The Friday Read: Panorama 2016, The Levi’s 505C and Radio Kangol

Editor’s note: Expect these posts once a week on Fridays — consider this a jumpstart on reading for your weekend downtime. Expect a mix of style and non-style content. For more entries, click here.  

It’s quite tough to believe it’s already Friday around these parts — it genuinely seems like New York Fashion Week: Men’s just wrapped, and it also feels as if I was just in Michigan to attend my good friend Matt’s wedding (in style, of course). However, quick weekend trips tend to call for a quick turnaround time, and a busy week thereafter. Did you get the chance to catch all the content we pumped out this week at The Style Guide?  To recap — that includes a new suggestion for styling twill pants, brought to you by Savane. Here’s a hint: Take the brand’s Premium Flex Twill Pant and match them up with other dependable style staples; seriously, it’s all there. Or perhaps you’re in the mood to do some shopping? We’ve got you covered there, too — grab one of the best men’s dive watches via this site’s latest Online Shopping Picks post.  And lastly, let’s look ahead to the weekend — I’m quite excited to check out the first-ever Panorama festival this Saturday in NYC. It’s a cultural mash-up of art, technology and music, and that means some interesting exhibits, delicious food and drink and a bevy of great tunes from stellar artists — namely, personal favorites like The National, Sufjan Stevens and Oh Wonder, capped off by a heck of a headliner in Kendrick Lamar. Of course, I’m very much looking forward to getting back to Randall’s Island, site of this year’s Governors Ball music festival, and bringing along some great #menswear for the ride. You can check out my Instagram for a full rundown of the day’s festivities in real time, and you can also follow along on Twitter. In the meantime, let’s plug in and look back on the week in #menswear.

Buck Mason - Timeless Design. Made in America.

  • Speaking of that lauded hashtag, Fashion Beans covers eight men’s street style legends to know — like, right now. It’s a great list, packed with plenty of style inspiration for anyone interested in men’s style.
  • If you’ve got a couple grand to drop, take a look at the newest watch from Piaget, the super-sharp and crisp Piaget Polo S watch — it’s the pricier answer to the best men’s dive watches covered here.
  • If you need a new pair of jeans (and who doesn’t?), take a look at the very cool, very retro and yet very of-the-moment denim just launched by Levi’s — the Levi’s 505C is an update on an iconic, yet under-the-radar, style worn by rock stars and pop culture icons alike for decades. The good news for you is that the style comes in both a fresh light wash and a classic dark wash, among other options. And if I didn’t know any better, I’d tell you to keep your eyes peeled on Instagram this weekend for some music festival content surrounding these jeans (wink, wink).
  • And speaking of brands that sit at the unique intersection of music and heritage — lovers of viral tunes are now set with a plethora of constantly updated global indie music, new from Radio Kangol. It’s an effort launched this week by the global headwear & lifestyle brand Kangol, and it uses a well-curated, deep series of intelligent-minded music labels to stream tracks that run the gamut from hip-hop to reggae to dance. It’s all in line with the brand’s connections to the music industry and its place on the heads of style and hip-hop icons alike — give it a listen here.

Last but not least….

  • Herschel Supply is teaming up with creative platform BHW to launch a series of ApexKnit backpacks that make use of a densely woven, high-tensile yarn to provide a hint of stretch and performance in the brand’s classic backpack silhouette; these backpacks are sleek, city-ready and commuter-friendly.
  • Speaking of great backpacks — grab one (or five) stylish backpacks for summer travel via my latest post on The Manual — it won’t let you down, promise!

That’s all for now — stay tuned for more style content from Panorama over on Instagram, and have a (very) stylish weekend in the meantime,

-Beau

The Friday Read: Spring Sneakers, Brian Johnson and What Women Really Think of Menswear

Editor’s note: Expect these posts once a week on Fridays — consider this a jumpstart on reading for your weekend downtime. Expect a mix of style and non-style content. For more entries, click here.  

So, did you survive Coachella last weekend? (Kidding? Maybe? If you went, how was it?) And how about this past week? It was another one that flew by, what with several press previews to check out from some great brands, ranging from Herschel to Jason Scott (the brand’s 8th Avenue store is very much worth a look if ever you find yourself in NYC, and the knitwear is exceptionally soft). On another press preview-related note, if you haven’t given the folks at AVI-8 Watches a look, their military-inspired timepieces are rugged, durable, and sure to get better in the coming montsh. It’s exciting to be able to see what’s happening in the menswear world at large, and you can look for a lot of that content in the coming weeks and months via my writing work at The Manual! And with fall press previews already ramping up, that means another thing in this moment, more importantly — spring is officially here (confusing, right?). If you’re heading out on a spring bar crawl, we’ve got some gear to get you ready. And if you’re wondering what to wear for a casual spring weekend, knock yourself out. I hope the weather’s nice in your neck of the woods — we’ve got a great one in the works here. Get some styling inspiration for yourself (if need be) via my Instagram. And stay stylish in the meantime!

  • High fashion often leaves something out of the equation for those of us more interested in matters purely related to “style” — so the swirling rumors that a high-fashion designer (or designers) might join the more everyman-focused Calvin Klein are pretty interesting, to say the least.
  • Megan Collins (a good friend of The Style Guide) and some other stylish ladies spoke to Esquire.com earlier this week about what women really think of menswear trends — it’s a pretty neat piece!
  • Do you have a great pair of classic white sneakers in your arsenal as of yet? Men’s Journal recommends the five best pairs of white sneakers to wear this spring.
  • Long Read of the Week: It was big news in my neck of the woods when it was announced that Axl Rose would replace Brian Johnson in AC/DC. If you’re a hard rock fan (read: A fan of one of the greatest bands in the world, for that matter), Brian himself. issued a really heartbreaking letter about how his hearing issues forced him to stop performing in AC/DC. Tough stuff to read — if you’re in a tough spot as to what to do about your tickets, that makes two of us!

But wait, there’s more menswear!

  • There’s perhaps no brand associated more with the water — and uniquely styled looks built around that environment — than SWIMS. Learn about the brand’s Spring 2016 collection via my post this week at The Manual!
  • Grab a sharp pair of spring sneakers via this very Web site — if you missed that post when it originally ran, we’ll give you a pass (this time).

Enjoy the weekend, folks!

Thanks, as always, for reading,

-Beau