Miyashita-san

A tempest had just ravaged my apartment: in the process of preparing outfits for New York fashion week, I've tried on nearly everything in my winter wardrobe yet my creativity seems to run dry as a bone. Times like these, I look to the greats for design intervention.

Number (N)ine and The Soloist creative director Takahiro Miyashita, in one of the few full portraits of himself online, photographed by An Unknown Quantity

There is a richness to this look, almost like a novel that each time you re-read you discover something new. The subtlety of the off-blacks fading to navy, the contrast of the washed denim and the dirty dark yellow, the silhouette of the high-waisted coat and his loose top with the oddly hemmed jeans, and the intrigue of sunglasses at night... and wait... is he wearing a dangling earring?? It's all so fresh and inspiring. The plan is to keep staring at this photograph until his style osmoses to mine, and somehow, some way, the coat and the boots materialize in my closet.

photograph via An Unknown Quantity

Boxers, not for Boys

I love the idea of buttoned-up underwear. Irony is nice, but looking debonair in and out of your outfit is much more of a feat.

Gässling's Falsterbo button-up boxers, named after a posh area just outside Malmö

Malmö-based Swedish underwear designer Gässling makes underwear for men who have grown tired of teen-boy briefs and want something new. I applaud their attention to detail; for example, the care instructions are printed inside to avoid that annoying tag, and the waistband is covered in fabric for ultimate comfort.

photographs via Gässling

Treasured Items: Number (N)ine Monkstrap Creepers

Style Salvage had asked me to contribute to their "Treasured Items" series of posts on the blog, in which I shared my devotion to my Number (N)ine monkstrap creepers. The post had come up a few days ago, and I thought I'd share it with you, my dear readers.

It would render me practically footless if I lost these Number (N)ine monkstrap shoes that I had purchased at the store's closing sale in New York two years ago. The silhouette is of a classic slim monkstrap shoe, but with punk-rock creeper detailing, tough and extremely walkable hard rubber soles by Continental, rendered in ever-wearable dark beige suede. Their era- and style-ambiguity make the shoes as great a base for dark and conceptual Belgian pieces as they would with full-on Americana, and the high vamp provides ample coverage that allows me to wear them even on the deadest day of winter.

I've worn them so much so that the lines are going squiggly and the weave goes gaping open. There is a faint white stain on the left shoe (toothpaste fell; I was brushing in a hurry) that suggests perhaps a bird might have gone to the bathroom on my shoes, but I think I'll keep it on there.

Number (N)ine is now defunct, and though the designer Takahiro Miyashita still brings his artisanal romance to his new line The Soloist, nothing would compare to the dark, theatrical exuberance that was Number (N)ine. In honor of the brilliant designer, I've affixed medal of sorts on one of the shoes: a vintage shoe clip from Kings County Salvage in Williamsburg. I could only hope that the intense brilliance of the rhinestones against the battered, seemingly bird-defiled creepers would be something Miyashita-san would find at the very least, agreeable.

The Jante Law

French-based pan-European brand The Jante Law was one of the clear standouts for me at the men's trade shows; they were all about creating simple, beautiful men's pieces and had a charmingly irreverent attitude towards their work. Rule one, they say, is: "Don't think you're anything special." It's this pragmatic, no-frills approach that drives them to create pieces as beautiful as these.

I immediately gravitated to this marbled grey turtleneck made out of Alpaca-blend yarn. It's big and chunky but feels much lighter than it appears to be.

Continuing my obsession with mint, a loosely fisherman-inspired mint green sweater in Australian wool. Apparently this one is naturally water-repellent and they say it'll be the sweater of a lifetime. Give me this one with loose white cutoffs and floppy beige suede shoes (and perhaps a little family of Hermés weekend bags all in etoupe) and that'll be the sweater of Spring 2012.

photographs via The Jante Law

The Bag Maker's Project

A few weeks ago, I met this guy at a party at the Soho Grand, a bag designer, and he pulled out his phone and he showed me his stuff, and it was minimal and masculine and elegant---New York is great just like that, filled with brilliant, creative people who make beautiful things. Last week, I paid a visit to Will Lisak, the designer, and while he let me watch him craft a custom-order for a client, we had a little chat about his line ETWAS.

the ETWAS Standard # 1, the company's first bag (photograph via ETWAS)

The bags are elegant and minimal and simply crafted out of thick, sturdy leather. They are certainly heavy, and though the brand has plans of doing bags in lighter, thinner leather, there is a charm in carrying the rugged, thick-skin leather bags that only become more beautiful with age.

Tell us about ETWAS. What do you make, and what makes it different?

ETWAS is premised on the idea that the design of systems has more impact than just designing products. We want to make graceful objects in an equally graceful way, using means of production to reflect and manifest the aesthetic of our customers. When you buy an ETWAS bag you are not only conveying your sentiments through image, your aesthetic will is acting upon the world in more tangible ways.

ETWAS' designer, Will Lisak, at work

What made you shift into crafting bags after working in graphics and illustration?

I never wanted to make fake things. I decided I needed to pursue a project where I had total control and could design every step of the process. It was impossible for me then to tell a beautiful story via the medium of an ugly publishing industry. I'm not creating stories with vast and ephemeral worlds anymore as I was with illustration, but I am creating a small world and small narrative that is very tangible.

Will walked me through a few of the processes involved in making a bag. Holes are pre-punched into the leather before hand-sewing.

The corners on the thick leather are shaved off and rounded for a better hand-feel.

Lisak uses his own vegetable-based recipe to burnish and condition the leather.

Holes on straps are hand-punched as well.

What inspires you?

People. People with inventive ways of living that allow them to enjoy their lives to the fullest. They are the greatest designers.

my favorite piece, the ETWAS light pack in the special rough out black wax leather

The briefcase can be converted into a backpack by simply untucking the shoulder straps from under the flap.

Your bags are simply made and free of embellishments. What are your views on minimalism and design?

I think for what we are doing it is necessary. We are an egalitarian process, our workers are paid well, we are comfortable, but no one is getting rich. It's not a decadent process. It is empowering to the worker, and on the consumer end it is a bit rugged. Our customers are not afraid to get their hands dirty. So it's a bit socialist in that way I guess. There's not much decadence about it. The design needs to be clean then to be honest, and reflect the values of all involved. Not that I'm against decadence. It's just not suitable for this project.

a tote and the toolbag, which was originally designed to carry tools on vehicles, but has captured the fancy of many a menswear-loving woman

hardware finished with a hand-aged patina

I came across this quote on your website: "Consider not only the things we are making, but the things we are destroying." Tell us about your project, and why you choose to work this way.

I think I may have touched on this in the earlier questions, but basically we are interested in creating the most beautiful thing, and I feel it's cheating a bit when you make a beautiful product in an ugly system, which is easier, but you are making the world uglier at the same time as you are making something beautiful, so you're stuck. Not having much impact, just moving things around. I want to make the world less distasteful.

a sketch of a custom-designed duffel bag for a Canadian client

What are your plans for the future?

Our major plan is take advantage of our means of production in another way--because we are manufacturing ourselves we don't have to place large factory orders, and therefore do not have to standardize so much.

trying out a new mechanical (electricity-free) hand-sewing machine for the possibility of offering a line of machine-sewn bags at a lower price point

I want to make a line of bags that is scaleable, where customers and stores can alter the dimensions to their liking though an online interface. There is a lot of potential in giving people a little freedom, and no one else is really doing anything like this.

Will Lisak, Williamsburg, 1/11/12

ETWAS bags are available here.

Chest Action at Prada Fall 2012

My eyes went straight to the models' chests at Prada Fall 2012: I saw stick pins in twos, napkin-like pocket squares, leather flowers stuffed into pockets, and other goodies. Prada might possibly be the most directional and influential mainstream luxury brand in the market, and if this means in the next few years we'll be seeing men with suits creatively adorned, I'm all for it.

football and pistol stick pins, and what looks to be a gray saffiano leather card case worn as a pocket square

more Prada stick pins: a crown and a sword

Prada stick pins on impeccable Edwardian-dandy suits that buttoned up high

a purple leather carnation stuffed into the chest pocket

the leather flower with a napkin and a pen

creative chest stuffing at Prada

So where is the pre-order link?

photographs via NOWFASHION

DIY: The Deer Antler Razor

I've been pretty lean on the DIY posts as of late, and let me tell you why. One can only cut up and metallicize so many shorts and paint-splatter so many shoes before it just gets old; I can't sew, and neither can so many of the creative, stylish men who read this blog. This is why I've decided to branch out into do-it-yourself projects that go beyond just fashion and bring you easy and charmingly odd DIY projects that help you embody the dandy lifestyle. Today, I thought I'd give a facelift to one of the items a well-groomed man makes use of everyday: the razor.

small deer antler from Evolution, Gillette Mach 3 razor

Shaving is one of the everyday activities that makes us feel manly; it is in the upkeep, or lack thereof, of facial hair that reminds us that our bodies produce hormones that make us grow beards, and not breasts. And so I thought manly.. huntsman.. taxidermy.. antlers---let me make a shaving razor handle out of deer antlers! I purchased a piece of deer horn at the Evolution "Natural History" Store in NYC, took my old Gillette Mach 3 razor, and got to work.

I went to the nearest hardware store and had the kind fellows there saw the antler and the razor handle at points I marked. (EDIT: You can very easily do this step yourself with a clamp and a hacksaw.) As you can see, I had the antler cut on two points. I mocked the razor connector up on both the thicker and the skinnier segment, and decided I liked the heft and the organic detail on the thicker base piece so I decided to go with that.

Sawing left the edges rather rough,

so I sanded the ends of both pieces. On a rough emery cloth first to get rid of the splinters,

then on finer sandpaper to smoothen everything out.

I then applied Super Glue to the cut end of the razor connector. It would be wise at this point to have removed the razor blade cartridge from the connector; you wouldn't want to be holding on to the sharp blade during the quick motions of applying the glue and pressing the pieces together as the glue quickly dries.

To strengthen the bond, I added a little more glue to the edges of the razor blade connector.

I re-affixed the razor blade cartridge, and behold, my handsome new urban-huntsman deer antler razor. I love how the wild, organic shape of the deer antler flows into the iconic smooth steel lines of the metal razor.

with my two new favorite bathroom products: Buckler's Chapped Skin Remedy--a thick, hearty skin moisturizer perfect for combatting winter dryness, and Lab Series Root Power Restorative Style Wax--the lightest, subtly shiny hair wax for those days when you want to give your hair a break from heavy product and just let it hang loose with minimal control

Happy shaving.

Special thanks to Ivy for her words of encouragement and her abundance of taxidermy.

Afternoon at Atelier Oumlil

I paid a visit to Hisham Oumlil's studio last weekend and was pleasantly surprised by what I found. Oumlil, who had started his line in the fall of 2006, had been relatively under the radar since, with the business being mostly made-to-measure. Notable among his private clientele is the legendary Andre Balasz, owner of the Standard Hotels. The designer had been doing ready-to-wear for a few seasons now, and though the clothes didn't exactly make love to me through the lookbook photos, seeing and feeling how well-made the pieces were and hearing Hisham's passionate and inventive thoughts on menswear made the brisk Saturday showroom visit all worthwhile.

the most glorious swingy Oumlil zip-up leather blazer in burgundy-prune: a shade of maroon with touches of brown and an ever so subtle hint of purple

A signature of Oumlil's is this hand-pleated silk blend fabric, here used as a highlighting touch on the back panel of a jacket.

Oumlil is especially fascinated with the shape of the back of a man's jacket, and curve by which his jackets hug the back is just exceptional.

He uses the same pleats on a pair of powder blue shorts, perfect with a white button-down, or a diaphanous white t-shirt, espadrilles by Hermés---on the Riviera (!), a fruity drink, and a new blue Rolex Submariner won just last night at the Monte Carlo.

The pleats lend a vaguely military vibe to a jacket in bluish gray wool.

cap-toes in denim and leather

bottoms

Oumlil is very passionate about the work he does; he does all the sketches and is very heavily involved in pattern making and finishing. Here the designer explains the many layers of linen canvas that go inside a jacket, and how these can be lessened or added to according to the climate in the area where the client intends to wear the jacket.

doodles: ideas for collars, gloves, jackets, and even womenswear

Oumlil's official site

Tinsel and Tourneau

New Year's Eve dinner, two years ago, my sister decides to send sound waves crashing with my brain waves as she blows a horn in my ear. My brother, of course, has the quick wit to pull up his camera and take a snapshot of that moment at its peak. (Zara shirt, tailor-made suit, Husam El-Odeh pin)

Famed New York watch retail institution Tourneau invites you, my dear readers, to share a photo that captures your most festive holiday moment for a chance to win the Tourneau 40mm GMT Automatic watch.

Tourneau 40mm GMT Automatic: I don't own a lot of watches of the sporty vein, but this one calls to me the more I look at it---the silver dial, the 24-hour scale on the rim, the wide, digital-esque arabic numerals, all flanked by the black barenia calf strap---I see a quietly luxurious, smart-sporty watch that I need in my life. I've got a hunch that a smart move would be to start leafing through your old Facebook albums and upload your festive holiday moment now: http://bit.ly/w0gKVq

watch photograph courtesy of Tourneau