My very sole

It just wouldn't be fair to ramble on for a week about what other folks fit on their feet without giving the beat from my seat.

To quell the summer heat (gotta get off this rhyming scheme), in splendid spite of sandals and Berks (which we'll get into later) I turned to the Benny.
First the Benny Breaker by Puma, a light weight canvas sneaker, that can be snagged at any reputable sports clothing store. Mine are actually the white invert of the above, with a splash of green wave on the side for colour.And second the even lighter weight Benny by Aldo, a classier looking leisure sneaker that comes in a variety of designs, varying from the above seen and owned harlequin pattern, to more.... abstract choices.

Feet Week

We're kicking off shoe week here at Bloke with a little help from our friends over at Sneaker Freaker Magazine and the remarkably designed New Balance A20.

New Balance takes a trip to the ol’ Wild West with their new Navajo-Indian inspired A20 boot. Perfect for the urban cowboy roaming Harajuku’s proddy prairies, this suede steed features embossed NB branding on the heel and tongue, leather heel tassels, chunky cross-stitching plus woven rainbow bands similar to the patterns found in traditional Navajo textiles.

Oh man... now I'm going to have Hollah Back Girl stuck in my head all day.
Dammit.

Anyway, enjoy poking around AF, they've got a simply fantastic array of new designs, and we'll be back with more tomorrow!

Lids

Today we doff our caps to the cherry on the top of any assembled ensemble, thanks to the good folks over at the Village Hat Shop, who are guaranteed to have the right fit for even the most swollen of heads. From western and derby to fedora and even top hat, the Village has styles and designs to fit all noggin's with modest-to-a-bit-steep-but-okay prices.

Older than dirt but twice the thread count

So you think you're the vintage king of your little corner of Bohemia? Let me tell you my friend, while you're wallowing in your 60's and 70's hand me down charm from your parents and grandparents, Defunkd is rocking the old school so hard, I could have sworn I saw Buddy Holly, Richy Valens and the Big Bopper shopping around for carry on luggage.

From classic trainers (back when they were used for, you know, sports) and Hawaiian shirts, to oddities you (I) never would have considered wearing, like the below featured 50+ year old prison jacket, plus a massive section of ebay-available t-shirts for the guys and gals, Defunkd delivers the unexpected.

"You bett'r not git shank holes in dem shirts boy" the imposing chain gang guard shouted, petting his shotgun and smelling oddly of his sister, "that there's haute couture"

8 Bit and Well Fit

Think Geek achieves a new high score with these cutting edge graphic 8-bit ties, unlocking a bonus level of menswear and terrible tongue in cheek video game puns. Available in either classic red versus classic blue, they carry just enough geek cred meets design innovation that we can overlook the rather sad fact that they are, horror of horrors, clip ons.

Stylish Tie Looks just like what Mario wore to his high-school graduation.

Not available for purchase; clip on emo-hair.

What more can be said?

For anyone who's a little new to the fashion scene, I'd like to take the opportunity now to introduce you to who could easily be considered the ultimate style guru to ever grace these inter-nets. We at Bloke and Fashion Me Fabulous swear by him, as not only does his taste never falter, he always finds a way to track down the most incredibly dressed people, not on the catwalks of Europe, but the streets of everyday cities and towns (well, so long as you consider Paris and New York everyday cities)... and more, is ballsy enough to walk up to them and take a photograph.

Anyone who's picked up a copy of GQ will be familiar with Scott Schuman, The Sartorialist, and frankly, you should be too.


Check him out at both his blog and over at Style.com

He's the other man...

Thank god (Allah, Buddha, Jebus and the bartender) for the Atlantic delay. I speak of course of the perplexing month(s) long wait for anything published across the pond in jolly old England (those of you keeping score may have noticed a trend...), which must be shepherd over the big blue wet thing on a one man dingy powered by sheer will and a lazy current.

An Other Man's Spring and Summer style guide is finally here, and as I said, thanks for the delay, otherwise I would have completely missed out on snagging a copy. An Other Man, by the publishers of An Other and Dazed & Confused (excellent publications of repute) hits selves bi-annually with the designers collections, and rarely disappoints. Though I'd sooner turn to Dazed/Confused for articles and interviews, Another Man is essential for the Style Guide included with the issue (and how could you say anything bad about a magazine that follows up a near inch thick copy with a "free" guide, itself worth the price of admission?) that features the near-entire line of men's collections on only the twiggiest of male models.


Sadly, no matter how hard I wish upon the full spectrum of stars in the night sky, I can't find any of the images from the magazine online, aside from the cover... so here's my favorite design this year from Dolce and Gabbana instead.

"Report for Duty" really is a terrible pun

Colbert captures class even in combat.

Brooks Brothers’ Southwick factory in Haverhill outfitted Stephen Colbert with a custom-tailored camouflage suit for his USO tour of Iraq.

The clothing company made the suit using the Army’s “digicamo” material and the Madison style from the 1818 Collection.

“The suit has all of the finish details found in Brooks Brothers suiting, including a tan lining with the jacket sleeves lined in a cream and green-striped fabric,” the company said in a statement.

Now if only they'd design an evening flack jacket, maybe Dolce and Gabbana camo.

For wearing and watching

These ties have a hidden surprise.

Thanks to Paris over at our sister blog Fashion Me Fabulous for bringing to my attention Miss Feeney's Finery classic fedoras and deceptively exciting ties.

Secreted inside the liner of each necktie and fedora is a Kent Steine signature pinup girl. A partnership with Steine was a perfect fit for Miss Feeney's. Steine produces images in the classic pin-up style, with just the right amount of modern appeal. Miss Feeney's founder, Marie Shepard, says of Steine's work: "We were looking for an update of the classic Pinup Girl; bringing her into the 21st century while keeping all of her demure, war-era sensuality intact. Kent really gets it." Pinup ties were all the rage in the 1940s and 50s, and it is this trend that inspired the creation of Miss Feeney's Finery.

And on that note, I'm off to raid my grandfather's old clothing chest.

No school like the old school

I must admit, I've been looking forward to this article for quite some time, but was never sure just how to get the ball rolling. I first came across the site/community/magazine a few years ago through a '7 shades of Kevin Bacon' esq wander through wikipedia, beginning with Joey Ramone and ending with The Chap.


As they may have put it better in their "manifesto" than I ever could:

The Chap proposes to take a stand against this culture of vulgarity. We must show our children that the things worth fighting for are not the latest plastic plimsolls but a shiny pair of brogues. We must wean them off their alcopops and teach them how to mix martinis. Let the young not be ashamed of their flabby paunches, which they try to hide in their nylon tracksuits - we shall show them how a well-tailored suit can disguise the most ruined of bodies. Finally, let us capitalise on youth's love of peculiar argot Ð only replace their pidgin ghetto-speak with fruity bons mots and dry witticisms.

Launched in 1999, The Chap out of England is part sartorial satire and statement, mixing critical humour about the state of modern fashion (well, Chavs really) and youth with snappy style and Gatsbian sensibilities.

Sadly, the publication was recently threatened, like many during the recession, with having to neatly fold their Arrow collars and close up shop. Though they seem to be out of the woods now, for the most part, I urge you to hop on by the site and show your support (I'm sure they'd love monetary donations, but a little publicity probably helps just as well).

T-shirts, T-shirts, T-shirts

We'd simply be fooling ourselves if, in our quest to find every t-shirt anywhere, ever, we overlooked Threadless any longer... and we're only on the second article. The outstanding designs and amazing price(s) should be more than enough to rock your socks, but t-shirts so good they actually sell prints for your wall?

Damn.
Damn indeed.

Captain's Closet

With work nearly completed on a rather lengthy post I've been meaning to write for...oh wow, longer than I'm comfortable admitting, I'd like to take the lazier route today before finally tackling tomorrow and instead link you to a damn decent spread over at GQ this month starring New-Kirk Chris Pine and this year's line of summer suits.

Check out the moccasins by Banana Republic.
Brave lad there.

Steam

All I can really say is, thank you Etsy, for showing me that the impossible is not only real, but has a decent shipping and handling cost.

I'm not much for Steam Punk (aside from marveling at) or tailcoats, but it'd be a shame not to recognize the potential both offer.