Links: Nicholas Storey’s Blog, Style Movie, Shoe Restoration…

• I only recently discovered that Nicholas Storey, the author of ‘History of Men’s Fashion - What the Well Dressed Man is Wearing’ has a blog (thenakedapegetsdressed.blogspot.com)

• If you like to wach movies for clothing here’s a suggestion (lessgentlemen.com)

• Alden Shoe restoration (redclaysoul.blogspot.com)

• In praise of Barima’s style (maxminimus.blogspot.com)

• Slip-on brogues (bespokeme.com)

• Craft at Albam (permanentstyle.blogspot.com)

• The man who brought ivy to Japan (ivy-style.com)

Blue Notes

One of my most recent purchases was a pair of navy blue tasselled loafers from London’s Gieves & Hawkes.

When I was a kid I had a pair of navy blue brogues which I thought were Jack- the-Biscuit, and still think fondly of them. Strangely enough, I spotted a chap in a pair of blue suede penny loafers some years back and despite my best efforts I couldn’t track a source down for them. But in the last few seasons it seems designers have caught on to what I knew as a kid.

I’ll grant you it’s an unusual colour choice for someone who recently confessed to wanting to simplify and purify his wardrobe.

However, simplifying your wardrobe doesn’t mean being boring, and in many ways having a core of elegantly simple and practical clothing makes adding the odd touch of spice all the easier; as any unusual pieces are restrained by the core.

Although it seems counter intuitive to veer away from the safety of the norms, it can be done and done well. As my last post on Berluti demonstrated, there are plenty of options available, and the likes of Savile Row’s Ozwald Boateng have been producing a range of coloured shoes to compliment his uniquely coloured suits for some years.

I’m not advocating that these replace the standard colours of dress shoe. It’s sound advice that any man starting out on the acquisition of a fine wardrobe starts his journey – which will take several years – by getting the basics under his belt. But once you’ve got a couple of pairs of black, brown, the odd suede and even an oxblood then you might consider other colours. A fine mix with blue and grey suiting, not to mention denim; in my view if you’re tempted, navy blue is an excellent place to start.

Review: Lab Series Skincare For Men

For the past several weeks I have been testing some complementary samples that I received from Lab Series, a company that offers “high tech, high performance skincare for men.” Lab Series offers skincare products in three categories they have labeled as “Clean, Shave and Treat.”

From the “Clean” category of products I tested the Multi-Action Face Wash ($16.00 for a 3.4 fl. oz. tube). The Lab Series website indicates that this “unique multi-action foaming cream cleanses, exfoliates and conditions the skin.” The “lathering system dissolves excess oil and unclogs pores,” the “purifying beads remove dead skin cells and impurities,” and the “vitamin enriched formula nourishes and re-conditions the skin, prepping it for a close shave.” The Multi-Action Face Wash was my favorite of the products that I tested. During use of the product my skin felt cool and invigorated. The purifying beads were gritty and nicely abrasive. Afterwards my skin felt clean and tight.

From the “Shave” category I tested the Smooth Shave Oil ($18.00 for a 1 oz. pump bottle). The product can be used alone for a “precision shave” or as a pre-shave oil in combination with another gel, foam or cream. I was not terribly impressed with this product. I tried using it by itself and found that it left my face very oily. I’ve heard of some men who shave with vegetable oil and I imagine this product provides a similar experience. I also tried the product as a pre-shave oil in combination with the Proraso Shaving Cream [www.proraso.com] that I use daily. I could not detect any noticeable benefit from the pre-shave oil, possibly because Proraso already comes infused with Eucalyptus oil.

From the “Treat” category I tested the Daily Moisture Defense Lotion SPF 15 ($37.50 for a 3.4 oz tube) and the Power Protector SPF 50 ($40.00 for a 3.4 oz tube). Both products had a consistency and feel similar to suntan lotion (without the overpowering scent of coconut) and would provide similar protection from the sun. Regardless of what product you choose, it is always a good idea to protect your skin from damaging ultraviolet rays that can cause wrinkling, age spots and skin cancer.

Brooks Bros. Brushes Up

The other day I was flipping through the mail, and was shocked when I stumbled upon the new Brooks Brothers catalog for Fall. It wasn’t getting the catalog that shocked me (I get more clothing-related mail than any sane human being should), but rather what I found on the cover and inside. Everything looks so….modern.

The best thing about this revelation was when I realized that they had essentially changed nothing. Lets take a look at the cover image above - argyle sweater with a wide v-neck, dark rugby shirt, navy cardigan and blue OCBD with a club tie, and sweatervest paired with chunky-soled mocs. It might as well be a page from Take Ivy, or, and here’s the kicker for me, a Brooks Brothers catalog from 40 years ago.

I’ll admit that at first glance I got worried that things were turning into RL Rugby, but when you open the pages, ties are still carrying herds of sheep rather than a mausoleum and the pastime of choice is chess, not spin the bottle. It probably didn’t help that some of the models on the cover model for Rugby as well, but the similarities really do stop there.

By updating their cuts, making them slim but not skinny, Brooks Brothers has taken the basic wardrobe staples of the American man, cozy sweaters, casual trousers, and the ever-wonderful OCBD and made them just modern enough that you notice. Now I’m no fashion cognoscenti, but if you ask me, these clothes seems very “Fall 2010.” Unlike some other on-trend offerings though, to continue my clairvoyant charade, I think these will continue to look very “Fall 2011,” “Fall 2012,” and so on, for years to come. And by the time they look fuddy-duddy, you’ll have sufficiently shredded and stained everything, making you the real-vintage envy of every fashionista out there.

The Mohair Suit

The tail end of summer, depressing though it is, is here in the northern hemisphere. The flowery optimism of May, the sultry afternoons of June, the silent heat of July somehow, they all feel a lifetime ago in this bizarre period of autumnal descent. Neither warm nor cold, the climate confuses gentlemen; frowning on their commute with a woollen suit jacket draped over their shoulder, sweat patches salt-stain their shirts. “Funny” they think “it was quite chilly this morning.”

I have often had one of those should-have-gone-with-the-linen moments in summers past; sweating away in an inappropriate double-breasted number, studiously disguising my envy from parades of smiling seersuckered solicitors. However, there are days when dressing down for the climate renders a suit inferior; when cotton is not cutting it, when linen is lacking, mohair is more. Of all the warm-weather suits, mohair is the maharajah.

The Angora goat obliges with its hair, producing a stiff, silk-like fabric that is cool enough for the summer, warm enough for the autumnal transition. It is also more boardroom-friendly than linen as it doesn’t crease or stretch and has a high lustre. Rarer than any other summer fabric, mohair is comparatively more expensive than linen and ranks alongside cashmere and silk as a ‘luxury’ material; don’t expect to find it in cheap high street suits or fashion shops. Good made-to-measure and bespoke tailors will have swatchbooks of mohair in a variety of colours and quality – younger goats are thought to make a superior yarn – and will provide the necessary standard of manufacture and fit.

Because of the almost pearlescent sheen, some traditionalists scoff at mohair suits as being too flashy; the same traditionalists also decry silk suits for the same reason. In light-to-mid grey, the effect is that of a polished oyster. Paired with a white shirt and black shoes, it creeps towards the ‘lucky’ ensemble worn by a Las Vegas hopeful; all tack and no tact. I would personally plump for a less-sheeny mid-blue. It is a less common colour, has a soothing, aqueous quality and looks perfectly delicious in early autumn with a brown paisley wool tie, a white cotton square, sky blue shirt and brown suede brogues.