There is a long series of suiting that accompanies the pre-Autumn Winter collection from Louis Vuitton. We did not pick up on those looks for this story. Everything else is here, but truthfully, those suits deserve another look at a later date. What we have here is a ready to wear collection tailored for the individual who wants a leg up on the end of the year “chiller” months with the option to prepare for an early frost. While not all the looks work for us, you are the individual who should really be making that choice. Trends aside, fashion is supposed to be personal and Louis Vuitton can help.

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With almost nothing to do with menswear, we share the news that the much loved, loathed beauty names Lana Del Rey get the cover not for T Magazine’s Spring Women’s Fashion issue – out February 19th. The singer looks as good as we have seen her in this most natural of looks. Thank you for that, T Mag. Oh, and Terry Richardson shot the debutante styled looks.

And, Lana, keep smiling. A tough show will always make you stronger.

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Amazing what a difference a pair of pinking shears makes. This collab between Italian shoemaker Buttero and British online “sneaker boutique” Offspring keeps it simple, making a few simple tweaks to their classic-looking Tanino sneaker. Most noticeable is that zig-zagged edging around the toe-cap and heel collar. The round leather laces are another nice touch, as is the leather footbed, making for an incredibly austere but also playful pair of shoes. These puppies will be available in two colorways—petrol blue and deep maroon—through Offspring’s site and their London retail outlet come spring.

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George Lois, the master communicator of the advertising world soups up around 120 life lessons in his new Phaidon book, Damn Good Advice (For People with Talent!), which delivers a slew of insightful thoughts on making things work for you. Now, Mr. Lois clearly singles out “people with talent” as the group he is speaking with with the book; that means everyone reading this here site.

Put Damn Good Advice on your coffee table and thumb through it daily for some insight on how to make your work and world better. Though some of the mantras delivered by Lois are obvious, it is rather nice to be reminded of them. Forthcoming on Phaidon March 26. Available from Amazon.

Photography: Selectism.com

Select quotations and pages from the book after the click.

How many reading this remember hunting down copies of Deadline back in the day? In the States it was a pain in the ass. Mailorder was usually the best option but even then, it took some months for those back issues to crawl off a boat from the U.K. The covers took me in. Imagine being 15 years old and seeing this slightly butch punk girl on the cover with a cigarette in her mouth… I definitely did not gravitate to it for any other reason. But truth be told, once inside, the discovery of the Tank Girl saga. Those new to Tank Girl can skip the movie and go straight to the current graphic novels.

Step into the late 90’s and the first Gorillaz record which had that very familiar comic art style of Jamie Hewlett. I was pretty much sold.

Today, ABSOLUT delivers their latest artist collaborative, part of their city series with ABSOLUT LONDON featuring the art of Mr. Hewlett, who takes on the history of London’s fashion scene over the last 200 years. On the bottle you’ll find all those scenes represented: the dandy’s, the punks, the mods, and our favorites, those terrace riding 80’s casuals.

50 total bottle of ABSOLUT LONDON will go on sale starting March 1 at Selfridges and Harvey Nichols. Good luck, collectors.

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Coffee-table bound for comic heads and a handy primer for those uninitiated with the spectacular depth and scope of the comic book universe, Leaping Tall Buildings: The Origins of American Comics offers a historical survey of the industry through profiles of the luminaries who helped build it, starting in the 1930s. Set for an April release from powerHouse Books, herein, the photography of Seth Kushner and words by Christopher Irving—the duo behind oft-clicked comics website Graphic NYC – builds a narrative that follows comic evolution from humble newsprint to mega-budget movies.

Included in Leaping Tall Buildings are Mad magazine’s Al Jaffee, Neal Adams, Art Spiegelman, Frank Miller, Harvey Pekar, Alex Ross, Becky Cloonan and Chris Ware, creating a wide view of things to say the least. Profiles feature photos from intimate studio visits and the story unfolds like good old-fashioned journalism (see: newsprint).

Timing couldn’t be better as we haven’t seen such a cluster of superhero movies in maybe forever. May this document keep things in perspective. Available from Amazon.

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Polaroid film was of course great for road trips and parties, but it was crucial in the bedroom—allowing us instant gratification with our red photography and eliminating the hassle of trying to get quality prints discretely. In 2010, The Impossible Project—staffed by former Polaroid employees—filled the void left behind when their former employer shuttered its doors and windows by offering online access to leftover Polaroid film as well as their own Impossible Instant Films that work in Polaroid cameras. Now TIP has teamed up with Holden, makers of pragmatically tailored outerwear, to bring us Holden-branded Polaroid camera kits.

Primed for August release, the special edition kits will take the form of a handcrafted wooden box bearing a leather camera bag, a pack of limited edition Holden X Impossible PX70 Color Shade film, and a custom Holden Polaroid SX-70 camera. Enthusiasts will remember the SX-70 as the one that folds down to fit in a pocket … or a small nightstand. - jt

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Inspired by James Dean, the new Michael Bastian collection of eyewear for Randolph. Shot behind-the-scnes from Bastian’s Spring/Summer 2012 runway show.

We’ll be honest: the name of the new GANT Rugger collection or campaign sounds a bit forced. “Nouveau Prep” is meant to describe their new take on the prep look, so why not just call it “New Prep.” This is an American brand, right? Luckily, we can put aside the descriptors used in the campaign (which also include ‘dressy but messy’) and focus on the garments which do indeed offer more fitting cuts. The collection moves further along from the casual with the inclusion of oxfords (their standard), cut-off chinos, silk scarves and more. Inspiration comes from various ends including “downtown hipsters” and 60’s prep.

“Nouveau Prep” aside, we welcome the new direction from GANT Rugger. Available online.

Update: Rugger’s designer, Christopher Bastin, wanted to clarify the choice in the collection’s name. Here are his words:

The name “Nouveau Prep” actually has a nice story behind it. A blog (I believe it was the Bengal Stripe) referred to GANT Rugger as “Nouveau Prep” and it just stuck. I didn’t really think about it much until we began working on spring 12. Once I started getting the theme and ideas together, it really felt like a fresh take on things. Since I genuinely hate the phrase “preppy with a twist”, and, let’s be honest, anything with a bit of French in it is always kind of savvy, it became a natural name for the theme. Since then, I always refer to Gant Rugger as Nouveau Prep, and everyone seems to get it straight away. When vintage starts feeling cool again in like 8 years, perhaps we will call it “Prep Ancienne.”

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The Han Kjøbenhavn collection showcases their Spring Summer 2012 looks through images as well as a spectacularly odd video shown below (when we say ‘odd’ we mean it in the positive). As personal fans of this collection, we are happy to see it grow into its own season after season. Han’s leather shirt is an interesting part of the collection and modeled well in the video. The army shirts in orane and denim are standouts as is the vest. Let us know your thoughts.

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