Here’s the second half of our guest blogger feature. This time The Blue Hour takes a look around Present, Tricker’s, Grenson and Folk. Enjoy the imagery and we look forward to seeing some of these up on your tumblr.

The “55″ polo by Original Penguin is one of those garments that allows all types of name dropping. Arnold Palmer wore it. The Rat Pack donned them. And, even Richard Nixon was a fan.

What does that do for us today? Not a whole lot really. However, the design details that helped make the shirt popular then remain quite useful now. An “action gusset” on the underarm helps with that golf swing and a tough reach to the beer cooler. The front pocket is great for… carrying things.

In all, it’s a polo shirt that works because it is relatively simple.

There’s nothing more annoying than the threat of rain during spring. Actual rain? Fine, just put on your rain jacket and go about your day. But the threat of rain on a warm day just leaves you – and us, because we’re simpletons – confused. A casual alternative to a pac-a-mac, this cagoule would be great for those days when rain threatens you but never does anything – like the hoodlums on ‘How to make it in America’. (ASOS)

Take a leap to see detailed images.

There’s been an explosion of beautiful blogs since we launched and we felt that it’s time we open up our borders and work with some of our favourite ones – which is why we created this new guest blogger feature. Every Wednesday for this month will showcase one of our favourite blogs doing what they do best. They’ll be some you know and some you don’t, but each one is a personal favourite of ours.

First up is The Blue Hour. Created by Brian Ferry, The Blue Hour showcases beautiful photography of whatever takes his fancy. We especially like Ferry’s ability to – and forgive the flowery prose – make the mundane beautiful.  To showcase his talents, we asked Brian to take a tour of some of our favourite stores in London.

The first half includes stops at Shop at Bluebird, B Store and Albam, which you can see after the leap.

There’s no shortage of white bucks out there this season but if you want your shoes to last more than a few years, you’re best off investing in some high quality ones. These Alden bucks, custom ordered for Blackbird, are great for folks who don’t want to give up their shoe fetish just because it’s hot outside. Just remember to relax with the rest of your outfit, looking too brand new has been the downfall of many a man. (Blackbird)

Take a leap, see those detailed images.

01. Top 10 Luxury Brands’ Sites Fail To Work On iPad

“A review by the team at PSFK shows that most luxury brands are unprepared to leverage the changes in web use that products like Apple’s iPad and iPhone are driving. Out of the top 10 luxury brands ranked by Forbes in 2009, none of their websites worked sufficiently to match their desktop-web-experience. Only Gucci seems to have created a site that can handle the technology requirements that Apple has placed on its mobile devices.” (psfk)

02. Bottle Opener Ring

“It’s a well documented fact on Cool Material that – much like boobs – adding a bottle opener to anything instantly makes it better. Rings and weapons are no different. A ring that happens to double as brass knuckles and a beer opener is the closest thing to perfection that man has created since cheese and breast augmentation. Who cares if it’s a deadly weapon in more than one state. $50″ (materialist)

03. A Page of Light (above)

“There’s always those moments when you need light and can’t quite flip the switch or out in public in some dimly lit restaurant that makes it impossible to read the menu. Why do they do that??? I digress to a more serene note. I find this happens when I’m reading. I don’t want to light up the whole room so something like the Lightleaf is perfect. Almost as thin as paper, the entire surface illuminates to a satisfying glow. Now sure how it works but the designer says it’s wirelessly rechargeable. I assume induction.” (yanko)

04. Lend Your Locks, Used Pantyhose to Help Oil Spill Cleanup Efforts

“If you’re due for a haircut, don’t let your hairdresser sweep those locks into the garbage can! Matter of Trust, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that collects landfill-bound locks from hundreds of thousands of salons and barbershops throughout the world to make oil spill absorbing hair mats and booms out of could sure use them! And with the Gulf of Mexico oil spill raging out of control, there’s never been a better time for a trim.” (inhabitant)

“Red’s Dan Felton appears in a short film entitled So Long, For Now for UK magazine Test. Filmed by Marc Jacobson, Dan shows a more laid-back style as a lazy day progresses.” (fashionisto)

Is it a shoe bag or something more? Whatever you thoughts on the size of this pouch from the Rick Owen’s DRKSHDW collection is Italian made and features a hazy shade of a figure against some supple lambskin leather. Use it as a day bag carryall if you like. It will set you back about 180$US. Ssense has it.

More looks at the Rick Owens DRKSHDW Figure Pouch after the click.

V Store has this Vibskov poncho to save you from the wet weather. “Grey cotton poncho style jacket from henrik vibskov with red polka dot pattern all over. It fastens to one side of the front with three white buttons. It has a small stand up collar.” It is crazy for some but proper for others.

More looks at the Henrik Vibskov Pascal Poncho after the click.

This book won’t release until October. Still, my own excitement keeps me from holding off on a post until a firm date is revealed. Edited by Jay Satterfield, Winter Carnival: A Century of Dartmouth Posters simply celebrates a century of graphic design related to the College’s famed seasonal bash.

Words from the publisher, University of New England Press -

Avidly collected and fetching high prices at auction, the Dartmouth Winter Carnival poster is a treasured and tangible artifact of one of the College’s most cherished traditions. Here, presented for the first time, is Dartmouth College Library’s definitive collection of Winter Carnival posters from 1911 to 2010, celebrating Dartmouth’s seasonal bacchanal, sports fest, and social daze. In addition to their merit as markers of changing taste in graphic arts, the posters offer a fascinating glimpse into a century of intense cultural and institutional development. As a sustained collection the posters are nearly unrivaled, to the envy of ephemera collectors. Everything is here, from the high-end, design-informed style of the early years to the pop-culture and annual-theme inspired posters of more recent years. A constant element is the effervescence of those Dartmouth days, tinged with the glow of nostalgia: youth, energy, sex, sports, camaraderie, and dragons.

This colorful and memory-evoking volume also includes a catalogue raisonné giving poster dimensions, artists’ names, and other relevant information; charming artistic ephemera (dance cards and programs) from the missing (posterless?) years of 1912 to 1934; and rare photos of the poster selection process. In addition, the book includes an illustrated essay retelling the story of Budd Schulberg and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s notorious trip to Winter Carnival; an essay about the art of the posters by noted graphic arts scholar Steven Heller; and a poignant piece by alumna and cultural observer Gina Barreca (class of ’79) remembering the posters and the Winter Carnival experience from a student’s point of view. This is a wonderful book for alumni, collectors of posters and ski posters, and anyone who has ever been touched by the magic of Winter Carnival.

Available for pre-order from Amazon.