Time is not on my side.

Wow. So maintaining a blog isn't my strong point, is it? Things have been busy in my neck of the woods so I'll start with a brief update into the life of Michael and The Cut of the Jib:

• Taking sewing lessons from Jackie @ The Black Market. It's going well and she's an amazing teacher. Plus everyone else there is way rad so it's a fun time when I go.

• Working on pieces for Pink Slip's grand opening. I'm pretty happy with the way they're turning out. I'll post some pics when they're done. (I also have to model these at the show, so that'll be interesting)

• Been working with two fantastic designers/dudes on some design. We work under the name Static Quo (website to come). It's been a great creative outlet and Matt and Jeremy are both badass in design and all around being great guys.

• Looking into restoring a "classic" car. (something in my price range of course). Doing the footwork on that now.

• Designing a line of bowties/pocket squares to hopefully carry in some shops around town.

So yeah. Those are the big things going on in life right now. It's a fairly exciting time for me with the making of moves towards something big. My goal is to now set aside at least 30 minutes a day for this blog and keep it updated like I'd like. Goals. I need to make more of 'em and stick to them.

Things to come...

So I've been doing a lot of soul searching lately and pondering on what I want to do with my life what I want to be. I've always been "artistic" and "creative", and I always wanted to pursue a career as an artist when I was young. So I did. I went to art school, got my degree and found myself a job. I love design. I love designing. It's fun and a gives me a great feeling when I create something. But I've come to realize that I will never be a great designer. I will always be "good enough". I want to do more than good enough. Thus, the soul searching. After much pondering, I realized that my largest passion (besides my love of music), is fashion and style. I've always been drawn to it... even when I wasn't a 100% sure what to do. It's what led me to my Gadzooks job in high school and to start reading fashion magazines in college. I feel I'm at a point in my life where I have my own sense of style and what it is. So after realizing all this, I sat. I sat and I sketched to see if I could translate my sense of style. These sketches here are what came of that session. I am very proud of them. They give me hope. They give me sense of where I should go with my life, my passion, my art. So I am sharing them with you, my friends; my readers. I feel this is the start of something for me. I feel this is something I can be great at. So without further ado, the sketches of what will hopefully someday soon be the first line of The Cut of the Jib. Please feel free to post any critique you'd like. I am open to all forms of criticism; be it constructive or not. Oh, and the inspiration/theme behind this line is "disproportional elegance".

Style Icon: James Bond

Yes. James Bond. A fictional character is this months Style Icon (for those of you that need it, you can picture Daniel Craig. Eff that Pierce Brosnan Bond. He was a joke. Nothing against PB, He's just no Bond). Fictional character or not, James Bond has copious amounts of style (side note: copious is such a great word). I present the newest movies in the Bond franchise as Exhibits A and B. Obviously Daniel Craig is by far the most stylish (not to mention badassest) Bond of them all. For Quantum of Solace, Tom Ford was the exclusive tailor for the movie. I remember reading a quote that they went through something like 40 bespoke suits during filming. Brings a tear to my eye. Also, in the latest films, Bond wears several pairs of John Lobb shoes (you may recall these from my first "desires" post.) OH! How can I forget? Bond also rocks Persol. And you all know how I feel about Persol. Bond's style has always been casual cool, sophisticated/classy and first-class. The man is always dressed for the occasion; whatever it may be. Bond's sense of style originated in the Ian Fleming books but was brought to life in the movies. If I strive to be like any one person style-wise; modern day Bond would be that person. Except for the Omega watches. I like my watches a little classier/dressier.

Interweb friends and their writings of things

I've made a new internet friend everyone! Meet Dustin and his radass new blog. Not only does his blog have the coolest blog name ever, I love the concept and can't wait to see more. Everyone pop on over and check it out.

Style Icon: February: Yves Saint Laurent

When I was a young man, my style was a little...lacking. Being from "small town" Nebraska, I didn't get a lot of exposure to style. Shoot, when I moved here in late 1994, the skater/grunge scene hadn't even hit yet (after being the "it" thing in SoCal for a couple of years already). My interest in clothing/fashion sparked early; however, with limited access to style, I fell into the baggy shirts and even baggier jeans trend. It makes me cringe to think of some of the stuff I wore back then (ie. oversized silk shirts? FAIL). I worked in a Gadzooks if that gives you a better idea of my "style".

When I ventured out on my own and went to college, style was more readily available. I started reading GQ and made gradual changes in my personal style. T-shirts and tennis shoes switched to button downs and casual dress shoes. However, the fit was still baggy. I was 6' tall, weighed 120 lbs and was wearing larges and 34 x 34 pants. Swimming in a sea of fabric.

I started dating a girl who was up on fashion and I remember she went on a trip and brought me back a present; a beautiful Yves Saint Laurent dress shirt. It was a 15" neck and 32/33 arm length. I remember thinking, there's no way I'm gonna like this. Then, after trying it on, I was transformed. Slim fitting. Clean, beautiful lines. Sleeves that didn't bunch. I didn't look and feel like I was wearing a trash bag. It felt good. Scratch that; it felt great. I remember that being the turning point in my style. I'd always admired high end fashion but never wanted to duplicate it in my style. Yves Saint Laurent changed that for me. To this day, he is my favorite designer and I acquire anything I can afford (which generally is vintage thrift finds). I have his sense of style and craftsmanship to thank for helping me find my sense of style.

STYLE ICON: Persol

PS: The Cloon is a big fan of Persol and one thing you'll learn about me through this site is I'm a big fan of The Cloon.

Music me all over.

Most who know me know that besides fashion, another large love of mine is music. In all shapes and forms, I love music. So I wanted to do a post regarding both music and fashion. I read today about a limited edition Reebok shoe collaborated with DJ Shadow and it made me think of the other artist inspired/collaboration pieces I've seen in the past. So I tracked down my favorites to share with you here. (As shown: Peter Saville for DC T-shirt, Peter Saville for DC Hoodie, New Balance Joy Division sneakers, DJ Shadow Reeboks, Underworld | Tomato for Adidas (Which are super rad as they glow in the dark), Kurt Cobain Chuck Taylors for Converse).

*I would kill for the Joy Division New Balance's (apparently they're just a prototype at this point).

You've got to work it.

Since this is a new blog, I'm sure I'm a little behind on this but it's one of my favorites so I must comment. I am loving the trend in workwear lately. Brands like Schott NYC, Woolrich and Carhartt are all making fashionable and practical pieces that anyone would be crazy not to love. I've shown a few of my favorites below. (As listed: Woolrich Cardigan Sweater, Carhartt 3-in-1 Parka, Schott NYC Sweater, Schott NYC Duffle Coat)

STYLE ICON: Persol

Stunning

Wow-o. I've never really seen sex personified in a piece of electronic equipment but look at the upcoming blu-ray player from Samsung and tell me that doesn't turn you on. It's super sleek and has all the features you could possibly want: wall-mountable, 1.5 inches thin, touch controls, wireless access to video and music streaming services like Netflix and Pandora, as well as all the current tech you'll need — BD Live (Profile 2.0) and Bonus View (Profile 1.1) support, Full HD 1080p playback with DVD upscaling, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD HR/MA. Price is yet undefined but I'm sure whatever it is... it'll be worth it.

Style Icon: January

Every month, I'll feature a label that, in my eyes, is a timeless icon of style. I'll showcase different things from them all month and images of their style in the public eye.

This months Style Icon is Persol. Persol is an Italian eyewear company, specializing in sunglasses. They have several styles for both men and women. They founded in 1917 and originally catered to pilots and racing drivers. Persol became a heavy influence in the production of sunglasses by developing the first flexible stem. Persol didn't come stateside until 1962 and did not open a boutique until 1991. Persol have seem to be the sunglasses of choice for movies and actors. They've been seen in several films and on people from Kanye West to Bill Murray. Steve McQueen made the 714 models famous in The Thomas Crown Affair.

Everytime I see a pair of Persol's, I reel at how incredibly stylish and classic they are. They can class up any look while making you look straight from the 60's at the same time. I'm lucky enough to have three pair and am sure will acquire many more in my life (my goal right now is a pair of 0649's).

DESIRES

This will be a reoccuring "feature" on COTB, Desires. Basically, it'll be an outlet for me to want, want, want and let everyone know where my tastes lie. It'll also work as a great birthday, Christmas, present list for those of you inclined to spend copious amounts of money.

Anyway, the first of my desires would be the John Lobb Everdon. Just looking at John Lobb's line gives me shivers. These are some of the nicest, highest quality mens shoes I've ever seen. John Lobb is an English shoe/bootmaker that's been around since the late 1800's. Not only are they gorgeous, but they're the shoes of choice of James Bond (the ultimate in Cool Ass Style™). These ones run about $1500, which is inexpensive for the line but well out of my everyday price range. Just look at that picture and try not to drool.
















Secondly, Bell & Ross. I've never really been a fan of larger faced watches. Until I saw the Bell & Ross watches. Swiss in design and German in manufacturing, they're top notch quality and the flight/instrument look of them is both casual and classy all at once. My favorite model is the BR-01 Phantom, which runs a mere $5000. Count me in for two!

The Beginning.

Sounds like the title of a new M. Night Shyamalan movie. Fortunately, it's just a blog post about the start of (hopefully) something good and entertaining, not only for you but for me too. This blog will be my outlet for all things fashion, style and design related. I will not only focus on all of the above, but also on local midwest fashion. I have several ideas for this to develop into and we'll see how it goes.