Reading... Buttoned-Up

Fantastic Man's Buttoned-Up book... 

inside a shirt by Patrik Ervell and t-shirt by Christopher Shannon.

"The simple act of fastening a shirt's highest button and the plainness of the look it creates belies a variety of intricate and complex intentions," Gert Jonkers and Jop van Bennekom declare in unison to begin Fantastic Man's exploration of the buttoned-up shirt. To mark one hundred and fifty years of the London Underground, Penguin have released twelve books to celebrate each line and our favourite men's fashion biannual trundles along the East London Line and notices that few shirt buttons are left undone. Encompassing music, street style, fashion, portraits, an examination of an examination of collar shapes and archive images, the reader is taken on an enthralling expedition. 

Having enjoyed the journey from Paul Flynn's schoolboy rebellion to admiring Jop van Bennekom's close ups of construction, eavesdropping on Gert Jonker's conversation with Neil Tennant to stalking the style of today's East London boys, it is Alexander Fury's essay that has left the lasting impression. In his entry, Alexander Fury asks and duly answers an interesting question. "So how much significance can we ascribe to the buttoning and unbuttoning of a collar? In fashion circles, it's the equivalent to a tectonic shift: it may seem small, but it often ricochets off the Richter scale." It certainly is. The tinkering of button undoing by Tom Ford at Gucci has long been felt whilst the precision of the lean precision of Hedi Slimane at Dior Homme still reverberates today. From Ford's sexualisation to Prada's seedier experiments and Simons' continued exertion of youthful control to Ossendrijver's blurring of formal and casual, the effects of button fastening ripple long after the shirt has been tossed in to the laundry basket. 

A visual statement. A revelment of sartorial (dis)comfort. An act of social rebellion. A historical mark. A celebration of a subculture. A mark of territory. Over its one hundred and twelve pages, the paperback demonstrates that just how the seemingly simple act of button fastening has all manner of repercussions. Ultimately it is a celebration of a detail, a quirk of individual and collective style. Are you buttoned-up? What does your shirt styling say about you?

Collections: David Hellqvist's Shirts

Everyone's wardrobe reveals an obsession with something and our Collections series highlight a few of our favourites. Today, we delve in to Port Magazine's new online editor David Hellqvist's collection of shirts. Having had the pleasure of working alongside him at Dazed for two years, I've seen his entire sartorial repertoire and was frequently impressed with both the consistency and variety of his shirt choices. Now that we've both moved on, I miss the daily sighting so duly invited myself around to his Hackney home to have a good rummage through some old favourites and be introduced to a few recent acquisitions. Below is an introduction from the man himself followed by plenty of shirt shots and we take a closer look at a few of his favourites...

"I can't remember the first ever shirt that I bought but I can remember getting into the kind of shirts I wear now. I had a massive Polo Ralph Lauren 'love in' a few years ago. That's where my love of button down shirts in light blue chambray comes from. They are still great shirts, and so clever... the man basically invented polo shirts and that kind of relaxed Ivy League style. I had loads of them. Don't wear them anymore but they still sit in the archive...

I can't pick a favourite - sorry - but looking at the images now, seeing the shirts I pulled out without thinking just because I loved them that moment, there's a few things that I clearly look for in a shirt; clever and unexpected details, like with the Martine Rose shirt. Mixed prints and fabrics; a bit of a favourite, as seen in the Our Legacy shirt and the Comme des Garcons x Visvim shirt. Not always the most subtle solution but a fairly simple way of making a shirt stand out. All over prints; the Adam Kimmel over dyed Hawaii print is just brilliant, a moody take on the loudest, jolliest and happiest print ever invented. And also the Wood Wood Paradiski Insignia shirt... a bit of humour is important, can't take it all too serious. That leaves the Mark Mcnairy shirt. It says McNasty on the back and New York on the front. It's awesome. Need I say more?"

Having offered a cross section of his collection, we could not resist taking a look at how he wears a few of his favourites and to learn the stories behind them. What follows are his descriptions of six of his well loved treasures.

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The old favourite...

"This is a collaboration between Comme des Garcon's shirt line and Visvim which I picked up when I was working in Dover Street Market back in 2006. It is the oldest shirt in my collection that I still frequently wear. It is just beautiful. On first look it is a shirt that has the characteristics of a classic Comme shirt with its blue and white stripes but the paneling makes it different from other line shirts. The fusion of three subtly different fabrics is great."

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The new favourite...

"I bought this beautiful shirt in Stockholm during fashion week back in August. Again it uses three different fabrics. Mixing colours, prints and texture is an easy way for designers to make shirts exciting but Our Legacy just do it so well and their fit is brilliant. I love the subtle combination."

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The classic Martine Rose...

"This is one of my many Martine Rose shirts. It is just the perfect example of how she approaches her signature shirts. The classic Bengal stripe is transformed with the addition of the red tape seamed pocket and zip detailing. Traditional with innovation. It is a hybrid."

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The classic McNasty...

"What can you not like about Mr Mark McNairy, Mr McNasty, Mr New York? He takes Ivy League staples and fucks around with them to make his own brand. This is actually a present from him so I think it might be a sample because it is so thin but it is perfect for warm weather. I tend not to like short sleeved shirts but I make an exception for this one because the print is so damn cool."

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The recent Wood Wood...

"I just love the Paradiski Insignia print from Wood Wood this season. Wood Wood are a great Danish brand who just add their own touch to traditional pieces, season after season. The print itself is a little crazy but it's awesome."

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The darkness of Adam Kimmel...

"This is from Adam Kimmel SS12. I just love the idea of taking a familiar classic like the Hawaiian shirt and making it his own. It is dark. Not just in hue but by the approach of taking something so light, colourful and fun and making it black."

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