The Discerning Brute: fashion, food & etiquette for the ethically handsome man

Spring Hill-Side Ties & Good Spys

• The Hill-Side’s Spring Collection features these organic cotton/flax ties and scarves. Now if only the weather would start acting like spring…

• Gene Baur, President of Farm Sanctuary, recently wrote about legislation that is gaining national popularity among among agribusiness interests to make undercover video investigations Illegal. It is an interesting trend, considering that it targets hidden, true identities and agendas – but we must ask, whose true identity is the one that is concealed? In his blog, Making Hay, Gene writes:

Imagine an industry whose behavior is so reprehensible that it actually lobbies for legislation to make it illegal to document its practices. North Dakota, Montana and Kansas already have laws aimed at preventing activists from taking photographs or filming on farms, and now Iowa and Florida are considering similar measures. If you live in either of these states, please let your elected officials know your thoughts on this important issue.

Most people want to behave in a humane and conscientious way. It is only through secrecy and ignorance that the cruel status quo and the factory farming industry can be maintained.

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joshuakatcher, March 24th 2011 | Tags: Gene Baur, making hay, organic tie, the hill side, undercover investigation
Posted in vegan

Early Spring Fashion, Ohio Eats Babies & Canada Bludgeons Babies

• The hemp-denim tie from The Hill-Side in Indigo is great for spring, and these burgundy organic cotton chinos from Left Field will look great rolled up. The Studio D’Artisan soft gray sweatshirt in organic cotton goes with just about anything like jeans or shorts, and the work-wear inspired organic, Texas-grown cotton shirt from Fullcount is pretty manly in flannel, layered or with a tie.

• Canada’s infamous baby-seal hunt starts in just a few days. Even though ice-cover is at a record-low and many mothers are giving birth months too early and babies are dying and drowning, Canada has not called off this largest hunt of marine mammals on the planet. The Humane Society International is taking action to defend the baby seals, and plans to make 2011 the year it finally ends – but with new markets opening up for baby seal fur in China, they can’t do it without all of our support.

• On Monday, the Ohio Livestock Standards Board voted to keep calves confined in veal crates – crates so small and cruel that they seemingly could only have been thought-up by villains who want to eat the soft-tender flesh of babies, but it’s not a grim fairy tale, it’s Ohio. From Farm Sanctuary‘s President Gene Bauer:

Monday’s vote by the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board (OLCSB) to allow veal calves to be confined in crates so tightly that they can’t even turn around for most of their lives violates the widely publicized agreement that was reached last June between agribusiness interests, including the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, and the humane community to avoid a ballot initiative that would ban the inhumane confinement of animals in veal crates, gestation crates and battery cages across the state. By endorsing veal crates, the OLCSB has demonstrated an interest in upholding the status quo at the expense of improving animal welfare. We urge the OLCSB to reverse its vote and to act in accordance with June’s compromise agreement. Otherwise, the humane community will have no option other than to move forward with the initiative.

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joshuakatcher, March 8th 2011 | Tags: Fullcount, Left Field, ohio farms, organic cotton, organic texas cotton, seal hunt, Studio D'Artisan, the hill side, veal crates
Posted in vegan

Lionhearts & Battle Cries: 20 Lines for 2010

by Joshua Katcher
featured on HintMag.com

Tevas with socks. Cargo Pants. Slogan tees. Let’s face it, people who care about ecosystems, animals, and worker’s rights aren’t typically celebrated for their sartorial poise. Likewise, most designers who care about form, function, and aesthetics aren’t typically known for their environmental wisdom or empathy; Fur coats, leather everything, toxic cotton, sweatshops.

There is new breed of designer, though, not so easily written off, who can turn old televisions into jaw-dropping shoes, who foster relationships with organic cotton farmers in developing countries, who invest in research and development of warm, biodegradable, recycled, cruelty-free textiles, whose aesthetic vision is not hampered by the challenges of navigating ethical dilemmas, and who – armed with tencel, lenpur, hemp, recycled fabrics, faux-fur, soda-bottle ultrasuede, and organics – aren’t afraid of challenging the tragic credo set by heritage brands. In a culture where the iconography of the rebel is tied up in so many embarrassingly common and mainstream social, environmental and ethical muddles, these true iconoclasts are redefining cool, and reinvigorating the lost meaning of dressing like a dissident.

1. Vaute Couture. Leanne Mai-Ly Hilgart is the prefect example of a designer who dreamed big. Her line went from a fantasy (gorgeous, eco, vegan winter coats that can handle Chicago in February) to reality. The line looks as amazing as it is warm and ethical; 100% Cruelty-free, sustainable, and fair-labor. Vaute Couture took over 8 months of fabric research and development and launched just last year, but has already garnered a host of celeb fanatics from Emily Deschanel, to Alicia Silverstone, and Ginnifer Goodwin. The men’s line launches August 2010. vautecouture.com

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joshuakatcher, April 22nd 2010 | Tags: bassike, c-pas, Cri De Coeur, CULTURATA, eco fashion, faux fur, faux leather, green fashion, Imposter, Kuyichi, loomstate, matt & nat, melissa plastic dreams, noharm, novacas, olsen haus, Patrick Plee, paz apparel, Samantha Pleet, Stella McCartney, Study by Tara St. James, sustainable fashion, the hill side, trousers London, turk + taylor, vaute couture, vegan, vegetarian
Posted in vegan

Hillside Spring Ties

The Hill-Side, a Brooklyn and Connecticut-made accessories line, features some really dashing spring ties made from selvedge fabric. Typically, fabric near the selvage is unused and discarded, but lines like Hill-Side not only make a handsome accessory, but they divert waste from hitting a land-fill. Visit their website for store locations.

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joshuakatcher, March 18th 2010 | Tags: selvedge, selvege, the hill side, ties
Posted in fair trade, fashion, green, recycled, upcycled, vegan, vegetarian

The Hill-Side & Denim Demon

The Hill-Side makes ties and pocket-squares from selvedge fabrics, diverting them from landfills and making really cool, classic square-end ties, pocket squares, and handkerchiefs. I bought a brown, waxed cotton tie and think it’s just swell.

There’s a few cool, organic cotton items over at Denim Demon – but watch out because this label also uses deer antler buttons, some leather, and some wool. We love the organics and the style, but hey Denim Demon, next season steer clear of the cruel stuff, ok?