This is a casual shoe. Can you point out why? (Lodger Finsbury shoe)

As with much of menswear, there exists a sliding scale of the formality of footwear that the obsessive can get caught up in if he so chooses. I think this is generally to sacrifice the beauty of personal expression to the uniformity of correctness – a correctness that doesn’t exist today and, much to the disappointment of many, never existed in the first place. (It is a similar disappointment to the revelation that Italians don’t dress particularly well as a whole, very few Englishmen wear the good suits their country is famous for, and Americans wear Ralph Lauren polo shirts but otherwise singularly fail to look like Ralph Lauren.)

However, there are some differences in shoes that are worth remembering. Here they are.

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He would have been measured like this. You shouldn't be

This was a question put to me the other day by a friend. He was asking about shoes, but I think it applies equally to suiting, shirts and other items of dress. Hopefully you will find my response interesting.

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Shirts can be hard to wear casually. Even the biggest fan of bespoke shirting for wear with his suits during the working week can find himself defaulting to a T-shirt under knitwear at the weekend. I suggest the alternative of a long-sleeved polo shirt.

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Mr. Hare’s S/S 2011 shoes are here, and the newest ones are available at LN-CC now. Two of the nicely turned-out Mr. Hares are the King Tubby (white outsoles and black suede/leather) and the Camus Lace-Up (black patent leather with a black leather sole). The King Tubbys are available in a range of 39 to 46–respectable–and the Camus starts at 40 on LN-CC. Shoebags included, of course. [via selectism]

Drake's grenadine tie

I think if you were to categorise the main aspects of cloth, they would fall into colour, pattern and texture. That’s probably the order most men would notice those aspects in as well, but I would argue their importance is the other way around.

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Y-3′s honoring a decade with Yohji Yamamoto–times flies–and they gave the first peeks this week in Paris. “Nature” and “escape” are two prime points of inspiration, with army green heavily represented in the collection. Japanese print and printed sneakers break up the solids, and comfort junkies will find solace in knitted pants and sweats. [via selectism]

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Via Notamachine.tumblr.com

Marilyn Monroe: incredible beauty, icon, the center of heady conspiracy theories. We’ve gotten to know her oft-repeated snaps, from The Seven Year Itch subway-grate picture in the white dress to her Last Sitting images by Bert Stern (unfortunately replicated with Lindsay Lohan by the same photographer). These photos–some of the lesser-known ones of Marilyn Monroe that turn up the heat–still remain as hypnotic as their famous cousins. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed finding the ultimate collection of Marilyn photographs at NotaMachine.tumblr.com. Bookmark it and enjoy much, much more.

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Check out Tommy Ton's work on GQ USA

I wouldn’t wish that everyone dressed like me. But it’s hard sometimes to find inspiration for the day’s dress when all around you is a sea of jogging bottoms, polyester and denim.

For those that get great pleasure from thinking about what they wear, and a particular thrill from a well-cut jacket and starch-sharp shirt collar, this is my experience on where I find my daily inspiration. I’d be glad to hear yours.

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Need something to stow your stuff in that’s not going to get dated, wear out, or stain? The Marc by Marc Jacobs duffle bag is fashioned in simple leather, with an exposed zip closure and a logo-embossed patch. Lined in beige canvas, this bag is an example of basic at its best. Tone-on-tone stitching leaves the leather looking as expensive as it should. [$500 at ssense]