October 03, 2006

Sprezzatura!

Was pleasantly surprised to be contacted by Esquire Magazine last week. They wanted to send me a copy of their newly-launched magazine The Big Black Book - what they described as "the comprehensive guide to living an extraordinary life."

They came across my other blog, http://blog.mensfolio.com, which talks about nothing but men's accessories, and they wanted me to do sorta like a review on the guide. It's all part of their buzz marketing efforts through blogs.

Anyway I received the magazine today that flew in all the way from New York City (Makes me feel important. I know...I'm pathetic!). Haven't really got round to doing a "book review" but I really liked this section called Sprezzatura. It's an Italian word coined in the 16th-century. Supposedly it means, in their words, "a certain nonchalance which conceals all artistry and makes whatever one says or does seem uncontrived and effortless".

They said: "The ultimate ambition of elegant male style is working hard to look as if you don't give it a thought at all."

The statement is so true. It's pure hypocrisy I know. But it's so true.

Fond memories of sprezzatura include:

Shopping at H&M on 5th Avenue in a plain white T and blue jeans and my Ekin sunglasses when a H&M staff came up to me and asked where I got my sunglasses and I gave him the God-I-can't-remember-where-I-got-this look.

Shopping with Yaofeng at Mossimo Dutti at Ngee Ann City wearing my DSquared sneakers and the cute and smart-looking Malay salesperson serving Yaofeng said to me "Sir, I love your shoes" and I frowned and looked down and gave him the What-Shoes-Am-I-Wearing-Today? look.

Ok...enough hypocrisy for the day (or rather I can't think of any other instances).

Posted by loganw at 02:22 PM | Comments (0)

July 13, 2006

Deja Vu

Nowadays, I get a lot of deja vu when I read Urban, the weekly fashion and beauty supplement of The Straits Times. It seems like there's a lot of recycled news from Women's Wear Daily.

It just got worse in the July 13 issue. Under the section Ask Lionel, a reader wrote in saying that he's planning to invest in a pair of designer jeans and would like to know what brand to buy.

Lionel Seah wrote:

"Most premium brands use Japanese, Italian, or American denim. There's also Zimbabwean denim, which is very soft and dyed with organic vegetable pigments.

Personally, I prefer buying raw - meaning unwashed - jeans, and breaking them in myself. The more you wear them, the better the fade is.

But don't just stick to blue jeans. There are some great grey jeans around right now.

Oh, and avoid excessive embroidery which is so Ah Lian/Ah Beng-esque. There's nothing less sexy than a guy with a dragon or some nonsense sewn on his back pocket."

Just a few days ago, I read an article on Style.com entitled Ask An Expert. The fashion tip dished out by Brian Kaneda, the denim buyer of Ron Herman goes like this:

Most premium brands use Japanese, Italian, or American denim. There's also Zimbabwean denim, which is great. It's very soft and it's dyed with organic vegetable pigments. There are differences, but really, it's apples and oranges—one isn't better than the others. Fit and quality are more important than the country the denim comes from.

When choosing a wash, ask yourself, Does it look authentic? If a wash is really unique or realistically beat-up looking, great, but it's best when you buy raw—meaning unwashed—jeans, and break them in yourself. The more you wear them, the better the fade is, and they become an expression of their owner.

Don't just stick to blue jeans. There are some great gray jeans around right now.

Avoid anything with excessive embroidery. There's nothing less sexy than a guy with a dragon or some nonsense sewn on his back pocket.

Hmm...Urban...not too stylish.

Posted by loganw at 04:50 PM | Comments (8)

April 18, 2006

mensfolio.com Is Almost Ready

Patience has never been one of my strong points and the entire process of setting up my new site - mensfolio.com - is really testing my patience.

It's an e-store that offers men's wallets and small leather goods. The website was scheduled to be launched a day before Chinese New Year (not for any auspicious reason).

It's now approaching May and the site still has some bugs. The programmer working on the site quitted his job even though I'm such a lovely person to work with. And now someone else has taken over, resulting in a lot of lost time in transition, in clarifying my specs all over again.

I don't want to use Worldpay as my payment processor for this website but it turns out that applying for a U.S. merchant account ain't that straightforward. I thought it would help that I have a social security number and an (expired) California driver's license. Obviously not.

Anyway I had to incorporate a U.S. company, get a U.S. bank account and I'm still having problems getting my merchant account set up. Hopefully it gets resolved within the next few days.

Om Mani Padme Hum...Patience Patience Patience...Ta Ma De!

Anyway I didn't want to lose time on getting the site crawled by search engines. So it's now live. You can visit the site and get an idea of how it'll look like. The URL is http://www.mensfolio.com.

All feedback and criticisms are welcome, whether they are constructive or destructive.

Posted by loganw at 09:32 AM | Comments (2)

April 01, 2006

No Slowing Down For Premium Denim

Everybody's expecting the growth of the premium denim segment to slow down but everybody's been proven wrong.

Reading an article on WWD yesterday, I lost count of the number of brands being mentioned in that article.

Sass & Bide
Citizens of Humanity
J & Co.
575
Seven
Meltin' Pot
Joe's Jeans
Genetics
Fidelity
Brown Label
J Brand
True Religion
Habitual
Earnest Sewn
Chip and Pepper
April 77's
Superfine
Acne
Notify
Indian Rose
Maggie Jeans
Take-Two
Miss Sixty
Diesel
Odyn
Levis
Taverniti So
Hudson
Gold Sign
Replay
AG
Red Engine
Ezra Fitch

I'm so not in the loop...

Posted by loganw at 12:41 PM | Comments (2)

January 20, 2006

Birkies Can Actually Look This Good

Never really had a thing for Birkenstocks even though I've seen them in various shapes and patterns on Lay Tin's feet. That woman owns more than 10 pairs of those sandals. I think Alan and Brian each gets a pair for every 10 pairs she buys for herself.

Alan, to keep up with your fashion-forward wife, you should take some pointers from D&G. You'll need thick wollen socks, clean-shaven legs, sculptured calves and a pair of spanking white shorts that packs a package.

But then again...if you start dressing this way, Brian will get really worried about his daddy ;-)

Posted by loganw at 05:08 PM | Comments (0)

Valentino Does A Brokeback

Imagine two cowboys, dressed in style, walking hand in hand into the airport VIP lounge, waiting for their flight back to Wyoming. Hard to imagine. But with the phenomenal mainstream success of Brokeback Mountain, it may not be so far-fetched after all.

While Valentino's fall 2006 collection may not have won as many accolades as Ang Lee's movie, models Tyson Ballou and Will Chalker sure look a lot more delectable than actors Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Love is a force of nature.

Posted by loganw at 04:14 PM | Comments (4)

January 19, 2006

Hail McQueen!

Alexander McQueen may not be great at creating commercially successful collections for the Gucci Group but he's definitely a top-notched designer in a world of his own.

View McQueen's brilliant fall 2006 collection here.

Posted by loganw at 02:44 PM | Comments (0)

October 27, 2005

Coach On Steroids

Coach just announced their first-quarter results. Profits jumped 53.5 per cent; sales increased by 30.5 per cent. This is the fourth straight year the company has achieved double digit growth. It's simply amazing.

In Singapore, however, the brand is not enjoying the kind of stellar success they are enjoying in the U.S. and Japan. I was wondering why.

Initially I thought that maybe Singaporeans are more discerning and may not be prepared to fork out a few hundred bucks for a bag made in China or India. But hey, Japanese are a lot more sophisticated and Coach is doing so well over there. And anyway I did a quick check with my girl friends who like Coach and found that most didn't know where the bags are made in.

So my final conclusion is that the Dickson Group, which manages the brand in Singapore, is simply not good in executing their strategies. And Singapore may be so low on Coach's priority list of key markets that they won't abandon their wholesale strategy and manage the market directly.

Posted by loganw at 02:57 PM | Comments (0)

October 22, 2005

Look Like A Pornstar In Tom Ford's Shades

For those Gucci fans who miss the touch of the ex-creative director of Gucci Group, you can now wear Tom Ford on your face. He has just launched his new collection of sunglasses and they are expected to hit stores in late November or early December. Read Ford's New Gig: Made in the Shade (WWD).

His shades are not cheap (200 to 350 euros apiece). And for his upcoming advertising campaign, he actually cast two pornstars.

I guess it makes sense. People who are willing to fork out a couple of hundred euros for his sunglasses are people who aspire either to be a pimp or a pornstar. Tom Ford himself embodies the spirit of his brand. Look at him in the picture. When he puts on those shades, he looks like a pimp who has the makings of a pornstar.

Posted by loganw at 05:37 PM | Comments (0)

October 21, 2005

DKNY Men's Leather Pants On Ebay

Check out this auction for a pair of DKNY leather pants on eBay. Alan forwarded this to me. Make sure you read the Q&A section. It's hilarious!

Example:

Q: Love the pants but...I wonder, how many thongs do you think could be made from them?

A: For Americans? 15. French? 45.

Posted by loganw at 05:07 PM | Comments (2)

October 20, 2005

What I Want For Christmas (But Can't Afford)

#1 on X'mas Wish List:
n.d.c. boots

It may not snow in Singapore but it sure rains a lot and this pair of Gianni boots from n.d.c.'s autumn/winter 2005 collection is all I need for rainy days. They're handmade, the leather was aged for months and they just look damn good.

#2 on X'mas Wish List:
Dior Homme Jeans

I've no idea how I'm gonna pull off the punk rock look. I definitely think this pair of jeans is way overpriced. But I've wanted this for quite some time. Plus I'm getting rather sick of my Paper Denim & Cloth.

#3 on X'mas Wish List:
Paul Picot Retrograde Watch

I don't know why I need another Paul Picot watch but I love the look of the Paul Picot Retrograde. The key feature is, of course, the 30-sec retrograde. It comes fitted with 34 jewels and an official chronometer C.O.S.C. certification.

#4 on X'mas Wish List:
dunhill Sidecar Ballpoint Pen

I wonder why dunhill didn't manufacture rollerballs under the Sidecar Leather Chassis collection. But the palladium-plated pen looks so good bound in bitter-chocolate calf leather that I'll try to get used to a ballpoint. Only 1893 pieces were manufactured which makes this collection a limited edition.

That's all I ask for, Santa.

Posted by loganw at 03:11 PM | Comments (1)

September 22, 2005

Drop-Moss Frenzy

First it's H&M. Then Chanel. And Burberry. And H Stern.

Everybody's dropping Kate Moss after she was photographed snorting cocaine in London.

Will David Yurman and Gloria Vanderbilt do the same? We'll probably find out over the next few days.

Posted by loganw at 03:21 PM | Comments (1)

September 21, 2005

Spring 2006: Military, Safari, Rock

Two of my favourite designers - Alexandre Plokhov and John Varvatos - did not disappoint at the recently-concluded New York Spring 2006 Fashion Week.

Alexandre Plokhov, who is becoming increasingly influential in menswear, explored the notions of rock 'n' roll and safari. Read Cloak Spring 2006 (Men Style).

My all-time favourite, John Varvatos, toyed with a soft military theme and his collection had some of the nicest trenchcoats and jackets for spring. Read John Varvatos Spring 2006 (Men Style).

Marc by Marc Jacob was interesting too. Pinstripe pants never looked more innocent. Read Marc Jacob Spring 2006 (Men Style).

Posted by loganw at 03:14 AM | Comments (0)

September 19, 2005

Stefani's Runway Debut Anything But L.A.M.E.

One of the highlights of New York Spring 2006 Ready-to-Wear was the runway debut by Gwen Stefani.

I was really looking forward to it because I read a report a couple of months back that Stefani's fashion label - L.A.M.B. (for Love, Angel, Music, Baby) - was selling well in Bloomingdale's and Saks Fifth Avenue.

I thought maybe her customers are mainly her fans but apparently not. They were supposedly serious fashionistas.

Reviews were mixed. Some thought the collection lacked vision. Others thought it was wide-ranging.

I thought it was a good first attempt even though it may not have a strong and coherent theme. I think it should do well commercially.

Check out the reviews and photos of L.A.M.B. Spring 2006 here.

Posted by loganw at 07:22 AM | Comments (0)

September 07, 2005

Hrbaty's Fashion Faux Pas

What was Dominik Hrbaty thinking of? He probably thought bad publicity is better than no publicity.

The 15-seed Slovak wore a pink shirt with two oval cut-outs in the U.S. Open at Flushing Meadows, New York.

Thank goodness the cut-outs were at the back of the shirt. And thank goodness Hrbaty was beaten by Lleyton Hewitt in the quarters so I don't have to see him in his outfit again.

As Hewitt put it after the match: "It made it a lot easier for me to beat him today..."I just couldn't lose to a bloke wearing a shirt like that."

Ouch!

The pink, gayish shirt is designed by Lotto.

The Italians are losing it...

Posted by loganw at 05:24 AM | Comments (0)

September 02, 2005

Ta Ta...Helmut Lang

There won't be a Spring 2006 collection by Helmut Lang. The brand's production has been halted while the Prada Group (the parent company of the Helmut Lang brand) tries to figure out what to do with the brand.

It probably doesn't matter because even if there is, it won't be designed by Helmut Lang himself. The Austrian designer already parted ways with Prada Group in the beginning of this year.

But it's amusing to hear Prada's chief executive officer, Patrizio Bertelli's comments to WWD on Helmut Lang:

"If you see a brand that can't find its customer base, that can't generate the right level of turnover and it's posting losses, you are going to have to proceed in a certain way."

I so would like to tell him:

"If you see two brilliant brands - Helmut Lang and Jil Sander - that can't find their customer base, that can't generate the right level of turnover and they're posting losses after you acquired them, you, as the chief executive officer, should proceed in a certain way. Out!"

But honestly it must be difficult managing top-notch designers who would insist on retaining their creative freedom even after an acquisition.

Maybe the next time you're on a buying spree, snap up fashion houses whose founders' already dead.

Learn from Bernard Arnault. Buy an ailing brand like Christian Dior for a penny, put in two stellar designers like John Galliano and Hedi Slimane, and you get a winner!

IMHO.

Posted by loganw at 08:18 AM | Comments (0)

August 30, 2005

Jellyfish Killed My Wife

Threadless is one of my favourite websites. It's an interesting concept that allows t-shirt designers to monetize their work.

You'll find lots of t-shirts with really cool designs. And they produce them in limited quantity so you won't be wearing the same t-shirt as ten other guys on the street.

The price is also reasonable, at USD15 apiece, excluding shipping charges. Beats wearing a big Gap logo on your chest any time.

Here's one of my favourites from their new arrivals. This t-shirt, named Jellyfish Killed My Wife, is by Christopher Cliff.

Hmm...I'll buy one for Alan.

Posted by loganw at 09:08 AM | Comments (0)

August 22, 2005

Good Feng Shui - Priceless

Montblanc Mechanical Pencil - $410

Cartier Wallet - $435

Dunhill Laptop Case - $1,800

Good Feng Shui - Priceless

Based on my Ba Zi (Four Pillars of Destiny), Kelvin told me that as a Weak Metal person who lacks the Fire element, I can use the colours gold (Metal) and red (Fire) to bring balance to my life.

Taking his advice, I replaced my Cross mechanical pencil which I'd been using for the past 5 years with a Montblanc mechanical pencil from the Classique line.

It's in burgundy (or what they call Bordeaux) with gold trims. Like all good mechanical pencils, it comes with a twist mechanism so that the lead won't be released accidentally when you put it in your pocket.

Montblanc makes two versions of the mechanical pencil, one for 0.5mm lead and another for 0.7mm lead. I didn't pay attention to this and got the 0.7mm without realizing it. I couldn't use any of the 0.5mm 2B refills that I already have. Something you should pay attention to when you're buying a mechanical pencil.

The Cartier wallet is also in burgundy and it's extremely understated. There's no interlocking "C" logo on the wallet. Only its signature Bordeaux colour and the metal clips on the corners of the wallet may give its identity away.

I also dug out my dunhill laptop case, which I bought two years ago. It's from the Cricket collection and its design's inspired by the cricket ball. I seldom use it when I'm dressed in formal attire coz it's just too loud. But it looks fantastic with a plain T-shirt and blue jeans.

Who says guys can't look good in red?

Posted by loganw at 03:55 AM | Comments (1)

August 05, 2005

Beckham Who?

David Beckham's trying to crack the U.S. market (again) after his hardly-noticed appearance at the 2003 MTV Awards with his wife, former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham. Read Conquest of USA Beckons To Beckham (USA Today).

Has the soccer-celebrity, fashion-icon figured out why it's proving to be quite a challenge to conquer the world's largest market? How can he conquer this final frontier when he's already conquered the rest of the world?

Well, I'm going to offer my humble advice...a simple four-step action plan:

First, ditch your wife.

Second, ditch soccer and start playing real football. (Damn! I can't imagine myself saying this. Look what America has done to me.)

Third, ditch that oh-i'm-so-impeccable, metrosexual image of yours. (Only we Asians are suckers for that pretty-boy look.)

Fourth, ditch your American publicist. (I'm a lot cheaper.)

Posted by loganw at 02:22 AM | Comments (0)

August 01, 2005

Buy A Ducati To Go With Your Dunhill Motorities

Exciting things are happening at dunhill with the hiring of four British designers - Richard James, Bill Amberg, Nick Ashley and Tom Bolt.

In particular, I've always been a huge fan of Bill Amberg so I was really excited to know that he would be designing dunhill's leather collections.

What I noticed about a lot of designers, and CEOs for that matter, is that they revisit the heritage of the brand/company when they take the helm.

Tom Ford did that when he first became creative director of Gucci. Miuccia Prada did that when she took over her family's dusty luggage business.

It makes a lot of sense to do so since a brand's essence is almost always closely connected to its heritage. And surprisingly, the key to revitalizing an ailing brand with a breathe of fresh air can be found in its roots.

In the case of Amberg, he revisited the Motorities line that Alfred Dunhill created back in 1893 when motoring was all the rage.

The Motorities collection's made from water-resistant cotton canvas with dark brown cowhide leather trims.

The Dispatch Bag from the collection features the signature Storm Cover. In case you're wondering what's a Storm Cover, it's simply a bright orange water-proof nylon cover to fend off rain from your dunhill Dispatch Bag if you're caught in a storm on your motor bike doing dispatch.

Ya right...that makes a lot of sense since there are so many dispatch boys zipping around town on their motor bike with their thousand-dollar dispatch bag.

And may I suggest a Ducati to go with your Motorities Dispatch Bag? That would complete the Dispatch-Boy look.

But on a more serious note, I think the Motorities collection is a great collection that may help dunhill appeal to a younger demographic group.

The Motorities collection bears an uncanny resemblance to the Globetrotter collection that dunhill launched about three to four years ago. The Globetrotter line has since been discontinued and I would imagine poor sales to be the reason.

If you own a bag from the Globetrotter collection and is wondering what's the diff, I think you may like the softness of the Motorities' cotton canvas. Globetrotter was way too stiff for me.

The Motorities design is also distinctively ergonomic, a trademark of Amberg.

Posted by loganw at 05:58 AM | Comments (0)