Every Man Should Own: The William Brown Project

Silver Belt Buckle

Every Man Should Own a Silver Belt Buckle (or Two). They are worn best on your favorite alligator but, it also brings any leather belt to life.

Jacques Cousteau's World Without Sun

World Without Sun

It's no secret that I'm a fan of outerspace but what you might not know is that I'm equally fascinated with what lies beneath our surface. Ocean Explorer Jacques Cousteu has been a hero of mine for some time now because of his courage, style, and imagination so I decided to start off the inaugural post of the Alex Grant Explorers Society with one of his documentaries, the Academy Award winning World Without Sun (which you will quickly notice was heavily adopted by Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou ).

Every Man Should Own: 10engines

Tweed Jacket

Every man, hell every woman too, should own a tweed jacket. Does not HAVE to be Harris Tweed woven in the remote Western Isles; there are storied tweed mills in the Borders area of Scotland and England and Ireland too (love the rainbow bobbles sometimes seen in Donegal tweed). To me there is something fascinating about the almost impressionistic blur that the colored wool creates; this jacket is slate blue from afar but grey/blue/black/cream up close. A tweed jacket may be seen on the laird of the manor all the way down to the jake begging on the corner, and of course countless legions of professors and librarians. The wet dog smell of a rainy day tweed is hugely reminiscent for me; walking home in a drizzle among the sandstone buildings of Edinburgh. Or maybe that was the malt smell of the brewerys, now sadly gone.

Take Black Ivy

Take Black Ivy

In celebration of Black History Month, I decided to pull together some photos of college students at Howard University. Deemed as one of the "Black Ivy League Schools," since admission to traditional ivy league schools were scarce among African Americans, Howard attracted the best and brightest who would later became doctors, lawyers and politicians. Taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt in 1946, these pictures portray students in their natural attire during a typical school day which is exactly what T.Hayashida did in Take Ivy some 20 years later.

Snow Day: Fair Isles, Toggles, and Boots

Snow Day

Although winter has been mild so far, we all know that snow is right around the corner. My advice: stay with the classic pieces of Fair Isles, Toggles, and Boots and you can never go wrong.

WYRA Boathouse

 WYRA

It's always good to take a trip down memory lane every once in a while so I decided to snap some pictures of WYRA's boathouse where I rowed over 10 years ago. It's indoor rowing season right now, so I captured a few kids in full training mode which is something we all can take note of these days: Champions are made in the off season because there is no off season.   

Every Man Should Own: Alex Grant

LL Bean Boot

Whether leather or waxed canvas, 10 inches or mocs, every man should own a pair of LL Bean Boots and for the right reasons. Not because it's the hip thing to do at the moment but because the boots are actually comfortable, durable and just plain ol' gets the job done. And as my father once told me in high school when I showed him a picture of a luggage brand that started making watches, "Why would you buy a watch from a company that doesn't make watches?" I will turn around and ask you the same question about your boots.

Close Up and Private: Spring/Summer '12

 Close Up and Private: SS '12

Sergei Sviatchenko just informed me that his latest issue of Close Up and Private is now available and it's inspirational as always. The lesson: Pay attention to the details. 

Date Night w/ N'East Style: Midnight in Paris

Date Night w/ N'East Style presents: Midnight in Paris

Making his second appearence in our Date Night Series, Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris was a perfect choice to kick off the new season. Head on over to N'East Style for Christine's look and download your free Date Night Soundtrack courtesy of Gabe at A History of My World. And for your viewing pleasure, I'm throwing in a literary study guide to the movie so you can impress your date with brillant insights about Gertrude Stein's art collection and Picasso's many lovers.

Details:

Orvis Dumfries Washed-Tweed

Gant Rugger Shirt

The Windmill Club Tie

The Great Gatsby

Slept On: Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi's Rome

If you are new to the Slept On series, this is where I highlight music that I believe fell under the mainstream radar and Rome is definitely one of those cds. As a concept album by my favorite producer Danger Mouse and Italian composer, Daniele Luppi,  Rome enlists the vocals of Norah Jones and Jack White to score a ficionalized spaghetti western and succeeds brilliantly in every way.