Cold weather got you down? Settling in for the long winter doldrums? Well…we have something to cheer you up – SPRING SHIRTS! In this first look – Complex.com – previews our upcoming spring 2012 Hamilton 1883 look-book.

Inspired by the the town of Marfa, the shirts take their cues from West Texas style and history. Desert colors mix with vintage prints and contemporary patterns partly inspired by the book Chinati: The Vision of Donald Judd. Chinati is the name of Donald Judd’s modern art museum located in Marfa, where the dramatic Texas landscapes provide the most incredible backdrops to his stark modern sculptures in addition to work by other contemporary artists.

Check out the Chinati Foundation website here…and our new shirt collection here.

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Now that the holidays are over and we can start shopping for ourselves again…a new suggestion for a book title that Santa prob didn’t bring – Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo from MIT Press.

A historical and fascinating account by Nicholas de Monchaux of how Playtex won the bid over military and industrial competitors to create and manufacture the Apollo spacesuit. This book combines all my favorite topics – politics, media, fashion design, and technology…a must read for all you Houston NASA history buffs (i.e. everyone at Hamilton) out there.

Order it up at Amazon, B&N, or locally here at Brazos.

via Selectism via Brainpickings

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TV tip for tonight!

The American Masters series puts a spotlight on famed design couple, Charles and Ray Eames. Airing on PBS tonight from 10pm to 11:30pm (12/19) this documentary is certainly one not to miss if you are at all interested in style and design.

From the PBS website:  American Masters presents the first film made about America’s most important and influential designers, Charles and Ray Eames, since their deaths in 1978 and 1988, respectively — and the only film that explores the link between their artistic collaboration and sometimes tortured marriage. Jason Cohn and Bill Jersey’s definitive documentary delves into the private world the Eameses created in their Renaissance-style, Venice Beach, California studio, where design history was born.

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This looks great – a new documentary about band director Conrad Johnson and Houston’s Kashmere High School Stage Band circa 1970′s. I can’t wait to see it!

“Presented by Jamie Foxx, THUNDER SOUL follows the extraordinary alumni from Houston’s storied Kashmere High School Stage Band, who return home after 35 years to play a tribute concert for the 92-year-old “Prof,” their beloved band leader who broke the color barrier and transformed the school’s struggling jazz band into a world-class funk powerhouse in the early 1970s.”

Release dates and theater locations can be found here.

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Many of our 1883 designs are inspired by vintage shirts, favorite styles that are impossible to find unless replicated. The New York Times T Magazine picks up on this idea with a recent shoot that features a modern take on classic collegiate style.

Included is our new ‘Argyle Shirt‘ the fall/winter 1883 shirt that was most inspired by this idea. The retro blue argyle pattern might look a little 1950′s, but the shirt has definitely been retooled and restyled with a modern sense of cool for today. See the results below from the most recent issue:

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This weekend The Wall Street Journal’s Style & Fashion section featured a fantastic profile of the Hamilton Shirt Company and we couldn’t be more thrilled.

Telling the Hamilton story with tales from our colorful history, the article does an amazing job in illustrating our fourth generation Houston-based business that we are extremely proud of. Our thanks to writer Alexa Brazilian and the Wall Street Journal – we are very grateful.

• Brown & White check K59820
• Blue Field F31121
• Navy & Ecru plaid M61383

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Think the Houston Museum of Natural Science and puffy tacos are a weird combination? Well, think again.

On June 7th (and again on June 12th) the HMNS along with esteemed food writer and Tex Mex cookbook author Robb Walsh, will discuss the finer points of Tex Mex cuisine. Robb promises an overview of the origins, legendary figures, and recognition of Tex Mex as America’s oldest regional cuisine. Along with the talk, Robb will be serving vintage dishes he helped create along with Houston Chef Bryan Caswell at their popular new spot El Real on Westheimer.

Sign up for either of the evening here – tickets are $73 or $63 for HMNS members.

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When I come down to Texas to work on a new shirt collection, I always make sure I take some time out to visit some of fantastic museums here in Houston. This season I tacked on an extra day and I visited the fantastic Museum of Fine Arts Houston. I always get inspired by making discoveries and coming across art and architecture that I wasn’t expecting to see. When I was across the street from the museum, I literally stumbled into The Cullen Sculpture Garden totally by accident. Arriving early to the museum I had the entire place to myself.

I discovered while walking around that the Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen Garden is practically a sculpture in itself- the concrete walled space was designed by the incredible Japanese artist Isamu Noguchi. Included in the Garden are works by Ellsworth Kelly, Alexander Calder, Frank Stella, and Louise Bourgeois. Next time you are in the Museum District you should definitely check this amazing place out.

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Recommended by David Hamilton, the new book to add to our list of must-reads is “Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History” by S.C. Gwynne. The publisher describes the book as “a vivid historical account of the forty-year battle between Comanche Indians and white settlers for control of the American West, centering on Quanah, the greatest Comanche chief of them all”.

The first part of the book traces the rise and fall of the powerful Comanche tribe, the second tells the story of Quanah Parker, the mixed blood son of pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker, who became the legendary last chief of the Comanches. This action packed book is an amazing look at the Texas frontier in the nineteenth century, David says that most of the story takes place in areas familiar to all Texans – San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston. A very interesting look at Texas history just prior to the founding of the Hamilton Shirt Company back in 1883.

Order your copy from Brazos Bookstore by calling 1.713.523.0701 or emailing direct to brazos@brazosbookstore.com.

Quanah Parker - photo courtesy Library of Congress

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Hamilton Shirts is hosting some very special visitors to our Houston store on March 18th & 19th to introduce an exclusive new fabric collection called “Thomas Mason Bespoke“. Representatives from the Italian HQ of Thomas Mason will be on hand to present this new offering in person.

Similar to our classic Platinum Collection, this new group will also offer some additional seasonal choices. Here is some background info on our Platinum collection:

Platinum by Thomas Mason is a collection of over 1,000 fabrics of incomparable softness and luster with yarn counts ranging from 140 to 300. Founded in 1796, Thomas Mason is the world’s preeminent shirting mill. The first to offer 200 and 240 yarn count fabrics, Thomas Mason adds to its legacy of industry leadership with this season’s introduction of 300 yarn count fabrics. Platinum is offered exclusively by Hamilton Shirts and is available at our Houston workshop, Barneys New York, Mitchells of Westport, Pockets of Dallas, Richards of Greenwich and Stanley Korshak of Dallas.

Please stop by the Houston store either day from 10am to 4pm to see the new ‘Bespoke’ collection for yourself.

Hamilton Shirts, 5700 Richmond Avenue (between Fountain View Dr & Chimney Rock – west of the 610 loop), Houston, Texas 77057 ph. 713.264.8800

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