A few weeks ago, I found myself driving west. For those of you who are familiar with LA geography, that means something for someone from the SGV.
After driving for an hour, I had a small walk to The Formosa (I had to get that sweet, sweet free street parking), I had a quick thought that gave me a chuckle. How was it that a store that was known for selling basic white tee shirts in the #menswear (or rather #heritage)/DTC-brand era is now hosting a swanky friends-and-family cocktail night in West Hollywood?
It really is funny to think about. I always saw them around Reddit as an agnostic Americana brand; you can’t blame me for not really keeping up with them. But things seemed to change over the past two-to-four years. Buck Mason (BM as I call it) started producing vintage-esque straight-leg jeans and HBT pants inspired by the WWII fatigues I own and lust after. The next thing I knew, they started offering 3-roll-2 jackets and even worked with J. Mueser on a small collection of tailoring. They even went on to collaborate with J. Press and Brycelands, which was quite a surprise to my little circle. It certainly felt like BM was angling to become Menswear’s newest Darling. And based on Derek’s avowal, I think they’ve succeeded.
I guess what intrigues me most is that Buck Mason is also starting to become the menswear brand of Los Angeles. Yes, they have stores all around the US, but the company is based in LA (HQ is in West Hollywood) and it definitely shows. The products and styling with a refined tonal palette and use of rugged, vintage-inspired designs feels like something you’d see at the Rose Bowl Flea, be it a vintage seller or a picker. BM definitely leans into this Cali vibe, as they’ve done an editorial called “West Coast Ivy” and even themed their Bryceland’s lookbook after a movie set.
With so much of American fashion being centered around NYC (I get it, it’s always happenin’ over there), I’ve always thought that there was an opportunity for a classic menswear brand to embrace or exude a decidedly LA/SoCal attitude. I had hoped that would’ve been The Bloke, but the pandemic killed the delightful Anglo-Ivy place. It seems that Buck is poised to take that spot!
And so I guess it makes sense that BM was now launching a collaboration with Lee and celebrating with a little party at one of the most historic bars in Los Angeles. On a fuckin’ Thursday Night.
Seeing the pieces in person was cool, considering that I’ve never stepped foot in a Buck Mason store before (whoops). The release was basically various Lee “suits” comprised of jeans and 101J style jackets made of the same fabric. I’m a huge fan of casual suiting (literally) and the trucker jacket + pant combo is severely underrated. The BM revivals and reduces hung in various spots around the bar, paired with a curated selection of true vintage Lee jackets sourced by BMs pickers.
To be clear, I didn’t try on anything. I already own true vintage versions, so that’s fine with me! I was just there to look. And boy was there a lot to look at.
Obviously, Lee was the mandated uniform of the night, with everyone wearing the early release pieces or true vintage; there wasn’t a Levi’s jean in sight. I took the opportunity to wear my favorite Lee jacket: a 70s 101J style jacket in brown twill. As you can see, I styled myself as “50s western” (complete with a rayon sawtooth and western chinos) instead of the typical “vintage-milsurp” that tends to characterize fashion mfers. I just wanted to be a little bit different from all the indigos and cream, though I’ll admit that I do kinda-sorta want a vintage Westerner. Perhaps the BM team will do something like my brown twill in the future (with my cropped proportions to boot)!
Despite feeling the teensiest bit of social anxiety, I ended up enjoying myself immensely!
Even though I have quite a few fashion friends (from NYC mostly) and my efforts to make an appearance at a few shindigs here and there, I still feel rather distant from Big Menswear. I obviously don’t work in the industry, and my blog has become about the philosophy of expressive dressing instead of focusing on products. It does make for funny conversation though, as the attendees (obviously) assumed everyone else works at Buck Mason (retail or corporate) or is a part of the fashion world somehow. I’m just a guy who likes to wear fun clothes and dishes about life on a silly little blog! But I guess the true tether is the fact that I’m friends with Myles, one of BM’s art directors. We became friends after a chance meeting at the latest Throwing Fits x Mohawk Party (we also made eye contact in NYC but didn’t talk). Ever since then, we’ve gotten coffee and drinks on regular occasion, sometimes with one or two other BM guys. I guess that context works!
Menswear parties are still quite rare, so I enjoy the fact that these things let me catch up with buddies I hadn’t seen in a while! I got to see Garret and Maya, who have been busy running the York Manor Market. Steven, Luis, Will, and Gator came through, no doubt taking a respite from slinging some of the vintage in LA. Nico looked sharp in a DB jacket (no Lee?), chatting it up with partygoers in between prepping posts for his popular substack and moodboard. Rob Spangle even made an appearance, wearing his unique designs on tailoring and milspec before he literally gets on a plane to go photograph…something.
Of course, I was also able to invite my local menswear pals Chris, Haocheng (who is at RL now) and James, making it quite an evening. We ended up chatting with a few of the Buck guys and gals and even took a two-block field trip (long LA blocks, mind you) to find some cigs; they just hit when you’re a few cocktails in! The camaraderie really made for a phenomenal evening that certainly will be one of the best memories of 2025. And as you could expect, I couldn’t help but take photos of everything going on. (I’m also glad I did because I didn’t appear in any of the actual event photos).
At the end of the day, this whole thing will be about me wearing fun clothes and taking photos of my friends hanging out (also in cool clothes). It’s just that for this particular evening, the backdrop was Lee, Buck Mason, and West Hollywood. What a truly absurd and epic Thursday night.
I know that this is about two weeks late but hey, I had a family trip to Vancouver and I just moved to a new spot! Just do me a favor and enjoy the photos!
– end of blog post –
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Always a pleasure,
Ethan M. Wong (follow me on IG)
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a little bit of rest 
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