The Sartorialist

the foggy effect just blew me away. great shot! poetry in its purest form.

I can’t get over how fascinating his face is.

What I am struck by is how both the silver foxes of the last two posts hold themselves with such a quiet grace in the picture. You know they were once younger tigers and now they are stately lions.

And the brown pinstripe? (It is brown, isn’t it?) Dang…

What a face! You can’t fake this kind of coolness. Bravo for capturing and sharing this amazing portrait.

In the first picture he looks like a Japanese Humphrey Bogart.

The scarf does it again.

all these pics from Piti Uomo are amazing but it would be nice if you could post the ones you’ve done for the GQ site here as well……

Brown and blue again!

Reminds me of how a friend of mine (one great dresser, by the way) used to say “Never brown in town.” An old school motto that says, of course, that you’ll be wearing brown at your country estate. La di da.

When my friend said it – about 25 years ago – he referred to shoes. We’ve left that rule far behind. For me the deal breakers were brown suede, the fast way to take the funeral/wedding/bank out of grey flannels or a navy suit.

But I always like brown best with a little color. Or grey. Or black. But not brown with brown.

i love his stoicism

dude is a G, straight up.

it is hard to hold a cigarette in your mouth like that. the smoke gets in your eyes and you get all squinty. plus, there’s something on fire which is really close to your face, so that’s a little scary. he pulls it off like he was born with it dangling there.

If there’s any consolation for mortality, it’s the prospect of becoming a dapper older man.

It’s funny how his name means “happy” and he looks the total opposite of that word.

He seems to like his outerwear double-breasted. I reaaally like the way he buttoned his coat and the jacket below. Very, very nice!

He is the bee’s knees!
These shots are so wonderful; I am captivated by the first one especially.

Talk about Japanese mob boss. All I want is to grow up with such dignified poise and panache.

-AM

Beautiful.
Looks like the same suit in both pictures, right?

who is this guy?

thats not fog! this bloke smokes like chimney.

smoking without hands…since i saw him sitting on the wall with converse trainers and an ascot, i’m in love.

Yukio Akamine is a true sartorialist. Enjoy yourself at Pitti; it looks to be fun. Keywords: Azzurro e Marrone! Cheers, T.

echoes of both humphrey bogart and dirk bogarde. Excellent

The half smoked cigarettes certainly adds a touch of…black lung?

He ooozes confidence.

Both are great shots.

For some reason I love when people hold their gloves in one hand…sexy.

Wonderful Casablanca-ish foggy photo, fantastic model. He’s got a great deal of artistic sensitivity (note elegance of hand)to go with that unflinching face.

Oh, was he wearing something? One hardly notices, so direct is his gaze and the pugnaciousness of his cig.

Well, minus the ciagrette, he looks fantastic. Great shot, as well.

wow … great!!

wow…great!!!

He exudes style, elegance, and class. Pure gentleman.

Great photography as well!

I like his style.
Simple.

Looks like a legend. But excuse someone who knows nothing of the right fit of costumes; doesn’t the fit on the brown costume look a bit narrow? I presume there is only one button on the front that is more than decoration.

wow! I’m absolutely stunned, that’s a great look on him.

Bah! What is it with men storing their hands in their pants pockets? You might as well keep a football in your coat pocket; it equally ruins the silhouette. All the more shame, since he’s otherwise beyond reproach (well, the cigarette would look more rakish off to the side, and his shirt sleeves are too short, but I’m quibbling). Excellent color and pattern sense, and it’s a relief to see double-breasted suits that don’t hearken back to the “power suits” of the ’80s.

I’m not an anti-smoking kinda guy, but just one question, does he always have a fag in his mouth or does he just put it in just before the shots? Never seen him without it.

Well-dressed man..

I bet his shoes are brown and cream with little holes in the toes. What are those called?

mr. schemmer said…
“is it me or do DB suits make a guy look fat?”

DB will help a skinny guy look a little more solid, and can make a portly man look more tailored. I tend to think they are unflattering on a) short or delicate men and b) guys with an extremely athletic build. Just not successful.

Matty, re: the buttons used here – he’s inconsistent: the overcoat has the middle button done, and the top is likely non-functional, as it’s offset. On the suit, it almost looks like the drape of that lapel is made to skip the middle button. But it’s probably otherwise. So this choice is either a)a studied iconoclastic touch or b)just something that happened. Such as, unbuttoned that middle closure to get at the cigarettes or lighter, and didn’t do it up again after.

A DB generally is cut to be worn with that middle button closed, so will look a bit sloppy in any other mode. (Think of Dave Letterman, of the hundreds of DB suits. I’ve read that his are all tailor-made [Canali?] – yet even doing his stand-up monologue he generally buttons only the inside, letting the jacket front flop around like an open book. Which only makes one wonder, “Why double-breasted?”

Regarding his sleeves: I think an argument could be made that his (visible) jacket sleeve is just bunched up a little, rather than being cut too short. However, his shirt sleeve is definitely too short. Barrel cuffs like this should reach the base of the thumb (where the thumb bone diverges from the wrist). It should also extend 1/2″ from the jacket sleeve (French cuffs and more daring wearers can go to 3/4″). He’s a good 1/2″ inch away from the thumb base, and only about 1/4″ out of his jacket.

It’s quibbling, of course, but I think it’s important for people to know what is correct and what isn’t.

http://www.incontro.jp/company.html

he designs suits inspired by old european films? hard to tell, everything is in japanese.

What’s with all the “he looks like yakuza” comments? That’s kinda racist people.

Is his place in Shirokanedai? Are you in Tokyo mr Sartorialist?

id like to chime in on the “sleeve length debate”…

regarding “bricology’s” post, GREAT info on sleeve length and the length relationship between the jacket and shirt! i personally believe style and dressing yourself is an art, allowing those who see it this way to use their artistic license, but that artistic license only comes through schooling/understanding, respect of the history there of and grasp of what could be!

id say Mr. Y. Akamine is early 60′s at the oldest! i think 6:54 was exaggerating…to make a point. if you do the math 1/4 of 80 is 20yrs old. and we all know hes not that! the point, i think, is that smoking isnt cool period, thats an ancient view point! let it go.. an apple in hand is wwway cooler!

first time for me,
love the blog!

How and why do so many people make such sweeping, definative statements in here? “That is horrible because this is the way you’re supposed to do things and that is that. Period.” Ugh.

“The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.”
-William Butler Yeats

I have mixed feelings about this one. The colors work well together but I don’t like it when people mix prints (here: stripes and dots) and I also think that the jacket is a bit too tight for him.

Very nice!

He is a famous Japanese Men’s fashion director. I respect Mr. Akamine.

This is what every man his age should look like in a suite. He’s so got that Cary Grant thing going. Love it!

He’s great and sharp.