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Finding grey in the sunshine

The close up - Grey suede shoes from bstore, grey socks and navy wool trousers from uniqlo.

The British summer was something of a non entity and just as I was getting exciting about shopping for my autumnal look...the sun came out. The sun was so bright yesterday morning that it woke me up at 8:45, which is crazy early for me at the best of times, but on a Sunday...well that's just madness. It meant that I could enjoy the whole day but rather than reach for my shorts...I mean come on, it is mid September after all...so I reached for different shades of grey.

Grey shirt and suede shoes from bstore, navy trousers and grey socks from uniqlo, Polaroid case bought from unsaleable,

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ON/OFF - Switching on to Rozalb de Mura

As promised, the early part of Sunday morning (the glorious sunshine woke me up far earlier than expected) was spent analysing the collections on catwalking.com. However, the aim was to create a wonderful montage of my favourite London show looks...this will come, in time and will probably merge into one all conquering montage with the New York shows, but first I would like to dedicate a post to a menswear label which showed as part of On/off, Rozalb de Mura. Rozalb de Mura is not a name I've noticed previously (although I've since found out that the aw 08 collection - The Thing - was featured on mensrag last month) but I'm taking notice after the latest collection, which showed an acute understanding of fabrics and textures whilst being playful and offering something a little different to everything else seen over the last two weeks.

What makes me like this collection even more is that the label is Romanian. Rozalb de Mura?s Olah Gyarfas is working hard to change the perception of Romania from fashion slave into something of a fashion competitor, it certainly is one of the most exciting brands to come out of Eastern Europe and I just had to share it with you.

Old Curiosity Shopping

The wonderful Old Curiosity Shop captured by Dazed Digital

It was a beautiful sunny day in London today and I spent it wandering the town and visiting my favourite stores and looking in on a few new ones. The first stop on my shopping tour was the beautiful Old Curiosity Shop which was of course immortalised by the Dickens' novel of the same name and is apparently the oldest shop in London (it was built in 1567). If the history of the building wasn't enough, the store now holds BLAAK's aw 08 collection and some beautiful handcrafted footwear and accessories by some designers handpicked by the design duo to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the brand. With it's cottage like appearance and all together parochial feel, it seems like an odd location for cutting edge London designers to be selling their collections but this make it all the more special.

As well as selling their own A/W 08-9 collection (highlights shown above), BLAAK have selected other products to sit alongside such as Oliver Goldsmith glasses exclusively made for BLAAK or Daiko Kimura's handcrafted shoes. If you find yourself around the Holborn area (or anywhere in London for that matter) you have to visit this store, if it wasn't for the lack of funds I would've bought a number of pieces and left and extremely happy chap...Despite not being able to afford anything, the cornucopia of curiosities make it a must see.

London Fashion Week comes to a close - MAN SS09

After giving myself concussion on Wednesday, London Fashion Week passed me by in a somewhat confused and bemused state...I can't believe that it's Saturday morning already. I promise that I will go through catwalking.com with a fine toothed comb and will post my highlights...in terms of menswear these were a little too few and far between but we expected that though, this is just the state of menswear today. Anyway, yesterday afternoon I was on the mend from my self induced affliction and most importantly fortunate enough to have a ticket to the hottest ticket in menswear all week, the MAN show. We've mentioned our admiration for this show before but it has to be applauded once again. MAN gives up-and-coming designers the opportunity to make a name for themselves (however we would like the panel to branch out a little bit more and offer new names a chance) and eventually even sell some clothes which is always a good thing for a starving, young designer. It was a strange crowd who were crammed into the NCP Car Park on Brewer Street including, Erin O'Connor, Jefferson Hack, Charlie Porter, Daniel Jenkins (who I got to meet for the first time and we discussed the state of menswear before and after the show), countless fashion students and erm, Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen...very strange indeed...Now onto the collections:

Christopher Shannon

First up was Christopher Shannon, who I knew would deliver a wearable and interesting collection and he didn't dissapoint...but then he didn't amaze either. Shannon has been given a fair bit of media atention in the week's running up to the show and rightly so (highlight being an interview with wearethemarket), since graduation from Central Saint Martin's he has worked with Kim Jones ad designed a collection for New Balance. It was a solid, marketable collection and I can see a lot of men wearing these clothes. The colour palette was fresh and I particularly liked the use of green, it was a collection which offered sort the type of imaginative sportswear that wouldn't disgrace his past mentor, Kim Jones.

Hans Madsen:

In this collection Hans Madsen was playing with textures and textiles to wonderful effect. I do have one problem with it though, the clothes just looked too warm to be part of a Spring Summer show. Yes the seasons are somewhat blurring and merging but for me there still needs to be a difference in the collections and not just teaming the knitwear with shorts. That said, if we our Summers continue down the same path I would happily wear these clothes all year round.

James Long:

Unlike the

James Franco is a Man About Town and he might just be stalking me

James Franco seems to be wherever I turn lately. It all started only recently when I watched Never Been Kissed (it was raining outside, it was on TV...I was ill, I'd not seen it before....*insert another few excuses here) and there he was (who knew he was in it???), then he fronts a Gucci perfume and then one of my favourite magazines, Man About Town puts him on the cover and dedicates a number of pages to 'A Study of the Actor.' The man is stalking me.

The cover and the highlights of the editorial

From the study within the magazine I learned quite a bit about my new stalker...he used to work at McDonalds before his acting career took off, he dropped out of UCLA in 1997 and has recently returned to finish off his undergraduate degree which is commendable but to be honest I'm not really interested. I only care care about the degree of style a would be stalker has and within these pages I like what I see. James Franco I give you my blessing to continue to stalk me. With three major films released this year including the Judd Apatow produced comedy Pineapple Express (which I might see), the weepie romance Nights in Rodanthe (which I won't see) and a biopic of former San Francisco councillor Harvey Milk called Milk which is directed by Gus Van Sant (which I probably will see), we will all be seeing a fair bit more of the actor.

Men Represent: Essential essentials

Apologies for the delay in putting up the first batch of Men Represent's Essentials, Steve managed to give himself concussion after fainting (he really needs to give this story a more masculine edge), anyway, he's on the road to recovery now and please see Men Represent: Essentials, part one...

xS - The Staple:

A killer item, something that you love and goes with anything - mine would be an APC peacoat

An individual/daring streak that means you try and look different from the crowd, and aren't afraid to leave the house wearing something a little odd (whether that's pink shoes or a sequinned cardigan)

A good sense of colour/pattern so you know what goes together and doesn't to complement the individual streak
A voracious appetite for magazines, style and curious eye for detail
The evening dress outfit combo (white shirt, black trousers, black tie/bow tie, smart black shoes, jacket/blazer/tux jacket and accessory (scarf/brooch/bag)

Matt Ahoy - Buckets and Spades

Quality socks are a must, ususally bright coloured. Marks and Spencers is the best bet for good quality yet affordable socks.

Footwear, I ususally can't stick to one type of shoes but since I bought a pair of A/W08 Kurt Geiger patent black hi tops I can't take them off. Hi tops, boots, brogues, deck shoes and loafers are my 5 essentials.

I can't leave my house without a watch, I need to know the time all the time, I don't know how anyone feels about this, Whether it's weird but I just can't do it. Casio is the brand for me (until im earning a bit more).

Christian Dior - Eau Sauvage
Pen and note pad. These guys never leave my side. You never know what you will see or hear when leaving your house, they're a must.

Mark - Broken Closet

1. The Velvet Blazer - I couldn?t bear to see the blazer in anywhere but my top five. It would be like moving to Nepal and leaving my favourite teddy behind in my empty room. This Autumn I?m a little obsessed with velvet, so on the look out for a velvet blue blazer. I am in love with the one by Kris Van Assche last year, but I?d rather not have to sell my liver or youngest child to buy it. I just think a well fitted blazer transforms anything underneath into pure gold? like the philosophers stone, but dry clean only.

2. The Giant Knits - I was never much of a cardigan boy. I have but one, which is colossal and increased my body size threefold. Now I?m after more humungous knits, requiring a whole herd of Swedish sheep to make a single sleeve. In particular I love the turtle necks by Alessandro Dell'Acqua this Autumn? but then I have a soft spot for blissful winter jumpers.

3. The Dress Coat - Something about the dress coat this Autumn fills me with pleasurable quivers. I think it?s because for a while all the featured coats and jackets have been cropped to just below the waist and now I think it?s time to let them flow down to the knees. I'm loving Paul Smith's ones this year.

4. Hi-top Footwear - I?ve been captivated by Connies for many, many years. My feet are addicted to them, shivering in hatred at anything else. This year I?m determined to break their obsession and the return of the Hightops might just do it. Then again, I might just buy some new hightop AllStars. Ah Well.

5. Am I Allowed to Say Plaid? No? Well I will anyway. I didn?t like the idea of this at first. I prefer block colours to patterns and thought the plaid might be a bit too masculine for me. However,one fateful day in one of my onlin...

An eye for an eye in London - JW Anderson

Like me, I'm sure that more than quite a few are itching to see if the menswear on offer in London goes someway to fill the dull, commercial vacuum that was the majority of offerings in New York. I've been looking forward to JW Anderson's collection for some time. Partly because I'm a fan of his work and partly because the model fittings took place in my new flat's building which intrigued me greatly, as there were signs placed around the building saying somewhat creepy things like 'Boys this way'. Anyway...what better way to kick off the menswear proceedings than with Anderson taking a step forward (with more wearable offerings), the show was titled 'An Eye for an Eye.' For Robbie Spencer of DazedDigital the show was "was drenched in historical referencing, inspired by religious paraphernalia, mythical characters and societies bound in traditions" and I couldn't put it better myself, so I didn't. Anyway, here are my picks:

EJ - Check out the model in the bottom left who also featured in DazedDigital's top 7 models from New York.

From my picks above you can see that this is something of a breakthrough collection for Anderson, that had aspects of commercially viability that is sure to please buyers and customers alike whilst catering for the editorial eye. The designer says he would 'like to see Great Britain become a men's fashion country again', and I think he is certainly one of the designers who is going to make this dream a reality.

Reader's Questions: A budding designer

Just like buses here in the UK we were waiting for a Reader's Question with some trepidation and doubt...then two come at once. We recently posted about Daniel Osburn's move to London and gave him our recommendations on how best to adapt to London life. Then we received an email from Paul Hardy, a reader who, like most of us, is a little bit bored with menswear right now and is keen to push things forward and wants to take matters in his own hands. The timing of this email was perfect. As The Sunday Best's awesome comic shows, the New York Shows were far from spectacular, they demonstrated fine, wearable clothes but quite a few of us want more, Paul certainly does and we love his attitude.

....................

Dear StyleSalvage,

I love your blog please don't stop updating it. Now onto my question. Are you in the fashion business by any chance? Do you know any designers or editors? I am aiming to be in the fashion business (right now I'm just 14). I would be extremely happy if you could get me some advice on the subject. I currently want to be in the field of menswear as its boring right now. Its the same thing over and over again. I want to add uniqueness to it, something different and innovative. Right now I am thinking of a biker jacket in tweed (your thoughts please). What I want to know how I can improve my knowledge of menswear - its designers, its fabrics, its techniques, its history (anything connected to menswear).

Thanks Steve and EJ. Keep up the good blogging.

Yours Truly,

Paul

....................

Above is Paul's sketch for his tweed biker jacket, Steve would certainly wear this... Steve fell in love with a Peoples Market biker jacket in grey wool seen in TwoSee but the size gods were against him...in fact he want to wear this right now. Paul is currently learning tailoring (something Steve has talked about for some time and needs to actually do!) and this should inspire us all. Tailoring is something of a dying art form and that is just plain wrong. Have you got any advice for Paul? Are you thinking of taking matters into your own hands and sketching your own visions for the future of menswear?

Lens hits the Topman website

So as well as launching their US site, Topman have also put their latest Lens collection up here. No sign of the plaid jacket, but the Carolyn Massey which divided opinions is available for £100 here . Sadly Steve couldn't make it to the launch so we've yet to get an eyeful of this stuff close up- have any of our readers checked this stuff out in store yet?

In case you missed it, we wrote about this collection back in July.

Picture Postcard: Weekend break

This pic was taken of me last time I was at home, on the beach of Margate...all I'm missing is the ultimate tasty accessory, a 99 with a flake.

Dear EJ

As the collective fashion gaze turns towards London, I for some reason am leaving the big smoke for the weekend and returning from whence I came...the seaside. I will be sure to spread the ideas of Men Represent but I'm not too sure how receptive the boys and men of 'Planet Thanet' will be to it all.

Keep an eye on the Topman website, the autumn/winter Topman Design is now available (click here to have a look) but the Lens Collection (which we've both been looking forward to) will be available real soon - you might just get your hands on the Massey cape you've been dreaming of..

Much Love and have a great weekend

Steve

PS - Thanks for adding the Feeling Lucky feature on the right hand side, an inspired idea! Readers, you can now read a post at random to entertain yourselves.

Hey Steve!

Hope you have fun times in deepest darkest Kent. I will be keeping a close watch on the Topman website (is it me or was the US site launch kept rather quiet? It's probably just me), if just to see how quickly the Topman Design stuff sells out. Alas I cannot afford to buy myself the cape or that plaid jacket as I had hoped as I near bankrupted myself last weekend doing girl shopping (dresses!)

I'll try to keep the blog covered while your away. That is if I don't get distracted reading the archives.

EJ
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