A nice article this week in The New York Times on distinguishing today’s fashion from looks of centuries past. “Not long ago, big brass-buttoned military coats looked a bit extreme. So did high-button, high-lapel vests and slim tweed trousers. And so did guys who tucked said trousers into high, old-fashioned hunting boots. Now these clothes (along with those ever-present beards and mustaches) look like downtown defaults compared with fall runway looks like cardinal-red tailcoats at Ralph Lauren, capes and bowlers at Alexander McQueen and knee breeches at Robert Geller.”

Read the full article at NYT.

There is a great article on the world of shop t-shirts over on New York Times. “Plenty of examples exist of the divisions between tourists and locals in beach towns, but the T-shirts in the window at Johnny’s Tackle Shop here are a good place to start. True, a ‘Kiss My Bass’ T-shirt grabs the attention of both anglers and day-trippers wandering Main Street in this town at the east end of Long Island. But shirts like that can be found wherever in the world rods and sinkers are sold.”

Read the full article on New York Times.

For fans of that “rude boy” look of the British scene, NYT’s T Magazine published a great editorial entitled, “Ska Face.” “A rude-boy-inspired men’s-wear fashion story, photographed by regular T contributor Alasdair McLellan, and styled by Beat Bolliger, is now live. Featuring natty designs by the likes of Raf Simons, Dries Van Noten and Comme des Garçons, the shoot recalls the disaffected masculine glamour of early English mods and skinheads who later embraced ska, a musical genre that originated in Jamaica in the 1950s.”

See the full editorial feature at T Magazine.

NYT’s David Colman writes an interesting piece this morning on a move back to the conservative suitings in an economy that tries to give itself balance. Rather than looking like bankers, men in the city want to look more like “creative professionals.” “In a reversal of every recession in the last 100 years, figures show that men have not cut back on buying clothes as much as women have. They’re not buying power suits — they’re replacing them.”

Read “When No One Wants to Look Like a Banker” in The New York Times.

NYT’s The Moment gives some love to the ongoing men’s footwear collaborations of “the moment.” “Designer collaborations are nothing new, but it seems that combining two labels in one has become a definite trend in men’s shoes. This spring, Raf Simons updated classic Dr Martens, while Junya Watanabe put his own spin on Trickers kicks; for fall, several other designers are also locking step with well-shod partners.”

Read the full story at NYT’s The Moment.

With the depreciating British Sterling, NYT “The Moment” reports in on how the Dollar spenders are getting a great rate on some of Savile Row’s best. “However, the United States has offset some of the decrease in the English domestic market. ‘On our recent trip to New York, we saw more and more dentists, surgeons and lawyers who aren’t so affected by the financial crisis come to us,’ Cundey added. Stuart Lamprell, who has outfitted celebrities like David Beckham and Tom Cruise, concurs. His suits start at about $3,100, down from $4,400 a year ago.”

Read more at The Moment.

The NYT’s On the Runway Blog is reporting that rumors are floating about the exit of Martin Margiela from Margiela. "The influential and enigmatic designer, is preparing his final disappearing act. Over the last year, Mr. Margiela, known as fashion’s “Invisible Man” because he never gives interviews and has rarely been photographed, has told colleagues that he wants to stop designing and that he has begun a search for his successor at the house…In one move that has set off intense speculation about the company’s future, Mr. Margiela, who is 51, initiated a meeting here early this year with Raf Simons, another well-regarded Belgian designer who was renegotiating his contract with Jil Sander at the time." (photo via friller)

Read the full write-up at On The Runway.

The latest issue of The New York Time’s T Magazine is now online starring Javier Bardem as the featured cover celeb. A great selection of works in this issue. "Anglo Cool is the dominant force in fall men’s wear, but Japanese labels like Number (N)ine are giving Americana a fresh new spin, while Berlin-based artists are keeping international galleries on their toes. Frenchman Bernard-Henri Lévy reveals the intellectual underpinnings of his wardrobe, and Italian “paninari” make an unexpected comeback; Mark Segal highlights fashion’s Soviet influence as Stephen Bayley pays tribute to the eccentric Italian architect Carlo Mollino…"

Read T Magazine’s Fall Men’s Issue now.

NYT’s Critical Shoppper visits the (recently) new Rogan Store on Bowery iN NYC. We covered the opening a bit ago, but Mike Albo’s description on the clothing is well worth a second mention. "THE solemn clothes and black interior of the new Rogan store on the Bowery made me think of the band Radiohead and other super-serious artists like them who are always photographed with somber expressions in front of gnarled leafless trees…These clothes share that glamorized bleak aesthetic. A black V-neck had neon programming code skittering across the side — very ‘OK Computer.’

I think its more like the horn section in "Idioteque" off of Kid A personally but who’s counting…

A great article in the Sunday edition of the NYT newspaper on the decreasing cost of some staples in day to day fashion. "As luxury fashion has become more expensive, mainstream apparel has become markedly less so. Today, shoppers pay the same price for a basic Brooks Brothers men’s suit, $598, as they did in 1998. The suggested retail price of a pair of Levi’s 501 jeans, $46, is about $4 less than it was a decade ago. A three-pack of Calvin Klein men’s briefs costs $21.50, only $3.50 more than in 1998. Which is the better buy?"

Read the full story at nyt.com