Issue #28 | The Canuck Tux
Double denim, Husbands Paris, Ryan Gosling’s stylist, Levi’s Type 3 trucker jacket, UniWatch, and more
Hello Front of Book readers,
The other day I did something I once thought radical: I wore double denim. It was a pair of light wash jeans from Anglo-Italian and a vintage looking (though not actually vintage), blousy denim shirt from Banana Republic. I wore it with my low profile New York Mets hat and checkered Vans. And I… felt… great.
Once derided as the Canadian Tuxedo, double denim is back in a big way. Open your eyes and you’ll see it everywhere, on men and women both. As a Canadian, I’ve always been extra sensitive to the Canadian Tuxedo zing, just as I am with my “aboots” and “washrooms.”
But I should have just owned it. Double denim is a confident look when done right—a little cowboy, a little bad ass. With that in mind, I focused this issue around denim (mostly). Hope you enjoy.
1. Are You Bold Enough For Husbands Paris?
Double denim is bold, just like this look above. Damn. Dark jeans, a light wash Western shirt, and a houndstooth tweed sports coat. Not everyone can pull it off, but those who can, God bless.
The fit is from Husbands Paris. I first learned about the brand from The Armoury’s Kamau Hosten, who I interviewed back in Issue #13. When I first checked out the Husbands site, I thought it wasn’t for me. The clothes were too bold, too louche, too suave. But now I find myself going back constantly—exactly because they’re bold, louche, and suave.
Husbands is at the forefront of menswear today: elegant yet relaxed, classic yet forward thinking. Former lawyer Nicolas Gabard launched the brand with a series of pop-ups in France in 2012, followed by trunk shows and collaborations with the likes of Mr. Porter. Husbands opened its first store in 2018 and its first online collection the following year.
Husbands’ vibe is very much 1970s, all sex appeal and cigarette smoke. You’ve got giant lapels, double-breasted suits, vests, and flare pants. You can go more conservative, too, but why would you want to with this brand? Husbands offers a ready-to-wear line, accessories, footwear, and made-to-measure tailoring with a nifty online personalizing option. The brand’s Journal is also great for inspiration and highlights the brand’s commitment to understanding the history of what they do.
2. An Interview With Ryan Gosling’s Stylist
For years, articles about Ryan Gosling’s style never failed to mention that the Canadian actor and jean jacket legend didn’t have a stylist. I never believed it. I have no doubt that Gosling is stylish on his own, but he had to have help. You don’t find those jackets, the vintage sweaters, the killer red carpet looks, for years and years, without a little assistance.
Turns out I was right. Last month former GQ staffer and style writer Jake Woolf interviewed Gosling’s stylist on his eponymous Substack. His name is Mark Avery, and he’s a pretty damn cool dude. He works as a Hollywood set constumer and describes his work with Gosling as more of a “collaboration” that began around ten years ago.
Avery says:
The process really starts and ends with Ryan. The reason why he’s one of the most well-dressed guys in Hollywood is not because of me, it’s because of him. He has great taste, though I do think that we have similar tastes and I think that’s why we work well together… I bring a lot of vintage in, I bring ideas in, he likes it or doesn’t, and we talk about it. Sometimes it spurs ideas for other things.
Read the full interview with Woolf here.
As for Avery’s own style, his uniform is pretty consistent: jeans, white T, a Stenson hat, and a trucker jacket, which brings me to…
3. A New Grail Item: Levi’s Type 3 Trucker Jacket
Avery’s go-to jacket is the Levi’s Type 3 trucker jacket. The one he’s wearing above would have been made in the 1970s or earlier. The giveaway is that there are no side pockets (those made in the ‘80s and ‘90s have side pockets).
I went on a little search to find one, and it’s pretty tricky. The ’70s jackets look the coolest, but to make it easier (and for cost reasons) I broadened my search to include ’80s- and ’90s-made—before Levi’s stopped making clothes in the U.S.A. I found some at Front General Store in Dumbo, Brooklyn, as well as a whole rack’s worth at the Manhattan Vintage Show last week. The problem I found was that the sizing back then was all over the place—there was hardly any consistency, so even the ones I found in my size were way too small. The other issue was that as a trucker jacket it’s meant to be short at the back, and with my proportions that meant the jackets cut off in my mid- or lower back.
So I turned to trusty eBay. The ’70s-made jackets are pricey (around $250 and up), but according to the measurements none of them would have fit me anyway. I found a nice one made sometime in the ’80s or ’90s (it has side pockets) for under $50. At size 50L, it was the biggest I could find. It arrived yesterday. Not bad, I think. Thanks for the inspiration, Mark.
4. Update: The Perfect White T
If you’re going to wear denim a lot, you need a great white T-shirt. Readers of this newsletter know I’m on an ongoing quest for find the Perfect White T. We introduced a new contender last issue: the American Giant Premium Crew Tee.
This week we have a new entrant: Merz B. Schwanen’s Good Basics Pima Slub Cotton 5.8 oz. Relaxed Fit T-shirt.
I stopped by the Canal St. store a few weeks ago and tried on the whole line. Merz is best known for its loopwheeled Ts, as seen on the back of The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White. The loopwheeled shirts are obviously well-made, but I found them a little to stiff (and pricey). But I loved the pima slub T. It’s so soft and if you size up has a perfect, light, summery drape.
The guy at the store said it wouldn’t shrink, but since it’s so lightweight I do wonder about sizing after a few washes. We’ll see. But for now? It’s a contender.
5. UniWatch is Dead. Long Live UniWatch.
Lastly, something decidedly non-denim. On May 26, the creator of the column and website about sports uniforms UniWatch published his last column. After 25 years of writing about the minutia of sporting threads, Paul Lucas decided it was time to metaphorically clear his locker.
It was a sad day for obsessive fans of sports uniforms like myself. When I was a kid I used to create fake sports leagues and design uniforms and logos for each team. I will cheer for teams because of good uniforms, and vice versa.
We’re living in a tumultuous time when it comes to sports uniforms. Teams have too many. They keep breaking the No. 1 rule of uniforms: Don’t. Fuck. With. Classics. All of the Nike City Edition NBA uniforms were terrible this season. Baseball unis are falling apart. A professional basketball team thought it was a good idea to wear these cheap ass knockoff looking jerseys you might find in a market in Thailand at the NBA FINALS last night:
The world needs UniWatch. And thankfully, UniWatch lives on. Phil Hecken, the current deputy editor, has taken over editorial duties, and the site continues to publish articles like a two-part preview of Canadian Football League uniforms. Now that’s obsession. Front of Book-approved.
That’s all for this week. See you back here soon.
Mitch
Question? Comment? Suggestion? Caught a typo? Email me at mitch.moxley@gmail.com
