Stop that man! He stole my wardrobe!

I'm loving this outfit by Shipley & Halmos. Why? Because I have pretty much the exact same outfit in my closet right now; it was my uniform on a trip to Scotland. Why Didn't I put it on for a pic? Because it's friggin' 97 degrees. Use your imagination, and I promise I'll make it up to you come autumn!

HipsterDaddy

A guy can't beat a classic pair of aviators for eyewear.  Especially mirrored ones with which to check my hair.
My awesome Pa at the harbor in Baltimore!

Eric

I may have said this before, so pardon the redundancy, but I am thrilled beyond belief that men's clothing is returning to a normal silhouette, not one where the man feels the need to hold up his own pants as he walks (you know who you are.  And so do we).  While some designers are taking it to extremes, as evidenced in the pic from The Sartorialist below, to mark the shift, most guys are opting for a slightly more comfortable version that is still looks flattering, tailored, and correctly laundered.

Meanwhile in DC...

So I was glad to run into Eric, who was wearing the latter style so well, complete with his own contribution to the plaid fad in DC this summer!

The infinite possibilities of plaid

While on a short work errand (shh...keep that under your hat), I passed by this plaided pair and asked to snap a pic to commemorate the explosion of plaid, check, and gingham here in the District and undoubtedly beyond.  They're literally everywhere, and I adore it because it's limitless in color and pattern: it can be classic or crazy--like the unexpected strips of pink on the left! 

The District...has gone...to plaid!

Prints: equal rights for all!

I was thrilled to see that men are getting on the prints bandwagon after for so long being relegated to pinstripes and the odd screenprint!  And not just prints, but full-on image explosions.  The best example so far: Prada.  Duh.


 

possible inspiration: a Florida grandmother's armchair.



an homage to the cowboy/spaceship/dinosaur pyjamas of his youth.



As refreshing as, well, fresh fruit after seeing that banana skirt and striped dress on every woman ever to be photo'd.

 Since many girls I know have closets that are 99% prints, you guys have some catching up to do; bring on the fruit, flowers, animals, people, furniture, electronics, letters, words, landscapes, birds, insects, paint smears, trees...

Jay Bell tells men what buy and wear 'til it falls apart

Upon first starting this project/blog/self-education I came in with the assumption/stereotype that men's fashion had not changed much in the last fifty years.  And that may be partially true.  Aside from brief fads (trucker hats, piano key neckties, and popped collars), the shape of men's clothing stays true to a basic silhouette.  Case in point:



on the left, James Dean (obviously), and on the right, a look styled by Jay Bell for Barney's blog.

  But where men's fashion differs from women's is a focus on quality and utility: why mess with what so obviously works?  Men are often edged out of the fashion world; too fashionable/trendy and labels and stereotypes start to fly.  But men are adaptable and have chosen a different way to style themselves--their fashion language may be more like ASL: not loud, but rich with its own nuances.  To be concise: I love it. 


James pic courtesy of www.recliningpig.com

Do women influence men? Or men women? Or both? Or neither? I'm so confused.

We all know about menswear in women's fashion; hell, it's what half my closet is made of.  My favorite shoes are not my leopard heels, but rather my J Crew Elsbeth oxfords.  But what happens when the boys borrow from the girls?? This:

The Long-tailed Shirt

  Now I know fashion is organic and ever-changing--it's almost impossible to keep track of what started where after awhile--but I always thought the long-tailed shirt was made to cover the booties of us women less courageous in our spandex.  Since not many men wear spandex leggings (but if you do, hey, you're fabulous!) I never gave the shirts a second thought as menswear.   But I rather like it!   Lord knows if my boyfriend had a shirt like the Oak one above I'd take him to custody court for it if we ever broke up. 

The High Heel

Now the girls have owned this one for over a century, and we aren't giving it up easily (although if men want equal bunion rights, who are we to deny them their equality?); after all, we stole them first:



What do Louis XIV and Chuck Norris have in common?  They both wore lifts.  And rocked them.



Above: legs of a pilates god

But this mission is more "stealth" than "coup d'etat;"  designers are slowly re-introducing (or rather desensitizing) us to man-heels by 1/2 inch increments.




Mr. Jeffrey Campbell



I just hope the 2-foot-tall wigs aren't included. 

The Harem Pant

Alright, we all know the sordid story on this style: from fave of Aladdin's, to the untouchable wardrobe staple of Mr. Hammer, then stolen by the girls a few years ago.   But apparently men have snuck them back.  This reminds me of a particular trend in middle school, when the cheerleaders' boyfriends would borrow and wear their girlfriends letter jackets.  And think they were cool.  In shrunken cheerleading jackets.   Adolescence is a confusing time for us all. 
Anyway...
The boys can have this one back.  If they promise to give it its last hurrah and never speak of it again. 


Speaking of going out with a bang...

Lord.