INTRODUCING BB'S CURATED COLLECTION - SPRING 2014

THE ARMCHAIR TRAVELER

 This Samuelsohn suit, you see, took the long way to Seattle. (Say that ten times fast.) Since 1923 Samuelsohn has sourced wools from Italy and Great Britain, and rare silks and cashmeres from Asia. They then fashion them into garments in Montreal for a very particular - and particularly international - clientele. With full-canvas construction, hand-sewn details, durability and style, this suit will take you anywhere (and anywhere it can’t take you, a Samuelsohn all-season water-resistant 12-pocket travel blazer can. But that’s a story for another time). Pair this suit ($1395) with a shirt ($345) and tie ($165) from Giorgio Armani, the perfectionist whose “things” now include home furnishings, hotels, resorts, restaurants, cafés, clubs, fine jewelry, perfumes, flowers and yachts, started with a shirt and a tie. Perfect ones. Very much like the ones you see here, gracing this perfect plaid suit atop the perfectly cobbled shoe (Fratelli Rosetti, $575).

ARMANI SUIT SEPARATES

Linen/tencel jacket - Armani - $845

 When we find an amazing fabric in the marketplace, we're not averse to buying it in jackets, pants, or both. Case in point - this amazing linen and tencel blend fabric, a soft take on linen that is textural but not a hard-crease wrinkle.  Wear it as shown above with contrasting sportswear, or pair it with the matching pant for a summer suit look.

Shown with matching pant - $425 - and Gianetto Portofino sporty dress shirt  - $265

CHARLY'S PICK - CIVIDINI "DI PINTO"

Cividini - $1585

For me, this jacket is all about the fabric...it's got a little bit of metal in it, so there's a really subtle sparkle that looks AMAZING with everything. I also love that it's hand-printed/painted, so it has this cool one-of-a-kind feel. 

Charly Locking
Sales Associate

ARMANI - GLENPLAID SPORT COAT

Giorgio Armani - $1745

Giorgio Armani's splendid glen-plaid is a Super 120's, lightweight wool from Reda, a luxury woolens mill in Biella, Italy.  Featuring light and dark neutrals with a light blue windowpane, it's a great seasonless basic for any professional wardrobe.  Also available in Made-To-Measure. 

(detail)

SCENES FROM THE PHOTOSHOOT

Beck working on the scrims

Kay editing in camera with Beck

Charly looks amazing in D.Exterior

Our model Johan in Giorgio Armani

Our latest photoshoot! Stay tuned for fantastic catalog images of our own Charly Locking, as well as our mens model Johan.

REWARD OF THE WEEK: BOKA

BOKA KITCHEN AND BAR | 3,000 BB SKINS
BOKA is a vibrant, communal blend of lounge, bar, and restaurant. Sleek, urban design is infused with a menu of contemporary American food, handcrafted cocktails, and a wine list reflecting a heavy Northwest influence. Meal services include breakfast, lunch, cocktail hour, dinner, late night, weekend brunch, and seasonal patio dining. Seattle magazine readers recently voted the restaurant "Best Hotel Breakfast/ Brunch" in Seattle. The lucky BB Skin Game player will receive a terrific dinner for two at BOKA. To learn more, please visit bokaseattle.com. ($150 value)

NEW ARRIVALS - GIANETTO PORTOFINO

Assorted styles by Gianetto - $265-295

We chose this season's fabrics from Gianetto for their intense colors and great texture. Gianetto's shirts are rugged, yet soft, with a light washed feel that is perfect to wear under a jacket or untucked over shorts.

MARGIELA'S NEW BOUTIQUE

 These are snaps of Maison Martin Margiela's MM6 boutique in the Takashimaya department store. Exemplary of the Maison's predilection for surrealism, the space is designed to be a fashionable take on public spaces.

NEW ARRIVALS - BY MALENE BIRGER

Silk top - $395 (also available in black/red stripe)

We're so pleased with the newest arrivals from the "Queen of Copenhagen," Malene Birger.  Her collection is young, whimsical and fashion forward - perfect for a modern Seattle woman. 

Check out this Butch Blum exclusive in store now, but be warned - this collection always sells quickly! 

Skirt - $325

CAMERON'S PICK - BY MALENE BIRGER

By Malene Birger - $495

I chose this piece for my pick this week because it's so subtly sexy, with the sheer panel over a deep v neckline, yet it's a really easy silhouette for most women to wear. The fabric has a soft stretch and resists wrinkles really well - an easy way to look your best at all times. 

Cameron Levin
In-House stylist and designer

NEW ARRIVALS - SANTONI "WALCOTT"

"Walcott" - $630 - Santoni

This stylish option is an amalgam of 2014 trends...Santoni took a basic slip-on shoe and chose a soft taupe-grey leather with subtle hand-burnishing, and finished the look with a double-monkstrap closure and a weather-wise rubber sole. A stylish choice with a suit, sport coat, or dressy cotton slack.

A HANDMADE SHOE

Check out this video - it's a cobbler making a traditional, hand-lasted shoe. Very few companies follow this rigorous standard of production anymore, so our selection of handmade shoes at Butch Blum is that much more special.

Check out the latest from Fratelli Rossetti at Butch Blum, featuring similar standards of construction and terrific modern Italian styling.

NEW FROM DENNIS MEROTTO

Jacket - $1115...Skirt - $495 - Both Dennis Merotto

More modern loveliness from Canadian designer Dennis Merotto - a chic contemporary line for lovers of fabric, clean, modern silhouettes, and quirky textures, like this lightweight linen hopsacking moto-jacket, paired with a restrained take on a classic Hawaiian shirt - in skirt form!

SUSANNA GALANIS JEWELRY

Susanna Galanis is a Greek designer, who worked with her family fur business, before managing the Versace boutique in Bergdorf Goodman and then the Atelier in the downtown Manhattan store.  She credits her time with Versace, as well as her obsession with history for her designs - which feature eclectic embellishments, extra-long chains perfect for layering, and semi-precious stones. Best of all, the collection is priced with a real sense of value - single strands retail for $125-215, with multi-strand and embellished styles ranging from $495-895.

NEW ARRIVALS FROM D'EXTERIOR

Marble print coat - $695

We have an incredible selection of new merchandise - including our picks from D.Exterior!

D.Exterior is a design studio and a factory, producing fabulous private label clothing as well as some of the beautiful designs from Jean Paul Gaultier Pret-A-Porter, etc. Because of this, you will find incredible quality - the same techniques and fabrics that go into an $1800 JPG blouse will be present in a $795 D.Exterior dress.

Hurry in to see the best of the collection while it lasts - you will be so thrilled with your savvy - and stylish! - new purchase.

NEW ARRIVALS FROM AGAVE

Shirt - $215...pant - $255 - both by Agave

Spring's collection from Agave denim is casual, but sophisticated - a product for a guy who loves to mix patterns and textures. Try an aggressive buffalo plaid button-down, paired with a striated black cotton stretch jean.

Worried about the weight? These fabrics may be dark and richly colored, but their extreme light weight will keep you comfortable even in the hottest Seattle weather.

(detail of jean)

CELEBRITY SIGHTING - SUPERMODELS IN CLOSED

CLOSED posted this terrific shot of supermodels Andrea Diaaconu (Romania's Next Top Model) and Toni Garrn (currently dating Leo DiCaprio - a huge prerequisite for a successful modeling career ;) ) in their NY store.  It's no big deal to see models wearing hot clothes - but it's a VERY big deal when they're buying for themselves in the store! 

NEW ARRIVALS - CLOSED

 The latest arrivals for women from CLOSED are just in for Spring!  This season's collection features cutting-edge photo prints in pop colors, as well as terrific reversible styles like the baseball jacket below (one side is forest green, the other turquoise).

Check out CLOSED - exclusively at Butch Blum in Seattle!

NEW ARRIVALS FROM FUZZI

Fuzzi - $515

This season's selections from Fuzzi are full of Spring madness - vivid prints in dizzying patterns, ruched and draped across the body in innovative, figure-flattering ways.  Check out this incredible Italian collection - featuring Fuzzi's signature printed stretch tulle.

CAMERON'S PICK - TRANSIT LEATHER JACKET

Transit - $1065

This piece is so Transit - the very very soft leather is sewn to four knit panels - two on the sleeves and two on the sides - that provide excellent movement and stretch. The leather itself has literally been washed and shrunk to give it a vintage-y crinkled appearance and a luxurious texture.  It goes with a lot, too...everything from a jean or cotton skirt, to a slim pant. 

Cameron Levin
In-house designer, stylist

SHIRT CARE TIPS

In anticipation of our upcoming Hamilton Shirts trunk show (save the date- April 24-26) we'd like to share a few shirt care tips, courtesy of designer Michael Bastian from the March 13 issue of the Wall Street Journal.

NEW WINDOWS

Outfit by Nude

Outfit by Di Maestro

Outfits by Di Maestro and Colombo

Outfit by Fabiana Filippi

Outfit by Armani

Outfit by Nude

KENT'S PICK - ESEMPLARE

Esemplare - $695

 This is, without a doubt, one of the lightest tech fabrics I've ever seen. It's a tissue weight, yet it has tons of stretch...it's almost more like a shirt than a traditional windbreaker.  I'm also wild about the elastic details at the wrists, because I'd tend to wear a garment like this with the sleeves pushed up.  Truly an incredible variation on a classic. 

Kent Rogers
MTM specialist, Blogmaster

INTRODUCING EIDOS

A shot from the GQ article introducing Eidos

Eidos is a mid-priced label launched by the creative minds at Isaia, in conjunction with designer Anthony Ciongoli, formerly of Michael Bastien.  The collection features soft, washed textures - seersucker, denim, canvas, and garment-dyed wool - as well as a traditionally Neapolitan cut.  

Come check out the brand GQ magazine described as "...so Italian that the clothes ought to come with a Fellini poster and a bottle of Barolo" in store this week! 

THE KATE JACKET BY COLOMBO

"Kate" jacket - Colombo - $1995

The Kate jacket - the original cashmere fleece - has become the icon of Lanificio Luigi Colombo. This garment dyed jacket is offered again and again in a range of new and trendy colors, always changing with the season.  

Find this incredible garment exclusively at Butch Blum this Spring, in Heather and Sapphire. 

NEW ARRIVALS - LBM 1911

LBM 1911 - $775

This fabric must be worn to be believed. It's a relatively tightly woven fabric - with a sweatery hand that gives *JUST* enough stretch to be flexible, without losing the shape of the garment. Also available in a fun, springy green, this is a very cool garment for a summer wedding, or as a daily casual with a great linen pant.

Close-up detail of green