We hope the weather is as amazing in your city or town as it has been for us on the East Coast. He’s a roundup of stories that appeared this week on Selectism. We recommend them all.

1. Outlier’s Abe Burmeister: How I Built A Fashion Brand With No Experience – about the best video you will see this month.
2. 6 Simple Leather Loafers – easy on and off and a no-brainers for the warm weather.
3. 5 Pasta Dishes – Food Republic gives us their 5 pasta recipe picks this week.
4. 7 Pleasant Caps – a nice selection of men’s caps and hats that work.
5. Tom Sachs -Nikecraft Collection for SPACE PROGRAM: Mars Exhibit – Nike + Sachs = Nikecraft
6. Levi’s 511 Black Black Denim – Giveaway – skinny black and free (to someone).
7. Magic-Flight Launch Box Vaporizer – helping you live a smoke-free life.
8. Helmut Newton: Sex & Landscapes – Los Angeles Show – A great new Newton exhibition put together by his wife.
9. Quiksilver for J. Crew Board Shorts – classic 70’s board shorts now back – J. Crew exclusive.
10. UNIQLO Wake Up App for iPhone + Android – calming and soothing alarm clock app from Japan.
11. Lee 101 – Field & Country – AW 2012 – work and rugged wear keeps on trucking
12. Tom Cruise – W Magazine June 2012 Cover – still have to stop and look every time we see it.
13. Edita Vilkeviciute’s Calendar Girl Editorial for Garage Magazine – classic sunshine monthlies.
14. “The Gentry Man: A Guide for the Civilized Male” Book – what your gramps was reading in the 1950’s to keep up on style.

Inspired by the Quiksilver shorts of the 1970’s, J. Crew tags the trunk maker with working a small in-house exclusive collection for the retailers that features patterns including florals and color blocked looks. The bamboo and aloha prints are classic against the classic Quiksilver outer tag. Each will run you $75. Available now.

More detailed looks on the following page.

These are pure dad-chic. Or, if that is not working for you, how about professor-modish. This is not to say that we are not feeling these heritage oxfords, crafted by Red Wing Heritage exclusively for old J.Crew, but their boxiness and heft seem to suggest perfect pairing with short white socks, pleated chinos and a tucked-in golf shirt.

“[The shoe] was inspired by the traditional 875 and 877 styles worn by work crews, but designed for factory managers who needed a lighter, more comfortable oxford to wear in the office.” Again, given the looks, we are not surprised to hear this. Still, with the proper pair of jeans and a proper cuff, the made-in-the-U.S.A. 4514 could tiptoe out of dad-chicness and right into the working-it work wear arena. Available at jcrew.

More looks in our gallery…

Some good news for those waiting for the opening of the new J. Crew men’s retail play in Tribeca. The Ludlow Suit Shop opened its doors today. As we mentioned back in late January, the shop will carry a strong collection of in-house specials including “Thomas Mason for J.Crew shirting, Italian cashmere and a selection of shoes including Alden for J.Crew and Crockett & Jones.” The interior, inspired by “atelier live/ workspace,” is a serious mix of flavors from 19th century antiques to a Mies van der Rohe sofa. The 70’s Marantz turntable on display better work when I’m in there.

Find the J. Crew Ludlow Suit Shop in Tribeca at 50 Hudson, NYC.

More looks in our gallery…

The J. Crew men’s collection was showcased this week at Lincoln Center. Frank Muytjens says the collection was “inspired by a portrait of Edward James looking polished and precise and by photographs of Antarctic explorer, Ernest Shackleton.” With a color palette of “water on an oil slick” that pulls out the blues, purples, and greens in the collection, J. Crew caters to the user that expects garments to be wearable under any conditions.

More looks in our gallery…

Looking an awful lot like Converse’s beloved Jack Purcell, this collaboration between PF Flyers and J. Crew isn’t the freshest blast of air, but it’s still exciting because a big rubber toe cap and a double-walled outsole are pretty much always the right temperature. Formulated using an archival style sold exclusively in Japan, these Flyers, called The All Court, hope to fly off warehouse shelves starting February 15.

More looks in our gallery…

If you’re in the vicinity of TriBeCa next month, get ready to have fun saying: “Honey, I’m off to the haberdashery.”

That is when J. Crew plans to open The Ludlow Shop, a 2,100-square-foot space boasting an assortment of their Ludlow suits along with Thomas Mason shirts, Italian leather shoes, and ties. Tailors and suit wizards will be at the ready to fit the suit to the man, and then monogram the suit with the man’s initials, should it come to that. The eminently wearable—and adaptable (survey the ad campaign after the jump)—collection tops out at $1,500 for a Ludlow made from Italian cashmere.

As for the slim-fitting two-piece at the center of all the excitement, it debuted three years ago at The Liquor Store, also in the neighborhood, but demand has grown to the point that it now needs its own mailing address. -jt

Image: wwd

A look at J. Crew’s newest label, Wallace and Barnes. The story goes that the design teams ever growing archive of vintage clothing and various bits of dusty ephemera, used as inspiration for the main line, had become the obvious starting point for a separate collection with a more obvious connection to the past. Cue peacoats, totes, hunting jackets, denim and v-stitch sweatshirts all inspired by early to mid nineteenth century American designs. We’re not entirely convinced there’s a huge difference between Wallace & Barnes and J Crews general stock,they’ve been doing the repro thing for a while now throughout their collections. However there’s enough stand out items to make us take a second glance.

More look after the click.

Oh, fancy nosing around a well known dutch designers house do you? Well, look no further than Brooklyn Magazine, who have found themselves in the home of J Crew’s Frank Muytjens in North Brooklyn. As you’d guess it’s a shrine to mid-century goodness and general fine taste. The accompanying interview reveals his interior preferences. Frank likes piles of magazines, wooden stools and old rugs for his ginger dog to sit on. More at Brooklyn Mag.

More look after the click.

J. Crew presented their Spring 2012 looks during New York Fashion Week. Frank Muytjens, head of mens design J.Crew says the following on the collection: ”Every season we’re trying to push newness in our own way by looking at classic shapes, looking at historical military garments to update them, and pairing different elements from different time periods in one look for distortion and something unexpected.  It is this creative process of mixing colors, fabrics and shapes which keeps it refreshing.”

Photography: Jacob Breinholt/Selectism.com

More looks after the click.