I bought a bowler hat last November because I’ve always wanted to be a hat guy, but didn’t want to fall in line with the fedora trend. I wore it a few times but the constant strange looks and weird comments eventually turned me off from it. Apparently I was about a year too soon. This article in the Times today relates how the Victorian style is coming back in full force, Tweed Vests and Top Hats where there used to be skinny girls’ jeans and colorful sneakers. It mentions how many people are starting to tuck their fitted pants into their boots and wear more classic patterned fabrics (I won’t claim to be any sort of prophet, but a look through old posts will prove prescient). These trends are outcroppings of groups like Tweed.cc and other niche areas of Dandyism.

Tweed.cc is a bicycling club that rides in England, keeping alive traditions of leisurely jaunts through the country side, dressed to the 9’s and carrying the essentials: picnic, wine, finger foods. The Tweed.cc style guide claims that bicycle technology reached it’s pinnacle in the 1970’s with full steel, simply designed bikes, and that fancy new carbon fiber technology “will be rendered irrelevant by a cheese-and-pickle sandwich and a thermos of soup.” Merino wool jerseys keep the rider cool in the summer and warm in the winter, while silk scarves and patterned hats become necessary only on brisk fall afternoons. Luckily for us, this idea has crossed the pond.

Dandies and Quaintrelles, a dandyism blog that organizes such events around the US, has put together the first ‘Semi-Annual DC Tweed Ride’ which will transplant the elegance and attitude of the Londerer’s rides to our nation’s capital. The ride route carves a path through Downtown, painting Pennsylvania and Constitution Ave’s in houndstooth and plaid.

I’m 100% behind this trend, as I believe it is ripe time in America for some sort of return to formality. This country has turned into a nation of slobs, content in their denim and sweatshirt material wardrobes, bemoaning any occasion where a structured jacket or piece of neckwear is expected. If this takes a mainstream track and gets more and more people on the street into hats and coat tails, we will all be better off.

Today marks the unveiling of Burberry’s new site Art of the Trench, “a celebration of the trench coat and those who wear it.” The site’s main page is an interactive wall showcasing photos of people wearing Burberry coats of all shapes and styles. The first group of pictures is drawn from sources like The Sartorialist and is full of stylish and original trench coat combinations. You can also up load pictures of yourself in Burberry if the spirit moves you to do so. Each picture has a little info snippet and a place to leave comments, post on your facebook, etc.

Digging into the ‘History’ sections reveals a retrospective timeline of all Burberry’s important historical events…

…from the founding and direction by Thomas Burberry in the late 1800s…

…through the 40s, when Burberry showcased the horse and rider logo with lance drawn, which symbolizes the protection the coats provide from the elements, and the ‘Prorsum’ tag, translated as ‘forward’ and representing the innovation of the designs….

…David Hockney in the 80s…

…through to today, with the opening of their American HQ on Madison Ave.

Burberry trench coats need no more explanation. Carry on.

Rock and Roll never dies, and it’s styles don’t either. I came across a magazine ad for Guess’s new line ‘The Portrait of Rock’ and it looked pretty interesting. Turns out it’s just what it claims to be: a high fashion take on what is always on the shelves at Trash and Vaudeville – studded belts and bracelets, skinny leather jackets, black boots. Pretty cool stuff and pretty reasonable too. Perhaps they are grasping for inspiration, but the rock and roll thing is always right on the border of mainstream, edgy enough to be cool, and classic enough to sell. Check out the shots from the Guess site.

And while we’re on the subject of Rock, check out Danny Clinch, he’s a photographer who specializes in music and concerts. His site and published books are full of incredible shots of musicians that inspire a sense of what it’s really like to be a rocker.

Vintage t-shirts have absolutely blown up in the past few years, and beyond their hipster cool cache, vintage t-shirts are actually nicer to wear. The cotton is softer, the colors are toned down, and the printed images are worn and flexible. But when an average band t shirt from the 80s or 90s runs upwards of $100, they seem out reach and an unnecessary expense.

One of my favorite band’s shirts are so popular and expensive that they’ve almost become a cliche- Iron Maiden shirts. Maiden is famous for, among being one of the baddest rock bands of all time, their ridiculous t-shirt and album designs. Here is one tour shirt from 1982 thats selling on ebay for upwards of $550!

Luckily for us, there is a way to speed up the vintage process with t-shirts. Men’s Health magazine has a piece about breaking down the chemicals in todays shirts to make then appear vintage. While I don’t condone trying to ‘fake’ a vintage t shirt and play it off as original, there’s nothing wrong with doing some work on your shirts to make them fit, feel, and look better.

Step one is to break down the cotton. Make a mix of Morton’s Salt and Arm & Hammer Washing Soda to wash the shirt in. The salt is abrasive and weathers the fabric, while the Washing Soda dissolves the chemical coating that keeps the cotton stiff. Make a load of shirts and jeans and anything else you want to age, add regular detergent, the mix, and wash on high heat. Dry on high heat between each run. More washes mean more ‘wear,’ so try once and see how it comes out. Also, they recommend buying the shirt a size bigger as it will shrink.

Step two – the image. Modern shirts are printing with a plastic based ink that will hardly age at all over many years of wear. Once the fabric is conditioned, use a light grit sandpaper on the printed logo to break it down. Use irregular/circular patterns so it doesn’t look too unnatural.

There you have it. Find some vintage inspired shirts and make them your own.

Brown dress shoes have taken over as the staple shoe for men. They go with every color suit and can dress up or down with jeans, khakis or corduroys. Detailing is back in full force also. There are myriad styles available from cap toe, to detailed cap toe, to detailed wingtip, detailed monk strap, etc. Here are a few nice examples from Johnston and Murphy (my brown detailed cap toes are from there and they are incredibly comfortable and look great).

When shopping for your next pair of brown lace ups, beware. There is a wide range of toe shapes available, and most of them should never be worn in public. On the far left we have the pointy elven dress shoe commonly found in alligator skin and on Vegas poker players: (disclaimer- the shoes I used for examples here are unfortunate designs from a shoe store I quite like, so I won’t name names)

The far right is full of square toe lace ups that look more like robot shoes than human:

Aim for the middle ground. A nice tapering toe with a bit of a point but nothing that you’d knock over a table with if you took a quick turn.

Turtlenecks get most guys uneasy about appearing too ‘dad-ish’ or frumpy professor, but this is a misguided fear. Turtlenecks, when a flat color and a simple weave, create a nice frame for that pretty face of yours. Of course, shy away from super thick, cable knit turtlenecks with reindeer and snow flakes knitted on them. This was in last winter and popped up all over Ralph Lauren and United Colors of Benetton and some other brands, but hopefully that doesn’t come back this December. Ugly Christmas sweaters are just that – ugly – and should be saved for ugly sweater parties and Christmas Eve with Grandma.

Pair a dark turtleneck with a tweed or plaid blazer and you can’t go wrong. I mean look at these guys….Ralph Lauren and Steve McQueen. Quintessential cool.

Or if you want to be a bit more modern, try a mock turtleneck like Steve Jobs….

Or if you’re really feeling bold and beautiful, try a light colored sweater with a complimentary colored blazer, like this dapper fellow. Which ever way you go, make it your own and you’ll look good and feel great. … and you’re neck which will be warm. That’s always good.

Thought I would leave you with some cool shots from the YSL Manifesto on this cool and damp Friday afternoon. Nothing really to say about it except that the photography and design are rad and the juxtaposition of the skin with the clothes leads to some interested effects. Check out the site too for a really righteous video.

Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion by Alan Flusser. This book is a veritable gold mine of great ideas, influences, explanations, and guidelines for timeless fashion. I got this book about 9 years ago, and it goes without saying it has been and will continue to be absolutely correct about every bit of men’s fashion. I still pull it out once in awhile, flip open to a random page and see what I find. It’s always something interesting and inspiring. Having something like this around keeps you grounded in permanent fashion, which for men is always underlying, but often forgotten in the ebb and flow of trends. While men’s clothing stays generally the same, consisting of only a few basic pieces, i.e.: slacks, button down shirts, sweaters, vests, and jackets, the constrained options often lead to wild ‘interpretation’ of the classics. Thom Brown is the obvious example here, while he sticks to the ‘traditional’ men’s look, he has totally changed the fit and style of the basic garments. It’s cool right now but there is no question that in 10 years people will look at pictures of themselves in high water pants and no socks and laugh like my parents do about their clothes from the 70s. So follow the trends and be a trendsetter, but always keep ‘classic’ in the back of your mind. Would the Humphrey Bogart wear that? If the answer is no, maybe think twice before hitting the street.

Style is not all about clothes but also about who and what you fill your life with. It’s a full time committment, but something that becomes second nature the more you aware you are of yourself and the world around you.

I’d like to talk about two facets of a stylish life and how the clothes are just one part of the whole. This first video is a very cool music video by a british metal band called Enter Shikari. I love this band because they mix my two favorite styles of music, metal and house. And they do it in a way that feels totally natural. But check out the cool factor of both the guys in the band and the crowd. The clothes and attitudes seem unplanned and almost an afterthought, yet there are tons of little details that stand out. A military shirt with epaulets, a vintage ‘cheerios’ T-shirt, a room full of emo haircuts and weird bracelets and old hats. Cool in that underground punk scene sort of way, and man, does that look like a fun time.

Here is the advertising video for the Triumph Scrambler retro-styled motorcycle. Different from the Harley Iron 883 which tries to be more of a gritty city, bikers bike (the all black, strip model), the Scrambler is more of a fun loving country bike, great for the dusty trails or the sandy California sidewalks. It’s portrayed as the ride of choice for two distinct retro archetypes, the first being the free spirit with leather jackets and biker boots (a great pair around 1:45 by the way) and the other being the fun loving beach boy with the cute bikini clad girlfriend, tooling around on the boardwalk between surf outings. Both portray a life of freedom and motion, of travel and yet of comfort in the simple joys of life. Perhaps the two characters aren’t so different after all, it takes something as simple as a retro Triumph to bring out the drifter in all of us.

The warm weather has passed for the year and with it the v neck craze that took over the streets of New York. But never fear, a proliferation of leather motorcycle jackets has taken it’s place on the back of every stylish person from here to LA. I’ll admit, I have a brown one and I love it, but lest we forget our favorite Fall fabrics. Fall is generally a short season, and so our time frame for lovely browns, oranges, and forest greens is fleeting. It’s my favorite season, and we mustn’t miss it.

Fall clothing is generally soft and warm, with luxurious wools and corduroys, lending a casual but professorial air. It’s the perfect weather for nice vests and sweaters, chilly enough to be comfortable mixing patterns and layers but not so cold as to cover it all under a buttoned up winter coat. Here are four of the quintessential patterns of Autumn to collect, mix, match, and enjoy while you still can.

First up is corduroy, a time tested durable and warm fabric that may draw it’s name from ‘cord du roi’ referring to the Bourbon king for whom it was designed. Another history says the name came from a combination of ‘cord’ for the horizontal striped pattern and the antique word ‘duroy’ which means course fabric in old English. Corduroy comes in many weights and colors, as seen here in the Authentic Fit cords in wine red from the Gap.

Next is Houndstooth, a woven wool pattern of small broken checks which abstractly resemble a canine tooth. Originating in the Scottish Lowlands, Houndstooth has seen a resurgence lately in women’s coats, appearing in a large scale pattern and generally in black and white. Houndstooth is really striking in Fall earthen colors, especially mixed into an almost plaid palate of browns oranges and greens. Here are a smart pair of brown houndstooth pants by Vivienne Westwood. A nicely tailored pair of patterned pants always draw a compliment and add a bold yet refined statement to any outfit. Match houndstooth pants with that brown leather jacket and you’ll be one step above.

Here we have herringbone, a classic pattern, generally wool, that takes its name from the alternating v shaped stitches which combine to take a form reminiscent of the skeletal system of a herring fish. Herringbone is most commonly a sport coat material. Here is a classic wool Herringbone blazer from J Press. Add leather buttons and elbow patches for a true Collegiate look. All of these patterns also go beautifully matched with varying patterns and colors of pocket squares, ties and sweaters.

Finally we have your classic tweed blazer. Much like the herringbone blazer, tweed is never out of style but enjoys the spotlight most comfortably during the Fall and matched with a regimental tie and thick sweater. Tweed is a coursely woven and extremely durable fabric, used famously for hunting and fishing in 19th century Britain and surrounding countries. Originally called ‘tweele’ in the old Scots, the name tweed, legend has it, came about when a merchant received a shipment and misunderstood the handwriting on the order. Thinking the fabric from the River Tweed which flows through the textile producing areas of Scotland, the fabric was marketed as such and the name stuck. A traditional tweed jacket is always in style, especially in a slimmer modern cut like the one here from JCrew. A blazer like this emanates a casual but timeless style, and every gentleman should have one in his closet.

Now that you know what you are talking about, get out there and add something interesting to your Fall wardrobe!