Shopping for a 60's Summer Style Inspired by 'Love & Mercy', the New Beach Boys Biopic Movie

The first trailer for 'Love & Mercy', the new biopic based on the rise of The Beach Boys, came out earlier this week. As a fan of both their music and everything about the 60's style this is definitely a film I am looking forward to. The timing of it is so perfectly on trend too – it's all about 60's and 70's this summer. From preppy striped shirts and white tennis shoes to checked short-sleeved shirts and chinos there is a great choice to jazz up our summer wardrobe. And so, as you would expect, I put together a few selections inspired in the looks from the movie.
To make the experience complete I recommend playing a few of their tracks from the iTunes playlist widget on the left-hand side.

Left to right and top to bottom:

Acne Studios short-sleeved shirt, Dolce & Gabbana striped swim shorts, AMI striped shirt,
Boglioli printed swim shorts, AMI short-sleeved striped shirt.

Left to right and top to bottom:

AMI checked shirt, Lanvin bowling shirt, Orlebar Brown polo shirt, Acne Studios checked shirt,
A.P.C. shirt-sleeved printed shirt.

Left to right and top to bottom:

Tomorrowland knitted t-shirt, Common Projects slip-on sneakers, M.NII striped cotton tank,

Beams Plus striped knitted t-shirt, Dan Ward printed swim shorts, Thom Browne t-shirt,

Nike Internationalist sneakers, M-NII striped t-shirt.

Shopping for Fair Isle jumpers inspired by Michael Polish

It's not easy for my brain to be distracted when Kate Bosworth is in sight. That being said, her boyfriend's husband's cardigan choice this week managed to do just that – for a couple of minutes anyway. Michael Polish kept his look classic and fuss-free but injected a bit of FW13 flavour by means of his fair isle shawl-collar cardigan. This is one of the best graphic motifs for us men to introduce patterns without risking being loud (unless your fair isle is bright red, which is only allowed for a week during Christmas) and it adds a nice subtle vintage flavour. These below are some of my favourite choices I found online.

Clockwise from top left: J.Crew wool jumper, Original Vintage Style knit sweater,

Polo Ralph Lauren nordic jumper, Thom Browne wool sweater, A.P.C. merino wool sweater. 

Most Stylish of the Week: The CFDA & Tony Awards

This week's post would have almost solely been about the CFDA Awards had I not been late in posting. When I woke up this morning I found a few extra great looks from the Tony Awards last night as well as a few unusual suspects who popped here and there.
Gabe Saporta, Thom Browne (in himself), Zachary Quinto (in Todd Snyder) and Scott Sternbeg (in himself, aka: Band of Outsiders) were the most dapper guys at the event. Funnily enough, all of them only used grey, black and white, which proved once again how simplicity and a good cut are all a man ever needs.
Over at the Tonys Jack Gyllenhaal stole the show, without a doubt. The actor finally stopped looking scruffy and he did so in a classic Tom Ford tux. I am not going to lie, I can't remember anyone ever looking this good in Tom Ford. Ever.
Darren Criss' black outfit was also a winner. I am not normally keen on the black-on-black evening look but here is looks on-point and chic. Alas, the hairstyle is borderline teenage skater and how many times have I emphasised the importance of a good haircut?
Someone who pretty much always rocks is Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He made an appearance at last week's Guy's Choice Awards and I was happy to see him in a light suit by Gant Rugger. The light blue looked chic and classic with the white shirt and the yellow polka dot black tie tied everything together making it interesting.

And now, for a few faces that don't normally appear around here... Cory Monteith, who makes his second appearance on Fashion, Frankly, is looking better than ever after his rehab getaway. The actor looked sharp in a grey suit and tie, which looked young and fresh thanks to the white printed shirt.
Colour was the key point of Patrick Dempsey's airport outfit. His maroon blazer was an understated statement worn over a blue t-shirt and jeans and paired with the Chelsea boots this was a winning casual look.
You might recognise Billy Magnussen from Boardwalk Empire, where he rocked an amazing haircut. The actor attended one of this weekend's pre-Tonys parties in an outfit that, while a little costum-y and only apt for the outdoors, I absolutely loved. It's like tough boy-scout meets adventurous aristocrat.

JustJared, Getty

Wear his Look: Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo

JustJared

You might not recognise him as Moncler's Communications Director but you would surely recognise the beautiful ginger clinging to his arm everywhere. Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo is Jessica Chastain's boyfriend and his style, though under the radar, has been catching my attention he's been spotted keeping good company to his famous girlfriend.
This week he travelled with Chastain to Cannes for the film festival, where he wore the perfect spring look. The base were the classic beige chinos and blue oxford shirt in a perfect fit. He made the outfit chic by adding a navy jersey blazer, for a touch of smart sportswear, and a pair of brown suede espadrilles, very much on trend. A scruffy but controlled grooming touch and aviators topped off this look only a pro can master.

I would recreate the look with a Saturdays Surf NYC oxford shirt, Slowear slim-fit chinos, Missoni knitted blazer for a bit more texture, Castañer suede espadrilles and Thom Browne aviators.

Most Stylish of the Week: Eddie Redmayne's Double Hit

JustJared, Getty

This week we only have the international premieres of 'Les Miserables' to thank for the greatest moments of menswear style. Eddie Redmayne, who is no stranger to Fashion, Frankly,  had two major hits this week. The first, in a deep electric blue suit by Alexander McQueen paired with a statement pocket square and a brown checked tie and the second, in a black Thom Browne suit – you can buy the blazer here – worn with the perfect bowtie. Even though I would normally gravitate towards the statement colour of the first I'd say the second look is the winner. The slim silhouette of the suit suits Eddie's tall and slim build and feels a lot more contemporary.
I'm happy to include Aaron Paul again this week because I love his cool take on the bowtie but also because I recently started watching 'Breaking Bad' and even though he kills it with his performance his rapper style drives me crazy. So it's nice to see him looking fly.
My last favourite this week is Pharrell Williams, one of the few men who can pull off a shot camo tux without even trying. His Moncler Gamme Bleu number would have been out of season in most scenarios but he was in Miami for Art Basel, so it works. I particularly loved the touch the green suede shoes and their golden details added to the look.

On a quest to find Mike Ross' Ties

I first fell in love with this type of ties a while back when I saw this look on Ryan Gosling. I am not the biggest fan of diagonal-striped ties but I find them really interesting when there's only one across or when they're scattered asymmetrically. I went a little crazy trying to find a similar version online but I couldn't and so I gave up.
But again at the end of the summer I was reminded of the tie while I watched the latest season of Suits. Mike Ross sports several models like this in the show. I suspected they were by Thom Browne – who wouldn't with that colour combination, right? – but I seemed to be wrong. So I am making this post out of sheer despair asking for help. Putting a 'Have you seen this tie?' on the side of a milk carton seemed melodramatic. So, please, if you know of any ties like this let me know below on the comments section or on Twitter.
These below are seemingly close (in concept) to what I am looking for. The first two are nice but a tad too boring for me and the third is the perfect stripe design (by Thom Browne) but not the right distribution.

Left to right: Gucci college stripe tie, Gucci diagonal stripe tie, Thom Browne grosgrain stripe tie.

Darren Criss/Blaine Anderson loves a bit of Thom Browne

Lea-Jon.com

You might remember I already posted about Blaine Anderson's (Darren Criss' alter ego in Glee) wardrobe choices a few months ago. I guess that is part of the reason why I like his character so much. That and because the guy is as cool as one can be.
Blaine's style is quite Thom Browne all the time – cropped suit trousers, fitted shirts, perfectly done bow ties. In last week's episode of Glee there were some unusually casual looks as the characters dressed down for a work out (aka: 'booty camp') and a workshop. It was for the latter that Blaine slipped into some more Thom Browne. He wore one of the striped Henley t-shirts I have been dying to have for weeks though for $315 a pop I can't even justify it to myself. For Blaine this is a winner look – it's cool, it fits well and it carries on with his red and blue wardrobe theme, how patriotic!

Barneys.com

He's fly: Blaine Anderson/Darren Criss

NYmag.com, Fox.com

I know that Glee might seem like the last place where a man would find inspiration to dress but before you close the window shaking your head and thinking that I've gone mad look at the pictures above and honestly ask yourself whether you want to look like that. If the answer is no, I don't know what you're doing here.
I am a big Glee fan ever since it started airing but I must say the styling in the show, while apt for the characters, has never been to interesting or particularly fun. Only from season two Kurt's styling started to include McQueen or Marc Jacobs pieces into the wardrobe. Even then it was a style a bit camp I still could not relate to. And then Blaine came around.
It's funny I should blog about this a couple of weeks after my hair style post. Blaine wears his hair exactly like I wear mine and we also share a certain liking for preppy. The only difference is he's more Ivy League and I'd like to think my influences are more Oxford.
In this week's episode of Glee Blaine really outdid himself in terms of styling. His all-grey look for his visit to his old school couldn't have been more Thom Browne if they tried. I spent a good deal of time looking for the exact same pieces in Browne's collections but wasn't successful, though his are not exactly the kind of clothes you buy online.

Barneys.com

If one brilliant look wasn't enough Blaine later wears some more, this time I can confirm, Thom Browne piece. I absolutely love this cardigan. I first saw it about a year ago when someone I work with walked into the office wearing it. In fact, he was wearing it again yesterday.
The cardigan is slightly big on Blaine, which makes me like the slick first look more but I appreciate a bit of high fashion on a mainstream TV show. Especially because it's not the kind of thing most people would even recognise. I would have worn it with a more neutral polo shirt. The red takes away from what could've been a super cool outfit.

Gingham love

For those of you unfamiliar with the man below, you only need to know that his name is Tim Gunn, that he plays the mentor role on Project Runway and that he has never been seen not wearing a suit. I don't normally notice his attire much because he is a very classic man. So it was even more of a surprise to catch him in a red gingham shirt paired with an also scarlet tie. I, then, started thinking how well gingham always works. It doesn't matter how bold the colour is, this checked pattern makes it look smart and fresh. I also love the fact that you don't necessarily have to wear it with plain ties. Horizontal lines and other type of patterns look very cool worn with gingham. I wore one of these combos a few months ago to a graduation. Do you guys wear a lot of gingham?

[Pictures: Project Runway screencaps, JCrew.com, Barneys.com, BrooksBrothers.com]