Time to start dressing the part.

Ten months ago, I decided to start dressing like a grown-up, you know, suit jackets, tailored trousers, leather-soled shoes, ties, etc. It just hit me one day. I was tired of the never ending "jeans + something" look, and my job had moved from the cloistered world of creative professional to the business and strategy side of things.

Anyway, in addition to the numerous personal changes this effort has entailed, which could be the subject of other posts, I have discovered much of interest on the business side of things, such as:

• We are in the groundswell of an "authenticity and tradition" trend in clothes, the importance of which extends beyond lapel widths and country of origin concerns. Craftsmanship and micro-merchandising are in full swing.
• The polo/khaki and T-shirt/denim movements have peaked and are ripe for replacement.
• Online communities and self-publishing make it easy for people to find mentors, which in turn can have significant impact in a small group of devotees. This points to a failure of mass merchants and provides an interesting opportunity for them.
• From a brand perspective, spend your time with the few than trying to convert the many.
• Print/Traditional media is not dead. Not by a long shot.

More to come.

Resources/Discoveries
Put This On
Mistah Wong's Brog
A Continuous Lean
Custom shirts from J. Hillburn
Esquire's Handbook of Style
Details' Men's Style Guide
The Suit
Herringbone
Howard Yount
Kent Wang