With every designer from Roland Mouret to Carlos Miele entering the menswear market, you’d assume it’s one area that’s seemingly recession proof, or at least suffering on a smaller scale.

It looks like that may not be the case. If Men’s Vogue going under wasn’t the first indication of trouble on the menswear home front then Thom Browne might be the perfect warning to those considering suiting up the boys in the near future.

Browne’s known for his too-cool-for-school designs - outfits that look like you picked them up off your bedroom floor and suits practically built around bow-ties. But apparently investors just realized said suits cost about $5,000 a pop and they’re not holding their own on the rack. Which means canceled orders for Spring and Fall from small boutiques to big department stores and the possibility of bankruptcy.

It’s a bit of a surprise for two reasons:

1. Thom Browne has quickly become the fashion world’s sweetheart.
2. His multi-million dollar partnerships with Harry Winston, Moncler and Brooks Brother continue into 2011.

With that much established success and future potential, how could anyone not be surprised he’s flailing? Is this an omen for all the designers we previously assumed could ride this out and a warning to those trying to expand?

-CARSON GRIFFITH

The Gossip Girl rumor mill is in overdrive these days, but this one’s the best yet.

Ed Westwick, ahem, Chuck Bass, is in talks to design a line.

Yes, you heard us correctly. Apparently, the king of ripped shirts and lead singer of Filthy Youth can’t wait to add his “two cents” to “the creative side” of a certain label related to his Vanity Fair shoot.

His outfit, (in the August issue), is Thom Browne, but his sunglasses are Jack Spade and, well, that would be the most perfect collaboration ever.

So instead of ripping out magazine pictures and taking them into stores to emulate your favorite GG character, which is apparently all the rage, you can just buy it from your favorite character in the first place.

That’s easier. And way more fun.

“Biologists term this Peter Pan state neoteny. Fashion calls it the new look for fall.” —Guy Trebay in The New York Times on Thom Browne vs. Tom Ford, and fashion in general.

A very well dressed man stepped in front of us while we were walking to the subway last night. He wore a fitted suit, cropped and cuffed trousers and black loafers with grey socks.

Then we noticed he’d folded his scarf to display a huge “THOM BROWNE” label across his back.

We were surprised that someone dressed so elegantly would feel compelled to advertise. In-your-face branding comes off as so awkward, especially juxtaposed with such a classic outfit.

Most people won’t wear a t-shirt scrawled with a brand name, yet don’t hesitate to carry the most popular (read: recognizable) YSL bag or Marc by Marc accessories weighed down by the designer’s nameplate, which is essentially the same thing. It makes us uncomfortable when people ask us where we bought our dress, or our shoes, or our bag - we can’t imagine wanting to scream the answer down the street, let alone walk around with a stylized version of the brand tag on the outside of whatever we’re wearing.

Do you feel comfortable functioning as a walking advertisement for a brand? What about if it’s your favorite one?

PS. The dapper man turned out to be Thom Browne himself. And, well, if we had our own brand we’d probably be OK advertising that.

We didn’t say much about men’s fashion week, not because we don’t care, but because some things are best left to the Sartorialist.

(And because we aren’t really taking Miuccia’s man-skirts seriously).

But we just clicked through Paul Smith’s A/W ‘08 show and realized that we’ve been sort of missing out.

An English dandy meets rock n’ roll meets East Village hipster ensemble sounds disastrous, but Smith’s pompadoured models pulled it off masterfully.

The British designer, (who also makes great women’s clothes), styled an eclectic look that’s both high fashion and masculine. His mix of traditional plaid with satin pants, pocket watches and skewed ties made us want the outfits, and the accessories, off the runway - for us.

And we haven’t said that since our first look at Thom Browne.

Today in Women’s Wear Daily, reporter Whitney Beckett goes “undercover” to test out how Thom Browne is being sold to Brooks Brothers’ customers.

(I should confess now that Whitney and I were partners in crime at Duke, so her new extracurric intrigues me, but also: How does a groomed Texas blonde go “undercover” at Brooks Brothers? With a fake lisence from Connecticut? Questions for another day, and another girl.)

Anyway, Whitney found the Brooks Brothers’ / Thom Browne merger to be fun and slightly overpriced, just like Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art, where I went today and saw an exhibit of Thom Browne’s clothes. They hung as part of a show on industrial design. There were also some pieces by Narciso Rodriguez, Zero Maria Cornejo, Nike, and Kid Robot, plus an actual robot that said “Hey baby, gimme five” when you walked past it.

The offer was tempting, but instead I camped out by the Thom Browne stuff to see how museumgoers would react. The place has a neat policy of letting anyone under 18 in for free, so there were lots of families and especially (for some reason) lots of preteen girls.

Sort of funny: Most didn’t understand the clothes were actually for men. “That’s a pretty jacket,” said one, staring at a blazer threaded with silver tinsel. “Like in The Parent Trap, the old one,” said another girl to her friend, as she pointed at long, slim shorts.

Sort of predictable: Most adults said something about the pants being too short. But it’s still interesting to consider whether Mr. Browne’s silhouette will one day flood the mainstream, or whether it’s just something for hipsters, fops, and really cute skinny guys.

At the other end of the design hall were wigs designed by Orlando Pita, showcased along with an image of Mr. Pita with Lily Donaldson, which appeared two years ago in Vogue.

I took the Lily D. sighting as my cue to leave, but not before the robot called “Hey baby” again as I searched for the exit.

We hear the Club Monaco ads were shot this weekend, and guess what?

According to our sources, their entire collection is skinny little suits with slim cropped pants or long skinny shorts for the bottoms.

The whole thing is so very Thom Browne, which is exciting for fashion-forward boys - and also presumably for Mr. Browne and his team, who must be looking at many menswear collections with a “told-you-so” kind of smirk. Brooks Brothers may not be so thrilled, but it was only a matter of time before Mr. Browne’s shape trickled down to vaguely affordable outfits.

It’s a cool movement, but it also begs the question:

How many guys out there are going to jump into a pair of skinny, short pants in April?

If you’re a guy, or the girlfriend-turned-fashion-stylist of one, do let us know.

We would wear everything - everything! - that Proenza Schouler sent down the runway tonight, but that’s not the point.

Looking at the waists cinched like Samurai, the front buttons, the feathered mini-dresses with bald-eagle necklines, and the giant British police hats topping each girl like a custom-made chess piece, we realized one big thing:

When these clothes hit Bergdorf Goodman, the election race will be in full swing.

And suddenly we realized that Proenza and Thom Browne have rowed the same boat this season, turning their clothes into a fashion version of Vote-or-Die.

At Thom, we had wayward soldier fops ditching wars and strategy for surf…

At Proenza Schouler, we had a police state enforced by tight waists, pomp poofs of evening wear, and manufactured disobeying via psychadellic checks - in subdued colors, in perfect geometric cuts.

So it seems pretty fitting that Jack and Lazaro have the burden of the American sportswear torch -

Their collection underscored the American political climate with the same awareness, consideration, and ultimate “what the fuck - let’s just go dance” mentality of most Proenza Schouler shoppers.

Have a peek on Getty.

Thom Browne may be the only menswear designer whose show grabs you with his creativity, and keeps you with his technical prowess.

After doing presentations in ice rinks, movie theatres, and concert venues, Thom actually chose to stage a real show - sort of.

He brought the beach to Manhattan with a sand strewn boardwalk for a runway, surrounded by palm trees and lifeguard chairs (occupied by whistle-blowing models).

Thom’s men strode out wearing bathing caps, goggles, and occasionally toting a surfboard.

But the show wasn’t all runway theatrics:

Under the blazing sun (okay, track lights), we could all recognize Thom’s signature nipped suits and jackets - even when they were buried under Rodarte rosettes.

Thom’s suits were all fashioned for summer in lightweight merino wool, imported from Australia - but the universe he showed us was anything but Aussie.

Looking at Thom’s curved shoulders, long flat backs, and crisp color palette, we imagined rich kids escaping military school for a deserted beach, still in their uniforms.

See if you catch our drift (or catch our wave) with the photos below…

—ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

see also: Cathy.

Here’s a fun bit of runway news for you Thom Browne fans:

Despite the fact that it’s the Spring/ Summer ‘08 collections, Thom’s Thursday show is made of over 70% wool.

His lightweight merino comes from Australia, as does his show money:

This year’s sponsor is Australian Wool Innovation, a group that supports Oz sheep farmers and promotes their products around the world.

Melbourne man Josh Goot is also an AWI partner, but this marks the first time an American designer has paired with the company down under in such an official way.

The move is also good for Thom - more money means more clothes, and more ways to join his herd…

People.com has a post about J.Lo’s extra-long pants, which reminds us that we don’t see the point of floor-grazing pants.

We’re more into ankle-baring Thom Browne styles.

The problem with the super-long pants are twofold:

The practical issue is, they drag on the ground and get dirty and ragged/

The stylis issue is, we can imagine girls buying them and being like, “If I wear these with heels I’ll look really tall”!

But actually, they look like short girls with pants that are too long.

Pants that are too short, on the other hand, make it look like you are so tall your pants just can’t keep up with your long legs.

—ALISON COOL

Lina , intern for Nylon and MTV

Got Her : Sitting on a bench near Spring Street

Stalked Her : Because we see cute flats all over the city- but never paired with socks!

Shot Her : Because layering is difficult when it’s 88 degrees, but Lina had it figured out.

She Says : “My socks are Michael Kors, and this dress is from Forever 21. But shh- it’s actually a skirt!”

We Say : Frock-a-doodle doo!

—NATALIE MATTHEWS

If you’re like us, you dream of someday being one of fashion’s anointed.

That is, getting featured on the Sartorialist.

But how to get photographer Scott Schuman’s attention? We’ve gotten a little obsessed, taking inventory on exactly who appears on Scott’s website, and we’ve decided to share the fruits of our research.

Here are our tips for catching Scott’s eye:

If you’re a guy, show some ankle. A Thom Browne suit, shorts, even capris are all Scott-approved choices.

You may even want to draw attention to your exposed ankle by wearing an ankle bracelet - we cringe, but Scott loved it - he even took a close up.

Note: If you’re a celebrity in rehab, this might not be the way to go.

Also for guys, your chances of getting snapped are better if you wear a khaki colored suit, or at least a beige colored jacket.

If you’re a girl, wear a dress - 60% of Scott’s chosen girls do. Belt it at your natural waist. Add a pair of gladiator sandals. He loves those.

And no matter who you are:

Throw out your sneakers and flipflops.

Put something around your neck; a necklace, or better yet, a scarf.

Hang out in front of Fanelli’s at the intersection of Mercer and Prince Street.

Ride a bike, wear a hat. Ride a bike while wearing a hat. Do not, under any circumstances, wear a helmet [editor’s note: Faran wishes very much that you would all wear helmets, but it’s true, they’re not on The Sartorialist].

Now go out and look for Scott!

—ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

Well, the “big news” today is that Thom Browne will launch a capsule women’s collection this fall, but here’s the actual news:

Thom’s been making womenswear for quite some time now.

If you’re friendly with his sales staff - and willing to shell out thousands for your outfit - you can already buy some of his womenswear pieces at his studio and shop downtown.

Whether you’ll look good in his straight-lined silhouettes is an entirely different story, but if you’re killing for a pair of menswear slacks and can’t quite pull off Thom’s proportions - or Thom’s prices - there are some options.

If you’re small, the boy’s department at J. Crew or Ralph Lauren is a great place for pants (and it’s okay if they hit at the ankle for summer, just like Thom’s do).

If you’re a normal size, Trovata also makes some good slacks for girls…

Today’s WSJ brings both tired and shocking news:

The boring news is the Thom Browne for Brooks Brothers collaboration, Black Fleece, will finally hit stores this fall.

The long-awaited alliance has been brewing for over a year, so we know what to expect upon its arrival. Fashionable males will surely snap up Browne’s trademark tight, short suits— just as stylish girls snatched Proenza for Target dresses.

The shocker?

Browne’s Black Fleece line offers dozens of items for women as well, and we’re afraid these pieces will sell slower than Kevin Federline CDs.

Why?

Women are used to seeing designers collaborate for cheaper- than-usual prices (Vera Wang for Kohls, Libertine for Target).

But Browne’s Black Fleece items retail for aristocratic prices. Especially considering what they are.

Maybe we’re being too harsh. But how many women do you know would buy a $4,500 dress made out of gray flannel? Or consider it a wise investment to drop $ 10,000 on a fur cape from Brooks Brothers?

We’re suspect that if you suddenly found thousands of dollars for menswear-inspired fashion, you’d turn to Alexander McQueen or Paul Smith.

Do you agree, or will you covet these Black Fleece pieces like you would the new Harry Potter ?

—NATALIE MATTHEWS

Ben Sherman’s first New York store turned a year old last night, and in its honor, we have a little scavenger hunt for you.

Here’s a photo spread of their party last night.

Can you find…

1. Thom Browne’s newest crush and possible next collaborator?

2. A former Streetwalker?

3. The Safilo heir?

4. The guy who styled Dance Floor Anthem?

Happy hunting, and while you’re at it: How do we feel about the lead singer of Dragonette wearing an all-white suit on stage?

Time Style & Design is ready to ask the big question, “What’s Next?” in its new issue, celebrated by an interview between editor Kate Betts and style critic Karl Treacy on The J.C. Report.

While Kate discusses the overall arc of the magazine, we’re a little more interested in its findings: At least with the glimpses we’ve seen, “What’s Next” is… a return to minimalism as presented by Thom Browne… A switch-out of diamonds with sapphires to mend political unease with the stones… Coco Rocha, photographed so many times in those gold Balenciaga leggings that they fuse themselves to her tiny body.

We’d also add…

*an increased obsession with The Bubble shape that corresponds pretty correctly with the unending war…

*urban street style replacing celebrity style (or subverting it, Cory Kennedy style) as a youth culture influence…

*Chanel Iman on the cover of Teen Vogue, so there.

And if we’re really going to discuss “what’s next,” take a closer look at Karl Treacy after this article. He’s only 25 and he’s already writing for The International Herald Tribune with Suzy Menkes… big things from this one…

Also, obviously: What do you think is next?

Few people have the clout to probe Anna Wintour’s pull in a public forum, but Cathy Horyn is one of them. The Times’ fashion critic puts forth an excellent study on Vogue’s current ruler, exploring Anna’s influence on major corporations and their fledgling designers (now: Thom Browne for Brooks Brothers, before: Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton).

Cathy also mentions Anna’s sway with socialites. And now it gets interesting:

“… many fashion insiders… feel that by promoting labels of dubious design merit but with an obvious social or power connection, like Georgina Chapman of Marchesa, whose companion is the producer Harvey Weinstein, she leaves herself open to the complaint that her magazine promotes a kind of a pedantry.

This becomes a danger when she attempts to make a match. The chief executive of a top European house, who recently had a spot to fill, said he was surprised by the names she proposed, characterizing one as a socialite. “The woman had designed maybe 10 dresses in her life,â€? said the executive, who, like a number of the nearly two dozen people interviewed for this article, requested anonymity because of his relationship with Ms. Wintour.”

What’s this top European house? And which designer of “maybe 10 dresses” was suggested to work there? Oh, the mystery…

Citizen Anna, from Thursday Styles