November 22, 1963 we lost an American President and Icon.

The American Camelot became a symbol of idealism and optimism in the U. S. at a time when the country was losing hope.  That day the nation tumbled into despair. Our wounds have since healed and today’s anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination, we celebrate the immortal style of the House of Camelot.

Trust the Classics from Close Up And Private on Vimeo.

]]> http://renaissancemod.com/2011/11/20/in-classic-we-trust/feed/ 0 Trust-the-classics renmodadmin Trust-the-classics http://renaissancemod.com/2011/11/16/meet-the-wizard-of-oz/ http://renaissancemod.com/2011/11/16/meet-the-wizard-of-oz/#comments Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:50:45 +0000 renmodadmin http://renaissancemod.com/?p=314 Read more]]>

photo via Gaws

His name is Nick Wooster and he has directly influenced what you put on today. He doesn’t have his finger on the pulse of men’s style. He IS the pulse. Enough of the heavy petting;  Nick Wooster is the modern day Wizard of Oz.

Currently, he has been the Gilt MAN Fashion adviser doing trend forecasting for the past year.  Formerly of the Neiman Marcus Group, Nick certainly has the chops as he was fashion director of the aforementioned fashion house. “One does not simply walk into Mordor…” so to speak. He knows the score and deserves our homage. Yes my tongue is planted in my cheek but he’s doing great things for the industry.

(yes I realize this man does not have brown skin)

photo via Style Roast

1.
I’m not good at subtlety. If you’re not going to be discreet and quiet, then just go all the way and have the balls to shave off your eyebrows, bleach your hair, and put on some big bracelets.

2.
Working out is modern couture. No outfit is going to make you look or feel as good as having a fit body. Buy less clothing and go to the gym instead.

3.
I’ve lived in Paris for six years, and I’m sorry to say that the Ugly American syndrome still exists. Sometimes you just want to say “Stop destroying the landscape with your outfit.” Still, from a design standpoint, I’m tempted to redo the fanny pack. I look at it as a challenge—it’s something to react against.

4.
When a suit gets middle-of-the-road it kind of loses me—it has to be sharp and classic and almost forties.

5.
Hair and shoes say it all. Everything in between is forgivable as long as you keep it simple. Trying to talk with your clothes is passive-aggressive.

6.
There’s something a little too chatterboxy about color. Right now I want black, for its sharpness and punctuation.

7.
Jean-Michel Frank, the thirties interior and furniture designer, supposedly had 40 identical double-breasted gray flannel suits. He knew himself and is a wonderful example of restraint and extravagance.

8.
I hate rings and bracelets on men. I’m not a fan of man bags, or girl bags either—or even sunglasses. I don’t like fussy accessories. Isn’t it more chic to be free? Every jacket I make has interior pockets big enough to store a book and a sandwich and a passport.

9.
With layering, sometimes the more the better. When you layer a lot of black you’re like a walking Louise Nevelson sculpture, and that’s pretty attractive. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable is also one of the most attractive things you can do.

10.
It’s funny—whenever someone talks about rules, I just want to break them. I recoil from the whole idea of rules.

via Philosophy of the Well Fed

source: NBC.com

Oh lala!

David Krumholtz from CBS's Numb3rs and Playboy Bunny bookends

Star of David and double watches is how this twin rolls

So long! See you next year!

~rM

The Thomas Friedman-coined observation regarding the flattening of this planet has, among others, resulted in the Western world gaining easier access to Asian tailors. This is great news for people with a fashion aesthetic and a body type that are not available in most standard stores. We tried Indochino, and can say that the website offers solidly made clothing at a very decent price point.The whole place experience can be a little rough around edges, and you should be prepared to place multiple orders, work with alterations and do multiple measurement tweaks to get the best bang for relatively small bucks.

The process of ordering from Indochino is straightforward: the website (http://www.indochino.com) has short videos explaining how to take measurements for shirts, pants, and jackets. After about 15 measurements, you can order each of these pieces of clothing or entire suits and accessories. It is then possible to customize (collar size and form, jacket lapels, if/where/how to put initials and others) each piece of clothing to your liking. After paying for the order, it takes about two weeks for the piece(s) of clothing to be made, and about two working days for them to be delivered.

Ever since moving to the US, I struggled to find clothes that fit my body (tall and slender) and aesthetic preferences (slim-fit) at a price point that does not involve auctioning off organs or entering into multiple mortgages. Imagine the excitement when, rather than searching all over the Internet for the one 15 1/2″ collar / 37″ sleeve shirt that can be found online, to simply tell somebody to make one for you. Or a dozen.

That explains my excitement when I finally got the package in the mail. The first order, a simple white Oxford shirt, appeared well-finished. Maybe a little lighter fabric than I would have liked (this will be a wear-once, iron-once shirt). However, in spite of keeping all measurements on the tighter side, there was still at least 1.5″ open space around the biceps and 2-3″ in the waist area. No harm done – a tailor fixed this easily, and the next order would have different (tighter) measurements.

This time, the order consisted of a utility shirt and charcoal suit pants. The fabric of the utility shirt is much thicker and wrinkle-resistant than the Oxford – this is clearly a shirt for indoor, climate controlled environments. The measurements appeared to be better, but there’s still at least another 1 – 1.5″ of unwanted excess space on the waist. Reviewing the order shows that yes – the measurements should have been updated. It just appears as if they were not. Nothing that a tailor can’t fix (Indochino offers a free alteration service if anything is wrong with a piece of clothing), but it kind of kills the magic.

The pants were a bigger problem: very loose (about 1″ at the waist), at least 2″ too short, with a crotch that more resembles off-the-rack JC Penney’s dress pants than tailor-made apparel, it gave me the impression that the tailor used the measurements as a suggestion, instead of true instructions. Because of the lack of fabric, this was not something that a tailor could easily fix. This doesn’t bode well for the suit, although word-of-mouth for the suits so far has been better. It had better be, as these are sold for $375 – $500 (pants are roughly $100, and a shirt between $70 and $100).

Overall, I have mixed emotions about my experiences with Indochino. Don’t let the slick imagery on the website fool you: from what I’ve seen, their collection is still more geared towards an American aesthetic than the tighter fits of, say, Acne or Filippa-K. Even though this is a smart choice considering the appeal to a larger potential customer base, in my opinion Indochino missed an opportunity to set itself apart from off-the-rack apparel.

~ Jacco Kuipers

Ah, yes, September is upon us and that means Fall is just around the corner. Before you all go into debt for the next year because of holiday shopping set aside some of your hard earned green to spruce up your wardrobe. Remember, when honing your personal style there are no rules and classic is key.

Shades of Grey

Grey is always in style. ALWAYS. It is a neutral color that will pair with just about any combination of shirts and ties; pattern or solids. A tailored suit in light grey can be the most versatile piece in your collection. If you have to buy it off the rack be sure to have it tailored or else you’ll end up looking like a J. Edgar Hoover ‘G-Man’ in one of their trademark Sack Suits. You want the suit to be comfortable yet flattering. None do this better than Burberry, but that comes at a premium.

Light colors are more subdued when paired with grey but a bold colors like brown or navy will really wake up the look. My suggestion would be a charcoal grey suit either in a light pin stripe or solid. Try not to get too crazy with patterns and please, unless you own a tommy gun or are over 60, steer clear of the double breasted suits, not everyone can pull them off. Indochino have some fantastic and affordable grey and Fall offerings.

Nordic sweaters

There’s no doubt that well made Fall/Winter knitwear is always a great investment but there is no clearer harbinger of winter than the Nordic sweater. The Nordic name for these sweaters is Lusekofte and commonly feature an octogram design with the front opening usually closed by a row of pewter or silver clasps. Since they’re popularity has grown around the world so has their design. Now you can find them in different styles and colors other than the traditional black and white. What makes it great is that they’re often well made, they’re perfect when layering, flattering to most shapes; you can dress them up or down and they’re affordable. It’s always a bonus when you don’t have to spend a lot of money to feel warm and look great. Here are some on Etsy!

Tweed

Plain, simple and durable. Tweed is a rough spun fabric whose origins are owed to the Scots in the mid 1800′s. Tweed clothing has come back, yes but what makes it interesting and youthful now is the way its cut. Your Dad’s heavy twill blazer from the 70′s will still look out of place in 2012. If you go completely retro instead of buying something current, be sure to pair it with heavy denim or wear a zip up hoodie (or Nordic sweater ❤) underneath to give it a more youthful edge.  You shouldn’t have to spend an arm and a leg on tweed. I’ll go on a ledge and say the quality of fabric is nearly universal so feel free to buy that pair of pants you saw while shopping with your Gram from the Gap, L.B. Bean, Dockers or Land’s End. She’ll be oh so very proud. J. Crew usually has a very nice stock of tweed every year.

Military

Thank God the military style fashion is still in. Actually you can find military influences on fashion dating all the way back to the days of the Privateers who were commissioned by various navies and sometimes dressing like them mostly out of necessity. The trend of Naval ‘fashion’ continued through the 80′s with various shipping and fishing crews donning pea coats, long recognized as a staple navy coat. It goes on; bomber jackets from WWII, Cargo shorts from Vietnam, desert camo from the Gulf. Soldiers coming home would also incorporate bits of their BDU’s or battle dress uniform in their civilian lives. Ok, enough with history.

My favorites, however are the military style shirts. This style has remained mainly unchanged for over a hundred years. That’s pretty impressive. They’re also a favorite of Indiana Jones. Usually they’re pretty similar across the board so go bananas when shopping for them and just buy the least expensive shirt that looks the best on you. What makes them stand out from other shirts are commonly two large breast pockets and epaulettes.

American prep

The oft imitated never replicated tried and true American style will always be a classic go to. We all can thank Ralph Lauren who invented the new casual back in the 70′s. Well, him and Ivy League schools. Quoted from an article from The Times UK, “Ralph Lauren built a £4 billion empire on feeling that beat. He began 42 years ago selling ties, broader in width and more expensive than those commonly worn, from an office nook in the Empire State Building. Later, he moved on to shirts – devising the Polo logo because he thought it sounded sporty and international – of which many millions are now sold every year. Unlike other designers, he cannot cut or sew or sketch: he transmits what he wants to those who can, then edits and fine-tunes the result. This has led to accusations that he is merely a retailer or a stylist. But he has always weathered the industry’s frivolous whims: “I am not interested in fashion, only in clothes.”

Prep uses to be a four letter word when I was in high school from any perspective other than the rich kids, similar to how hipster is used so frivolously today.  Now because Prep is a new classic (and solidified by hip hop stars and hipsters alike) you can incorporate this classic casual style into your wardrobe without being made fun of. Well, your kids will still make fun of you but who cares! You look good! Andre 3000 approves.

~rM