Mister Crew » Men’s Ex

Unstructured Jackets for Summer

R.A. Schenck — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 20:09:49 +0000

The unstructured jacket is a perfect solution to summer time heat when a formal appearance is still needed. What to look for: unlined, or partial lining; no padding; fabric should be cottons, linens, or tropical wool. Tailoring is particularly important to get the look just right, as the jacket will drape from the shoulders. The inevitable wrinkles can be easily steamed out at the end of the day.

A Brunello Cucinelli jacket featured in a recent T Magazine piece.

Examples from Men’s Ex.

Gingham Shirts

R.A. Schenck — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:30:45 +0000

The most versatile of summer patterns? From Men’s Ex:

Navy Sportcoat Versatility, Continued

R.A. Schenck — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:00:01 +0000

The importance of a navy blazer or sportcoat in any man’s wardrobe cannot be stressed enough, and Men’s Ex recently published an issue focusing on their use in both formal and casual looks. Related posts with more visual guides:
- The Versatility of the Navy Sportcoat
- Pairing Colored Pants for Spring – Part 1

From Men’s Ex, April 2010:

Double breasted navy blazers are also classics, but they’re more difficult to do well.

Men’s Ex – A Study of Italian Style

R.A. Schenck — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 04:49:01 +0000

February’s issue of Men’s Ex is a brief study of Italian style. I’ve scanned a few parts from it, and the first couple of pages explain the differences between the tailoring styles of the various regions by looking at different parts of the suit, such as how the sleeves are set in or how open the quarters are. I should point out though, that these generalizations are not always so black and white.

I was amused that they went as far as to show how the seat of trousers should fit with arrows.

Pairing Up Shoes

R.A. Schenck — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 04:32:12 +0000

From the Men’s Ex January 2010 issue.

Knit Ties

R.A. Schenck — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 07:55:20 +0000

After I finished college and started to explore traditional men’s clothing a bit more, knit ties were one of the last hold outs – I just didn’t see a point in wearing them, especially when my regimental stripe ties seemed to work well with everything already. Like the rest of the more interesting things in my wardrobe, that eureka moment finally hit and I now own more knit ties than I do regular ones.

What I’ve learned: knit ties are useful in making a formal appearance look casual, and they also add extra texture to an outfit when variety is needed. The solid colored ties look better than those with the dots, and those with the dots look better than those with the stripes. Stick with widths between 2-3″ inches, anything wider and the tie becomes a bit unwieldy. J.Crew’s knit ties are sometimes difficult to get good knots out of, Ralph Lauren’s are generally safe to go with, and those made by Gallo and Drake’s of London are top notch but pricey.

Pictures from the Sartorialist, Men’s Ex, and Leon.

The Maestros

R.A. Schenck — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:32:56 +0000

Men’s Ex was able to visit with a number of prominent men in the European clothing industry in order to learn a little bit about their own personal styles. In Italy, particularly in the Naples area, the term Maestro is sometimes used as an honorable title for the head of a tailoring house or company. From the September 09 issue.

Mario Caraceni

Angelo Blasi

Luca Rubinacci

Adriano Fracassi

Mario Stefano Maran

Ottaviano Mantero Scheuten

Errico Formicola

Sportcoat Versatility, Continued

R.A. Schenck — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 12:10:15 +0000

A couple of scans from Men’s Ex showing examples on how sportcoats can be worn both formally and casually. You can see some more in this previous post as well.

A Visit to Church’s Factory

R.A. Schenck — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:34:53 +0000

From Men’s Ex March 2009. Some people claim that Church’s shoes are no longer well made since the Prada buyout, but they’re the same as always.

The Versatility of the Navy Sportcoat

R.A. Schenck — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 01:49:01 +0000

Examples on how to pair up navy colored sportcoats from Men’s Ex (click the image to see the full size). As shown earlier, navy can go with just about everything.

Combining Patterns, Men’s Ex edition

R.A. Schenck — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 03:43:37 +0000

There was a decent section in the March 2009 edition of Men’s Ex on how to pair shirts and ties with suits. Some things you’ll notice:

If you pair up similar patterns, make sure they vary in size and scale so that they’re distinctly different from each other.
If you pair up similar colors such as a range of blues, pick different textures for each piece.

These should also be required reading on this topic: