Interesting Shit that I'm Too Lazy to Write Anything About: May 20, 2011.

Simon Doonan, Brunello Cucinelli On What Your Pocket Square Says About You (and accompanying photos).

Treme: The Big Uneasy: a preview of the second season of HBO's oft-overlooked masterpiece, a look at a post-Katrina New Orleans from the geniuses behind The Wire. Don't read this if you missed the first season.

Louis Vuitton named the world’s most valuable luxury brand for the sixth consecutive year (and check out this creepy-ass accompanying picture...seriously, isn't the look she's giving her dad a little odd?).

So you want a career in fashion? Start here. 

American Express and French internet sales specialist vente-privee.com announce a new joint venture to introduce an online platform to sell designer brands in the United States.

Glenn O'Brien interview promoting his new book, How to Be a Man.

Mad Men Season One behind-the-scenes pics.

Shit You Should Be Aspiring To: This guy's shoe collection.

Uhh, wow.  This is some random Japanese dude's shoe collection, which he posted on Flickr seemingly for not reason other to make us all feel bad about ourselves.  My kind of guy.  Check out his whole collection here (ya, that's right, this isn't even all of them; he's up to 200 pairs now), where you can see a larger HQ pic of each pair and its details.

Jealous ones envy.

source: The Bengal Stripe

Shit Worth Checking Out: Want to see how handmade Italian ties and shoes are put together?

Every been curious about just how those crafty Italians make ties and shoes by hand?  Ponder no more.  Check out the two videos below, produced by Mad About Town, to see the process in all its glory.  The first video features a Finollo, a Genovese tie maker, and the second features a Mr. Riccardo Bestetti, an Italian cordwainer.  See them in action after the jump.

Shit Worth Checking Out: Very nice lookbook from Brunello Cucinelli for S/S 2011.

I'm a big Brunello Cucinelli fan (from afar...sigh), and the 2011 Spring / Summer campaign doesn't disappoint.  Once you get past how beautiful the setting is, you can focus on the clothes, and there are some very nice pieces to be seen.  Check out the pics below.  I am particularly a fan of the brown DB suit; awesome in every way.  My only complaint would be the last photo; looks like your typical sartorially-bankrupt dude.  Ignore that one; I include it only to show that nobody, not even Cucinelli, is perfect.

Shit Worth Checking Out: The Philosophy of Michael Drake.

The website for Drakes London features a blurb on The Philosophy of Michael Drake, the founder of Drakes London, that is worth checking out for a Sunday afternoon read and outlines Drake's personal style.  Take from it what you will; his style is decidedly English and not for everyone, and his claim that '[t]he best-dressed Neapolitans aim for an understated English style' is slightly biased at best.

Check out the article after the jump, or go right to the source if you trust yourself to avoid getting sucked in to shopping.

Shit Worth Checking Out: Documentary on Savile Row tailor Thomas Mahon.

Put This On posted an old documentary today, following Thomas Mahon, a Savile Row tailor and menswear blogger (check out his site The English Cut when you get a chance).  If you have 25 minutes to spare, check out the doc (split into two parts) below.  It's an interesting watch.

Shit Worth Checking Out: Boss Selection S/S 2011 campaign pics.

A very nice lookbook from Hugo Boss was released this morning, promoting the Spring/Summer 2011 pieces from their Selection line.  I have a soft spot for Boss, so maybe I'm biased, but I can't help but love a campaign that begins with a shot of the Paris setting.  The campaign features model Gabriel Aubry, whom Boss posits "perfectly represents the style of the cosmopolitan and charismatic BOSS Selection gentleman".  Check out the pics after the jump.

Shit Worth Checking Out: Todd Snyder F/W 2011 Lookbook.

Fall/Winter already? What the fuck?  Oh well, with lookbooks like this, I'm not complaining.  Check out a very strong offering from New York designer Todd Snyder below the cut.

Combining Fashion and Finance: Hugo Boss shares hit all-time high as Q1 2011 sales up 21%.

Hugo Boss shares hit 66.41 euros today as the German company reported a strong first quarter.  Their Q1 sales were 539 million euros, as opposed to an average estimate of 531 million, and net income was 83.5 million euros for the quarter versus estimates of just over 70 million.  These numbers represented a quarter-over-quarter increase of 21% and 43%, respectively.  Net income rose 48%.  Boss forecast 2011 sales and profit to be up at least 12 and 15 percent, respectively, resulting primarily from growth in China and the U.S.  

Shit Worth Checking Out: Great article in the New York Times on the state of the shoe industry in the United States.

The New York Times published an interesting article the other day profiling the decline and moderate resurgence of American-made shoes.  Titled At Their Feet, Crafted by Hand, the article notes that only 1% of shoes bought in the United States last year were produced in America, and focuses on homegrown brands like Allen Edmonds, Alden, and Florsheim. 

Combining Fashion and Finance: The dangers of rebranding.

WWD.com posted an interesting article the other day called The Pros and Cons of Rebranding, looking at different fashion labels and their quest to reinvent themselves by changing their logo.  Trying to change the public's image of what a brand represents is a dangerous proposition, as we saw last year when GAP attempted a logo change and was forced to revert back to the original after everyone freaked out about it.  The article focuses on lower-tiered brands, which, being arrogant, I am generally less interested in, but I think the article raises some industry-wide points (and of course, the fact that it's the lower-tiered brands that feel the need to rebrand perhaps says something about their more luxurious competitors...).  Anyways, check it out here.

Shit Worth Checking Out: WSJ article Man Shops Net

The Wall Street Journal published an article the other day on the rise of online shopping sites for men.  What was initially very much a female-driven market has recently seen huge growth in male shoppers, and this has lead to the success of sites such as Mr. Porter and GiltMan.  While I can't relate to the author's portrayal of men as shopping-averse, it's an interesting read.  Check it out here.

Remember When?: GQ covers, Part II: 2008 and 2009.

Getting right on with it, Part II to our Remember When?: GQ covers series will take a look at 2008 and 2009, where we see the emergence of a trend towards catering to teeny boppers and the "let's put half naked women on the cover in a desperate attempt to raise sales while giving no regard to our integrity" syndrome.  Some of these must have sold quite well, because as we saw in Part I, there are a fair number of repeats in a short period of time (see: Tatum, LBJ, LaBeouf, Franco...all dudes who appeal to young people...coincidence?).  Enjoy.

Remember When?: GQ covers, Part I: 2010 and 2011.

Tonight we start a new series, remembering the glory days of men's fashion.  Our initial focus will be on GQ cover models.  Remember when GQ actually put stylish men on the cover?  No, I don't either.  The past few years has seen the proliferation of cover models whose style sense is, shall we say, questionable.  There are exceptions, of course; Lebron James comes to mind, for example.  But for the most part the world's most popular men's fashion magazine seems intent on prioritizing sales over substance; preferring subjects who are 'of the moment' (often fleetingly), regardless of their value to or impact on the fashion world, and then simply dressing them up.  Gone are the days when the man on the cover would be sporting his own wares; we instead see pop stars and teen icons wearing the most cliche and mainstream of labels.  It's hard to blame GQ; they are, after all, running a business, and if readers prefer pop stars to men with class (so often mutually exclusive), then I guess they have to give the people what they want.  So sad.  

Shit You Should Buy: unbranded leather duffel on eBay

I recently purchased this 17" duffel on eBay for $140 plus shipping, and it was money well-spent.  I'm always hesitant about picking up anything unbranded on eBay, especially something like this, where quality is so important.  But the price was so reasonable, and the bag just looked so original I decided to take a chance.  It paid off.  The quality is superb and it's one of those pieces that will only get better with age.

Shit Worth Checking Out: H by Hudson Autumn 2011 campaign pics.

Another brand I must admit to just becoming aware of is H by Hudson.  Looking at their Autumn 2011 campaign pics, aside from their choice of some fucking creepy-looking models, it looks like a pretty decent offering.  Check out more from the "Home is Where my Shoes Are" look book after the jump.

Shit Worth Checking Out: Filippa K S/S 2011 campaign pics.

Filippa K is a brand I must admit not having been aware of until very recently.  They have a classic, somewhat rugged American style that I like.  For those who are as yet unaware of its existence, these pics should convince you of its deserving a place on your radar.

Meet Nick Wooster: The most awesome man in fashion.

Racked has a great interview with Nick Wooster, men's fashion director for Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, that you can check out after the jump.  Or, if you prefer, you could always go straight to the source...but I have pictures. 

Great article by the Wall Street Journal on the death of "dressing up".

In a recent article, Steve Garbarino over at the Wall Street Journal laments the fact that "the dress codes abided and enforced at those ceremonies of formality and occasion, at everywhere from fine-dining restaurants to evening soirées, have become mostly unspoken, unwritten or loosened like so many Hermès ties."  It's a great piece, and I think a very sad and accurate statement on the little something that is lost when casual Friday creeps into our social lives.  Garbarino ends on a hopeful note, although I do not see the silver lining he does.  There have always been men who dress a little 'better' than those around them; it is the declining quality of those around them (us?) who we need to worry about, and the establishments that are forced, through economic reality, to normalize this decline.  Check it out here.

Brioni, Ferragamo, and Zegna ranked as top 3 luxury brands for men.

The 2011 Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI), conducted by the Luxury Institute, surveyed men in the U.S. who earn over $150,000 a year on their opinions regarding dozens of high-end fashion and shoe designers.  The average household net worth of those surveyed was $2.4 million.

The LBSI is the 'only unbiased measure of the reputation of leading brands provided by direct insights from wealthy U.S. consumers.'