Wear What When

Men’s Fragrance at Barneys

Guys, here’s your chance to smell amazing.

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Apr 27, 2012 at 01:00PM 0 Comments

Photo: Barneys New York

Scent of a man: Odin, at Barneys New York at Pacific Place.

WHERE: Barneys New York

WHAT: A fragrance event—for the guys. Up on the second floor level, the store’s scent specialists will assemble masculine offerings from Byredo, Odin, Costume National, Comme Des Garcons, Serge Lutens, and more. They’ll be there to answer questions and explain the nuanced lingering of orange and tobacco notes, and to help shoppers navigate new products and classic elements.

As assistant manager Matthew McDonald put it, “like a Genius Bar for fragrance.” But you know, they’ll also be there to give away samples.

I love the idea of a room full of well-dressed Seattle men interested in upping the ante with a gorgeous fragrance, but as a woman who’s always been drawn to traces of wood and tobacco—not, say, geranium and jasmine—I’m hoping that Barneys won’t mind if the rest of us show up, too.

WHEN: Thursday, May 10 from 5:30 to 7

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Tags: Seattle Menswear, Health and Beauty, Grooming, Barneys

Blackbird Spring Warehouse Sale

Once a year, the mostly men’s shop in Ballard marks down their bleeding edge style.

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Apr 17, 2012 at 11:45AM 0 Comments

A Lars Andersson burn-out sweater on sale at Blackbird.

It was a moment I couldn’t have made up if I tried: two devastatingly stylish dudes (one in perfect high-water raw denim jeans with an ever-so-slightly dropped crotch, the other in a pair of those new world sweats/long johns/stretchies that I love and fear in equal measure) hurriedly hipstering down Ballard Avenue while two cute but less assertively fashion-forward gals strolled in the opposite direction. Me, I was posted up against the side of a building waiting on a friend.

As the former passed me first and then the latter, one of the girls said to the other, ‘Oh, I think I got an email about a sale at Blackbird.’

She probably did; the Ballard shop’s past-season goods got marked down online on April 13; the discounted goods show up in the shop on Thursday, April 19; the one-day sale begins at 8a and goes til 8p. You’ll probably see diehards the dudes I spotted the other day waiting around outside when the doors open.

Look for steals on lines like A.P.C., Obey, Tretorn, Robert Geller, and more.

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Tags: Seattle Menswear, Ballard, Blackbird

Just Landed: Heller’s Cafe at Ian

One of the world’s foremost vintage Americana collectors is a Seattleite, but until now, you couldn’t really see his favorite stuff.

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Oct 13, 2011 at 07:30AM 0 Comments

SLIDESHOW: Larry’s Collection, a line of separates reproduced from historical Americana on the Heller’s Cafe by Warehouse label. Available—and this is a boon—at Ian on Second Ave. Here, a replica of a 1930s sweatshirt.

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SLIDESHOW: Larry’s Collection, a line of separates reproduced from historical Americana on the Heller’s Cafe by Warehouse label. Available—and this is a boon—at Ian on Second Ave. Here, a replica of a 1930s sweatshirt.

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Based, religiously, on a 1940s Cowichan sweater.

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It’s like you salvaged it yourself from some ghost town train yard.

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Turn-of-the-century denim served as the pattern for these jeans.

You have to forget what you think you know about vintage collectors when you meet Larry McKaughan. Dismiss the Value Village warriors with their ironic ’80s sweaters; set aside, for now, the Mad Men-obsessed midcentury mods and their nipped-waist party dresses.

Even the New York Times acknowledges the cult-like heritage-brand hounds who fall in line behind the Seattle-based dealer of ultra-rare turn-of-the-century leather jackets and deadstock WWI-era denim overalls. His vintage is closer to antique, and the clothes themselves are historical artifacts, not just something you pick up to wear with your skinny jeans.

The Cap Hill home base for McKaughan’s highly valuable trend-driving duds, dubbed Heller’s Cafe after an uncle’s midwestern eatery, isn’t open to the public. You don’t necessarily have to be Ralph Lauren’s creative director or an Americana-obsessed Japanese collector to get inside, but that’s the sort of traffic that regularly flows through.

Until recently, Seattleites couldn’t even get their hands on his reproduction line—a suite of mostly denim and knit separates based religiously on 70 year old specimens. The line, Heller’s Cafe by Warehouse, is produced in partnership with the Japanese brand that supplies the latter part of that title.

Oh, you could order Heller’s Cafe from J Crew.com—for the hour and a half or so that the company was able to keep the items in stock. (Only denim remains.) But now you can see the line for yourself at Ian on Second Ave.

Though the Belltown shop doesn’t have the whole collection (and they only have a limited size run, and here’s a good time to mention that this stuff is not cheap), they do have a great representation of the very minimally modernized, meticulous replicas manufactured from McKaughan’s collection. The details remain, and only when necessary has the silhouette been slightly tweaked.

Fans of the heritage-this and Americana-that trend of late—and history buffs and Japanaphiles—are hereby urged to click through the slideshow here and then get down to Ian to see the pieces for themselves.

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Tags: Seattle Vintage, Heritage Brands, Seattle Menswear, Seattle Designer, Heller's Cafe

Model Behavior: Heffner Takes Manhattan

Seattle Met’s spring ’11 model and a local drummer make headlines on style.com.

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Sep 15, 2011 at 08:00AM 1 Comments

Photo: Ryan McVay

SLIDESHOW: Local models take Manhattan. Here, Maja Hansen in Seattle Met’s Spring ’11 fashion spread. The Seattleite was just short-listed by a top fashion casting director and pictured on style.com. To see Hansen and fellow Heffner model Miles Frank in action during New York Fashion Week, click the slideshow link.

View Slideshow » Photo: Ryan McVay

SLIDESHOW: Local models take Manhattan. Here, Maja Hansen in Seattle Met’s Spring ’11 fashion spread. The Seattleite was just short-listed by a top fashion casting director and pictured on style.com. To see Hansen and fellow Heffner model Miles Frank in action during New York Fashion Week, click the slideshow link.

View Slideshow » Photo: Style.com St. John

Maja Hansen the recent St. John show in New York. I’ve observed that walking the runway isn’t exactly Hansen’s strong suit. If you were at Nordstrom’s Designer Preview, you observed the same thing. But that face! So it’s interesting that she was cast for a live mannequin-style show.

View Slideshow » Photo: Style.com Richard Chai Love

Miles Frank for Richard Chai’s Love line. Fellows, note that striped jacket.

View Slideshow » Photo: Style.com Timo Weiland

And Frank for Timo Weiland. The Kirkland-based model certainly has the disaffected thing down.

To review: I do get pretty psyched when Seattle is in the national style news.

On a recent stroll through style.com I came upon a blog post that named Seattleite Maja Hansen among notable casting director Andrew Weir’s top three up-and-coming faces in the New York fashion scene. Um, not too shabby.

Hansen was a dream when she starred in our spring ‘11 fashion story, High Rise Sublime; I knew when i met her among a dozen or so other girls at a Heffner Management casting call that she was The One. I’m a sucker for short hair, and I loved her classic-but-not Christy Turlington vibe. Looks like New York is loving it, too. Not only did she get that style.com shout out, but she was cast in St. John’s mannequin-style show earlier this week (or, you know, earlier this fashion week). Check the slideshow to see her in “action.”

And then, I noticed another Heffner face, Miles Frank, in the Richard Chai Love show—and then in the Timo Weiland show, and then in a spotlight post on the style.com blog. Hmm, now let me check in with something here: Other models that have been the sole subject of blog posts on style.com? Kate, Agyness, Coco… Not too shabby at all, Frank. The Kirkland-based drummer and his band even played a NYFW party hosted by his east coast agency, Root Management.

What’s up, Seattle? You are looking F-I-N-E. Check out your townspeople in the slideshow here.

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Tags: Seattle Menswear, Model Behavior, Seattle Style News, New York Fashion Week 2011

Just Landed: Alden x Blackbird

Local men’s store teams up with heritage boot makers in New England to make Seattle-centric footwear.

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Sep 09, 2011 at 07:00AM 1 Comments

Slideshow: History by way of Blackbird. Here, Alden boots inspired by a ’30s-era creamery on Market Street, around the corner from where Blackbird sits today.

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Slideshow: History by way of Blackbird. Here, Alden boots inspired by a ’30s-era creamery on Market Street, around the corner from where Blackbird sits today.

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Note the sign for Christopherson’s Creamery, the inspiration for Blackbird’s new boots, in this 1939 photo of Market Street in Ballard.

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Hayburner oxfords are named for the horses who pulled Frank Osgood’s streetcars. See the timeline below, courtesy Blackbird historians:

1884 – Frank Osgood, widely known as the father of Seattle’s public-transportation system, begins operating a horse-drawn trolley on Sept. 23. Passengers pay a nickel for a trip along steel tracks, laid in the mud of Second Avenue.

1887 – Osgood’s horses – known also as “hayburners” – have trouble with Seattle’s hills, so cars pulled by cables beneath the street are introduced. The Lake Washington Cable Railway, linking Leschi and Pioneer Square, is especially popular in the summer, when people ride along Yesler Way or Madison Street for a picnic at the lake.

1889 – Osgood unveils Seattle’s first electric streetcar, despite fears that the line would magnetize pocket watches and shock horses with stray bolts of electricity. On the first run, a car stalls, forcing passengers to push it to the end of the line.

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From Blackbird: “Osgood’s contributions helped Seattle become a more modernized city and dramatically changed its street culture, helping Seattle’s working man keep his shoes clean on his daily way through town and making his gal’s Sunday afternoon picnics at Lake Washington as easy as hopping on a trolley.”

If there’s a local store more intelligently enamored of their neighborhood, I don’t know it. Two new footwear options from Ballard’s Blackbird underscore their affinity for well-made, long-lasting, classic style and the rich history of Seattle. And it’s products—remember the recently issued Filson x Blackbird messenger bag?

Made in collaboration with Alden, a Massachusetts footwear concern known for doing pretty much the same thing (in, you know, a good way) since 1884, the Hayburner oxford ($540) and the Christopherson’s Creamery boot ($649) were conceived of in Ballard and executed on the other side of the country using generations-old leather and shoe-making craftsmanship.

It’s worth noting that it’s uh, no small feat to get something like this done. Alden is a highly regarded brand that straddles fashion and good old-fashioned practicality with a full fleet of designers and artisans. Stepping (I can’t help it!) into their design room and production schedule with a custom-made, limited-run Northwest-centric series shows some tenacity on Blackbird’s part—and it shows brand respect on Alden’s side, too.

Click through the slideshow to see the new products and find out what inspired them.

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Tags: Locally Designed, Seattle Menswear

Sale: Road Apparel

Now through Labor Day: Summer savings and buy-one-get-one-free menswear at Road.

Posted by: Saba Sulaiman on Aug 12, 2011 at 04:00PM 0 Comments

Buy one of these Ottawa Twills and get one free.

Where: Road Apparel downtown and Road in Bellevue.

What: End-of-summer savings of up to 60 percent off on Road-branded short sleeve shirts, solid and plaid shorts, linen blazers, and lightweight knits. And there’s this: when you buy a pair of their select Road-brand bottoms, they’ll throw in a free pair. You might go classic with a pair of Butte Twilight Denims, in vintage, black, or classic blue.

When: Now, and continuing through Labor Day.

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Tags: Seattle Menswear, Sales and Discounts

What’s Your Take On … Gentlemen’s Consignment?

The Madison Park men’s shop has shuttered. Do Seattle men need good consignment options?

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Jul 11, 2011 at 09:50AM 2 Comments

Photo: Yelp.com

Gentlemen’s Consignment in Madison Park is no more.

On a recent trip through Madison Park, I noticed that Gentlemen’s Consignment had closed.

Not a huge surprise. The store kept interesting hours and, while often stocked with perfectly broken-in Ralph Lauren linen suits and random assortments of repurpose-able Brooks Brothers sweaters and cordovan loafers, I never saw a body going in or coming out. I spoke to a few business owners in the neighborhood who noticed the same thing, although two mentioned that it was their understanding that owner Sally Dietrich was just ready to hang up her hat on that particular business model. Fair enough.

What I’m wondering is: Will another style- and fashion-minded businessperson fill the void? Is there a void to fill? Do men want to shop consignment? Do they know how?

In recent years, a number of really smart women’s consignment shops joined already established resale posts to create useful, fun, relevant in-and-out opportunities for women who like to see a bit of return on their investments and score good deals. In the best case scenarios, these boutiques are presided over by shopkeepers with keen and discerning taste. The best consignment shops don’t take garden variety big-box pill-covered sweaters. They look for special pieces—just like you do. They’re interested in finding new homes for gently used designer items and high quality basics from the best department stores and quality manufacturers. They’re on top of trends, they know their individual customers as well as the Seattle market, and curate their racks in approximation of ready-to-wear seasonal cycles.

Le Frock on Capitol Hill offers, more or less, that kind of environment for men. Remember Ben and his vintage Jil Sander vest? On Phinney Ridge, Armadillo also includes men’s items in its department store-like resale environment, but GQ readers will most like feel a bit underwhelmed. All is not completely lost for guys now that Gentlemen’s Consignment is gone, but I’d love to see the male equivalent of My Dressing Room. Where’s the Driftwood for Blackbird shoppers?

Here’s a good place to say that I may be married to someone who has a few Steven Alan button-downs and a pair or two of Clark’s desert boots that he isn’t interested in any more, but he can’t be the only one. A woman I spoke to about all this last week says men wear their clothes differently—her tone meant they wear through them so that no one else oughtta touch them. I don’t know. I know more than a couple of fickle-enough clothes horses. And with the exciting and vibrant emphasis on menswear in the wake of the recession stirring up interest in all kinds of Y chromosomes, I think we all the shop the same these days—meaning some of us shop alot and often, regardless of gender. Another friend says men would have to be taught to shop resale stores, but I wondered: were women taught? I don’t remember my lesson… don’t we all just figure it out?

What’s your take on men’s consignment? Does Seattle need more of it?

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Tags: Seattle Consignment, Seattle Menswear, What's Your Take On...

Sale: Blackbird in Ballard

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Jun 24, 2011 at 01:00PM 0 Comments

Diet Butcher Slim Skin and other top names on sale at Blackbird in Ballard, beginning Saturday.

Where: Blackbird

What: Semi-annual clearance sale for the Ballard menswear shop as well as the Field House around the corner. Almost everything will be marked down between 20 and 80 percent; look for savings on Filson, Obey, A.P.C, Maiden Noir, and more. Markdowns on the shop’s higher-end designer lines continue.

When: Starts Saturday, June 25 at 8a and continues as long as there is past-season merchandise to sell.

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Tags: Seattle Menswear, Ballard, Blackbird

Pop-Up: Ampersand as Apostrophe and Funk Royal Optics

Funky eyeware and the It bag at Deli in May and June.

Posted by: Katie Ormsby on Apr 29, 2011 at 06:00AM 0 Comments

This Ampersand as Apostrophe bag will be available at Deli.

Where: Deli

What: Pulp Lab’s latest venture in pop-up retail features Funk Royal Optics and Ampersand as Apostrophe.

Kate Pawlicki, Pulp Lab’s founder, says the temporary shopportunity brings together handmade frames and sunglasses from German-based Funk Royal, and the latest handbag collection from local designer Jessica Park. You’ll recall that we named Ampersand as Apostrophe’s first bag, the Fold-Over Clutch, the It bag of last spring. Let us know if you’re ready to call the Buffalo Parcel the must-have for this season.

When: After an opening celebration on May 5 from 7 to 10, the goods will be on offer at Deli until June 30

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Tags: Accessories, Locally Designed, Seattle Menswear, Seattle Pop-Ups, Pulp Lab

Coming Soon: Road Apparel’s Madras Collection

Get your socially responsible prep on with the local brand’s spring line. A portion of the profits benefit an Indian charity.

Posted by: Katie Ormsby on Apr 15, 2011 at 08:00AM 0 Comments

ROAD Apparel’s Madras collection hits stores and online next week.

Where: Road Apparel

What: A portion of the profits from the Seattle-based menswear company’s limited-edition Madras collection benefit the Indian charity Anbalayam, which provides eduction and shelter for disadvantaged youth. It was founded in 2003, and 63 males between the ages of 6 and 20 years old currently live in the home.

Though Madras plaid fabric is commonly associated with the classic, American prep style (think Ralph Lauren and the popular Take Ivy text), it actually originates from Southeast India.

When brothers and Road owners Raj and Akhil Shah traveled to the region about 35 years ago, they were taken with its fabrics. They entered the apparel industry shortly after, founding Shah Safari, Inc. ROAD is an offshoot, and this year marks its fifth anniversary.

So, giving back is a way for Road to celebrate the inspiration for its 2011 collection and for the Shah’s to go back to their design roots. The shorts, shirts, and other men’s pieces retail from $38 to $148.

When: Starting April 21, the limited-edition collection will be available at both the Seattle and Bellevue stores, as well as the Road website.

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Tags: Locally Made, Locally Designed, Seattle Menswear, Coming Soon, Just Landed, New in Stores

Trunk Show: Vim Beget at Blackbird

Seattle designer Billy Bartels shows his world-sourced metal accessories in Ballard. There will be tarot readings, too.

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Mar 17, 2011 at 08:00AM 0 Comments

Photo: Adam Sinding; Le 21eme Arrondissement

Seattle designer Billy Bartels shows his line Vim Beget at Blackbird in Ballard on March 24 between 7 and 10.

Where: Blackbird Ballard

What: First, there’s this: Tarot card readings. (I do like a fashion event that comes complete with my future.) And cocktails. And, a collection of leather goods and jewelry by Seattle designer Billy Bartels from his line Vim Beget.

Bartels works with hand-coiled, hand-wired metals from Germany, Japan, and other locales to create abstract, unisex prime real estate necklaces, double-wrap bracelets, uncommon rings, and wallets that seem to reference medieval chain mail armor and postmodern goth while also registering as fairly low-key and totally wearable.

Men have never had a clear path when it comes to accessorizing outside the tie-watch-pocket-square realm, but lines like Vim Beget shine a moody light on some of the best routes (handmade, dark, relatively simple, tough but not falsely so). In fact, forget what I said about “unisex;” women have endless options.

This one is for the guy’s.

When: Thursday, March 24 from 7 to 10

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Tags: Seattle Trunk Show, Seattle Menswear, Ballard, Blackbird

Retail News: Blackbird Expands

Ballard’s essential menswear shop is opening a second location slightly south…in Portland.

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Feb 10, 2011 at 07:00AM 0 Comments

Photo: Blackbirdballard.com

Portland residents can expect to see pieces like this one from Blackbird’s in-house line when the new, 600 square foot shop opens this summer.

Word went out yesterday morning that Blackbird owner Nicole Miller will be opening an outpost of her essential, edgy menswear store in Portland.

The shop will open this summer just two blocks from the Ace Hotel (holy hipster heaven) on W Burnside and NW 13th Ave.

As to what’ll be for sale at the new shop? Tell your bike-riding BFs in Portland not to expect woolly plaid shirts and the like. Miller says, ‘To me Portland doesn’t need another Pendleton outlet, so you can expect a lot of our own Blackbird label and our more seriously design-driven brands like Robert Geller and Rick Owens.’

I like it.

Portland, Blackbird’s gonna look good on you.

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Tags: Seattle Style, Seattle Menswear, Ballard, Seattle Retail News, Blackbird