Issue #360 | How Vans Won Paris Fashion Week

How Vans Won Paris Fashion Week

Can a California skate brand really stand out next to the blinding sheen of high-end brands like Louis Vuitton and Balenciaga? At Paris Fashion Week—the Olympics of fashion, as some call it, which is more appropriate an association than ever with the games just around the corner—Vans managed to capture an audience with city-wide events capped by a barn burner of a party, the Basilica de Sacré-Cœur at Montmarte as backdrop. There were DJ performances, an ad hoc skate bowl, and a mood that suggested skate culture is the fresh face in capital F fashion that everyone wants to know.

Complex

These Linen Ripstop Pants Are the Wardrobe Essential of the Season

[Partner] Whether you’re tackling a DIY project at home, exploring rugged trails, or just enjoying a casual day out, there’s only one pair of pants you need in your arsenal. Flint and Tinder's Linen Ripstop Mill Pant is the ultimate in versatile durability this season. Inspired by the US Army’s innovation during WWII, these pants feature a unique cotton-linen ripstop fabric that combines breathability with toughness. With double-kneed reinforcement for extra durability and a garment-dyed finish for rich, lasting color, these pants only get softer with every wash. A true workhorse, the Linen Ripstop Mill Pant is the perfect blend of history and functionality.

Gear up with the ultimate workhorse pant.

The Remarkable Story Behind Gucci's Seminal Horsebit Loafer

Cue Nick Sullivan, Esquire’s creative director, whose gravely, cigarette-chiseled voice brings us the story of Gucci’s horsebit loafer in this snappy eight-and-a-half-minute history lesson. It started with the opening of Gucci’s first store outside of Italy at the Savoy-Plaza Hotel in New York City, Sullivan says, where Aldo Gucci, son of company founder Guccio Gucci, sold a shoe designed specifically for the loafer-wearing masses of Manhattan. Even with changes in creative vision over the years, “throughout that long history, as a constant baseline playing under the melody, there was the Gucci loafer.”

Esquire

The Laws of Men’s Socks: How to Avoid Criminally Unattractive Looks

In winter, it’s “you do you” with socks. Nobody wears no-shows when it’s cold, and anything else is covered up by long pants, outside of the ankle occasionally peeking out below the hem. But when the weather gets warm, socks very much enter the chat. If you aren’t the freaky type that bears your toes in sandals while making your way through midtown, you’re going to need to figure out how to do some hosiery. Here, the Wall Street Journal throws down some hard and fast rules that’ll help you from committing criminal acts in the sock department this summer.

Wall Street Journal

One of the Best Affordable Timex Watches in Years Is Back

On (many more) than one occasion, the likes of GQ have espoused the virtues of Timex’s Marlin: reissues that are faithful to the original ’60s dress watch go for less than $200, delivering refinement with sporty flair. In January of this year, Timex released a new member of the family that carries those traits, but with slightly different packaging. The Marlin Jet Automatic has a Space Age–inspired look, similarly giving it a throwback aesthetic that won’t go out of style any time soon. Consider this your heads up to keep an eye out for the restock.

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