The children old people are grumpy. Mainly because they dislike the Todd Snyder x J. Press collab. Especially because it used the “x”, which is vulgar.

This month’s bonus episode is dedicated to Wes Anderson’s latest entry: The French Dispatch. As we state in the episode, which is available in full to our subscribing Patrons, this is probably the most sartorial film he’s made. Set in the fictional French town of Ennui during the late 60s (we think), the film follows three local stories as told by journalists of the titular magazine. Unlike the Grand Budapest which is a rather grand adventure, this film is much more grounded, allowing for the use of regular costuming. It’s actually quite fitting for our menswear mood as we’ve begun to take inspiration from the 60s-70s, which is quite conducive for going out.

There is just so many different characters, all of which are rather well costumed, providing a fun watch for the keen fashion enthusiast. It even makes me want to watch some old French films just for the fashion. God, I’m such a wanna be indie kid.

You can listen to the preview below or join our Patreon to listen to it in full (where we’ve also talked about Bond) and get access to my Discord channel. I’ve included some photos from the film, as well as a few outfits that fit within this inspiration.

This stream was a fun one to do!

Early on when Philip became a top tier Patron (we thank his full name at the end of every stream and podcast episode), he messaged me extensively about what I liked from ties, from interlining to designs. I always thought that it would make a great topic for a stream, especially since my last talks on ties were pretty old, from a podcast episode to two blog posts: one on true vintage and one about my thrifted picks from the 70s-90s that approximate what I’m after. We finally did that stream, which you can watch above.

Spencer and I go through a few different references for ties, from looking at old 1930s photos to checking out what Drake’s, Beams, and Sevenfold has to offer. While you guys know that thin interlining and untipped edges are great in creating a lightweight piece of neckwear that can feature a tight, narrow knot, the real question up for debate is what makes a good tie design. We discuss stripes, clubs, and motifs, but the one preference that is hardest to convey has to be what we like in a foulard. A good foulard (at least to us) should have a geometric-esque pattern that has good spacing. Too big and it’s a bit awkward; too small and it’s just rigid and boring.

Hopefully watching the stream helps you understand what we like. After all, I do believe that our tie preferences are what helps set us apart from typical suit wearing menswear guys!

Lastly, we had a fun candid poker night with a few of our Patron members. The footage is not currently available, but here’s the context. It was held during the same week that Todd Snyder announced their upcoming collab with J. Press, echoing what Snyder had just did with L.L Bean twice before, as well as the precedent that Rowing Blazers has set since their launch.

Personally, I have no issue with this. To me, this is more about the newer brands profiting off of the heritage ones, rather than a “fellow kids” attempt by these storied ivy brands (let’s not forget the cringy Brooks Brothers x Fila). As this Bloomberg article states, these collabs are quite profitable for all the parties, especially for Todd (who has done plenty of collabs before). Unfortunately, it seems a few menswear stalwarts on FB and IG are not fans of it. Some of them were quite surprised how random and quick it seemed, despite the fact that producing garments takes months of preparation, as well as the fact that Todd is quite well connected within menswear (ACL has done work for J. Press and presumably has a close relationship to Todd).

You can certainly tell what our perspective on the matter is, but I think it’s best summarized by Laura’s blog post here.

Don’t forget to support us on Patreon to get some extra content and access to our exclusive Discord. Catch us streaming on Twitch every Wednesday and Saturday or watch the clips on Youtube (like our rundown of SadHead Sunday, where you guys get to submit your fits for discussion).

Oh and don’t forget, we do a podcast every two weeks!

Buh-bye!

 EthanMWong | StyleandDirection

The Podcast is produced by MJ.