Oprah visits Ralph Lauren at his Colorado ranch for an intimate discussion on the beginning of the RL line.

Vice Style has an interesting interview with John Simons, one of the most influential men in UK menswear. We’re sure you’ve heard the story already, but it was him who gave the harrington jacket its name and he brought several US brands onto UK shores decades before anyone else. Vice speak to him on his history and how he got started. The whole thing’s worth a read, but we were intrigued by his answer to who his customers were in the beginning:

“We started up to sell to young executives, but funny things went on… We did sell to the ones who wanted to look like Chet Baker or Cary Grant, but gradually it became pared down and we were selling to the suedeheads with their shortish hair and very neat partings. This was a slight move away from the Ivy look that first inspired us. That then mutated into the skinheads, who we never really catered to, but I think that’s how they came about. That masculine look that we promoted gradually became distorted to this hard look which ours was never intended to be. From that, you had the Brutus shirts coming out that we never sold—very tight, very tough-looking—almost like a play on their name. Never sold them, never wore one. This lad from Brighton, Ben Sherman, used to come in on a Saturday and buy our American shirts, and of course, later used them as the inspiration for the shirts he used to make.”

Read the full interview over at John Simons.

Here’s a video preview of one of the few iPad magazines worth purchasing, Letter to Jane.

Tech fanatics, this one’s for you. Arc’teryx veilance have been impressing the geekier side of menswear for a year or so now and pieces like this are why. Us? Honestly, we kinda like the colour more than anything. Call us shallow, but it is what it is. We’ll save the ‘level 3 layer’ talk to Wired magazine, we just wanna look good. (Superdenim)

The other day, we were thinking about how much we love the phrase ‘turns us onto’. Isn’t it great and doesn’t everyone love it? Thought so. Anyway, Curated turns us onto this:

“Lladro Atelier, a new creative department within Lladró,  under the creative guidance of designer Jaime Hayón, is responsible for the Metropolis Collection. With a central aesthetic stemming from dynamic buildings, the collection includes a number of vases, lamps, mirrors and boxes. Together, they come together to form a mini city.”

See more over at Curated.

If anything’s been proven over the last few seasons, it’s that British Millerian wax fabric is as addictive to designers as the mafia was for Michael Corleone. Baracuta have made a wax G4 for their 137 Project and it’s perfect for the elbow patch lovers out there. It’ll also work well for the folks who’d looked at a Baracuta and thought ‘you know what that needs? A corduroy pocket’. Which, we’re sure, is everyone. (The Three Threads)

Lovers of the chunkier sole, look away……now. Okay, now those of you who are looking for a less weighty sole can cop a look at this Dries numbers. There’s less of a twist on these than, say, the shoes with brighter than bright contrast soles but they’re still interesting enough to grab our attention. While most designer shoes aren’t known for their versatility, you could wear these with anything from a fashunz outfit to a calm navy suit. And, hey, if you’re gonna pay good money for something, it should be suitable for more than one occasion. (Autograph)

Contrast pockets are all well and good, but what about a printed pocket? Bet you’ve never thought about that huh? Well, we hadn’t until we saw this Sunny Sports tee. In our ongoing t-shirt adventures, this has been the most subtle of the twists we’ve seen lately. It’s like a gateway drug to patterned shirts. (Garbstore)

Beau Colburn > Thursday.

01. Letter Grades, Artwork, Safes, Knives Stolen from Momofuku

“Welcome to Eater’s latest feature, Shit People Steal, in which we ask restaurateurs what items in their restaurant have been (or are frequently) stolen. First up on Shit People Steal, Dave Chang, who has had all kinds of things, both big and small (often expensive), nicked from his group of Momofuku restaurants.” (eater)

02. Game On! The Untold Secrets and Furious Egos Behind the Rise of SportsCenter
“ESPN wasn’t truly the worldwide leader in sports until Keith Olbermann came along. Brilliant, combustible, and allergic to authority, he revolutionized its flagship program—and started a countdown clock for his ugly exit the moment he walked in the door.” (gq)

03. The Information Sage
“Edward Tufte occupies a revered and solitary place in the world of graphic design. Over the last three decades, he has become a kind of oracle in the growing field of data visualization—the practice of taking the sprawling, messy universe of information that makes up the quantitative backbone of everyday life and turning it into an understandable story.” (washingtonmonthly)

04. The Hourglass (above)
“Marc Newson’s latest creation for Ikepod sees the Australian designer interpret the most iconic timepiece of all: The Hourglass. Director Philip Andelman traveled to Basel, Switzerland, to document the designer’s modern take of the classic hourglass inside the Glaskeller factory.”

The ACE Hotel works once again with the bros. Billykirk on another item to give their check-in that additional considered detail. The leather tray is a great option to leave bedside to stow your pocket-wares: money, coin change, your watch… makes it easy to find your keys as well. Find them at the ACE Hotel N.Y.C. front desks and for sale in their gift shop.

More looks after the click.