Isaac Likes


  • #2109 The Ermenegildo Zegna take on prep

    I'm not going to lie, I grinned when Zegna sent me photos to write about their take on preppy style. Here’s why: The outfit comprising of a navy blazer, button-down shirt, knit tie and rolled khaki pants looked so similar to my daily uniform that I was immediately sold. Call it Ivy League, call it schoolboy style, call it the influence of the wealthy North East, but regardless of which way you spin it, prep is perennially cool. After all, menswear is at its very best when it’s timeless. Here, Ermenegildo Zegna offers a simple way to dip a toe in the water – start with a red and cream striped navy cardigan, add a white button-down, a silk knit tie and some slim cropped pants; and on the weekend, try swapping the shirt out for a slim fit polo and you’ll be good to go.

    1. The word preppy conjures images of tanned, blonde All-American students in pastel colours lounging around on grass lawns. But I always think imperfection is key – err on the side of flawed. Wear your pants till they’re threadbare and grazed, leave your shirt unironed, and throw on a pair of canvas sneakers instead of the typical leather loafers.

    2. Pants make an outfit. I’m a firm believer that if your pants fit well and look great, everything else will fall into place. The best preppy looks are centred around a good pair of slim khaki, navy, Nantucket-red or sky blue cotton pants. Length is everything – roll them up above the ankle or have your tailor cuff them a little on the shorter side. A naked ankle is essential.

    3. On that same note, too many pastels will leave you looking like a bowl of Fruit Loops, so keep your pinks, pale yellows and greens to an absolute minimum – if you must wear them, go one at a time. Men look better in navy! (In my extremely humble opinion.)

    4. You can never own too many white button down shirts, or softly tailored cotton blazers.

    5. Preppy isn’t reserved to the Summer months. As soon as winter rolls round, invest in some fine gauge cashemere sweaters, corduroy blazers, grey flannel pants and a tan duffel coat and you can’t go wrong.



    This article originally appeared on zegna.com.

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  • #2108 The facts of life
    Photo: Streetpeeper

    1. Tonight I'm going to the launch party for Sara Ziff and Jenna Sauers' new initiative The Model Alliance – the first ever organisation that aims to secure workplace rights for American models. I know what you're thinking – they're so beautiful and lucky and they make so much more money than me. Here's the thing: If a model gets injured on a job, they're not covered by insurance. If a model gets sexually harassed on a job, they're often told to grin and bear it. If a model gets charged ridiculous, unexplained expenses by their agency, there's no human resources department to help them come to an amicable solution. The Model Alliance aims to expose and solve all those problems and more, one step at a time. Read the testimonials, they're great. I'm backing them 110%, and you should too.

    2. I watched my first ever American Football game yesterday, and it just happened to be the Super Bowl. Let's go Giants! After two hours, I believe I've gotten the sport all figured out: It's just like rugby, except they're not very good at catching the ball. Zing!

    3. Fashion Week starts in two days and I still don't have internet at my apartment! Freaking out!!!

    4. My new Hasidic Jewish landlord owns a company called Mazel Holdings. Does that make anybody else laugh? Just me?

    5. Now that I have my very own apartment, it's time to start the decorating, except Tom and I have a little difference in opinion on what looks good. He likes those big black leather couches that you always find in bachelor pads, plus 60 inch TVs, Playstations and nothing on the walls; I prefer the Katie Lockhart approach. And he won't budge. So pretty much what I'm trying to say is that I have better taste, but he has a stronger personality. My bedroom will become a haven of cool, just you wait.

    6. Can someone please explain to me what was so wrong with Lana Del Rey's performance on SNL? Was it just because she kept doing that funny Broadway-esque deep voice thing? Regardless, I think she's awesome. And I predict that she'll be all over New York Fashion Week this week. Just you wait.

    7. My mother has been telling me this for the past 27 years and it's irritatingly true: The amount of energy you spend getting all bent out of shape over how much you don't want to have to do something is far greater than the amount of energy you spend just getting it done.

    8. I repeat: You know what I like better than blogging about fashion? Answering your relationship questions on Tumblr. Step into my office; my door is always open.

    9. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: People who tell you that smoking weed or taking other drugs helps their creative process are idiots and you should de-friend them on Facebook and in life.

    10. The definition of insanity is repeating the same mistake and expecting a different outcome. The definition of insanity is repeating the same mistake and expecting a different outcome. The definition of insanity is repeating the same mistake and expecting a different outcome. The definition of insanity is repeating the same mistake and expecting a different outcome.

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  • #2107 How to rent an apartment in New York City

    There are a few moments in a man's life that automatically take him from child to adult: Embarking on a career; having a baby; proposing to the woman he loves; signing a 12 month lease on an apartment in New York City. After browsing Craigslist for about five hours and viewing apartments in four different areas of the city, Tom Bull and I had seen everything we needed to see – cramped two-and-a-half-bedroom squats in the Lower East Side (for only $4500 per month!!); flexi-bedroom shoeboxes in Flatiron with great rooftops and a doorman (for only $4350 per month!!); and punky warehouses with vegan graffiti on the walls in the depths of Brooklyn ($2500 per month). But it was the first phone call we made, and the first apartment that we viewed that caught our eye.

    Located directly below the Wiliamsburg Bridge in Brooklyn, it was huge, airy, clean, light, warm and currently tenanted by a 30-something year old New Zealander named Renee. The broker, a 25 year old Hasidic Jew with two children, a limp handshake and a quick smile, told us that it was his mission to help us in any way that he could – he was now at our service. He quickly pointed out that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity – this location with this much space at this price was unheard of. Renee whispered that the advertised rent had been hiked $750 on what she was paying.

    Can we add an extra bedroom? Of course, no problem. Will you seal the sandy grout in the exposed brick wall? Of course, no problem. Will you rewire the lighting so this living room switch doesn't turn off the light in that upstairs bedroom? Of course, no problem. Then, the most important question of all: Will you build me a hanging clothes rack? Of course, no problem. I was sold.

    Now came time for the logistics. Since Tom and I are both non-US citizens with no credit history (it takes at least a year of paying regular bills to even begin to build credit), the owner – a portly 60-something year old Hasidic Jew with endless stories, multiple business interests and a somewhat confusing answer to any question thrown his way, "Up to you," – wanted a little extra up front on the usual first month, last month and one month security. "You pay five months, the apartment is yours," he told us. The room went black and I vaguely remember hearing someone call for smelling salts. When I came to, Tom was shaking his hand.

    We signed the lease on Monday and moved in Thursday. All the work was completed before we arrived, and the landlord honoured everything he promised. The moral of the story is this: Cash talks, and make sure you get absolutely everything in writing.

    We're now the proud tenants of our very own Brooklyn loft. God bless America.

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  • #2106 We're re-releasing the Thugged Out Since Cub Scouts tees
    Tom Bull, me and Jenny Albright – thugged out since cub scouts. Photo: Katherine Lowe

    Did you miss out on buying one of our Thugged Out Since Cub Scouts tees the first time around? Did you buy one and like it so much you want it in a different colour? Did you see some random guy walking around in one in Singapore? Did somebody steal yours off the washing line? You're not alone – these bad boys were so hot they spontaneously combusted straight off the printing table (lawsuits are pending). Katherine Lowe of Katherine is Awesome fame and I have reunited to drop a limited edition run of Thugged Out Since Cub Scouts tees in two new colourways for Shop One Night (New Zealand's answer to Fashion's Night Out), launching February 23. Stay tuned for more details. HOLLA!

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  • #2105 Drizzy made me do it
    Photos: Greg Lewis

    Hailing from Auckland, New Zealand, a guy doesn't have any need for a pair of leather boots. It doesn't snow, temperatures hardly drop below a balmy 10 degrees, and it might rain all the time, but that's what cars are for. Here in New York, things are different: Chuck Taylors don't cut it in snow, and wet feet will give you the man flu faster than drinking a cup full of pneumonia. So for the past few months I've been jumping puddles, holding umbrellas over my sneakers and walking miles in the wrong direction to avoid patches of sidewalk snow.

    Selecting the right pair of boots has been quite the conundrum. LL Bean's are practical but aesthetically displeasing, anything fancy is about a billion dollars too expensive and Clark's, which I would have happily gone with, don't do the job in shin-high snow. Then I watched Drake perform at the NHL All Stars game on Sunday night and my problem was solved; his classic Timberland boots were the ideal option – thugged out, sturdy as hell and 100% weatherproof. So I pulled the trigger.

    I've been wearing them for a day and they feel like bricks on my feet but I can't stop looking down to admire them. What can I say? They the best I ever had, the best I ever had, the best I ever had, the best I ever had.


    I'm wearing: Little Brother duffle coat, Comme Play sweater, Uniqlo oxford button down, Simon Miller jeans, Timberland Men’s Heritage Classic 6-Inch boots.

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  • #2104 The facts of life
    Photo: The Sartorialist

    1. Imagine every American frat movie you've ever watched and you'll begin to get an idea of what my weekend was like at Penn State University: Freshmen desperately trying to drink themselves into oblivion (so long as they had a little energy left for late-night coitus); 18 year old girls in bikinis despite the negative-degree temperatures; no clean place to sleep or sit; jocks screaming at each other about the merits of their NFL quarterback over another NFL quarterback; public displays of male nudity, vomiting and sexual acts; a midnight police bust; and a long queue at the largest pharmacy in town the morning after, where I personally witnessed about 15 girls requesting the emergency contraceptive pill, in a five minute stretch. I can now officially tick 'Attend the World's Largest Australia Day Party' off my bucket list. And I made it out alive.

    2. The above outfit is the best I’ve seen in a long, long time. How fresh is a cardigan instead of a suit jacket? I'm going to have to try it out for myself.

    3. New things I'm attempting to introduce to Little Brother in my first season: Bags, socks, boxer shorts and collabs with some familiar menswear faces. If we do it right, Little Brother should be the one stop shop for guys wanting to look good in New Zealand. Next stop, the world.

    4. In other New Zealand menswear news, we're shooting the next Barkers campaign right here in New York City in a few weeks. I've assembled a crack team of Antipodeans for the job and it is going to be fully seeck. Stay tuned for more details.

    5. All going to plan, I'm moving into my new Brooklyn apartment on Wednesday this week. There's so much to do and so much to buy – beds, clothing racks, those nice wooden hangers I like, cutlery... and three days to do it in. On the plus side, it's going to be my first taste of normalcy and routine in over two years. On the dark side, life is about to get a lot more expensive.

    6. For superficial reasons entirely, I became an NHL fan yesterday.

    7. You know what I like better than blogging about fashion? Answering your relationship questions on Tumblr. Step into my office; my door is always open.

    8. Quote of the week: "Every failure is a step closer to success." Forget people who tell you you're going to fail. Don't let the bastards get you down!

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  • #2103 Aussie Aussie Ausse, Oi Oi Oi!
    Party rock.

    You know when you agree to something with the full knowledge in your own mind that you're not actually going to go through with it? That was me about two months ago when Tom Bull floated the idea that a huge group of Australian and New Zealander expats charter a bus to Penn State University for the world's biggest Australia Day party. How they can lay claim to hosting the world's biggest Australia Day party is beyond me, but it sounds good, so I'm going with it. Anyway, I told Tom I'd go, I've been talking it up to everyone who'll listen, we considered buying our own bus and I even blogged about it a few times. But in my mind, I was staying safe and out of trouble and warm and dry in my apartment in New York.

    That plan got overruled, however, when I tried to tell the crew that I was pulling out. Cries of "Traitor!", "Bad friend!" and "Poofta!" could be heard for miles around. Then the guilt trip began. It was all too much pressure so I gave in and pledged my allegiance to the Southern Cross.

    There's no doubt things will get messy (or as Australians so charmingly put it: Heccas); I went to an Australian pub last night for the official celebration and I've never seen such a ragtag bunch of drunken hooligans in my entire life. Australians are the proudest booze hags on the planet.

    If I don't make it back alive, it's been fun. Happy Australia Day. Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi!

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  • #2102 My favourite streetstyle shots from the F/W 2012 menswear season
    Tommy Ton for GQ

    The past few days have been crazy. Besides a bunch of freelance assignments that were due, I've been looking for my first ever New York apartment. With a 22 year old Australian. On Craigslist. I enjoy lots of things, but shopping is not one of them. And there is no more extreme shopping experience in life than apartment hunting in New York City. It's you against the world. I had a couple of criteria: Live with one other person at the very most; pay a reasonable amount; never leave Manhattan. Here's what I got: A three/flexi-four bedroom loft that costs a lot of money in Brooklyn. And since we're both non-US citizens with no credit history or guarantors, they've asked for five months rent up front. And we said yes. Good times! In other news, I finally got round to looking at all of Tommy Ton's streetstyle shots of the menswear season just gone, and these are my favourites. Holla.












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  • #2101 Happy friends reunion

    The best thing about going home is reuniting with your loved ones. But now that I'm back in New York, I have to put up with these two winkers. No but seriously, Tom Bull arrived in New York last night from Milan and seeing him and Jenny Albright again (my current surrogate mother) after two months apart was the greatest thing ever. Here's to good friends and adopted family. By the way, if you've watched The Inbetweeners, you'll get the title reference. If not, do it now. Happy friends. Yay!

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  • #2100 The facts of life
    Karlie Kloss for Life

    1. Ever had that moment when you're asleep on a plane and you wake up with a jolt just as you hit the tarmac and it gives you the fright of your god damn life? That was me yesterday. To make matters worse, the immigration officials at border control have a way of questioning you that makes you feel like a criminal no matter how legal you might be: "Why are you here? You look nervous. Why are you nervous? Is there something you need to tell me?" Kills me every fricken time. Despite that, the negative seven degree temperatures and the filthy brown snow, I'm happy to be back.

    2. If luxury labels brought out crewneck sweaters with their logo/monogram/name-written-in-block-letters emblazoned on the front, they would make an absolute killing. Everybody loves those 80s Gucci, Chanel, Kenzo and YSL sweaters. Why don't they re-release them?

    3. The thing you notice the most about Berlin after you've flown back into New York is that the German city planners really gave their statuesque buildings room to breathe. Everything in Manhattan is so tightly crammed, you never really see any of it. Over there a cathedral, palace or monument is given the space to be enjoyed from near or far. Das ist sehr gut.

    4. Insomnia will drive you crazy. I'm halfway there. But 12am – 5am this morning is a 100% improvement on the 6pm – 8:30pm of the night before.

    5. A good friend of mine has been flirtatiously texting a lady of late, but yesterday he found out the lady was, in fact, a lady-boy. Probably a distinction you'd want to make before taking the relationship to the next level. Something tells me he's going to proceed all the same.

    6. "That uniforms like these are the roots of men's formal uniforms—the suit, the tux—wasn't lost on him. Neither was the fact that both emphasize theatricality and artifice. T&A, of course, are Formichetti's stock in trade." And Matthew Schneier wins the award for best written line of the Fall 2012 menswear season.

    7. The more I work, the more I realise that there's little point in compromising yourself for a job. Whenever I'm forced to write in somebody else's style or cover an event I have no interest in or cut my personality out of a story altogether, I always know it's not my best work, no matter how much enthusiasm I attempt to infuse it with. Putting out not-your-best-work won't do you any favours. There's no shame in taking a job for the money, but sometimes you're better to just say no.

    8. Bryan Boy is my hero. Every time I see him I never cease to be amazed and inspired by his dedication to his craft. Anybody who thinks that bloggers don't work hard should try walking a day in his shoes – none would survive. He deserves every iota of success that he's gotten.

    9. I get to hang out with Coco Rocha, Sara Ziff and Jenna Sauers today. More on that to come.

    10. If you suddenly find yourself panicking that your life isn't going anywhere like I did yesterday, write a list of all the things you're currently doing, and all the things you want to be doing. The difference between successful people and not successful people is that successful people set themselves goals, then exert all their energy figuring out how to achieve them. Not successful people focus on the negatives, then exert all their energy worrying about everything that could go wrong, has gone wrong or probably will go wrong. We create our own realities – positive thinking is powerful, as is the opposite. Be positive!

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