Fashion: Thom Browne Doppelgängers?

I regret that the attribution I gave to the above photo is incorrect. The photo is actually of Kris Van Assche's collection for Dior Homme and came from the Men's Style website. I got it from a third party. Thank you to the reader who pointed out the error.

Karl Lagerfeld, one of the most influential designers of the twentieth century, is known for absorbing culture around the clock so he can stay ahead of trends. Here, Chanel's artistic director shows that the process may have included channeling Thom Browne.

Of course, the trousers aren't really doppelgängers (a German term for one's evil twin) of Browne's work, because at least one of the models wearing them is reflected in the mirror (in folklore, doppelgängers have no reflections and cast no shadows). And the look is definitely more European than I've seen from Browne. But I'd still get a shiver down my spine if I were to pass these trousers on the street.

Thom Browne Visits Brooks Brothers

Thom Browne put in an appearance at the San Francisco Brooks Brothers to promote the Black Fleece line recently. From the waist up, his clothes wouldn't turn any heads.


From a distance, his signature short trousers, bare ankles, and over-sized shoes are another story.


Some shopping went on at the event, but the flow of bags leaving the store was less than a tidal wave. Of course, at those prices they didn't need to be.

Photographs are courtesy of Drew Altizer Photography. © Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.

Piping Resurrected

Blazers, so named because the ones worn at regattas often "blazed" in color, were first seen in university colors. According to Esquire's Encyclopedia of 20th Century Men's Fashions, navy blazers piped in white were popular at the Henley regatta in 1924. I don't recall seeing piping outside of that context.

That is, until this past week when Brooks Brothers introduced its Black Fleece line designed by the notorious Thom Browne.

I'm encouraged by the Brethren's initiative with the new collection. The designs have precedence, unlike Browne's runway collection this season, and the items are well made. Purchased in the correct size and tailored appropriately, most of the pieces will look classic rather than extreme.

I wish BroBroClo, the name I was instructed to use on the many checks I wrote them over the decades, still had the taste within its organization to update the classics on its own. The prices would be better - but I suppose the company also needs the visibility and image enhancement (did I just write that about Thom Browne?) it gets from the association.

On balance, I give the effort a solid 'B.' I'm not sure whose colors were borrowed for the piped blazer in the collection, but I doubt if wearing some university rowing club's colors inappropriately is any more of a sin than wearing a Brooks Brothers version of the Brigade of Guards necktie on the streets of Manhattan.