Despite vicious opposition, both from some fashion critics and, apparently, strangers in the street, Thom Browne has shaken the world of men’s fashion from a place where no-one expected it – the hem of a gray, flannel suit.

He believed so passionately in his now famous short trousers, short jacket look that, for a while at least, he was the only person wearing it.

Five years on and his $3,000 suits are in high demand among the businessmen of America, he’s just been named the CDFA menswear designer of the year and, much to the surprise of many, has been signed up by none other than Brooks Brothers to throw together a few collections.

But don’t any of you get any ideas. He’s a fashion designer and you’re not, so keep your couture eccentricities to yourself. No matter how often you wear it, one of those illuminated geek tshirts, tucked into poorly-fitting jeans above shiny, white New Balances, will never catch on.

A New Trend for Men’s Wear [New York Times]

We remember fondly as kids owning matchbox replicas of ridiculously futuristic 70s concept cars. Bubble-domes, three or four axels, enormous real spoilers, that Jetsons-esque space-age styling – all was seemingly in-reach, somewhere in the future.

Fast-forward 30 years and none of those cars, well, could prove the concept. Which is why we’re now presented with modern day concept cars like Enrico Fumia’s idea for a new Lancia J.

Sure, it’s pretty, it’s cool and there’s no doubt it would go really fast. But where’s the escapism? The only exciting concept we can see in this design is, well, symmetry (which, in practice, could just be confusing…)

Can’t we stick an afterburner, delta wing or meter-high supercharger to it? Can’t we let the kids of tomorrow dream?

Fumia’s Lancia J Concept [Jalopnik]

Rarely consumed in moderation, it’s uncommon to find in-depth reviews of non-novelty tequilas. It tends, unlike vodka or whisky, to be thrown down at a rapid pace, for as little outlay as possible.

But for those disparate tequila connoisseurs out there, our friends at Liquor Snob recommend you attack your esophagus with some Fina Estampa Blanco.

…we can honestly say Fina Estampa has it all - great packaging, great taste and a great buzz, all for a price that’s at least ten or fifteen dollars cheaper than comparable tequilas we’ve tasted…

Whenever we’re next approached with tequila by over-zealous drinking companions, rather than simply dispatching it in world record time, we might start paying attention to the damn stuff. After all, what’s buzz without taste and packaging?

Fina Estampa Blanco Tequila Review [Liquor Snob]

No doubt an oddity as well as a rarity, this 1978 Heuer Ford Chronosplit RS Motorsport is worth more than some new cars.

Featuring a Ford logo on its upper panel and with incredibly visible forward battery chambers that require a special tool to open them, it’s difficult to grasp just how futuristic this technology was in 1978.

But it was futuristic enough that there’s barely any left in full working order. In fact, this fully-functioning specimen, complete with original brochure, box and (thankfully) battery replacing tool is worth a cool £3800 (that’s around US$7000).

1978 Heuer Ford Chronosplit RS Motorsport [via Cool Hunting]

Proud fedora wearers ourselves, we’re pleased to see this classic returning.

Not as British as the bowler, more formal than the trilby, less formal than the Homburg and not as imperialist as the Panama, the fedora has a special place in the male psyche that no other hat possesses.

It’s fine to wear in both warmer and cooler months, and is equally suited to a very casual afternoon party (albeit slightly eccentrically) as to a semi-formal race meeting.

And great if you really feel like you need to look like a Hollywood golden era private investigator.

You can’t beat the snap-brim. It’s a shady staple.

Brown and plaid fedoras [Banana Republic via Luxist]

When you combine playful teenage girls, fast cars, a misbehaving dog, underwear in flight and red-faced, lecherous men, you get the special kind of news that makes impending nuclear Armageddon seem boring and insignificant.

We’ll give you this list of actual headlines as a teaser of what to expect…

Injured pair see red as flying bra triggers rollover accident on I-75

Prosecutor mulls charges in crash tied to flying bra

Dog gnawed on bra that led to crash, teen tells troopers

Injured driver sues over crash tied to flying bra

The rest you’ll have to discover for yourself…

Case of the flying bra [Toledo Blade via Reuters]

While gadgets aren’t always our thing, we’re watch tragics. And the Retsu by Saishin, despite being a simple gadget, looks like a very cute watch.

Weighing in at 40g and only 8mm thin, it’s tiny, but the time telling mechanism is fascinating, and simpler than you’d think. Green LEDs dance up the face of the watch and, well, you can see how it works in the image.

Clever, but possibly not incredibly practical. If the time was 23:59, you could be staring at the thing for a few seconds before you got the whole story.

But despite lacking the no nonsense retro HH:MM reading of the classic 70’s LED watch, it’s still easier to read than many of its experimental LED contemporaries.

Retsu by Saishin the smallest LED wristwatch [New Launches]

With Halloween approaching (in some parts of the world), we’ll let you waste time selecting your costume, while we select your wine (and we’ll keep it cheap, so you can waste money on that stupid costume, too).

The people of Transylvania are as famous, apparently, for their winemaking as they are infamous for, you know, all that Dracula crap. And Vampire Wines’ 2004 Pinot Grigio and 2003 Pinot Noir, according to the Toronto Star, are “bloody good” (arf) for the C$11 they’ll set you back.

Halloween – dress like an idiot, drink like a budget-conscious Romanian.

Good Scotch, great Scotch and Count Dracula’s wine cellar [Toronto Star via Cheap Fun Wines]

Nearly every man, in a moment of weakness, has made the firm decision to start properly caring for his skin …and then promptly forgotten it.

Okay, so we might not all be falling over ourselves to tackle anti-ageing creams and mud masks, but the least we can do, according to Men’s Flair, is clean the damn thing:

…get yourself a skin toner and at night moisten a cotton ball with a little toner. Then take the moistened cotton ball and swirl it around your forehead, nose, cheeks and neck. You will be surprised to see a VERY dirty cotton ball. All that dirt would stay on your skin and clog your pores if you didn’t use a facial cleanser at night! This would cause breakouts, blackheads, and create an unhealthy environment on the surface of your skin.

Come on guys, it’s a start.

Why and How To Use a Face Cleanser [Men's Flair]

Like everyone would, we initially let out a short “Oh, cool” when first presented with the sight of the Mood-light Champagne Ice Bucket “Chiller”.

But, after closer imagination, we’ve tossed it into the category of ‘wacky cocktail party accessories’ with the punch fountain.

In fact, so many questions are raised by this that it possibly falls into a lower, more horrible category. Rather than just being a little naff, we’re concerned about:

• In these energy-conscious times, a gadget which creates light and is meant to keep something cool;
• Its €199 price tag;
• One of its listed features being that it’s “Water Resistant”.

But if you’ve money to burn, are unconcerned about the environment and have absolutely no taste – this one’s for you.

Mood Light ‘Chiller’ [via Red Ferret]