The Catcher In The Style (Does this make sense? No.)

I only just received word of J.D. Salinger's demise, and to be honest: I'm quite sad. Not quite sure why, at 91 he was postively antique and I've only ever read one book of his. But that one book will alway stay with me.
'The Catcher In The Rye' is one of my personal favourites, the writing is just sublime and Holden Caulfield makes for an excellent protagonist: witty, off-beat and guilelessly fascinating.
The book also introduced me to the fabulous word 'sonuvabitch' and all things 'phony'.
What do I do when I'm blue?
I look at clothes.
E. Tautz' current collection makes me tingly inside, and the model looks like he'd have no problems at all fitting in in Caulfield's world.
See you on the other side, old chap.

(source: www.etautz.com)

Les Pays-Bas* C'est Chique

Stereotyping is an inevitable fate that befalls many a country.
If we love labels on our clothes and sometimes even buy them because of it, why wouldn't we label a country or its inhabitants?
So when I ask you what you think of when I say: 'The Netherlands*', would you not conjure up images of clogs, tulips, windmills, cheese and marijuana? 
And if I were to persist and ask you what fashion designers come to mind, surely you'd reply with "Viktor & Rolf"?
I'm not blaming you, I wholly understand, but the next time someone brings up this country: why not mention the fabulous designer Sjaak Hullekes.
You may not want to pronounce his name twenty times in a row if you don't speak Dutch, but one look at his designs will have you mezmerised by their sheer, old-fashioned beauty.
When I first came across his fall/winter 2010 collection 'Smalltown Boy', I couldn't believe I hadn't heard about him before. 
Sjaak himself is a young, handsome chap and I'm positive we'll be hearing a lot more about him in the future.
I took the liberty of posting my favourite pieces from his current collection, plus a lovely video presenting it.

(sources: Sjaak Hullekes on Facebook)

La Belgique C'est Chique (Part Quatre)

Exalted by many, truly understood by few, his maison has long outgrown the borders of my petite country.

Not many do quirky like we do, and the man I'm talking about sure takes quirky to a whole new level. Of course I'm talking about fellow Belgian Martin Margiela.

He and his team succesfully created a global empire over the years, yet one would not know him if they passed him by on the street. 

Remaining anonymous but uncompromisingly innovative, Margiela is one of those designers you just can't quite put your finger on.

Strange numeric labels, deconstructed clothing, the trademark four white pick stitches and the fact that he might not have been designing for his own label for quite some time now all just adds to the mystery.

I picked out my favourites from this season (with the stripey background) and the next one.

(source: www.gq.com) 

Sneak Peek

Some of you don't know what they're having for dinner.
Some people made a menu weeks before.
Some of you don't know what to wear when they get up in the morning.
Some people already laid out a carefully picked out, colour coded, dry-cleaned series of ensembles in matching garment bags.
So for those of you that like to plan ahead and already know what they are wearing next autumn and winter, here's an exclusive preview of Commonwealth Utilities A/W 2010 collection.
I love the unfussy simplicity, ton-sur-ton combinations, and muted colour palette. These pieces should make for excellent wardrobe staples.

Model: Gavin Grymes
Photographer: Deborah Park
Styling: Anthony Keegan
Website:http://www.commonwealth-utilities.com/

Inspiration Tuesday

They say that actions speak louder than words.
Sometimes, images do.
I'll let these brilliant editorial photographs do the talking and hopefully you can draw -sartorial- inspiration from them.

Make sure to click the images, they are truly large.

(sources: L'Officiel Hommes China and Numéro Homme via TFS)

Kings Of Style-on: Part Deux

You all may know I'm an avid Kings Of Leon fan, and when the news came they were collaborating with Surface To Air, who are also the bee's knees to me, I was positively thrilled! 
Well now, the images and prices are out and I'm still pretty stoked: the collection has their signature air of effortless cool. The pieces almost feel like a 'rockstar beginner's kit'.
However, the price point isn't for beginners: the lovely leather jacket will liberate you of a hefty £739, the boots are £361, the plaid shirt is £112 and the jeans £140. There's even a bandana in the collection that costs £65!
But I guess that's just chunks of change for real rockstars.

(sources: www.vogue.co.uk, www.images.google.com) 

Showstoppers

Draw the curtains!
Turn on the limelight!
Cue dancing showgirls coming down a massive staircase clad in maribou feathers and swirling batons while trying not to decapitate the male lead with their waving legs! 
Cue elephants balancing on brightly coloured balls with monkeys juggling torches on their trunks! 
Cue clowns on a mini-bike that freak the children out with their sweat-smeared make-up and general trauma-inducing demeanor! 
Why all that jazz, you may wonder?
It's my first post of the year!

To celebrate, I'm giving you a double post today: one for the lucky bastards that get to go on a cruise in this grim weather, and one for the poor sods like me that get to not go on a cruise and remain in the cold.

I tried making one for the ones that go skiing as well, but I'm not really that educated in ski-wear, just put on a Moncler vest and some not-heinous ski pants and glide down that hill time and time again if you wonder how the drill goes.

1. Figuring out what to wear when someone - oh, woe - invites you to go on a cruise. 
(No, I'm not bitter.)
So here's the deal: some family member or friend invites to go cruising on H.M.S. Chickmagnet, you look down at your wooly jumper and think: "****".
No need for desperation, even in these cold times (unless you live in a perma-hot country, obviously) you can get summery outfits: that's what Cruise/Resort and Pre-spring/summer collections are for! 
So start packing these babies in the old Vuitton, Goyard or Rimowa and you'll be the best-looking man on deck. Or the best-looking man overboard if the wardrobe envy reaches a boiling point.

Who said shorts can't be chic? Someone who hasn't seen this Louis Vuitton get-up, I'd say.

Or these Ralph Lauren shorts ($85)?

 
And if you get invited to a fancy luncheon you can put on this snazzy yet temperature-appropriate Gucci suit.

And to top it all off: these limited edition Ray-Ban Wayfarers with an 18 carat white gold inlay. Only 7000 specimens will be made.

Don't forget to apply sunscreen because skin cancer ain't chic, y'all!

2. Figuring out what to wear when you've been forsaken on the frigid, windswept mainland.

(Nope, still not bitter.)

When your winter days are a series of shivers and runny noses you'd best tuck yourselves in with some cozy clothes, because pneumonia also ain't chic, y'all! For instance, this Viktor & Rolf sweater (€ 221) keeps you perfectly warm and clears up any potential gender-confusion at the same time!

Inject a subtle dash of colour in your winter wardrobe with these teal TOPMAN trousers ($70).

When you're mucking about in snow and ice, you won't want to be wearing your calfskin leather Lanvins but Wellies might be a stretch too far. So what about these inexpensive, yet fashionable H&M sneakers (€39,95)?

And top it all off: this stunning checkered Dries Van Noten jacket (€308)!

And if all of this sartorial excellence doesn't make up for sun-deprivation, you can always just get wasted on cough syrup! Happy 2010!
[Style For Guys does not advocate medicine abuse in any kind of way, maybe just in the funny kind of way. Because, come on, people high on cough meds are totally funny.]


(sources: www.hm.com, www.gucci.com, www.polo.com, www.antonioli.eu, www.topman.com, www.louisaviaroma.com, www.vogue.fr, www.diorhomme.com)