Up to SCALE: Dries Van Noten

Dries Van Noten is probably my favorite designer. Anyone who has ever gone shopping with me knows that I think most menswear in malls is boring. Whether it is the Gap, J.Crew, or Banana Republic companies just don’t put any thought behind the clothes they sell to men, khakis polos sweaters, repeat. While I know a lot of guys who love those stores and don’t want for anything else, I am certainly not one of them.
That’s why I loves Dries, he does a great mix between really amazingly done staples like suits pants and button ups while mixing in great stuff that will completely make a statement like palm print pants or a magenta fringed scarf. What he puts on the runway is pretty wearable if your brave and his runway collections are the clothes that go into his stores and department stores which is awesome since most of the time what you see in stock from most designers is a dumb down boring version of what they show.
Dries is a product of the Antwerp Fashion Academy in Belgium and still lives in Antwerp. He first hit the scene in 1986 but has only recently gained fame outside his small devoted group of fans and has recently won the International Award from the CFDA. His business is completely self financed, meaning he has no backers that have a say in what he designs and all of the money that comes from his sales go directly back into producing the clothes.
The bottom line is that Dries is a really talented guy who is influencing fashion and is totally worth supporting. His clothes are available in a lot of high end department stores as well as online retailers like yoox.com, also there is usually a good number of his stuff listed on ebay. Dries is a big name designer but his clothes are really not overpriced for what they are considering the thought and quality that goes into them as well as the type of business he runs.

Pump Up the JAMS

Sometimes when I discover new trends that are coming into existence I really wonder if people in the fashion business are getting bored. There is only so far you can really go, especially with menswear, that it makes it understandable when a trend like pajamas comes along. The interesting thing is, although this trend sounds ridiculous, I actually really like it.
The PJ look popped up first in Prada’s spring summer 2008 show (top) in a really literal sense with matching patterned shirts and pants. Now as a whole this looks exactly like pajamas, but what Prada was really trying to get across was more a sense of fantasy or going into a dream world; and of course you dream in pajamas.
The trend next showed up in the Lavin show in Paris (middle), and there it was much more subdued and more about Parisian laid back cool and thinking about sort of a light way to dress. Once PJs hit America at Duckie Brown (bottom) the trend finalized itself into its most wearable style. Ultimately the PJ trend is about a really relaxed way to dress, loose open shirt and loose pants. It is about summer heat and effortless clothes; and also about focusing a pattern or bright color into pants instead of a shirt.
I’m actually surprised this movement hasn’t caught on sooner with the amount of American men who idolize Hugh Hefner. And really, who doesn’t want to capture the sophisticated unpretentious style of a guy who walks around all day in a bathrobe, but makes it look desirable.
So I support this trend. I think it looks mad cool and comfortable and I will definitely be looking for some PJs to rock once the temperature gets above cold and rainy. I just hope it doesn’t increase my chances of falling asleep in class.