidays at La Maison Kirzhner.

Here's what my eyes and lips feasted on:

a partitioned head, a colorful bird atop an old typewriter, bug specimens

a vintage Polaroid Land Camera

red velvet mini cupcakes

Turkish "cotton candy" and Turkish delight (note to self: layering bought desserts could be more interesting than serving them in sections on a platter)

Ivy's easy holiday cocktails: Prosecco with a splash of St-Germain, and the Orient Express: sweet tea, cranberry juice, and rose water

I wanted to be both dark and festive for the holidays, and perhaps a little bit naughty. I wore:

a Thom Browne for Black Fleece tuxedo jacket, a Uniqlo black oxford button-down, and a Brook & Lyn silk rope and Brazilian agate harness. (photo by Bob Shimosato)

a sparse but storied wrist party on Citizen Couture's Jason Jean: the most charming plastic bracelet inscribed with the words "What This Says Does Not Matter" from a gum ball machine at Art Basel, and a string bracelet he got conned into purchasing from a street-roamer in Milan

the Kirzhner's bundle of joy: a bunny named Bonkers

whose likeness you'll find punched into their party favors

In a city where event invites flood both your e-mail and Facebook inboxes, where time is of the essence, and orchestrating a thirty-minute coffee date feels like pulling teeth---sweet, intimate dinner parties where you can sit and converse and view your friends in sufficient light are such rare, rare gems. Ivy, Alex, and Bonkers, thanks for the wonderful evening, and to you, my dear readers, happy, happy holidaze.

Revisiting Boston

2011-12-15T11:26:00.004-05:00

Back in Boston for three days, I thought I'd revisit old stomping grounds and old sartorial habits. When the temperature drops to the thirties, Fauxji Yamamoto is my go-to look. A long oversize black coat eliminates the need for long johns, cleanly cloaks away the awkwardness of carelessly piled-upon layers, and hides a multitude of dietary sins.

Illesteva sunglasses, oversized vintage Pierre Cardin coat, vintage turtle pin, Club Monaco cashmere sweater, Portolano leather gloves, Uniqlo pants, Dr. Martens pony hair oxfords

the coat, the turtle pin, and the leather gloves

Dr. Martens pony hair oxfords

Christmas tree at the Commons

Harvard Square

late afternoon tea at Upstairs on the Square

a nightcap of decaffeinated cappuccino, but wait--

a quick stop at Middlesex Lounge, the old stomping grounds

(the comfort of) driving around MIT

Koreana in Cambridge ranks among the top five of my favorite restaurants in the United States.

Koreana's seafood and scallion pancakes

prime rib galbi with a halo of little side dishes called banchan

and it is finished.

the walk to the Bolt Bus back to NYC

first three photographs by Mia

Tech Tux

2011-12-14T11:12:00.005-05:00

I'm at my uncle's in Boston for a quick holiday---the one who lives at the Ritz, acts more like a Gen-Yer than a baby boomer, flies to China for medical missions, the one who happens to have a pair of unworn Prada shoes in my size to be freely given away to his most favorite of nephews.

Prada patent leather lace-ups

I was hesitant at first; where was I to wear a pair of rubber-soled, pointy-toed black-tie shoes? But there was something about everything being so not of-the-moment: the patent, the pointy toe, the Prada Linea Rossa stripe at the bottom that made it so refreshing. It's the pair of shoes I'd wear with a hyper-heat-generating tuxedo or a tux made out of Tyvek.

In the late 90s, these brand badges were my holy grail when the red Prada Sport stripes crept a good centimeter and a half up the back of the heel. As tiny dashes today, I could learn to live with them, and even love them.

with my overused and much-loved Prada saffiano and nylon travel bag

What are your new shoe acquisitions?

Afternoon at Atelier Oumlil

2011-12-14T01:57:00.004-05:00

I paid a visit to Hisham Oumlil's studio last weekend and was pleasantly surprised by what I found. Oumlil, who had started his line in the fall of 2006, had been relatively under the radar since, with the business being mostly made-to-measure. Notable among his private clientele is the legendary Andre Balasz, owner of the Standard Hotels. The designer had been doing ready-to-wear for a few seasons now, and though the clothes didn't exactly make love to me through the lookbook photos, seeing and feeling how well-made the pieces were and hearing Hisham's passionate and inventive thoughts on menswear made the brisk Saturday showroom visit all worthwhile.

the most glorious swingy Oumlil zip-up leather blazer in burgundy-prune: a shade of maroon with touches of brown and an ever so subtle hint of purple

A signature of Oumlil's is this hand-pleated silk blend fabric, here used as a highlighting touch on the back panel of a jacket.

Oumlil is especially fascinated with the shape of the back of a man's jacket, and curve by which his jackets hug the back is just exceptional.

He uses the same pleats on a pair of powder blue shorts, perfect with a white button-down, or a diaphanous white t-shirt, espadrilles by Hermés---on the Riviera (!), a fruity drink, and a new blue Rolex Submariner won just last night at the Monte Carlo.

The pleats lend a vaguely military vibe to a jacket in bluish gray wool.

cap-toes in denim and leather

bottoms

Oumlil is very passionate about the work he does; he does all the sketches and is very heavily involved in pattern making and finishing. Here the designer explains the many layers of linen canvas that go inside a jacket, and how these can be lessened or added to according to the climate in the area where the client intends to wear the jacket.

doodles: ideas for collars, gloves, jackets, and even womenswear

Oumlil's official site

Tinsel and Tourneau

2011-12-08T12:37:00.005-05:00

New Year's Eve dinner, two years ago, my sister decides to send sound waves crashing with my brain waves as she blows a horn in my ear. My brother, of course, has the quick wit to pull up his camera and take a snapshot of that moment at its peak. (Zara shirt, tailor-made suit, Husam El-Odeh pin)

Famed New York watch retail institution Tourneau invites you, my dear readers, to share a photo that captures your most festive holiday moment for a chance to win the Tourneau 40mm GMT Automatic watch.

Tourneau 40mm GMT Automatic: I don't own a lot of watches of the sporty vein, but this one calls to me the more I look at it---the silver dial, the 24-hour scale on the rim, the wide, digital-esque arabic numerals, all flanked by the black barenia calf strap---I see a quietly luxurious, smart-sporty watch that I need in my life. I've got a hunch that a smart move would be to start leafing through your old Facebook albums and upload your festive holiday moment now: http://bit.ly/w0gKVq

watch photograph courtesy of Tourneau

Park & Bond Pops Up

2011-12-08T11:14:00.003-05:00

Last night was opening night for the GQ at Park & Bond Pop-up shop in New York City. It's always interesting how the new media takes a step back and manifests itself within the realm of "old media", say, when Style.com came up with a print issue, and now, a leading menswear online retailer becomes brick-and-mortar for a limited time.

opening night for the GQ at Park & Bond pop-up shop

Park & Bond's expert editorials shown on screens scattered around the space

To make things even more interesting, the store features “GQ Selects,” a selection of products handpicked from the pages of the magazine by the editors.

flannel ties as far as the eye can see

ties, bags, shoes, and other accessories interesting merchandised throughout the spacious store

I think the days of pitting old media against new media are obsolete: all media is so intricately woven into our lives and it's most beneficial to think of creative ways of making them all work together. Having the goods normally sold online being interestingly merchandised in a physical store for a limited time, curated by an originally print-only publication now equally as strong in print and online is very much emblematic of the times.

the old celebrity: teen heart-stopper Chace Crawford of Gossip Girl

and the new celebrity: fashion industry maven and streetstyle blog sensation Nick Wooster

GQ at Park & Bond is located at 414 W. 14th Street, between 9th Avenue and Washington Street. The pop-up shop will be closed Monday and Tuesday, open from 11am to 6pm Wednesdays-Fridays, 11am to 7pm on Saturdays and 11am to 5pm on Sundays.

Portfolio Perfection

2011-12-07T11:33:00.005-05:00

These Gant Rugger portfolios in natural undyed leather and cognac leather are clean, simple perfection. They're part of a new leather goods line from the brand produced by Tärnsjö Tannery; a small family-owned company 2 hours north of Stockholm, which, in the early 1900's, was solely focused on making equestrian equipment for local farmers. The cognac would be the perfect compliment to a navy interview suit, and the natural undyed, all beat-up and muddied, would add a sense of soft earthiness to the sharpest-shouldered black Margiela suit. The belts and card cases look great as well, and the iPhone cases---if you're into that.

photo via Gant Rugger

Dandy after Dark

2011-12-05T11:25:00.007-05:00

I was turning a year wiser, and in honor of the great city of New York and of my dearest friends, I decided to resurrect an old Manila pastime of mine: throwing themed parties. I was fixated on the idea of the "Dandy after Dark"---the vision of the dandy tucking away his bright bow tie and donning something darker, ever so slightly loosened up, but still handsomely eccentric. I saw flowers, florals, bandanna pocket squares, and jackets seemingly made out of vellum paper; my friends' amusing takes on the theme made my two weeks of nervous party-planning worthwhile.

lights went dim at the SoHo Grand Club Room

All alone in the city, and bereft of my father's basement parking garage where I usually host my get-togethers, I turned to the lovely ladies at the Soho Grand Hotel to house my little soirée. The Soho Grand's Club Room was perfection: think fireplace, plush leather couches, leopard and velvet pillows, and alcoves, and friendly, snappy service---this is where the dandy would make merry after dark.

covered ankles by Crockett & Jones, exposed ankles courtesy of my winter foolishness

I was conversing with Deanne, but mine eyes were flirting with her Erickson Beamon neckpiece.

all jewelry c/o Occulter. from left to right: Kim ring by Langoliers, Taigi ring by BSPS, Bevel x The Cast skull ring, Solve ring by Langoliers, rose gold-plated hexagonal ring by BSPS

I wore a Black Fleece tuxedo, Thom Browne tuxedo shirt, DIY paper towel pocket square, and a large white rose on my lapel.

a Thom Browne tweed plaid jacket with Why You Mad alligator elbow patches on Austin, and a translucent polyester Thom Browne jacket on Brandon

vintage baggy jeans and Thom Browne saddle shoes on Yo Miyamoto

Yo's dandy take on Tupac, a leopard trucker, and a baby bouttoniere

mixed drinks, mixed hardware, mixed prints

tweed over denim and Chris' new 'do

an interestingly dandy take on workwear: a bandanna pocket square stuffed into a jean jacket pocket on Justin Bridges of Tucked Style

Classic and convoluted menswear converged, conversed,

and DANCED.

The ladies came decorated just as lovely.

the braid mohawk and the under-sized academic

the splurge at Alexis Bittar and Mom, get this bag already

green eyes and maroon lips on Sue

Manila lovelies Merryl and Marnee and my tight tight tight tuxedo shirt

DJ Sean Fight Cats' beats shook up our souls

and shattered the glass.

Thanks to all who added a spark to the conversation and shook a bone or two on the floor. And to the Grandlife darlings Lauren, Chenoah, Sam, and Yadira, much, much appreciation!

Until always,

Izzy

photography courtesy of An Unknown Quantity by Wataru Shimosato

The Crochet Corsage

2011-12-03T12:01:00.003-05:00

Call me hypocritical singing praises for fresh flowers just two posts ago, but these knitted floral imitations are just too hard to resist. I spotted a gray one on Barneys New York's Julien Decanali and I was immediately captivated.

crochet lapel flowers c/o Hook+Albert

There couldn't be an easier way to dress up a jacket: slip the button back into the lapel buttonhole and your jacket is elegantly beflowered.

with a few of my favorite things: vintage emerald cufflinks, scissor cufflinks by Eton, Baudelaire by Byredo, vintage elephant cuff, Cartier watch

Supermarket Shoes

2011-12-02T14:12:00.006-05:00

I have been known to wear dress shoes to just about any occasion, but there is a time and place for sneakers: long walks of food guilt, volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, the morning after. Though I wouldn't normally wear sneakers past sundown, I do think that the mark of a well-dressed man is in looking just as fine off-duty as he does suited up. At Whole Foods on a lazy December Saturday, with black upon layered black Comme-Yohji and Comme-Yohji-inspired vintage piled over my sleep clothes, these shoes will be as cozy as they are sharp.

Roc two-eyelet stitch down boot in off-white full grain leather by ohw?

ohw? (pronounced who) is a new label from footwear fanatics Stephen Gill and Hiro Chen launching this line of shoes and boots, with moccasin, hiking, baseball and desert boot influences, all produced in a company-owned factory in Zhuhai, China with sustainable, employee-empowering business practices. It's an interesting proposition, and with business in China booming at a pace quite difficult to keep up with, this seems to be a step in the right direction.

I tend to favor low-tops over high-tops for ease of wear, so I think I'll go for these Hiro single-eyelet stitch down shoes. The cleanliness of the single lace line, the full-grain white leather, the tech rubber sole---grocery day perfection!

photographs via ohw?

Fresh Accessories

2011-12-01T11:49:00.005-05:00

An oldie but goodie, this editorial styled by Nicola Formichetti for the very first issue of Vogue Hommes Japan has always been an inspiration for the way I dress. People underestimate the natural beauty that fresh flowers add to an outfit, and they add a touch of lightness and humor to fall's dark threads. Best of all, flowers are cheap, and when snipped stealthily, they are free.

A yellow rose pinned on to a jacket lapel dresses up a look unlike any tie or pocket square can.

Perhaps it's worth reconsidering (smaller) flowers on men's hats?

I'm not one to post editorial after editorial on this blog, but when one still proves relevant more than three years after coming out, it sure is worth revisiting.

photographs via Nicola Formichetti

Guyliner, a Tutorial

2011-11-30T11:16:00.007-05:00

We've all had our eyes lined before---Halloween, school plays, afternoons spent curiously fiddling around at Sephora...---often to a much too harsh, unflattering effect. Though I do maintain that men look their best natural and simply groomed, I'm also all for advocating the idea of men having the freedom to change up their look from time to time the same way women have fun with cosmetics. Guyliner may not be as everyday-wearable as concealer, but on the nights you decide to break out the huge Yohji Yamamoto coat and the floor-sweeping vintage Dior Homme scarf, having a pair of dramatic, intriguingly smoldering eyes in your arsenal might just come in handy. Our mangy make-up model Mike Shaeffer returns for another installment of my little series on make-up for men.

We tried on a few shades of brown and found that YSL's pencil liner in Leather Brown, a dark brown with undertones of gray, worked best with Mike's olive-pink skin. Brown blends with skin tones much more naturally than black, which when smudged shows some hints of green.

We started by priming Mike's eyes with the Auto Pilot primer from Napoleon Perdis. This isn't an absolutely necessary step, but this pre-makeup moisturizer helps the liner smudge more evenly and stay on longer.

Apply a very small amount over the lids and under the eyes, and wait to dry.

Then with the eye pencil, draw a line from the the corner of the eye to the tear duct, as close to the lash line as possible. Draw it in with little strokes until you complete a line.

The line needn't be perfect, you'll be smudging it anyway. Mike's slightly jagged job works just fine.

Immediately after application, before the liner sets, smudge the line gently across the lower part of the lid with your ring fingertip until all visible lines are blurred. Then, with the fingertip stained with the eye pencil, smudge some color to the outer 1/3 of the lower lash line to define the eye from below. Do this with a very light touch; heavy lower liner can easily look very severe.

Soften those stares with your secretly guy-lined smoldering eyes. You are one dashing dark dandy.

Turquoise Time

2011-11-26T15:10:00.004-05:00

turquoise, coral, and sterling silver Native American watch band on a Casio watch

There's something about turquoise jewelry, perhaps in the convoluted notion of pan-Americana, that makes it meld well with classic, preppy, if you may, American sportswear pieces. I had spotted one of these stone-set watches, in fleeting and from afar, on a handsome older man outside a burger joint close to where I live. I thought to myself, who would have the patience (and the genius) to set a twenty-dollar Casio watch with turquoise and coral? Apparently, these beauties are handcrafted by native Americans and sold as watch bracelets, as explained to me by the lovely lady who owned the shop in Old Town San Diego where I bought it from.

The dark sterling against the brash cheap steel, the turquoise and red coral against the blue and red print, the handcrafted against the digital---aah, this will be tattooed on my wrist for quite some time.

Winter Staples

2011-11-22T14:17:00.004-05:00

Having moved from the Philippines of Perpetual Summer to the Northeast United States, with its extremely variable four seasons, I often get approached by friends from back home for wardrobe advice when making the move to a colder city. I tell them, besides a closetful of beautiful coats of varying lengths and thicknesses (I just can't bear to look the same on the street every day, could you?), the best advice I could give would be to suit up and have proper winter gear. Lest you be amenable to having your extremities un-stylishly freeze off and your heartbeat slow down to a hypothermic pace, you can't just throw a big black coat over your t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers and call it a day. This is my guide to surviving New York winters in style:

Sunglasses protect your eyes from the piercing winter sun, and also act as a partial mask, shielding your face from the cold wind. I always keep mine on.

Illesteva sunglasses, Uniqlo turtleneck, Black Fleece jacket, Portolano gloves, Uniqlo jeans, Desert Mali boots c/o Clarks

A nice polished indoors jacket is important, because as outside temperatures drop, the indoors, though heated, get cooler too. One layer is often not enough for indoors, but wearing your heavy coat inside would look silly, hence the need for an indoors jacket.

jacket by Thom Browne for Brooks Brothers Black Fleece, pin by Husam El-Odeh

Thermal underwear works wonders at maintaining body heat, and the new ones in the market, from Uniqlo's Heattech line in particular, are stylish enough to wear out. The slimness and clean lines on their fine jersey turtlenecks make them modern and universally flattering.

Uniqlo Heattech turtleneck

It's important to have everything covered, especially your hands, which are one of the most sensitive parts of your body. Leather gloves, lined in cashmere, work best for me. A little secret for those of you with skinny fingers like myself, don't be afraid to check the women's section for gloves; just stay away from the bows and ruching and ruffling. Unless you want to, and by all means, go forth.

red leather gloves by Portolano

I still can't quit cropped pants, so in the winter, lace-up boots keep my ankles protected. These Clarks Desert Mali boots have a silhouette that evokes a slimmer pair of Dr. Martens, but the minimal detailing and waxed leather makes them that little bit more intriguing. The bouncy crepe soles make them immensely comfortable, once broken in.

Desert Mali boots c/o Clarks

Running back inside--I need my coat.

photographs by Pop, Bop and Snap

One Monk

2011-11-21T11:56:00.004-05:00

single monkstrap shoes with John Lobb signature buckles in navy, rust, and chestnut

With the current pervasiveness of double monkstrap shoes, I find myself favoring the conciseness of single monkstraps. It seems as if all of New York feels like they've discovered the ingenious new invention that is the double monkstrap shoe and are scrambling to call dibs on who wore it first. Scratch that---I'm not one to hate on pieces of sewn-together leather and metal, but in their austere simplicity, don't you think single monkstraps are decidedly more monastic?

Maybe Miami

2011-11-20T13:41:00.005-05:00

So about that trip to the Galapagos... how's about Miami instead? Onia had shared with me a few new campaign shots of their reversible Marko short board short, shot in Miami, and they're building up a feeling of claustrophobia knowing I'll have to remain within the northeast continental United States for the holiday break.

the clean elegance of stark white swimwear, perhaps made delightfully gauche with an aggressively all-gold Rolex

The white Marko shorts turn inside-out to an equally chic fine gray and white stripe, shown here. On a mildly chilly vacation eve, I'd say they're nice enough to wear with an un-lined un-structured navy blazer.

a peek at Onia's coming offerings: stripes, color, and archival Liberty of London prints

But maybe, just maybe Miami?

photos via Onia

London Lunacy

2011-11-18T12:06:00.005-05:00

A recent visit to the London Show Rooms to view the designers' Spring 2012 collections reminded me of the boldness, originality, and oftentimes lunatic charm that I find lacking in New York's more sober, commercial fashion scene. "So bad it's good" was a recurring theme among my picks, and depending on your degree of risk-aversion---once-in-a-while or once-and-for-all---it's mighty fun to break the rules.

So wrong it's right: studs, tattoo prints, and a huge "ELVIS" sign seemingly DIY-sewed on to the back of a faux-denim knit jacket sound like a recipe for chaos, but with summer blacks and beat-up black lace-ups, I think this Sibling jacket could be next season's beautiful disaster.

Cozette McCreery, in a Sister by Sibling neon leopard-print sweater, holds up the jacket to show the circus-font "YES" on one sleeve and the tattoo prints on the other.

The time for leopard print (at least in my world) has passed, but the mirage-like quality of the digital cheetah and tiger prints on this Katie Eary silk shirt is enthralling. With the gold buttons, and the peek-a-boo detail right under the collar, tucked into sharp navy trousers, this would be perfect for hosting a summer soiree.

Katie Eary's eagle-headed cheetahs are as absurd as they are beautiful.

exaggerated epaulettes by Katie Eary

Lou Dalton's inspiration was the miners strike in the UK during the 80s and the Pitman Painters, livened up by the idea of the swan and the duckling, and it was fascinating to see how clearly this inspiration was translated into her clothes.

These fully-lined white denim bermuda shorts by Lou Dalton are carefully hand-frayed all over to resemble feathers.

This Lou Dalton Swarovski crystal-encrusted chain mail cummerbund/apron is regal, warriorlike, and gentlemanly all at the same time.

Lace panels bring a subtle gentleness to this easy white t-shirt.

photographs taken at the London Showrooms in NYC

Everybody's a F*****g Blogger

2011-11-15T10:07:00.001-05:00

Everybody's a blogger nowadays: everyone has their own outpost (or three) in the vast plains of the cybersphere; Internet life is taking over real life and blog musings are taking over in-person conversation. My editor, Kwannam of I.T Post in Hong Kong had given me free rein on this piece, and I went on and explored the effect of this phenomenon on our fashion-world. Here's an excerpt of the piece, read the rest of the article after the jump:

Yesterday at Café Select seemed to be a typical lunch date among friends in New York City: catching up on the latest movies seen and the best new free yoga classes in town, who’s dating whom and who isn’t anymore, a rundown of the sample sales happening within the next week---we, after all, all worked in and around the fashion industry in differing capacities. But there was one more thing we seemed to have in common; interspersed between the chatter were bursts of enthusiasm in a language that would have sounded foreign merely eight years ago. “I could only imagine how many hits you got from the UK after that feature.” “How come I’m not on your blogroll? We’ve been friends for ages!” “Nicola Formichetti just tweeted at me, sooo dreamy!” It then dawned on me: everyone at the table was a blogger, or had at least some significant social media presence, be it on Twitter, Tumblr, or Facebook.

Read "Everybody's a Blogger" and more on I.T Post

The days of Internet life being some sort of secret, second life are gone. We spend majority of our time awake online; whether it be on our computers at work, on our smart phones, or on a laptop at home. Online life has been seamlessly integrated into our real lives, and blogging about new purchases or a favorite new band, or a new source of artistic inspiration has become just as good as talking about it in person. I do, however, sometimes find myself at a loss of things to talk about when in the company of friends who’ve read what I said on everything that interests me. It’s as if the blog has taken the place of my precious, precious company.

Now that the blogosphere has become so cluttered, suddenly people are finding it okay to bear a little more of their soul online. If a few years ago, fashion bloggers obscured their faces for fear of being hunted down by clothes-nappers or for being shamed at work for writing about clothes online, people are now Twit Pic-ing their daily outfits, tweeting about what they had for dinner, using Facebook to check into the bar they decided to ravage that night and to tag which friends they brought along with them. Everything is up on the net---all for the world to see, and for whatever reason, it’s all okay. It’s as if today’s creators and consumers of social media feel a sense of safety in numbers; “If so many people are doing it now, I don’t feel so exposed.”

Blogging is changing fashion at broadband speed, and it is changing the lives of the people in the industry just as rapidly. Street style blogs such as Jak and Jil and The Sartorialist have quickly created celebrities out of the once mysterious, elusive editors; it was only very recently that Anna dello Russo and Nickerson Wooster had become household names. The media could not gush enough about how many bloggers who had started by taking digital camera photos in front of their mirrors are now sitting front-row at Fashion Week. The fast-growing nature of the Internet has made it possible to create celebrities out of small-town sit-in-front-of-the-computer-all-day fashion nerds.

Blogs, now more freely used by many, have now become popular tools for career advancement and not just pedestals for the middle-of-nowhere misfit to realize delusions of grandeur. Professionals in the creative industries are using their social media presence as sort of an informal portfolio for themselves. Advertising copywriters keep their tweets witty and well-written in hopes that a brand (or a competing agency) would take note and possibly seek them out. Stylists blog behind-the-scenes coverage at shoots that they work on, allowing fans a peek into how their creative story develops. Even for those whose line of work wouldn’t have the most defined, visual portfolio, say, those who work in fashion PR, or in the business side of advertising, social media becomes a makeshift creative showcase for these half-right-brained, half-left-brained mavens. Those not very verbose maintain Tumblr accounts where they collect reblogged photos or videos that inspire them, displaying their personal aesthetic and their creative aspirations. Blogs have become indicators of taste---exhibiting whether or not these people have a good eye for style and design.

Blogging has effectively changed the bigger picture, the industry, as much as it has changed the lives of the people in it. It ‘s barely about the battle of blogs vs. magazines anymore; relative neophyte bloggers and old, established publishing houses are now finding inventive ways of working together. Bloggers are guest-writing articles in the online glossies, and the magazines are casting them as models in special editorials. Bloggers write about scanned magazine clippings that inspire them, while the bigwigs offer them jobs as correspondents or even editors, as Susannah Lau of Style Bubble had once been hired Commissioning Editor at Dazed and Confused. This isn’t to say the tension between the old and the new media has dissipated to silence; a major magazine closes up shop every month or two, while blog traffic seems to grow exponentially. But with the way bloggers and magazines and are constantly affecting each other and causing one another to evolve, we might have possibly reached a point of constructive, creative tension.

Everyone’s a blogger today. Everybody wants a slice of that social media pie---the feeling of having a personal outpost in the vast plains of the Internet, the sense of connection to a community of creatives, the whisper of a promise of fame. Those with the gumption to have bought their stakes early, putting up a blog four- or five-something years ago, may be reaping the benefits of their foresight now, but blogs, fashion blogs in particular, come and go like designer-collaboration dresses at a high street store. Only time will tell whether or not today’s bloggers will continue to be the media churning supermachines that they are now, and knowing how quickly Internet time flies, it’ll be high time to check in on them in about half a year. Or at least until the next lunch date between a group of fashion-crazed friends.

6/15/2011

Practical Genius

2011-11-14T15:06:00.006-05:00

a beach towel with brains: Onia X The Ritz Carlton nylon and terry beach towel

The folks at Onia have collaborated with one of my favorite hotels on a nylon and terry cloth beach towel embroidered with the Ritz-Carlton's lion insignia. On one side, plush and absorbent terry, and on the other, the same water-repellent nylon that Onia crafts its stylish swim shorts out of. Lie on the striped side wet and sandy, and all debris shakes right off. I particularly like this seersucker-esque crinkled striped nylon.

What do you say, let's quit this winter and fly to the Galapagos Islands and wear our Resort 2011 purchases?

Reptile and Rubber

2011-11-11T09:50:00.004-05:00

There may not be a pair of fall shoes more perfect than these Walter Steigers on Austin. They are crafted out of both crocodile and alligator, in the richest shade of black-brown. The toes are wearably round, but ever so slightly elongated for elegance. And the soles! Hiking-boot rubbers, the season's sole du jour, great for stomping around the city's autumn leaf sprinkled streets---or running from myself, the reptile shoe thief.

The Perfect Slick-back, a Tutorial

2011-11-10T10:45:00.003-05:00

They ask, "How do you get your hair looking so perfect everyday?" "With hot and painful morning hair-pulling, and a cup of hair spray!" I reply, half-jokingly. Knowing how to do the perfect, sharp slick-back is great to keep in one's arsenal for that hot date or the occasional black-tie affair, or for those with the same commitment to dandyism as I have, everyday. Admittedly, it does take a little more time and effort than a tousled dirty-wax hairstyle, but with technique and lots of practice, this 'do can be most certainly do-able.

You might notice the rigor and severity of my technique; I do have to contend with the stubbornness of my horse-thick Asian hair. For those with finer hair, feel free to skip the blow-drying step, or use a gel or pomade with a little less hold. Here's how to do it:

Begin with your hair fresh from the shower; it is most pliable at this state. Towel-dried until it is very slightly damp, parted where preferred.

Start by blow-drying the sides of your hair closer to the head for a slim, sleek profile. Comb the hair down and back, and follow the motion with the hair dryer. Repeat until dry.

Take time to blow-dry the top portion of your hair that falls right opposite the part: this section will carry the most weight, and blow-drying it would prevent it from collapsing throughout the day. Brush back with the comb and follow with the hair-dryer on high.

When all is dry and set, it's time for gel or pomade. I like the sharpness and the volume that gel permits, but if you prefer the more throwback, closer-to-the-head sort of slick-back, by all means use pomade. I use about two teaspoons of Goldwell's mello goo gel, it's thick as jam.

Rub the product thoroughly between your hands, and carefully shape your hair the desired way. I think having it slim on the sides, with a slight bit of volume on the top-front, gradually tapering down is universally flattering.

Follow through with a comb to distribute the product.

And set with hair spray.

I like to run my fingers through the top about ten seconds after spraying it. It gives my pencil-straight hair a bit of texture and it makes for a bit of a controlled messy look. For something more runway-pristine, skip this step and use more hair spray. Make sure to lay the hair spray on twice as heavy on the top portion right opposite the part; this section needs the most support. Set everything with a hair dryer on low.

As an extra flourish, I like to finish it off with a glossing serum. I use the medium-thickness Nigelle Rx from Hair Mates in the East Village.

Rub a squirt or two vigorously between your palms.

And carefully work it through your hair. That extra glint, that shine when the halogen lights at a gallery opening hit your mane, ah, with that perfectly slicked-back mane you will stand out in the crowd.

Finished. Smile, you movie star you.

photographs by Austin A. Wong

In and Out

2011-11-08T11:02:00.004-05:00

What holds true for fashion, the same goes for the trends that matter most: those that ebb and flow within my own head. Change is constant, and in fashion, I never say never. A leopard-print shirt, eyeshadow, a kimono---never would I have thought---and now, denim and a necktie. Heavens, never would I have even thought I'd finish an entire burger of beef!

at In-n-out Burger, Los Angeles: Illesteva sunglasses, Thom Browne jacket, Uniqlo shirt and jeans, J. Crew tie, Black Fleece belt

I had a conversation with my friend and editor Kwannam about this new look I espouse. Where's the paint splatter, the twenty rings, the odd shapes? "Wear whatever you like," he says, "it's your blog." Look closely, I'm still very much in there.

tie clip by The Tie Bar via Park & Bond, diamond signet ring by Lanero, Bvlgari watch

plaid wool tie by J. Crew, Black Fleece pebbled leather belt

I've taken to painting my left ring finger nail a shade that suits my liking. This time it's vivid red, brighter than ketchup. In a wardrobe slowly being taken over by classic menswear, it's my last bastion of kook.

red nail polish by Essie

My favorite shoes are starting to crack fatally. Should I deep-condition them, or allow them to fray gracefully?

Out goes my vegetarianism, at least for the holiday.

the mother to my diamond ring

I left, dripping with grease.

photographs by Nikki Tuason

Rats and Cats

2011-11-07T10:29:00.005-05:00

Rats clearly outnumber cats toward the edges,

silk twill "cat and mouse" pocket square by Hermès

but around the center, the felines gain a foothold.

This pocket square, with a checkerboard of household furballs set against a background of what looks to be burnt coral (though it comes labeled "rouge"), serves to liven up an otherwise funereal suit. (black-tie herringbone wool suit by Black Fleece)

I love: ambiguous colors, fashion created in the likeness of Animalia, and surprises that come in boxes of orange.

Grosgrain Fridays

2011-11-04T13:51:00.002-04:00

I love/hate visible branding. Overdone, it's gauche, but over-gauche can be chic. And vice-versa. Thom Browne does it beautifully.

his and hers

sans trousers

striped and scuffed

suits and silver

Wooster's watch band

and tie clip

back-tabs

and badges

photographs via Tommy Ton, Street FSN, and eBay

Interviewing IWC

2011-11-03T10:40:00.006-04:00

My fascination with watches precedes my passion for fashion. At an early age, my father and my grandfather had instilled in me an appreciation for fine timepieces: I was the odd chubby kid with a gel-spiked hairdo in elementary school who wore his steel and gold and diamond Rolex to class every Friday. IWC is one of the watch brands that I have developed a liking for over the years; their watches are subtle yet substantial, and the designs classic and harmonious. I had the honor of interviewing IWC's creative director Christian Knoop, and the delight of playing wrist dress-up at the IWC headquarters in New York, both of which I share with you today.

the Portofino Automatic in steel, with a silver dial: a great example of the classic subtlety that is IWC. I'm pinching my pennies for this one.

Tell me about yourself, and your role at IWC.

I’m a designer by heart. I started drawing and sketching and building things already as a child and wanted to become a designer at the age of 12 already. After a carpenter training, I studied industrial design in Germany and spent more than 10 years working for various international creative agencies focusing on product design, innovation engineering and brand consultancy. I joined IWC as Creative Director in 2008, heading the internal design Team at the headquarters in Schaffhausen. It is part of our strategy to have an internal team taking care of all brand related design elements. I’m working with a great team of international design talents on all these items. For sure the watch design is the central part of our job, but we work on Corporate Identity, stationary, all marketing materials, point of sale displays, Shop in Shop design, up to gifts and packaging, as well.

IWC's creative director Christian Knoop

In your line of work, how do you find inspiration?

Most designers will say they find their inspiration in the art or architecture. As I said, I enjoy working on all aspects of the IWC brand and the field of inspiration can be as wide as my field of work. There are many fields I’m interested in and that I find inspiring such as movies, theater, photography, craftsmanship and fashion. With regards to our collection I often find great inspiration in our archives and in the rich history of this more than 140 years old brand.

the IWC Da Vinci in rose gold, which I find oddly beautiful, was inspired by the genius' architecture (photo via IWC)

Each watch company has its own character, and merits that come with it. I think Rolex watches are timeless and masculine and at the same time quite flashy, while Cartier’s are classic French and very much jewelery-oriented. What is IWC?

Ours are iconic. IWC stands for technical and masculine design – a kind of ‘no frills’ design. Most of our references are still very close to the simple archetype of a wristwatch: round case, four lugs and depending on the function, three of more hands. Our approach is design with a rational behind, be it functional or historic, - not just simple ‘styling’. The Big Pilot’s watch is a perfect example for that: It is big to be able to carry a bigger and more accurate pocket watch movement. The case of this former military watch had to be sturdy and easy to manufacture. The dial had to be perfectly legible day and night, which resulted in a clean graphic layout fitted with luminous indexes and hands.

the IWC Big Pilot's watch

and the smaller Pilot's watch, a great basic everyday timepiece

From what I read, the Portuguese has been the “large wristwatch” long before it was fashionable for men to wear large watches. It is evidently large, but it is way more subtle and gentle in its largeness that most large timepieces in the market. Could you tell me more about the Portuguese’ design?

As described earlier with the Big Pilot, the size and the design of the Portuguese is more than a design feature or a trend. Historically the very first Portuguese watch from 1939 was next to the Pilots one of our first wrist watches to carry a pocket watch movement. Due to the size difference of the movement, pocket watch movements are more accurate and robust than the smaller movement used for wristwatches at that time. This principle of a maximum of robustness and accuracy is still one of our core brand assets. In terms of aesthetics the Portuguese - with its sleek case, typical numerals on the dial and the ‘feuille’ shaped hands - became an icon of timeless design. Characteristics that became signature elements of this specific line and which hardly changed over the last 70 years.

My favorite design element of the Portuguese, in my opinion, are the cut-off Arabic numerals (where they are overtaken by the chronograph circles). Tell me more about that…

That’s exactly what I mean and why true icons are so difficult to create. It’s not just numerals on the dial, but it is special typeface with details that make this watch so special and give this watch this unique and sophisticated look. Besides all rationales it remains important to play with these unexpected elements which give character to our products.

the Portuguese chronograph on IWC's Grace Kim and Lisa Brown

What do you think about the trend in large watches that has been going on for quite a while now?

We don’t care about trends so much at IWC. The reason for the size of our watches is purely technical. It is about the big and robust pocket watch movements we put inside since more than 70 years. But you are right, doing that we became a kind of trendsetter for big watches a few decades later. Personally, I think that with a diameter of 45/46mm the watch industry reaches the maximum in terms of wearability. At IWC we are doing enormous efforts to work on the ergonomics and make these watches comfortable to wear. IWC will keep doing big very masculine watches, but the trends might have passed its zenith already a while ago.

a rich multi-toned alligator strap by Santoni on an IWC Portofino

On the topic of trends, what role does fashion play in your design process? What do you think of the recent movements in fashion that favor minimalism? Androgyny? Exotic leathers?

Fashion trends have no direct influence on our design process. But for sure we can ignore the same economic changes and changes on behavior in our society which influence fashion as well. Fashion and design work as an indicator of cultural changes. Take the example of the revival of the 50ties and 60ties. This is not just a fashion trend. The interest in more classic shapes and timeless styles was a post crisis effect and perfectly describes the consumers’ needs for something different and sustainable after the exuberant years before. However the IWC brand stands for pure and timeless style: already we noticed an increasing interest in our classic pieces, our well established product lines and calm color combinations.

straps by Santoni (photo via IWC)

I’m seriously considering a Portofino automatic in steel (with the chain mail bracelet) as a nice simple everyday watch. What do you think?

Excellent choice. I’m very glad that the chain mail bracelet is so well received. We worked hard convincing all retail partners to introduce it, but I believe it perfectly fits the Portofino design and makes this classical watch a statement. Check the Portofino chronograph with black dial and this bracelet – a bit sportier, but a great combination as well.

the Portofino in rose gold: rich, cool, and dignified (photo via IWC)

Will smartphones ever replace wristwatches?

I don’t believe that smartphones will ever replace wristwatches. We are already in the lucky position that we manufacture a product nobody needs but (almost) everybody wants. Our products are highly emotional and serve more needs than just displaying the correct time. People buy mechanical watches because they are fascinated by a mechanic micro universe, interested in traditional craftsmanship, the unique heritage of a brand with more than 100 years of history or just a piece of men’s jewelry to expressing their style.

What can we expect from IWC in the future?

We will be faithful to our heritage as an innovational brand that creates icons in the watch industry. We will build the future on our brand values of a technical and masculine design and will evolve our product families while respecting the design codes of these icons.

my father's newest IWC Portuguese Perpetual Calendar in white gold, on loan to me for a short while. Taking it off was tough.

special thanks to Christian Knoop, Grace Kim, Lisa Brown, and Oliver Siegle of IWC and to Nikki Tuason for taking the last photograph

Fall White

2011-11-02T10:33:00.004-04:00

Nothing ever stopped me from wearing all-black in the summer, and from wearing white in the fall, nothing ever will. I love the ranch-owner elegance that pristine white pants evoke, and the rugged charm in having them carelessly scuffed up and soiled. White denim, cut old-style and paired with menswear classics, could be a great staple for early fall.

Illesteva glasses, vintage scarf, Uniqlo shirt, white Levi's 501 jeans, vintage Florsheim longwing brogues

My friend Sean Hotchkiss, via Tucked Inspired, wears his fall white jeans well with tweeds and chukkas. Let me demonstrate how to wear it my way:

Put on a trim jacket to ward off the nippy air,

contrast-stitch jacket with seersucker lining by Thom Browne

and a short woolen scarf for added warmth.

vintage paisley short scarf, vintage sterling silver and moonstone spaceman pin

Cuff your jeans wide for a quick DIY nod to Thom Browne,

cuffed Levi's 501s and scuffed Florsheim longwings

and turn the volume down on your smile; you own the place.

photographs by Nikki Tuason

Sequel to the Ring

2011-11-01T17:06:00.004-04:00

I almost never leave home without my rose gold signet ring with brown diamonds, so I decided to make pavé diamond pinky rings my style signature. I think signet pinky rings are unobtrusively comfortable, classically masculine, and are the perfect little vehicle for daytime diamonds. Here's the new one I had co-designed with Jane Sy and Yen Guevara of Lanero Fine Jewelry in Manila:

The white diamonds on blackened yellow gold make for a bolder, high-contrast statement, as opposed to the brown diamonds on rose gold which is more tone-on-tone.

Alas, my hyper-acidic sweat so quickly stripped off the black plating, as you can see the gold peeking through the side of the ring in this photograph, and I will have to bid farewell to the ring for about a month as it gets re-plated in Hong Kong.

at breakfast, with Earl Grey crème tea and a gray nail

Look at the stones, huddled like tiny moons on a dark winter's night.

See the ring in progress here.

photographs by Nikki Tuason

The Zookeeper of Jewels

2011-10-27T12:08:00.008-04:00

I recently discovered the work of jewelry designer Marc Alary at a show in New York, and was very much drawn to the his mostly wildlife-inspired and mobile pieces, and the passion with which he spoke about them. “I’d like my menagerie to be interactive,” says Alary. “I hope people will not only wear my jewelry but run their fingers over the zebra's patterns, play with the moveable limbs of the monkey, spin the panther ring for good luck, or because they are lost in thought. Animals are very comforting to us, they are our friends and protectors.” Marc Alary's pieces are filled with childlike wonder, crafted out of the finest of precious metals and stones, all made in New York City, and are subtle and wearable. Let me share with you my tête-à-tête with the French jeweler.

Marc Alary, face obscured with a wooden hand filled with his rings (portrait by Robbie Fimmano)

You spoke about childhood and the comforting nature of animals as the inspiration for your collection. I was obsessed with animals as a child. What was your favorite animal growing up? What are your favorite animals now, and why?

I grew up with two dogs that were following us pretty much everywhere, I guess they were so comforting in the fact that I knew they were here for me at all time should I needed them. Something I also realized pretty young is that you can be surrounded by your owns (humans) that talk your own language but still you can feel quite alone at time, a feeling I never sensed when I'm around animals. I like to think animals understand our state of mind. There is something incredibly soothing about animals, it is really hard to really define what it is. But when you think about it, we tend to give stuffed animals to kids and baby when they are growing up, we rely on those animals as they were alive to protect us and to be with us while we grow up.

For me it is the same with my menagerie of precious animal, I rely on my monkey necklace and panther ring for protection. I think I just love animals, it is something inside me. Maybe for their wilderness? I just like the way they are, how perfect they are, the variety of each animal. The way each of them are different but adapt perfectly to their environment. I also believe in Talismans and animal being protectors of us. That is why I like to carry them with me on my neck or around my finger as good luck charms. For me they are my protectors.

monkey pendants in yellow and rose gold by Marc Alary

As for my favorite animal when I was a kid, I think I would have loved to have a panther, as it is majestic and incredibly beautiful. As for now, I'm not sure I could answer what would be my favorite animal, I think I like them all, each with their individual character, whether it is their particular anatomy, their colors, their skins or feathers, the fur, the prints. I just love the variety, so all of them!! Though I might have soft spot for monkeys!

How do the French like to wear jewelry? Do they like to pile it on? Or wear just one special piece?

Well, I guess the thing with French is when it comes to fashion there is not much rules, it really depends what you like and what you believe. Some people are very traditional with their jewelry, they like to wear one special piece very dear to them and that will be the special touch to a lot of their different outfits or style, it will somehow the common thread to all their styles. Those people will be able to mix their special piece of jewelry with very dressed up traditional outfit as well as with very casual outfits. Some people also start to wear one piece of jewelry and they will never be able to take it down for many years or even to change it. There is a lot of mystic beliefs when it comes to jewelry and even more with precious metals and precious stones.

an assortment of Marc Alary's rings: the panther, the leaf, and the articulated monkey in various metals and stone settings

Some other people like to pile it on, in general I observed that the people who can pile their jewelry have more 'natural dispositions' (if I can say) to change or switch jewelry more often, but there is always exceptions to the rules.

In my case, I used to pile it on for a while, never too much rings though, it was more pendants on a single chains, I use to like make groups with themes. Now I'm more into the idea of wearing between one to three pieces, I always wear my lucky charm panther ring, I have been wearing it since I first designed it two and a half years ago, I traveled to many places with it. I also usually wear my monkey, and from time to time I accentuate those two pieces with another more complex piece, whether it is my articulated monkey ring or articulated elephant caravan ring or something else.

The leaf ring is the one Marc Alary piece I covet the most. He made them to represent the four seasons (portraying summer, laid on top of spring, winter, and fall, respectively). I think the spring leaf ring in white gold with green diamonds (!) is immensely exquisite.

Who are the jewelry designers you look up to?

I'm very classic in my tastes and usually like old designers, one of my very favorite being René Lalique, his jewelry and work was simply stunning. I like the work of past designers, cause they use to take the time to work on piece and mostly their work was dictated by the idea of creating something beautiful and truly unique rather than selling, but I guess it was also a different time, as back then most piece of jewelry created was made after private commission. Though I think it is definitely possible to achieve commercial success and at the same time doing something truly creative and beautiful. I also like the work of Faberge, for the quality of their products and some of the stories they were telling through their pieces. One of the jewelry designer I really like, but he is mostly famous for his art is Alexander Calder, his pieces and his work was absolutely genius. Otherwise I don't know much about other designers, it isn't that I am not interested, I just avoid looking too much around me so I don't get my head polluted by other ideas. I usually try to find my inspiration somewhere else, clothes. toys, everyday objects, books, music... Still I absolutely recognize the talent of the people working for huge companies like Cartier, Van Cleef and Arpels, Chaumet, Boucheron.

Alary's articulated monkey ring in yellow gold would add just that little hint of whimsy to ruffle up a trim navy suit.

How do you deal with the rising price of gold and diamonds?

That is a tough question, cause it is a real problem for us jewelry designers.

At some point the price of the gold doubled from what it used to be a year and half ago! So it definitely makes our work really difficult. Personally I'm not interested in doing much smaller piece in order to use less gold, I'm not saying it is a bad idea, not at all, it just isn't part of my vision as a designer for now, I'm much more interested in finding some other alternatives, which I'm working on at the moment. What I tried to do is to stick to what I believe: working on some truly original designs with real integrity and an authentic story behind it (and you have to be honest about this, I really dislike people who try to create that feel of authenticity when it isn't true) I want my design to show my passion and dedication to my work, last but not least, you have to try to give the best quality to serve your designs. I think customers are very sensitive to those things.

for the ladies in your lives (or men who like their earrings dangly): Marc Alary monkey earrings with citrine bananas

What piece of jewelry do you wear everyday? To special occasions?

I wear my panther ring, I always have it with me, wherever I go, even when I'm traveling or doing exercises I never take it out. I also usually wear my monkey pendant everyday. To special occasions, depending on what clothes I'm wearing, if it is a bit casual, like a nice t-shirt with a jacket I wear my regular monkey pendant. If I'm wearing a buttoned shirt with tie, I will probably wear a monkey pin on the collar of my jacket, very chic! Then I have a couple of Rings that I wear alternatively, to suit my mood or the event, it is the one truly great thing of being a jeweler you have a wide collection.

Marc Alary wearing his monkey pendant in a self-portrait for The Dandy Project (New York City, 10/26/2011)

Marc Alary's jewelry is available at Colette in Paris and at Liberty in London.

photographs via Marc Alary

Banking in Black Tie

2011-10-26T11:27:00.006-04:00

I love everything black tie---the tedious preparations for the event, the air kisses, the sparkle, the glamour of the night, the romance of the late walk home---and these tuxedo pants from Black Fleece, Thom Browne’s line for Brooks Brothers, are my piece of gala night elegance for everyday.

Illesteva sunglasses, Thom Browne shirt, Black Fleece black-tie pants, Florsheim longwing brogues

My friend Austin had asked me where I would wear such a pair of pants, given that they were so formal. “To lunch, to the drug store, grocery shopping,” I replied. I'd even wear them with a slouchy sheer t-shirt and kung-fu shoes in the summer. Here I wear them on a quick run to my bank in Downtown LA.

silk grosgrain detail on the side of the trousers, Cartier Roadster watch

These tux pants are immaculately made: fully-lined and with Thom Browne’s signature V cut on the back of the waistband.

made casual-prep with a Thom Browne cashmere cardigan

I’m so L.A.

Special thanks to Fernando of Brooks Brothers at 1 Liberty Plaza in NYC for the exceptional tailoring service.

photographs by Nikki Tuason

DIY: Make-up for Men: Easy Eyeshadow

2011-10-25T00:44:00.006-04:00

Fellows, today I will teach you a simple, easy way to wear eye makeup. A cornerstone of Dandyism is challenging boundaries, with the Dandies of the 1700s wearing radical haircuts and unconventionally tailored clothing that pushed the limits back then. Here at The Dandy Project, I refuse to stay put and live forever within convention--though I usually try to execute it with some semblance of subtlety--and with that, I bring you this eyeshadow tutorial.

bare-eyed Mike. Our mutinously ungroomed grooming model Mike Shaeffer returns for this installment of the Make-up for Men series.

I like eyeshadow, applied subtly on men. I've seen it done countless times on the runway, and when done rather faintly (the idea is to be wearing "no-makeup makeup"), it is much more foolproof and much more flattering than the seemingly more socially accepted rocker lined eyes.

We used a matte medium-dark taupe shadow (Bali by Nars) just a couple of shades darker than skin tone and applied it casually yet precisely on the lower part of the lid with the ring finger tip.

Mike smudges it about, keeping the stripe of shadow relatively narrow, and sufficiently blended in.

halfway done: Mike's subtly shadowed right eye looks ever so slightly deeper-set, more expressive, and more tender than his naked left eye.

Blinking brings forth a splitsecond of pretty mystery,

but eyes open, they become ever so gingerly deeper-set and darker.

Blue Camo

2011-10-21T09:56:00.008-04:00

I am currently harboring a liking for blue camouflage---there's something about the brusque militarism of camouflage done in the dandiest of bright blues that makes it so charming---that I had partnered with longtime shirt maker Eton of Sweden on a giveaway for you, my dear readers. The shirts are sharply made and the fabrics delicious; I own one of their dress shirts and it does feel quite nice on.

navy dress shirt with collar and placket lined in blue camouflage, and blue camouflage sport shirt with dark chambray trim, both by Eton of Sweden

Eton would like to give away both of these shirts, handpicked by me, to the readers of The Dandy Project. Here's how to win one of two blue camouflage shirts:

1. Follow Eton on Facebook

2. Follow The Dandy Project on Bloglovin'

3. Take a screen shot of you following both Eton and The Dandy Project, and send these to thedandyproject (at) yahoo (dot) com. The winners will be chosen at random. Contest is open to international readers.

Check out Eton's latest Jimi Hendrix-inspired 50771 collection here.

EDIT: Congratulations to David from Heidelberg, you win!

DIY: The Lace-trimmed Coat

2011-10-19T12:00:00.005-04:00

Occupying one of the precious coat hangers on my leaning clothing rack was a white coat too large and too square to look sharp. It was high time I did a DIY project; and though I'm content wearing nearly all-black nearly everyday, I thought it would be a worthwhile challenge to push myself to resurrect an unworn piece and personalize it with a method never used before: no more paint, no more cutting, and no more studs. So I trimmed it with a material that would be top-of-mind for any normal boy: black Venetian lace.

Here's what I used: Heat N Bond iron-on no-sew adhesive, textile adhesive in a tube, a yard and a half of black Venetian lace, and a steam iron

This Theory X Barney's Green coat was gathering dust in my closet. I resisted the urge to paint-splatter it in primary colors and instead spent a little more time and effort and went mildly Oscar de la Renta on it with a band of black lace trim along the hem.

I trimmed the iron-on adhesive to fit the bottom part of the lace, minus the protrusions. I then ironed the adhesive on to the lace, peeled off the paper backing, and positioned it on to the coat, following the line of the hem stitching to keep it aligned.

I then ironed the lace on to the coat, panel by panel. The instructions say "no steam needed," but I found that with the thickness of the lace, it helped get the heat on to the adhesive and have it bond better.

With the base of the lace trim attached, I carefully glued on the rest of the trim with the textile glue.

As always, I heat-set the trim with a hair dryer, just to make sure everything is dry and bonded.

As a finishing touch, I trimmed off all straggly threads and glued on any pieces that seemed to be gaping open.

Here it is worn:

Illesteva sunglasses, DIY lace-trimmed coat, printed chiffon shirt of my own design, Black Fleece belt, Uniqlo black jeans, Opening Ceremony shoes

close-up of the lace on the coat

Opening Ceremony lace and zip shoes with a lace-trimmed zip-up coat

last three photographs by Michael Shaeffer

Tech Pack

2011-10-18T10:10:00.005-04:00

It helps to have a theme when packing. For this trip, I'm doing my version of tech: abstract digital prints, metallics, white leather, and a fragrance freshly prepared at a boutique-laboratory in Nolita.

Tim Hamilton X Ross Bleckner digital-print scarf, Casio calculator watch, Santal 33 by Le Labo, my old iPod, silver laminate Comme des Garcons wallet, white Prada bag

I'm off to Los Angeles in a few days for a vacation essential to my sanity. Angelenos, what must I see, shop, eat, do?

DIY: Make-up for Men: Cover-up

2011-10-17T10:05:00.003-04:00

Many men wear make-up; most of you just don't know it yet. On a bad face day, you can't just Photoshop that pimple off of the tip of your nose and have your facade match the impeccable handsomeness of your new Belvest suit. I have a closet full of impeccably handsome clothes, and, lamentably, my fair share of bad face days. Luckily, having practiced concealing and blending with and on the women in my life, and having worked backstage at a handful of fashion shows, I have got a quick technique down pat. I've enlisted the help of my friend Michael Shaeffer, full-time menswear designer and part-time Brooklyn caveman, to demonstrate my easy-peasy technique.

bare-faced Mike

Mike has a blemish: a popped pimple, unmasked even by his jungly beard.

Here's what you do.

Squeeze a tiny amount of cover-up on the fleshy part of your hand. I use MAC select cover-up: it's handy, it's light, yet it conceals blemishes very effectively. Find the one that matches your skin tone the best. If you can't grapple with the idea of wearing cosmetics, try using tinted creams with benzoyl peroxide or tea tree oil and tell your gullible, delusional self it's medicine and not make-up.

Rub it around, warming it up with your finger. Use your ring finger to apply the product; this is the finger that would exert the least amount of pressure.

Dab the concealer, a little at a time, on the area to be covered. Start at the center of the blemish and take time to blend around it to make it appear as even as possible. Look in the mirror twice to make sure you don't look as if you have a glob of flesh-colored paste smeared on your cheek.

And smile, you are now obscenely handsome.

The idea is to have the product on as lightly as possible, and with the blemish gone, walk into your day electrified, forgetting you've got anything on your face.

The Prince of Thrift

2011-10-12T14:24:00.009-04:00

Very few wear vintage head-to-toe with the same refinement and creativity as my friend Yo Miyamoto. Yo is a freelance journalist and blogger and takes pride in his multi-tinted and multi-textured Salvation Army looks that cost him next to nothing. If I only had the diligence to regularly scour through racks of second-hand clothing, and the courage to wear more color, my life would be more moneyed and more joyfully-hued.

vintage coat, sweater, and shirt, Comme des Garcons drop-crotch trousers, vintage Premiata shoes

Yo's favorite date spot in NYC is a wine bar called The Immigrant in the East Village, and the last song he downloaded was Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence by Ryuichi Sakamoto.

texture and pattern play: a bleached denim coat, a crinkled polyester sweater, and a lace-print shirt

an odd assortment of vintage rings, all in silver

an ornate vintage brass cuff

Henrik Vibskov socks and clowny-cool vintage Premiata shoes

blue, crinkled, and Miyake-esque

Many of Yo's thrifted pieces are women's, but I commend him for the masculinity with which he puts everything together.

just like Omotesando

Yo was recently photographed by Scott Schuman of The Sartorialist in a post entitled "Advanced Style". See the post here.

Yo's street style blog Otomayim B Dipper

Browne is the New Black

2011-10-11T11:22:00.006-04:00

Wearing Thom Browne is like being in costume. With all his nods to prep and patriotism, and the near-absence of black, it couldn't be more far removed from what I normally wear.

Thom Browne cashmere cardigan

The shirts are slim and stiff and the trousers cinched so close at the waist, and most pieces mix terribly with the other things in my wardrobe, but oh, are they a delight to wear! There's something about the restrictiveness---modern-day male corsetry, if you may---that makes you stand up a little straighter and emulate an air of distinction.

Thom Browne cardigan, shirt, and trousers, Florsheim shoes

I used to detest longwing brogues but there's something about the heft and clunkiness that stands up to Thom Browne's closely-cut awkward shapes.

contrast stitching on the high cuffed Thom Browne trousers and Florsheim Kenmoor longwing brogues

Besides the front placket, the cardigan opens up on the sides and on the cuffs, all trimmed in red-white-blue grosgrain.

Navajo wolf ring from New Hampshire and Cartier Roadster on navy alligator

Though I don't ever see myself disposing of my dreary dark drape and tailoring, it is mighty fun to dress up as an ivy league-graduate accountant from the 50's, and as a palate-cleanser for my fashion-ADD self, at least for today, Browne is the new black.

photographs by Hudson Shively

Ring in Progress

2011-10-07T21:00:00.006-04:00

You know the feeling when you have a pan of brownies baking in the oven and you just can't wait to stud it with nuts and chocolate and for it to cool and find its way into your mouth? Imagine that pan of brownies forged in 14-karat gold, to be plated in the blackest of black, and to be sprinkled with the most brilliant of white diamonds---dear I can hardly wait to slip it on my finger!

The sequel to my everyday signet pinky ring in rose gold with brown diamonds, which I had also co-designed with Lanero Fine Jewelry, is in production. It'll be larger and round but very slightly oval, plated pitch black, and set with star-white diamonds slightly larger than those used to pave my previous ring. This is the unfinished ring, un-set and un-plated. In a couple of weeks, it will adorn my left pinky in full splendor.

Salivating.

Wrist Action

2011-10-06T17:34:00.005-04:00

One singular, the other, multiple; both unabashedly maximalist.

silver and red stone wide cuff from Morocco on Stylelikeu's Irene Kim

Miansai and Singer 22 x Burkman Brothers by Jace Lipstein bracelets on Grungy Gentleman's Jace Lipstein

DIY: Breaking Shoes In The Easy Way

2011-10-05T13:37:00.004-04:00

I am in no way a one-shoe man, and because new shoe loves come into my life quicker than it takes to break in the current pair, I've devised a method of accelerating the process of breaking in. I was inspired by the way old wives in the Philippines help break in hard leather shoes: they let hot candle wax drip on to the tough spots, then rub it in with the candlestick. I was bored and alone in my apartment back in Boston when I devised this, and made do with what I had at hand; so far my technique has served me well.

Here's what you'll need: petroleum jelly, a curling iron, and shoes to break in. I recently acquired a pair of the Made in England Dr. Martens oxfords in dark red and though they were nice and sturdy, they were also impossibly tough.

Spread Vaseline generously all over the tough spots, getting into every corner. Lay it on extra thick on the bumps.

Set the curling iron to high and melt the petroleum jelly into the leather. If it sizzles, you're doing it right. The trick is to use the curling iron to sort of curl the leather outward so it doesn't dig into the foot as you walk. While you're at it, bend the shoe back and forth as if to simulate the bend that occurs when walking. Do it several times, but if you could devote one episode of My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding per shoe, all the better.

Allow to cool, and there you have it: your perfectly broken-in pair of shoes. (Dr. Martens creepers, Florsheim longwing brogues, Dr. Martens oxfords)

For those without a curling iron at home, go ahead and use a butane blowtorch. I could imagine the char marks could look quite charming!

Tim Hamilton Fall/Winter Sample Sale

2011-10-05T09:10:00.003-04:00

I need a new fall jacket so I will be first in line perusing the racks. You should follow.

Tim Hamilton Sample Sale: Oct. 7-12, 508-526 W 26th St (at 10th Ave), Suite 5B

It's samples from this collection that's going on sale, among pieces from previous seasons. See you there?

Desert Weaving

2011-10-04T11:43:00.005-04:00

Unbeknownst to most tropic-dwellers, a phenomenon called the Indian summer occurs in temperate countries, in autumn, wherein the temperature rises to nearly summer-like heat, usually after there had been a cold spell. Indian summer this year happened to fall right on fashion week, and though many a layer-lover was dismayed (or found himself rendering fat in tweeds and cashmeres), I did what any sensible island boy would do: shed layers. Inspired by the desert-like weather, I wore what I thought a fashion-kooky desert nomad would wear: sumptuous sand-colored suede shoes, white linen, and a waistcoat in a somewhat Arabic print--sans shirt.

Illesteva sunglasses, Ann Demeulemeester reversible vest, Old Hollywood pin, J. Crew linen pants, Desert Weaver shoes courtesy of Clarks

Clarks had sent over these Desert Weavers---what look to be a cross between the iconic Wallabees and Desert Boots, but with that distinctive hand-stitching all around the sides. They have been my absolute favorite shoes for the past few weeks. You know I love a beige suede shoe, and the chunky, almost creeper-like crepe sole makes these quite current.

Clarks Desert Weavers in camel suede

When it's hot outside, the wrist party stays home. Sometimes it's nice to make a statement with one special piece.

Dad's vintage yellow gold Rolex on chocolate brown alligator

photographs by Hudson Shively

Antonio Azzuolo's Rakish Rebels

2011-10-04T09:00:00.004-04:00

For Spring 2012, CFDA Fashion Fund finalist Antonio Azzuolo took his inspiration from les minets, a group of mod French youngsters in the 50s who had a penchant for both dressing up and starting fights. The collection could've benefited from a bit more of a unifying theme (with a bright red anorak being in the same lineup as an all-black look with a dangerously low v-neck top and drop-crotch shorts), however, the suits were cut immaculately and the styling was inspiring, as always.

to add to my long list of possible DIY projects: the paper rose boutonniere

an exquisite shawl-lapel jacket in a Chanel-esque tweed

another jacket trimmed with a similarly-textured tweed

loose trousers and Vibram wedge soled brogues

J. Sabatino's Draft of Dandies

2011-10-03T14:36:00.005-04:00

I always look forward to what J. Sabatino brings forth at Fashion Week. Though the near absence of black would make the pieces a little more difficult to integrate into my own wardrobe, I very much appreciate his dandy take on militarism for Spring 2012.

a great relaxed blazer in super-faded olive drab and a painterly camouflage print shirt

the sharpest windowpane cargo trousers

garrison caps on Sabatino's soldiers---can you see these hats being worn on the street?

voluminous drawstring-hemmed pants

striped shorts and layered hosiery

photographs by Hudson Shively

Weekend in New England

2011-10-02T15:17:00.004-04:00

Portland General Store is a line of men's personal care products made from sea- and forest-derived ingredients all custom-mixed in Maine. They had sent over a box of vials of what they call their "handsomely addictive" colognes, which came with quite an interesting and beautifully-photographed lookbook that embodies the feel of their goods, a bunch of shots of which I will share with you now. The scents all had that old-world classy charm of New England: the mini-cities and sprawling suburbs of Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and everywhere in between. I poured a vial in the tub one bad day, and for a moment, I was back in Boston---with all the bricks, and the red leaves, and the warm soaks with cold wind outside, and I was at peace.

shaving soaps in whiskey and alpine

If I could find a vintage doctor's bag that said Boston University...

New England, I will see you again soon.

photos via Portland General Store

clothing provided by David Wood Clothiers and Bliss

Gobel's Grocery Store

2011-10-01T10:04:00.005-04:00

For your weekend viewing pleasure, allow me to share a video of the Marlon Gobel Spring 2012 show, an interpretation of today's mad consumer culture, presented in classic menswear shapes: think digital fruit print shirts, a Budweiser knit sweater, and colorful mesh dress shirts reminiscent of eco-bags.

Marlon Gobel Spring 2012 video

Though I have to admit that the show was styled in a manner that I would not typically dress myself, there were a lot of items that I could envision working very well in my wardrobe, adding a punch to all those dreary darks. There's the Budweiser sweater, which with denim and beat-up Church's monkstraps, would be the perfect outfit for a low-key evening down in Bushwick, the purple and the red berry-print shirts, which would add some tartness to summer blacks, and that sheer honeycomb shirt that would look sweet with pleated black dress pants and not much else.

There's a familiar slickback-haired head sitting front-row, pretending to inspect the collection with journalistic integrity. See if you can find him.

video via Marlon Gobel

lookbook photos by Allison Brown

Dying for Denim

2011-09-29T17:03:00.002-04:00

Siki Im and Robert Geller, two of my most favorite shows last New York Fashion Week, have caused me to reconsider denim---so much so that I had my assistant run over to Uniqlo the next morning to pick up a pair of dark wash jeans for me. I haven't worn jeans since my oddly-fitting APC new cures of yesteryear, but these designers' jean offerings, both rigid and soft, typically in voluminous cuts, have got me dying for denim.

Siki Im reinvented denim stark and clean and dark; I thought it was quite inspiring.

This is how I would like to wear my jeans next spring: loose and boxy, with lots of black, and punctuated by substantial white footwear.

more denim with even more black

reconsider light washed denim, and possibly even whiskers?

a chambray shirt and a dramatic long vest

pegged dark denim legs peek out from under an architectural cocoon-like cape

Geller did denim more foppishly, in contrast to Siki Im's clean minimalism, but the result was just as strong.

an easy denim shirt over a mesh t-shirt, all layered under a soft navy blouson

a short denim jacket with cropped cuffed wide-leg denim trousers

leather pants toughen up a soft chambray shirt

easy linen-denim trousers

a denim trench with purple-blues

Siki Im photos by Sigurd Widenfalk via Siki Im

Robert Geller photos via Robert Geller

Sequins, Spots, and Self-expression

2011-09-27T13:07:00.006-04:00

Last Saturday, I walked over the bridge to DUMBO in Brooklyn for their annual Arts Festival: a weekend-long celebration of "the best in local, national, and international art amid the breathtaking backdrop of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan skyline". It was an exhilarating afternoon---think Fashion's Night Out, minus all the tourists; swap fashion for art, and free drinks for food trucks. Expecting that the art set would be a little more accepting than the fashion folk, I decided to wear two items in the much-maligned materials, sequins and leopard print.

Illesteva sunglasses, Junya Watanabe x Comme des Garcons shirt, Black Sheep and Prodigal Sons bracelet, Uniqlo jeans, leopard-print shoes from Lane Crawford

The sequins on this Junya Watanabe shirt seem to be oxidized and almost crumpled, and are embroidered on to the faintly printed black-and-brown batik fabric with very thin copper wire.

This horsehair and leather bracelet, on loan from Black Sheep and Prodigal Sons, has been my alternative to the multiple-layered bracelets, a.k.a. "arm parties" that abound. Sometimes the most enjoyable parties are those you rock with just one else.

Prada saffiano briefcase and leopard-print shoes from Lane Crawford. I don't seem to be getting that much wear from these shoes in today's sole du jour, the Vibram thick wedge. I find the wearable comfortable footwear to be proper dress shoes with slim all-leather soles.

Enough about about my artfully put-together outfit, let me share with you the art my eyes saw at the DUMBO Arts Fair:

sparkling walls

and twinkling rain

light boxes

and backlit black shingles

love you

and f*ck you (It rotates!)

twigs

and twilight.

photographs by Tiffany Gong and Izzy Tuason

Ugo's Jewels

2011-09-26T23:04:00.005-04:00

I recently had the privilege to interview Italian jewelry designer Ugo Cacciatori. What was supposed to be a weekend showroom visit turned into a crash course in gemology and a lesson on how to tell stories with "sentences in silver". In our little chat, Ugo talked about his inspirations, his favorite materials, the rising price of gold and silver, and told one precious story of obsession that resonated very much with how I find myself obsessing about certain things I see, around, on particularly special people.

Tell us how you started making jewelry.

It all began by chance. I didn’t study fashion; I studied architecture. I’m more like a designer in the wider sense. I was born in Carrara, in Italy, where the white marble is from. I was born into a family of quarry owners. The respect of the material is what you will see in my collection. The silver is not plated, it is oxidized naturally with an old alchemistic system. My background is in architecture, and my mother is a scientist.

Ugo Cacciatori and Etna, the pharaoh hound, at the New York City showroom he designed

What inspires you?

The base of the collection is my childhood. That’s in everybody. If you you’re your little child awake, you’re always ready to absorb, to be surprised, to be emotional. Many people, they put it aside, because they have to go somewhere. I have to go nowhere, I just have to enjoy, in the end.

Some of my pieces are really childish. Not that they’re made out of cotton candy, or that they’re pink, but they’re childish in the sense that they are part of something in my childhood, like a pirate’s sword in a story, or a ring with powers---and when you wake up, you still have it on your finger. Materializing dreams.

hidden gem rings by Ugo Cacciatori

a ring with mobile "wings"

But everything inspires me. All my experiences are mixed together in a story and they just explode in these sentences made out of silver. To me, it’s like writing a book, and instead of writing with words, I write with silver sentences.

If I design for somebody else, they have their own story.

Do you do bespoke things too?

Yes, many.

I could only dream of having a piece custom-made by you!

I want to be more of a jewellery maison, not just an accessories line.

the skull series: a silver ring, a pendant, and the mabe pearl and silver and diamond ring that needs to be slipped on my finger someday soon

The one piece that turned me on to Ugo Cacciatori was your mabe pearl ring with skulls and diamonds, I thought it was just fantastic. How do you feel about pearls?

In the beginning, I just wanted to use mabe pearls, because it’s something that hasn’t been used for a while. And I like that you can put half and half together and make them look like one whole.

"dot" earrings made out of two mabe pearls put together

What are your favorite materials to work with, besides silver?

Silver is not my favorite material. To me, it’s like bread. It’s something that is good with everything. It’s a more alive material, it oxidizes unlike gold. It is a cheap material, but at the same time, it’s precious.

a chain bracelet with a fine floral motif, subtly studded with dark diamonds

The bracelet decides to join that morning's wrist party.

Yes, you can plate it. But then why do I see jewelry pieces that are made of “oxidized gold”?

Gold does not oxidize. What you can do with gold is that you can mix it. For example, white gold is slightly pink, it’s a beautiful material; it’s not white-white. I like to mix: silver, copper, and gold; platinum and gold; it’s more alchemistic.

In silver, I only use garnet, onyx, and citrine, and smoky quartz, and with gold, I only use 9 carat gold, the gold that was used in the Victorian age.

I love how you describe how you make jewelry as like mixing cocktails. What is your favorite drink?

I usually drink vodka straight on the rocks---rough materials! (Laughs)

Tell us about your aesthetic.

As an architect, I was against ornament. My reference architects were Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Rogers, Norman Foster, more minimalist… At a certain point in my life, I said, I should break, I shouldn’t dwell so much on one concept. I began to tattoo my body, I began to break my cultural fixations.

This dot ring with a bluish gray mabe pearl is the perfect execution of Cacciatori's minimalist tendencies, and a simpler, more wearable alternative to that pearl and skull ring.

the same ring, set with a white pearl

Does the fashion media (magazines, blogs, etc.) play into your design?

It’s peculiar that in all these years, I don’t read any fashion magazines. I’m very happy that there are blogs nowadays, that at least they give you a more direct and real sense of what’s going on. Most of the press, the established press, is influenced by who’s buying pages, more than what’s nice or what’s new.

A vintage feathered pirate's hat is one of the many found objects that add character to the showroom. To the left, a leather jacket with silver buttons, part of the limited line of clothing to be released.

How do you deal with the rising price of gold and silver?

In eight years, it’s become ten times more expensive. I still have heavy pieces, I still create what I like. But of course, the market is less ready for expensive pieces. They’re more ready for smaller, less expensive pieces. I don’t care, I still make what I like. It’s not just for me, it’s a problem for everybody. My clients know better; they know about the prices of gold and silver rising. I don’t think it’s a matter of costs of materials. If you like something in this collection, it’s very transversal. You can find pieces that cost 300 dollars, 3 thousand, pieces that cost 30 thousand. The meanings and the concept are still the same.

Ugo Cacciatori silver hair clips

a sage shagreen wallet that is surprisingly supple due to a special sanding process

What do you feel about jewelry and men? I think American men are generally averse to jewelry, but they’re getting more and more into it. You see guys wearing more and more bracelets…

First of all, I think it’s something that’s always been there. In other cultures, men have always been wearing jewelry, it’s not even a trend. I have a memory of when I was 18, when I went to Florence to study architecture. I didn’t know Florence, and I was just wandering around and I see this beautiful church next to Ponte Vecchio and I hear some music. So I enter, everybody was silent. In front of me, there was this African man with a ring. In my culture, in my family, the only ring my father wore was a wedding ring, and not even, because when you work in a quarry, you don’t wear it because it might be dangerous with the machinery. I wasn’t used to seeing men with rings. And I see this man, super elegant, with just one chevalier ring. And I remember, the entire time during the concert at the church, I could do nothing but dream of this jewel---where the guy found it, why he was wearing it… It remained so much in me, and from then on, the jewelry I started to create was for men.

the designer Ugo Cacciatori shows off his two "everyday" rings

If there’s one piece of jewelry a man should have, what should it be?

I think, a pendant, even just hidden, that you don’t see what it is, but you understand from the chain that it’s there. A pendant is a beautiful symbol; it’s something that remains close to the heart. I think a pendant is something every man should have.

photographs by Hudson Shively

Tommy-Tonned

2011-09-24T21:44:00.006-04:00

Two rear ends, one belonging to my friend Austin, the other belonging to me, were photographed by Jak and Jil's Tommy Ton crossing the street from the Marlon Gobel show last New York Fashion Week.

Austin wears a Thom Browne jacket, Brunello Cuccinelli pants, and a Swaine Adeney Brigg bag. I'm wearing a Thom Browne jacket, Uniqlo shirt, vintage Levi's cutoffs, and my signature blue "dead nail"

Tommy---thanks for the lovely picture.

photo by Tommy Ton for GQ

Fall into Floral

2011-09-22T15:32:00.005-04:00

floral tapestry jazz shoes by Number (N)ine

You say, how dare he call himself dandy, all dressed in black and not a bow tie on his neck? Well, with rose-sprawled tapestry and ivory satin trim on dainty jazz shoes, I therefore announce, dandy is back! To my all-black Fall ensembles, they will lend a bouquet of romance, and to my ego, equally welcome stares of confuzzlement and nods of approval.

Tim Hamilton Spring 2012

2011-09-21T16:33:00.006-04:00

For Spring/Summer 2012, Tim Hamilton collaborated with conceptual artist and friend Seth Price to create a collection that explores themes of militarism and aviation and how these affect the wide fashion-consuming audience. These were thoroughly elaborated in the Tim Hamilton X Seth Price pieces, all made out of canvas, featuring the printed liners designed in collaboration with the artist.

Tim Hamilton X Seth Price bomber jacket worn over a jumpsuit from the same series, lined in the credit card and "paychex" liners

The presentation, produced by Alex Antitch for Ace Collective, was as much an art installation as it was a fashion show. Tim Hamilton took over the old Pearl Paint shop on Lispenard Street and transformed it into a haze-filled den with dark electro blaring and violent street scenes flashing on vintage Trinitron monitors. As some of you know, or may have guessed, I've had the privilege of working for New York designer Tim Hamilton the past few months, on the press side of the business, and the Tim Hamilton Spring/Summer 2012 collection that recently showed at Fashion Week was as much my baby as it was to everyone else on the team. Dearest readers, humor me and let the doting father brag.

bold stripes on a surprisingly masculine open-necked knit

black on black on black: Tim Hamilton's rendition of the Perfecto, in black leather, with black suede sleeves and all-black hardware

the taped blue belt

and taped shoes, courtesy of Dr. Martens

the press guy in a white Tim Hamilton jumpsuit mulling over the repercussions of the printed liner

This hidden-placket double-breasted white coat, a unisex piece, could be the perfect late Spring jacket.

the semi bowl-shaped crew cut: hairspiration?

easy-icy makeup by the brilliant Deanna Melluso at Artlist

A The Dandy Project exclusive, scenes from backstage:

shooting the lookbook

getting all dolled up...

...and do-ragged

The do-rags were a technique used by the hairstylist to keep the hair flat and sleek and clean. She would style the hair, cover it in do-rags, and spray on it through the holes. I'm most definitely trying this out at home.

Nariba's look

Showtime looms-

And lights.

photographs by Hudson Shively

Staples: The Dark Debonair

2011-09-20T10:00:00.003-04:00

If there’s one thing that helps me get dressed in the morning, it is my imagined persona. Embodying such a character helps streamline the task of picking things out of my wardrobe vast as the facets of my idiosyncratic personality. I’ve gone through quite a few in the past, most of them too shameful to reveal, but this one, I believe, will stick around for quite a while.

Beloved readers, meet The Dark Debonair.

He is gentlemanly, smart, and refreshingly proper---but at the same time elusive and intriguingly weird. Think young Sean Connery as the old James Bond in head-to-toe Comme des Garcons taking a private jet to the Maldives to do a performance art piece solely for his three wire-haired dachshunds.

Aramis had approached me to share my staples, and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to introduce you to The Dark Debonair. Suave yet relaxed, with a penchant for the charmingly odd, The Dark Debonair keeps ten things in his arsenal as he goes about his business and trots the globe.

The Dandy Project's Dark Debonair Staples: 1) Comme des Garcons black blazer, 2) vintage black lace-ups, 3) black-faced Rolex, 4) Thom Browne cashmere wool tie, 5) Number (N)ine sunglasses, 6) Hong Kong, 7) Erotic Poems by e.e. cummings, 8) Seth Price mix CD, 9) Goldwell hair gel, 10) Sabatino Tartufi truffle honey

Here they are in detail:

clothing: the Comme des Garcons Homme black blazer

The soft tailoring on this Comme des Garcons Homme blazer in subtly crinkled black wool makes it an easy versatile piece, and the luxe red silk lining makes putting in on a simply delicious experience.

footwear: vintage black cap-toe lace-ups from London

These shoes, scuffed beyond decency, have been with me through two re-solings and one painful breaking-in. The classic almond-shaped cap-toe is perfect, and the patina adds that touch of street-grit shiny new shoes just can’t give.

time: black-faced Rolex

I’ve had it since I was a child, and wore it to elementary school with its original bezel of pavé white diamonds, much to the puzzlement of my classmates. Ah, the beginnings of a grown-up eccentric...

neckwear: gray houndstooth Thom Browne cashmere wool tie

Handsome and understated, and the soft cashmere makes it such a pleasure to stroke.

eyewear: round tortoise sunglasses by Number (N)ine

There’s something about round glasses that connotes eccentricity: John Lennon, Willie Wonka, Freddie Aguilar… The tortoiseshell gives it a softness that makes it more versatile than black.

travel: Hong Kong

The glossy boutiques of Hong Kong may carry all the goodies that the dark debonair needs to fill his closet with joy, but it’s the noisy, smelly, neon-hazy streets of authentic Hong Kong that fill his nights with wonder. He meanders about Kowloon, possibly lost on the way home to his hotel, he makes eye contact with a stranger or two, and is convinced he is Chow Mo-Wan from In the Mood for Love.

literature: Erotic Poems by e. e. cummings

e. e. cummings’ love notes embody the way the dark debonair lives his life: passionate and irreverent. The best subway read.

music: Seth Price Fashion

New York-based conceptual artist Seth Price put together a mix of both smooth, danceable beats and hauntingly jarring sounds for his latest collaboration with Tim Hamilton on the designer’s Spring 2011 line. The CD, a limited-edition giveaway at the Tim Hamilton presentation, is a carefully orchestrated audio file featuring Severed Heads, Philippe Besombes, and Zsa Zsa Laboum.

grooming: Goldwell hair gel

How else does the dark debonair achieve his bulletproof slick-back but with the thickest, most high-tech hair gel available? Goldwell’s Lagoom Jam is thick to the consistency of jam, yet washes out cleanly with warm water.

entertaining: Sabatino Tartufi truffle honey

Generously bespeckled with black truffles, this honey is a jewel in the dark debonair’s kitchen: slathered on cheese and crackers, drizzled over buttered pasta---or even on ice cream.

Here I am channeling my alter-ego du jour in a bruise-inspired color palette of black and blue:

Comme des Garcons blazer, Eton of Sweden shirt, Margiela denim cummerbund, Uniqlo jeans, and vintage lace-ups

details: round collar on the Eton shirt and a vintage astronaut pin with a moonstone head

Fellow menswear bloggers Mat of Buckets and Spades and Pelayo of Kate Loves Me have also collaborated with Aramis on similar posts on their ideas of how to be a gentleman. Check out theirs and other bloggers’ posts here:

photographs and collage by Hudson Shively

blog post written in partnership with Aramis