Findings - Monitaly Riders Coat

A Riders coat from Monitaly at Opening Ceremony

WHY: So fall is snicking in slowly but surely and if there one thing i do like about the cold weather is the clothes....as much as i hate the weather the possibilities of things to wear and the need to layer give us much more to work with as oppose to just T's and shorts and what's better to show some flair than a coat....here is your chance to leave behind the traditional black gray or brown coat and struck out with some colors! This military inspired riders coat mixes the classic silhouette with fun and playful colors, it might not be the coat you"ll wear over your business suit but any time other than that this coat will do the trick!
INFO: Shell: 85% wool, 15% nylon. Body lining: 100% cotton. Sleeve lining: 100% acetate.
Available in brown stripe or white stripe.
Made in the USA.
PRICE: $800.00
WHERE: Opening Ceremony

The Trench Coat

Simon Spurr spring

Looking at the collections for spring 2011 that were presented last week in the NY fashion week there was one item that was shown by almost every designer - The Trench Coat!

A bit of history: The Invention of the trench coat is claimed by both Burberry and Aquascutum. Aquascutum's claim dating back to the 1850s, but Thomas Burberry (who was the inventor of the gabardine fabric), submitted a trench coat design for an army officer's raincoat to the United Kingdom War Office in 1901 where it all really began. A typical trench coat by this period was a ten-buttoned, double-breasted long coat (usually is knee-length) with cuff straps on the raglan sleeves, shoulder straps and a belt. Made in tan, khaki, beige, or black waterproof heavy-duty cotton drill or poplin, wool gabardine, or leather. Had generally a removable insulated lining; and was typically worn as a windbreaker or as

Findings - Marc by Marc jacobs iridescent coat

Iridescent Compact Cotton Coat from Marc by Marc Jacobs.

WHY: I was browsing the Marc Jacobs new E-commerce site (I'm still trying to adopt to it, something is just not clicking for me about this site...not sure I'm crazy about the illustrated part), and found this perfect coat for fall (i can't believe summer is fading....). Its a cool Military style coat with lots of pockets and front zipper as well as buttons, which i like on coats since zipper is a better seal for the cold weather and buttons that you can than just close the waist button real quick for the look. Although its a cotton coat it is fully lined and looks like it can easily get the job done through even late full weather....just before the freeze take over (where quite honestly in my opinion only getting inside an animal seams to help....). Simply a cool, casual fall coat for everyday use, works great with Jeans and boots!
INFO: Military inspired compact cotton coat with front button detail. Detachable Faux fur collar. Three large flap pockets. Fully lined. Available in Army Multi and Dark Indigo Multi. 100% Cotton. Dry Clean only.
PRICE: $568.00 
WHERE: MarkJacobs.com

Marc Jacobs Launches E-Commerce site

On Monday Night Marc Jacobs Launched his new E-commerce site. The site was designed to capture the playful, fun and cool feel of the brand, by mixing illustrations, photographs and videos. Illustrations of actual sales people dressed in Marc Jacobs clothes invite the shoppers into the different departments while the shoppers can click on the illustrated items to buy. The home­page (above) shows an illustration of a store entrance with the actual runway videos from both of the brand’s collections playing in the store's windows.
The store will sell all categories from Marc Jacobs as well as Marc by Marc Jacobs, although not all items from  the collections will be available online.
The site will not use Flash,which will make it work smoothly on mobile phones and the iPad.
I personally found the site to be a little too illustrated for my taste...honestly i rather see real photos of the sales people dressed in the clothes than the illustrations....hey, that's just me, go and check it out for your selves.

Spring 2011 NY Fashion week - John Varvatos

John Varvatos was once again John varvatos for this spring 2011.... rockish, slim fitted, washed, aged, vintage inspired clothes with some great jackets and coats (loved the trench coats), in great quality. I read an interview with him about a week ago on WWD in celebration of his 10th Anniversary and learned about his background and  its very clear in the line where he is coming from which influenced him to designed from the perspective of the customer and not the designer...in other words its not about his Ego as a designer, its about what his customer need and want! And believe me not many designers can do that....
With all that said I'm not sure about the color story for the spring collection, yes it fits into the style but still we are talking SPRING you need to have some colors! the color story was more a fall presentation than spring.

Spring 2011 NY Fashion week - G-Star Raw

I love raw denim, there is something so cool about it, the stiffness and rigidness of the fabric makes it more sculptured than draped and gives it a masculine, rough rockish feel that i love, therefore naturally  i love what G-star does with it, the way they cut and slice the panels on their silhouettes, the cool pocket shapes and the interesting seaming are very inspiring to me .....this time using white, khaki/army tones and blue denim G-star delivered once again a cool and fresh twist to this classic cotton fabric with short slim zip up jackets, long coats and voluminous pants.

Spring 2011 NY Fashion week - Duckie Brown

When i think about spring (especially living in NY) i think about the arrival of the worm weather ...of summer ...which  means bright colors are taking over the grey dark colors of the long and cold winter (am I'm making it clear enough how much i "love" the cold weather???), so for me every time i seat down to think about inspirations for spring collections this is the first things on the list.....but a week into NY fashion week i must say most of the men's collections had winter color stories like grey, black and navy with lots of army tones so on that end the Duckie Brown collection managed to separate itself from all the rest. Just like their inspiration called for, the collection was filled with prints, stripes patterns and clearly....lots of happiness, all mixed together in the different looks which at times looked refreshing and at times just too busy for me. The silhouettes were Eastern influenced with long shirts buttoned all the way up and asymmetrical drape-y sheer knits all fused with western minimalism....interesting but not really my personal taste.

Spring 2011 NY Fashion week - Marc by Marc Jacobs

The Marc guy should be loving this collection, and I'm sure he will have a blast choosing his wardrobe pieces for next spring....I think that even i can finally see my self in a Marc look! Easy fun suits tailored but in a cool downtown feel with ankle length pants in gathered waists and pleats worn over sneakers (what else is new...) and trench coats, trench coats and some more trench coats....but in fun and exciting versions like the classic longer version, or this contemporary rusted color one... and even a sleeveless version...Love it!
More photos after the jump.

Spring 2011 NY Fashion week - 3.1 Philip Lim

The Philip Lim Men's spring 2011collection had some pieces and looks that i really loved such as the more tailored and constructed ones, but on the other hand there were pieces that had the contiguous symptom of pushing the envelope but in the wrong direction which  is usually either too theatrical or too feminine (like in that case). It was not really clear enough for me who is the Philip Lim man.....therefore i will just concentrate on the pieces i personally liked.
More photos after the jump.

Spring 2011 NY Fashion week - Michael Bastian

The all American designer Michael Bastian adopted scuba diving as the Inspiration for spring his 2011 collection. At first i didn't think it sounded so promising until i saw the end result and for the most part i liked what I've seen. Yes there were some swimwear and diving pieces but for the most part the collection offers any American man who is a fan of the modern preppy style (which was a big theme all around this season) lots of good pieces for his spring wardrobe, especially the jackets and suits that looked tailored but effortless to wear. It is clearly once again that Michael knows what his customer is looking for and he does a great job offering it to him, and quite frankly i can see any guy no matter what his style is finding some pieces to work with it....even I who is not a fan of the preppy style would love to add some of these jackets to my wardrobe.
The only thing i would say is that he could have shown few less looks to make the presentation more focused...but hey, i can live with that. More Photos after the jump.

Spring 2011 NY Fashion week - Y-3

I grew up loving Adidas, as a Football (soccer) fan and especially growing closer to Europe that was the biggest sport brand, (i don't even think i knew about Nike back than....), so i always had a soft spot for the 3 stripes. As a designer i always adored the Japanese designers for their style and inventiveness, therefore for me the combination of Adidas and Yohji Yamamoto is a match made in heaven, and for spring 2011 we got to see some more of that fun collaboration, cause this season they mixed in a rockish feel which among my favorite inspirations.... The look of the spring collection combined a formal wear inspired silhouettes like the tailcoats with wide pants in a soft silky fabrics styled with suspenders, resembling an 80's punk rock feel that the hairstyles helped supporting beautifully. I didn't really care for the burnout striped velvet shirts or the short tank tops (that was the detail from the 80's i could easily skip....). Color story surrounded black and navy with shots of brighter colors like a in these green pant below. All together a great sport tailored inspired collection with some great pieces to choose from.
More photos after the jump.

Spring 2011 NY Fashion week - Rag & Bone

"Nomads of the North African deserts" was the inspiration for Rag & Bone's Spring 2011 men's collection....looking at the show i think they took the inspiration very seriously resulting in quite a literal interpretation of the subject. I will admit that although Rag & Bone always had somewhat of a British tailoring  touch to their line (which i love), i was never really a fan of their product....as a matter of fact I don't even own any of their item, it was just never my style, and this season i think its even harder for me to relate...the look is very denim and American work wear driven and although its done in their own sophisticated way it just not my cup of tea. The look is casual and the silhouettes are looser and on the baggy side with wide leg pants and long shirts and jackets/coats (a bit too Nomads and desert style for me), with a fabric story that revolves around denim, canvas and chambray. My favorite pieces were the Chambray trench coat and some of the pants that had cool utility pockets and a fun mix of colors/fabrics and looked very comfy.
Generally the inspiration was executed very well in the collection and i would think that the Rag & Bone customer will find a lot of solid pieces in it, which is all that matters after all.

Spring 2011 NY Fashion week - Simon Spurr

A couple days ago I have posted Simon Spurr's inspiration for the spring  season which in his words sounded like that: "exploring the boundaries between art and fashion, the collection mixes Lucio Fontana - inspired prints and sweaters with British military undertones and YSL elegance.” The result on the runway was Great! I thought the collection had a lot of great pieces, I loved the suits especially the three piece ones in either slicky fabrics, solid colors or in the plaids (loved the 2 piece plaid suit above which reminded me a lot of my new suit.....i wonder if he reads this blog????), 
also thought the sophisticated mustard trench coat and  the light and clean sweaters in army colors were great. I wasn't as crazy about his casual items like the denim pants and didn't care for the scarfs (it's too much of Brooklyn hipsters style... and we had enough of that). As far as the inspiration goes you can definitely see a strong YSL elegance and the color story was clearly inspired by  Lucio Fontana prints and British military undertones.
Over all I really loved the collection, it has a great European touch but with American influences all executed in high quality.
More photos after the jump.

My style journal - week eleven - NY Fashion week

Fashion week is here and I attended some  fashion shows this week and here is one of the looks i chose to wear. I must say i liked this look a lot, i felt it had casual mixed in with a bit of dressed and a lot of fun! The white jacket (which is by the way a $69.95 jacket from H&M) is a stand out piece that i struggled to make it look natural and not too uptight or forced,  i first tried it over some plaid and gingham  pants and than a dressier navy pants but it was all way to serious for the occasion, so i finally went for the dark skinny jeans (511) from Levi's (which i got for $44 on sale and which fit really great.... much better than other more expensive jeans in the market) and the shiny pointy shoes that added flair and fun to the party...
The shirt is a BOAZ shirt (the classic style) that as i mentioned last week soon will be available for purchasing online.

New editorial Men's blog on Gilt.com

Gilt Group just launched an editorial blog for men called GILT MANual: The Daily Guide to Permanent Style. The idea is to encourage men to talk about style the same way they talk about sports. The blog is led by Tyler Thoreson, editorial director and former executive editor of Men.Style.com. There will also be a host of contributors to the site, including bloggers such as Mister Mort and Michael Williams of A Continuous Lean, as well as noted men of style such as Euan Rellie and Gay Talese.
Check it out here.

Spring 2011 Inspirations

Fashion week in NY starting today and I'm sure a lot of you out there are always wondering and curious about the inspiration for the collections so when i saw that  WWD posted some of the inspirations being used for spring 2011 I thought i"ll share with you five designers/inspirations that i thought it will be interesting to follow and see how they will be translated into clothes... and once fashion week is over I'll post the results....
Good luck to all the designers this week....and give us something to remember!

SIMON SPURR
exploring the boundaries between art and fashion, the collection mixes Lucio Fontana - nspired prints and sweaters with British military undertones and YSL elegance.” — Simon Spurr

Findings - Chintz shirt jacket by Paul Smith

Chintz shirt jacket by Paul Smith

WHY: The fall season is knocking on the door and before we know it one layer is not enough and we start to layer up, and this great light jacket is a good start. With a fit and style of a shirt it can be used as a casual jacket over a T and would look great with Jeans either open or buttoned up. The color is safe to match with probably most of your fall wardrobe and it could easily be a jacket that will not go out of style for a long time..... a great investment for fall. 

Findings - ASOS Notch Detail Glasses

Notch detail glasses from ASOS

WHY: For most of my life I have been wearing glasses.....back in the day when I was a kid the selection of frames was very limited and lets face it kind of ugly! So wearing these big frames was soooo nerdy looking that for the first few years as a kid although i needed them badly i just wouldn't wear them until it was impossible for me to ignore the need for them....but over the last 20 years or more glasses or actually the frames became more of a fashion accessory with a huge selection to choose from to the degree that any designer/brand now days rush to license their name to a line of frames since people look for an excuse to wear glasses. I even saw a debate on one of the blogs on whether someone who does not

My style journal - week ten - Creative Black Tie

This weekend our good friends got married and the dress code called for "creative black tie"...so i wanted to share with you my version of it. I made this jacket as part of a purple velvet suit (purple is one of my favorite colors, especially a deep shade like the one on this jacket) that i wore to my wedding almost 5 years ago, but since than i didn't have a chance to wear it again until this weekend. When i tried it on last week i wasn't as crazy about the pants so i paired the jacket with these black silk pants (that are part of a silk suit i made my self about 6 years ago) and i really liked the combination, it worked out perfectly, right?
The shirt is a BOAZ design as well, and is a fitted (with no darts) white Egyptian cotton twill shirt that i made about a month ago and that was it's debut..... BTW as we speak I'm working on having that shirt along with some of my other men's shirts designs available to buy online, so stay tune for that....

Style icon of the week - David Bowie

Well this next style icon does not need any introduction and in all honesty any extra word will just get in the way.....For me he is more like the style icon of a generation (or i should say of few generations...) than the week....David Bowie for me is one of the best musicians, artists, style icons and personalities out there (after all he is British......).....for a guy who influenced the world of music and fashion the way he did its kind of hard to decide what to concentrate on, so i decided to post the Bowie that i like which is the tailored Bowie, the cleaner and sharper one who is in suits, jackets and coats rather than the earlier avant-garde /theatrical outfits he sported back in the day....although i do like some of the suits and jackets with the big shoulders and big lapels he wore back than as well so i included some of these as well.... scroll and enjoy! much more photos after the jump.....