BLVDier

BLVDier Second Anniversary Party at Roister Restaurant in Chicago.  Click through to see the full album.

The word for pomegranate in French is grenade.  Most people can figure out a grenade (bomb) resembles the inside of a pomegranate.  Few people know that the bar syrup, grenadine, was originally made from pomegranate juice.  

But what does grenadine mean in terms of fabric?  Precisely what you think it does.  When a leno weave* is produced out of silk on wooden jacquard looms, as all true grenadine fabrics now are, it creates what could be best be described as pomegranate seeds.  This texture is “often imitated, but never duplicated.”  The hand of the silk becomes almost crunchy**.  Of course, the expertise and knowledge of how to create such fabric only happens in Como, Italy. 

Grenadine ties are the bedrock of a man’s tie collection.  Produced in Salerno, Italy, we line our ties but refuse to tip them, using a hand-rolled finish to the blades.  Coming in ink, onyx, whisky and Air Force blue, our ties are packaged in a BLVDier custom printed, canvas drawstring bag***.  Typically seen at a $150+ price point, ours are offered at $95. 

Photos by @superdanger-us.

*A leno weave is often seen interpreted as lace-like curtains in your grandparent’s home.

**Allowing a wonderful knot to be tied.

Alex Maier in a mid grey, chalk stripe two piece suit.

For this garment we played a little with styles • Typically, striped fabrics exude a business-like appearance and are best for court and board rooms.  However, we decided to soften the shoulder and move the pic stitch in from 2mm to 6mm from the edge.  A distinctly bourbon brown button along with an unlined jacket helped create a more dynamic suit.

Of course the wider distance between stripes, the cuffs and single pleats on the pants are homages to a time when this suit was the norm.  I’d like to think Alex took the stuffiness out of the stripes.

BLVDier Fall/Winter Editorial Pt. 2

Black and blue.

There something exciting about creating custom clothing.  Ultimately, the drive to create something that might not have ever been made before is the most thrilling part of the process.  Have you ever seen a black flannel, Field Blazer before?

For this jacket, we unlined the inside and finished off the interior panels with the same fabric as the outer body in order to make it a little warmer and more sturdy (the jacket is only lined across the shoulders and through the sleeves).  In total, there are 6 pockets, 4 of which fasten closed including the 3 inverted pleat, patch flap outer Safari pockets.  

Ideally, this jacket serves the wearer as a travel blazer and can be dressed up or down.  Weather it be paired with boots and a sweater, sneakers and a t-shirt or oxfords and a white dress shirt, it cannot fail.

You’ll notice the throat tab (which is removable) and 6mm AMF stitch which add a sportive cachet.  The buttons are black Buffalo horn blend in to the fabric while showing the occasional honey colored streak.

The shirt is Kit & Ace and the pants are Lee Black Label.

BLVDier Fall/Winter Editorial Pt. 2

Donegal is a small town in northern Ireland.  It is in a region of the world where warmth is a prized possession and became a hub for tweed textile manufacturing around the 18th century.

Although this jacket’s fabric wasn’t milled in Donegal, Ariston Napoli added their Italian twist by producing a soft, spongy and rich donegal fabric.  It comes in an array of colors ranging from deep red to charcoal grey but this green stood out.  At 380 grams, it doubles as an outerwear piece in 35-50 degree weather.

Made up with a 3/2 tip-over closure and 3 patch, snifter shaped pockets with corozo nut buttons and a notched lapel.

Forest green (as well as olive, taupe and brown) jackets are incredibly versatile as they go well with almost all pants; navy trousers, blue jeans, khaki chinos, grey slacks brown corduroys.  Seeing as though the chambray shirt movement hasn’t lost traction, this jacket proves to be the best covering heading forward.

5 pockets pants by Lee Black Label.  Shirt, lapel pin and pocket square by BLVDier.

The grey scale side of our Fall/Winter Editorial Part 1.

BLVDier Fall/Winter Editorial Pt. 1

Top coat over suit, restaurant over bar.

The first snow fell in Chicago this weekend.  While layering is smart, strategizing with textiles is even smarter.  Wool fibers are crimped and although not hollow, can hold air and up to 1/3 their weight in water.  Cashmere insulates 3 times more than wool.  Both textiles keep snow far away from your skin by sacrificing themselves.

So as winter continues, do yourself a favor and pay homage to Pan, the God of Shepherds and wear textiles made from the hair of an animal from the Bovidae family.

Above you’ll see no trace of cotton*.  The Ariston fabric top coat is wool/cashmere, while the suit, pocket square, turtleneck and socks are all wool; from BLVDier, Isaia, Uniqlo and Berg & Berg respectively.  The sunglasses are Mosley Tribes.

Photos by Alex Maier.

BLVDier • Fall/Winter Editorial Pt. 1

Look up.  Look out.

Vitale Barberis Canonico is a storied mill in the best sense of that adage.  They pioneered industrially manufacturing wool textiles and have been around since the late 1600s.  Their immaculate fabrics are used worldwide, and for good reason, as they are some of the best in the world.

Their lightweight flannel series weighs in at 270 grams per square meter.  This equates to about 1.8 lbs for a full suit; hardly a wintry number.  However, this carded flannel is denser than any worsted wool.  It has a nap that causes heat to stay underside the finished top.  It insulates, much more than a polyester blended fabric ever could.

This cadet, indigo blue caught our eyes as the most versatile winter suit a man can own.  When worn over the professorial roll neck jumper it can protrude beyond the walls of the office with aplomb.

The suit pants also pair nicely with the Ariston jacket above.  A ‘break-uppable’ suit is one that works for your wardrobe, not against it.

The VBC flannel series comes in 12 colors and suits begin at $895.