I may be in the library, but I'm still in Malibu

It's Friday, party like a champ.

Yes Please.

 

Like I wasn't going to.

Okay, okay. Here are my picks from New York. I just felt I needed to do a post over the show that caught my attention the most.

Simon Spurr:

Creep by Hiroshi Awai:

Nautica:

Acne:

Same ol', same ol' clean cut, prep stuff. But how could you get tired of any of this? Hell, buy a coat one fall/winter, save it, bring it back out ~ 2 years later and you're still in style while still staying classic. Trust me, I went through a trendy stage but I have come full circle. My parents started me in Ralph Lauren suspenders and white linen blazers as a toddler and I'm right back where I started.

NYFW does bring the most impressive forms of art I've ever seen. Although in a realistic, everyday wear kind of style, I don't deviate too far from my normal selections. And I'm okay with that.

The Row

When I should have been studying for midterms this week I was busy looking at the runway shows from NYFW. It would kind of make sense for me to post some of the looks I pulled but they were few and far between and frankly, they look just like anything else I've posted.

While looking through the sideshows and watching videos I came across Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's high-end line, The Row. Their menswear is off to a slow start and I'm still looking to find something worth the price. But! After viewing their newest looks (inspired by Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Triplets of Belleville) I couldn't help but to think about just how far these two fashion lovers have come. I mean, they began acting at like 2 seconds old and now they are legit fashion designers, though easily overlooked at first because for some reason they hate the spot light.

The looks at this year's show were amazing, though you PETA lovers may disagree. Here are some of my top choices:

 

 

These are just a few examples of their talent, which I think is getting better with every season. Though I am absolutely a guy, I can really appreciate their craftsmanship for what they do.  I definitely respect someone when they are doing what they truly love and they do it to their best abilities.

Sidenote: Can we look at Mary-Kate in Giambattista Valli? I mean.

Exit Through the Gift Shop

I recently viewed the Banksy documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop, in which the infamous, yet unidentified, graffiti artist shows the progression of street art and how it essentially came to be an art form that is not completely frowned upon.

In the film, the artist gives a first-hand commentary on how he was introduced to a "film-maker", Thierry, when he made a trip to LA. Thierry's cousin was a renowned street artist, whom he followed when he would go out to create his art. Thierry knew just where to take Banksy so that his work could be seen by the masses, just for effect.

His work has meaning, it's not just someone scribbling on a wall just to feel like a badass. He has a way of taking what people feel is so important and throws it right back in our faces, which instantly gets you thinking. He travels the world, hitting the major cities and areas in those cities, and tries to leave his mark where he can get the biggest impact possible. Some of his work is saved and seen as the artwork I feel it is but some don't last very long.  He has shows to display some of his work and brings in top dollar, one shown in the documentary is a modified phone booth that he placed on a street corner in London. This piece in particular brought in over $500,000 at an auction.

Just sayin', check out the film.

Sunday spotlight: Pharrell Williams

Pharrell is questionably one of the best dressed male celebrities out there. He might not be considered "prep", but he knows what he's doing.

I'm not the biggest fan of the color, but the most awesome piece he owns, in my opinion, is his oversized Hermès Birkin bag. I like to think I could pull it off just as well as he does, but that's a little bit of a stretch. I guess more importantly I hope that my bank account is large enough to allow me to own one sometime in my life and still be able to put money and expenisive items inside. Soooooo lucky.

 

 

Foundation

"Even though I am not trained at this, I try to find new ways of expressing myself and to use whatever it is I have creatively…I am not some sort of multitrillionaire just interested in buying clothes. What drives me now is the idea of something being against the world. I’m an artist, I suppose."

 --Daphne Guinness

Huguette Clark

I came across this story this summer, it's pretty awesome. So, Hugette Clark is 103 and living in a nursing home or a hospital currently, no one really knows except her lawyer. She owns some of the most insane real estate in the country, yet hasn't lived in nearly any of them for about 50 years. They look untouched, which they should since staff is still paid to maintain each one.

Her father was a miner who struck it rich owning copper mines, silver, oil, coffee, sugar, etc, etc. His wealth rivaled Rockafeller and was estimated to be worth the equivalent of $1.4 Billion in today's money. When she was born in Paris in 1906 her mother was 23, her father 62. Her father, who was also once a senator of Montana, built them a $7 million mansion on 5th Avenue in NYC which cost about 3x the price to build the first Yankee's stadium.

It's a very interesting story my brother came across on MSNBC and I just rediscovered it. Here are a few of her properties:

Her $100 million estate in Santa Barbara, CA

Her 42 room, 15,000 square foot 5th Avenue apartment overlooking Central Park, which was never moved into:

Her father was a huge art collector and in 2003, she sold this Renoir for a reported $23.5 million

Just a pretty amazing story that should definitely be checked out. So much history, yet very little is known.

Christmas Wishlist

After over a week hiatus, I figured I would share some things I have picked of from J Crew. Although if I don't hit the text books a little harder all of these posts will be the closest thing I get to having this items..

I have the peacoat in black already and I love the way it fits. It's the perfect length and exactly how I like my coats in the shoulders. This year I going for the navy.

Daphne Guinness for Zoo Magazine

She's so insane, but no doubt a genius.

The shoot was done by photographer Bryan Adams. It's a little too edgy for my usual taste but this spread is amazing.

Lady of the weekend Tuesday

So obviously it's been a while since I've posted and I missed Saturday, the designated day for lady of the weekend. No worries, I will make up for it with this post and you will be gifted 2 ladies of the week. Happy Thanksgiving..

This post goes out to Victoria Beckham. I will keep my words minimal as to not take away from the beauty that is Posh, but c'mon. Who isn't drawn to Mrs. Beckham, women and men alike?

Her style is so sick and exactly how I would want my wife to dress. David is definitely a lucky man.

Her cars are just as sick as her style..

And what makes her even more amazing is that she was hired as Land Rover's creative design director to lend a hand in designing the interior on future special editions of Range Rovers. Her first project is the Range Rover Evoque.

Yes please.

Ralph Lauren Holiday

My favorite thing about the Ralph Lauren holiday collection is the amount of plaid, simply because he doesn't just stop with shirts, but rather he comes up with plaid everything, i.e. picture frames, iPad cases, bags, etc. I don't know where or how my love for plaid developed but it's definitely present.

[Again] I am in the process of unwinding after another stressful week with classes so I decided I would buy myself something nice, which happens far too often. After looking through the holiday collection I was hit with the idea of publishing a post on what I found.

Here on the west coast plaid is an effortless surfer look, which works great. I can't say that I haven't bought plaids from the likes of Quiksilver and Insight but there's definitely a difference in functionality when looking at something picked up at Becker and one from Ralph Lauren or J. Crew. The look achieved by the latter two brands is a more classic, casual get together look that's exactly what you need for a holiday themed party or a fall/winter dinner party. On cold nights, like those I am about to experience when I'm home, a flannel button-down is typically what I go for when I'm getting ready to meet up with my friends.

I feel as though I can form such an opinion of the superiority of RL or J. Crew over the more laid back brands simply because I own enough of both to know the difference. Nothing is better to me than lacing up my Red Wing boots (see "Eyecatchers Cont.."), throwing on a pair of J. Crew jeans, a nice plaid shirt and a peacoat for a dinner party or just going to hang out at a friend's house.

I never dig for compliments from people and I suggest every guy do the same. My big thing is that I wear things because I like them, not because I want others to notice. If they so happen to notice, it's out of your control (aka--nice work).  I always dress the part for where I am but I'm definitely not overdressed. People also make the assumption that I have taken hours to get ready when I legit put it all together within minutes. And this is how I've come full circle with this post. Plaids are my favorite in the winter because they're something to throw on and still stay warm without looking like you sacrificed necessary body heat in order to achieve a certain look.

Here are just a few things I found on the RL Holiday website:

 
I couldn't help but pick out a few accessories (I hate the lack of masculinity in that word) that carried out the plaid idea. Basically, you just can't go wrong with plaid (madras is obviously one of my go-to shirts in summer), especially in winter: