Style Stalking... The Sunday Best

What better way to learn about a person's style than to style stalk them for a week? Last time we caused much collective salivation over Elliott James Sainsbury's wardrobe and we did not have to think too hard about who we wanted to feature next. Step forward Thom of The Sunday Best who jumped at the chance after confessing he was something of narcissistic bastard. Please sit back and become a voyeur as we are let in to the first four days in his shoes.

We will let him introduce his first few looks...

My first instinct was to go through my closet and put together my seven or so "best" outfits, but decorum and pride --what if my curated outfits were unadulterated crap-- got the better of me. So here, for better or worse, are the outfits I wore over a week at work. (In the interest of full disclosure these pictures were taken over two work weeks.) Let us begin.

Day One:

Standard work wear - v-neck, shirt, tie, cords and boat shoes. Here I am trying to usher in Spring but it is still freezing in Victoria. The tie is one of the many I've bought at Value Village, probably 25 now in total.

Day Two:

Casual Fridays don't mean much in government since people wear jeans and t-shirts on a regular basis. I guess this is why I tend to still wear ties on Friday, although I do like jeans at work. Unfortunately Clack Clack Empire, the store where I bought the Wrath Arcane shirt, has since closed.

Day Three:
More work uniform. The tie is a thick cotton from Dunderdon - thick cotton and wool are going to gradually replace all my silk ties.

Day Four:
Blurry photo plus inexplicable hands in pockets. This grey flannel suit is actually an A.P.C. blazer with Farah pants, since A.P.C. doesn't make a pair of pants that fit me.

The rest of the week's outfits with be accompanied by his shop recommendations later this week.

Totally Cute Beige Rosette Heels!

I have many a wedding coming up, and at first, I was looking for some beige rosette heels to wear in the wedding I'm in at the end of this month. I ended up going with some vintage gold heels instead, but check out these great Seychelles "Dinner Is Served" satin rosette heels in beige and black.

($84, Seychelles, Zappos.com)

The question isn't what WILL these go with but what WON'T they go with? And usually I'm not a proponent of silk shoes due to their high propensity towards getting completely ruined, but for a wedding they can be perfs, especially in a natural color like beige, or in a deep rich blue or magenta or purple. Yay, fun, cool bridal stuff!

New Balls in aisle three...

Anyone for tennis?

I've often conceded that I'm a magazine addict (hey, admission of the problem is the first step to recovery). My physical dependency on glossy pages is not helped by the fact that I live with another self confessed addict. The flat has been consumed by piles and shelves full of magazines and this environment has only intensified dependency. In fact, Susie's collection has led to me developing a number of guilty pleasures (flicking through Teen Vogue whilst in the bath anyone?) and introduced me to a number of previously unheard of titles, just like Milk. Whilst I was marvelling at the wonders of Oily Boy, I have to admit that I had one eye on Susie's choice of reading material and the below editorial instantly caught my eye from issue 32 of Milk X.

For SS09 Thom Browne surprised us all with with a tennis embroidered line incorporating skirts and kilts, plaids paired with paisley and low cut trousers complete with terrycloth headbands and armbands. I certainly did not expect to see his vision of American Sportswear in the supermarket aisles - I would love to see such ensembles next time I pop down to my local Tesco Metro!

Last month the Cut revealed that there might not be a place for Browne's $5000 shrunken suits in the free falling world economy, I for one would be sad to see him go. Doubts over how practical and wearable his designs are frequently follow a mere mention of his name so it is refreshing to see his designs shot in such a mundane and everyday setting. Of course one or two looks appear somewhat ridiculous but they provoke thought and a little debat. The whole editorial reminds me that I really must throw a Wimbledon party this summer...the search for a wooden racket begins...plus I must warn the neighbours that I'll be dressing up in short shorts.

Magazines in the Spotlight: Oily Boy

OilyBoy is produced by the same people who produce a magazine called Popeye.

The name surely makes us all chuckle and raises a few eyebrows when mentioned in conversation. This point is best highlighted by my message to twitter following picking up this magazine for Elder Boys at the Japan Centre yesterday afternoon: 'Finally, I have Oily Boy in my grasp!' was met with a combination of of laughter and puzzled replies. As the reaction to the name subsides, we are left with a strong magazine which offers fashion and style guidance to the older variety of Japanese 'boy'. Japan has an ageing population. Twenty two per cent of the population are over 65 and therefore Japanese retailers, marketers and publishers need to tease more purchases from the grey pound. Oily Boy is designed to excite consumption among the 'elder boys' and in the process has excited me. As I flick through the issue and munch on my Wasabi Peas (another Japan Centre purchase) I want to be an oily boy. It is clear that the Japanese do everything better, including never really growing up.

There are a number of theories regarding the meaning of the name but only one is correct. The Washington Post ran a great piece on the launch of the magazine and helped answer a few questions in the process. "Oily Boy" is the nickname of the late Jiro Shirasu who was once the coolest guy in Japan. Shirasu was one of the first Japanese men of substance to allow himself to be photographed whilst wearing jeans. He owned and often tinkered with his Bentley. On social occasions, his trousers and shirts were sometimes stained with oil. "That kind of man never forgets the 'boy' in him," says the OilyBoy Declaration, which can be found in the magazine's first edition. "The boys became not adults, but 'elder boys.' And that is why we cry out loud: We are Oily Boys."

Given that I cannot read Japanese, my whole attention is focused on the imagery and there is more than enough subtle detailing and styling to keep me busy. One of my favourite features of the magazine sees the profiling of real Oily Boys.


Out of all of the Japanese chaps featured, Katsuyuki Yoshida is my favourite. Mr Yoshida is 71 years old, from the accompanying images I thought he was a musician but he is in fact founder of Yoshida & Co and Porter Classic (thanks Tommy). He is awesome. The youngest Oily Boy profiled is Satoshi Ishiguro who is a surf loving 48 year old and the oldest is Yoshihisa Kinameri, a 78 year old business man. All of these men are inspiring. "Unleash yourself. Be free. Do what you want to do." That, is the OilyBoy way.

Weekend Thought: Your wardrobe is more than a piece of furniture

The art of wardrobe building is not fast or haphazard; instead it is developed and nurtured over time. A mans wardrobe may rather eloquently tell the story of his life less ordinary. E. Tautz

During an afternoon of procrastination last week TheSundayBest gave me a new blog to sink my teeth in to after I was moaning about the internet cycle I had got myself in. I needed something new to both pass the hours after lunch and inspire, Daring Fireball delivered with a post on Complex systems and the success of Apple. John Gruber begins the post with an extract from Gall's Law and applies it to my favourite technology brand.

“A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. The inverse proposition also appears to be true: A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be made to work. You have to start over, beginning with a working simple system.” Gall's law.

If there is a formula to Apple’s success over the past ten years, it is to start with something simple and build it, grow it, improve it, steadily over time. Evolve it. As I find it quite difficult now to think of anything other than men's fashion and style (seriously, I need help...what happened to me?) I was reminded with the art of wardrobe building post. For me, the wardrobe is a complex system which requires a simple base which is then added to slowly over time. EJ will be the first to tell you that I am quite an impatient fellow but it is all about making measured, (mostly) calculated decisions.- of course from time to time we all need an impulse buy or two, some of which we might regret a few months down the line but mostly these buys fit quite nicely and add to the story of a wardrobe. When we met up with Patrick Grant he reminded us that there is something very charming about building a collection of clothes, every piece having a position in the wardrobe. When one of their longest clients at Nortons died last year (after being a customer since 1945!) an extraordinary wardrobe was left. The chap was far from an extravagant man but bought wisely and his wardrobe certainly told a story. It is something of a lost art that a lot of people just don't consider anymore. We think it is about time that people considered this art once more.

So, regardless of your brain's hemispheric dominance we think it is about time that you see your wardrobe as more than a piece of furniture. If your scientifically minded, just think of Gall's Law and see your wardrobe is a complex system and if you are a little more visual, your wardrobe is a story telling piece of art.

Casely-Hayford AW09: Sportswear collides with formal tailoring

A number of labels attempt to combine a street and sport aesthetic with formal tailoring but very few truly pull it off. Casely-Hayford are leading the few who have done just that. Back in January we posted the first set of images from Casely-Hayford's debut collection which saw the father and son design team combine the urbane qualities of Edward VIII with the contemporary sportswear of London's street culture. Fortunately for me, Fashion156 were offered an exclusive sneak preview of their AW09 collection and it is great to see that the design duo have built on the duality of the brand.

Casely-Hayford have undoubtedly built on the successes demonstrated in their capsule collection with a full drool inducing collection. As part of the exclusive feature for Fashion156 I managed to catch up with Charlie Casely-Hayford about the unusual dynamic of the brand and the craftsmanship behind it all. The first part of the interview went live this morning and the final part which discusses Charlie's style influences will follow tomorrow. One of my favourite extracts from the piece is the one below:

Our clothes start from a traditional stand point, but rather than being nostalgic and whimsical, we choose to reflect the spirit of 21st century gentleman - a character conscious of many reference points yet someone who chooses to distill his style into a concise statement. Things have moved on since the days of the Duke of Windsor, and although he is a great inspiration and a foundation for the brand, the modern sartorialist has a different appetite. Our requirements, desires, and practical needs have been drawn towards this synergy between the formal and athletic.

The tailoring fits perfectly with my current sartorial aesthetic as it is full of interesting features such as a dropped hem on a single breasted jacket and the ribbed cuffed trousers in tweed jersey. This is tailoring for the 21st gentleman and I would love to be that gentleman. The styling for me (Art Direction by Casely-Hayford & Son) makes this the strongest AW09 look book thus far. My favourite look of all is featured above and sees the combination of a transparent plastic coat with tartan trim worn over a quilted panel shirt. It is the combination of fabrics, both traditional and modern, throughout the collection that come together to create such great texture which excites me most.

During the course of the interview I asked Charlie for a few recommendations that he would like to share with us. The more observant of you, might have noticed that we have been collecting quite a few people's recommendations... all will be revealed soon. In the meantime please see Charlie's favourite shops, designers and websites below:

A hidden gem of a store called Hornets off High Street Kensington is great for any gentleman on the search for second-hand English gentry attire, you can find nice little pieces to add a bit of class and often colour to your everyday outfit.

Jjjjound is an amazing website that satisfies my visual thirst for creativity, I can't get enough of it.

Pia Stanchina is a designer that I've begun paying a lot of attention to recently. I'm very interested in the bridge between ethical clothing and high fashion, and she seems to be one of the few people filling that niche. Definitely one to keep an eye on for the future.

If you would like to hear more about Casely-Hayford and from the interview with Charlie, then please take a look over on the Fashion156 blog or just drop us a comment below.

Famous Actress: Xu Jing Lei 徐静蕾

Profile

Name Xu Jinglei 徐静蕾
Date of birth: April 16th, 1974
Horoscope: Aries
Place of birth: Beijing, China
Height: 168cm
Weight: 49kg
Measurements: 33-25-35 "
Blood type: O
Education: Beijing Film Academy (graduated 1997)
Profession: Actress, director, lecturer, singer and writer
Favourite colour: Black and white
Favourite flower: Tulip
Favourite sport: Ping-pong
Favourite actress: Isabelle Adjani
Favourite actor: Mel Gibson and Kevin Costner
Favorite Movie : Killer.Butterfly.Dream