The Hollywood producer Robert Evans died Saturday and the world is a little less glamorous. You can read his remarkable obituary or better yet watch The Kid Stays in the Picture, the 2002 documentary based on his memoir. He was hired as the head of Paramount (with no producing experience), and had a hand in The Godfather, Chinatown and Serpico. He lived the life, married seven times and indulged an all-time cocaine habit.
Read MoreWhat’s the younger generation obsessed with on eBay? We went to Tim Booth to find out. Tim’s a promising young man—a senior at FIT. You might have seen him working at Drake’s or Stubbs and Wootton. He grew up in Philadelphia and sold suits (yes people still wear them!) at the mainstay Boyds. Let’s bid, kids!
Read MoreBelgian Shoes are reassuring—they imply an almost aggressive sense of ease with the world. But they still retain their capacity for surprise: A man in Belgians often looks like he’s getting away with something, and that he’s disproportionately relaxed. One of the great selections of Belgian-style shoes is available at the Rubinacci stores in Milan and Naples.
Read MoreFlorence is elegant and timeless, a city of churches and squares. It contains some of the world’s great civic architecture that still sets the standard for enlightened proportions. For all its grandeur it’s an intimate city, of narrow streets kept cool in the shadows of ancient walls. It’s full of small specialty stores that do a certain thing very well.
Read MoreAt a certain point most men (at least most men reading this website) think about going to a tailor. They’re getting married and want a real suit. They have a job that requires a formal approach and want to graduate to the next level of tailoring. Or they have just decided to get to know the tailoring process—which is a great idea.
Read MoreLast January I went fishing in Patagonia and couldn’t believe how great it was. I thought I was prepared—I’d been there a decade earlier—but everything struck me at once. The remarkable landscape, the kind people, the terrific food and, of course, the fishing. I wrote about the trip and a very large trout that I lost and am still recovering from.
Read MoreThe Contender deals with a variety of esoteric topics, including my traumatic experiences with the Minnesota Vikings, which are not going well. But, if we’re honest, many of us are here for the clothes. And more than just clothes, but theories, rules and advice. So let’s get down to it, lads.
Read MoreRichard Baker’s wonderful still life paintings are both disarming and slightly improbable. Their collection of objects is familiar and jarring (why is a pickle jar near a paintbrush?). For a traditional art form—still lives have been a staple of Western art for centuries—they seem almost radical. We’re just not expecting to see things we know arranged like this, and the effect is magnified by the distorted perspective.
Read MoreThe Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch is set on 900 acres in the Sawtooth Valley, along the Salmon River and is only open about four months a year. It doesn’t have a television in any of its cabins, which you don’t need anyway. It doesn’t have room service, which you can also live without. It doesn’t have a famous chef. But it’s one of the great hotels in America.
Read MoreFor some reason my sister and I were members of the small, depraved cult devoted to Grease 2. In some ways this made sense, we had the original on video and had seen it about twenty times. My sister, in my absence, watched it about a hundred more. That is not an exaggeration If you text her any line, no matter how obscure, she will text back the next one.
Read MoreI’ll be answering questions periodically, so feel free to ask about travel, style, fishing and other urgent topics of the day.
Read MoreYou know and love Jeremy Kirkland because he invented the podcast. Well if he didn’t invent it, with Blamo! he made a place for himself having enlightened, enthusiastic conversations about style with the people you want to hear from. And a few you might not want to hear from (I am confident that I was Jeremy’s only guest who ever drank Riesling during the recording). But don’t let his friendliness fool you, he’s insightful, opinionated and informed.
Read MoreI like old things. I respond to what’s been used and ages and starts to show its character Tweed jackets, canvas bags and the rest. But sometimes it gets so worn in it can't function. Naturally, I have a hard time admitting this is the case. It’s been hard to say goodbye to my beloved white bucks that have been re-soled three times—there can’t be a fourth. I drove my even more beloved Saab about four years too long (the check engine light was celebrating its eight anniversary of being illuminated).
Read MoreFootball season begins today. As a Minnesota Vikings fan I cannot say I’m looking forward to it. I would prefer to not like football, I even say I don’t like it. But, to my shame, I watch NFL Red Zone every Sunday I’m in New York. The Vikings have a history of moderate but not triumphant success.
Read MoreHappy Menocal, among many talents, is a great dog portraitist. Do not underestimate that skill! It requires sympathy with the dog’s nature, an assured touch and a sense of flair. She brings those skills to her illustrations for small work like emblems and stationery and large-scale murals (one adorns the lovely dining room at the Hotel Kinsley in the Hudson Valley).
Read MoreThanks for tuning in during the first month of The Contender. We’ll be back next week with the Watch List, dubious advice, the miracle club chair restoration and more. Have a great holiday weekend. Salut!
Read MoreIn the upcoming “Very Ralph” documentary on HBO there are a number of shots of a young Ralph Lauren in 1968 smoking a pipe. I wonder if he generally enjoyed it (he was a cigarette smoker), or if it was just the ideal accessory, as it were. I don’t care what his motivations were, he looked great, as always.
Read MoreI’m heading to Montana next week and one thing I plan every trip around is a meal at the beloved Western Café in Bozeman. It’s my strong belief that it’s the greatest American restaurant that closes at 2pm. These specific hours of operation led me to overlook this fine establishment during my early years visiting Bozeman (as well as its location at the far end of Main Street).
Read MoreIt’s been brought to my attention that my dear friend Matt Hranek was not allowed into the bar at a certain Parisian Hotel the other day. Quel scandale! The reason, or La Raison, was that he was wearing shorts. Shorts! It was Matt himself who shared his sartorial imbroglio on Instagram, so confident was he in his position.
Read MoreDid Instagram messages even exist three years ago? I’m not sure, but now I receive daily questions on the ‘gram from friends and friendly strangers alike. These questions are often about where to eat in Florence, where to buy a suit, where to fish and other urgent issues of the day. Well let’s take those questions into the clear light of day and I’ll try to answer a handful next week.
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