Fashion Monday with JJ Lee

From Banana Republic, you can say, "Kiss me, I'm Scottish," with Men's Plaid Tie, $74 All answered in my latest Style Master column for The Vancouver Sun. Q: I'm excited about the popularity of plaid in shirts and ties this season. But I have a neurotic fear that I will insult the Scottish. What are good rules of thumb for using plaids, or is it "tartans"? Read more:  http://www.vancouversun.com/life/holiday-guide-2011/Gentlemen+prefer+plaids/5784005/story.html#ixzz1f7TrLWub Q: What are quick and simple ways of dressing for evening parties this season and where does velvet comes in? How does a man do velvet (or is it velour) well? Read more:  http://www.vancouversun.com/life/holiday-guide-2011/Gentlemen+prefer+plaids/5784005/story.html#ixzz1f7U8vhvu Q. Elbow patches are kind of hot in a "professor that might secretly be Indiana Jones" sort of way - but they also look kind of contrived - especially on a brand new jacket. Does the ...

Brown shoes, blue suits and better collars and tie knots.

DNTO is CBC's story telling show. Very cool. I was invited to recount a tale of Hidden Talents before an audience in a live to tape performance. For the performance, I bought a blue bow tie with red Churchill dots from Brooks Brothers in Vancouver. Yes, I like to shop.

Last night I attended the book launch of my good friend, Robyn Levy. Her book, Most of Me , is a great read. A funny, brave, honest look into living life with a sense of humour, a husband, a daughter, a dog and two diseases. Robyn read her passages beautifully and I was honoured to be there. Congratulations, Robyn. Now, for the special occasion I wore my favourite bow tie. It is paisley. It is English but not Liberty. It has seen many years of knotting and unknotting. Nevertheless, it is handsome. Only after I had walked out the door, as I passed a storefront window, I noticed the paisley and blue butterfly fraying. I could see the lining through the tear in the silk. Many men would give up on a tie that has frayed. No matter how well turned out, a man will disdain the garment in question. Even the world's most famous dandy, the first dandy, Beau Brummell, was pitied in later life for becoming tattered in his dress. His biographer, William Jessop, described Brummell'...

Word on the Street Vancouver 11:30 AM, Sunday September 25, 2011 at Library Square and CBC Plaza "JJ Lee Event Info: Authors Tent at 11:30 JJ Lee is the menswear columnist for the Vancouver Sun and broadcasts a weekly fashion column for CBC Radio in Vancouver. For years, journalist and amateur tailor JJ Lee tried to ignore the navy suit that hung at the back of his closet—his late father’s last suit. JJ Lee will read from The Measure of a Man and conduct an interactive session."

This tweed coat is not a blazer,  it's a sport coat but nomenclature shouldn't faze yer. A sporty coat is supposed to snap, This one has a vent that gaps. Somebody's bottom is looking fat. A good looking tweed ain't supposed to do that. For my actual thoughts on elbow patches. I don't like them. Here's why .

I receive many queries on the advisability of elbow patches on new  Harris tweed jackets. I am not against patching up old tweed jackets to mend a hole on a sleeve. I think patching clothes demonstrates love of a particular garment and is a charming sartorial practice. It hints at sage frugality and the muted nature of Old Money, which, by the way, hardly exists anymore because now it is New Money that everyone imitates. A repaired tweed sports coat has dignity. However, buying a new tweed coat with patches already affixed strikes me as painfully presumptuous on several levels. 1. Those who would deem to buy a pre-patcher are most often the type of person who would rarely don the jacket in question frequently enough to wear any hole into the elbow 2. If one did indeed wish to fake the impression of heavy use, the ridiculous symmetry of  having TWO elbow patches, one on each arm, reflects a lack of understanding. A well lived-in jacket will always experience...

This season smallish, modest trilbies and fedoras will suffer an inferiority complex as wider hats will be donned by men, especially those who have a flare for the dramatic. Dsquared²'s menswear collection featured on the runway deep covering brimmed chapeaux with bowlish crowns. Style.com reports they are Borsalinos . Which makes them the official supplier of the trend as Junya Watanabe also featured bigger brimmed fare by Borsalino in the form of bowlers (also called derby or coke - and, yes, they can have big brims) and Homburgs (Germanic upturned brims). In both runway shows, the hats seem peaky. That is they are slightly misshapen as if by rain and snow, lending the hats a recession-era ruggedness. If not, they should be. Some have called the whole trend towards bolder head cover the "Amish hat trend," but more often than not, they will be in fact be flamenco/Cordobes, gaucho hats, or any number of larger hats. While shorter men, may need to be careful...

Wednesday, October 12 - I’ll be reading from The Measure of a Man: The Story of a Father, a Son, and a Suit at Calgary’s Wordfest . Taking place at noon, it is a free hour-long event in the lovely confines of the boutique Hotel le Germain in Calgary. Details here . Thursday, October 13 - In addition, I will be appearing in a panel with Lynn Coady and Emma Ruby-Sachs on social publishing: …The artists will discuss the blurring of authorship in an interactive environment where the reader and fan can offer feedback, ask questions, and have conversations that may influence content creation. They can also compare this to the solitary act of writing that has traditionally been how writers create. I am very excited to be discussing this evolving phenomena with Coady and Ruby-Sachs. My focus is how my friends and family via facebook, tumblr, and twitter activities are becoming fodder for my work as a fashion journalist and memoirist. Details here .

At the home sewing machine, May 2011. Copyright 2011 Melissa Stephens.

Today's column: Discussing Damian Van Zyll de Jong one of the founders of Native Shoes with CBC Radio One host Stephen Quinn ON THE COAST CBC VANCOUVER

COMING UP TODAY! You've probably heard of Crocs, those foamy garden clogs. But have you heard of Native ? They're the Vancouver-designed shoes that have taken the world of fashion by storm. Coming up, I have the low-down on the man behind Native Shoes, Damian Van Zyll de Jong (not the Damian in the vid), when I join host Stephen Quinn for another Fashion Monday on CBC Radio One's On The Coast at 3:49 PM, 88.1 FM. Also listen live online with the CBC Radio pop-up . Here's a great video of how the shoes are PRESSED/FORGED as opposed to cut, stitched and glued in traditional shoe making. Factory Video from Native Shoes on Vimeo .

From J. Press , this classic blazer version is somewhat boxy but shows the typical way of fastening with the bottom pair open. Sometimes referred to as a six on four because of the arrangement of buttons. Double-breasted suits, that swaggering style of suit jacket most associated with bankers and gangsters, is on the comeback. But the old Dee-Bee isn’t a look for everyone. Today, we breakdown the trend. Q. What makes a double-breasted a double-breasted? All buttoned coats overlap, so technically that isn’t the decisive characteristic of a double-breasted coat. What makes a DB a DB is the arrangement of buttons. When a coat is fastened by two buttons that are on the same HORIZONTAL plane, one can say it is a double-breasted blazer or suit jacket. I'm not sure why that is important to me but it is. Q. Double-breasted jackets do have associations with gangsters and bankers. What’s behind that particular reputation? Double-breasted suits do in...

It's not a Barbour jacket because that would be too posh for English cockney kids. Not a trucker. Not enough seams. With classic bomber jackets, I see shearling and welt pockets. Or pilot jackets with no shearling and patch pockets mid-torso for navigation maps and cigarettes. Need more detail? Sorry, didn't mean to cut off his wand. It was especially made, presumably, by UK costumiers, Angels . I would describe it as a zip-front ranch jacket. Belstaff, the motorcyle jacket company, refers to this kind of cut as a blouson . Quiksilver (below) has something close but the collar is different. It also comes in gunmetal grey.

Everyone wants to show their support for the Canucks. Even if it means wearing a hockey sweater over ones work clothes. However, it isn't the best look. It is loyal but not flattering. The only people who don't look dumpy in a hockey sweater are hockey players. Here's how I handled wearing team colours for Game 6. Church's bench-made Oxford lace ups. My particular colour is no longer available. And the company has changed ownership over the years. Joe Fresh white denim: "Getting Canadian men into a pair of white pants can be very difficult...but at the height of summer, if you can figure it out, it can change their mindset for summer. Whatever you put on top, you're full-on into summer." -Joe Mimran of Joe Fresh Self-tailored (tight), Tommy Hilfiger, purple button Oxford button-down shirt with large-scaled collar points with lots of roll (this means the collar buttons give the collar loft). I admit my favourite shirt. It seems it's t...

My suit, tie, and shirt makeover of @ KellyHrudey  of @ hockeynight  at Stanley Cup Playoff Makeovers . For the details on the makeover, check out:  http://t.co/oGcPvpm

Well, I confess I had to shave once these last five weeks because of a promo photo shoot. But my current state of furtive hirsuteness are officially my official Stanley Cup Final whiskers. Not impressive. But if you've grown yours and don't know what else to do with it ... advice! Q. Fostering facial hair for, dare we say, a bit of care and style know-how. To aid in this hirsute endeavour, we have JJ Lee, our man of style. First of all, before getting into specifics I noticed you’re developing your own plantation there...what would you call it? I should tell all, I’m not an expert Beard grower. I’ve never had thick facial hair. However, with my deep journalistic skills I’ve been able to figure out the type of beard I am growing, however thinly. I have hair on the chin. I have a small bit under my lower lip. I have a moustache that’s not too patchy BUT my problem is none of those parts connect. It’s kind of like the lost overland connection between Asi...

My Filson Zipper Tote , I can't do without it. It carries my cameras, my manuscripts, my sketch pad. It always garners kind compliments and envious side glances. I bought mine at The Block in Vancouver two years ago It's the only bag I use, even if it's ten days in London. Okay, I travel light. It's not a murse. When it's new it will look like a giant canvas box. With use it will adapt to how you use it. My tote has a patina. One of my sons says he wants it when I die (this is a common conversation). I don't mind. I teach them to appreciate things that last longer than a lifetime. Single best purchase I ever made.

SIMPLE ANSWER: No. THE MORE NUANCED, LESS DOCTRINAIRE ANSWER: Still, no. If we were to take Prince William as an example, and after their royal to-do, who could deny the awe-inspiring elegance of the day (Pippa, call me), unbuttoning your coat is not consider correct etiquette. In the case of Will and Kate, for the evening the newly-wed prince wore a double-breasted jacket for the evening to do, which one never leaves open as David Letterman eventually learned after years of complaint from men's fashion magazines. What is correct for the double-breasted is correct for the single-breasted dinner jacket. Tuxedos look GOOD buttoned up. Why settle for less. My rule is always this: if the jacket is too hot, get a lighter jacket. Now, it's going to happen. When the cameras were gone and Camilla and Charles had left the young ones to rage on at Buckingham Palace, I'll assume they got down and dirty because, heck they're royals, what do you expect? And I'm ...

Love the Canucks. But I can't bring myself to wear gear as if I were a member of the team, ready to jump over the boards. But it'd be great to show team colours at the arena. Above is how fans used to dress to an NHL game. Below is how I'd do it: a royal blue sports blazer, a Band of Outsiders wide stripe tie in Canucks colours, and seersucker pants from J.Press. Put on camel brown lace-ups and the look is complete.

Today, on Fashion Monday, we look at garments that chase the BLAHS away. That's right, clothes that puts sunshine in your heart if not in the sky. That's coming up when I hit the CBC for another Fashion Monday! Spoke with Allison Smith of Allison Wonderland about clothes that perks her up, because face it, the weather has been atrocious. Check out her choice spring items as it appeared on Urban Rush . A show on which I once dropped my drawers. And that's today's topic on Fashion Monday, by that I mean spring things. So tune into  On The Coast (CBC Radio One in Vancouver) at 3:49 PM today! What clothes do you wear to chase the blahs away! Listen live on the CBC audio player , 3:49 PM Pacific!

Urban Turbans, Print Mashing, Low-crotched pants. Here are style pointers from the curious and daring mind of do-it-yourself fashion blogger, Niki Blasina of  A Haute Mess . How to master this spring's more curious trends! Niki Blasina of A Haute Mess mashing clashing prints . Of course, it would be great to talk about hot weather spring and summer fashion trends, if only the weather would warm up. Luckily, there a few looks this season that are not temperature dependent. They are challenging trends. Specifically:Urban Turbans, Print Mashing, and Low-Crotched pants for women. Exactly how are they supposed to work? Host Stephen Quinn and I spoke about it last week on CBC Radio's On the Coast . Urban turbans? Okay. Yes. The fashion trend for head scarves however are not related to the killing of Osama bin Laden. The urban turban, or the hair band, or the head scarf has more to do with Rosie the Riveter, economic recovery and Beyoncé, the American pop sta...

JJ Lee @Interesting Vancouver 2010 from Interesting Vancouver on Vimeo . A great event last year. I loosely adapted it from my manuscript with changes of all sorts to suit (pardon the pun) the occasion.

Last night at 2:30 AM, I finally sent the copy edit they sent to me back to my publisher, McClelland and Stewart. I think I was supposed to read through and approve stuff. But as I read it, I made a FEW changes. One of the great difficulties about writing this memoir (which is an embarrassing thing because it's like getting a greatest hits album when you think you're actually putting out relevant music still - it has a pre-emptive retrospective feel and makes you want to protest, "Not dead, yet!"), is synthesising the present, the past and the use of the present tense and the past tense. I know, it's confusing, and that's why I felt it was very important to contract the sense of time in the book. There was a past past and a present present. And some memories felt like they happened just yesterday rather than years or decades ago. So like an good tailor trying to get panels of wool to fit together when they don't, I pounded, steamed, invisible pin...

So sloth: on to do list is having to beef up a chapter (writing is scant, notational in this part - obvious result of crushing deadlines), write a denoument regarding time at Modernize, copy edit and approve book design. Cold hard realities: need to get it done.

from the minds of Wondermark Listen live on the CBC audio player , at 3:49 PM Pacific!

Thankless job of the week. Trying to pull off a Wonder Woman costume for a television show . How unwonderful. Why it won't work... read Michael Chabon's unitard theory in the New Yorker .

A short and sweet post about Fashionator 1000 and his campaign to improve the fashion sense of Canada's federal leaders on Jen Gerson's blog .

Andy Warhol’s Salvatore Ferragamo shoes. They are described as Brogues…they are in fact plain-toe Bal-type Oxfords. Am I wrong here? Brogues usually refer to shoes with punches in it. An Oxford will have v-shaped lace opening or closed lacing. I like the shabby chic of Warhol’s. Need I say, I LOVE them.

I spoke with Carly Lenarduzzi of Mintage Vintage in Vancouver about a few tips on how to buy a classic prom dress that's a blast from the past. I shared them with Stephen Quinn of CBC's On The Coast  in Vancouver. She's online on Etsy and has a store in Vancouver: www.mintagevintage.com carly@mintagevintage.com 1714 commercial drive, vancouver, bc 604.mintage

Today, I will be talking about how to buy a vintage grad (vintage prom) dress. What details to look out for and how to buy online. My advice comes from the lovely Carly Lenarduzzi at Mintage  in Vancouver (also on Etsy.com ). She has an expert eye and know what makes a great vintage find. Tune in today by live stream at 3:50 PM PACIFIC, on CBC Radio One in Vancouver, 88.1 FM or AM 690, for tips on going the oldie but goody route.