No Dry Cleaning

We have a wek of rain predicted here in Toronto! Now this means that while walking to work parts of me are going to get wet, and this means some dry cleaning will be in order.

Now if I did not have to worry about dry cleaning, I think I would take my best suit or tuxedo as in this case, and be like this young man and just embrace and dive into it!








So here is to getting wet with Savoir Faire!

Mr Ford and Spring

Tom Ford has always been a favourite of mine from his early days at Gucci, his few collections for Yves Saint Laurent and now under his own label. He is the epitome of savoir faire and modern dandyism. Forever stylish it seems that he has been born with an inherent gene of good taste and style. Mind you some of his choices I have not always agreed with. His advertising campaign for his fragrances was one of these choices. The fragrances themselves are brilliant, the bottle design wonderful, the advertising campaign not so much. I thought it was cheap and nasty from a savoir faire point of few.

Now this brings us to his collection for men for Spring Summer 2011. While loving Spring Summer 2010, this year’s collection is a lot more refined.

Where as 2010 there was a large emphasis on pattern and colour which would make the average man in the street run a mile, I think this season’s collection has something for everyone.

Classic styling with Mr. Ford’s characteristic vibe is still there, which begs me to ask the question, does Mr. Ford continuously draw his inspiration from the past, or is he afraid to experiment with new lines. That said, the styling and lines are classic, so there are no surprises there.

The pattern and the texture is still there, however it is not the emphasis of the collection. Pattern is there if you want it, if not there are plenty of other pieces to choose from.

Colours are more in keeping with what the modern man wants. While not exploring any singular group of colours, there is a wide range to satisfy even the most reticent among us with something.

What do you think?

Swinging Through London

In 1965, Diana Vreeland, editor of Vogue magazine, said "London is the most swinging city in the world at the moment." And she wasn’t far wrong!

If you were a bright young thing in the 1960’s hip and with it, Swinging London was the place to be. For fashion and culture, London was the centre of the universe, and symbolized one of the quickest and most explosive cultural revolutions of the 20th century. London flourished and the rest of the world followed its lead in all things modern and hip.

Basically a youth-orientated phenomenon that lay emphasis on the new and the modern, Swinging London saw its beginnings in the recovery of the British economy after post World War II austerity.

This was a time when the world’s first supermodels were becoming celebrities in their own right, Jean Shrimpton was the world’s highest paid and most recognized. Shrimpton at the time was being hailed as “The Face of the ‘60s” and was considered by many as "the symbol of Swinging London" and the "embodiment of the 1960s.” Veruschka, Penelope Tree and Twiggy were fast following behind the Shrimp’s sling-backs and were putting London on the map.

Two of the epicenters of this phenomenon were the fashionable shopping areas of Carnaby Street Soho and Kings Road, Chelsea. Carnaby Street proved a magnet for hippies and mods alike with many independent and well known designers setting up shop there. Mary Quant, Marion Foale Sally Tuffin, Lord John, Merc, Take Six, I Was Lord Kitchener’s Valet, Kleptomania, Mates, Ravel, and others drew crowds of bright young things shaking off the conventional attitudes of the 1950’s to embrace the swinging sixties. With bands such as Small Faces, The Who, and Rolling Stones appearing in the area to work, shop, and socialize, it became one of Swinging London's coolest destinations.

As Time Magazine proclaimed “Perhaps nothing illustrates the new swinging London better than the narrow, three-block-long Carnaby Street, which is crammed with a cluster of the 'gear' boutiques where the girls and boys buy each other clothing…”

The British flag, the Union Flag, became a symbol, assisted by events such as England's home victory in the 1966 World Cup. Adorning everything from mini-skirts, shirts, bags and shoes one would think that all our fashionable young Londoners were very patriotic.

It is strange today to associate one city with a cultural and social revolution. With advances made in technology and with the help of the internet changes and trends are universal and instataneous. Swinging London developed over time and exploded just when the time was right.

The Short Straw

To the envy of North America, Europe is experiencing wonderfully warm weather. The sun is shining the birds are singing and the flowers are blooming. While we are still bundled up in paired down versions of our winter wardrobes and the southern hemisphere are salivating over their winter wardrobes, the thought does come to, what are we going to wear in spring and summer?

Shorts are one of those spring/summer wardrobe staples that are so versatile and stylish; however the wrong pair of shorts can break you! Seriously gentleman, forget what you see coming down the runways or what is described as the latest trend where shorts are concerned. Trends are basically just that, trends, they might last a little while but they will go out of fashion.

There are some rules that apply when purchasing and wearing shorts. All the below might have seemed like a good idea at the time however you do run the risk of appearing in the future on blogs like this one in the “What Not to Wear Category”

So without the risk of being boring I am going to offer the following pieces of advice if you love wearing shorts as much as I do.

Over the years short lengths have plummeted up and down quicker than the stock market. Short shorts are really cool only if you are 20 something and have a killer body. For us mere mortals, I say stay away from them.

I remember my father and countless other men wearing long socks with shorts eons ago. So you say, it looks great on the runway, however unless done correctly you will end up looking like someone’s grandfather.

This also goes for socks, sandals and shorts! It is not a good look!

I know that sometimes we all bemoan the fact that menswear can lack innovation and we applaud those designers that bring new shapes and fabrics, however stay with a classic shape and length. The below for example, what are they, skirts or shorts?

To plaid or not to plaid? The same can be said of pattern. Again while sometimes applauding the designers who use colour, texture and pattern in striking new ways for menswear; just be aware that you are not going to look like Bozo the clown. The shorts below from Thom Browne are a wonderful classic style however the oversized plaid, is just a little bit too much.

Pattern also can be tricky. I really believe that you could only wear these once or on different occasions where you are sure that nobody has seen them before.

I do like clothes that define a waist, however hoisting your shorts (which are too short to start off with) up to your waist teemed with the polka dots, makes your shorts look lie a 1940’s bathing suit for women.

Also keep them tailored. Gym shorts are made that way for a reason, for the gym!

There is also a reason why cycling shorts are made out of lycra. I really don't think no matter how much you try and disguise them with layering, they will always look like cycling shorts gone wrong.

Length wise keep it on the knee, if you have to roll it up or let it down, they are not for you.

Also please try and get them to fit. A tailored look is best, not something that makes you look like you are wearing a nappy.

However all this said do try and cut a dash this summer, like the below which believe it or not come from Old Navy for $24.95!

More Spring Mythology

Have you noticed a bit of a horticultural spring theme happening over here at Savoir Faire? With spring upon us, soon our gardens and balconies will be masses of colour, with the first flowers of spring. Invariably these first flowers are the huge varieties of spring bulbs appearing from the crocus to the tulip. I cannot help but be inspired by spring bulbs as they are amongst my favourites. Not only do I love hyacinths for their appearance, so many bell like little flowers on their stems, but also the wonderful scent, which is a favourite of mine. (Think Dior’s Diorissimo here) I have known for a long time that a lot of the meanings and names associated with these bulbs have originated from Greek mythology. Invariably all these legends stem around the involvement of us mere mortals with the ancient gods of Greece. I also find it interesting that of all the mortals that have metamorphosed into flowers most have been men. Ancient Greece was a very male dominated society with a huge amount of emphasis placed on male beauty, so it is obvious that gods and mortal men had a fascination for each other, albeit a very homoerotic one. The legend of Hyacinth and Apollo is another myth that attempts to explain the origins of this wonderful flower we know as the hyacinth. Hyacinth was a divine hero from Greek Mythology whose major claim to fame was being a beautiful boy and lover of the god Apollo, though he was also admired by the wind god Zephyrus. Apollo and Hyacinth took turns throwing the discus. Hyacinth ran to catch it to impress Apollo, was struck by the discus as it fell to the ground, and died. A twist in the tale makes the wind god Zephyrus responsible for the death of Hyacinth. His beauty caused a feud between Zephyrus and Apollo. Jealous that Hyacinth preferred the radiant god Apollo, Zephyrus blew Apollo's discus off course, so as to injure and kill Hyacinth. When he died, Apollo didn't allow Hades to claim the boy; rather, he made a flower, the hyacinth, from his spilled blood. Ovid's account, in Metamorphoses is hauntingly beautiful, describing Apollo’s grief. O thou art gone, my boy, Apollo cry'd, Defrauded of thy youth in all its pride! Thou, once my joy, art all my sorrow now; And to my guilty hand my grief I owe. Yet from my self I might the fault remove, Unless to sport, and play, a fault should prove, Unless it too were call'd a fault to love. Oh cou'd I for thee, or but with thee, dye! But cruel Fates to me that pow'r deny. Yet on my tongue thou shalt for ever dwell; Thy name my lyre shall sound, my verse shall tell; And to a flow'r transform'd, unheard-of yet, Stamp'd on thy leaves my cries thou shalt repeat. The time shall come, prophetick I foreknow, When, joyn'd to thee, a mighty chief shall grow, And with my plaints his name thy leaf shall show. As illustrated the legend has inspired the likes of many an artist, including lending itself to an Opera by Mozart called Apollo and Hyacinth. The time that all these spring bulbs are with us seems so short, much like the young men who inspired their creation, so let us enjoy them while we can!