Although Izzy has a habit of making fun of the au courant designers, he must confess that ever since he saw Thom Browne’s Fall 2006 collection he has been inspired to experiment with winter whites. Having finally found a sumptuous pair of cream flannel trousers, he is dashing off to the nearest skating rink.
Izzy isn’t sure he’s brave enough to attempt the odd plaid jacket, but offers his kudos to this gentleman spotted by The Sartorialist. And the striking contrast between trousers and shoes also gets a special commendation.
Low-slung trousers, or merely Monsieur Lacroix’s protruding belly? Flower detail, or unfortunate sweat stain?
Machiavelli advises that the best hope of conquering Fortuna is through boldness. Perhaps that is why Izzy has a soft spot for pants in colors fit for a popinjay. Etro here obliges by offering cords in goldenrod and Nantucket red.
Signores Dolce and Gabbana are no doubt prolific. But, by wearing their trousers so low, their fertility is in grave danger of being crushed by their belt buckles.
P.S. Low. Ri. Der.
Should winter ever actually arrive, some heavyweight trousers will no doubt be in order. This pair from Brooks Brothers is made of one of Izzy’s favorite fabrics: cavalry twill, a hard-wearing wool cloth of military origin that’s perfect for running an empire. Made of a steep double twill, the fabric must be seen in person to be fully appreciated.
It’s not exactly “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” but as the limerick has it:
As the crusty old Colonel admitted,
It’s to cavalry twill he’s committed:
Woollen fabric that’s tough,
So he chooses the stuff
When his trousers are tailored and fitted.
As a wee lad, Izzy hated corduroy trousers because of the zip zip sound they made while walking. But as he got older, and wiser, he came to adore the fabric (which allegedly derives from the French corde du roi, or “the king’s cord”) and also discovered that wearing more closely fitting trousers would eliminate the noisome sound. But Izzy long felt alone in his infatuation with the warm and cuddly material. Now, however, there is finally a place to meet like-minded corduroyalists: the Corduroy Appreciation Club. Their motto? “All Wales Welcome.” (Izzy is not making this up.) The cozy club will be hosting their second annual meeting on 11|11 (guess why) in Brooklyn, New York. Izzy hopes to attend in full regalia. (Their first meeting was reported on by The New Yorker.)
The festivities will include keynote speaker author Jonathan Ames, corduroy-inspired art; and the Corduroy Awards, for which the nominees include actor Heath Ledger (Exemplary Usage of Corduroy in a Motion Picture: Brokeback Mountain), fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi (Exemplary Usage of Corduroy in Fashion), and British comedian Marcus Brigstocke (Exemplary Usage of Corduroy as a Comedic Channel). All attendees are strictly required to wear at least two items of corduroy, but of course the more items of the material, the better.
If you wish to attend, you need to purchase a ticket by November 1st.
The New York Times is touting Thom Browne, the notorious proponent of ankle cleavage, as “today the most envied and influential American men’s wear designer.” Though the article contains much of interest, including the observation that Browne’s suits “caught on with an underserved customer: the businessman who wants to look both conservative and cool,” one claim in particular caught Izzy’s attention. The paper reports that to gain attention for his style, Browne “started eating breakfast—black coffee and white toast—every morning …at Pastis, neatly dressed in a Thom Browne suit-slash-sandwich board.”
It just so happens that one day this past summer, Izzy, apeing the idle rich, himself breakfasted at Pastis, a pretentious French bistro in New York’s meatpacking district. And whom did he behold sitting at his regular table just next to the entrance? Thom Browne, clad in extremely short seersucker pants with massive cuffs, and going sockless in black wingtips, just like in the above photo. The sight of his get-up did make an indelible impression. Little did Izzy know at the time that he was witnessing a highly effective self-advertisement. Mr. Browne deserves a belated hat tip.
Giorgio Armani has thrown down the taupe gauntlet by attacking Savile Row, which he intends to challenge with a new couture line for men called Fatto A Mano Su Misura (hand-made to measure). According to the Times of London, the fan of baggy jeans (seen above in children’s playclothes) mocked the Row as “a bad English comedy,” stuck in the past, and run by men of “limited mentality.”
He further declared, “Men need couture just as women do—something made exclusively for them to define their social position.” If you believe that, please go ahead and order one of his couture suits, which begin at 5,000 pounds.
Bullock & Jones, the San Francisco haberdasher with a history extending back to 1853, has long been known for skillfully combining classic style with contemporary fashion. Izzy would not have thought it was possible to bring life to the tired look of jeans, but this unusual pair from them would appear to prove otherwise.
As the replacement for the Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the rock band Queen, Paul Rogers has had to bear a heavy cross. Why he chose trousers that visually depict this, Izzy will never know.
Merchant prince Ralph Lauren here helpfully teaches us three lessons: 1) Black and brown tend to clash, 2) Men of a certain age ought to avoid leather trousers, 3) Texas-sized belt buckles do not belong on a Lichtenstein-sized man.
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