Savile Row

A great little teaser. I can't wait to visit it later this month.

Trenchant timing on raincoats

Sometimes, Fashion Monday is just a day or two ahead of even GQ.com's email newsletter, even if it's recycled from 2002.

HBC's Olympic collection: Cowichan or Cowichan-styled sweaters

Team Canada's Cowichan sweaters WILL be a hit.

But as I mentioned in my look at the collection, I cautiously used the term "Cowichan-styled" to describe the garment. I wrote:

"However, I couldn't confirm if the suppliers are Cowichan knitters. So, it's more accurate to describe it as a Cowichan-styled sweater."

And it's a good thing. Cowichan Knitters are not happy with the cultural appropriation of the form. Read about it in a local Cowichan paper here.

Thanks to blog reader, Con, for the link.

Stop the Misnomerosity! Gents, learn your overcoat (er, raincoat) basics

The nip is in the air and male readers may be wondering how to keep off the chill (ok, it's not so bad in Vancouver).

Easy, right? Not so. There are many styles of overcoats and raincoats. Frequently, retailers (both online and bricks and mortar), journalists and bloggers use the wrong terms.

It's a big deal because different style coats suit different body types. If people used the correct nomenclature, it would make life googling and net shopping far better.

For those who agree, here is a guide:

Mackintosh (left) is a raincoat. It is also a famous English brand. Like John Lennon wrote, "The man in the Mack..."

The silhouette is tubular and currently cut tight and short. It is a closed throated coat. The button (except for the top one) are hidden. The lines are simple with minimal detailing. If they have flap or patch pockets, they are an abomination. Slash side pockets, please. It suits most body types. However, short, thick torso men should avoid mid-thigh or higher hems. It becomes too boxy especially when used as an overcoat.


For a local source, look for Black Brown at The Bay (below, left). It is $250. You can find it exclusively Downtown.



The Mack is often referred to as a trench coat (Brooks Brothers what are you doing?) but it's either wrong or an indifferent Americanism. A real trench coat has its origin in the trenches of the First World War. Originally made by Burberry, the coat was made for infantry.

Locally, a modern winter-weight version in black can be found at The Bay by Full Circle for $575 (above, right).

The details: a heavy and long turn down collar to protect the neck; a heavy belt, originally designed to take the weight of a string of grenades; and, on this version, double-breasted to protect the chest.

If you're thick and tall, the double breast can break down the volume of your chest. The belting will give you some waist and a more heroic silhouette.

If you're shorter, you should avoid belting at the front. Instead tie it at the back. Overall, the coat has to be tight. A suit jacket underneath is a tall order for a shorter man (avoid).

Wear it the way you would wear a jean jacket - with a sweater or, for collegial prepness, a sweat shirt on the weekend. Also make sure the hem isn't too short - boxiness is always a threat. Plus never leave the belt dangling or in your side pockets. Always go for tying at the back! Trust me, this is actually traditional.

Finally, a word about the virtues of the pea coat , right.

This Polo Ralph Lauren Academy Pea Coat (The Bay, $525) is cut very narrow and short and works best with jeans and a nice sweater-tie combo. Note the double-breasted six on eight buttons. If you work in a business casual environment it has enough structure to tidy up ones look but is informal enough to keep your co-workers from asking you too many questions about your recent makeover.

The rotund should avoid it.

However, if you are a bit bottom heavy, look into a balmacaan. That's my coat of choice. It looks like a Mack except it has raglan sleeves. This means it doesn't have a set-in sleeve. Instead, they run into the collar the way sweatshirts and warm up jackets are made. The armholes are wider but the positive side is it is an A-line. This can elongate a figure and avoids the sausage effect of trench coats and Macks.

The hem should be somewhere between the knee and mid-thigh if you are heavier but NOT below the knee. Too much fabric will make you look worse.

Brilliant Pea Coats

GQ did a very smart thing this week when they featured this season's pea coats modeled by, very clever, Navy personnel.

My take on coats to keep you warm is coming up soon!

Update: Makeshift's amazing boots

Natalie Purschwitz 0f makeshiftproject.blogspot.com is making all her own clothes, accessories and shoes for a year. She will wear nothing else.

Here is her amazing boot, version 2. Keep at it, Natalie!

Grade three version of Jay Gatsby

He's sharp looking. Got money to burn and knows his bow ties.

It's the 8 1/2 year old, mini-dandy Arlo Weiner, courtesy of GQ.

Co-host and friends

From the UBC Alumi event I hosted with Tetsuro Shigematsu at Banana Republic. Also CBC producer and sometime playwright, filmmaker and character actor Charlie Cho. Very fun.

Plus the whole affair inspired the topic of my column for On The Coast - Dressing the Breast: How to deck out a heavy, yet beautiful, topside.

I'll be on air on 88.1 FM Vancouver at 5:49 PM -- Fashion Monday.

Perfect Chucks for Canucks

There was a time, way back in it's history, when the Converse Company (aka Boston Rubber Shoe Company) was all about finding ways of putting rubber underneath men's feet.

They weren't just about racquet sport shoes (Jack Purcell) or basketball (Chuck Taylor).

Instead, they made hunting boots. And they are again - in a fashion forward kind of way.

This season they've release a set of rubber soled, leather upper boots that are right on trend with the back to roots among the masculine. In black or brown, they sell for around $140. Try Gravity Pope in Vancouver to find them.

Banana Republic, Alumni, and why men should't wear stripes with stripes and stripes

Yesterday, I was organising the clothes for a UBC Alumni event at Banana Republic on Robson and Thurlow. I believe I was there for five hours. Nevertheless, it was fun.

The concept is to speak to young alumni about dressing at the next level (not dressing for a job interview) but how to dress for the workplace and advancement. Actor, writer, trouble-maker and heart-breaker Tetsuro Shigematsu will be my partner on stage and the incomparable social columnist Fred Lee will be there as well.

No John Molloy here - "Dress For Success" - that way of thinking kind of makes me gag. More importantly we look at how to dress grown-up with out dressing old.

Now, the important stuff...what will I be wearing?

So glad you asked. I will be sporting a gray flannel pencil stripe suit with a notch collar. And, because I like taking risks, I'm pairing it with a red (dominant) and blue micro plaid shirt. Both items will be from BR's Heritage Collection.

It says Heritage - but the cut is fashion forward and very young. Overall, it draws heavily on New England Americana with toggles and cabling in sweaters, patches and elements of hunting and military wear with deep patch pockets and Norfolk-like jackets.

The shirts are slim fitting with nice TAPERED sleeves. The suit has good waist suppression and very athletic cut. It's built for the heavy back of someone who is used to exercise and doesn't have a lot of padding. The cut is shoulders forward.

Their suits are great for the workplace but have achieved a highly desirable objective - they are suits that don't make a young man feel like he's in a suit.

Accessories: I'm either wearing an Italian silk knit tie (think Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate) from BR last season. A classic, nevertheless...or a bow tie. Can't quite decide.

For mixed-prints magnifilicious insanity, my socks will be herringbone and if I'm allowed, I'll be wearing a polka dot pocket square - just to drive Lisa Kwong batty. She's a bit of a clothes horse herself and has strong opinions about style - see left!

Also, gentlemen of Vancouver, watch out. If she catches you wearing striped ties, with striped shirts, with a striped suit - I've coached her to intervene and stop the abuse of stripes.

Ahem. Where was I?

My shoes are Church's custom bench brown, capped toe Oxfords. Go British or go home, I say, when it comes to footwear - but don't tell my Italian shoes that, their feelings would be hurt.

See you tomorrow night!