Sunday Styles: Urban Explorer

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Functional clothing never felt so good. The combination of a sharp utility jacket, heavy chinos, and fine cashmere means that everywhere you go this fall you’ll be prepared – and comfortable. Comfortable suede derbies round out the walkability of this look, and rugged luggage from Master-Piece will keep your prized positions safe from autumn weather.

1. Engineered Garments “Bedford” from Portland Dry Goods

2. John Laing Cashmere Rollneck from Hang Project

3. Canvas “Rivet” Chino from Epaulet NY

4. Chatham Windsor Derby from A Fine Pair of Shoes

5. Master-Piece Backpack from No Man Walks Alone

The Endorsement – the Aero Leathers Type 3 Leather Jacket

Aero Type 3 Leather Jacket front view

The Aero Type 3 leather jacket that I take out the door nearly every day.

The Type 3 leather jacket (so named after the popular iteration of the Levis denim jackets)  has been my go-to for a while now.  In years past, it’s been hard to find good ones.  Traditional brands like Schott made them, and you could find them in cheap looking leather shops on not-so-great shopping streets. Occasionally, a “vintage” brand like Ralph Lauren’s RRL would come out with a version, and I’d jump on the winners. The FW2011 RRL Gambler jacket is still one of my favorite jackets, and it looks even cooler all scarred and beaten up after years of use.

In recent years, the leather jacket du jour has been the double-rider, and just like full sleeves of tattoos, they’ve become so ubiquitous that the jacket that once evoked immediate images of biker gangs and leather daddies now conjures up images of corny teens visiting New York for the first time.

But at this year’s earlier trade shows, it seems that the Type 3 has at last caught the eye of some fashion designers – and rightfully so.  After all, with 18 double riders available at www.mrporter.com, that trend has hit saturation point.  While bikers and leather daddies will continue to wear them into perpetuity, you have to ask yourself if you are either, or whether you will look more like a corny teen (for the full look, pair your double rider with a big scarf, jeggings, and a pair of zip up or jodphur boots.)

If you are looking for the best Type 3 jacket, and one that will be built to fit you, I would forego designer versions and go to Aero, the custom leather jacket makers headed by Ken Calder, and whose work has been worn by anyone from Elton John and Blondie to Daniel Craig and Jude Law. Their work is the real deal (link to vimeo interview here).  Also, Aero and Levis has a special relationship, with Aero making samples for Levi’s higher end lines. So you’re sometimes getting a premium product for less than the branded, production product.  It is also one of the very few companies that does real patch chest pockets, a difficult process because of the number of leather layers that must be sewed, and especially difficult for heavier leathers.  Most other companies do a ghost pocket that is set into the jacket.  Not only that, but because of Aero’s special relationship with Levi’s, they are allowed to use the red tab on their jackets, something that is typically not at all allowed.

Aero type 3 leather jacket pocket with tab

Aero is one of the few companies that is allowed to use Levi’s trademark red tab, and one of the few that uses a patch pocket rather than a “ghost” pocket.

Each jacket Aero builds is made by a single artisan. I like to think that mine are made by a winsome Scottish lass.  And you have your choice of leather, from the super heavy Horween Chromexel cowhide that I tend to prefer (and that is one of Aero’s go to leathers), to a much lighter weight Italian, vegetal horsehide, called “Vicenza”, which is light- to middle-weight by traditional moto-riding standards.  The jackets start at 550 GBP, which translates into $715 right now, and range to about 625 GBP for high-end leathers. You can’t find a better deal than than.  The suede version is even a better deal, starting at 450 GBP, or $585, which is the price of a random mall jacket in 2016.

You can order the leather version here, or the suede version here, but don’t be afraid to email them for more leather options.

 

Why Bespoke Clothing?

bespoke suit example

An example of a successful bespoke endeavor.

Bespoke what? The word itself has undergone changes since its first use in the 1500’s. Back then, “bespoke” was what you called your outfit.  Your one outfit, the one that smelled of Western European colonization.

“Why yes, the codpiece was bespoke. No, I don’t know why it’s so small. But the godless heathens should be impressed.”


The idea of having something made for you was nothing strange in those days, but as mass-produced items became commonplace, something made to your particular specifications (such as your particular body) became scarce.  Most ready-to-wear suits may not fit you perfectly, but a few may. Most are also made from ugly fabrics, but a handful are tastefully classic. The price range is anywhere from $300 to upwards of $3000 and higher. Something, somewhere, will fit your body, budget, and discriminating bias. So, why bespoke?

bespoke suit styleforum guidelines

All smiles throughout the process.

Indeed, in order to get something bespoke one has to do quite a bit of research, as few companies even offer such services. Fewer still are the tailoring houses that take your measurements, have various high quality fabrics to choose from, and provide fittings for adjustments. Most have to travel great distances to tailoring houses, across state lines, time zones, and oceans.  Others hope traveling tailors visit their city (or a nearby one), but such merchants visit once or perhaps twice a year, which means you may not receive the finished product for one or even two birthdays.  In contrast, off-the-rack suits can be found in any department store, ready for you to take home.  So again: why bespoke?

One word: romance.  Interestingly, a recent article from The New York Times quotes Georgetown linguistics professor Deborah Tannen, saying “bespoke” appeals to our individualism.  Which is partially true: more often than not, those who venture into bespoke have a very specific idea of how they want to appear.  What better way to materialize your distinct sense of identity by dictating your projected image?  Self-love and self-expression often go hand in hand

perfect bespoke suit

The Finished Product

But it’s more than that.  It’s the enchantment with bespoke itself – a medium which takes far more time than the alternative but, to those who appreciate it, returns far more reward.  Even if you never thread the needle, the process of discussing what environment you’ll wear the suit and how you wish to be presented, deciding which fabric you like versus how it will perform examining various technical styles, all contribute to the creation of a unique idea (yours).  You’re excited because you get to dictate the particulars.  But the courtship continues, because it’s during the fitting when you begin to see your idea turn into something tangible.  Sure, maybe a few tweaks need to be made, the tailor makes a note of it, you go out for some coffee, maybe dinner and a drink, shoot the breeze, exchange salutations, make another appointment, and part ways smiling with eager prospects of the next encounter.  Finally you see the finished product – the completed suit – and that’s it.  You try it on, and you’re smitten.  

That’s romance, and that’s the why of bespoke.  Sure, that suit makes you look great, but the process, eliciting feelings of creativity, anticipation and discovery, is the reason to choose bespoke.  Because you can’t find that in any department store.

Styleforum Visits Evan Kinori

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“I don’t like calling it workwear,” says Evan Kinori. We’re standing in his beautiful studio loft in San Francisco, and I’m trying to do the horrible media thing where we pigeonhole something special using as few words as possible.

“It just has so many strong…connotations,” he finishes. “Let’s call it…well-made clothing for everyday life.”

This intentional vagueness is a better descriptor than my SEO-verified marketing lingo. Evan Kinori’s line of beautifully clean and comfortable garments is vague, in a pleasant way – even anonymous. Built for everyone, to wear everywhere.

The garments are familiar on first look: a chore jacket. A four-pocket pant. An overshirt. But it’s the details – or their absence – that make the clothes special. Consider the four pocket pants that I wear while writing this. No one but me will ever see the corduroy waistband facing or the veg-tan leather-backed buttons on the fly. Few will appreciate the beautifully finished seam that shows when I roll the pant cuff, or the subtle darting of the waist, or how good your hand feels in the pocket. It doesn’t matter: I appreciate these gestures, and that’s what matters.

Consider also Evan’s reversible denim jacket, a design he’s played with a handful of times since launching his brand. Denim on one side, and wool (or twill, or whatever strikes his fancy) on the other, the jacket is fully reversible – including double-faced buttons to preserve the left-sided buttoning stance, should the wearer want to swap them. Said wooden buttons are hand-dyed in indigo on the roof of the building.

We could certainly draw parallels to other brands, such as Margaret Howell’s chic utilitarianism or even Adam Kimmel’s short-lived workwear experiments, but that would be short-sighted. The back wall of Evan’s studio displays a collection of beautiful vintage garments, ranging from patchwork noragi to Swedish military anoraks to vintage baseball shirts, and that intelligent cosmopolitanism is much more illuminating of the product than sideways references to other brands. Evan tells me that it helped that he “Knew what he wanted to make” before going to patterning school to learn how to make it. He has taken available inspiration, stripped it down, and re-focused the results – and the results are polished.

Evan’s studio, courtesy evankinori.com

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Details: the 3-pocket jacket and 4-pocket pant in rinsed denim.

The clothes themselves are something of a blank slate, made to showcase the process and the fabric. They are beautiful as individual objects, and Evan takes great pride in the clean construction. Each piece is billed as looking “just as nice on the inside as it does on the outside,” and it rings true for everything I saw. Beyond that, Evan encourages various styling options. He himself prefers to wear an oversized pant with a tighter top, but his website shows how items fit across a range of sizes. The pair of pants I purchased are effectively one size up, but many people buy two full sizes up for extra roominess.

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Various offerings on display at the studio.

Evan calls the seasons his “editions.” Each piece he makes is part of a numbered run, and once they’re gone there’s no guarantee they’re coming back. He’ll keep the pattern – say, the four-pocket relaxed-leg overpant, based on a US Navy model – but change the fabric as inspiration strikes him. This season it’s a black Japanese twill, and he’s done rinsed denims, double-indigo twills (the pair I own), and un-dyed twill.

After laying out his ideas and his fabric on the massive drafting table at the back of the studio, he sews the samples and some of the retail pieces himself on an unassuming Juki sewing machine. The rest are produced by a small factory in LA, but Evan double-checks each piece before sending them out to the handful of retailers he works with: one in San Francisco, two in LA, and three in Japan.

He’s focusing on growing the brand slowly, hand-picking his partners the same way he hand picks the fabrics. Because of it, the brand is intensely personal and intensely compelling. This is one young maker I recommend keeping an eye on – despite the familiar shapes, the clothes are forward-looking, and it’s my guess that we’ll be seeing more of Evan in the near future.

Evan’s most recent releases are up now on his website, including a lookbook featuring the new products. Here are a few shots, but you can see the full thing, as well as several beautifully-shot videos, at EvanKinori.com.

You can watch a great video on the reversible jacket here, courtesy of Jack Knife and Evan Kinori:

Evan Kinori • “The Reversible Jacket” from Jarod Taber on Vimeo.

 


STOCKISTS

Currently, Evan Kinori is stocked at the following retailers:

 Reliquary / 544 Hayes St, San Francisco, CA 94102

– RTH / 529 & 537 N La Cienega Blvd West Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA 90048

– County Ltd.  /  1837 Hyperion Ave Los Angeles, CA 90027

Loftman / Loftman B.D. (Kyoto) & Loftman COOP UMEDA (Osaka)

Lantiki / Kobe & Tokyo Locations

–  CPCM /  Tokyo

Styleforum endorses: Grenadine ties

If there is anything that Styleforum community – an opinionated and sometimes grumpy group – agrees on, it is that grenadine ties are excellent.  If you look in the Styleforum WAYWT or WAYWN (“What are you wearing today/now”), you’ll see ties made of grenadine, a open, nearly gauzy woven fabric that used to be worn as (black) lace in France,   in many of our members’ outfits, often in muted colors.

Grenadine ties certainly work with traditional business suits, they also work really well with more “fashion” oriented suits.  In any grenadine tie, whether it’s a “large” or “small” weave,  there are lustrous yarns and a three dimensional, textured, surface.  This combination ensures that all but the cheapest grenadines will look rich.

In the Classic menswear section of the forum, subdued ties with small, repeating patterns, are considered integral to the wardrobe.  This is in part because many of the discussions are geared not just towards classic menswear, but more specifically, towards business attire.  In the Streetwear&Denim section, suits are seen as a starting point for a fashionable outfit.  In the relatively few outfits posted that include ties, feature minimalist, solid colored ones.

Vanda Styleforum burgundy bourette grenadine ties

Vanda x Styleforum burgundy bourette grenadine tie to benefit The Ronald McDonald House of Spokane

Grenadine ties, because of their highly textured weave, do not require a pattern for them to be suitable for business ready outfits which makes the grenadine time one of those rare moments when the classic agrees with the modern.   Sean Connery’s James Bond regularly wore grenadine ties as well.  In our “Menswear Advice” forum for all of those pesky questions you are not sure where to ask, the answer “wear a burgundy or navy grenadine tie” is nearly always going to be an adequate answer.

This is one of the reasons that when we decided to the first Styleforum tie in the good part of a decade, earlier this year, we went with a burgundy with navy grenadine tie with Vanda (the majority of the profits of this tie went to support the Ronald McDonald House of Spokane.)

Here are a few of the forum’s other favorites:

Vanda Silk and Cashmere Grenadine tie: because you don’t get much more luxurious for fall.

Vanda navy silk and cashmere grenadine ties

Vanda navy silk and cashmere grenadine tie

 

Drake’s “Petrol” grenadine tie: Drake’s has been a perennial favorite with menswear enthusiasts both on Styleforum and beyond, for years, now.  $155 via MrPorter

 Drakes Kingsman Petrol Silk Grenadine tie

Drakes Kingsman Petrol Silk Grenadine tie

Chipp neckwear Wine grenadine tie – because a grenadine tie can also be had on a budget.  $55

Chipp wine grenadine tie

Chipp wine grenadine tie

The Tie (and How to Tie It)

I remember asking my dad when I could wear a regular tie.  A real one, like his; not the clip-on kind I’d been wearing since diapers.  I grew up going to religious meetings, and although my two brothers were content with the ease of a clip-on to satisfy decorum, I wanted to dress like my dad.  With a real tie.  So one evening, when we were getting dressed for the meeting, I asked him.

“Do you know how to tie a tie?”

The look of stupefaction across my face elicited a smile from his, and he motioned for me to step in front of him as he was facing the mirror.  Popping my collar up, he took one of his ties, draped it on my neck, and adjusted the blades a bit before giving instructions.

“OK, ready?  Over, under, over, through.”  

In less than ten seconds, I was wearing a tie.  His hands moved like a blur.  It could have been pure wizardry and I wouldn’t have been more amazed.  It just seemed so…complicated. 

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“Want me to show you again?”  Then slowly, “Over, under, over, and through.”

This time the sequence seemed more deliberate, and I was able to memorize the words, if not the steps themselves.  So he left me in front of the mirror for a few minutes and finished getting the rest of the family ready while I repeated the words again and again.  When he came back, I think I had a knot, but it looked more like the knot I used for my shoes.

“Let’s go.  Put on your other tie, and I’ll show you again after the meeting.”

I don’t remember anything at that meeting, but I do remember looking at my dad on the stage that night, and I remember his solid brown tie, because I thought a black leather one would be pretty dope, or maybe a green square knit.  All the clip-on ties I had were equilateral triangles and weirdly bulbous, but grown-up ties had organic shapes and that puckering at the bottom.  Clip-on ties seemed like drawn-on mustaches, and they never fooled anybody.

One thing I did remember was ties generally seemed to stop just below the belt line, and there was some coherence between lapel width and tie.  Even though this was the early 80’s when fat ties were still around, the balance was more or less what you see today.  Speaking of today and recent trends: you never saw the back blade longer than the front.  Never.  EVER.  That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.  In fact it did – all the time, due to our short stature as kids.  But we tucked it in our pants, and even had a name for it:  the “peepee napkin.”

Later that night at home, before I took off my meeting clothes, I reminded my dad that he would show me how to tie a tie.  So he got out another one, took off my clip-on, and went through the steps again.

“Over, under, over, and through.  Got it?”  I didn’t.

“That’s OK.  We’ll do it again for the next meeting.”  He loosened the tie, took it off my neck, tugged both ends, and just like THAT…  The knot was gone!  My dad had more style than Michael Jackson, even if he looked like Treat Williams.

I don’t remember exactly when I tied my first tie successfully, but I’ve never wondered when I needed to wear one.  You just know.  And I’m glad I know how.  I guess I can thank my parents for that.  Now that I’m older, #menswear has evolved into a fashion-y, mercurial soup of peacocking posing as creativity, but classic tailored clothing – or “meeting clothes”, as I came to call them – will always be cool to me.  And more than anything else, the tie – tied correctly – makes the difference.  So when the situation calls for it, do it.  Do it well.  Because who wants to keep dressing like a kid, when you can look like a grown-up?

Video: The Armoury

Our Pick: Norwegian Rain Mixed Denim Raincoat

My birthday marks the beginning of the school year, the end of summer, and the opening of glorious fall. That wonderful season when you are not freezing, but at the same time, it’s not so hot that you wish that you had better abs (truth time – abs, period) so that you could just hang out with no shirt on all day.

With fall comes rain, and I’ve suffered many a shower in a leather jacket because it’s always been really hard to find a cool-looking, but breathable, rain coat.  Last fall, my suffering came to an end with the discovery of T. Michael’s expertly designed Norwegian Rain coats.  I spent a summer in Bergen, Norway, from whence Norwegian Rain comes, and having lived in a city where it rains over 250 days of the year, I can understand why T. Michael decided to create Norwegian Rain.

My only question is “where have you been for the last 30 years or so?”  The Japanese waterproof textiles are breathable and come in a variety of colors and weaves which absorb light, giving the coats a rich depth and making them great outerwear general, rather than merely coats that are nice to wear when the skies are pouring down.

Normally, I write these product recommendations with mixed emotions, because it means that the product is much more likely to be gone by the time I have enough money in my discretionary budget to indulge myself. This time, I do so with light heart, since my wife has imposed a strict spending budget that does not accommodate this coat, and the best that I can hope for is that a benefactor send it to Styleforum HQ for me (size Medium, please). Or, barring that, that someone cool buys it and posts cool pictures of it on the forum.

The “Single breasted” coat is one of Norwegian rains standard models, and looks good over both suits and jeans.  The real appeal to this particular example is the rich “denim” color, a complex blue with a variety of low tones that allow it to complement most type of blue jeans, grey or black pants, and even moss greens.

Norwegian Rain mixed denim raincoat, from www.nomanwalksalone.com, $605.

Norwegian Rain mixed denim rain coat,

Norwegian Rain mixed denim rain coat,

Norwegian Rain mixed denim rain coat,

Linjer Watch Giveaway [CLOSED]

Our friends at Linjer are known for their sleek, high-quality bags. Their new project, luxurious timepieces featuring Swiss movements and Italian leather straps, are certain to be just as impressive. We’re teaming up to give away a watch in any style and color to one lucky winner. If you want a shot at a beautiful watch that’s sure to serve you for a lifetime, join the contest below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway