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

man vs. dog

Buffalo Trace
White Dog
I had the distinct pleasure a few months ago to visit the Woodford Reserve distillery in Woodford County, Kentucky. Amidst horse farms and grass that isn't quite blue, but was certainly very green, me and a group of friends were treated to a private tour of the distillery to see how one of the best tasting spirits is produced. Aside from it being very informative and proud that my home state produces such a fine product, it was also a chance to catch a buzz in the early afternoon. Our lovely tour guide, MollyAnn, allowed us to taste the clear beast that is know as White Dog. It's the bourbon fresh from the still before it's barreled, aged, and allowed to mellow out. It's 125 proof. Yes, 125 proof. It has a slight citrus taste and it's definitely warm going down. The strength of its punch will linger on your palette for a bit, but it's worth the sting. Buffalo Trace bottles it and I'd be curious to try it again, but definitely at my own risk.

serge

"Mr. Iceberg"
Serge Gainsbourg
1979

I now have permission to not wear socks until the fall.

carry all

Man Tote, Price Upon Request
Pabst Blue Ribbon
The ultimate man tote and it's all mine!

performance: on the run

If the guns, sex, '70s grit, or the film's middle-finger-to-the-world point of view isn't seductive enough, please watch the opening credits sequence to Sam Peckinpah's "The Getaway".

the look

Avedon Fashion
1944-2000
International Center of Photography
The lines, the composition, the glamour, the sex, the energy--what more could you want?

king of cool

"Yesterday’s Loner: Steve McQueen"
Film Society of Lincoln Film Center
May 20-26, 2009
I. WILL. BE. THERE.

the one and only

Helmut Lang attending
Cartier 100 Years in America
April 30th, 2009
This is exactly how I'd want a suit to fit. I miss Helmut. I have strong memories of flipping through my dad's GQ's from the mid-late 90's and his look was always persuasively described as "cool", "austere", and "of-the-moment." Whatever it was, it made sense to me. His jeans were the first designer jeans I felt like I had to own and I wanted to imitate his paired down, minimalist style with the basics I could afford at Gap and Old Navy. I 'mstill waiting for that Helmut piece that I'm sure will change my life, but until then I'll keep hoping to look as refined and relaxed as Mr. Lang.

the rogue

Tom Tykwer's "The International" isn't perfect, but it's Clive Owen does what he does best--he's a total badass. He looks like the guy you can grab a couple of beers with, but can also wield a gun like he was born to kill. And for one contemplative moment of cinematic synergy, can we imagine what Jean-Pierre Melville could have done with Owen's steely reserve?

penthouse pet

Ain't that the life? I have a not so guilty pleasure for E!'s "Girls Next Door" and while I was home over the holidays watching a marathon, Hef and the girls were going through his scrapbooks that detail his enviable life. Hef fondly reminisced the days of "Playboy After Dark", his short lived television series from the late 60's that purported the myth of the swanky, louche, playboy lifestyle his empire embodied. It may look silly and outdated, but it looks fun as hell. I wouldn't mind spending my New Years with a lemon schnapps and lounge singer entertainment.

Other great moments on the series via YouTube:
Roman Polanski, Sharon Tate, and Hef discuss sex on film

James Brown performs "Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud"

George Carlin regaling the crowd

performance: the man who wasn't there

Philip Seymour Hoffman
photographed by Michael Thompson, GQ January 2001
This is no Photoshop job, ladies and gentlemen. Philip Seymour Hoffman was on the cover of GQ a couple of years ago and he looks pretty GQ, wouldn't you say? As one of the most consistent working actors (actor, not movie star) in contemporary cinema, Seymour Hoffman has the kind of pedigree attached to his name that you figure anything he's in must be good, or at the very least of interest for the scenes he's featured in. His pink face and unashamed rotund belly allow him to slip into the shadows of just about any character he plays, lending those features to portrayals of less than pretty people in less than pretty worlds. Last year he hit a trifecta with impressive turns in "When the Devil Knows You're Dead", "Charlie Wilson's War", and "The Savages" and this year he was perfectly pathetic as the theater director obsessed with his own mortality in Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, New York" and a gentle giant mistaken for a monster in John Patrick Shanley's "Doubt." I know I said I wouldn't see the film, but if anything it was a chance to see some great Acting (it's such grandstanding acting that it deserves the capitalization). Seymour Hoffman goes up against Meryl Streep with confident ferocity in a movie that unfortunately feels like all of the action happens in a Tupperware container, and by that I mean it's too hermetically sealed in its own theatrical set pieces and uneven performance styles. It's an honest and convincing performance in a movie that doesn't always feel as such. I'd recommend checking out the lengthy article on the humble actor in The New York Times Sunday Magazine.

the sartorialists: five best dressed men of 2008

In a year in which we elected a president who will be this century's most glamorous and iconic fearless leader and everyone was talking about the natty suits worn by ad men on Madison Avenue in the 60's, it's clear that male style was in a good place this year. All of these men look cool and confident, the true definition of personal style. Knowing how to wear a blazer doesn't hurt either.

Barack Obama, President of the United States of AmericaHe is the definition swagger. He's everything we want from our man in charge--intelligent, confident, inspiring, charismatic, and really fucking stylish.

John Slaterry, actorIt's good to see a bit of the "Mad Men" cool carries over into his personal style. It's all about the pocket square this year, right?

Joshua Jackson, actorI'm shocked by this choice as well. I guess once you get a hot German girlfriend who looks good in about anything, you start looking good as well. Proof positive that sometimes all it takes is a good woman to make you a better man.

Dominic Cooper, actorI didn't see either one of his films that came out this year ("Mama Mia! and "The Duchess"), but I have admired his youthful but polished sense of style. It must be in the Brits bones to wear well cut blazers like no one else.

Jamie Hince, musician and boyfriend of Kate MossI don't listen to The Kills and I'm typically ambivalent about Kate Moss, but for some reason I love the paparazzi shots of them together. They complement each other really well and I love how comfortable he looks in a casual leather jacket and a three piece suit. A man for all seasons indeed.

Honorable Mention
Aaron Eckhart
Matthew Goode
George Clooney during award season

Worst Dressed
Daniel Day Lewis during award season
Chris Brown
Mickey Rourke

want: the one we all strive to be

Steve McQueen
photographs by William Claxton
$19.99“One time when I was with him, he drove a brand new Ford convertible, with only thirty miles on the speedometer, at top speed for such a long stretch of the Texas highway that the engine began to smoke and eventually caught on fire. He slowed down and shouted to me, “Clax, when I tell you to jump, jump!” We did jump out of the car just as it burst into flames. Steve sat on the side of the country road at a safe distance from the burning vehicle and laughed his head off.”—William Claxton

Who needs Black Friday when you can window shop online?

living in america

Obama '08
by Jonathan Horowitz
Yes we can and yes we did.

in memoriam: paul newman

"Hud"
directed by Martin Ritt
1963

One of the last of the greats...

the tin man

(left to right)
Robert Downey Jr., Clive Owen, Edward Norton, Daniel Craig,
David Beckham, Sean "Diddy" Combs, and Matthew Goode
The gray suit is the new khaki suit for summer.

a tribute: "the swimming pool"

"Is it hot out?" inquires a bronzed Romy Schneider. Without missing a breathless beat, an equally tawny Alain Delon replies, "Boiling!" Bluntly titled "The Swimming Pool", Jacques Deray's 1969 scorcher concocts a morality tale about devotion, relationships, and the desires that percolate beneath the surface. The action is hermetically set around an ominous swimming pool at the Riviera estate of a sun-kissed couple, Marianne (Schneider) and Jean-Paul (Delon). The action in question is the unexpected arrival of an old friend (Maurice Ronet) and his gamine daughter (Jane Birkin). What results doesn't really matter so much. How can you concern yourself with a plot when Birkin is traipsing about a party in high-waisted jeans, plain white tee, and no regard for a bra? Schneider is a sensuous vision in a mod André Courrèges confection for a dinner party scene that is fueled by so much sexual tension and repression you'd expect smoke rings to find their way out of someone's ears. The real star of the show, Mr. Delon, is the epitome of casual summertime male glamour. Sunglasses, basic tees, jeans, an endless array of swim trunks--what more does a man need for a weekend spent by the pool? To see Delon looking so relaxed in a denim jacket or short sleeve linen shirt is a bit jarring for those of us who are more familiar with the elegant coolness (René Clément's "Purple Noon" and Michelangelo Antonioni's "L'Eclisse") or the hard as nails killers (Jean-Pierre Melville's "Le Samourai") and cops (Deray's "Flic Story") he has iconically played. The film is permeated by a loose, beachy breeziness that befits the ease of its otherwise ultra glamorous stars, and yet intrinsically connects the literal heat to the primal sensuality each of the leads are more than capable at exuding. Clad in only their bathing suits while intertwined on a couch like some tanned, knotted, beautiful sculpture, the repartee between Schneider and Delon during their discussion of the heat outside is not only a scene that thrives on its palpable sexiness, but it's also style at its summery best.

"The Swimming Pool" is available on DVD now.

first look: quantum of solace

"Quantum of Solace"
directed by Mark Forster
November 7, 2008

GREAT GOOGA MOOGA THIS MOVIE LOOKS GOOD!

the man

Clive Owen in Giorgio Armani
at the Giorgio Armani Spring/Summer 2009 collection in Milan
And I thought I perfected the shades of gray look.

it comes down to a tie

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
and Sam Riley at the 61st Cannes Film Festival

Classic glamour versus modern. Who wins?