Fashion Monday with JJ Lee

Nothing lightens up a look like a clever print or woven tie. Not the garish ones with hula dancers and giant panda bears, Saint Nick or whatnot... No, I mean those subtle little "critter" ties where the animal looks like an abstract pattern on the field from far away but up close you can see a fauna pattern. Above is a bird on a fence rail by Hermes (in store in Canada, $210) - a bit of fun without the buffoonery. But how do you tell the difference between a poorly made spring tie and one well done: check out my latest advice column at The Vancouver Sun  with thoughts from Tom Siddall of Harry Rosen and Tina Tsakanikas of Dion Neckwear .

Jump for joy, a summery outfit on sale at Nifty Fifty by Allison Wonderland After doing taxes, spring cleaning, the ole nine to five, you deserve a treat. Nifty Fifty is an annual market of local fashion in Vancouver and the price is just right: $50 or under. This Sunday, 11 AM to 7 PM, April 22, in Vancouver at Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street. Admission is one sliver of a loonie. Participating will be some of my favourite fashion people in the city including Allison Smith of Allison Wonderland and Erin Templeton . Check out the event's Facebook page .

Ferragamo's Baby Tiger pattern for Spring Summer 2012 Light, airy, and full of whimsy, the silk print or foulard tie with tiny geometric shapes or figures is the perfect piece to enliven a suit in the spring. And dismiss thoughts that a silk print is less worthy than a woven tie. Yes, a woven is hefty and it will bellow luxuriousness especially when paired with a thick, plutocratic knot. But it is heavy like a great overcoat. The finely printed tie, made by human hand or at least mechanized screen rather than the spew of an inkjet, can inspire singing in the rain, a shuffle and a tap, a game of catch. It can wave in a warm breeze and sway like a budding willow branch. Choose a simple four-in-hand knot and a young man's pointed or Eton collar, you pick, for a change. Hermes horses , Ferragamo horsebits , Liberty florals , Drakes muted madders are hardly jokes or novelties but wearing one would certainly be original.

The CBC Bookies are a winner take all knock voting bread on and off the table death match in various categories including NON-FICTION. Vote accordingly and clang your shivs against the chain link cage.

My latest piece in the Vancouver Sun is on the pleasures of seersucker (despite the dire headline). Plus I dedicated a site to the pleasures of summer suiting - ie cotton, linen, silk/mohair, and, of course, seersucker.

With the second season of the hit BBC show Sherlock airing on BBC Canada this February (it debuts on PBS this May), it was elementary to expect a fervour for Holmesian fashion. The iconic fashion item for Sherlock redux is not a deerstalker cap. Instead, it's his chic outerwear. Yesterday, Katherine Lazaruk , a Vancouver image consultant, mentioned in passing that the Sherlock manteau (above), called the Millford by motorcycle coat makers Belstaff) had sold out. Belstaff had restocked but recently announced they would no longer produce it. The coat is a double-breasted tweed coat with dramatic sharp-angled lapels and collars. Always popped-up, they frame the detective's face (Benedict Cumberbatch) and impart the right 21st Century edge to the updated Victorian crime-solver. The long drape does well on Cumberbatch's slender body. It makes him look taller than he actually is. In the trailer for  Season 2 , his ostensible height becomes a punchline.  If you have been...

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."