Fear and Loathing in Bloomingdale's Menswear: Part Two

Ted Baker: Wow. Here's a British designer who rocks, but not in a goofy, alterna-rock, Strokes-y kind of way. No, these are clothes that rockers actually wear when they're out on the town -- and I'm not talking about the keyboard player in the back, behind the drum kit. This is frontman stuff.

It follows then, that Ted Baker's area in Bloomingdales looks something like a glowing electric circus. That works just fine, since his clothes are so theatrical. Almost impractically so: I can't imagine wearing most of this stuff during the daytime, or even in a well-lit bar, but that's only because they're so radical. Lots of time is spent on feeling the textures of shirts and jackets here. There's a magnificent black corduroy jacket here -- with hints of bright green, under the collar, for instance -- and a badass purple velvet jacket with silver pinstripes.

Ted Baker is not for everyone, but is worth a long look. And if you've got some extra spending money, are in the mood for slick, bombastic "night out" wear, and are a rock star (this is getting to be a very small population of Stylezilla's readership) you'd do well picking up some Ted Baker.

Calvin Klein: About as far away from Ted Baker as you can get in the same store, Calvin Klein offers reliable genericness in the lower-end collections. Think "World-o-Khaki." That's sad because Calvin Klein Jeans has some interesting things happening -- I like the jeans themselves, and you can find a number of pretty cool-looking casual shirts in that line. Moving up the price scale, the higher-end Calvin Klein Collection has some classy, adventurous designs, too.

I guess this isn't surprising, though. Since the man himself left the helm, Calvin Klein has been weak overall -- though all indications point to the label's Spring 2005 Collection (for women, alas) getting back up to speed. Let's hope that filters over into menswear, then down to the label's more mid-range lines.

DKNY: Lots of blank-feeling, J.C. Penny-esque dress shirts. A variety of bland colors, matching nothing particularly well. Are they even trying? Even the salespeople seem depressed. I wonder seriously what the mood is like in the real DNKY store (across the street). Suicidal, perhaps.

D&G: New to the New York Bloomingdale's. A couple of decent-looking shirts. Some frightening "high-fashion" sweaters, which aren't wearable by anyone wishing to be taken seriously at work or out socializing. All in all, the collection is probably good for Armani Exchange graduates.

Ben Sherman: Ugh. Painfully British. You know my feelings on this label. Wretched, unmatching, gaudy patterns abound. Egad, this area is HUGE! Ben Sherman's area seems to have assimilated most of the space previously occupied by French Connection, which is basically now just resigned to a single rack. What a waste.

Burberry: On the other hand, here's some great-looking stuff. Overpriced? Only slightly. I'd take the suits, most definitely. They're sharp, and the cut is tailored -- slender and classy. It's British without being annoying and mod -- amazing. Likewise, Burberry's dress shirts are also looking really sharp. I'm blasé about the sweaters. Avoid that novacheck!

Nautica: I mostly skipped this one, but did see a decent black corduroy jacket. Pretty cool-looking, but go with Hugo Boss instead.

Joseph Abboud: After all that Britishness, it felt good to be surrounded by a quiet, reliably boring label. Perhaps I'm being too hard. Abboud is good for dress basics. And, I ought to add, value: in the suits department, I found that the best suit under $700 was an Abboud.

Kenneth Cole: should stick to shoes.

Seriously. I've maintained for several seasons that KC has lost his friggin' mind. The Kenneth Cole Reaction stuff looks far better. It's more wearable, less clubby and generally weird-looking. The man gets credit for the amount of originality he's instilled at the price point for the flagship Kenneth Cole label, but still -- some of this stuff just doesn't look good, plain and simple.

And you know, that's not saying much, since Reaction's stuff only truly shines in its ads. I swung by the KC Reaction store after Bloomingdale's, and aside from some disconcertingly helpful salespeople, I found little that sparked my attention. Basic stuff, a step up in urban classiness from Michael Kors' Michael.

So, consider KC for shoes. Also, I like their accessories, which are pretty much limited to cufflinks and silver bracelets.

Links: Again, Bloomingdales.com doesn't have a men's section, so try Shoes.comfor Kenneth Cole shoes.

Bluefly.com is good for DNKY (some of their better, earlier collections) as well as Abboud, and others.

Lord & Taylor Sale and 10-Second Review

Starting Wednesday and lasting through Saturday, Lord & Taylor is having a secret "friends and family" type in-store sale.

Go here for a printable coupon. I'm not sure whether I was supposed to pass it on, so if they ask, keep where you got it a secret.

I actually dropped by my local L&T just the other day, and to my surprise, found a bunch of really great casual looks. Slick-looking black sports jackets, for instance. And a good supply of sharp ties and solid silk pocket squares. (Yes, pocket squares. You should own a handful, at least.) Great prices, too, which combined with the sort of spartan aesthetic of my local Lord & Taylor makes the store feel something like a discount chain. But it's not.

I did have a hell of a time finding suits in my size (which you wouldn't think would be a problem) but they still deserve a look simply for the truckload of suits they carry from Michael Kors' Michael line (which seems to fare better as far as suits go, rather than in other men's apparel.)

Fear and Loathing in Bloomingdale's Menswear: Notes on What to Buy and Avoid

*Part One*

Just for you, dear readers, I took several hours out of my busy schedule last night to browse through the menswear department in Bloomingdale's midtown New York headquarters. I'm looking for things you can buy without breaking the bank, that you can wear to work or, alternatively, out for a classy night on the town, and not be ashamed to own two seasons for now. A tall order, as it turns out.

Why am I even in Bloomie's? In the fashion ecosystem, department stores are a necessary evil because they gather (ostensibly) the best and most popular (read: sellable) apparel from a variety of designers. Lumping it all together makes it easier for folks to shop.

OK. We're examining the mid-tier menswear department, so I'll leave out Canali, Zegna, Armani, and their friends for another time). Also, except where noted, I'm not including anything I found from the racks-o-suits.

Overall -- and as usual -- I was disappointed in the results. Nearly every designer still persists in hawking frightening, nearly impossible-to-look-good-in shirts in the most hideous of patterns. Yet, this season seems to mark a change -- possibly in reaction to those crazy patterns, to flashy suits, to frenetic mod styles (AKA "Ben Shermanization") and other similarly galling trends. That change? For better or worse, it's a move toward THE BLAND. More and more designers seem to be simultaneously retreating from adventurous (albeit, eye-assaulting) designs into vague, generally lackluster men's apparel.

My notes:

Michael Kors' Michael: The designer's low-end line looks just that -- low-end. Plain. Mediocre. Maybe you can find some basics here -- a basic-looking sweater, for instance. Reminds me of something you'd find in a store like K-Mart, except with better construction. Depending on the size of the Michael installation, it can be a good place to steal a quick nap before moving on.

Theory: You know I love this brand. One reason is that it sucks less these days than other guys. Some cool shirts, and a bunch of really great black sport jackets. Too bad most of them don't have matching pants, because I'd love suits in some of these designs. Overall, the suits are OK.

Hugo Boss: What shines here is the outerwear. Hugo Boss has some truly terrific sports jackets in a variety of fabrics and colors. They're great feeling, well-made, good-looking and easily matched. Casual dress shirts -- not so much. Still too many over-striped affairs, with the best looking bland and the worst being positively headache-inducing (a problem not limited to Hugo Boss, of course.) Hugo Boss does carry some good-looking suits -- nothing terribly adventurous, except for a pretty cool black corduroy suit.

Polo: Like other big brands, Polo nails outerwear. Like Boss, Polo has some great sports coat in a number of colors. You can also find, yes, polo shirts here, ad infinium.

Hilfiger: With (ahem) the H Hilfiger line, we've still got that strange, awesome "rock and roll meets prep school" vibe going on. Think bright, in-your-face colors on suits and button-down dress shirts.

Now, don't get me wrong: The clothes look utterly fantastic. On mannequins. Admittedly, they've got great tailored cuts, great patterns, and awesome rockstar color ensembles, but they're not meant to be worn by people who aren't working in the entertainment industry. Put another way, most folks aren't David Bowie, and shouldn't try dressing like him.

Stay tuned for Part Two.

Links: Frustratingly, Bloomingdales.com doesn't have a men's section. Try www.yoox.us and Bluefly.com for discount Theory and Hugo Boss.

Designer sale

Hi gang. A heads-up on a new
Bluefly sale. They're having their Fall Designer Spotlight promotion, so you can get up to 65% off on big-name designers. For men, that means some of my favorites -- Paul Smith, Prada, Gucci and Paper, Denim and Cloth (not much Paper denim, but some of their other goodies.) Check out this sweet, sweet black velvet Gucci suit. It's mine, I tell you!!

Update: OK, the suit has been sold (to one of you reprobates, perhaps?) so I've replaced the picture above with one of a similarly sweet pea coat. Enjoy!

www.bluefly.com

Velvet Blazers, PLUS a Look at the NYT Style Magazine

Good stuff from the NY Times Style Section (er, no, wait, make that "T: Style Magazine" -- ugh) this week -- an entire section on Men's fashion. Get thee to NYTimes.com.

For the short-of-attention, I'll sum it up for you. The classy-casual look is currently all about the black (or navy) velvet jacket.




As an aside, I've always been a big Valentino fan (though for a while there, I felt like the only one in my peer group.) I'm real happy to see it getting hot again, and the R.E.D. line is looking especially new and snappy. Too bad the man himself is teetering on retirement (he's in his early 70s now) -- and there's the question of who will step in. Note that Marzotto, Valentino's corporate owner, also owns Hugo Boss.

OK, back to the fashion. For a less urban or edgy look than a rich, velvety jacket, I recommend corduroy (in brown, too) rather than tweed, which has got to be THE talked-about look of the season. More on why I disagree in a future posting.

Other thoughts on T: Style Magazine (or is it called The New York Times Style Magazine -- what's the deal here? Couldn't they make up their minds on a title?)...

Not surprised to see Andre 3000 featured prominently. Hasn't he been in every Esquire since Esquire discovered Outkast (which would have been about the time "Hey Ya!" was released)? There has got to be other quirky, well-dressed black guy out there that mainstream media feels comfortable hyping into a household name as a fashion plate. I'm talking about guys besides Bentley, who, while one sharp, sharp dresser, is running the risk of wandering into self-caricature territory (becoming a fixture on MTV can do that -- just say no, Bentley!) Good news is that Andre 3000 has a menswear line coming out in the near future.

Reader Question: Determining the Quality of a Dress Shirt

Loyal reader Tobias writes:

How can you tell how good the quality of a dress shirt is?

That's a good question, Tobias -- in spite of your lamentable grammar -- and a matter that's long vexed shoppers. How do you know what you're buying? How do you avoid getting ripped off?

Fortunately, sartorial sage Alan Flusser has the answer.

Detailed, frighteningly knowledgeable, and yes, quite fussy, Flusser in Style and the Man, goes on like a clear day on what you should be looking for in buying shirts. I'll give you the highlights here.

• Feel the fabric. Typically, the softer and more luxurious, the better. High thread-count (say, 220) two-ply cotton feels like silk.
• Look on the sleeve, near the cuff. Is there a buttonhole on the forearm (technically, on the sleeve placket)? Does the buttonhole go horizontally? (That is, does it run around the arm, rather than up and down?) If so, the shirt is high-quality.
• For striped shirts, look at the shoulder. Does the pattern run off the top of the shoulder (the yoke) down the outside of the sleeve? If so, it's high-quality.
• Look at the collar and cuffs. For most dress shirts, the stitching should be nearly invisible. "If you can clearly see each individual stitch sitting on top of the fabric, its manufacture is less costly," writes Flusser.
• Look for removable collar stays. Those are a plus.
• Buttons should be cross-stitched for strength, which requires extra cost.
• Real pearl buttons are also key indicators of a shirt's quality.
  
  "If a sewing machine needle hits a plastic button, the button shatters; should that same needle strike a pearl button, the needle shatters. Authentic mother-of-pearl buttons, especially thicker ones, are incredible sensual to the hand and eye, as well as costing ten times the price of the typical plastic button."

Flusser is the man.

Accessories 101

One of the biggest, ongoing trends in mass market men's fashion of late has been the attention put on finishing touches -- that is, accessories. You'll see this continuing in upcoming seasons, as well, so it's a good idea to invest now.

Adding a few accessories to your apparel can enhance or change your outfit's mood dramatically. A few bracelets can make a generic-looking t-shirt and jeans combination look unique, playful, and classy.

One reason accessories might work is because they suggest, subconsciously, that caring about bracelets, necklaces, cool belt buckles, and the like means that you actually spent some time putting your outfit together -- and conversely, that you didn't just roll out of bed and jump into the first thing you found on your floor (though that might be the case.) Without fail, great accessories make a great outfit even better.

If you're in the market for accessories, I'd try to avoid the sort of things that you'd find at an Abercrombie or Hot Topic -- think classier, silver or dark metal jewelry, not fratwear. Leather looks good in moderation -- lean toward black leather, and avoid Conan-sized wrist braces or hulking East Village-type punk rock spiked bracelets. They're out like a NJ governor. Instead, check out some of guyshop.com's silver jewelry offerings.

Tiebars. You'll need them with a suit (and, ahem, a tie) or risk looking a tad weird. Check out some of our Fashion Week coverage and you'll see -- the tie bar is back and is everywhere.

Cufflinks -- they're not stodgy anymore. Shirts with French cuffs and slick cufflinks work not only in the office, but still work wonders for a night on the town. Don't be afraid to mix dress shirts and denim, by the way -- wearing cufflinks and a great French cuffed shirt and designer jeans out on a Saturday night. You'll look sharp, and like you know it (without seeming like a pretentious jerk.)

So, get yourself some great, modern-looking cufflinks. I like Pink's selection:
Mens Cufflinks

Stocking up for Winter

Fashion Week was all about spring, but that doesn't mean that you need to stop thinking about winter. In fact, in all the excitement, I entirely forgot about picking out some of the new sales going on for winter merchandise. www.bluefly.com is at it again, offering steep discounts (up to 65% off) on men's cashmere sweaters.
Shop here.

The discount (and Euro-esque) designer fashion site www.yoox.us also has some great deals on men's apparel for the season. Check out their outerwear -- some real steals from big-name designer labels like Versace, Jil Sander, and so on. But my favorites for seriously good-looking but not-too-outrageous men's fall coats and jackets are here -- hip outerwear by Alexandre Herchcovitch, Dries Van Noten, and Emporio Armani. Use Yoox's search engine to look for outerwear by those designers -- you will not be disappointed.

A Label You Should Own: Theory

Just a few words today on one of my favorite brands -- which also happens to be one of the most under-appreciated. The brand is Theory, and they rock in my book. Ever since I stumbled on them at Bloomingdale's a few years back, I've been hooked. They've keyed in on every trend -- western wear, stripes, bold color ... you name it. But they've always managed to do it with class.

Consider Theory for a couple reasons. For one thing, the designs are modern, yet classic at the same time -- so that you can wear them to work without feeling like you're auditioning for Zoolander II. The cuts are flattering, yet entirely wearable -- and the apparel itself isn't priced sky-high.

Also, Theory as a menswear label is far from being overexposed. In fact, when I first saw a Theory shirt, I thought it was Bloomingdale's house label -- it's so unassuming and modestly priced, yet totally great-looking. It's like Seven for All Mankind, back in the day (last year?) I've always considered it a plus for men to be well-dressed while not wearing what everyone else is.

OK, enough blabbing. Here are a couple of my picks from bluefly. Most of these are casual enough for wearing with jeans, or dressy enough for business casual attire. Go nuts!


Theory medium grey cotton button down 'Bruno' shirt


Theory black nylon blend button front 'Camper' shirt


Theory bright blue cotton embroidered crewneck 'Ediee / Embrod' short sleeve t-shirt


Theory black with grey pinstripe wool 'Tomas Rally' wide leg pants
Casual, yet sophisticated ... These pinstripe pants can be dressed up or down, and look perfect either way.


Theory blue, purple, white stretch cotton blend linear print long sleeve 'Klauis' sport shirt


Theory beige cotton linear pattern long sleeve 'Andrew' sport shirt


Theory grey alpaca cable knit turtleneck sweater


Theory honeycomb knit smoke grey alpaca wool long scarf with soft fringe
Stunning, vibrant & classic, all at once.


Theory blue fog fine ribbed silk blend 'Justin' long sleeve crew neck sweater



Theory black fine ribbed silk blend 'Justin' long sleeve crew neck sweater



Theory black fine wool 'Amos' turtleneck sweater

On the Care and Feeding of Couture, or How NOT to Destroy Your Apparel

One of the crucial things to keep in mind about buying good clothes is how to maintain them. And despite what you might think, it's not by having them consistently dry-cleaned.

Why is that? Let's take a quick look at what happens when your fine designer men's apparel is put through a typical dry cleaning routine.

Clothes are placed in a large machine, similar to a household washing machine. Now, dry cleaning doesn't use water, but it does rely on a liquid solvent. That solvent is pumped continuously into the machine's rotating chamber. Continuously and forcefully -- the typical solvent is almost twice as heavy as water, and is often pumped through your clothes at a rate of about 1,500 gallons an hour. If a cycle lasts for eight minutes, the clothes would be doused during mechanical action with 200 gallons of solvent. (Thanks to HowStuffWorks.com for these last two stats.)

All the while, the clothes are also being worked over by baffles, which serve to agitate fabric and pound out stains.

After a session, the clothes are spun (like in the final cycle of a household washer) to remove the solvent. That's followed by a cycle that's not unlike your household clothes dryer -- clothes are heated to get the last bit of solvent out.

Ouch -- that's a lot of abuse for your fine designer apparel to take. Over not much time, the dry cleaning process can weaken seams and dull fabric. Eventually, your expensive (or expensive-seeming) finery will look like little more than crud.

How to minimize the damage? Well, for one thing, don't use the dry cleaner too often. And by too often, I mean more than monthly. That can even be pressing it -- take good care of your high-quality suits, and you should only have to get them dry cleaned annually.

Between trips to your dry cleaner, clean your couture by hand. That's right -- detergent and water. (Or get someone else to do it, naturally.) Hang to dry. For your most expensive suits, get out stains immediately with a bit of mild detergent and water applied directly to the stain.

For less-expensive clothing, you can wash them in household washing machines and hang to dry. Some cheaper fabrics can even be dried in dryers, but always check the labels before doing so. You still can't go wrong with hanging.

A caveat: Many often feel that darker-colored dress shirts should be dry cleaned rather than machine-washed, so as to prevent fading. Essentially, you're trading luster and construction to maintain color -- keep this in mind when buying dark shirts. They have a limited lifespan any way you cut it.

As for suits, have them professionally steamed and pressed regularly to keep them looking crisp. Having your other clothes professionally steamed also prolongs their longevity, since the iron can damage or dull fabric.

More Looks from Fashion Week

NewYorkMetro has more looks you can snag from Olympus Fashion Week Spring 2005 in New York. Things are a bit slower since Day One in "wearable" menswear. But here are a few suggestions...

Tommy Hilfiger:




Cloak:

Looks You Can Use from Fashion Week

Hot off the runways -- some looks you can steal* from Day One of Olympus Fashion Week Spring 2005 in New York.


Kenneth Cole:



Perry Ellis:







Duckie Brown:



John Bartlett:





*That is, steal while employing good sense. "Emulate" might be a better word, since if you copy these looks too closely, you're liable to be arrested for indecent exposure.

Fashion Week, Spring 2005: A User Manual

Fashion Week starts today in New York. What does it mean to you, the consumer, and how can you get something out of it?

First of all -- why you should care. At its most fundamental, Fashion Week is a marketplace. It connects buyers (from the major department stores) with sellers (fashion designers who want their clothes to be sold in those stores.) Buyers see the designers' collections, place orders for lines or individual items, and those clothes turn up in their stores in spring, where you, the shopper, buy them.

But that's changing, and Fashion Week (especially here in New York) is becoming less and less an industry thing. Instead, consumers are becoming more savvy and are able to check out the fashions firsthand -- thanks to coverage on cable (think Metro TV's Full Frontal Fashion coverage), daily newspapers, general interest magazines, and of course, specialty Web sites.

Now, shoppers are able to see for themselves which designers and collections they like -- and this, rather than what store buyers like -- is beginning to drive the market.

Runway shows are still important. But their role is changing — from a market to a marketing device, intended to affect consumers rather than retailers, and meant to generate excitement with the public through photographs, television footage and Web coverage. "A lot of it is, very frankly, for the press," Mr. Murray of Calvin Klein said.

More from the NYT on the changing role of runway shows in New York.

Of course, what's shown on the runway and available at high-end retailers isn't exactly what Joe and Jane Smith can afford to wear every day.

That's why Fashion Week is important for a second reason. In a larger sense, what's shown on the runways guides fashion trends even outside of couture. Changes in fabrics, cuts, you name it -- they're introduced on the runways and ultimately filter down to Target and K-Mart.

Watching the runways at Fashion Week can give you an idea of what's "in" for next season.

Finally, observing Fashion Week is important for a third reason, and that's as a source of ideas of how to dress. Granted, we can't all pull off some of the wilder looks we see on the runways. But they can help to inform our ideas of what to wear and how to dress.

For instance, look for pattern/color/fabric combinations that you can incorporate into your own wardrobe. Look for new ways that designers are using or playing with common elements -- how are they accessorizing their models? How are they re-envisioning older looks? Designers often love to play with the definition of casual clothes -- look for how you can dress up a casual look by emulating what you see on the runway.

Above all, keep an eye out for outfits that you like. You might not be able to afford that great look you saw at the Helmut Lang show, but you can put together an outfit that approximates it.

Spring: Still Preppy

I'm not a huge fan of the neo-preppy look that's STILL hot right now, but it shows no signs of abating. From New York Magazine:

According to both Ward and Jim Moore, creative director of GQ, the main theme ws "preppy," but with a twist. "Miuccia did polo shirts for Miu Miu—she's never done that before," says Moore. "Marc Jacobs did an ode to Brideshead Revisited for Louis Vuitton. A lot of what we saw were designers taking classes and turning up the volume: They stretched out polo shirts in shocking colors. There were plaids which called to mind Lily Pulitzer and Brooks Brothers, but then they played it in neon."

Ugh. Anyhow -- be ready. These looks aren't horrible, but having grown up in Connecticut and Virginia, I'm personally way over preppy.