People in New York really dress up. I've noticed this in the past, particularly when going out, but it struck home strongly during our launch party for the second issue of the magazine last week.
The party itself was crazy. Held over the two floors of the new Buck Mason store in Soho, there were over 500 people at one point. Magazines ran out, drink ran out, the in-house bar downstairs had to be raided at one point. New York really turned up.
But across the room I kept on spotting interesting outfits - ones that were more dressed up, more unusual, more expressive. Something kept on catching my eye, whether it was brightly striped shetlands or an all-black outfit with a half dozen variations in tone and texture.
There was formal tailoring (executed very well) but also French workwear (with a nice faded plaid). There was full-on western wear, but also western wear mixed with tailoring or sportswear. It all mixed together naturally - very little felt forced or generic.
I loved it, and fortunately the Buck guys took loads of photos. So here are some of our favourite outfits from the evening. Apologies that we didn't know everyone to tag and thank them by name.
Thank you to everyone who came to the pop-up also, which was the busiest we've ever had. And of course to the J Mueser team for hosting us.
At the event, many thanks to Lagavulin for the wonderful cocktails, and to Chris John Millington for the photos.
The magazine is available from us here, and from lots of menswear stockists around the world, listed on this article. Do buy from your local supplier if you can - it's cheaper and uses less fuel!
Congrats on the event Simon! Very nice outfits.
On another note I saw you and the team were trying Bean Boots. Did you get one? And how would you style it in urban environments? I’m moving to northern europe (very rainy place, not much snow) next year and was looking for a suitable casual boots.
Best, Leo
Hey Leo,
Yes it was fun stopping at a big LL Bean store on the side of the highway. Most of it isn’t the quality today that we’d cover of course, but some of the shoes and of course the totes are worth it.
I didn’t get any bean boots and probably wouldn’t wear them to be honest, certainly not in an urban environment. I’d wear something like a cordovan boot or at the most a quality hiking boot
Thanks (again) for the feedback Simon!
Dear Simon
Sometimes I wonder if there’s a model of L.L. Bean boot which would be easy to slip on when the street is full of puddles or in snow and ice with salt added?
That inclemency really attacks shoes and boots and I imagine English weather similar?
Yes, it’s certainly an issue – see article here on what I think are the best ways to deal with that.
I can see the appeal of a Bean boot in that kind of weather. Personally it would have to be with very casual, more country clothes for it to work. It’s also just a pretty cheap shoe, and the grip is apparently surprisingly not good
Dear Simon
My guess is your reference to country i.e. suburban, rural fits
geographical distribution because
after all L.L. Bean located in Maine
in polarity to Filson in Washington state. I don’t recall my part of Midwest in Chicago as L.L. Bean boot turf. Your evaluation valuable in regard to basic grip weakness – who wants to slip on ice or in mud and break a bone? Surely English garden i.e. horticulturalists have their own favorites, I haven’t checked out repetoire of rubber Hunter species. – I referred to your enthusiastic report on New York dress up to cheer up Shoe Snob expert Justin FitzGerald, who had just written previously about sneaker takeover in informal tide around him in New Jersey.
Correction: FitzPATRICK!
In my English garden, I wear redwing iron rangers, which for me are the perfect gardening boot (and gardening in them really f*cks them up beautifully). Blundstones are a more popular choice amongst horticulturalists. I read once somewhere that Monty Don (English TV gardener & writer) had a pair of bespoke boots to garden in but these days you see him wearing what look like hiking boots. The bespoke boots were basically work boots – that’s what a horticulturalist needs.
Side note – on English horticulturalists/permanent style. Monty Don is interesting. He certainly has a style of his own, and it’s about the most permanent of any public persona I can think of. He dresses exactly the same as he did twenty years ago – probably in some of the exact same garments.
Good point Luke. He wears a lot of Old Town (now closed) I believe, as well of course as a natty line in scarves
Congratulations! Some great outfits managing to be interesting / unusual but keep well clear of being – at least by NYC standards – costumey. This is, imho, one of the most complicated things to get right.
Sounds like it was a great time Simon. All my best for the future of the magazine.
This is an enormous long shot given the size of the event, but is there a way of getting an ID on the maker and cloth of the jacket of the guy wearing a tannish herringbone sports jacket? (Lemtosh glasses, plastic cup, laughing with his eyes closed). It is a beautiful jacket!
Not from my end, but you never know, someone might be reading…
It’s the Buck Mason Countryman Jacket in brown/black tweed.
Nice work guys, thank you!
Thanks a lot!
Hi Jackson, ny friend Carsen is wearing the Countryman Jacket from Buck Mason.
Does anyone know if the jacket the gentlemen next to him is wearing also buck mason? Both are very sharp.
With exquisite poor timing, I am writing this from New York, here for a week and managed to miss the pop up… but I’m London based so can’t really complain.
But from my last two trips here I definitely agree about people making an effort, wearing tailoring for good reason for example.
On the streets you see all styles, as you would expect, like London, and of course many men aren’t that interested like back home, but many are.
I also notice definite changes as you walk the various districts. Soho in particular, as you cross into it, ignoring the tourists, it feels like everyone is much more into fashion and style, men and women, reflecting the fairly astounding array of shops there now (nothing like the Soho of the mid to late nighties that I visited).
Then uptown near the Ralph Rhinelander mansion you have a different feel again, as you would expect.
We are off to the Four Horseman in Brooklyn on Sunday and I will get to explore that area for the first time, so I should see what the locals are wearing there.
It’s pleasing to see the interest in menswear, and thanks to both the staff at the Armoury in Tribeca who I spoke to in the summer and then the guys in J Mueser at Christopher St who I met yesterday evening, not far from where I am writing this comment.
I love London wholeheartedly, but I also love this city.
Next time I will try and time my visit better…
Seems nice.
I love Lagavulin 16, but would definitely choose a cheaper bottle for a margarita…
Lord what wonderful pictures. I could look at people in warm, autumn tones all day long. I might forget to eat.
Great looking bash Simon. Photography was incredible. Did I see Holly Golightly in there some place?! Congrats for attracting city-cool characters from all genres!
Thanks Robert. She wasn’t, but I think there was a cat somewhere
Hi Simon, The French work jacket/plaid shirt is so simple and so effective with the sleeves protruding it make for a lovely relaxed look . The (quite) discreet lettering on the tee shirt pulls it all together too.
I agree, it’s lovely. The best thing about these trips and events is seeing great outfits in real life
Any news on Buck Mason planning a uk shop? The customs/shipping are crippling. I understand why but feel they’d do really well here in the uk.
We did talk with them about it, but no current firm plans
Only one neck tie in all of the photos. I feel sorry for the tie industry.
To be fair, this is not a shop that sells fine tailoring or neckties. Going to an event like this, the vibe of the brand is always going to be in people’s minds
Hi Simon,
Undoing just the first button looks a bit dorky. But I feel like undoing a second button looks too douchey.
What do you think? Is too much chest showing
No, I think that looks great Alan. It does help the broader and more tanned you are.
Looks like a great event. At the other extreme, I am attending a family event in Las Vegas, of all places. I have family who live there voluntarily, as unfathomable as that may be. Nevertheless, when we departed from our Boston flight, we knew we were in an alien universe. At a gathering that evening, the boyfriend of a female cousin came up to me and said, “Hi, you’re the East Coast guy!” How could he tell? Am I that obvious?
ha, didn’t know about it, totally missed it. Dare I say a lot ralph lauren influence all over?
Yes, certainly. Though (a) that’s not that surprising given many of the Buck team came from Ralph, and (b) Ralph covers so many genres almost any American-influenced clothing looks like that!
It’s getting cold out. It’s been a while since you’ve said anything about gloves. Any updates?
He David,
Not really, I haven’t bought any new in a while actually. I have a nice set of Hestra, Trunk and a couple of Lavabre Cadet.
I guess a piece on my collection might be nice though?
Indeed it would!
Seconded!
It’s interesting that two out of the first three pictures have brown jacket in tonal patterns – one houndstooth, one herringbone, and one PoW-esque. As someone looking to get a brown Autumn/Winter jacket, do you have any views on pros/cons of these classic patterns? I know there are bunches like Moon Shetlands/Merinos where they often have the same colours, but available in Twill/Houndstooth/Herringbone/PoW. Could there even be a potential article on this, or is there just not really much to say beyond ‘whatever speaks to you’?
I think there probably is – at the very least, there’s a spectrum there of subtlety. The louder the pattern, the less subtle and, in some ways at least, the harder to wear. I guess one question is – is that enough John, or do you think more is needed in sorting the stronger from the subtler patterns
I’m willing to concede that this is likely just me over-thinking things, but I wonder if there’s an argument that something like a small houndstooth, although arguably less showy, could in practice be harder to wear than a PoW check on account of it’s similarity in scale to something like a university stripe oxford. Given that my tastes haven’t steered me towards louder patterned shirts, or really even anything in the way of checked shirts (outside of the very casual that I probably wouldn’t wear with a tailored jacket), I don’t think that I’ve ever felt the need to consider whether a shirt, usually light blue striped oxford, works with a PoW check. Not sure I’d be so confident with the more subtle ‘micro patterns’ though.
I think there is a point there John, certainly. How much it matters to you depends on how often you wear those stripes
I certainly miss the sartoiral nature of those living in NYC. I loved my time there (2001-2018). Glad to know this event was a success. Buck Mason is great for casual clothing….owning a number of pieces.
Great snaps. Lots of corduroy on my horizon too. Can you have several corduroy pieces in an outfit? Shirt and blazer?
At a push. For me the shirt would have to be a real baby cord, to the point it’s almost just texture
Feels like it becomes the statement of the outfit then? The shining piece?
Also approving this comment after 9pm. Naughty !!
Must be a mix up in time zones, it was 5pm here!
It might become the statement of the outfit I guess, but it would be a risky/difficult one to pull off well