Dreamscape Styles

The ladies over at Fashion Me Fabulous (and, well, everyone else) have been talking up the damn-fine-in-a-suititude of Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Fair.

Jeffrey Kurland, costume designer for Inception, speaking recently to Clothes On Film, recounted the importance costumes play to the core theme of the movie,

Arthur’s character was a cab driver in this dream and Cobb’s character was a kidnapper/thug. To be true to the scene and convincing to Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy’s character), they were dressed accordingly. Their leather jackets were different in fit and style but still kept a cohesive look respecting the architect and the dream.

With attention to detail like that, it only seems logical that any fine dressing film buffs could buy a reproduction or two, and find themselves looking as sly as Mssr. Levitt. Not today, Mr. Spock.

Film Jackets is a site dedicated to one task; finding that jacket you saw on the screen, and getting it to you. On any search for a cinematic coat, it is my first stop, and usually my only. With nearly a hundred other styles available, the results for Levitt's wardrobe are a stark "Not Known".

One Google search later, and hope disappears again. Designer Jeffrey Kurland has neither studio site, nor online store. In fact, the only results turned up for any Inception inspired duds, were a handful of fan-made t-shirts over at Red Bubble, and a very nice upscale store in Toronto, featuring Kenneth Cole, Haight/Ashbury and Buffalo, that just so happens to share it's name with the film (and I'm sure is getting quite a bit of confused traffic such as myself).

While nothing officially reproduced may be on the racks online any time soon, most up-scale mens stores should be able to cater to the look you're after. Just tell them Gordo sent you.

Photo credit American Superstar
Clothes on Film

Time has come today

Humans have kept track of time since, at the very least, 10, 000 BCE, developing both simple and complex calenders that allowed them to keep track of the seasons and better predict when to plant and harvest their crops. Magellan used 18 slow pouring hour glasses to track his (doomed) voyage around the globe. Einstein's assertion that time was relative completely changed how science thought of the natural world, and allowed us to venture to the stars (or at least, in their general direction for a few million miles before the battery runs out).

Today, we stand on the brink of a brave new world, with a brave new way to tell time.
Today, we Defy.

Lasers, explosions

I've been fascinated by the road wrist watches have gone down in the last decade. While supe'd up watches are nothing new, I myself as a young child pined over a "limited edition Dick Tracey communicator watch!", they've been trying their best to incorporate new technology as fast as they can. Why? Because they've all but died to the 35 and under crowd, who turn to their cell phones for the time, just as they turn to them for just about anything else.

"Black microblasted titanium case, Black titanium bracelet with blue lateral inserts, Deployant buckle, Unidirectional rotating black carbon fiber bezel, Screw down crown and push buttons, Black dial with silver carbon fiber in center, Luminous hands, Small seconds subdial, Chronograph feature (Seconds, Minutes, Hours), Magnified date at the 12 o'clock, Tourbillon visible at the 11 o'clock, Scratch resistant sapphire crystal, Automatic mechanical movement, Water resistant to 1000 meters/ 3330 feet. Shock and high pressure resistant."

Who is this fantastically expensive watch for?
Batman?

For what it's worth, wikiAnswer list the following as records for diving.

"A Navy diver submerged 2,000 feet (609.6 m), setting a record using the new Atmospheric Diving System (ADS hardshell suit), off the coast of La Jolla, CA, on Aug. 1 2007.

The deepest open circuit scuba dive was accomplished by Pascal Bernabé (Ralf Tech/WR1 Team) who on July 5, 2005 descended to 1,083 feet (330 m). The dive took place near Propriano, Corsica."

This is the problem I have with watches.
When they just tell time, they're fantastic. A gold watch, or pocket watch on a chain can be the perfect accent to a terrific outfit, and make a far better statement on your personal state-of-class than the snazziest smart phone ever can.
In a post-camera phone world (where the phone-in-one seemingly began), the gadget watch seems like a retro gag. Sure, it may have titanium plates, silver carbon fibre, and the ability to survive far more atmospheric pressure than the person wearing it, but can it play an mp3? Can it interact with GPS? Can I check my Gmail?

Zenith is a fantastic company who have produced quality time pieces for years.
And to be frank, I think they should stick to doing just that.

Photo source Zenith/Amazon

Perfecto!

I'd like to share with you my latest fashionable obsession.

One of the cultural cornerstones of near-and-current contemporaria to came out of the end of the Second World War was the motorbike. Not an innovation of the global conflict itself, the bike was one of the unexpected bastard-child no one saw coming. As a literal army of young men arrived home from the front lines, as occurs with many wars and generations, some found themselves a piece out of place.

Still wired for war, many set out on their own, leaving behind what friends and families they once had, joining up with army buddies and criss-crossing the country on the ex-military standard Harley Davidson. By the close of the 1940's, the biker had become a national bogeyman, a nightmare on the edge of the otherwise forced-smile-happy-home-made Atomic Era. When Marlon Brando blew into the town of Wrightsville with his Black Rebels club in the classic counter-culture film The Wild One, he changed forever how the public saw youth-in-leather... and he did it wearing a Perfecto 618.

Marlon Brando circa 160 pounds

Designed by Irvine Schott in 1928, and refined into its familiar form by the mid-40's, the Perfecto is the ultimate leather jacket. Instantly recognizable across the globe as "badass", the Perfecto style jacket has become so intrinsic to the rebel-look that decades of rip-offs and selling out by those wearing them hasn't tarnished the jackets bad-boy reputation. It floats freely from fashion trend to fashion trend, sexually androgenyous and gender neutral unlike any peice of clothing in history. If you find one that fits, no one really cares, or can tell, if it was made for the opposite sex.

Joan Jett circa Blackhearts

I spent the better part of 3 months searching mostly in vain for this very piece. 'Come hell or high water', remarked I, 'it will be mine.' At first I was surprised by how hard it was to find... iconic enough to have survived Disco, yet missing in action... I had assumed at the very least 60+ years would result in a few piles of the old things waiting for someone to claim them and return them to their former glory. I was wrong. Mere hours before I would resign myself to another season without this glorious piece, one entered my life by way of H&M. Faux leather, "crinkled" creases all over (as per current flare laws, apparently) and badly in need of a pressing, it was still love at first sight.

So here's to you, legendary pop-culture icon jacket.
May you raise hell, rock out and terrify parents for another 60 years.

Ramones, circa 1-2-3-4

Katty on the runway

There are a few designers that we here at Bloke believe to be of such concentrated creative insanity, that to not watch as they pass by is to embrace the inky bitterness of self-imposed blindness.

Vivienne Westwood is their queen.

Easily the most talented member of the fashion collective/experiment/freak out that spawned the Sex Pistols, English punk fashion, and through a sad 30 year long journey of cultural twists and marketing turns, Avril Lavigne, Westwood has amazed, frightened, and sexually frustrated audiences around the world with styles that usually defy any sense at all, despite being perfect. Without her, there is little doubt the 70's polyester hell would have carried on long into the late 1980's.

That someone would throw a stuffed cat at her during the finale of her Paris show on Friday makes all the sense it ever needs to.

Photo source Reuters

And the winner is...

Glitz, glam, gowns, and the ruthless combat between designers and critics where the only casualty is the lady-in-question's style are the typical fair for the Academy Awards... unless you're the good folks at Out magazine.

Seizing on the sad fact that live-commenting the men on the red carpet this and pretty much any other year is an exercise in the mundane, Out has fashioned a what-if of leading fellas dressed in the best spring/summer has to offer.


While George Clooney, Jeff Bridges and Woody Harrelson are passable in some pretty oddball styles (Woody in a skirt? It's almost too perfect...), Matt Damon in Zucchelli and Christoph Waltz in Galliano steal the show.

Of course, it's wishful thinking. For chaps, the Oscars have always been a penguin affair.

Usually.

Photo source Yahoo Movies and Out Magazine

McQueen

We here at Bloke were greatly saddened by the news of ace-designer Alexander McQueen's passing in London on Thursday. Early reports indicate that McQueen took his own life. He was 40.

The much celebrated designer had been a top name in fashion for years, redefining mens and womens style with the whimsy of a Dadaist. Even as late as last month, McQueen continued to produce brilliant new works that won over audiences with no hint that he was troubled. His career had been one success after another, culminating in induction as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2003 for his sartorial efforts, along with a highly praised personal line, and collaborations with MAC and Lady Gaga.

He will be greatly missed by all of us at Bloke and Fashion Me Fabulous.

Alexander McQueen
1969 - 2010

The mid-winter shoe

The metaphorical mayfly... or better yet, june bug of foot wear. Made necessary by the siege warfare road salt wages every year against shoes and boots alike in northern climates. When a well worn pair are ceremoniously or unceremoniously heaved into the waste bin (choose accordingly), defeated by the caked on sodium that wears a shining fake-leather into cracked plastic, and sued or fur into stucco, the mid-winter shoe comes bravely to face it's ultimatly tragic destiny.

It typically comes from the post-Christmas month-spanning sales, when prices are in free fall. A pair that began as $90 now wears the bargin-red sticker of $17.95.

They are an investment only as a stylish 'survival' method until the ice of winter and the mud of sping clear up, and like Leonidas and his 300 at Thermopylae, are fated to be destroyed fending off the worst the world can throw at them, protecting the rest of your shoe rack.

They are usually a thicker sneaker of boot, perfect for the cold and wet seasons, but uncomfortable (and by then, ugly) in the summer, eventually becoming out of style by the fall.

Few ever make it that far. Most begin to fall apart by May, and are religated to being hidden in a closet or kept outside in the garage, rarely if ever to be worn again.

This year, I think I shall do my best to save mine.

Fashion Week FW2010: Paul Smith

Paul Smith turned up the volume up on classic menswear pieces with bright colors, bold, mixed prints, and intriguing details, especially with the jacket colors and lapels. He mixed casual and classic by putting the hoodie in the classic suit and making the prints large and colors rich.

The monochromatic looks showed Paul Smith's excellent tailoring, interesting proportions, and unique details.

Photo Source: GQ.com

Fashion Week FW2010: D&G

If Thom Browne's Moncler Gamme Bleu man is a military-inspired ski champ than D&G's man is a laid-back, yet stylish, snowboarder to appreciates his warm winter brights as much as a tuxedo with snow boots. While snow pants dominated the runway, D&G still showed it's roots with strong denim appearances. Formal wear for on an off the half-pipe made appearance too with a strong mix of sporty and dressy.

Photo Source: GQ.com

Marc Eco Star Wars Style

If you've ever fancied yourself a Rebel pilot, a stormtrooper, a bounty hunter, or even a Sith lord, Marc Eco has made it possible with geek-chic Star Wars hoodies.
These hoodies go beyond the typical fan shirt and actually look like the uniform or costume of the Star Wars characters. With the hood off, most just look like interestingly designed hoodies (especially the Darth Vader and Stormtrooper versions).
The hoodies range in price from the $29.99 (for the clearance styles) to $150. May the force be with you.

Fashion Week FW2010: Etro

Etro's zany styling aside, the fall collections features menswear classics in rich colors and bold, but traditional, prints. The majority of Etro's line would make great wardrobe staples. Pile on Etro's knee-high spats, picture frame necklaces, bright scarves, jodhpurs and a statement hat to achieve the collection's attention-getting look.

Photo Source: GQ.com

Gilt-y as sin

Amidst the passionate designs and impressive patterns of Fashion Week, Gilt Man brings us a short but sweet sale on the threads of John Varvatos.


You will be hard-pressed to find a more beautiful line of conventional menswear. Rarely a shade lighter than grey to be found in the entire collection, these black and white combination score again and again. These are the outfits I hope to someday be paid enough to whimsically afford (that is, to save my credit card information on the designer's checkout page, with a direct hot-line to my phone for easy and thoughtless purchasing).


No, scratch that.
I'd turn to a life of crime for these outfits.

Classiest damn bank robbery ever

Photo source Gilt Man.com

Fashion Week FW2010: Moncler Gamme Bleu

Were a traditional military man to wake up in Thom Browne's Moncler Gamme Bleu barracks, he would find himself severely lacking in color, prints, whimsy and voluminous cold-weather wear. The show opened on a runway lined with cots from, which the models emerged and dressed. This unique showcase brought focus to the military stylings of the bright, buoyant collection.
The Moncler Gamme Bleu man may be colorful, stylish, whimsical and rather hopeful, but he is not without function. Since Browne has forged a collaboration with skiwear company, Moncler, much of the clothing is athletic and performance focused. The winter wear is down-right practical for cold climates without being boring or pedestrian. What do you think of Thom Browne's adventures in skiwear?

Photo Source: GQ.com

Fashion Week FW10: Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen has fall covered head to toe (literally) in prints. McQueen prints range from skulls to scales and from paint spatter like prints to some resembling the whimsical prints recently seen in his women's wear collections. These prints cover everything including suits, jackets, bags and even shoes, McQueen shows all of is whims. The skull sweater is my favorite item. What are you thoughts on McQueen's Fall Show?

Photo Source: GQ.com

H&M Selling Skirts for Men

A friend posted this on his Facebook page and didn't seem too keen on the idea of skirts for men (outside of the traditional kilt). And gauging by the media attention it's receiving, a lot of people are a little surprised by it. My friend also queried if any ladies would be seen on a date with a guy in a skirt. I, being a lady, responded with a "yes." A guy with a strong enough sense of personal style and with the confidence to wear what he wants in spite of weird stares and odd comments is a guy worth being seen with.
I quite like the design of this skirt. It looks like its probably made out of better fabric than most women's skirts offered at H&M (men's clothing typically has better fabrics). It's a clean, classic design too. It might be a men's skirt but if it sells in the Midwest (doubtful), I'll be trying it on.
H&M's spring look book is also featuring lovely, bright oranges and harem pants for men. What do you think of skirts (and even harem pants) for men? Would you wear them?