The Prince of Thrift

Very few wear vintage head-to-toe with the same refinement and creativity as my friend Yo Miyamoto. Yo is a freelance journalist and blogger and takes pride in his multi-tinted and multi-textured Salvation Army looks that cost him next to nothing. If I only had the diligence to regularly scour through racks of second-hand clothing, and the courage to wear more color, my life would be more moneyed and more joyfully-hued.

vintage coat, sweater, and shirt, Comme des Garcons drop-crotch trousers, vintage Premiata shoes

Yo's favorite date spot in NYC is a wine bar called The Immigrant in the East Village, and the last song he downloaded was Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence by Ryuichi Sakamoto.

texture and pattern play: a bleached denim coat, a crinkled polyester sweater, and a lace-print shirt

an odd assortment of vintage rings, all in silver

an ornate vintage brass cuff

Henrik Vibskov socks and clowny-cool vintage Premiata shoes

blue, crinkled, and Miyake-esque

Many of Yo's thrifted pieces are women's, but I commend him for the masculinity with which he puts everything together.

just like Omotesando

Yo was recently photographed by Scott Schuman of The Sartorialist in a post entitled "Advanced Style". See the post here.

Yo's street style blog Otomayim B Dipper

A Morning at StylelikeU with Mister Mad Messy Layers

I've been following StylelikeU since it launched almost two years ago, and it's been a pleasure watching the personal style video site progress from the very organic, low-fi shaky-camera style profile blog to what I think is now a powerful force in online fashion media. I love their more intimate approach to exploring personal style: rather than take a fleeting snapshot of street style which would be that one outfit that a person happened to be wearing at a given time, they come to people's homes and have them show and try on their favorite pieces and talk about the story behind those pieces, and the result is quite creatively enriching. The gorgeous Dani Baum, event director at StylelikeU, was gracious enough to invite me to hang around the office one morning and steep in the creativity that filled the StylelikeU house.

editor-in-chief Elisa Goodkind's desk

The atmosphere was very endearing: it was a big cozy apartment with couches and tables where the team would very casually go about their business on their laptops. It was a pleasure meeting the team, too; Jordan and Patrick were incredibly stylish and quite hospitable toward this crazy blogger barging in on their busy work day.

I liked the fabric on this couch so much I wished I could rip it off and patch it up into a suit.

kitchen right next to the EIC's desk

While hanging about, I decided to snap pictures of Brandon, who was dressed in his signature mishmash of messy layers that painfully brisk morning.

The outermost layer was an old Uniqlo wool open jacket fastened with a vintage brooch,

then a Miyake-esque vintage fringed poncho-coat,

then a vintage padded Chinese jacket with bamboo buttons,

and that floral Paul Smith shirt that I am intent on stealing someday.

shearling-lined gray suede Dr. Martens

StylelikeU is working on launching a book on the 29th of March. Click here to pre-order your copy.

the StylelikeU site

Minimalist Eccentricity

Often, when I try to convey individualism in my mode of dress, I tend to pile things up in an incoherent jumble. Not that there's anything wrong with being a beautiful mess, but very few can articulate a powerful fashion statement in three garments or less.

Houman Farahmand in a Whyred coat worn over a sheer Helmut Lang turtleneck. Note the beautifully-stitched narrow shawl lapel.

The entire outfit:

Helmut Lang turtleneck, Whyred coat, Acne leather pants, vintage Western ankle boots

I think the key to being so elegantly concise with an outfit would be to have well-tailored basics of exceptional, yet subtle design.

back detailing of the Whyred coat

The shoes add a sense of history to an otherwise clinically Scandinavian look.

vintage Western ankle boots

And carefully-chosen accessories keep the look personal. The rings may be multiple and large, but they are of the same color and of complementary designs. Even the narrow moustache (not pictured) speaks volumes.

glasses from Jeremy's, vintage gold rings

dandy hipster cowboy

Meet my friend Mike Shaeffer, menswear designer in training.

a certain facial unkemptness my genes just won't permit

He's always been a sharp dresser, but somehow I never get the chance to see him in venues with ample lighting. But thanks to the microwave-hot spotlights at the Billy Reid presentation, I was able to take a few snapshots.

Topman coat, vintage jacket and shirt, Rachel Comey shoes

This is what would come out if Comme des Garcons did a collaboration with Tim McGraw.

Rachel Comey shoes with mismatched laces. Apologies, blurriness unintentional.

Crangi Class

Gushing over a style icon is never beneath me; I don't ever claim to be a hundred percent original in my tastes and likes. I think observing what other people wear is one of the easiest ways to develop personal style: you have a look at what's out there, you see what can be done, you learn what you like and what you don't like, and you take what makes your tastebuds tingle and make it your own.

CFDA-awarded jewelry designer Philip Crangi is one of those people whose sense of style I admire. Interview magazine described him to be reminiscent of "Jack Sparrow marooned on the shores of Williamsburg", with his tattoos and signature jewelry. He keeps a sense of humor in the way he dresses, tempered by a touch of darkness and a penchant for the classics. The result is amusing, yet refined, and very original. These are a few of my favorite Philip Crangi looks:

in an always elegant un-ironed white oxford button-down, perfectly orchestrated curls, and what looks like Giles and Brother screwhead stud earrings

now with a jacket over the shirt, cuffs undone, revealing an aggressively gold Rolex. I'm counting the days until my father hands me down his.

showing off his signature ink and hardware, and note the handsomely beat-up Hermes double-tour Cape Cod watch (via GQ)

in a spread for Man About Town, the photo on the right showing a very interesting ornate necklace worn over a shirt and tie (via Refinery 29)

a long keychain draped over the neck? (via Getty images)

in the perfectly worn-out Barbour International jacket and a scarf tied quite interestingly. Can anybody figure out how he knotted this? (via The Sartorialist)

another view of the same outfit, this time by Tommy Ton (via Jak and Jil)

immaculate, yet fully bearded, in a navy suit, patterned bowtie, and tortoiseshell Wayfarers (via Jak and Jil)

Right now I'm sitting amidst a pile of clothes I tried on, barely halfway done packing for New York Fashion Week. Whenever I find myself in a styling roadblock, I think to myself, "what would Crangi do?" How about you, dear readers, who are your style superstars of the moment?

Tone-on-tone Eccentricity

Eureka! I've cracked the code as to how the style greats keep their eccentricity streamlined: they go tone-on-tone.

In what I'd call the street style photo of the season, Korean model/actor Bae Jung Nam (alias: Jake) does his very own rendition of convoluted Francophilia in shades of navy. (via The Sartorialist)

I have always harbored a liking for eccentricity: it is, after all, the cornerstone of dandyism. I could never be a true minimalist. But much as my tolerance for weirdness has increased over the years, I still believe the best delivery of eccentricity is when it is elegantly contained within boundaries; streamlined.

Allow me to illustrate with sartorial idols, new and old:

Jake looking more pared-down in shades of gray. Note the laundry pin brooch and the purple belt. (via Pop Bop and Snap)

cheerful old chap in a donut-tied silk scarf and trench coat worn as a cape, all in shades of navy (photo by Tommy Ton for GQ)

And all-time favorite Robbie Spencer in a couple of versions his signature combination of severe haircut, tremendous scarf, and wool coat:

honeycomb knit, wool felt, and velvet, all in blue (photo by Tommy Ton for GQ)

rib-knit and tweed, all in charcoal (photo by Tommy Ton for GQ)

A style idol so old he was featured in a post on the first month of this blog, tailor Ross Hancock (center) in a fringed tapestry dressing gown over a suit in dark grayish gold, picking up some of the colors of the robe's pattern (worn shirtless, no less). Photo taken at an Esquire party where he was awarded "Britain's Best-Dressed Man". (via Esquire's Le Ross, Le Blog)

Going tone-on-tone may not be the only way to keep one's style weirdness at bay, but for kooks like me who deal with silk and fur and velvet and brooches on a daily basis, it sure cuts dressing-time to a fraction when you're relegated to just one section of your congested clothing collection.

at the Alejandro Ingelmo F/W 2010 presentation

Alejandro Ingelmo, shoe designer

I had the privilege of exchanging a few brief words with the designer at the Alejandro Ingelmo presentation at New York Fashion Week. He isn't exactly what I imagined the designer of such over-the-top and gaudy-cool women's shoes to look like, case in point:

webbed booties in lavender leather and gray suede

shine, straps, and buckles galore in the background

but what he seemed to be was someone talented and constantly focused on improving his craft. We chatted a bit about these men's combat boots in an interesting matte distressed leather:

Sticking out like a sore thumb amongst his usual busy men's sneakers, the boots were a work in progress, according to Ingelmo. He was developing more visible treads to place on the boots, much like the treads on the soles of these heels:

rubber and silver treads on high-heeled pumps (photo by Chris Reed)

I'm really looking forward to what comes out of this prototype. Ingelmo is a master at detail, and I would like to see his maximalist sensibilities translated on to men's boots and perhaps even dress shoes in the future.

Manning the door was the intensely British and painfully stylish Brandon Acton-Bond, who made me, for a moment, look with dismay at my wardrobe fattened up with high street fluff.

Alejandro Ingelmo's press prince, Brandon Acton-Bond, in an Ivan Grundahl half-kimono, Issey Miyake lace turtleneck, Dr. Martens boots

and a charming Inca pin from his grandmother.

You can virtually rummage through Brandon's closet in the latest post by video style blog Stylelikeu.com. I'm beginning to think brooches are the new scarves.

Frederic, the vintage prince

Meet Frederic Betancourt, 17, a student from Galicia, Spain, friend and fellow blogger.

I have long been a fan of his blog Tales from Frederic, where he posts outfits that are mostly vintage. His eye for one-of-a-kind vintage pieces and eagerness to experiment and try new things sets him apart from the millions of vintage mongers out there. It also helps that he's young and enviably skinny! Today I share with you my little chat with Frederic:

Tell us about your blog Tales from Frederic. Why do you blog?

Tales from Frederic was born in August 2008. I was tired of my other personal sites (Fotolog, Lookbook...), and wanted a place to express myself and find things... I usually visited blogs like Miss at la Playa or Inside am Lul’s closet, and I decided to just try it..

What is Spanish style/fashion to you?

Spain is a very beautiful country with very beautiful and kind people. They are used to wearing strong colors and expressive outfits. Fashion is important for Spanish society, more than ever, and Madrid Cibeles Fashion Week is always a great experience. (I met Iekeliene Stange there, haha)

You are very young (17). Where do you get your style from?

Sometimes I feel like an old guy, haha.

I love magazines... I think there are more than 200 in my bedroom, and of course fashion shows.

Music inspires me too, bands and singers from UK, Sweden, France...

Sometimes just a picture is enough to inspire me... And I love models’ style too.

Name three pairs of shoes you can’t live without.

My vintage brown leather shoes, Massimo Dutti brown mocs and my black lace ups.

The government is giving away two thousand dollars to spend on fashion-related items only. What will you buy?

Hmmm... Gucci tricolor mocs, Prada nylon bag and a Starbucks Frapuccino.

What is the next big thing in fashion?

Black and white, military style, the homeless look and Australia...

Splurge on vintage, Miuccia, McDonalds and waffles, skimp on orange bathing suits and fluorescent sunglasses.

Everything tastes better with butter on it.

And, almost like a male version of Mary-Kate Olsen, his minimal build affords him to pull off relaxed, oversize silhouettes to great effect:

Frederic's blog

Frederic on Twitter

Saluting Style Salvage

Long before men's fashion blogs starting sprouting like mushrooms all over the blogosphere, there was Style Salvage. With pretty much the same low-fi-charming layout before as it has now, blue background and text, adorably hasty collages, it stands the test of time as numbers of the mushroom-blogs cease to be updated mere months after inception, bringing fresh material, earnest insight, and inspirational ideas to its followers. A few days ago, they celebrated their second birthday.

a vintage tennis-inspired collage on the blog

Not to say that Style Salvage is old, in fact they're anything but. Having followed the blog for quite a while, I could say it is their unique approach to fashion, which I greatly agree with, that has got me hooked on to the blog: an eye for new design talent, a penchant for quality and tailoring, the occasional easy DIY projects, and a general openness to creativity and self-expression (as opposed to the teachy-preachy authoritative tone of many mainstream magazines). Allow me to share with you my little chat with Steve and EJ of Style Salvage.

Steve, currently residing in London, wearing his new tortoiseshell specs

the lovely EJ (aka Eliza), from Manchester, in one of her rare photographic appearances. As you can see, EJ is clearly not a man...

Tell us about Style Salvage. Who are Steve and EJ? Why the name “Style Salvage”? Why do you blog?

Steve: We are just two friends who met at University and became the bestest of friends. A large percentage of my student loan was spent clothes shopping and EJ was a constant fixture, picking out things from the racks and forcing me to try them on. My initial wavering was usual broken down and I walked away with a bag full of items. After Uni, we spent so much of our time talking about men's style and rather than limit these chats to the frequent email tennis (at work), we decided to make it a little more public so we could get invite people's contributions.

EJ: It's true that I bully Steve on shopping trips. You will also see us racing through shops, trying find the nicest thing before the other person does (I am more focused though, so I always win, ha!).

Style Salvage really came from the idea that no outfit is so bad that something positive can't be taken from it. It's about finding that positive and learning something from it. I try and live by the 'if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all' rule when it comes to blogging!

the post that made me reconsider the backpack

Style Salvage has been there long before there were menswear fashion blogs, long before I even knew of the existence of fashion blogs! Tell us how it was like back then, and how it felt like starting up Style Salvage.

EJ: Though it feels like it, the blog's not quite yet two years old. In that time we've seen blogs (and magazines!) come and go. Although Style Salvage felt like somewhat of natural progression for us, it was scary putting those words out there for everyone to see!

Steve: It feels a little weird to be considered as old hands in the blogging game. It is true though that there were far less menswear style/fashion blogs out there when we kicked off Style Salvage and it has been nice to discover new ones along the way. We've always wanted the blog to be a discussion, initially between the two of us and then bringing in the outside world. It might be tad sad to admit but it was exciting starting out, neither of us had done anything like this before. When we had people reading and commenting it felt so good and it is quite easy to become addicted to blogging...if allowed to it can consume all free time!

You are wonderfully prolific. Where do you get the material for all those posts? (not to mention the patience to write them all!)

Steve: Wow, thanks. I wouldn't say we were that prolific. We certainly weren't initially but posts have become more frequent over the last year. We try and inject some personality and discussion in to every aspect of menswear and only write about things that really interest us. In terms of material, of course we spend a great deal of time online reading other blogs, online magazines etc but most of my material comes from magazine editorials, articles and films. We love being inspired by things which have nothing to do with collections or shoots and we try and look everywhere for inspiration.

collages of looks from the recent fashion week in London

What is London style to you? What is Manchester style to you?

EJ: I would say that (for men at least) Manchester style is sharp haircuts, sideburns... retro and casual but not sloppy. It doesn't really seem fashion driven, which I really like!

Steve: London style is difficult to pin down. In general it is more fashion conscious but there are undoubtedly street styles which influence the collections and that is what I love about London. Different areas have an overriding style aesthetic, that said the look of the moment can be broken down as follows; stripey tshirt or check shirt worn with straight cut jeans (rolled up), bare ankles and boat shoes...London is overcome with this look now that the sun has come out.

Steve's infamous denim top. I personally like it a lot!

Describe your personal style using three literary works. (books, magazines, poems, short stories, songs, limericks, you name it!)

Steve: Oh good question...so hard to think of three though. I am particularly enamoured with Sebastian Flyte from Brideshead Revisited at the moment but have to admit that this has more to do with watching it on screen as opposed to reading Waugh's novel. The Picture of Dorian Gray seems particularly resonant the older I get. Lastly, the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner because I am loving sailor looks at the moment and find myself constantly drawn to blue stripes (ha!)...a bit of a weak link but I did say that this was a tough question!

My most favorite DIY project on Style Salvage, the Burberry-inspired double cardigan:

1. cut up the sleeves of an old cardigan

2. delicately attach the cut cardi to the inside of another

3. rock it Chris Bailey style!

EJ: This question is too hard! I can only think of one answer: Alice through the Looking Glass as I look like I've gotten dressed while half asleep/dreaming (which is normally the case on a week day).

What is the next big thing in fashion?

Steve: In recent years we've seen an increased support for graduate talent and I think this will only get stronger. Fingers crossed that emerging talent will be allowed to blossom to its full potential with the launch of a number of additional initiatives and e-commerce platforms.

EJ: In reality, I couldn't say. In my fantasy world, it's men (not boys) with better haircuts wearing wide legged trousers.

Name three pairs of shoes you can’t live without.

EJ: Adidas, adidas, adidas! All other shoes cut my feet up. It's sad but it's true. I am a hostage to my trainers. I would steal Steve's blue Lanvins if I could though- I always stomp around in them when I get the chance.

One might be quick to put Style Salvage in a box and think of it as a male Style Bubble (Steve, in fact, is dating the renowned kooky-fabulous Susie Lau of Style Bubble.), but although elements of Susie's personal style is evident in Steve's, as can be seen in the chunky scarf he wears, Steve lends a solid point-of-view on fashion that is 100% his own.

Steve: Firstly, Lanvin Hi tops which were a present from Susie because they make me feel special every time I wear them. Secondly, my suede bstore lace ups which get better and better with age. Last but not least, leather boots bought from a Lanvin sample sale in Paris. I was a little strapped for cash at the time and so rather than get the Eurostar I spent six hours on the coach but these beauties made it all worth it.

Steve in the sample sale Lanvins

EJ, out of curiosity, why do you maintain a menswear blog despite the fact that you are female? Any womenswear blogs you have that you’re keeping from us?

EJ: I'm just more interested in the way men dress I suppose. I like the subtlties and luxe nature of a lot of men's styles in particular. I'm a bit obsessed with the 'rules' of men's fashion- what is and isn't acceptable/masculinity and clothing/how things should supposedly be worn- and how people break those rules or comply to them stylishly. I'm also just not that interested in women's fashion and I honestly don't think anyone would be interested in hearing about the way I dress! No secret blogs, though I do like reading womenswear blogs (especially Kingdom of Style, The Coveted, Some Girls Wander) and find the women on Garance Dore so inspiring- they have such beautiful hair!.

Splurge on _______, skimp on _________?

EJ: Splurge on moisturiser (ew, that sounds filthy), skimp on hair gel. Seriously.

Steve: Splurge on the things you really need, skimp on the things you don't.

The government is giving away two thousand dollars to spend on fashion-related items only. What will you buy?

Steve: A bespoke suit. I have my own fund which is growing quite nicely but I'm pretty impatient so this would help no end!

Steve in Opening Ceremony X Uniqlo and the Lanvin trainers

EJ: Coats and dresses. I have very little self control when it comes to coats... I've had to stop looking at them in shops! Being a southerner living up North, I'm not used to the colder weather so wear them most of the year.

Everything tastes better with _______ on it.

EJ: Salt. I love salt a bit too much.

Steve: I would have to say salt as well, with an honorable mention to sugar which ran a close second. Whoever answers cheese to this question is no friend of mine.

EJ in a delightfully dandy DIY moustache glove

(editor's note: The interview took place a few weeks ago, hence the interviewees speak of Style Salvage as barely two years old. They have turned two since then.)