Yves Saint Laurent may have gotten his head start for his eponymous label in couture, but the thing which truly put YSL on the map was the full pret-a-porter line, and he was the first couturier to do so. With the pret-a-porter line and also having popularized the beatnik look, it seems as if Yves Saint Laurent is not about residing in the ivory towers of laboriously theatrical couture– and even in the hands of Creative Director Stefano Pilati today, YSL has been making their work more accessible while miraculously maintaining its spirit of luxury. Aside from the Manifesto tote bags which have been one of the most coveted freebies in the fashion world, YSL has also been dipping their toes (by now, immersing their entire feet, if that’s a viable metaphor) in the luxury sneaker market.

Mind you, the luxury sneaker market is quite a saturated one and there are countless designers who execute it to near flawless perfection. Maison Martin Margiela, Lanvin, Kris Van Assche are just a few to name amongst many, including Gucci who had taken to immersing itself with the downtown culture and enlisted the help of producer/musician/DJ Mark Ronson to expand their clientele.

Since Glenn O’Brien is The Style Guy who will solve any of your sartorial conundrums (Be it, “how to wear bright printed socks without looking like a clown?”; “What dress shoes should I buy?”) we more often associate him with how he looks, how he dresses, and how he is accessorized. But, the question here is, where does the style guy live. Is his pad quite as impeccable as his dress sense is?

The Selby visits O’Brien with his family at their home in connecticut, and discovers that his home is a large, breathing, open space, clean and eclectic. Something we would expect for the man who got his start by writing for Andy Warhol’s publication “Interview” with the column “Glenn O’Brien’s Beat” and later, writing and co-producing a screen play with Maripol starring Jean Michel Basquiat.

Take a look inside O’Brien’s home, and enjoy the Selby touch on documenting a creative’s home which has fast become one of the key references and inspiration for those looking to revamp their spaces as well.

Print is perhaps one of the riskiest things to go into at the moment, and it is not an easy business to maintain in the world. However, this climate is also a credence for those who have not only survived, but are also thriving. Monocle is one of the few magazines whose success is no secret– thoughtfully curated content, artfully planned layout and gorgeous articulation speak for themselves in any issue of Monocle. Monocle, is simply not one of those magazines that you throw away.

This season, Monocle takes their business beyond magazine (even though the team has already stepped outside the printing press box with product collaborations, shops and sorts) and goes into newspapers. The new publication for Summer 2010, Monocle Mediterraneo is carefully designed to be a leisurely summer read for vacations and for the sun. It is a mix of essays, reportage, interviews and fashion, and it will be accompanied by six fantastic programs and events, the Summer Series, which is an audio show that is also available online via Monocle.

Monocle Mediterraneo will be available on newsstands in all the best resorts across the world this month. To order online, visit Monocle.

Sometimes, when the founder or a creative director leaves a label, things change. Most of the time? For the worst. However, perhaps bound by a shared clandestine air shrouding the label, Maison Martin Margiela has been marching on its off-white lines fine even sans Margiela himself. Actually, it’s been doing so well that if Margiela never announced his departure, it is quite possible no one would have noticed.

Speculations aside, even the Margiela has left, it doesn’t mean his previous charitable initiatives ends with his time at his eponymous label. Since 1993, Maison Martin Margiela has been creating t-shirts to benefit The Association “AIDES” France, and the t-shirts have almost always been slogan t-shirts that are double sided. Meaning, if you laid it out and folded it up in half as shown in the picture, you can see the slogan for the season rallying for effort to help fight AIDS. This season, the shout out is “There Is More Action To Be Done To Fight AIDS Than To Wear This T Shirt But It’s A Good Start”.

Like its predecessors, a portion of the proceeds will go to fight AIDS, so aside from coping a piece of Margiela, there is no better reason to miss out on this t-shirt. It’s currently available at retailers such as Por Varcacao in Portugal.

Fifty years ago, a pair of boots changed the life of a struggling inventor from Germany and a shoemaker who descended from generations of shoemakers before him. To be exact, a pair of rubber soles that has proven to outlast wear and unforeseen tribulations in life changed their lives. This is the long story short of Dr. Martens, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and has managed to evolve and free itself from being typecasted as just the extremely sturdy work boot, to a representation of identity for the rebellious during punk’s reign, and to today, an indispensable member of both the fashion conscious and those who still don them for what they are meant to be–sturdy work boots with incredible longevity.

For seasons now, Dr. Martens has been reinventing itself consistently by introducing new collaborations, silhouettes, materials and colorways to keep things fresh and updated. This Fall/Winter 2010, Dr. Martens continues to roll out the iconic hits in classic colorways of black and burgundy, but has also remixed in some interesting materials such as a luscious Victorian, cherry red velvet (vampire fans, anyone?), and for some, the soles have been switched out for a lighter version in candy colors of bright blue, green, yellow and more. One of the notable materials introduced for earlier this year, and continued into the Fall/Winter 2010 season is the Techtuff, which is a lighter, more flexible upper that is a great alternative to traditional leather.

Check out the collection’s lookbook, enjoy the strappy, the dotty and more, and keep an eye out for them to hit racks very soon!

If there’s anything that should be duly celebrated in this complicated time, it should be humble elegance and understated luxury; and in terms of men’s accessories, no one does it like Mismo.

The Danish brand debuted its first premium leather collection in 2006, and has since maintained its flair for straightforward yet versatile designs. It is a fairly new, rather small but extremely dedicated and product focused brand. Its philosophy—“luxury arises from the choices made- about what to subtract and what should remain” permeates through all pieces.

Mismo eliminates all unnecessary decors and retains only the most functional and essential of its designs. The same goes with the materials they use to relate them—natural materials with minimal chemical processing. Their favorite, of course, is delicately crafted premium leather, as used in the handles and trimmings in the M/S Canvas collection, and artfully pressed Full Grain collection of leather goods ranging from laptop protectors to hold-alls. These items will last you through several seasons in terms of design as well as quality.

This season, Mismo expands the collection and introduced new silhouettes that cater to your gadget’s needs, including iPhone cases, backpacks made in a classic camping pack silhouette and extra-volume totes. Mismo is available at fine retailers such as colette, so stay tuned for the items’ releases next season!