HIS AND HERS UNCONSTRUCTED SPORT COATS

Left: Brushed cotton herringbone - Cantarelli - $1395...Cashmere print scarf - Yarnz - $235
Right: Felted tricotine blazer - Peserico - $545...Gauze cashmere cowl - Rosso Puro - $265 

When we say "Unconstructed," we're referring to the lack of canvas structure and shoulder pad that is traditional in sport coat (or suit) construction. These jackets have a dressy feel thanks to their suitlike silhouettes, but their casual fabrics and soft, easy fit are perfect for dressing up or dressing down.

MARTIN MARGIELA S/S 2013

 A first look at Maison Martin Margiela's  S/S 2013 runway collection. Check out new Margiela arrivals in store now!

FOGAL HOSIERY

Assorted looks from Fogal - $39-59

Featuring double-reinforced gussets, these tights by Fogal are stylish AND beautifully made, perfect for a casual daytime look, or for a fabulous holiday evening. Ours exclusively in Seattle, Fogal has been making incredible fashion looks since 1922.

BB HOLIDAY COUPON

With this coupon, enjoy great savings this holiday! Either print this image out, or bring in the coupon in your latest look book, in the mail now.

DONALD J. PLINER "ETIE"

"Etie" by Donald J. Pliner - $318

Crafted from a distressed nappa leather that's ultra-soft, with a great waxy black-over-brown finish, the "Etie" from Donald J. Pliner is a terrific dress up/dress down shoe for the rainy winter months in Seattle, as there's not much you can do to hurt the finish of the shoe itself, and the thick rubber soles will handle all kinds of moisture with aplomb.

FROM THE LOOK BOOK - KNIT TIES

Assorted knit ties - $185-225 - Corneliani, Roda

These aren't your knit ties from the 80's, although like those ties they're a wonderful way to bring some texture to a business casual outfit. Today's knit tie is significantly hipper - narrow, with a clean finish, and available in fine-gauge merino and cashmere yarn. These are even reversible for added flexibility (the reverse side of these ties are the same patterns and colors but exactly the opposite - light with dark figures instead of dark with light figures).

DESIGNER BIO - JOHN VARVATOS

A look from Varvatos' S/S 2013 collection

A Greek-American hailing from the suburbs of Detroit, John Varvatos credits his early obsession with Motor City rock and roll for his interest in fashion, and it is clearly a unifying theme in his design.

Varvatos turned heads early on in his fashion career, serving as head of menswear design at Calvin Klein and later at Ralph Lauren where he created the successful Polo Jeans Company. In 1999 he opened his own fashion house, which debuted its first line in late 2000. The original “black-less collection” of casual-cool suiting garnered critical acclaim and a CFDA New Talent award, followed by a Designer of the Year title in 2001.

The brand has grown into a lifestyle, including a line of footwear for Converse, handbags, eyewear, and luxury skincare and fragrances, all unified by the John Varvatos musical sensibility and sophisticated touch.

Varvatos boasts a boutique at 315 Bowery in New York, the space that formerly housed seminal underground music club CBGB. Seventies audio equipment, vinyl albums, and electric guitars are sold side by side with the designer's minimalist menswear. Memorable ad campaigns for his collection have featured legendary icons Iggy Pop, Alice Cooper, Velvet Revolver, and Green Day among others.

Look for new arrivals from John Varvatos at Butch Blum now.

CELEBRITY SIGHTING - MINKA KELLY IN YARNZ

Sighted! Actress and Model Minka Kelly (in a still from the film "The Roommate, with Leighton Meester beside her) is looking stunning in a scarf by Yarnz, one of our favorite new resources for incredibly soft cashmere in fun patterns and colors. While Minka's scarf runs towards the subtle, you can find exciting "pop" colors and patterns from Yarnz here at Butch Blum this holiday.

MARIE-LAURE CHAMOREL JEWELRY

Cashmere sweater - Allude - $345 (also available in paprika, below)
Glass beads and strass - Marie Laure Chamorel - $295 

Jewelry is an important category for us, especially during the holiday season when every gal needs a little sparkle to brighten her day.  These pieces by French designer Marie-Laure Chamorel make use of unusual materials including strips of suede and recycled glass beads to provide a little something new for the lady who has everything.  Wear them with your favorite cashmere sweater (these ones by Allude are pretty fabulous) and try a few of them - they look amazing layered on each other.

Gold and suede - Marie-Laure Chamorel - $185

ROYAL'S PICK - VALSTAR REVERSIBLE JACKET

Reversible tech jacket - Valstar - $1395

Valstar celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, and with craftsmanship like this, it's no surprise. This is a very clever coat. The details are great - beautifully sewn and thoughtfully placed, and the fabric (an unusual impermeable cotton and wool blend) is pleasant to touch but tactile - much more interesting than most 'tech' fabrics. 

Royal Roles
Luxury Menswear buyer

MANNEQUIN MOMENT - DRESSED FOR A PARTY

Tie - Carrot and Gibbs - $65...Shirt - Culturata - $195
Cardigan - PYA - $195...Pant - Armani Black Label - $895

The mannequin sitting among the socks is dressed for a fun holiday party , in a salt-and-pepper Armani wool pant, crisp Culturata white dress shirt, lightweight PYA merino cardigan, and of course a festive bow tie!

YARNZ CASHMERE SCARVES

Assorted cashmere scarves - Yarnz - $235

 We have the coolest cashmere scarves from Yarnz - a boutique company out of New York that specializes in vividly colored scarves in high quality yarns. At $235 each, they're a terrific value for the quality, and their limited runs of each style guarantee you'll be the only one walking down the street in your awesome new scarf!

ALLUDE COWLNECK DRESS

 Cashmere cowl-neck dress - Allude - $555

We're ALL about value here at BB - how much something costs vs. how much it's WORTH, and we think this cashmere sweater-dress by Allude is a great price for what you're getting. Italian-sourced cashmere yarn (and a lot of it, too) isn't cheap, especially when it's luxe, long-fiber cashmere yarn like this one (the long length of the fiber means that 2 years from now, this will be clean and tidy instead of covered in pills like a cheaper "floor-sweepings" cashmere). The silhouette is easy for everyone to wear, whether you belt it as shown, or wear it loose and soft.

INIS MEÁIN ALPACA/SILK SCARF

Alpaca/Silk scarf - Inis Meáin - $225

Alpaca is a hollow fiber, which means that it not only retains warmth easily but is also lightweight. This great wear-it-with-everything scarf is made in Ireland of locally grown Alpaca, and is mixed with silk for added softness.

ALLEGRI DOWN SHIRTJACKET

Down jacket - Allegri - $595

 This down coat has a terrific shape - fitted at the shoulder and waist, which gives you a great silhouette, unusual for a down jacket. The outer material is as impermeable as it gets, and the inside features a transparent lining to show off the feathers.

Also available in olive 

"WODEHOUSE" BY TIMBERLAND BOOT COMPANY

Timberland Boot Company - $275

 One of our most enduringly popular shoes, this style by Timberland Boot Company goes with a little bit of everything, from a casual sport coat and pant to a tee-shirt and jeans. Its soft, tumbled leather has a slight shine, without needing tons of constant attention (even in tough Seattle weather).

CONGRATULATIONS!

Client and friend Marie Booker enjoys the Seahawks game today with her pal Michelle, after winning our drawing for free tickets at the Doug Baldwin event back in October. Later today, after the game, she'll get an exclusive meet-and-greet with Mr. Baldwin himself!

Congrats to the Seahawks on their ASTOUNDING victory over the Cardinals.

PYA CARDIGAN AND Z ZEGNA FLANNELINA

Fine Gauge merino cardigan - $195 - PYA (also available in black)
Brushed flannel ombré sport shirt - $295 - Z Zegna

We love great quality from unusual resources. PYA black label is a small knitwear concern from Patrick Assaraf, an big-time importer in the fashion industry who wanted to provide great quality at a relatively low price. The shirt shown with this outfit is from perennial BB favorite Z Zegna, who use a unique brushed cotton flannelina (like a flannel, but not heavy) and dart the shirt in the front, rather than the back, for a sharply tailored V shape.

WINTER ACCESSORIES

Gloves - $95 - Shaneen Huxham...Stretch pearl bracelets - $98-115 - Aireheart by Sydney

We love winter accessories! The gloves you see here are a sumptuously soft stretch velvet equally appropriate with a heavy fall coat or with a glamorous satin evening look. The bracelets incorporate freshwater pearls and vintage 'whatnots' sourced from estate sales, antique stores, etc by their creator, Sydney Curtis.

PESERICO BLAZER

Cut felt blazer - $545 - Peserico

$545 buys you a LOT of jacket with this little piece from Peserico - a manufacturer who provides the stylish designs seen on French and Italian runways like YSL and Chloe. The material is a brushed tricotine - a tightly woven fabric with knit characteristics that is known for being wrinkle-resistant and textural without being busy.  The care and attention Peserico give to construction are easily seen in the tiny stitches, unlined construction (never cheap to do) and intelligent placement of bust and waist darts.

CONGRATS TO OUR LNO DRAWING WINNERS

Special order looks from Fogal

Congratulations to the winners of our drawing, held at our Ladies Night Out party on Tuesday night!

Jeri Donnelly won herself a gift certificate to Toulouse petit, a French-style kitchen and lounge in the Queen Anne area.

Terri Blair won herself a pair of stockings from our premier line of Fogal legwear, exclusively available at Butch Blum in Seattle. 

Thanks again to everyone who made it to this terrific event!

Scrumptious options from Tolouse Petit

JOHN VARVATOS SPRING 2013 RUNWAY

John Varvatos' Spring 2013 collection is classic Varvatos - Menswear staples with a fashion bent, with rustic finishes and a slightly preppier overall feel than his usual rockstar-on-the-weekend approach. Check out some of our favorites in store now, as we receive the first of the spring arrivals.

SCENES FROM LNO - PART 2

 More from our fabulous Great Gatsby-themed Ladies Night Out party last night. Thanks to everybody who made it such an incredible party. We love you ladies!!!

FABIANA FILIPPI 3/4 POUF

3/4 puffer - Fabiana Filippi - $1695

It'd be hyperbole to suggest that next to "versatile" in the dictionary, there should be a picture of this coat...but what the heck, why not? It's just that flexible! This coat is a weatherproof nylon outer with a gorgeous cashmere/wool blend zip-out lining, and removable cashmere/wool sleeves, which means that you can wear it lots of different ways with lots of different accessories. Its light weight combination of fabrics makes it easily packable, so it's super for travel.

SCENES FROM LNO - PART 1

 We had an incredible Ladies Night Out party last night, with some of our best friends and clients and of course, the fabulous offerings from Fogal and SAXX underwear. More photos to come!

WINTER WOOL TIES

Wool and wool/silk ties - private label and Roda - $135-195

Wool (and wool/silk) ties enhance any dressy winter outfit. Pair sport coats and suits that have a little bit of texture like hopsacking, flannel, birdseye, or herringbone (save the clear-finish, tropical weights for spring please) with a great wool blend tie for a fall look that's rich in color and texture. Don't be afraid to wear one casually too - they look wonderful with a cardigan or v-neck and a pair of jeans and boots or oxfords.

TRANSIT SWEATER COAT

Stretch knit herringbone blazer - Transit - $825

This jacket bucks a lot of trends for a cool, unique look that's somehow just right anyway. It's long - long enough to be outerwear on many - and has three buttons instead of the usual two. The fabric is a tightly knit herringbone stretch fabric that's perfect over a sweater, or dress it up with a collared shirt and tie, with a cool pair of slim wool pants.

NEW HANDBAGS BY CHRISTIANSEN

Crocodile and lambskin side-zip tote- $1875 - Christiansen

We've just received a small shipment of extremely special handbags from Christiansen, a company known for its exotic materials including crocodile and python, as well as its sumptuously soft leathers. This particular piece features a broad section of crocodile belly - the area with the largest, most even scales - as well as a cool side-zip feature that expands the bag so you can carry all your necessities.

LADIES NIGHT OUT - SAVE THE DATE!

Still from "The Great Gatsby" (2013)

Where will you be this Tuesday (December 4) from 5-7pm? If you're a savvy lady shopper, you'll be at Butch Blum's Great Gatsby-themed "Ladies Night Out" party! 

• Enjoy our BB Gatsby’esque martinis with Nolet’s Silver Gin.
• Indulge in Moet Chandon champagne cocktails as seen in the movie.
• Our mighty fine male models can show you what your man could be styling.
• See the future with our favorite psychic who would have served Gatsby well had he chosen to sit for a reading.  
• Andrea Perrone, luxury hosiery envoy with Fogal of Switzerland, will be bringing special styles designed for the Great Gatsby movie for special order. 
• Saxx Fine Underwear will be bringing their Holiday 2012-13 collection - the best luxury underwear on the market - and great stocking stuffers for your guy! 

Your special man can look just as sharp as Gatsby!  Bring a gal pal with you - the more the merrier - but let us know how many people are coming in your party. 

To RSVP, please contact Libbie Martin by emailing promotions@BUTCHBLUM.com or by calling 206-622-5760.  Reservations are limited, please respond by December 1, 2012.

Revelers at last year's LNO party

GIVEAWAYS AT LNO!

At our upcoming "Gatsby" themed Ladies Night Out, we will have some great giveaways, including:

1st prize- Gift Certificate to Toulouse Petit - named the "Best Brunch in Seattle"

2nd prize- Fogal tights - valued at $30, these are a beautiful quality tight for a stylish fall look.

Stay tuned for more info on this fun event, and be sure you've RSVP'd to promotions@BUTCHBLUM.com with all of your +1's!