Prolonged life despite the seasons

It has to be agreed that the seasons play a major role in determining what a person can wear but at times an individuals desire to wear a certain item can take precedence over the practicalities of actually wearing it. For some people this is not an issue but I can be found guilty of milking the teats dry when it comes to wearing my favourite pieces. In this instance I am referring to wearing my mac which i bought in Stockholm in May and I've been reluctant to take off since (thankfully the summer wasn't that great and it has been pretty mild up to now). Yes, I've got many other options available to me but my minds made up and when I'm like this I just have to wear something until it splits at the seams and literally falls off my body. I have been devising ways to wear my coat during the winter months by teaming it up with some fingerless gloves that were picked up in Topman (the accessories section has improved significantly for this season, yes there are many terrible scarves but there are some hidden gems, especially within the belts area). The gloves/armwarmers have got me through until now but something has to be added to the outfit or my teeth with chatter and just annoy everyone around me. So, this weekend a chunky knit is top of my need list. As has been the case throughout this season I am taking inspiration from the fall 07 Burberry Prorsum Collection.

What belt would you wear with these?

It is a common held belief that your belt should match your shoes and I try to follow this as best I can. However, the great shoe dresser that is Pierre hardy has just devised this hi top which makes belt matching a touch tricky. I would suggest wearing a nice grey belt with these. I am in love with hi tops at the moment. I'm not entirely sure why, it is extremely unlikely that you are going to see me within 100 yards of a basketball court. I just think they are the trainer of choice right now. As for Pierre Hardy at times I wish i was female so I could wear his designs. Hardy's work has been influencing accessories and fashion design for decade and he has made his name creating masterpieces for Dior and Balenciaga. I will buy myself a pair of his creations for myself at Christmas.

Warsaw gets a Guerrila Store...

I'm a big fan of Commes des Garcons and the people of Warsaw now have their very own guerrila store. Their GUERRILA STORE concept involves the opening of a store for a period of 1 year with a minimal renovation budget. The location for this latest endeavor was a former fruit store in a Stalinist era building, other labels should take note of CdG's redevelopment work in such areas. As always the store appears unobtrusive, set up in a dusty old building far from established commercial areas, with a bare minimum of expense and virtually no outside trace of it actually being there.

The great outsider and collaborator

One of my current personal favourite designers is Watanabe. he can be considered a fashion outsider because he is something of an enigma and I think this is part of the attraction. I must admit that I've not really taken too much notice of him previously but now I am looking through his past creations and really enjoying what I'm seeing! Unfortunately menswear design is not really known for innovation but designers like Watanabe and (more recently)Throup are helping address this. I love how Watanabe deconstructs classics, for example taking apart white shirts or trench coats and exaggerating a facet or two, and then putting them back together for an entirely new and accomplished result. In an arena not exactly known for embracing groundbreaking innovation, Watanabe’s menswear has received particular acclaim. Although I like his s/s 2008 collection it is far too cold to be thinking about that season so I will concetrate on a/w 2007 and his bikerwear collection! As I've come to understand the 'Watanabe way' is to leave no sartorial cliché un-deconstructed, so he broke down the biker jacket into its component parts—collar, belt, zips, etc.—and put them back together in unexpected ways, reminiscent of The Clash.

This image is courtesy of men.style - Daft Punk on the catwalk? I'm in love with leather biker jackets right now and this show was one of the main reasons for this love to blossom.

Not content on concentrating merely on the leather biker jacket he looked at cloth versions and added numerous zips...as I've mentioned previously I adore zips.

Other than the search for the perfect biker jacket which is a tremendously difficult task because it is a classic and should be regarded as a staple for any man's wardbrobe I am looking for the right boots. I'm undecided between keeping to the biker theme or purchasing something a little more formal. I will keep you updated as to how my search goes and leave you with one more example of Watanabe's work...

Just look how Clash like this is!

"All I can do is be me, whoever that is."

Love him or loathe him most of us are going to be seeing and hearing alot about Bob Dylan in the coming months. With the new biopic being released soon (check out the trailer here) and the release of a number of 'new' Dylan albums.

I personally love him and there can be little doubt that he is more than just a music legend, he is a style icon too! Even women and not just Cate Blanchett want to get in on his style as seen on Catwalk Queen. There are many eras to Bob Dylan as shown by the recent biopic and this site (which I came across on my google search!) but for me there is only really one time in which Bob Dylan will be remembered for his style, mid 60s Dylan. he had just shaken off the Woody Guthrie and folky look and found a style of his own. He had the Wayfarers (which were back with a vengeance this summer!), he had the skinny jeans, the biker boots and he had the attitude of the Beat movement!

Playing Dylan during this time is (as I'm sure you have heard) Cate Blanchett. I've seen quite a few stills and she looks arguably the most Dylan like out of all the actors in this film. I've definitely seen a few female Dylan alikes around London over the last couple of months but Cate is definitely the best.

Anyway, back to men's style! I expect to see quite a few men's style magazines commenting on Dylan's style. I've not yet seen any but I will keep an eye on it. I think the mid 60s Dylan look is very wearable today and is pretty perfect for those days when you are not too sure what to wear or even on Saturday mornings when you are a little hungover.

Picture postcard: goodbye internet

Image courtesy of Fak! (their exclamation mark, not just me being overexcited)

Dear Steve,

Greetings from the floor of my living room! I am surrounded by boxes with my life (well, mostly my plates) packed in them. Moving at last! This does of course mean that I will be without proper internet access for an unknown period of time, but never fear as I shall try to comment/take over other people's computers.

Anyway, back to the pic. I (of course) really like this lovely, casual androgynous look. It's the kind of outfit you make up of stuff you haven't worn or thought about in ages, then realise that it looks pretty good and, hey, I should wear this hat more often. That bag is wicked too and so DIY-able. Mostly, though, I just wanted to draw your attention to this website. I think it's Ukranian, though correct me if I'm wrong. while some of the outfits are a little outlandish for me, I just love the photos. Also, I love the fact that it puts the total cost of the outfit... I get a bit jaded with certain street style sites that only seem to show people dressed in expensive labels (or blatently expensive vintage) .

Oh, I just remembered a question I meant to ask you. Do men compliment other men on their clothes or is it just not done? I'm always telling random women that I like their shoes or their top or whatever, but always hesitate to do the same to men. Agony aunt, help me!

EJ

Hello there EJ,

It's saturday Morning and I'm in a funny moody. I'm so pleased that I'm not at work but then I've lost my gf for 10 days which also means that I've got no internet access either. So the next few days (other than arranging the internet for my own home) will include frequent trips to the internet cafe down the road. I hate those places! Anyway, back to your post. I've not come across this site before but it's cool. I like how it contains many facets that other street style blogs just don't offer. Such as the elaboration of the outfit and the various shots of key components of it. I love the case that your chap is holding and I agree that it would be fun to create something like this. My instant favourite on the site was this chap who is doing a fairly common look within the realms of Brick Lane and Shoreditch but is doing it really well. This chap would certainly be snapped by the likes of facehunter. He seems to possess something though that many others featured on the styleblogs that I regularly consult. Yes the squash racket case is a little unnecessary but I like the style conscious humour of this outfit. Most of all i love the tie and the contrasting autumnal tone of the entire thing. Good find EJ!

Now onto your agony aunt query. As your well informed Agony Aunt I can tell you that quite a few men do comment on each others style but the level of dialogue contained within this conversation can range from 'Nice shirt' to a lengthy discussion about rare trainers (which I have done after a few drinks). I'm not sure how many men would discuss this with random men though, I'm a little shy about it personally, I normally just look and admire. Overall, the style dialogue between the majority of men is nowhere near the levels of that between the majority of women and I'm not sure that it ever will, at least not in my lifetime. Unless of course I succeed in revolutionising how men think about clothes. I do think though that more men are thinking about clothes and of course thought leads to discussion (well hopefully). It's a little too early for this pseudo-social science exploratory investigation as I've not even had a Lady Grey this morning. It is an interesting question though and I'd like to open it up the readers...because amazingly we have readers now. What do you think J, Dustcakeboy, Stephen and friends?

Time for tea. Much love

Steve xxx

Rant Alert: Menswear Designer of the Year

Can Carri Munden be one of the finalists for Menswear Designer of the Year? Can a brand that has been described as Cartoon Couture be taken seriously? I read this on FUK and I just hoped my eyes were playing tricks on me so I closed down computer went out to work and then came back only to read the very same thing! I've never really taken this designer seriously myself, gaudy colours and patterns; nothing else, this is a fad at best. A fashion that accompanied the rise of Nu-Rave (I can't believe I even wrote that because the music scene doesn't even exist...I even like a lot of it!). I can see how for some London natives who crave neon colors, cartoon imagery, and outlandish graphics whilst listening to dance and electro (which I do myself but see no reason in having to wear such things!) this is an attractive label but outside of this novelty world, no.

"Cassette Playa has a great approach to colour which I really respect and Carri's clothes really form and reflect that air of excitement flooding through London's young creative scene" - Nicola Formichetti (Executive Menswear Editor, Dazed & Confused and Another Man)....I concede that it could be seen (as Formichetti does) as refreshing in some way; an exciting, innovative approach to Menswear (which can be a tad on the safe side) but it's not for me and its not for most men. What do you think?

Regardless it should certainly not be considered for Designer of the Year accolades and sit alongside the likes of Bailey and McQueen. If you are not aware of the label just click onto the website and you will instantly see how annoying it all is! I just hope Bailey wins. Surely he HAS to and Cassette Playa can have the continued support of Sega stalwarts.

Vs

I was always more of a Nintendo kind of girl.

Late Bloomer

When it comes to certain things in life I can be described as a late bloomer and there is nothing wrong with that, we all get there in the end. The first example of this that I can remember was puberty, then it was girls and now it is ebay. Back when everyone was doing it (or at least talking about doing it) I merely dabbled at the very most most and then even this evaporated into absolutely nothing over the past couple of years. I am however slowly becoming addicted to the virtues of ebay. Not only can I look for and in most instances find great bargains but I can also window shop and then ultimately find out how much people are prepared to pay for certain items

I am currently watching quite a few Dior Homme items including a scarf and hat (as winter is certainly coming...it has been sooo cold in the mornings), a pair of waxed jeans (see the previous post about Joy Division) and most excitedly for me because the item is ending is soon; a pair of quite rare and in excellent condition Pierre hardy hi tops in white and grey. I used to almost pity the people at Uni who were so excited by ebay but now I have seen the light, I'm currently experiencing the high of this great online auction site. It truly is entertaining, quick and (unless I go crazy) good for my bank balance. For me it isn't about buying everything that I can (but maybe that's the next stage of this addiction) I am enjoying the search and the voyeurism that it allows. I will keep you posted on my new addiction. Please intervene if required.

Given that I'm such a nerd, I'm surprisingly Ebay-phobic. I'm actually online clothes shopping phobic too, as I love seeing stuff in the cloth, trying it on at least twice and stroking it an inappropriate amount in the shop before buying... the best buys are ones you slowly fall in love with, think about for ages before buying and then wear to death (well, apart from the uber-bargains like my New Favourite Coat)... no?

What puts me off is not knowing that you're going to get it. When I want something, I want to know I'm getting it. Not to wait 3 days 7 hours only to be sniped- curses! Still, I have heard stories that tempt me... keep us posted on the purchases.

A peek into the future with B Store

and the future is...men wearing a cross between brogues and sandals, I call them Brandles (More on these later.) More importantly though I've mentioned my love for B Store which stocks some labels and of course budhahood shoes. B store has been a mecca for new fashion talent since opening in 2000 and it now has an immaculately displayed Savile Row boutique. I've managed to get my hands on some images from a recent press day where some great and interesting items were displayed from the labels which can be found inside 24a Savile Row.

B - s/s 08 collection - This is top of my want list but I don't think I can wait until it's available in the store. Fast forward winter, just make it Spring! I was tempted by a similar jacket by Siv Stodal for Topman Lens but the fit was terrible (when I saw the fit is terrible I tend to mean that it is not fitted enough, that was the case in this instance.)

Above is a collection of shoes. I've mentioned that the boutique is best known for the footwear it offers - (budhahood shoes). I'm liking the grey brogues very much. The three on the left are intriguing. A cross between a shoe and sandal - the brandle. I don't think many could pull this off but it certainly is an interesting idea. This design could be the answer to the ever annoying conundrum of 'what pair of shoes do I wear with those shorts?'. The ordinary shoe can look to clumpy and many trainers can spoil the more tailored look of smart shorts - This wasn't an issue for me over the recent summer because I didn't wear shorts once. My legs are still as white as Santa's beard.

I've not taken EJ to this store yet but next time she visits I will certainly take her. It is everything a shop should be. Great designers on offer, beautifully displayed and friendly staff. Bring on January when the above should be available and I should have some Christmas money left!

We haven't been shopping in London for an age, have we? We'll have do a proper trip sometime soon... window shopping only of course as I am incredibly poor right now.

I love those shoes. LOVE them. Please never call them brandles again though. I think you will need to try them on and take a picture so that I can get my head around them a bit better. What would you wear with them? Contrasting socks? No socks? Hmm... I may have to buy these for myself. Quite like that jacket too. Very Clash.

Picture Postcard: On the street - mix of styles

This image comes courtesy of the sartorialist during his recent trip to Paris where he has taken some beautiful shots. This one however is a little more controversial than the typical highly groomed and perfect ladies on offer. To be honest by the end of my own visit I was so conditioned at seeing manicured model women wearing this seasons shoes and clutching this seasons bag that by the end of it they just didn't register in my brain, they just blurred into one person.

The below shot is more interesting to me. I've looked at this shot a few times now over the last day or so and can't make up my mind on it. I'm certainly swaying towards the disapproving side of the line but it is not a resounding feeling.

Firstly, I'd like to see the look with the jacket off. I like the idea of combining a well cut, smart jacket with a street wear outfit underneath. However, here it does look like the guy has come out of dance class but only has one coat (the greasy hair only adds to this notion!). I like the coat but I agree with one of the comments on thesartorialist that the sleeves are too long. For this type of look to work I feel that the jacket needs to fit perfectly. The play on proportions of the loose street wear complete with bulky trainers (I like the use of two coloured laces!) matched with a well tailored coat could work. However, this chap doesn't pull it off. It makes him look very short and his hair doesn't help him one iota. It is however an interesting look and worthy of a little discussion. What are your thoughts?

Frankly, I'm not sure it IS a man. Not in a bad way, if that makes sense. The hair bothers me SO much (got to stop the capitalisation), I just want to wash it, brush it and pull it back. I really don't know how people deal with hair hanging in their face like that... been there done that, shudder at the thought.

As for the look in general, I think that I quite like it. It's a bit like the oversized sportswear thing you see done, but in coat form. I can see how people would prefer it to be more fitted, but... I don't know what. Chalk it up to a random liking. The laces are cool, but the trainers are less so... I think this could work better with a smarter trainer perhaps just to play around with the look a little more. Hmm, I'm changing my mind as I type. Maybe it is just a little too 'popping to the shops, can't be bothered to get dressed properly'...

UPDATE: I've just realised something! This guy is clearly just channelling John Cusack in Say Anything. It's all so clear now!