Drop the Polo horse and the LaCoste croc
Monday, September 17, 2007
The short sleeve, 2-3 button collared "polo" shirts are classic and timeless. I use polo because the brand's pretty much become the Xerox of these style shirts. I've seen pictures of guys in the 70's sporting them with the same gusto that you see guys wearing them today. Nothing's changed. Even the LaCoste alligator has made acomeback in the last five years.Let's face it: It's hard for men to express their individuality in a polo. Between the Polo horse and the Lacoste croc, there's not much noticeable difference. That's probably added to their classic-ness, but now there's a new company named Attus Apparel looking to buck the trend of the common cotton pique shirt.
The logos on their slim-fit distressed polos include a "40" and an outline of a toilet bowl among others. The Lexington, Kentuck-based company claims to have a lot more creative ideas in store.
Labels: fashion
posted by Michael Tavani @ 9:02 PM |
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Are American men trying too hard to be macho?
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Do Nadal's capri pants make him "soft" in the U.S., even though he's a stud on and off the court?Reader submssion: "I'm not your typical American male. I'd rather ride around town on a Vespa than a Harley. I'm equally comfortable drinking a glass of wine or a beer. I prefer Formula One to NASCAR. I love women, but I'm usually pegged as gay or at least a wuss. In my travels to European cities, I've noticed that males don't seem to suffer from the same rigid macho syndrome that American me do. They wear more colorful clothes, they're allowed to drink wine, and they ride mopeds to work." -- B.D., St. Louis, MO
Playboy's response: "Hey at least you read Playboy. We've noticed this too and just had an interesting conversation about it with a well-traveled American writer who lived in Paris until recently. "In Europe a 'real man' is someone who dresses sharply, is well-read, and knows how to charm. The two places European men are allowed to be alpha dogs are in the football stadium (soccer) and on the road, and they take advantage of it."
So does being a real American man mean being fat, drunk (on beer only), stupid and badly dressed? If so, I relate more to the European guy. What are your thoughts on this topic?
Labels: fashion, lifestyle, misc., trends
posted by Michael Tavani @ 11:22 AM |
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Update: watch ad stats
Sunday, May 13, 2007
The Xezo Incognito is a limited edition timepiece; only 500 have been producedAfter my recent post on high-end watches (The Kobold watch story), I've been noticing that watch ads are everywhere. And for the most the most part they are boring, lame and non-creative. In the May 2007 Men's Health issue alone, there are:
8 watch advertisements
5 out of the 8 (*) put themselves out there as Swiss watches (whatever that means)
- ESQ*
- Raymond Weil* (featuring Ahmad Rashad & Steve Nash)
- Oris*
- Breitling*
- Citizen eco-drive (featuring race car driver Michael Waltrip)
- Timex (not really a high-end watch, but promoting sleek, new T Series)
- Garmin (also not a "designer watch", but the GPS-enabled sport watch probably has better features than the really expensive ones on this list)
- Xezo* (never heard of it, but possibly the best looking watch on this list)
Labels: fashion, lists, trends
posted by Michael Tavani @ 11:31 PM |
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The Kobold Watch story
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Traditionally, I'm not a watch connoisseur. Among my collection of timepieces are a Nike stop watch ($50) and a New York City Chinatown Puma knock-off ($9 + $8 battery replacement). It's not because I don't appreciate high-end watch design and fashion (because I totally d0), it's just that I normally can't justify spending crazy amounts for something that does the same my thing my cell phone does.The highly enjoyable, increasingly profitable life of Michael Kobold
With that said, as of today I'm interested in the designer watch industry. I just finished reading a truly interesting article in Inc. Magazine about Michael Kobold, a German-born 27-year-old who started luxury watchmaker Kobold Watch Company his freshman year in college. Kobold has had a passion for watches since a young age and essentially became the first to sell luxury watches over the internet in 1999.
Kobold, the little watch manufacturer out of Pittsburgh who employs a staff of three, has become a big-time player in the interesting world known as the luxury watch business. The Kobold watches are truly fresh-looking and nowadays famous Kobold wearers include Bill Clinton and James Gandolfini among others.
The kicker: Kobold promises to produce no more 2,500 watches in a single year and the watches range from $2,400 to $30,000.
Read the intriguing Inc. article; it's worth the 7-page read. The Greatly Improbable, Highly Enjoyable, Increasingly Profitable Life of Michael Kobold
Labels: biz, fashion, lifestyle
posted by Michael Tavani @ 4:37 PM |
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North America's next fashion trend?
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
This tip was sent in by loyal reader RW. Apparently Japan is exporting more than just swanky sushi bars, $100 million pitchers and high-end electronics to the States.
"What you see below are not see-thru skirts. They are actually prints on the skirts to make it look as if the panties are visible. These are the current rage in Japan. They'll be the rage here in North America soon."
It also makes me wonder how RW (a male) knew about this "trend".
posted by Michael Tavani @ 1:50 PM |
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Racy commercials; stylish clothing
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
I've never heard of online clothing retailer Bluefly.com. I saw one of their racy commercials on TV today and now they're on my radar. It turns out that since 2005, they've been airing racy, yet classy, commercials (2007, 2006 - below, 2005) of well-dressed 30-somethings taking off Bluefly threads.
The site actually has some pretty nice looking fashion, including the men's section. But it'll cost you a pretty penny.
posted by Michael Tavani @ 6:35 PM |
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Nike basketball's System of Dress
Friday, March 09, 2007
I'm all about almost everything Nike (examples here, here, here, here, here, here). They have the freshest apparel and are flat-out the best at creating a buzz in the sports fashion world. And their ads are no doubt the finest in the biz.However, Nike's new line of college basketball uniforms labeled "System of Dress" is not some of their best work. The site claims that basketball uniforms haven't changed much in the last 15 years since Michigan's Fab 5 first rocked baggy shorts, black shoes and no-show socks.
The new line was designed to include even baggier shorts with tight, form-fitting jerseys and skintight undershirts with designs matching the uni. Syracuse, Ohio State, Florida, and Arizona are the first to sport the unis with the rest of the "Nike schools" picking them up next season. I agree with Uni Watch that athletic apparel trends should be organic, not manufactured by a billion dollar company. Read this Uni Watch writeup on the subject.
I still love you Nike.
posted by Michael Tavani @ 12:45 AM |
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Badass watches
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Check these things out. The Philip Stein Teslar watch is a high-end watch for men and women featuring dual analog faces that keep track of different times around the world. The Teslar technology emits unique signals and repels negative electronic energy directed towards people everyday from cell phones, blackberries, computers, PDAs, etc. Those who wear the quartz watch supposedly sleep better, experience less headaches and stress, have improvements in well-being, along with more energy, productivity and creativity.Labels: creative biz., fashion
posted by Michael Tavani @ 9:36 PM |
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The Life is Good story
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Life is Good is an $80 million brand t-shirt and apparel maker. I don't necessarily love their products (something about too many pastel colors), but they have one of the best slogans around, which also happens to be their company name, website, and one of the most valuable trademarks ever. You see, you cannot trademark generic terms like "soccer team". "Life is Good" kind of falls under that category but the company was lucky enough to secure the trademark.Anyway, their company story is pretty classic - two brothers, lots of passion, garage startup, rags-to-riches type story. Here's the beginning of it:
In 1989, Bert and John Jacobs designed their first tee shirt. They knew nothing about the business. For five years, the brothers hawked tee shirts in the streets of Boston and traveled the East Coast, selling door-to-door in college dormitories. They collected some good stories, but were not very prosperous ...
Read the rest here and check out this Inc. Magazine piece on the company.
posted by Michael Tavani @ 9:05 PM |
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Zipper domination
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Have you ever taken a long look at a zipper? Most likely, it will have a small "YKK" on it. YKK is the world's largest zipper manufacturer. The Japanese company was founded in 1934 and the American plant in Macon, GA produces 1,500 styles of zippers in 427 standard colors for use on clothing and other items, such as tents or boat covers."YKK" stands for Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha, the name of the company. The letters were stamped onto the zippers and eventually became the trademark and official name of the company. Today, the company is so well-known for their zippers, there is even a market for counterfeit YKK zippers. Also, read the history of the zipper. Pretty random, but pretty interesting.
posted by Michael Tavani @ 1:04 AM |
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2007 SI swimsuit edition
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Since 1964, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue has been a brilliant idea by Sports Illustrated. The best part is it allows guys to not look like pervs when buying the magazine (by the mailman or the grocery store clerk) because technically it's a "sports publication". That's what makes it great - the Swimsuit issue has nothing to do with sports. Singer Beyonce is on the cover of this year's music-themed edition. The issue came out yesterday, Valentine's Day. No irony there, huh?I wonder what percentage of men order the $50 magazine subscription purely for this one issue. Check out the SI 2007 online version you "sports fanatics".
Labels: fashion, news, photos, pop culture
posted by Michael Tavani @ 12:52 PM |
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GPS-enabled running shoes
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
The Quantum Satellite Technology (QST) shoe by Isaac Daniel is a GPS-ebnabled running shoe. Pretty frickn' amazing. These kicks were announced in November, and are available now, retailing for about $350, including a charger. The shoe has a built in GPS receiver that at the press of a button, alerts people to your whereabouts. Bond, James Bond.
Labels: creative, fashion, kicks
posted by Michael Tavani @ 6:32 PM |
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Nike Evolution video
Friday, January 05, 2007
This video is frickin' awesome. Like all of the best Nike commercials it was the idea of famed advertising firm, Wieden + Kennedy. Read the backstory on the ad here. Did you know Huarache is named after the Hispanic name for a sandal used in South America?
Labels: commercials, creative, fashion, kicks, Nike, video
posted by Michael Tavani @ 3:12 PM |
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8 best looking athletic leisure shoes in the world
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Some shoes just plain look cool - especially urban/retro athletic leisure shoes. Here's Urban Eola's list of the 8 all-time best looking leisure kicks in the world:1) Adidas Rod Lever (white with any accent color) // Rod Laver was an Australian tennis pro in the 1960's. Like Stan Smith, an American tennis player around the same era, adidas gave him the honors of a namesake shoe. The Laver is ageless. No matter what accent color (the classic green, navy blue, green/orange) adidas uses for this shoe, as long as it's paired with the classic white, it's money. Looks good with any outfit. Old tennis guys and urbanites alike are sporting them.
2) Air Jordan IV (black/red) // MJ at his best. Look how much they're going for - $550! Notice they have the Nike logo on them - later models didn't. I've wanted a pair since I was in 4th grade when they came out.
3) New Balance 574 (navy blue/gray or gray/orange) // Classic look. Not to be confused with these (which I don't like at all). Started off as a hard core running shoe.
4) Nike Dunk Low // Originally a basketball shoe in the early 80's and turned into a pop culture phenomenon. There are about a million different customized Dunk Low's out there. You can customize your own at NikeID.
5) Nike Air Max 90 // One of many legends in the Nike Air Max running line.
6) Adidas Gazelle (royal blue with red bottoms) // First launched in 1968 as an all-around training shoe, it became the off-field shoe among soccer players. Look for the original ones with the different colored sole.
7) Vans Checker // I can't pull them off but Andy Roddick can. They've made a major comeback in the last two years after serving primarily as skater shoes in the early 80's. Rad.
8) Nike Lava Dome // Nike's first "All Conditions Gear" outdoorsy shoe. I actually picked up a pair at the Nike Outlet store for $18 a couple years back
If you notice one of the trends is that all of these shoes were once a top athletic shoe of their time. Now they're all worn for looks and leisure. While you're at it, check out this really cool looking show website: Flight Club New York. And this site's pretty cool: Capitol 1524 (a Seattle-based retro shoe store)
Random takes on urban/retro attire. As you can see "urban" and "retro" are used interchangeably. At Barnes & Noble last night, I saw some chick wearing a subway map t-shirt (order them here). It got me thinking that one of those would look pretty sweet with jeans and any of the kicks above. Kinda like this. As always, scouting fresh looks.
Labels: fashion, pop culture
posted by Michael Tavani @ 3:59 PM |
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