School Supplies: My Denim

-Here's a look at the jeans that I own. Not much to say, I just thought it would be interesting to compare them via their patch. Given my current hectic schedule, many of my posts for the foreseeable future will be mainly photographic. more

Dress Code: Rugby Newbury Chino Jacket

-I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I was contemplating buying this khaki blazer from Rugby. When RL was offering 25 percent off all items, I couldn't justify not picking it up for about $130. After messing around a bit it's become pretty clear that this jacket is going to be a favorite heading into summer, but it's also heavier than I'd expected and it should make the transition to fall pretty easily. For this first look I very blatantly referenced the May GQ cover, going with the Gap chambray work-shirt and a dark tie (tie and clip are vintage.) I'm a pocket square novice, but pairing my chambray pocket square from The Hill-Side with the shirt/jacket was a no-brainer. I'm going to try this look again with my Naked & Famous denim and see if it still translates. I might rock the white denim a few times this summer, but it's probably not something I'll go with regularly.
-Check out three more jacket-based looks I came up with after the jump.

-Click the images to enlarge.

-This second look is from yesterday's post about 511s, I think it shows the jacket in a more collegiate assemblage.

-Despite the inadvertently douchy poses, this is how I might rock this jacket in late September when the weather is starting to cool down. The shirt is Gitman Vintage, jeans are Naked & Famous.

-It's rare that you'll see me wearing a shirt without a BD collar, but I've been meaning to give this J.Crew purple gingham more play this summer. A grey tie always works with purple. The jeans are my raw 511s.
- When I previewed this post on Twitter, Jeremy and Lawrence clowned on my shoe-game a bit, and I must admit that their admonishments were warranted. Shoes, like the dudes from PutThisOn say in their new video, are an investment. For that reason, upgrading your footwear is a challenge for those on a college budget. I'm always on the eBay prowl for Alden steals, but until I've got a spare $500 to drop on some quality kicks, I'm happy with my beat-to-shit Sperrys and my $68 DKNY wingtips (among others.)
-Anyway, this jacket fits great (mine is a small) and it was a steal, I wholeheartedly recommend it. more

School Supplies: The Early Spring Virtual Shopper

-I was browsing End's Web site and found myself wishing I had quite a few of the items to help me navigate the daily weather variations of Northwest springtime. I don't do a lot of assembled looks because I think that actual fit on the body is the most important thing you can share if you're blogging about looks, but all of these items are things I'd snag without question if I had the dough. I blogged about Heritage Research parkas before, and of all the incredible high-end parkas out there, I think their versions are my favorite. I really love pairing denim or chambray shirts with bright red and that Edwin crewneck is about as good as a sweatshirt can get. I'm still on the hunt for some slim khakis, and though I probably wouldn't ever spend more than $200 on a pair, these ones look great. The loafers tie back in the navy from the parka, and I added the bag just for good measure. 

-Heritage Research British millerain longline parka, $327

-Edwin corps sweatshirt, $117

-Levi's vintage sawtooth denim shirt, $187

-A.P.C. classic slim-fit chino, $246

-Surface 2 Air moccasin tassle loafer, $141

-Mismo weekend bag, $448

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Dress Code: Same Day, Different Shit

-Just thought I'd throw these up to illustrate something that has been happening to me lately  (though I was reluctant to post these because the tripod height made me look wicked short.) Some days, like today, I have to walk to school pretty early. So I get dressed in my usual manner; 4 out-of 5 days a week I wear some sort of oxford/tie/sweater combo. Then I come home for lunch for about an hour before heading back to school, depending on the day. Lately, the change in temperature between the two times I head to school has been pretty significant, and I've felt like skating on my second trip to school. So I've been trying to figure out how to change into something skatable and not look like a douche bag who goes home and changes his outfit at lunch. These pictures show how I navigated that conundrum today (basically just ditching the tie and untucking so I could move fluidly.) more

Dress Code: Winter/Spring Whites

-White jeans can be hard to pull off. When I do it, I make sure to make my other colors pretty muted.
-Check out Grace's take on the white/chambray look here. more

Home Ec: Repair Character

-As of late I'm really beginning to appreciate the detail and character that's added to a garment as you repair it; Whether you're sewing on plastic $.01 buttons in place of missing wooden ones, or patching the knee of your favorite pair of Levi's with a pocket from an old pair, the resultant individuality given to each garment is priceless. Click picture for details.

-Via our Flickr.

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Back to School Shopping: 1969 Denim Jacket

-Just a quick pitch about my very seldom-worn Gap 1969 denim jacket which is now up for grabs on our eBay page. When I bought this jacket they were out of smalls so I grabbed a medium and as a result, I was never really able to craft an outfit around it. I've decided to opt for a slimmer Levi's denim jacket and pass this one on to someone who will love it properly.

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Design Major: Geller x Levi's

-I haven't been that pumped on Robert Geller, even with him winning GQ's best new menswear designer earlier in the year. His stuff is a little too modern for me. But I'm passionate about Levi's, and this collaboration, what little we get to see of it, looks like it's going to be amazing.

-Worthwhile press release after the jump.

American designer Robert Geller and quinessential denim purveyors Levi’s embark on an upcoming collection set to release on September 10th. The collection includes a series of pieces based on archival Levi’s styles ranging from the 1910s through the 1950s as he made an effort to give a contemporary platform for vintage construction and workwear. A full press release seen below gives further insight into the collection.

Designer Robert Geller has created a cobranded denim collection with Levi’s that will hit stores next month.

The 11-piece capsule range will be sold in 12 Bloomingdale’s units, on bloomingdales.com and in seven Levi’s stores in New York, San Francisco, Miami Beach, Beverly Hills and Bucktown, Ill., beginning Sept. 10.

The collection will be celebrated with a party at Bloomingdale’s Manhattan flagship on Sept. 9, and is featured in the September issue of GQ. The project comes after Geller’s win in GQ’s Best New Menswear Designer in America competition in February.

“The most important thing I tried to do was to get to the source of what I think makes Levi’s so cool, while bringing to that my own ideas that might make the garments more modern and nice for my customers,” Geller said.

In that vein, Geller took historic Levi’s archive pieces and evolved them toward his own sensibilities. The 606 Super Slim jean from the line was developed from a Sixties model, while a chambray shirt was given a salt wash, and Geller’s signature armhole pleat was added. Military taping was applied to a denim work jacket’s sleeve placket, and a denim parka was given a swallowtail hem, another signature Geller flourish.

Geller worked closely on the project with Carl Chiara, director of men’s and women’s brand concepts at Levi’s Americas, during the design process.

“Robert was especially inspired by vintage constructions and workwear styling and wanted to address that aspect of our history through his voice,” Chiara said. “We pulled work coats from the 1910s to the 1950s and worked off the functional yet minimal approach to purposeful, rational design and put it in a new context.”

Prices for the collection range from $95 for the 1853 sun-bleached T-shirt to $575 for the hooded parka with blanket lining. The jeans in the collection are $275 and the shirts range from $195 to $265.

This is the second year Levi’s, GQ and Bloomingdale’s have partnered for the men’s design competition. Engineered Garments won last year.

“[GQ creative director] Jim Moore and his team have brought a great level of excitement to this endeavor, and it’s projects like these that keep department stores vibrant,” said Kevin Harter, vice president of fashion direction for men’s, home and young world at Bloomingdale’s.

Geller, who received a $50,000 cash prize, is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and a former partner in the now-shuttered men’s label Cloak. He launched the Robert Geller collection in fall 2007. It is sold in about 60 top specialty stores, including Odin, Confederacy, American Rag, Lane Crawford and Isetan. more

Design Major: Carhartt Collabs

-Similar to the 686 x Levi's collab I posted about in August, Burton has now teamed up with legendary workwear purveyors Carhartt. The collection is yet another in a slew of recent well-chosen Carhartt collaborations, like this Carhartt x Vans Chukka Boot.
-In addition to these projects, Carhartt Streetwear actually has a very respectable (and massive) collection available. The minds behind Carhartt's urban sector have been earning a lot of respect in the past few years with forward thinking projects like these, but I'm still haunted by the time last year when there were perfectly worn Carhartt pants in my exact size at Val Villy, but I didn't have the $10 they cost. I came back the next day, they were gone:(
-Photos from the Burton collection after the jump, and be sure to click the link to the streetwear site there's some ill stuff there.





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Design Major: Levi's x 686

-I've been out of the snowboarding scene for a couple years and generally have a low opinion of most snow-related brands, but I've always been down with 686. And as I've professed many times before, I'm a die-hard Levi's aficionado. I generally don't like to post on the buffet of streetwear collab news that comes out daily, but this is a collab I actually think is innovative. 686 has teamed with Levi's to do a line of snow gear, I'm assuming the pieces are using 686 waterproof technology over Levi's denim and classic silhouettes to bring a much needed breath of fresh style to the mountain. The line is also reported to include an adapted 514 (best jean ever) snowboard pant, which is enough to make me want to hit up the mountain, or maybe just dust off my copy of Heavy Shreddin'. A few more worthwhile pics after the jump.
-Via Hypebeast



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Design Major: JW x Levi's

-We saw the gingham lined jeans in Junya Watanabe's Paris show recently, now we see the commercial application. JW has teamed with Levi's to do create this model. I love when Levi's does designer collaborations because I generally only where Levi's and avoid dropping $300 on designer jeans. I hope they put these out as a 514.
-I'm guessing you can get the higher priced version from JW's own line at his new Hong Kong store. more

PowerPoint: On Campus

-Legit 90s ripped Levi's

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