Blue Jeans and White Trainers: A How-To

Big! Christmas is the perfect time of year for rewatching old favourite films, guffawing not because they're hilarious but because they were when you were younger and your belly laughs have grown loyal to the memory of previous viewings. Who hasn't at some point wished they lived in an loft apartment decked with trampolines, drinks machines and enough floor space to simultaneously skateboard like Farrah Fawcett and slurp milkshake through a straw? Pretty jammy then for Tom Hanks's Josh Baskin who spends his days doing exactly that, just, you know, in a man's body. He is also a stellar rapper and pulls off his teenage-boy-dopeyness in a loveable way. Most importantly (though he is technically still 13 years old) he is ripe for enrollment into what I like to call 'The American Dad' brigade, a member of the 'Blue Jean and White Trainer Club', if you will.

It's a look that is very precise and I shall be your tongue-in-cheek tour guide in all things American Dad. Firstly, the jeans. It all comes down to a particular shade of blue and a perfectly proportioned leg. The jeans should be the same shade all the way throughout the fabric, no stonewashing or fades, and certainly no dark indigo-these should be a 'light to medium' blue. (The exception to this rule being these jeans from Cos because what they lack in 'Medium blue' they make up for in 'Relaxed Fit') And in terms of the shape they should be snug not skinny, straight at the ankle and not too baggy around the bum. 

Look to the cinema of the 1980s for referencing purposes. Coming of age films, buddy movies, and family comedies should be your port of call. Look also to the Kings of the brigade-Steve Jobs was of course an original leader. And Steve Martin's George Banks in 'Father of The Bride' who is so dedicated to the look that he owns his very own sports trainers factory and manufactures his daughter a shiny white pair of 'bridal' trainers to wear down the aisle at her wedding. Commitment. Vinyl baseball bombers and baseball caps are acceptable accessories to this look, or sports kits-an old college hoodie with your alma mater emblazoned across the front implies to daughter's boyfriends that yes, while you may currently be 'chilling' in relaxed clothes, you have the intellectual capacity to destroy them in a game of Scrabble. Some white shorts for 'shooting hoops' with family members (extra points if the shorts err on the side of inappropriate shortness) are also a useful go-to for the American Dad. The key to the American Dad look is that something should be 'off' but in a subtle way with a serving of thoughtlessness. Outdated without being garishly 80s. Socks can help here-a wedge of thick white sports sock between the trainer and the bottom of the jean which should be about half an inch away from ankle grazing is perfectly 'off.'

When it comes to the trainers, brands and models actually aren't of significance, as long as the shoe is at least a Size 10 (if you're not buy bigfoot anyway, it's off the utmost importance) and you're going for a Nike or a New Balance or any old running trainer that looks similar, you're good to go. Equally, though I have indeed classified this the 'blue jean and white trainer' look, there is plenty of space for light greys, off whites and blues that perfectly echo the shade of the jeans. Remember, thoughtlessness is key! These trainers should look like they were chosen by a 50 something Dad who is called Henry and mostly grey and who scratches the insides of his ears with the end of his car keys and just wants a pair of trainers that will protect his feet and 'do the trick' when he goes for his weekly Sunday run. 

I'll leave you with a couple of those 'guffaw' scenes, because they are silly and good. And also the 'Shimmy Shimmy Cocoa Pop' rap because deep down, I'd still love to learn the words.

style notes for the guys

Clockwise from top left: A.P.C Summer 2011, Bill Travers as George Adamson in Born Free, Bill Murray via Life, Dries Van Noten Spring 2012 Menswear, Ali in Fear Eats The Soul, Scott Sternberg and Jared Lawton via Opening Ceremony.

On my way home last week I was overtaken by a guy on his bike, slightly swaying under the weight of panniers laden with paintpots and bags. He was wearing a navy workwear all-in-one and had a grey beard that made him look sort of  like an urban Father Christmas. Which probably wasn't the most comfortable way to be dressed on a day characterised by its sweltering heat but still, it made me think "Yeah, work overalls are rad!" See also the denim overalls from the APC Summer '11 collection which wouldn't go a miss worn two sizes too big with sleeves rolled-up and a few paint splashes. The Dries Van Noten Menswear collection, I must admit featured not one pair of overalls and was generally a much smarter affair (with deliciously neat tangerine and midnight blue stripes particularly attractive and paving the way for post-prada stripes.) But still with baggy uniforms in mind, one loose shirt and trouser combo brought to mind images of pilots while adding momentum to the 'hmm, navy uniform' thought process. But before I overstep the line from perfectly legitimate workwear curiosities into a uniform fetish, I shall nod to the other 'style notes for the guys' that have recently inhabited corners of my brain. 

I give you Bill Travers in Born Free (a film that shall never escape a place in my heart partly because of memories of watching it as a child but also because Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers are heroes of Safari style.) Also Bill Murray in a thin white thermal because he is the original handsome devil and made me laugh uncontrollably, playing himself, when I watched Zombieland the other day. ('Any regrets?' 'Garfield maybe.') A still from Fassbinder's Fear Eats The Soul shows Ali standing at the bar in his brown suit. The film is full of beautiful shots of characters framed by windows and doorframes, 1970s clashing of patterned wallpaper and wrapdresses and some brilliant suits worn by the men, all in the brown accents that still epitomise that decade. And last but not least Band of Outsiders' Scott Sternberg with Jared Lawton who designs the sets for his shows. Simply because they both look cool and kind of nerdy sitting side by side on that camp bed like they're on a weekend away with the Boy Scouts waiting for the fun to start. The bed was actually one of the main features in the Band Of Outsiders presentation last September which saw the menswear collection presented on models lounging in their own 'dormrooms' fitted with rickety wooden desks and guitar cases and bottles of whiskey. How very Holden Caulfield.

style notes for the guys: adam

Meet Adam who was walking along the same cobbled stretch as me the other day, just by the Arnolfini looking like he meant business with a stride, handful of papers and brilliant Huf jumper and trainer combo. What do you do? I asked Work long and hard, he said. But of course.

style notes for the guys

The things you could cook (cinnamon rolls!) the people you should be (all of the above!)

T. C. Boring, Greenwood, Mississippi by William Eggleston/ Nick Cave and Susie Bick/ Band of Outsiders Spring 2011 lookbook/ a painting set via Where They Create/ Daniel Day Lewis and Camille Belle in The Ballad of Jack and Rose/ Kaj Franck's crockery and feastful delights at Nordic Bakery via Antipodeuse.

And a little bit of 'Baby It's You' by Smith which alongside Is This What You Wanted by Leonard Cohen, A Thing Called Love by Johnny Cash and Civilian by Wye Oak has been continuously looping on my spotify playlist most of the week.

style notes for the guys

Calypso jumper (via through a glass darkly) / Damon Albarn in a Nike hoodie/ George Clooney's shirt in 'One Fine Day'/ Charles Bukowski/ Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water/ Burberry shirt/ swimming man/ Woody Harrelson/ Clementines (I've lost count of how many I've eaten over the past two months..)

And this camp spectacle of a performance by The Rubettes. I love how much energy they have and how mismatched it is against the crowd's obligatory steady clapping. If I ever end up getting married, or just throwing a huge birthday party I may find a tribute act to recreate this just for the hilarity. But first need to sort out George Michael singing Careless Whisper to me on a table for my 21st. I like the idea of an awkward intimate performance for each milestone birthday..

for the guys

1. damon albarn and graham coxon in new york.

2.  red parka, a.p.c.

3. mountain infantry, 1942.

4. paul mccartney.

5. bruce willis and demi moore.

 to see all previous 'style notes for the guys' posts, click here.

style notes for the guys

beck, mick jagger, new balance running team, timex heritage camper watch, take ivy by teruyoshi hayashida, dad, young paul mccartney, new balance 420 trainers.

On the topic of New Balance trainers.. Josh and I spotted a very cool girl cycling past us last night. She had a nice shiny bob (think Eleonore from Ytligheter) and was wearing blue chinos with her own battered pair of New Balance and looked fantastically cool and casual as the late afternoon sun was shining down on the hill. This combined with Lisa Corneliusson's trainer collection, that Tux-n-adidas Kate Moss outfit and the running shoes from The Big Chill I well and truly have trainers on the brain.

along with this brilliant musical mash-up from DJ O-Face..

style notes for the guys

1. the big chill. 2. stone cord chinos by topman LTD equestrian. 3. josh and george buying pizzas. 4. tees by a.p.c + carhartt (out oct 7th) 5. take ivy by teruyoshi hayashida. 6. S.M.U fraternity housemother and frat boys. 7. curry at my house. 
8. a.p.c + carhartt jackets.

style notes for the guys

shinjuku alley, tokyo by tomoji, timex watch, TC40 buzzsaw marine shoes by f-troupe, ryan gosling in half nelson, ocean park 116 by richard deibenkorn, lindsay anderson's 'if',collie, toffee trousers from topman

style notes for the guys

1. robert redford in 'all the president's men' 2. uten silo wall holder by dorothee becker
3. nuclear testing in the nevada desert 4. spike jonze directing meryl streep in 'adaptation'
5. paintbrushes 6. thomas mars 7. martin sheen and sissy spacek in 'badlands' 8. a treehouse

style notes for the guys

1. collection of north american national park handkerchiefs, own photograph
2. bill murray
3. ryan mcginley by chad moore
4. alex davis at sam johnson's bookstore on venice boulevard, LA, own photograph
5. african safari, life magazine
6. gordon brown in 1999 by murdo maccloud
7. jack nicholson
8. vince vaughan in thumbsucker



click here for the last 'style notes for guys'.

style notes for the guys

clockwise from top left: quetzal saunders via backyard bill, james dean, best picture of owen wilson and wes anderson ever, james stewart in hitchcock's rear window, couple of my guy acquaintances rich smith and ashton launcherley, johnny depp, bill travers in 'born free'.



I've been meaning to dedicate more posts to style for the guys. Partly obviously for the guys themselves, but also on a selfish level for myself and the side of me that wishes to spend my days as a dapper gent in camel jackets and desert boots or maybe even resembling Matt Damon in The Talented Mr Ripley. Let's make this a regular thing. And if you're a guy who currently reads the blog, do leave a little comment and say Hi, as I'm used to assuming it's only the girls frequenting!

the dapper twelve

12 ways 'to hair':

james dean, morrissey, michael pitt (as kurt cobain), nick cave, daniel day lewis, jeremy irons, wes anderson, cary grant,

paul thomson (franz ferdinand), jimi hendrix, peter saarsgard, sean penn (as harvey milk)