Back in 5

Oh dear, the post bag here at The Established Man HQ is larger than a sack full of mail on it's way to a certain Mr. S.Claus, we're struggling with Christmas Party overload and our nearest and dearest feeling the need that they simply must see everyone before the 25th December or otherwise.....otherwise you just see them in 2009..you crazy fools. 

Our new diet consists of various vitamin supplements, gallons of green tea, Evian grabbed in the back of taxis and apples eaten on the way to wherever it might be....and thank GOD for the Worthers Original we discovered in the glove box of the trusty staff Audi last night..sugar rush all the way! And in no way, shape, or form do we consume any alcohol...that is Christmas Party suicide! You're done for...just think LA all the way..Elderflower and Soda is a our favored tipple.

Yes, silly season is here and we are, of course persevering, but beneath a layer of Uniqlo's finest Mongolian cashmere struggling at the same time. Time for bed is around 3am, meetings at 8am are not exactly a good combo regardless if its breakfast at Cecconi's or not! The idea of hopping around town on a freezing December night to a mixture of drinks, dinners and parties is enough to make the entire office here hide under the desk and take shelter from impending invitation overload, we're done mentally with it all..roll on Welsh Blankets and tea..but in reality there is still two weeks left of this madness and we want out ASAP!

So expect a trickling of new posts until the New Year, we're simply just never here, and despite loving the plethora of Blackberry Bold's and Storm's that have swept through the office like an electronic secret Santa-mash-up they are not ideal for writing articles and blog posts during a caught moment sitting in the traffic on the M40 back from a day in the Cotswold's!

So happy holidays people...we will be back..as soon as we've recovered!

TAXI!

The Established Man touched down finally after the NY jaunt, expect a splash of transatlantic features on the way detailing our favorite NYC hangouts and establishments. We also nipped over to Philadelphia for a while so expect a little guide to what to do there as well. Our packed flight touched down to a misty and murky London on Tuesday morning in the midst of rush hour madness and with a list of to do's the length of the bible to get through we were quietly dreading how long it would take to return to HQ and due to our gluttonous quantities of baggage the tube was not even a flicker of thought. No, a car was needed. We ditched the Addison Lee account a long time ago, what with rude staff, expensive fares and generally a steaming pile of you know what to sum up their service. We've an equal distaste for London Cabbies, it seems a black cab gives one the immediate right to break every rule in the Highway Code and treat other road users, cyclists and those on foot as second class citizens so we've not taken a cab in a long time as a protest to their outlandish attitude to London driving.

The options are wearing thin as you've probably guessed but thankfully ClimateCars came along and we've been hooked ever since. This eco-friendly car service consists of leather upholstered Prius's that roam around London filled with the days papers and a shed load of glossies for one to flick through, as well as carbon neutral mineral water to sip on whilst negotiating the M4 or any other swift little shortcut your friendly driver will have up his sleeve and they're by far one of the cheapest car services around. We're big fans and long may they continue! Regularly booked up so get in there quick!

www.climatecars.com

T 0207 350 5960

The G-Wiz is dead!

"Things are gonna turn nasty" was the unanimous reaction in The Established Man office to the newly and very eco-friendly Mini E hitting the streets of London any time soon. We can already see the residents of Kensington & Chelsea, Islington, Hampstead and every other bourgeoisie part of London trading in their has-been G-Wiz's and old-hat Toyota Prius's for what must be one of the chicest Eco-mobiles to hit the roads. With Mini Cooper S styling paired with some very weird yellow motifs, don't ask us what that is about, and an interior the colour of a small bird your Auntie Mildred might keep in a cage at her flat in Torquay, expect this car to be noticed in the right way unlike like your Foxtons Mini which normally donates a f***wit is driving it.

The only snag; you can't actually buy one. Trust us we've looked into this! It'll hit the streets of LA LA land and NYC first and then arrive in London town on a leasing arrangement, perhaps in time for bonus-stripped bankers to trade in their Porsche 911's for a wholly friendlier form of motoring. With an estimated mileage of 150 miles on a full charge and equally as impressive performance figures we're tempted to join that waiting list which must be almost as bad as a membership to some of London's most exclusive private clubs...the cost of moral motoring.

The Great Winter Boot Debacle

Now without sounding like the male equivalents of The Devil Wears Prada or Sex in the City we at The Established Man do take pride in our appearance. So with wet weather in London and a chilling wind whipping off the Atlantic in NYC it's clear that our bedraggled collection of tatty Converse and even tattier Plimsolls that cost a fiver in Brick Lane were not going to cut it in terms of both cutting a stylish dash but also avoiding trench-foot. It was time for those winter boots to emerge from our closets, yet this one staple item appears rather underrepresented in The Established Man shoe cupboard. 

We thought it would be a simple task but after schlepping around every department store, boutique and online store it appeared that a good pair of boots for a relatively affordable price was out of the question. How we lusted after those Maison Martin Margiela distressed boots that would have a required one's own personal army to get them off, or the fisherman's boots that we're sure people use to muck out stables or gut fish whilst wearing them but they were non-starters either on price or comfort.

Our office relocation to New York for two weeks meant that we arrived here with a pair of B-store brown Oxfords which did not survived the journey well, worse than a piece of rare porcelain shipped off to Aunt Sally in Florida, they have bummed as the locals here would say. But after a lengthy walk around Central Park on Monday to escape the madness of Manhattan that shining beacon of male retail therapy should come into eye shot, yes, we had chanced upon Barney's, Ta da! Boy did Barney's do us proud, a pair of Fiorentini+Baker boots later, reduced as well, we are now suitably soled for the coming cold season. Their boots are wonderfully comfortable and come looking a little pre-distressed, meaning we won't have to spend hours rubbing them against abrasive surfaces to look like they've spent one too many nights in Camden.

www.fiorentini+baker.com

I'm dreaming of a bright Christmas

Those clever folks over at Topshop know how to create a stir and we're not surprised to see them at it again..damn their savvy-snappy-ness. To launch Christmas over at the newly opened monstrous Westfield Shopping Centre in White City they've commissioned British Fashion Boy of the moment, Gareth Pugh to design them a Christmas tree and in true Pugh style don't expect a Silver Fir or a Norwegian Spruce felled from the forests of Scandinavia and lightly dusted with snow. 

This is a lumberjack-free Christmas Tree. For this time around Christmas appears to be influenced by the conceptual artists of the last century so think Dan Flavin and a hint to Minimalism as you peruse those bright white fluorescent bulbs configured in the shape of a 'Nightmare at Christmas' tree. Ray Bans at the ready then.

Tour De France

Gosh that Zaha Hadid is a busy lady, and as first lady of architecture she is in demand as a hot chocolate and cheese fondue on the mountains of Gstaad. We loved her project for BMW a few years ago which saw the factory merge with the office spaces as well as the recent nomination in the RIBA Stirling Architecture Prize 2008 for her Nordpark Cable Railway which saw Hadid collaborate with railway engineers in creating a new mountain railway to connect mountain villages with the city of Innsbruck. Her sensuous glass canopies, individual in their shape at each of the four stations, made us want to go up the mountain right away.

But now Hadid has been collaborating not with prestigious car makers or the railway man but with the French fashion house Chanel and its head honcho Karl Lagerfeld in creating a pavillion that will travel the world with a show entitled 'Mobile Art' in which 15 contemporary art superstars such as Daniel Buren and Sophie Calle have been asked to create a piece that is inspired by Chanel. So cue an enormous quilted pink Chanel bag that will have Park Avenue Princesses lusting after one for their uptown apartments amongst the other artworks on show.

This is Hadid's first ever work in New York, and despite it's transient tendencies, for the pavilion will move on to London and Paris soon, its fresh in from the East after resting in Hong Kong and Tokyo. Hadid rather likes the fact that this white folly full of Chanel inspired artworks creates a buzz and then moves on to pastures new. Catch it in London next year.

New York until tomorrow

London, May 2009

Moscow, October 2009

Paris, February 2010

www.chanel-mobileart.com

The perfect fit

Finding the perfect fitting tee-shirt has become something of an obsession here at The Established Man towers, from the very expensive to the ridiculously affordable we've pounded the pavements, or in this instance, sidewalks, over and over again in hunt of simple tee's, the colour usually black, white or grey, hey it's a basic item after all but the way it fits is of paramount importance. 

An afternoon of gallery overload checking out the shows in Chelsea yesterday meant that we happened to chance upon an American Apparel on the way home, not difficult in this city as they have become as commonplace as a Duane Reade. But it seemed the ideal opportunity to just check what basics were in and if we might chance upon some sterling buys. What with it about to get cold soon here the rails were jam-packed with jersey and fleece and heavier fabric for those chilly times ahead but we just stocked up on a very basic grey and white v-neck tee, simple and fits like a glove. The ombre 'sunset' t-shirt might be added to our luggage too for the return to London town.

What American Apparel do right is to offer such amazing choice in its range of colours and fit, if we'd wanted to we could have gone for a deep v-neck tee shirt in a vibrant purple or a hooded top with spots on....actually we've got that already. Oooops.

www.americanapparel.net

Gig Pig

We've been long time fans of the band The Kills since 2004 when they played Frieze Music, an outpost of the Frieze Art Fair. That night saw they took to the stage before the Kaiser Chiefs debuted, this being at a time when the majority of people knew little as to whom all these bands were. 

This resulted in us being hooked and ordering their album No Wow immediately and following their path to being as celebrated as they are today. Back then it was more rocky and raw, today that rawness is still very much there when Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart take to the stage. Their most recent album Midnight Boom has been on repeat in our vintage Bang & Olufsen deck for quite some time now and it never wears thin the moment we listen to it. This is one of the most talented duo's the UK music scene has to offer and the last time we caught them live in Oxford they have lost none of what they displayed in 2004, just a few more new songs and a fantastic energy.

The Kills tour began a few days ago and finishes on 21st November, if you're after one of the most intense gigs to be had then this is one ticket for you. 

www.thekills.tv

Frequent Flyer

The glamour of flying was brushed of air stewardesses uniforms a while ago.It now sadly resembles a journey similar to that of a farm animal off to market but as frequent flyers that we are here at The Established Man there is only one airline of choice for our frequent to-ing and fro-ing across the Atlantic to New York and LA. British Airways was the usual staff travel choice but with Terminal 5's disastrous opening, less then friendly staff and a rather dated image Virgin has toppled their reign in our frequent flyer mileage total. 

Why? It's very simple, Virgin works...most of the time...if you have money to splurge on Upper Class it offers far more benefits than that of BA with a cheaper price tag and even in the back Premium Economy and Economy is a better bet. One is constantly well fed and watered and the staff have a cheer that BA staff lost a while ago. On every flight The Established Man team seem to get moved forward into areas of vast legroom, yesterday it was as if Wembley Stadium had appeared in front of our feet as we out splayed our limbs!

We're still not convinced by the host of business class only carriers...dwindling by the day as they cease trading... it seems Virgin is the only way to go when heading West...East is another story.

www.virgin-atlantic.com

Nothing like a collaboration

There's 9 days to go until the latest collaboration between those savvy Swedes at H&M and Comme des Garcons hit the rails and we're wondering if there will be quite the madness that ensues the moment one of these collections hits the stores, it's become an annual event for hundreds of wailing consumers, predominantly female one must hasten to add, to barricade the doors of their nearest H&M and max out their credit cards but this is not their usual style. Its a more intelligent and less brazen sense of dressing.

It seems a very clever move to collaborate with Comme Des Garcons during these times of a supposed recession. Here is a designer label that is not flashy and unbuttoned to the waist like Mr. Cavalli and Mr's Dolce & Gabbana. It has a loyal following of creatives who certainly do not bare all and just go about their business, albeit in a highly sophisticated means. The Established Man was overflowing with joy when we heard the news that  Rei Kawakubo will design a collection for women and men to debut on November 13th. Accessories too will grace many and H&M and even a unisex fragrance. Its the full Comme des Garcons experience and is sure to be a winner.

We've had a sneak preview of the collection already and have a our list carefully placed in our lapel pocket. Looking at the suits and shirts is appears the cut if very much on the bias. The shirts, always a star seller, feature the iconic patchwork technique used by the label as well as polka dots. A classic belted trench and little black jacket are sure to be whipped off the rails in no time at all. Those dots appear to have run a riot and are splashed on tee shirts which we certainly want a few of.

Start writing your list now

H&M & Comme des Garcons in stores on 13th November

www.hm.com

Go Obama

US election fever has grasped us all here since way back, many an evening was spent by the TV and on CNN.com when Hilary and Obama were going it head to head. Our loathing of Sarah Palin has gradually grown to the point where the mere mention of her name instigates shivers down our spines.

The Established Man has not yet touched down in the US of A but our man on the ground in NY tells us that is is Obamaville there and to expect an Obama victory this week. We'll be watching closely and will be in the thick of it as soon as we land on Wednesday night. Here's hoping what should happen does happen..the thought of a President worse than George Bush..who'd have thought...sends the fear of god into us all.

Get out and VOTE 

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Burrrrrrrrrr, its freezing. We're rather chilly and have been all weekend; not helped by a bout of manflu in The Established Man offices. So as well as being plied with copious amounts of Vitamin C, Zinc, Echinacea and consuming enough lemon & ginger tea to make a new age follower start seeing citrus trees in their sleep we need to wear the right clothes. No segment of bare flesh must be touched by the bitterness that appears to have swept the British Isles. So it was time to binge out of cashmere this morning, gloves, hats, scarves, socks....you name it, we're wearing it today. Our icon is the humble Yettie

So it was off to Marc Jacobs for a some of the most reasonably priced designer cashmere seen, we loaded up on socks, hats and gloves there in a range of suitably wintery colours..think navy, burgundy, dark green. There was a splurge on a Navy cashmere zip-up hooded top but this is true cashmere heaven.

On the scarf front Burberry have a discount store way out East so we schlepped over there and bought an over sized plaid scarf...very on trend and as cosy as a country cottage. For sweaters our Lady underneath the Westway on Portabello Road every Friday supplies us with jumpers in all manner of states and colours for a tenner and the holes just add a rather dishevelled touch.

The item of lust has to be A.P.C's Union Suit.....a winning winter warmer.

www.apc.fr

www.marcjacobs.com

Four-wheeled Friend

Having an interest in cars is not really the done thing these days, its not terribly eco-friendly let's face it but when one needs to escape for a while to bumbleville it's certainly not going to be served by this country's rather inadequate public transport system. So therefore the mind wonders to what might be the best motor for the job? With a long drive along the M4 in store tomorrow afternoon and a weekend of muddy lanes what would be the perfect mode of transport?

For many years now The Established Man office have been lusting after a Range Rover, big, comfy and a schoolboy dream but they now tread a fine line between rap star and Sloane, obviously ours would be filthy as our current car collection is, and it wouldn't be a 'Chelsea Tractor' of sorts. We would actually take it off-road, a rarity these days and they have gotten more eco-friendly of late with cleaner diesel engines. In town it can sometimes like be steering an oil tanker in the small streets of Hampstead but in the hills it is the beast of choice. Farmer Giles would have a Land Rover Defender but on a motorway run it's still not refined enough and can resemble doing power plates in a motor car.

But what else is there to choose from for the hermit like existence that we here lust after on regular basis? Audi is always on the tip of our tongues whenever a motor-esque debate kicks off, we love our compact yet prestigious A3 but for a longtime have been thinking an Allroad is the perfect urban/rural mode of transport. Its a normal A6 estate but one with four-wheel drive..quattro is in Audi's blood after all. It looks more meaty than the average A6 and is a delight to drive in and out of town, particularly with a 3.0 litre diesel engine. There's also the Audi Q7, the enormous 'proper' four-wheel drive, it's the closest thing to driving a Hummer in this country and we're not convinced. A smaller Q5 launches soon so expect a report when someone here manages to blag one for the day!

What real tickles our tastebuds is the prospect of crossover four wheel drives, much like the Allroad. Audi is planning a smaller Allroad based on the A4 which has us alight with excitement and MINI also have been testing a car in Germany which could hail the first ever 4x4 mini, if that's the case our order will be one of the first.

Down South

Not an afternoon for nipping about town as the hail fell when we left HQ but with something as special in store as there was Arctic conditions needn't cause a hindrance. Artangel create site specific art commissions and an unlikely part of South London just near Elephant & Castle provided a blank, or in this instance disused canvas for British artist Roger Hiorns. A former tenement block, this low-rise derelict development greets the visitor with boarded up windows and a rather harsh atmosphere. But a huddling dozen or so individuals gave a clue that something interesting lay behind the graffiti plastered walls. 

After putting on a pair of rather fetching blue Dunlop wellington boots, Artangel think of everything...we had a look. This little flat has been covered in copper sulphate resulting in a chemical reaction. This mythical and fantasy like realm of vivid blue crystals of all manner of shapes and sizes was like stepping into a different land. Many an awe-induced face explored this little warren whilst we were there and definitely one to see before it ends next week. 

www.artangel.org.uk

Country Gent

Image courtesy of Barbour A/W08

Image courtesy of D&G (A/W 08 Ad Campaign)

It seemed rather apt that during our lunch break today the BBC's iplayer should provide the entertainment; meanwhile Jonathan Ross was being suspended and Russell Brand was enjoying his sudden free-time no doubt. But away from Radio 2 and those now infamous telephone messages the BBC still produces some very good quality TV and what with many a supper both attended and hosted this week The Established Man missed "British Style Genius" earlier this week and needed a necessary catch up.

The subject was perfectly timed what with our trip to the country looming tomorrow afternoon, the theme this week was By Royal Appointment - The Country Look; and what a look it is, classic British fashion at its best and some of the most important British fashion and attire makers were all featured, Aquascutum, Burberry, Luella and Barbour to name but a few. What started with the Royal Family gradually transcended the fashion chain and from Sloane Ranger to Hoxton Hipster British country style can often be seen in both obvious and subtle dress statements, you only have to look at the D&G A/W08 collection and ad campaign to see the influence of dressing in the shires.

Barbour is a brand that we here at The Established Man towers love and always have done. Its an item of clothing that one seems to grow up with, many a school in this country make it clear that a Barbour is part of the uniform and from trips to the Scottish Highlands to scooting around Paris they are the best kit of the job. A recent addition in our wardrobes earlier this year was a Barbour International A7, we had to ring around the entire country to source one as every hipster worth their weight seemed to have snapped one up as seen at music festivals all summer. Thankfully our friends at Harrods were able to track one down. It really has been the perfect jacket, a more fitted Barbour with a subtle biker edge seen in the snugger fit, belted waist and angled pocket on the left breast, it harks of the outerwear Barbour designed specifically for the off road biking fraternity. It certainly gets many a comment too out an about too. A worthwhile investment.

www.bbc.co.uk/britishstylegenius/

www.barbour.com

 

Culture Vulture

Photo: Todd White/White Cube

A trip to the East End seamlessly entails a visit to one or two galleries these days, despite many an East End gallerist deciding to up sticks to the nether regions around Oxford Street in Fitzrovia there are still galleries lined up like Mini-Marts.

 

White Cube triggered this migration to the East many moons ago and their large airy gallery still holds court in Hoxton Square. The current show almost seemed like a Christmas display at Harvey Nichols but on closer inspection and a quick scan of the press release there appears rather more to it. Artist Josiah McElheny has created what might appear as a mini solar system but it is in fact a play on the lighting at the Met Opera in New York..the opera he went to see can't have been that interesting then...yet it also articulates the Big Bang and society's handling of modernity.

On the other side of the square resides the latest new addition. It's so new that by the looks of things that the gallery's overly smug London Director appeared as if he had not even taken his GCSE's yet, the Sales girl we liaised with appeared like some sort of robot in her lack of ease.  Yvon Lambert keep galleries in New York and Paris so it was only natural that London should come a calling. Their airy, meandering gallery had sadly been targeted by thieves the day we popped in; not the art one must add but some rather expensive Apple Macs. It wasn't a show that had us reaching for our wallets but an interesting one all the same. Artist Carlos Amorales has created a body of work that deals with what might happen when one is lost in a major urban centre, a reoccurring dream he has himself apparently. Downstairs there is a rather harsh installation of a conurbation and upstairs appears a shattered black bird, something Eagle like about it. 

Josiah McElheny: Island Universe

Until 15th November

www.whitecube.com

Carlos Amorales

Until 5th November

www.yvon-lambert.com

Behind the bikeshed

We boarded The Established Man's trusty steed..a black Vespa and headed to the East End for a long lunch today. Our favorite lunch spot there is Rochelle Canteen, something of a hidden gem in the old bikeshed of the former Rochelle School. You have to buzz to be let in and there sits this little treasure. Today the school is converted into studios filled with such talented names as Giles Deacon, Luella and Katie Hillier and you'll often be sitting next to them in the canteen, if not it will be another artist, fashion-type or interesting soul. 

Today we feasted on the most enormous and succulent pork chop with a swede mash as well as smoked haddock in a wonderfully rich sauce on toast, our fellow diners had delicious fish and lamb's neck with chickpeas. Expect a seasonal British menu and some of the most hearty puddings in town. 

Let's keep this gem between us...

Rochelle Canteen

Old School

Arnold Circus

London

E2 7ES

Check it

From top to bottom

Red Check £6 Cancer Research, Chichester

Blue&White £120 APC Madras

Turqoise Check £19 Uniqlo

Red&White £9 H&M Kids

Green  $14 Beacon's Closet, NY

Blue Check $3 Salvation Army, NY

Red&White £15 H&M

Everywhere one goes at the moment there appears to be a veritable barrage of plaid, we all knew it was going to be a huge trend when it was paraded down the catwalks of NY, Paris and Milan during Men's fashion weeks a while ago resulting in what one might mistake as a Lumberjack convention. Go to any gig, party, hell...everywhere and it's there in a host of multicoloured checks, rather a cheering sight in these soon to be austere times.

The simplicity of a plaid shirt or jacket must be one of the reasons why it has exploded and it really is a very cheap trend to encapsulate, go to any charity shop, thrift store, vintage store and there always seems to be a bit of check peeping out from amongst the rails. The closets here appear to be spitting plaid shirts out of every orifice, the majority of them second-hand finds that have not cost more then a few pounds. On a recent scout of the high street the best we found were Uniqlo and H&M Children's section...we picked up a couple of shirts there for £9.00, a steal.

The Right Gear

Its always a treat to have a trip out of town and this weekend an invitation to the Cotswolds is not to be turned down. The thoughts of long walks amongst the autumn leaves and fresh air is enough to make anyone clamber from their desk to the nearest train destined for greener pastures. 

However one needs to be suitably clad for such jaunts away and it appears that wellington boot supplies here at The Established Man HQ have diminished significantly since the wash out that was Bestival in September; the smell in the car the other day would lead us to think they are still in the boot...or still in a field in the Isle of Wight. Either way not an option for the weekend coming!

So with a wellington boot crisis in full swing this morning there appeared to be numerous options online and in the stores. Marc Jacobs on Mount Street always have a good selection and they are ridiculously good value but they are 'fashion' wellies I am always assured when I pop in so think of them as a sort of soft-roader car as opposed to the wellington boot of choice, The Hunter, which is very much the Range Rover of the rubber boot world.

The place to purchase such highly esteemed wellies is Mole Valley Farmers, a chain of stores catering to every need one might have in the country beyond sheep dipping, I've still not quite got my head round this pastime, and hedgerow cutting, the girl on the telephone was a joy to deal with and there's a pair of hunters; cheaper than everywhere else it must be added, in the post just in time for a swift exit out of London on Friday afternoon..that's what I call service.

www.molevalleyfarmers.com

Nothing like a freebie

There happened to be enough spare time today to hop on my bicycle and meander down to Covent Garden to the Nickel Men's Spa and use a voucher that happened to appear in a goody bag from the MAN show during London Fashion Week a month or so ago for a free rescue facial. Normally these would be passed along to whomever but after a busy September and October it was the ideal remedy and there's now a very cleansed face to prove it; the perfect way to relax and it appears there are all manner of treatments on offer at this centrally located spa.

www.nickelspalondon.co.uk

Introduction

Welcome to a new blog for the very dapper man about town in modern times. Think of this as a sort of notebook to record one's thoughts and images of anything that intrigues both the eye and the mind of The Established Man of today. So that could be all manner of things; fashion, transportation, travel, food, culture and magical snippets. 

As I sit here typing this in London on a crisp October evening it appears the pound slips even further against the Dollar and the word's on everyones lips seem to be "Credit Crunch" and "Recession". Henceforth expect a fair few posts over the coming days of thrifty ways to stay contented and stylish without the need to splurge.

In a week or so I'll be in New York for a while to see what gallery and museum shows are on, some good old New York Street street style and general fashion and style posts.