Author Archives: Jasper Lipton

About Jasper Lipton

Jasper likes indigo, flight jackets, and boots - but he likes his dogs even more. He dreams of buried cities and the spaces between the stars.

Spring Style: Printed Blazer with White Jeans

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blazer with white jeans and blazer styleforum printed blazer

I’ve long been a fan of printed blazers, and Post-Imperial, started by Styleforum member @Tirailleur1, brings a beautiful and unique perspective to tailored clothing. The garments are adire-dyed in Nigeria, the founder’s home country, before they’re constructed in New York. It offers a nice counterpoint to the European take on the flaneur, and is cosmopolitan and bohemian in a way that few brands manage to be. If you don’t believe me, believe Yasuto Kamoshita, who is often photographed wearing the ties.

Since it’s getting warmer out, a linen shirt is in order, and a popover is perfect for wearing tieless. Drake’s keeps releasing hit after hit, and their spring lookbook is fantastic – this wide-striped shirt will look equally nice under the jacket or alone, with the sleeves rolled up. It also comes in a spread collar variation, so you’re welcome to choose whichever style better suits your life.

Now, let’s take a moment to discuss white pants. White pants can be, in the right cut and setting, incredibly elegant and well-styled. The problem that I see most often is the propensity to wear them far, far too tight, which is really not something you want to do when wearing white pants, no matter the material. Jeans with a wider thigh – such as these bog-standard 501’s – will be more comfortable in the heat, and look better as well. If you’re really wanting to embrace the artiste vibe, hem the jeans to your ankle and leave them frayed and raw, just as the jacket sleeves are.

To finish it off, add a pair of woven loafers and a printed square. I like these from Barbanera, which are a little sleeker than your usual woven shoe without being too casual. The square is from Kiriko Made, and offers a nice complement to the tonal linen belt.

Finally, you may remember milliner Ana Lamata from our “Best of Pitti” series, and her gorgeous, sculptural, handmade straw hats are perfect for spring and summer. Keep in mind that she is also offers a fully bespoke service, should you decide that you want to work with her directly. The amount of work that goes into each hand-made piece is astonishing, and the results are beautiful.

Terrible Men’s Wedding Style Mistakes

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By now, you’ve glanced through or at least bookmarked our guides to dressing for a wedding. Because – seriously – it is about to be wedding season once more, and every year we see the same mistakes. Mistakes that are not just ‘mistakes’ in a pedantic sense, but mistakes that are to be avoided no matter the nature of the wedding or the occasion. Mistakes that you, whether bride or groom or guest, will probably look back on in horror. Life goes on, of course, but these are wedding style mistakes you really should avoid if you’re over the age of 13.

Please.

1. Wearing a vest with no jacket

I have never understood why men insist on doing this. It is, in my mind, the most egregious of all the mistakes on this list, and it accomplishes exactly nothing outside of making the wearer look like a buffoon. Even seeing pictures of this disaster fills me with visceral revulsion. What’s worse is that I read constant affirmations on the internet – “Embrace personal style!”, or “I do this all the time and it looks great!” – and it is absolutely mind-boggling. Just this morning, I read a recommendation that a wedding guest wear a vest, no jacket, a tie with the shirt un-tucked and the top button un-buttoned, and a fedora. I felt like I was dying.

Please, please don’t do this. It won’t make you look “sharp but casual.” It won’t channel “relaxed elegance.” It is not “casual formalwear.” It will look as though you forgot to put on the rest of your clothing, or like you’re a creepy misogynistic pick up artist. There are other, historical reasons for the rise of the waistcoat – a King’s whimsy, the ability to flatter a larger physique, even the existence of pocket watches – but those are stories for another time. If you are wearing a vest, you are wearing a jacket. Period.

2. Wearing a tie with no jacket

In the same vein, there’s no reason to wear a tie if you’re not wearing a jacket. Worse still is wearing a tie with no jacket and leaving your shirt untucked. This is an excellent way to look as though you’re off to high school prom, with no clue how to dress yourself. You’ll appear slovenly and juvenile, neither of which is a good thing to be at a wedding.

Of course, depending on the type of wedding, you may find yourself removing your jacket once the hands of the clock pass a certain hour and the music has gotten louder. While you’ll certainly look better with a jacket on, we understand the impetus. As you will (unless it’s black tie).

3. Wearing a visible crewneck underneath your unbuttoned shirt

Are you noticing a theme here? These are the kind of ‘touches’ you’d expect from an adolescent, not a grown man. It’s fine to wear an undershirt, but keep it hidden. If you don’t, you risk looking like you just came from the gym and didn’t change, and guests will be wondering if you’re also sporting some hidden Cheeto stains.

4. Never buttoning the top button of your shirt when wearing a tie

Again, this will only serve to make you look juvenile. Buy a shirt that fits you properly, and keep it buttoned. You’re not a teenager rebelling against a school dress code, and you’re probably not the lead singer of a punk band (if you are, you should still keep your shirt buttoned at a wedding). As @Butler once told me (while he was wearing a 3-piece bespoke suit and a cape inside an Irish Pub in Florence), “What’s the point of wearing a shirt and tie otherwise?”

5. Wearing a matching tie and pocket square

We understand that many men don’t have much call to wear tie or pocket square these days, and that the temptation to buy an all-in-one kit can be attractive both for its convenience and because you actually get the opportunity to dress up. However, wearing a matching tie-and-square set looks tacky, and should be avoided. Instead, learn how to choose a pocket square on your own, and if the wedding dress code is anything other than “casual,” just wear a white linen square and enjoy the occasion.

6. Renting an ill-fitting suit or tuxedo 

Look, we get it. Why should you have to buy a suit just because someone wants you to come to their wedding? Not everyone has the money, or wants to spend it. You can just rent one, and it’s basically the same thing. Right?

Wrong.

First of all, the chances that your rented suit will actually fit you are miniscule. The places that offer these rentals don’t have a clue what they’re doing, and they don’t care to learn. You are going to look terrible – I guarantee it. Besides, most suit rental packages start around a hundred bucks. If you know what you’re doing, that’s anywhere from half to a quarter of what you’d spend to get a thrifty but well-fitting suit that you can keep, thereby avoiding paying for a crappy rental the next six times you go to a wedding. Besides, a staple suit in charcoal or navy has plenty of utility outside the one wedding you’ve been invited to this year – it will be appropriate for just about any event and any occasion, so once again, you’re getting your money’s worth. You’ll look better, and you’ll be happier in the long run.

7. Bathing in cologne

I’m all for fragrances, but there’s almost no easier way to be “That Guy” than to show up for an event smelling as though you just smashed several bottles of “Man Scent” on the floor and then rolled around in the destruction. Consider your fellow guests: the people sitting next to you during the ceremony (if there’s a ceremony) will be miserable, and they will also be wondering who was rude enough to inflict themselves on the entire wedding party. If it’s an outdoor wedding in the summer heat, you might find that you’ve had a few drinks “accidentally” spilled on you by the end of the day.

Instead, a delicate application is all that’s required. And please – wear something deserving of wearing. You are absolutely forbidden to wear any kind of body spray that comes in an aerosol can.

8. Dressing like blogger bait

Here’s the thing – the thing that an unfortunate number of wedding guests struggle to recognize. You are not the star of the show, even if you read Styleforum. Unless you’re one of the people getting married, your job is not to stand out as much as possible. Your job is to celebrate the love shared between the people who have invited you and the love they have for you, and to accordingly make the proceedings as smooth and elegant as possible out of respect for the event and the company present.

A wedding is not an occasion to wear the loudest colors you can find, leopard-print suits, or cover yourself in absurd accessories (unless, of course, that is the kind of wedding you’re attending). Don’t wear a hat at the dinner table. Don’t wear your favorite basketball jersey. Don’t wear pink plaid trousers and crimson shoes. Wearing extravagant pieces or colors that detract from the attention due to the couple being married is rude and boorish, and I’m certain you’re neither.

9. Constantly bothering the couple about the dress code

Did you read number 8? Did you see the part about the wedding not being about you? How many other things do you think the couple have to consider aside from your questions about whether you can wear your favorite Converse sneakers with your tuxedo, and will they really mind?

If you are genuinely confused by the dress code, it is entirely appropriate to ask for clarification.  It is not appropriate to badger the couple about what you want to wear.  I don’t care if you’re a man or a woman: you may not throw a fit about wardrobe choices, and it is better still to show up to a wedding overdressed than underdressed. Respect the occasion. Respect that you’ve been invited. Don’t make the organizers regret it.

10. Acting like an ass

As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, style is about more than the clothing on your body. If you’re going to a wedding, be a gracious guest. The event is not about you. That means that you should, to the best of your ability, follow the dress code; that you should not arrive at the wedding for groomsman and refuse to wear the boutonnière because you don’t like it or think you know better; that you should be friendly and outgoing; that you should congratulate the happy couple on their marriage; that you should not throw a fit; that you should not get too drunk; and that you need to understand that, if it’s the wedding of a friend, there are some stories you don’t share in public.

To recap: a wedding is one of the few times when we really, really recommend dialing back your inner wild child out of respect for the event and the couple. If you are going to a wedding, wear a jacket, shirt, tie, trousers, and respectable shoes. It is better to arrive overdressed than underdressed. Don’t behave or smell like a pig, and you’ll make it out just fine. You might even remember to have a good time along the way.

Perfect Spring Style: the Popover Shirt

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As further proof that fashion – and men’s fashion in particular – operates entirely in cycles, I don’t think I’ve ever seen as many popover-style shirts at so many different retailers as I have this spring. Although it never disappeared, the popover hasn’t exactly been a mainstay of menswear since the 60’s, when Gant made up the style in oxford cloth and it became an instant favorite of the Ivy set. Certainly, there have always been men who’ve worn them, especially in Italy (as opposed to elsewhere in Europe) – Gianni Agnelli was, after all, well known for favoring them – but especially in America, they’ve been a purely casual item to be found mostly at Ivy retailers (Brooks Brothers, Gant, occasionally J. Press), and mostly made up in Ivy colors and fabrics.

The thing is, the popover wasn’t a new style when Gant “introduced” it to the East Coast (besides, Agnelli appears to have been wearing them – with a spread collar as opposed to a button-down collar – by that point). It’s full-length buttoning that’s relatively new, and which only appeared in the mid-1800’s. If you’ve ever browsed antique shirts, you’ve probably noticed that most of them – whether they’re the sought-after French workshirts or the “formal” English pieces – only sport half-plackets. It was only after the introduction of the full placket that popovers slowly disappeared across most of Europe and America.

Part of the recent dearth of popovers, at least in terms of contemporary fashion, must surely be due to our decade-long obsession with Tight Things. Since popovers must be pulled on over the head, they require a bit of extra room in the body to accommodate waving arms and wide shoulders, and I can only imagine that said extra room was anathema to most brands attempting to ride the slim fit wave. In addition, the view of popovers as a purely casual item didn’t do much for their popularity, but as tailored clothing continues to become less and less important to the daily lives of most men, it appears that popovers are – at least in some places – back on the menu, so let’s talk about how to wear them.

First, it’s easy to find casual popovers cut to a length that’s meant to be worn untucked. If you want to channel Ivy style, add a pair of chino shorts, a woven belt, and some penny loafers, and you’re set for summer on the Vineyard.

popover shirt styleforum

Spring and summer are, in my opinion, the perfect seasons for popover-wearing. The slightly relaxed cut, especially when done in a linen or linen blend, is great for warm weather, especially as a vacation shirt. That’s because it’s nice-looking enough that you can wear it out to dinner, but not so nice that you feel bad bundling it up with a beach towel. And you don’t have to be channeling the preppy thing, if you don’t want to. Roll up the sleeves, put on a pair of Vans, and you’ll look just great. Or do as men such as Gianni Agnelli and Yasuto Kamoshita do (Kamoshita also often wears polo shirts under his jackets), and wear yours under an odd jacket or with a suit. The point is that no matter the style you’re after, a popover is a great shirt to have in your wardrobe.

If you’re looking for casual options, affiliate Need Supply is a good place to start, as are brands like Gitman Vintage. If you’re open to wearing a band-collar shirt, those aren’t hard to find at all. Tailoring-friendly options are a bit less easy to come across, although Kamakura offers their own take on the Ivy classic, as does Brooks Brothers. Eidos has been known to offer both band-collar popovers and long-sleeve henleys in the past, and Ralph Lauren’s stock rotates regularly. Amusingly, Gant’s own popovers come and go as well, so you may have to do a bit of searching. If you know exactly what you’re after, Proper Cloth also offers popover plackets as an option.

popover shirt styleforum

It just so happens that affiliate No Man Walks Alone stocks this great linen popover from G. Inglese, which would look pretty darn good with one of those Solaro suits we keep talking about. Wear it with a tie or without, with laced shoes or loafers. However you decide to wear it, wear it in good health, and enjoy the good weather.

2 Heat-Beating Casual Spring Styles for 2017

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If you watch the runways, spring fashion always looks like a treat: beautiful, lightweight overcoats, interesting layering, and all kinds of colors. Unfortunately, if you’re like me, the reality is that summer is a slog. Every spring, I struggle with the conflicting emotions of looking forward to warmer weather and dreading the inevitable heat. It’s made worse by my inability to wear anything but shorts when the temperature nears 80, and my ingrained fear that I look like an overgrown child when wearing said shorts.

Of course, if you work in an office building, you probably have the added complication of air conditioning, which often means that while indoors you need to wear a parka over your warm-weather clothing if you don’t want to succumb to exposure. I haven’t managed to entirely solve this problem, and I suspect that anyone who does is lying. Even so, there are a few things I’ve managed to work out for myself, style-wise, that make the heat tolerable. I’m not saying that they’ll convince you that a 100-degree day is “pleasant,” but they may at least offer a starting point for your non-suited style when you don’t want to wear running shorts and a gym tank top.

  1. Light, slouchy cardigans and shirt-weight jackets

    This one sounds counterintuitive, but if you live in a place with a lot of sun, a light outer layer (especially if it has a collar) can help both to block the sun and cool you down. It also solves the pocket-problem: with multiple sets of keys, EDC’s, vegetable-tanned leather wallets, phones the size of paperbacks, and whatever else, if you’re not carrying a bag you’re probably going to need pockets. I’ve amassed a small collection of pieces like this. My three most-worn items, however, are a linen shopcoat from Blue Blue Japan, a shirt-weight printed blazer from ts(s), and a denim noragi from Epaulet. All three offer the perfect compromise of warmth for the occasional chilly morning or air conditioning unit while being relaxed and light enough that being outdoors won’t melt you.

    There are a few brands offering pieces like these, and it shouldn’t be surprising that many of my favorites hail from Japan. Visvim’s perennial noragi is an obvious example, but I really like what ts(s) is offering for this spring, including this great cardigan. Another good bet is Blue Blue Japan, which is showing off such beauties as this reversible jacket. Stephan Schneider also often has lightweight shirt-jackets for the spring season, which are quite nice but a bit more akin to actual outerwear than what I tend to favor.


    The other perfect summer option is the Bill Cunningham special, the French chore jacket. If you’re not going to go the vintage route (try Etsy), look at brands such as Vetra and Carrier Company rather than fashion-forward names, as the relaxed cut will be more comfortable in the heat.
  2. Loose, cropped (or rolled) trousers

    I know that in an era when trousers and jeans are still skin-tight, “relaxed” sometimes means nothing more than “you can almost move in them.” But I’m specifically talking about loose pants, pants that mostly don’t touch you except at the waist, and which swish about when you walk. Admittedly, these are still rare, and are often found at brands who excel in wide-legged repro gear (think navy coveralls, and that sort of thing). However, there are plenty of options that won’t make you look like a deck hand.

    The first of those is, nonetheless, naval-inspired. The 4-pocket “overpant” style (so called because its ancestor, the 4-pocket navy pant, was worn over your other pants for extra warmth) has been appearing in more and more stores. I’m currently wearing two different pairs, both of which have proven acceptable for the summer heat. The first is from Evan Kinori, and is a pattern he regularly releases. For this spring, there’s a linen-cotton denim model, which can be worn a size (or two) up for added breeziness. Kinori also makes a lightweight field shirt/jacket, which I don’t own but can recommend after seeing it in person.

    The second is a pair of Shockoe Atelier’s 4-pocket trousers in their “Como” denim, which are much more jean-like, but look great when rolled or cuffed to the ankle. There are a couple of sizes left, so you may be in luck. Of course, to go along with your noragi, it only makes sense to try something like these Blue Blue Japan wide pants. I’m wearing a similar style in the photo below, and they really are ideal for summer.
    2 must have styles for spring 2017
    With all of these styles, I like to wear either chunky, chukka-type shoes or low-profile sneakers. Think simple canvas Vans or other plimsolls, although I’d guess that a loafer or slip-on would look great as well. That said, if you’re after something less similar to the jeans you’ve been wearing all winter, I’d recommend one of two types of trouser:

    1. Loose, lightweight navy trousers
      Either let them puddle atop your shoes or crop them at the ankle – or do both. Navy offers a nice respite from the current trend of black-trouser-white-Common-Projects look, and lends itself better to brown footwear. I don’t find this particularly exciting, but if you’re after simple, navy trousers are simple.
    2. Gurkha trousers
      Forum member @TTO has often shown these off in our WAYWT thread, and without saying too much, I think they look great with both casual and tailored clothing. I’ve seen these styled really well when they’ve been hemmed to an ankle length, and the shape is, I think, easier to pull off than you may realized. Off the top of my head, you can find them at What Price Glory.

      2 must have styles for spring 2017

      @TTO in Gurkha trousers

Hopefully, this helps to alleviate at least some of the tedium of looking through your closet when summer hits and thinking “I can’t wear any of this, I guess I’ll wear hiking shorts again.” If you have other summertime favorites, feel free to share them below.

Why You Should Repair Your Clothing

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It’s easy to get caught up in the cycle. You see something on Styleforum (or anywhere else), you think “I must have that, this purchase will make my life complete,” and not long after you’ve bought it there’s another must-have on the horizon. Eventually, you have more clothing in your closet than you can possibly wear. At that point, you either embrace it, or you start downsizing.

What happens to the favorites, though? If you’re lucky, you eventually land on garments that you keep returning to, and they turn into something special. At this point, we’ve all heard the raw denim marketing pitch: that it molds to your body, that you write the story of your life into the fades of the denim. That’s all fine and good – clothing holds memories the same way that scars do, albeit less painfully, and far be it from me to take the romance out of your favorite pair of jeans.

One problem we run into when we’re surrounded by so much newness is that it’s hard to be content with what we have. Not taking the time to enjoy your clothing has several effects, one of which is that your clothes don’t get worn before you give them away or try to flip them. Used clothing, regardless of brand or trend, has a magic that new clothing doesn’t. It’s not just denim – the worn spots on the elbows of a jacket, a frayed cuff or collar; all of this is enticing in a way that proves the wearer is real, is human.

Personal style changes over time. There’s no point denying that, and I don’t know why you’d want to. However, part of personal style comes from combining garments in interesting ways, and in developing a look that suits you. Just because your favorite shirt – the one you wore to death – doesn’t really go with your newer interests, doesn’t mean you can’t say the hell with it and wear it anyway. So, when I say that you should patch your torn shirt instead of throwing it away, it has the twin benefits of bringing you more use out of a piece you love and adding a personal touch to a garment that makes it 100% your own.

Styleforum is no stranger to threadbare elbows and patched denim, and for good reason. Well-worn clothing encourages you to take a little bit of your past along with you as you enter each new chapter in your life. Patches, stitches, and repairs – it all adds to the personality of the garment, and it’s a fine reminder of where you came from.

Of course, everything dies, and that includes clothing. Eventually, you’ll come to the end of a garment’s life, and no amount of darning will be able to save it. That’s when you lay it out, thank it for its service, and let it retire honorably. Unless you don’t want to do that, in which case you end up with something like this:

My mother purchased this shirt from Banana Republic at some point in the early 80’s, and she wore it and washed it until the fabric turned see through. Then she wore it more. Eventually, it started ripping – everywhere. The hems unraveled. The collar isn’t much of a collar anymore. Every seam has, at some point, come undone. At last, the entire back of the shirt started to give way in a spiderweb of tattered fabric. She retired it, until I insisted a couple of years back that it could be saved. Which it more or less has been, thanks to endless patching, darning, and stitching. Now it’s an heirloom, a work of art that’s spanned two generations and almost four decades.

The next time you think about throwing out an old garment, think instead about what you stand to gain from repairing it: not just a functional piece of clothing, but a testament to life, and proof that you lived one.

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How to Enjoy your Clothing

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I think that once you hit a certain point in your tenure as a veteran Styleforum Member, it becomes perversely easy to lose sight of what attracted you to clothing, style, and fashion in the first place. This is something I’ve noticed on all corners of the forum, from our Should I or Shouldn’t I threads, to the Wedding Style thread, to the Sales Alert thread – and, well, basically every corner of our little community.

What I mean, specifically, is that members forget about the brands and styles that they like because they’re overwhelmed by the quality/value proposition and, to an extent, brand name as well. People start thinking “Why would I buy X, when Y is a better value?” when really we ought to be thinking “Why do I want this in the first place?”

There’s no right answer, of course. That said, I’d argue that the most right answer is that you love it. There are many reasons we end up loving clothes – design, construction, and the materials used are just some of the features that draw us to particular garments. However, there are also plenty of more subjective reasons to buy or covet a piece of clothing, and they’re no less valid.

For example, you may discover a character in a movie that you admire, and you may be attracted to their wardrobe – both because of how it looks, as well as what it represents. Similarly, you may find that a garment you’ve seen reminds you of your favorite book, or your favorite song, whether by description or due to a reason you can’t quite put into words – yes, I speak from experience. And sometimes, the garment you’re immediately smitten with isn’t – *gasp* – the best value on the market. Maybe it’s some cheap thing you walked past in the mall. Maybe it’s an obscenely expensive experimental knit. My point is that it doesn’t matter: somehow, men have managed to demonize buying what we like in favor of buying garments that we can point to as objectively good or utilitarian, as though we’re still trying to pretend our interest in clothing is different and more fulfilling than other people’s (read: women). It’s too simple. It doesn’t show how worldly we are. We could be doing better.

Bullshit.

That – looking purely at the “quality” (intangible at the best of times), “value” (more or less completely invented), and “utility” (nonsensical) of your clothing – is a great way to end up with a wardrobe full of garments that do nothing for you. The same goes for garments you think you should be wearing, either because they’re ‘basics that every man should own’ or things you’ve seen on cool Instagram accounts that nevertheless don’t inspire an emotional response other than the animal urge to find the item in question and click ‘buy.’

I once had an elderly British soccer coach who used to tell his players that they ought to be running around at half-mast all game, just because they were so goddamn excited to be out on the field. Notwithstanding potential injury, it’s a not-terrible metaphor for how you ought to feel when building a wardrobe. Maybe a take a minute to stop researching the ins and outs of every purchase. Maybe let yourself like the things you like, for no other reason than that you like them. That shirt you like doesn’t have to be hand-made by arthritic Italian men in order to have value. Your shoes don’t have to be the pinnacle of construction in order to be wearable or worthy of your love. It doesn’t matter if you could have gotten a different thing that’s better for less money. It doesn’t even matter if you’re treating your wardrobe solely as a tool for social interactions.

What matters is that enjoy your clothing – and more specifically, what matters is that you give a garment value through your enjoyment of it.

Introducing: 1st PAT-RN

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There is quite a bit of “workwear” shown at Pitti Uomo, and I use the scare quotes for a reason. I’m not usually one to complain about a lack of functionality in clothing, but it’s difficult not to think that most of what is presented as workwear is a joke: flimsy, trend-driven, and beyond that, boring and unflattering. Not so with 1ST PAT-RN, the project of  Cristiano Berto and Sylvia Piccin. This is a brand that combines elements of workwear, trad-wear, and ivy-style to offer what I’d describe as nostalgic explorer-wear.

1st pat-rn styleforum

Cristiano and Sylvia

Before you balk at that description, the clothing isn’t costumey in the vein of Haversack or even hardcore in the way of Nigel Cabourn. Nonetheless, it does evoke some of the same feelings of the gentleman (or gentlewoman, as there are women’s pieces as well) traveler, with a regular selection of blazers and chore jackets set atop tapered chinos and denim.

There are two aspects that set 1ST PAT-RN apart: meticulous fabric choice, and smart, largely modern (if vintage-inspired) cuts. The combination results in clothing that is both pleasant to wear and very wearable, with a narrow but fulfilling range of styles. The pieces that most grabbed my interest during our visit were a pair of lovely straight-legged 4-pocket trousers in an indigo twill, and the very handsome chore jackets – in particular, a model in deutschleder that was made specially for Manufactum Magazin (which I hope makes its way into the main collection).

Fans of layering will rejoice, as there are enough interesting mid-layers (vests, knits and the like) to provide a good backbone to the very strong basics; as will those of us who are always looking for an escape from slim jeans and trousers – you’ll find both straight legs and pleats here, which look very nice when presented with chunky footwear. 1ST PAT-RN has also worked with Timex to release a handful of special dials and straps, which makes a great deal of sense when you’ve seen the clothes. They’re similar in style – 1ST PAT-RN is deceptively complex, well thought-out, and utilitarian – but with an enduring attractiveness that’s both compelling and hard to ignore, no matter your personal style.

See photos from Pitti, as well as images from the S/S2017 lookbook, in the slideshow below

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@child_of_scorn

7 Ways to Wear Boots With Jeans

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No, it’s not rocket science, and yes, the key is to put the jeans on before your boots, but there’s still more than one way to wear boots with your jeans.

1. The Stack

ways to wear boots with jeans

Jeans, APC; Boots, Scarosso

Simple: do nothing. Put your boots on, pull your jeans over the shaft, let ’em stack up on top of the boots. Ideally, you don’t want wrinkles running all the way up your legs; instead, leave an extra couple of inches to your inseam and you’ll end up with nice honeycomb fades

Works best with: slim denim

2. The Micro-Cuff

Also simple – you know what, they’re all simple. In this case, you turn up the hem of your jeans – but not by much, just enough to leave a sliver of well-worn selvage denim showing. Vary this by accompanying it with a stack, or with a jean hemmed to a shorter length to show off the shaft of your boot.

Works best with: slim-straight jeans

3. The Regular Cuff

ways to wear boots with jeans

Jeans, Uniqlo; Boots, Nonnative

Cuff your jeans once. Done.

Works best with: slim, slim-straight jeans

4. The Double Cuff

ways to wear boots with jeans

Jeans, Uniqlo; Boots, Nonnative

For a thicker cuff, turn your hem over twice and your jeans should sit just at your ankle. This is an easy option that will look nice with most boots.

Works best with: slim-straight or straight jeans

5. The Triple Cuff

ways to wear boots with jeans

Jeans, Shockoe Atelier; Boots, Nonnative

Not too hard – roll it up one more time. It’ll give you a thicker cuff, and although this looks good with heavy boots, I also like it with sleeker silhouette and taller shaft.

Works best with: a straighter-legged pair of denim so that the bigger cuff doesn’t overwhelm the leg of the jeans.

6. The Narrow Roll

ways to wear boots with jeans

Jeans, Evan Kinori; Boots, Peter Nappi

Make like you’re rolling a single micro-cuff, and then keep going as high as you like. Wear the hem low to stack on top of your boots, or pull it high for a cool silhouette.

Works best with: straight or relaxed denim.

7. The Railroader

ways to wear boots with jeans

Jean, Kapital; Boots, Guidi & Rossellini

Only for the dedicated: instead of making small cuffs, turn your hem inside out and pull the cuff halfway up your shin. This has the potential to be massively rad or not rad at all – you need to back it up with an outfit that meshes well.

Works best with: stiff, straight-leg jeans and heavy boots (like engineer, combat, or service boots).

On Western Style Zip Boots

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We’ve been having a stop-starting, on-going conversation over in Random Fashion Thoughts about vaguely Western style zip boots and their merits. If you haven’t been paying attention, the root of this discussion is that a now-forgotten poster asked where he could find some boots that look like Nonnative’s “Rancher” boot, which sold out pretty quickly in most places, and is hard to find in larger sizes. They look like this:

As you can see, they’re undeniably awesome. That’s my pair – I wear them all the time, but then again, I live in Colorado, love suede, and hate laces. This pair, which a year and a half later I still wear almost ever day – ticks off the “vaguely Western” box without making me look like one of those guys who probably wears a cell phone clipped to his belt. They’re manufactured for Nonnative by Officine Creative, which is a respectable Italian boot- and shoe-making brand that does a lot of interesting footwear that’s kind of like lightweight, fashion-y workwear, most of it Blake-rapid stitched. This pair is modeled on a roper boot, but with a narrower, zipped shaft and a slightly higher heel. This, along with the narrower last, makes them much more elegant than your standard pull-on workboot.

If you’re looking for an actual Western boot, there are plenty of companies that make exactly that – but good luck finding a pair that looks good with your tapered denim and slouchy topcoat. No, most often you’ll see boots that are perfect for Harley guys in stonewashed denim, and since you’re reading Styleforum I doubt that’s you. Although what do I know? You could be a

Of course, Nonnative isn’t the only brand to make shoes like these, but it remains surprisingly hard to find a great pair of Western style zip boots. Hedi Slimane played with the idea during his time at Saint Laurent, sending harness boots, jodhpurs, and pointy-toed monstrosities down the runway along with his skin-tight thrift store come-ups. The thing is, most of them looked just about as affected as you’d expect – although I do think some of the plainer models have been pretty successful. More recently, Vêtements worked with Lucchese, a Texan-by-way-of-Italy bootmaker, to put out some custom men’s and women’s pieces.

I happen to find these weirdly attractive. I do want to reiterate, however, that it’s possible I’ve been primed to think that based on a lifetime of exposure to black cowboy boots worn with light blue jeans, and that all I really need is someone to shake me firmly and say “No.”

On the other hand, I enjoy occasionally nurturing my Western obsession, so let’s get back to boots you can find that will scratch that itch. You can certainly try your hand at snatching up Nonnative boots (which are occasionally available on Rakuten, as well as through Coverchord – as of writing the latter has both brown and black suede in stock in sizes 40-42), but you may have trouble finding anything in stock larger than a size 42.

Now, the name on everyone’s lips these days – well, in Streetwear and Denim at least – is Lucchese. Reason being, in addition to a lot of ridiculous cowboy boots and Vêtements collaborations, one boot in particular has captured the hearts of my fellow streetwear nerds: the Jonah. Why? Because it’s like a roper, but with a narrower zipped shaft. If that sounds like what you’re after, join. I find boots like this incredibly wearable, and even if just about all I ever wear is denim (black or blue, both’ll work), a slim trouser would look great with them as well.  I’m of the opinion that boots such as these work pretty well with just about any outfit. It’s easy to wear them with a sharp coat, a leather jacket, or just a heavy knit:

Now, Lucchese, while being a large and well-known bootmaker, is no longer the top-quality manufacturer they once were – at least when dealing with off-the-rack boots (I’ve no experience with their custom process). The Jonah retails at 795$, which is almost twice as much as smaller, more renowned Texan bootmakers – although they’re still a step up from makers like Frye. However, it’s not likely that you’ll find something that looks like a Jonah at these other shops, and I’ve only been able to find a few stockists of these boots. Your first option is to order from Lucchese directly, otherwise you can try Cowboy Chief (a devoted western supply store) or Snake Oil Provisions, the latter being a pretty cool store that stocks, in addition to some pretty cool SF-approved brands like 3Sixteen, Alden, The Flat Head, and up-and-coming cool-cat brand Nine Lives.

If they’re not quite your cuppa, you’re not totally out of luck. Here are a couple more styles for your consideration:

 

Unused makes a very similar pair, but your chances of finding a pair are even slimmer than getting a pair of Nonnative boots through Coverchord. There’s one size left at Haven, and with some good Google-work you may be able to proxy a pair from Japan through Zenmarket.

Margiela often releases western style zip boots, such as these current season campus boots that you can buy at SSENSE:

You can also go to Buttero, an Italian company whose name actually means “cowboy.” However, they currently have nothing in stock that meets all the criteria (tall shaft, plain toe, side-zip entry), so the image slot has to be left empty for now. It’s worth it to browse eBay and Rakuten for Buttero boots, in case something tickles your fancy.

And speaking of Frye, these short zip boots aren’t quite the same, but they are undeniably western in character:

Anyway, if none of that is Western enough for you, and you really want to feel like a cowboy, take your business to Heritage Boot Co. in Austin, Texas, and get yourself a pair of badass, hand-made cowboy boots. They start at around $420, which is insane – so insane that I’m considering it, which should tell you something about how far down this rabbit hole I’ve fallen.

No zippers on those, though, so I guess they don’t count.

 

Date Night Outfit Inspiration from SF Members

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There are many ways to approach dressing for a date, whether or not it falls on Valentine’s Day. Most of them boil down to your company and your destination. Going ice skating (which we don’t recommend, at least for first-timers – a broken wrist or fractured coccyx is hardly romantic) necessitates a different wardrobe than hot air ballooning, which necessitates a different wardrobe than a nice dinner. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some outfits submitted by Styleforum members that are the perfect date night outfit inspiration.

1. If you’re going tailored, nail it.

An outfit based around a poorly-fitting sport coat is worse than a great casual outfit, so if you’re trying to impress your date, don’t half-ass it. And unless you’re actually having a black tie dinner, avoid severe outfits – no black suits, please. A luminous blue or a pleasing grey is a fine choice, as are any number of odd jacket and trouser combinations. Here are some great examples to get your creative juices flowing.

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2. A Leather Jacket is Always Good

If you’re spending your time outdoors (or in) and the weather is nice enough, a leather jacket is a great option. You can wear a classic double-rider or moto with jeans, or with a shirt and trousers; and other, more experimental options may be a great way to work something new into your wardrobe. Besides, just about every guy looks good in a black leather jacket, and it’s one of those garments that just screams “touch me.”

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3. Go Casual

You don’t have to wear a suit (or a leather jacket) to look great. If you want to draw the eye, try a beautiful color instead of your standard black or grey, or aim for great texture. Again, try to let your personal style show through. You want to come off as you, not a giant reptile wearing the skin of a human. And as always, you want to be comfortable – so comfortable, both mentally and physically, that you’re focusing on having a good time with your date and not fidgeting with your clothing.

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