Valentino Menswear campaign '12

I've never really been in love with Valentino's menswear collections, but this campaign is really nice, in fact, it's rather beautiful. So simple and so much space and visibility given to the detail and shape of the garments, and hence how it opts for black and white. I also really love how the model gives off a clean, tamed and polished Steve McQueen vibe. This works because it's not trying painfully hard to be anything contrived or edgy or theatrical. Instead, it's simple and assured.

source: fashion gone rogue

Male Muse: for the next three months

Since July, I've been desperately seeking a new male muse - a man with a unique style to emulate and be inspired by, for the We rob banks SS13 ranges. I can't wait to play around and design with witty colours and prints, like polka dots, for menswear, thanks to my muse.

Et voila! Il est a là Surry Hills boy with a carefree but chic approach to dressing. An individual who is looking for something different and new, with interesting details. Yet still, he believes the ultimate sartorial solution is a button-up shirt and to master "the art of the pants roll". He likes to stand out to a certain extent without looking like victim.

He is somewhat inspired by a Spanish surreal artist, and lesser-known style icon with the wacky mustache, Salvador Dali, who was a dandy through and through. Hence, his wardrobe is part indie hipster, part sharp dandy, and all effortless, starting out with thrift store finds, then developing a taste for impressive vintage-inspired designs when his career as an artist/illustrator took off.

His bicycle is his daily commute. Oscar Wilde, and Bruce Wayne are his heroes. His favourite pastime is rocking the guitar, photography, drinking black coffee, and sniffing old books. He is a romantic at heart, has Peter Pan complex, and delights in eclectic prints in menswear, and old-school checks and plaids.

Male Muse: Young Michael Caine

Most young people think of Alfred the butler, but he made a bigger impression on me in his 1966 film 'Alfie'. Sir Michael Caine was one of the sharpest dressers in 1960's London. He eschewed the era's style in favour of the kind of restrained but energetic tailoring that's entirely relevant today. See him demonstrating the effect of a good suit on beautiful women.

Super snazzy old European men

If there's one thing we need borrow from Europe, other than long lazy lunches, because 30 minutes for work lunch break is torture (resulting in indigestion and a burned oesophagus), is well-dressed dapper older men. These gentlemen really put us to shame. Is there anything more happy-sigh inducing than seeing a distinguished older gentleman with his salt and pepper hair, in a perfectly tailored suit, biking around in the afternoon to do some errands? Maybe when his purple socks match his paisley pocket square, and his tortoise-shell glasses perfectly frame his face. Everything about snazzily put-together old men is awesome, mostly because it still seems a bit whimsical to me. There is something so nostalgic about it, despite me never having lived in a time or geographic location where retired men dressing like that was the norm. It's as rare as seeing a unicorn, here in Australia! And if you ever catch them gathered together in a park on a sunny aprés midi, sipping wine and reading the papers, or playing chess, your heart will explode.

Street Style: Tommy Ton

I finally got round to looking at all of my favourite street-shooter, Tommy Ton's streetstyle shots in Milan and London of the menswear season just gone, and these are my favourites.

sources: gqfashion.tumblr.com, jakandjil.com

Shake Appeal F/W 2012 Teen Dream

I am won by the combination of boyish charm and easiness with a certain smartness. Initially, I noticed the lack of warmth, considering it was a winter collection. But I soon find out this label is based in Bangkok (city I was born in!), so shorts and chino pants are probably more fitting for Thai winters.