School Supplies: Thrift Military Outerwear

-There have been a lot of great posts about finding the perfect coat around the men's style blogosphere lately, so I decided to drop some knowledge on two great thrift finds that have become my most worn winter coats. It's bound to get a little rambly, so the rest of the post (+links and more photos) is after the jump.

-So a lot of bloggers have been posting a lot of great stuff lately; Like this, and this, and this (there's been a ton of talk about Barbour lately but what about Belstaff, great heritage/great coats.) And that's all fine and dandy, but one main tenant of our mission statement is to be on the lookout for affordable style solutions.
-All these photos are much larger, click on them.

-First is my favorite, a coast guard coat that I purchased at Value Village for $13. I bought it in 2005 and it's still my go-to. It doesn't have a hood, but even though we live in one of the rainiest areas of the country, I don't mind. Hoods are ugly. This coat has been through some shit and it has proven to be just as tough as a Carhartt. It has a thicker lining than a Carhartt though.

-The back has a stencil that says USCGR (Coast Guard Reserve.) I've seen two other people on campus with this coat (one of them being my homie Chad who makes good tunes,) but neither of the copies I saw had the stencil or fit as well as mine. Check the detail shots and continue down for looks at my field jacket.

-Stencil

-I love little details like this fastener.


-Next, my field jacket. I got this at the Salvation Army. It was listed at $7 but I took the tag off and tried to put a $2 tag on, but it was too tough and I couldn't push the staple into it. When I took it to the counter and said that it had no tag, they told me it was $10. Honesty is always the best option, I guess.

-I don't have any clue as of the origin on this coat. The only label is the cleaning instructions and it has two words on it that may be Italian. Not quite as cool as this, but, you know, price.


-Great detail: One of those neck things, what are they called/for? They look cool though. Admittedly, I wear this one less than the coat above (mainly because it only has one working button,) but I felt that it belonged in the same post.

-Now, here is my secret weapon. The reason I can live here and manage not to be a slave to the Northface monotony monopoly^TM Camp Dry. Spray it on once a year. It's made for tents I think but it's cheap and works great.

-Great coats, not for a cocktail party, but for navigating the rugged but stylish Pacific Northwest. The lesson, develop a good eye for thrift-shop finds. Which reminds me, I need to drop a post about my $17 Harris Tweed. Which reminds me of another point; We've abstained a bit from posting more personal type content, but at nearly a year of operation I think we've established enough of a base to start taking more liberties. If you read this whole thing, you're a champ and we thank you. Word.
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Music Major: KORG Nano Series

-I've already got the microKORG and the KAOSSILATOR x KAOSS Pad set-up, so my next logical purchase is the Nano series. These controllers are super small so you can make tunes on the plane/train and they're all pretty affordable. I want. But I also need to save for the XL. Fuck.  more

Philanthropy: Jeff Hamada x Converse

-Here's another dope event happening in the Northwest. Livestock is hosting the release party for Jeff Hamada's Converse 1HUND(RED) sneaker. All the pertinent info is in the photo.

-Via Club Mumble and Hypebeast

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Intro to Cinema: Don't Call It A Comeback...

-When this year's Oscar nominees were announced last week, there weren't many surprises. Heath has it locked up, and there isn't much Doubt in my mind that Meryl Streep will bag another one. A lot has been written about the parallels between Mickey Rourke and his character in The Wrestler, but I didn't think much of it until I watched the movie and was absolutely blown away by his performance. It's obvious that Rourke has taken quite a few shots throughout his career, which made him surviving the electric chair in Sin City (above) that much more baller. A.O. Scott of The New York Times is one of my favorite film critics, and his review of The Wrestler is an excellent meditation on Rourke's career and the line between real and fake, whether on the screen or in the ring. When the bell rings on February 22nd, we'll be rooting for him.
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Design Major: Viktor & Rolf FW/09

-I was a bit of an outlier in my liking Viktor & Rolf's spring collection. I've got a feeling I may face some opposition in my appreciation for this offering as well. But tell me what's not bad ass about a 18th century style riding jacket and sweat trousers? Nothing. 

-Via men.style

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Faculty: Scott Sternberg

-I've mentioned a number of times that Band of Outsiders is one of my favorite labels. With this little bit of insight into the man behind the line, I'm beginning to see why brand's clothes are so spot-on. Sternberg took part in Details' regular feature "Rules of Style," and had some humorous advice to offer, most of which I found myself agreeing with.

-From the feature, "Talking about what brand you're wearing is gay in the bad way."

-I loved this line because I once tried to write a post dissecting how Details magazine itself was indeed, gay in a the bad way. I never posted the piece because I figured it would offend a lot of people who can't discern between the connotations of gay. Sternberg is apparently over that fear.

-More great advice, "Rabid atheism does not lead to attractive or acceptable cocktail-party conversation. You know who you are and you need to chill. We get it, okay? God is for dummies. Now shut your hole."

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Design Major: Paul Smith FW/09

-This may have been my favorite collection from Paris. It was just an array of subtly brilliant ideas, all perfectly assembled. The shortened tweed (second photo) was my favorite item, but I loved all the pairings of mismatched vests and jackets. Not to sure about the 90s style black jeans (last photo,) but we'll let that one slide. Be sure to click on the image to check it out full-size.

-Photos by Marcio Madeira via men.style 

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Design Major: Dior Homme FW/09

-It's a bit odd to me that I really enjoyed Kris Van Assche's collection for Dior Homme, but was put off by his own line (more on that in my upcoming 'disappointments' post.) As I've mentioned a number of times, KVA is one of my favorite designers, but his style seems to be ever drifting from the masculine nonchalance that first caught my eye a couple years ago. His Dior stuff seems to be much more in tune with what is happening on the street.

-Photos by Alessandro Lucioni via men.style

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