While Junya Watanabe’s SS12 runway show had some outlandish gear, the pieces carried at Jack Straw are much more approachable (and wearable) – my favorites from this season include a fair isle pattern rollneck sweater and round collar Mackintosh jackets in navy and green.

Very interesting navy captoe boots from Yohji Yamamoto can be found in the back area.

A selection of Dries Van Noten pieces, including several light unstructured jackets for warmer weather.

Not pictured – the Boglioli patch pocket sportcoat in a shade of blue that would overload tumblr. From what I hear, some more great lines are on the way for this next fall/winter as well.

Engineered Garments Flannel Workshirt
The Engineered Garments workshirt design is available in several cotton flannel patterns this season, and the one I picked out is as close as I’ll be able to get to the colorway used in the older flannel binocular shirts (years later I still regret not getting one). While it can be a bit too bold to wear on its own, it will be perfect for layering under other casual items like a corduroy Bedford and ripstop field vest. Where to find: a good variety of flannel workshirts are available through Blake, Drinkwater’s, and Inventory.

- If you’re in Seattle, Jack Straw received Bedford jackets in navy wool serge and brown corduroy, shawl collar vests, and 19th century button down shirts. (I snapped the picture of them above)
- Context just uploaded pictures of its first shipment including fair isle knit ties, a duffle jacket, and a few jersey pieces.
- The Nepenthes NYC store blog also has pictures of several new pieces and some updated versions of older designs (notably the upland vest).
- Update: Inventory now has a selection of field parkas, Bedford jackets, fair isle knit ties, and floral pieces.

Other great Japanese stores and resources that have received shipments: Engineered Garments Tokyo, Remix, Silver & Gold, Kink, and Dice & Dice.

More items too appear later…

A word of warning, though. While you can, and should, wear these trousers with a sport coat, they are not to be worn to work. These are occasion trousers and with that comes the responsibility of time and place. The time is summer. The place is near water and within arm’s reach of a G&T. Going sockless helps, and a half lined navy blazer in linen keeps you respectable, while the dash of Ray-Ban aviators kicks you into the classic GTH look. True devil-may-care attire always requires forethought.

The same advice could be said for GTH shorts, though you have more leeway in what to pair them up with – in my case I often go with a white linen button-down or polo shirt sans sport coat.

Where to find: Ralph Lauren, Rugby, and Gant (Rugger or Bastian) are good places to check. Engineered Garments will also usually have a few in its spring/summer collections as well, and from this current season I just received an exceptionally great pair in a red/white/blue floral print.

Mohawk General Store has a few pairs left on sale – the same fabric was also used to make a matching camp shirt, though I suggest not wearing them together.

Now I just have to wait for Seattle to break past its sweltering 68°F summer days before I can start wearing them (line borrowed from a Redhook ad).

Update: Nepenthes.co.jp now has a higher-res version.

A few items can be previewed over on the Nepenthes Osaka store blog as well as on flickr in sets from Très Bien Shop and End Clothing.

The Situation at Pitti

Woolrich Woollen Mills, showing for the first time at Pitti in parent company WP Lavori in Corso’s brand new pavilion, featured shockingly vibrant African tribal printed camp shirts, scarves and neckties paired with khaki trousers and safari-style jackets. The designer Mark McNairy capped one look with an olive canvas and mesh bucket hat cleverly reminiscent of a Pith helmet, but was actually inspired by the signature headgear of J.J. from the TV series “Good Times.” The collection was absolutely “Dy-no-mite,” as J.J. would say.

At Pitti, Innovation and Inspiration

Engineered Garments, another show favorite, did an amazing group of polka-dotted clothing that played with size and scale. Cotton sport jackets, shirts, shorts, pants and ties — in differing sizes of dots, in bold navy and white or a more quiet, chic khaki and white — can be combined for bold, strong looks or worn separately as accent pieces. Make mine a combo, please.

Back to Engineered Garments, they made several pieces with it this season – the CPO shirts, Explorer Jackets, and Type 1 pants. Past season items include the mountain parka and pathfinder jackets. If you’re looking for summer outerwear, consider giving one a shot.

Rainy day shots in Seattle:

More pictures available on Silver & Gold, Doo-Bop, Context, and the Nepenthes NYC blog.

* J.Crew has picked up some Seil Marchall bags to add to their growing list of 3rd party products. The Spring/Summer 11 lookbook has also been released.

* Pictures of Victim’s Spring/Summer 2011 collection are now available.

* Tailoring house Anderson & Sheppard has an interesting blog going which follows the work of many of the apprentices.

* Imogene+Willie has a new online shop.

* End Clothing has a preview of a few SS11 items from Universal Works on its flickr page.

* Très Bien and Pete Anderson visit NYC.

* The WSJ recently had an article on those small shirt collars. The truth is that they suck because you can’t get a good roll out of them.

* Engineered Garments FWK Spring Summer 2011 pictures have been released.

* Pictures of SS11 collections for the other Nepenthes brands are also now on its website.

* More importantly, Bond 23 is back on schedule for release in 2012.

* Men’s Mentore had some great coverage with lots of pictures. Oddly the only highlight for me are those floral print squares from Hill-Side.

* Fashionising has published a list of observations they made about some of the lines and on the show in general.

* Get ready for some small price hikes. WWD also had an article on this:

Eric Jennings, vice president and fashion director of men’s for Saks Fifth Avenue, said that after holding off for a couple of seasons due to the recession, men want to replace holes in their wardrobe, whether for suits or sportswear. Among the main challenges for the sector, however, are the price hikes instituted by vendors following steep increases on raw materials and piece goods, many of which have risen by up to 30 percent. “I think the vendors are very cognizant of [the situation] and will partner with us, and we won’t get sticker shock this season, but it’s a huge factor,” he said.

* Nigel Cabourn continues to do his thing. The Brady bags look great, but the Eddie Baeur collection feels off in that none of the pieces look like anything Eddie Baeur has ever made (not in a good way). On mention of which, when is Eddie Baeur going to get its act together and come out with a line based on its archival pieces?

* Très Bien Shop has posted pictures of their trip to their flickr account. Lots of previews of favorite brands are shown.

* In continuing the race to market his name into the ground, Barbour premiered its new Steve McQueen collection. Like the previously branded clothing line which nobody bought, some elements of it are pretty naff. Yes, he’s an icon, but screenprinting his image on the inside of your riding jacket is going a bit too far.

Pictured above, FW11 preview images from ts(s) and below, Engineered Garments.

Highlights for me include the explorer jacket in poplin, the trench in cotton twill, and the floral print ghurka shorts. I’m also looking forward to seeing more of the shirts over the next few weeks after shipments make their way out to stores.

I would expect that stores in the U.S. will begin to receive deliveries around January, so check in with your local stockist to see what they might have ordered. The full look book should show up online around then as well.

Picture from Silver & Gold.

Monday update! It looks like the popular CPO shirts will be available in lightweight poplin fabrics. These will be great for warm weather.

Images from Second Stage.

As for the manufacturer, the RN# number on one of tags points to it being made by Columbiaknit in Portland, Oregon – it sells many different styles of rugby shirts directly at affordable prices, however, I’m not sure how the fit compares to the Engineered Garments version.

A nice detail – there is an extra panel under the sleeve where it connects to the body, which helps in fit and movement. I think this is an underutilized feature that many sport shirts lack.

Barneys.com has one left in a small, but it might be worth calling or checking out your local store to see if they have any left in more sizes.

From mizobuchi.co.jp. Related:

- Engineered Garments Spring/Summer 2011 Preview #1
- Engineered Garments x Golden Bear Spring/Summer 2011
- Preview: Engineered Garments SS11 [inventorymagazine.com]

Daiki took the design from a shirt that originated in the 1920s by Big Yank. He introduced it in spring 2000 in Japan and then started to sell it in the U.S. for Fall 2004. Post Overalls actually had this shirt in their collection in the early 1990s but i think it is fair to say that it is the EG one that has had the recent impact.

They really did popularize the design. Side note: some Big Yank items can fetch quite a bit of money in the vintage circles.

Shown: An Engineered Garments Bedford jacket paired with a Barbour vest, a J.Crew shirt, and a handkerchief from Drake’s.

Some closeups of the fabrics and details.

The sleeves are lined with a subtle floral fabric, a nice touch that only the wearer would know about. Under the lining is also some batting for extra warmth.

The front of the jacket has several jetted-like pockets for easy access, and the lower two are lined in a contrast colored corduroy.

The new blanket lining. The explorer jacket was one of several new designs that featured it.

Front and back views. The collar can also be turned up for the cold and windy days.

Other versions available are khaki colored ripstop, over-dye indigo cotton, and suede leather (which can be seen worn by Daiki Suzuki in the latest issue of Brutus).

A 60/40 parka from FUCT. The patches are appropriate.

The blanket lined storm parkas from Engineered Garments. The shell is made from a heavy duty ripstop cotton.

Correction: FUCT is not a Japanese brand, as previously stated in an earlier version of this post. Thanks to Jose R. Mejia for the info.

A peacoat.

The motor jacket. More wearable without the leather hood.

The explorer jacket, which is the only one of the bunch that I like.

The sport jacket.

By Golden Bear.

Tattersall plaids from MAPS – no known stockists in the U.S.

Another one from Doo-Bop in a navy mini pane – Legion in LA is so far the only stockist that I’m aware of for this version in the U.S.

They’re continually difficult to find, so do not sleep on picking one up.

When I first saw pictures of these I was worried that the leather quality would be inferior, but it turns out that it is actually decent. With proper care they should hold up pretty well and overall I’m happy with them.

Above, sturdy leather soles and combination heels. The 360 degree welt design where the leather uppers meet the soles is usually referred to as a storm welt, though it’s purely decorative and does not help in water resistance.

Top view of the toe box areas. The mismatched leathers are very subtle, and someone would have to be paying very close attention to notice it.

The only negatives I could find were the cheap feeling pull tabs and some poor finishing on the inside of the boots though neither detract from the overall construction.

Engineered Garments – the Mark McNairy logo is embossed underneath.

The regular longwings are tempting now…