I used to buy a whole lotta magazines at my old job where I had a monthly budget to spend on ‘em. When that little advantage faded I was completely out of it, but for the last few months my shift went back to magazines again. Fuck reading from a screen when there is paper.

Now where I used to read mags like WAD, I.D. and Dazed and gather inspiration from them on a NEVER basses, I recently discovered Esquire. The American but especially the English version of Esquire is fuckin’ amazing. Now I have to admit that ‘zines for men never really got my attention as much as bullshitty stuff like CosmoGirl and Grazia (easy to digest) because of the high ‘hot’ gayl next door, gadget and car quota. Esquire is not much of that. It’s based around style and gives you great suggestions, interesting reads and good laughs. Plus everything is written very well and it seems that – what they’ve been doing for a while now – really fits in with the sentiment of the era.

Maybe it’s just a ‘getting older’ thing thoo?

My only concern with Esquire is that on the level of ‘authentic’ sartorial suggestion they’re spitting out, they’re gonna run out of suggestions within the next 2 issues. Then again they don’t take themselves to serious either which is a big look for a magazine. That on itself is major inspiration for this internetblog and life.

The Jake Davisses did a little test shot with Josh Peskowitz who’s chief of content for Esquire US. Watch and listen:

Oh and K-Swiss, please GTFO my Test Shots you don’t belong there. Thank you!

Time for some Swurdin sartorial suggestions again.

Suppose you’ve just dropped some serious money on a pair of well-made shoes, or you’re planning to get some.

Well don’t be scared, with some proper care that hefty pricetag will ultimately pay back with shoes that last you a lifetime. Aside from timely resoling and regular shining a pair of all-leather dress shoe asks for another fundamental part of shoecare; shoe trees. Not only do they retain the shape of the shoe, they also absorb unwanted moisture and smell.

And while on it, be sure to steer away from the cheap stuff – like those with the springy backend – and just get the real deal. This means unpolished cedar wood from heel to toe, expensive but the absolute best.

Got mine ages ago at Zwartjes here in Amsterdam, costing a solid 70 bucks, but browsing the web I came across some promising ones at just 25 euros.

Trust me, if ever you want to get really serious about your footwear, these are a necessity.

I was flipping through my Supreme photobook when I realized… This is a branding bible.

Now Supreme isn’t the biggest or well known brand in the world, it’s big in it’s segment and well known in it’s niche. There’s no reason on earth your mother should know about Supreme, so she doesn’t. The people in the know would describe it as an authentic, original and quality brand always pushing it’s boundaries. Sucka free. Supreme is the epitomy of cool.

The brand started in 1994 as a downtown NYC skateshop which started printing tees. Throughout the years it developed into a leading player in the streetwear market and stamp of approval for cool shit through collaborations and endorsements.

If Supreme decided to make some white tees with Hanes it states these are the best, coolest white tees around. If it prints a shirt with Lou Reed on it it’s a sign of respect. A Supreme logo on your shit is a approving head knot to your persona, creative work, brand or whatever.

Supreme’s first moment of shine was a 2 second cameo in Larry Clark movie Kids. Together with the legendary skaterboy Harold Hunter a Supreme rockin’ dude beats the shit out of a local playground thugster.

The brands collabs with rappers like Raekwon, contemporary artists like Damien Hirst, pornstars like Tera Patrick and brands like Nike and The North Face. Always looking for the top notch in their game, best quality products and original rebels.

The book learns you that growth should be in quality first, in quantity second. It learns you how to stay true to your brand values while working with every nameable artist. It learns you the power of collaborations and endorsements. I learns you that ‘living the brand’ is quite an important quality. It learns you that a great product really doesn’t need advertising. It learns you the importance of a great logo.

Every marketeers should have this in it’s possession. In fact: this should be on the shortlist of every school trying to teach anything about building a brand. 16 years of history and clear pictures in a beautiful book.

Go buy this.

Peep the Supreme fall/winter 2010 collection here.

“Tommy Hil was my nigga, and others couldn’t figure. How me and Hilfigga, would move trough with vigga.” – Q-Tip

Today Hilfiger is an ‘established’ maker of American preppy wear, even exploiting their ‘heritage’, but in the early 90’s they faced this same establishment while struggling to find a spot in a very crowded market dominated by Ralph Lauren.

Looking for a different approach it was Tommy’s brother Andy who advised him to examine the potential of hip hop since ‘no one speaks more highly of his clothes than a rapper’ he reasoned.

He was right, sponsoring the great names landed him shout outs by the likes of Grand Puba; “Girbauds hanging baggy, Hilfigers on the top”, Raekwon; “Tommy Hil fly shit with a knot” and most famously Snoop Dogg wearing a Tommy rugby on SNL in ‘94, marking the definitive breakthrough.

In the words of Russel Simmons; “Tommy represents the American Dream. And the black kids, the less successful, buy it because they want to be successful. And then when the white kids see Snoop Doggy Dogg in Tommy Hilfiger, they’ll buy that over Polo. He’s a great example of how the hip-hop community can reposition a company.”

“With hip-hop, Hilfiger brings in all these consultants. They tell him what they want. They want huge logo’s – fine, give them huge logo’s.  A lot of people think they’re tacky, but they sell, man.”

It was the first time a ‘white’ brand embraced the wants of an Afro-American audience. On the one hand this explains the enormous success, on the other hand the decline. In the end Tommy got tangled up in popular culture way too much I think. He didn’t realize that riding a trend means that when the trend is over, so are you.

Tommy’s traditional white consumer steadily backed away from the brand. And worse, the black community got fed up with – rumoured racist – Tommy cashing in big time, perfectly ridiculed in this Spike Lee clip.

Instead of  unsurprisingly ride along with that heritage trend or getting all hipster with their Hilfiger Live thing I so want this in-your-face Tommy to return. That signature bold color blocking would be so refreshing given the ever more minimal looks of today.

I was looking for some summery canvas Oxford shoes when I came across Zigzag footwear.

Like! Especially ’cause they’re one of the most affordable pair of shoes you’ll ever come across. They need some ziggy zaggy lacing thoo, straight lacing sucks in all types of ways, but more about that on Ian’s awesome site. Next to the canvasses the leather variants are also quite fly.

Go get ‘em over at Status Foe.

Yes, another great delivery by Piet Parra. There’s much about this shoe I really like, suede upper, no toecap, great colours but surely these are all about them embroidered cherries right?

I reckon this is Parra’s take on a notorious preppy classic; the critter pant:

“Trousers emblazoned with an embroidered motif, often based on sailing and oceanic imagery, such as anchors, whales or lobsters or in rare instances one leg with lobsters and the other with bowls of butter sauce, critter pants are as baffling to most Americans as they are to the rest of the world.”

Traditionally worn by upper class American men these became the centerpiece of the so-called ‘go-to-hell’ look. This means as much as wearing the loudest colors, most outrageous patterns and craziest checks in a very traditional – even elite – kinda way, showing off how much you don’t care about what other people think of you.

For a more elaborate explanation of the critter pant and many more preppy classics be sure to read this excellent article on the origins of the go-to-hell look.

Now this isn’t the most sexy post ever, but you’re gonna thank me later.

Summer screams for some no socks approach to footwear. Socks and shorts don’t always go well, same goes for an awesomely placed pinroll. Some shoes just don’t allow a no sock approach. Sweaty feet (not me) or uncomfortable lining and stitching can be a real bitch. And those short ankle socks are never, NEVER an option.

Luckily I discovered these ‘invisible’ Falke Sneaker Socks. They fit great with some extra non-slip patches on the heel. Yes comfort. Go get these, even your mother thinks they’re great!

Running out of looks to incorporate into your thoughtfully crafted personal brand, or just plain interested in the fashion styles of the past? Take 50 minutes of your time and watch this excellent BBC documentary on four of the most important style-driven subcultures in post-war Britain and you’ll have enough inspiration for months to come.

In chronological order the video highlights the Teddy Boys, the mods, the early skinheads and the football casuals. By interviewing the icons to their respective movements this makes for some funny anecdotes on how these styles came to be. Little did I know skinheads fancied shaven heads because of American astronauts, and soccer fans chose their attire by looking at Wimbledon.

I started wondering, are we currently in the era of the hipster subculture? Or is youth culture just too fragmented these days for a ‘traditional’, predominant subculture like these to emerge?

Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever learned this much about menswear history in this little time, so you better click play!

“This is the first campaign to truly capture the brand’s 25 year heritage of twisted, pretty American sportswear.”

Yeah that heritage thingy is real big right? Tommy is jumping the bandwagon just on time is seems and brings out a faux Hilfiger family to promote this new direction. Now I’m a big fan of the the flamboyant preppy and streetwear looks the brand is known for, nowadays it just seems like a brand for that guy in sales that doesn’t know how to dress and gets clothed by his girlfriend.

Anyways, wave riding, Polo Rugby rip-off or not, this campaign and prep-wear looks really great. I love the styling, colors and fabrics used. Old money baby!

On a non-preppy note I’d also love to see Tommy bring lines like Sport back. Now they’re just dipping into the authentic trend instead of being ahead of the curve.

There is a ‘web savvy’ asset to this campaign as the different members of the family share they’re made up whereabouts through different kind of social medias. As an internet guy I’m a bit skeptical, why would I like to follow some made up dude talking smack on Twitter? From a brand point of few it’s a great way of giving the company a face and educate it’s audience on style.

I’m curious in which direction this type of brand communication is heading.

Mature yet affordable pretty much sums up what most guys I know are into at the moment, well at least I am. Desert Boot Clarks and deck shoes are both examples of classier shoes that, with their friendly price, successfully won back a place in a market previously dominated by the Nike’s of this world.

Eager to enter this market now is American company G.H. Bass, maker of the quintessential penny loafer: the Weejun.

Pointless fact #1: the name Weejun derives from Norwegian, the original home to this shoe style.

Pointless fact #2: The ‘penny’ in penny loafer comes from the leather slit on top of the shoe, a place people kept their pennies in the days of the payphone.

As much as I hate saying these kinda things, I still think loafers are ‘the next big thing’ in the world of footwear, fueled in part by the guys over at Street Etiquette. What do you think?

And by working together with Mark McNairy and Chloë Sevigny Bass is making good moves in letting the right people know they do loafers best. No kid is gonna care about mediocre quality when paying under a hundred bucks for these great looking shoes right?

To my knowledge these sadly are not (yet) available in the Netherlands, so for now you’re best of hitting the Bay. Good luck!