Details Magazine: Look for Less

For our second guest post for Details Magazine, we decided to look back on a few great films of 2011. It's the look for less: the idea of taking something that styling crews shelled out hundreds for and recreating it for pennies on the dollar. This isn't necessarily dress-up; it's just a little inspiration.

A common thread amongst the films was one man. Ryan Gosling. Enter the Gos.
Okay, he couldn't make it for the shoot. So, I rolled out of bed and stepped in.

With the deadline approaching, we phoned our main man, Anthony Barlich, to make shit happen.
And he did. See for yourself:

Drive: Badass leather jacket, driving gloves and a ratty, old henley. You've got those, now make it happen.

(Special thanks to Wicker Park for being a dirty dive.)

On Jeff: Dark wash slim-straight, mid-rise "Max" jean (sale) by Acne; grey henley from Seth's closet; thrifted grey moto-style jacket with padding ($40) from Rad Vintage; silver-framed aviators from Mallory's purse; off-white "James" wingtip (end-of-season sale $100) by Frye; last-minute fingerless leather driving gloves ($10) from Urban Outfitters; vintage sterling silver "Southwest" inspired cuff ($10); skinny railroad spike cuff ($50) from Giles & Brothers.

Crazy, Stupid Love: Sharp suits, coy attitude, mixed drinks, beautiful women and The Bedford.

(Special thanks to The Bedford Chicago for letting us shoot in your amazing space.)

On Jeff: two-button, notch-collar midnight smart suit (on sale $300) by A.P.C.; slim-fit, mini-check button-down shirting (sale $50) by Scotch & Soda; thrifted woven leather belt ($2); laceless brown "Lexington" wingtips (Nordstrom Rack, $50) by Florsheim.

Ides of March: Politics, schmolitics. Dirty scandals, clean looks. Keep it secret, keep it safe. I also don't own a grey suit, so you gotta make do with what you have.

(Special thanks to Chicago for being beautiful at sunset)

On Jeff: Grey trench courtesy of Banana Republic's Mad Men Collection; thrifted wool scarf ($10) by Pendleton; shrunken charcoal sportcoat (sale at Halls for $260) by Bill Tornade; high-waisted charcoal trousers ($60) by American Apparel; short-sleeved white button shirt (end of the season sale $40) by rag & bone; gifted silk tie by rag & bone; thrifted patent leather penny loafers ($5) by Allen Edmonds; tortoise shell sunglasses from Mallory's trunk. 

Once again, Major eProps to Anthony for the photography for this project with Details. Also, a big bear hug to Mallory for being the lighting queen. She can hold a light longer than one of those schmucks on Survivor standing on a totem pole for a piece of chocolate.

Seriously, y'all. Anthony makes it happen.

midweSTYLE: Gold and wine

Let's be honest and admit that at times it is difficult to mix color, patterns and print. Sometimes it takes work to see what goes with what and how to change up that wardrobe of yours. Other times, things just work together nicely. Here are some questions and a few of my personal suggestions of tackling these issues. For example:

Can you mix black with brown? Yeah, why not? Just balance it out with other neutrals. Charcoal blazer + charcoal pants + brown shoes + brown belt + white shirt + neutral tie = you're in the clear.

Can you wear two different patterns with one another? Hey, give it a go. If it looks too busy, then try something more subtle. [See photograph below with navy + wine checkered shirt (busy) with the wine + brown zig zag tie (subtle) to mesh things well.] If you're wearing a busy shirt with an obnoxious color or crazy print, you can tame it with a blazer or cardigan along with a neutral tie.

Can you wear two shades of black? Well, as long as the contrast isn't too noticeable. I mean, the suspenders match the socks and shoes, but the pants are a shade light since it's a charcoal tone. Just maybe not a third major shade of black.

There aren't hard and fast rules about mixing colors, prints and patterns. Just some helpful tips and suggestion on what some, many or very few think.

It's your call on how you mix and match ultimately, that's the beauty about style. It's yours.

I'm not much of a fan of silver, but baby, gimme dat gold watch.

$2.50 for a pair of Target socks that will match my skull-and-crossbones bow-tie that I'll acquire someday. And come on, for $2.50, guys. Easy.

Wine colored tie (gift) by rag & bone; wine and navy checked shirt (Halls, sale $30, reg. $99) by Scotch & Soda, small; black skinny suspenders with gold hardware (thrifted, $2.99); welt pocket pant in charcoal (Country Club Plaza, $60) by American Apparel, size 31; skull-and-crossbone socks (Target, $2.50) by Merona; thrifted soft black leather dress shoes ($5.99), size 11.

Photos by Seth Putnam.

midweSTYLE: Working Man

Jeff's closing in on the end of his first full week at his new big-boy Chicago job. (Remember when he was here looking for a job a few weeks ago? Well, he got one. And now he's crashing on my couch until his super cool new place is ready in the Logan Square slums. It's a difficult life we lead...watching the "Chicago Code" [which is hands down the best television show ever made], socializing every night, heists, shenanigans, and stepping over broken glass to get Niko'd every weekend.)

Not Jeff would ever be unstylish, but part of the new job is dressing well, so he's been trying out some new looks. I'll kick it over to him.

Jeff: Don't be afraid to mix patterns and prints, as long as it's in the same color story. I mixed this obnoxious printed stars shirts that I picked up at Halls during their winter sale and a dandy flower bowtie from Etsy.

I threw on a vest to break up the dark colors and add some contrast.

Grey sportcoat (Halls, sale $220 [reg. $680]) by Billtornade, small; vintage star print shirt (Halls, sale $33 [reg. $99]) by Scotch & Soda, small; grey vest (thrifted, $5); dark wash "Rhigby" (retail, $50) by Seven for All Mankind x Jonathan Adler, 31x34; vintage paisley bow tie (Etsy, $5).