Fashion Magazine Models: August 2006

My Favorite Accessory For Fall 2006

I get a lot of emailed questions about my equipment...no, I mean my camera!
As an investment in my blog i just bought the Canon 5D and a 50mm/1.4 lens.
This is the equipment I used in Europe for the mens shows and I have rented when shooting GQ or other assignments. If you liked the photograph before it will take two big steps forward. Partly because of the new camera (I shot Dior Boy with a Canon 5D as an example) but also now that I will be working full-time I will be shooting more in the evening when the light is really great. Up to now I could only shoot in the morning and midday when the light is much less forgiving.

The Sartorialist Goes Shopping For Fashion Week - p4

This is the Marc jacobs black corduroy jacket I'm buying for the shows.
Since he already cuts his jackets pretty short and slim very little alterations will need to be done - just sleeves, nip in the waist and the back-collar roll adjustment.

The pants in the shot are my new APC slim cut cotton jeans, hopefully the dark denim jeans will stretch out to fit like these cotton jeans.

I'm really excited about the black jacket - I think it will be a great investment. It will work with my dark denim jeans, black cotton jeans, grey flannels, proper black wool pants and or even my beat-up Levis. Of course I will wear the jacket with the Lidfort shoes, I think they are really important to the jacket because they don't look like Jil Sander shoes or Prada or even Marc shoes really, so I think it will keep me from having too literal a "Marc Jacobs look." That kind of mix really sums up my own personal look - mixing old-school Italian like Lidfort or Borrelli with much more modern labels like Dries or Marc.

Every season I try to buy one unreasonable accessory.

This season it is this Dries Van Noten sequined scarf. I know, crazy- but It is short enough that I can wear it loosely tied around my neck and inside my shirt for an updated ascot kinda thing.

I mean really, who ever heard of a sequined ascot/scarf - like I said, it is completely unreasonable but I love it!

Problem Loading Photos This Morning

I'm having a problem loading photos this morning but it should be corrected by tonight.

In the meantime, I would love to hear which collections you are most excited about for the upcoming Spring 2007 round of shows.

On The Street..Cardigan Rocker, West Village

It has been raining for the last several days in New York. Great for shopping but tough for shooting outside.

The Sartorialist Goes Shopping For Fashion Week - p3

Downtown to APC for some new jeans.
I took a pair of New Cure slim cut, unwashed denim into the dressing room - size 31.

The waist was perfect but the legs were a little tight.
I came out and asked the salesperson what he thought. He asked if I had any problem buttoning the waist, "no" I said "the waist is perfect but the legs are a bit tight."
Again he says "you had no problem button the waist? ", "no" I repeated. " oh, then those are too big!" He looked very serious.

I tried on the size 30.
I could barely button them closed and I could not bend my legs once I was in them!
This time I literally HOPPED out of the dressing room!
The salesperson rushes over and says "PERFECT!!!"

I will have to wear them around the house for a day to stretch them out a bit before I can get them hemmed.

I read my readers comments and emails and a lot of you also said to size down because the APC jeans stretch out - I'm trusting you!

If I lose circulation in my lower half or lose the ability to reproduce because of these jeans I gonna be super pissed - except they also mentioned I should not get my jeans wet either.

The Sartorialist Video Project

Friday I spent the day doing a test video project - this was my film crew - Ethan and Emily. It is still in the early stages but I will edit on Thursday so I'm really excited for the next step. If it doesn't go well you will never hear me mention it again but I know what we have in the camera and it is pretty cool so I will update as I get closer to a finished product.

The Sartorialist Goes Shopping For Fashion Week -p2

Next stop - Ralph Lauren Mansion at 72nd St.

I really love the new Black Label suits.
I found a perfect 3-button blue suit with a faint white stripe, classic Ralph style but very slim cut. Since I have broad shoulders and a slim waist ,as you can see in the photo, we were faced with an arsenal of alterations but I was prepared with a gameplan.

First - Have the suit fit while wearing the shoes that I had just bought at Barneys (both the black and brown will look great). Getting a suit fitted wearing tennis shoes is just asking for trouble.

Second - The shirt (white spread collar with French cuffs) and we pinned the sleeves to the correct length (right at my wrist bone - I hate when they ride low on my hand). Then we pinned in the body of the shirt, I was a little surprised that the shirt was not more slim cut to begin with.

Third - The pants, we had to take the waist in a bit and taper the leg a bit. Once the legs have been tapered we will decide on the final length at the second fitting.
What i really love about the pants is that they are cut with side-taps and not belt loops! Just like the suit Cary Grant had on in North by Northwest.

Fourth - The jacket. Since the jacket has to work in harmony with the pants and shirt we waited until they were pinned in place at the correct measurements. Of course we had to remove the roll at the back neck of the jacket, then we pinned in the sides and shortened the sleeves (being very careful to get at least a 1/2 inch of cuff). The final alteration was to shorten the length of the jacket about a half inch. They will also re-steam the lapel so it rolls to the middle button.

I will be holding my breath hoping that all this works out correctly but I have had work done at Ralph Lauren before and it was superb.

My only rookie mistake I made while buying the suit. I had actually picked it out a few days before but when I went back for the alterations the salesperson was not there. Of course no other salesman wants to help you during the alterations for no commission so the Mens store manager was very kind to spend some time with me and he made sure I got what I needed, thanks Todd.

Now the real fun begins - buying ties and pocket squares for the suit.

The Sartorialist Goes Shopping For Fashion Week

With Fashion Week quickly approaching I thought it might be fun to take you with me as I prepare my wardrobe for about 30 days of fashion shows.

One of the most important elements in a successful shopping trip is timing.
If you are shopping for Fall, a quiet weekend in August is a great time to go. Everyone else is at the beach and new Fall collections have just hit the stores - and sizes are still available! This Saturday the city was empty and uptown was extra quiet so it was a perfect time to head up to Barneys!

Like any women would tell you "start at the bottom" - SHOES!

Lidfort ,which is exclusive to Barneys New York, is one of my favorite shoe brands.
Just classic enough but also just stylized enough, not to heavy-soled and clunky like a lot of Italian shoes and not too narrow and sole-less like a lot of English shoes.
I bought two pairs of Lidforts about ten years ago and they still look great!
Actually, that could be the basis for another post - is it smart to make shoes so well constructed that I only buy them every ten years? Even though I consider myself a loyal Lidfort customer the salespeople are a bit cold to me for the nine years in between purchases.

I love this single lace style and they are a perfect color. It goes without saying that I will not even consider wearing these until I get the proper shoes trees. I love the solid toe variety that doesn't split in the middle.
To me the most important aspect of a good shoe tree is the spring. The stronger the spring, the flatter your shoe will stay and not get the creases across the middle.
Does anyone have a recommendation for a website that sells good, I mean really good. shoe tress?

I never buy black shoes and I don't think I have ever bought loafers but these are just fantastic. For me it is the extended vamp in the front and the fact that they feel more like a "slip on shoe" than a loafer.

For the quality of Lidfort shoes I think they are a steal at around $500 each.

Tonight- buying my Ralph Lauren Black Label suit at The Mansion and tomorrow my adventures in buying APC jeans - it was pretty funny!

Big Thanks To David Allen

I want to send a big thanks out to Dave Allen.

Dave has been a supporter (and close friend) of The Sartorialist in every possible way - emotional, financial and entrepreneurial.

If you enjoy The Sartorialist over the next few months it will be due , in no small part, to Dave Allen

Thanks Dave!

On The Street...Doubleface Dress, Fifth Avenue

Another example of the New York working womens wardrobe.

Style Icon - Gianni Agnelli

The "Gianni Agnelli look" is still extremely pervasive on Italian Sartorialists.
I have always had a hard time finding many photos of Gianni on the internet but I found this the other day and thought it would be fun to post.
Has anyone every seen a good book on Agnelli Style....oops...maybe I shouldn't say that and just do one myself!

Thanks to Claudio for emailing me this photo!

On The Street...Tocca Designer, Soho

This is Samantha Sung, designer of Tocca, I love her personal style and the collection that was in the stores this Spring was very good. Her prints were amazing, so amazing that I even bought a Tocca dress for a friend of mine at a store I really don't like but just couldn't help myself.

I really liked her necklace - she made it herself, I guess creative is as creative does - does that make sense?

On The Street...Bangles and Bracelets and Cuffs, Oh My!

I'm not much for jewelry on men - I don't even wear a watch - but for some guys it just seems to work. I certainly think it is a nice contrast to the slim cut Thom Browne shirt.

On The Street...Casting Call, West Village

On The Street...Dior Boy, East Village

On The Street...Dress & Bike, West Village

I can't stop looking at her earrings - there is an interesting 80's sweetie kinda thing, I'm feeling all Molly Ringwald about this.

On The Street...Outside APC

I tried on the APC unwashed denim "New Cure" jean - Wow
That jean is definitely on my "must have" list for Fall

New Store - Space Mercer

So a new speciality store opened last Saturday in Soho called Space Mercer.
It is on Mercer between Price and Spring just South of APC.

I popped in today and was pretty impressed - all womens collections with labels like Junya Watanabe, Clu and a lot more.

I asked for a press release so I can post an update with more specific info tomotrrow but I just thought the store looked so cool I wanted to post it tonight.

On The Street...Washington Square Park Safari

She looks like a walking, talking Ralph Lauren Safari ad.

On The Street...Broadway, Soho

The hat, the bag, the shoes - the accessories are all so quirky that I don't know if it all works together but you can't help but notice it. Again, it is one of those looks that don't quite "work" in the traditional sense but that get you thinking about how you would do it - that is called inspiration.

On The Street... Outside Pastis, Downtown

The Sartorialist Update

Sorry I have not been able to post the last two evenings but I have been finalizing situations that will make The Sartorialist my full-time gig!
I have also been doing a little shopping for my Fashion Week gear - I'm sure it will be the basis of a few upcoming posts becasue it has truly been an experience ,most of which, not so good.

September Vogue

I am no where close to to really looking at the new September Vogue the way I want. So what do you think are the best articles? Overall the issue looks good on a flip through.
What about the "Fight Club" article by Sarah Mower on Japanese designers? The Irving Penn photos look incredible

On The Street... Uptown Girl, Fifth Ave

I don't know why but the whole look to me is about that little button detail on the sleeve. For the people that email me about a "working wardrobe" for women I would say that this look is pretty typical in Manhattan offices today...well, just a little better executed.

On The Street... So Close, Fifth Ave

- Great color coordination between the jacket, pants, and shoes. The white shirt gives a crisp effect but blue could have been a very nice choice also.

- The only thing hampering this look is that the jacket is just too long and the sleeves are just too long.
The good news is that both of these issues are easily fixable. Even taking a half inch off the length of the jacket would help and the pocket placement is high enough that it should not throw off the overall balance. The sleeves could use a little cuff peeking out, GQ says 1/4 inch but that doesn't sound like enough to me, I'm thinking a half inch at least.

On The Street... Mixed Prints, Flea Market

What I liked about this look was that most girls would go with a solid color tee when working with a print skirt. This young lady ,though, has has mixed an angular graphic print tee under her cami/tank but used the color tonality to work back to her dainty floral print skirt. The way she has done it is really very subtle but I love that .

The Sartorialist To Cover The Women's Collections for Style.com

I am very excited to announce that this Sept/Oct I will be covering the women's fashion shows for Spring 2007 in New York, Milan and Paris for Style.com!

This assignment will be very similar to what I did for Style,com during the recent Men's shows last June/July

The next few weeks of build-up to the shows should be really great here at The Sartorialist ( I have a lot of good ideas of how to capture the chaos) and as you can imagine covering the women's show will be just fantastic!

I will follow up with more info as it is set.

Sunday At Coney Island

As you can see from the announcement above, I am about to embark on two months of full-on fashion. Before I fall into the super-fab world of high fashion I wanted to take a little trip to a world which it super-fab in it's own little ways - Coney Island.
Coney Island is a world of extremes - the most seedy, the most potential, the most excitement, and the most forgotten.
I bet in twenty years we will look back at these images and barely recognize Coney Island, it will soon be remade much like the recent revitalization of 42nd street. Is that a good thing or bad? I don't know, but every time I go it just becomes more fascinating.

Playa

Every emotion is in this little girls face - fear, excitement, pure joy

Coney Island has a seediness that openly rubs elbows with family entertainment - this hotel is in the shadow of the boardwalk amusement rides.

Special events and new sports complexs are some of the first sign of revitalization of the boardwalk

This guy was seriously rocking the boardwalk karaoke

The best $2 taco I have ever eaten from one of the worse looking places I have ever dared to order food from.

Well, I think this sign speaks for itself

Weekend At The Park

This post is not so specifically fashion related but New York's parks are so alive in the summer that it is hard not to spend a day just shooting the energy of life.

This guy walks around Washington Square Park wearing not much more than a pair of very tiny, ripped jean shorts. He tells anyone that will listen that he is a "Naturalist" - he rejects anything from the modern world. He then offers to give you his website address so you can learn more - website?....ok Mr. Anti-Modern