Spring 2011 Must have - Military shirt

BOAZ small gingham military shirt

The military inspired shirt (or as GQ called it the Epaulette shirt), is the dominating spring/summer style in stores this  season....almost as if it is the new classic shirt that every guy should have in his wardrobe.
In its behalf i will say that it's a very masculine style and a great complimentary for a man's body type! The militant details like the epaulets or the front flap pockets are ones that always look good and add to it the fact that the runway shows have strongly adapted the militant inspiration, and you got yourself a winner for these up and coming hot days!
As always for me the most important part to look for in a shirt is the fit! if the shirt is big and loose than all these above masculine details will make you look like a potato bag rather than A man of style! and we obviously dont want that to happen...Go for a slim fit style or just get a smaller size, let the body of the shirt snug and hug your body and look for a higher armhole so the sleeves will not be too baggy....the fitted shoulders will enhance the impact of the epaulets adding power to your style, so when you roll up your sleeves all this hard work at the gym will pay off...check out our BOAZ shirts for a great fit!

Todd Snyder

As far as colors and fabric choices i would stay with solid colors or subtle smaller stripes and gingham/plaids patterns, it will keep your style sophisticated  which can work for both work and pleasure...stay away  from big load prints and other logos and embroideries......unless its your beach shirt.
Unless you have a fitted athletic body no need to to tack the shirt it, especially if what you'd like to put out there is a younger, cooler feel. At times a tie can be a fun addition which in that case go for a solid color shirt and a casual, cotton, fun tie.....nothing too serious and no silk please!
A military shirt will go great with jeans, or chino and depends on the style could pair with trousers as well.
One last tip - i would stay away from short sleeves and much rather roll up the sleeves...unless young and stylish is not your thing!

Gucci

Burberry

Hilfiger taps Simon Spurr as creative consultant for the men's line

According to WWD from today Simon Spurr, the British-born designer is becoming a creative consultant for Hilfiger men’s wear. Spurr will consult on the fall men’s runway line, collaborating with Hilfiger, principal designer and visionary of the brand. The position is similar to that of Peter Som, who is the creative consultant for Hilfiger’s women’s collection.
I love this appointment, and personally think this is a big boost for the Hilfiger brand and will add sophistication to the men's brand (clearly i am a Spurr fan....). Simon Spurr has successful track record with design posts at Yves Saint Laurent under Hedi Slimane, and especially  with the Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren brands which are great background for this job.
Lots to look for next season...Good Luck!

To learn more about Simon Spurr, his background and style check out this post

A look from his Spring 11 collection

Fall style - The bomber jackets

JOHN VARVATOS STAR USA

Known also as a Flight jacket the bomber jacket is a piece that originally was created for pilots. It was started in WW I (it s amazing to think of how many great styles and garments were created in the two world wars....), when airplanes did not have an enclosed cockpit, which necessitated a garment that could keep pilots sufficiently warm (can you imagine flying up there in an open cockpit????? man i'm freezing just thinking about it...). The US Army established the Aviation Clothing Board in September 1917 and began distributing heavy-duty leather flight jackets; with high wraparound collars, zipper closures with wind flaps, snug cuffs and waists, and some fringed and lined with fur. Thus, the American flight jacket was born. The two most historical and well-known American flight jackets are the A-2 jacket and the G-1 that in their popularity became symbols of honor, adventure, and style and movies like Top Gun boosted sales of the G-1 tremendously, making these once-specialized jackets collector and fashion items. Now days these stylish flight jackets evolved into a style statement! Versions of the jackets include a casual  sage silk/nylon (known as the MA-1), a warm shearling version, or quilted wools although the leather bomber in black or brown with fur collar is still the classic style and if you have to pick up only one to have..... it will be that.
The bomber is the perfect jacket for all (although some styles like the down jackets can carry you well into a colder weather) and again is a jacket that can fit into almost every guy's wardrobe. This jacket will support a

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

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.

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

Designer of the week - Simon Spurr

Simon Spurr is a NY based men's designer who mixes the traditional English tailoring of Savile row's fit and quality, the European style slim suits, and the American street wear of selvage denim and bomber jackets all together in a fun, sleek sophisticated way . .....sounds interesting? well.... it also looks good! The result is a style that perfectly captures the mind set of the contemporary man who is looking for new ways of wearing traditional pieces to fit his more casual life style but still do it in a luxurious and sophisticated way. With a design philosophy of Style before Fashion i thought that Simon Spurr is a perfect fit for this blog therefore introducing the man and the brand seemed to be in order!

"when a man walks into the room you should notice him before the clothes. Style rather than Fashion always has greater longevity" Simon Spurr

New York fashion week - Fall 2010-2011

New York fashion week proved once again its power as the capital of the sophisticated casual sportswear....... showing straight forward, commercial and wearable clothes!
The general inspiration board includes British tailoring influenced by 50's flair (someone said Mad man???), worn by a hipster from Williamsburg (Brooklyn), who caught in a moody day wearing Doc Martens-like lace-ups boots (with the pants tucked in), and sporting a pompadour hairstyle a la Morrissey. The color palette was mostly dark in basic shades of black, gray and earth tones...
Standout items included overcoats (were the highlights of almost every designer) and vests.

3.1 PHILLIP LIM