The Norfolk jacket. Contemporary menswear often brings back to fashion an archetype of the past. This doesn’t mean that we can’t find anything new in shops neither that today’s clothes are imitations (this is a totally different matter). What designers – since ever – have done is to draw inspiration from a certain era, keeping its charm untouched, but updating the reference model according to the new rules of menswear, starting from fabric and colours. In this week’s picture we can see a Norfolk jacket, a kind of blazer that was very popular in the upper bourgeoisie in the last 20 years of the 19th century. It was worn especially for hunting, with the knee-length knickerbockers and riding boots. Let’s see how to wear the Norfolk jacket’s reinterpretation: not an accurate quote, but with a bit of dandyism. The actor Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes in a movie of the 40s.

The sporty jacket, a fundamental choice. … Continua a leggere →

Style that lives through trends. That appreciated vintage touch, that intellectual-retro taste that remains intact. The portrait of the sculptor Mario Ceroli in his studio (above) conveys the idea, a frame that could be both two or forty years old: static in its currentness. The artists of Ceroli’s generation usually don’t follow dynamics and evolutions of fashion in the strict sense, but their style reveals a certain sensitivity and personality. In this case there’s a sporty attitude, even if the details – the denim shirt, buttoned up, and the gun belt – keep us guessing a tendency for order and a high degree of irony, respectively. This week’s style suggestions are for those who aim for wearing something new but that would last and live through evolutions/revolutions “imposed” by fashion.

The summer of garlands: a magnificent collection.

The check/flowers S/S 2011 collection by Prada foresaw the prints trend. Photo by Toni Thorimbert, Styling Alessandro Calascibetta.