Good lord it’s been a minute, huh.
I haven’t been writing for a while since school’s been the main thing taking up all of my time (that, and working), but now that it’s Christmas break I’ve finally got time to open up my laptop and digest a little bit of what’s been going on. From snowboarding trips to holiday parties, drinks with friends from way out of town and a brief but furious battle with the flu, life has been nothing short of a whirlwind. I wouldn’t change it for the world.
And yet, through all these engagements and time spent away from home, I’ve still been attempting to keep up with the floods of fashion news, runway shows, collections, collaborations and trends that have been pouring in from companies dedicated to separating me from my hard-earned money.
Chief amongst these offenders is my good friend C.T.. I guess I should have seen this coming (I mean, his official title is “Personal Shopper and Stylist”) but every single time I go to visit him at work, I manage to end up leaving with some new piece of clothing that stretches my already-strained closet space to the literal breaking point. He’s managed to perfectly nail down my dream aesthetic direction, and a man with that kind of knowledge is a very, very dangerous man for me to associate with.
Now, this is never going to be a complaint. I love the way that I can walk in, sit at the bar, get a glass of wine and know that my thirst for knowledge and clothing will always be satisfied. C.T. knows the question that’ll come out of my mouth first and seems to have the answer already poised behind his carefully curated (and very cute) smirk.
“So, show me what’s new”.
About the Brand:
The last time I asked that question, C.T. smiled and led me over into the men’s section of A.K. Rikk’s. On a single ballet bar, next to the display for Officine Générale, there hung a collection of garments that looked like they had all come together for the express purpose of my financial ruin. This was my first real experience with NN07
NNO7 is short for “No Nationality No. 7”, and hails from Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded by friends Victor and Ulric in 2007, the company strives to create luxury menswear staples that contradict the modern aesthetic direction that most other menswear tends to follow. They strive to create garments that push the envelope in terms of tailoring and style, and base all their creations around aesthetics that can find a home in any location around the world (hence the “NN” which stands for No Nationality).
Because the goal of a closet shouldn’t be to just amass as much clothing as possible. The ultimate goal (and this is purely a personal opinion) should be to create a sense of cohesiveness and wholeness. A closet should contain pieces that work with each other, allowing the wearer to reach in without opening their eyes and pull out pieces that work together effortlessly.
This is the goal of NN07. And I am of the opinion that they do it well.
So, for the following section, I’ve got a few ideas of good ways to give you all ideas of what the brand does. They have an insane amount of clothing on their website and, as much as I would love to show you every single piece, that would make this blog post longer than it has any right to be.
So, in the interest of keeping this somewhat concise, (and because it’s the middle of winter), I’m going to style four different outfits for the winter season. In the tradition of our favorite shitty Hallmark Christmas movies, the main male character only has four (distinct) outfits. I’m going to dress him in NN07.
Outfit #1: The Chance Encounter
The first encounter with the main character (idk who she is, some fancy banking executive or something), is at the bar with some friends in her sleepy little hometown. While there, she crosses paths with her old middle-school crush. He’s hanging out with some other friends, and they make eye contact from across the bar.
In this scenario, I’m going to take one of my favorite easy going bar outfits (sweater, jeans and boots) and transform it using pieces from NN07’s website. The jacket is simple, stripped down and constructed from Italian sheep leather, while the jeans are a classic 5-pocket cotton denim in a relaxed/slim fit. The sweater provides the much-needed color (although in a subtle way) and is made of a merino wool and cotton blend.
Outfit #2: The Warm-Up
So, the initial introduction (or “reintroduction”?) is set. They know of each other. They might have talked a little bit at the bar and exchanged numbers. Let’s assume that they texted nonstop for the next three days and have even seen each other at the grocery store though they didn’t get the chance to speak. It’s progressing nicely when he asks if she wants to get coffee and go gift shopping with him. She agrees, and he shows up to pick her up the next morning in the following outfit.
Again, serving as a spin-off from the outfits that I often wear, this one is based on a color scheme I’ve slowly been coming to love over the past few months. And yet, it’s not *directly* something I would find myself wearing. The wider leg on the pant is new, and I think that he’d pair them with a pair of white leather sneakers (think Common Projects). He’s not spending a whole lot of time outside, so being totally covered isn’t all that important. But what is important? That she can’t keep her eyes off him.
Outfit #3: The Miscommunication
So, after several weeks of talking and hanging out, this is the moment in all these movies that we hate to watch. It’s when the main character is confronted with something that shakes her newly found belief in the possibility of “true love”. In this case, say, she walks past a shop window and finds the man standing at a display case full of glittering gold jewelry. Next to him stands a female figure with long blonde hair. Her outfit is impeccable and this, more than anything else, convinces the main character that all this romance was purely happening in her head. In this moment, she makes the decision to return to her home in the big city. Romance is for fools.
In possibly the widest deviation from anything I’ve ever worn before, this outfit is characterized by the addition of black, cropped, relaxed-fit Italian leather pants. With this being the focal point, the top is a simple cream-colored hoodie with a feathered light brown beanie to top off the simple outfit.
Outfit #4: The Reconciliation + Happily Ever After
So, the main character storms away in a huff but, as she’s leaving, the girl at the counter turns. Immediately she knows what’s going on and tells her brother who runs out of the shop to find our main character. She’s long since gone.
Cut forward to the next day (Christmas Eve) and, after several frantic phone calls, the main man decides to go to the flat she’s rented out for the season. After the third knock, she opens the door and he explains that it was his sister, helping him buy her a gift. He hands her the gift and asks if she wants to come with him to his family’s celebration that night.
This outfit is probably the most “traditional” of the lot, and features a simple 5-pocket chino in a slightly dusty green, a simple light brown button-up shirt and a stunning, deep brown jacket that ties the whole outfit together in a dressy and yet, not stuffy sort of way.
I should also mention that I bought a coat from NN07 on the day that I first heard about them, and since sliding my arms into the sleeves I’ve decided that there will be a not insignificant portion of my closet dedicated to this brand whom I’ve fallen deeply, deeply in love with.
So whether you’re the main character in a Hallmark movie (my deepest apologies if so), or if you just want to spice up your closet with subtle detail and refined luxury, I would suggest that you do the same.
Rewriting Masculinity 
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