Sunday, May 23, 2010

gqmf


Ryan Gosling in Band of Outsiders

I haven't been shopping in three months and this image of Ryan Gosling heading to Cannes for the premiere of his new movie, "Blue Valentine", makes me think two things: my first purchases should be a new cardigan and a new pair of black slim cut jeans. I've been wanting the Band of Outsiders cardigan he's wearing since I saw it at Odin a couple months back. It's so simple and yet so stylish. I also need a pair of black slim cut jeans after I destroyed my Shipley & Halmos pair while playing kickball in January (long story). Can't it be Christmas in May and someone just give me these things?

via JustJared

Sunday, May 16, 2010

everybody in khakis

Rag & Bone
Blade II Chino, $265

Save Khaki
Classic Chino, $110

Topman
Vintage Wash Chino, $60

There was a period in my life where I almost exclusively wore nothing but khakis. I had every shade imaginable from Gap and J. Crew. But then suddenly one day, I decide NO MORE. I wish I could be that strict when it goes to stuff that's actually bad for me (alcohol, fast food, crushes from a far), but like any old habit, the desire to wear a khaki pant has come back. I wear jeans every day of my life and I like the comfort, ease, and practically that denim provides. They can be worn with literally almost anything to look super casual or super dressy and that universal quality is key to how I think about what to wear on a daily basis. Khakis, on the other hand, can be difficult because they can look too utilitarian or too Soccer Dad. The length is so important as well as the fit through the leg. I want something slim, but not ultra-skinny and with a little weight, but not linen or super light. Something with a stain resistant would be nice. I own two pairs of stain resistant khaki shorts from Gap that look like the day I bought them almost five years ago and I couldn't treasure them more. The search is officially on. Next thing you know, I might make a return to sweatpants. Or not.

three lovers

"La Collectionneuse"
directed by Eric Rohmer, 1967

Two guys and a girl in St. Tropez in the late 60's. It's the perfect setting for a story brimming with sexual politics and erotic tension. It's also innately stylish. Patrick Bauchau stars a man hellbent on achieving nothingness in an idyllic summer home. Enter the coy temptation that is sexual youth and abandonment played by Haydée Politoff. Oh, and his friend, Daniel Pommereulle, is staying with him too. Masterfully measured, the morally vexed tale of repression and release plays wonderfully and cruelly in such beautiful settings. The wardrobe is at times distracting because it seems so precise. Oversized cuffed shirts with extra long shirt tails, terry clothed sweatshirts, caftans for days spent lying in the brush, and of course, bikinis to eye at for days. There certainly isn't a timeless to every wardrobe choice, but the ones that do resonate last just as much as the power of Rohmer's art.

seeing red

Givenchy
Camp Shirt, $285

There are a handful of colors I tend to stay away from; orange, brown, yellow, anything day glo, and mint green. I try to lump red into that category, but I find myself time and time again trying to find a place for it in my wardrobe. I have one red Lacoste polo and the days when I decide it's time for it to come out of my drawer, I still somehow feel... not right. I think red looks best on me in stripe or plaid form, but red as a sold can be difficult because it can either make you look bold and badass or like the Kool-Aid man. I was doing some online window shopping and came across this Givenchy short sleeve button down. Wouldn't this look cool with a pair of khaki shorts and some sort of stripe cardigan? And I love the hidden button down detail save for the bottom button. The Givenchy woman looks good in red, why can't the man?