A Few Websites All Men Should Follow

There are many websites out there that offer articles and reviews on certain items that can be perceived as sophisticated.  Two of my personal favorites are uncrate.com and coolmaterial.com.  Both review expensive, as well as inexpensive things, and all of which are incredibly interesting to say the least.  They are both mens blogs, and you should check them out.  You might find something that you have been looking for, or something you want.

Uncrate
CoolMaterial

Chester Old Chap, Would You Pass the Cheetos?

The newly redesigned Chester Cheetah is a much more agreeable character than the crazed, Cheeto hooligan I was used to seeing him portrayed as. The new Chester's distinguished accent and cool demeanor are a step towards true sophistication. This new Chester also has a mischievous side much like his more childish predecessor, but instead of pulling pranks he slyly suggests Cheeto infused revenge which, as everyone knows, is much more satisfying. New Chester also seems to enjoy more sophisticated activities such as chess, laboratory experiments, and mattress fort building. All in all i deem this redesign a much needed breath of fresh, gentlemanly air into Cheetos advertisements.  

A Question. With an Answer.

Why would you make a counterfeit one dollar bill?
To Piss off a stripper.

Sophisticated form of rebellion.

Who Would Like to See Some of the Most Beautiful Boobies Ever?

Your Eyes Lie

When we are not lounging around in our velvet smoking jackets, and are going for a day of cricket or some polo, we enjoy comfortable clothes just like the rest of you.  youreyeslie.com is an excellent source for the well spoken man.  They offer clothes are are a mix between, indie, hipster, and retro, and their shirts can be called art that you can wear.  They carry shirts, jeans, accessories, sweaters and other things for both men and women.  The average price of a shirt is around £23 but you can change the currency in the top menu bar so its fairly priced.  Also if you sign-up for their email newsletter you automatically get a code for 10% off a purchase, and they regularly send discounts your way.  Here is a few of my favorites from their collection.

 

Just About As Sophisticated As They Come

His name, is Bond.  James, Bond.  That name is uttered out of fear and respect from every evil villain ever existed.  His car has changed throughout the years from Lotus, to BMW, to Aston Martin, not necessarily in that order.  Originally created in 1953 by the great spy writer Ian Fleming, his first film debut was in 1962 with the excellent Dr. No.  Unsurprisingly he is still proceeding forward as part of the British Secret Intelligence Service.  I shouldn't have to explain how great this man is, so i won't.  An explanation would not do this man justice.

A Well Mannered Snack

Who wouldn't enjoy a snack cake with a name that sounds so scrumptious and polite.

Sophisticated? I Think NOT!

The Porsche Panamera S Hybrid.  A couple things wrong here . . .first off is the Panamera.  It looks like a clown shoe.  That thing is hideously ugly.  I know the Porsche designers havent designed a new car since the introduction of the 911 but seriously?  Not sophisticated.  The next thing is hybrid.  The Panamera S is supposed to be a high performance super car, and not a "oh no global warming is happening, save the penguins" car.  Its simply ridiculous.  I do not even want to put the picture up here because of how unsophisticated and gelatinous it looks.  But, so you know what im talking about, here it is straight from Porsches website.  In a terrible dull pea soup green colour called "crystal green metallic".

JackThreads.com

This one is for all you sophisticated people out there that give a damn about your appearance, as all sophisticated men and women should.  JackThreads.com is an excellent source for excellent clothes for men and accessories for both men and women.  And the great thing about JackThreads is everything is discounted!  That is right mates, savings. Savings. Savings. Savings.  And sometimes its up to 80% off the MSRP of the clothes!  The sales they have usually last around 72 hours or so, which means two things.  1. There is new stuff coming all the time to JackThreads, so check back ever few days or so, and 2. because they are sales they only happen for a short period of time then they will not be coming back.  So you have to decide rather quickly if you want something and pounce on it.  Limited quantities and limited time.  Sadly, you need an invite to actually sign-up for an account there.  But luckily we here at Gentle Sophistication have you covered.  Here is a link to invite all of you to join in on this members-only, contemporary, sophisticated barrel of awesomeness that is JackThreads.com
http://www.jackthreads.com/invite/gsophistication

Mac vs. PC: The Definitive Guide

Mac is better.
And more sophisticated.

Ballpoint Pen Art

When it comes to art, Juan Francisco Casas Ruiz knows a thing or two.  But what is truly amazing about him is his drawings that he makes with nothing but what looks like a Bic Crystal ballpoint pen.  The drawings are photo realistic and amazingly done.  Yes, the models are a bit distracting as they are mostly naked, but also you wonder how something this real can be done with a 50 cent pen?  Well done Juan. Well done mate.  Link to the gallery on his website here (NSFW).  Its in spanish, but some browsers will translate if you do not speak the language.

Winching a Cranberry Feild

Cranberries are a sophisticated piece of berry.  And Red Bull is in my opinion, an excellent drink of energy.  And when Josh Tranby, a Red Bull sponsored wakeboarder, goes to this cranberry field in Tomah, Wisconsin to winch it, it truly is a remarkable video to behold.  It is simply mesmerizing.  

StarWalker

The pen is mightier than the sword.  Especially if the pen is plated in polished ruthenium with a handcrafted fountain pen nip made from 14 K gold and plated in ruthenium.  It will also be more expensive than the sword as well.  But you can probably use the pen to spar with if the need arises.

Here we have the Montblanc StarWalker Midnight Black pen.  This cartridge fountain pen will surely make people double take on your instrument of writing.  Price? TBA.

And for those who do not know their periodic table, (but you should because sophisticated people know the elements,) ruthenium [Ru] is number 44 on the table.  It is part of the platinum group and is one of the rare transitionary metals as it is the 74th most abundant on earth.  Also, Montblanc made a pen out of it.  Excellent.

A Book For The Masses

Because Paper Is Sooo 2010. . .

Introducing NoteSlate.  The paper alternative.  Taken directly from noteslate.com "NoteSlate is low cost tablet device with true one colour display, real paper look design, long life battery (180h !), together with very handy usage and very simple and helpful interface for pen and paper. This easy, compact and portable gadget is used anywhere you want to make any notes, drafts, sketches, any ideas for future reference. Paper for everyone! Write a note and check it later, save it, or delete it. Maybe send it after. Just one colour is enough to express the basics. Keep your life simple. You will love it. For $99." This will truly be a wonderful piece of technology if they make it.  It is an economical alternative to the paper crisis that nobody is having.  Its a sophisticated piece of paper is what it actually is.  It can save your notes so you can put them on your computer, erase them if you screw up, its basically the literal definition of computer paper.  Yes, I know you people with your iPads can do this with some simple drawing application, but what if somebody just wants something to take notes, does not want to spend US$500+ for an iPad or similar tablet? This is the perfect, sophisticated alternative to that.  US$99 for an unlimited amount of paper. I'll take two please.
http://www.noteslate.com

Stjepan Hauser and Luka Sulic - Smooth Criminal

At the Art of Sophistication, we love music. All different kinds of music has certain elements of sophistication in them. Also, music with cellos is just amazing itself. Here we have Stjepan Hauser and Luke Sulic, two very incredible cello players, doing a duet of a very well known song. Smooth Criminal by the late Michael Jackson. Bravo my good men. Bravo.

Only the finest.

Here at The Art of Gentle Sophistication, we are incredibly picky about our liqueur.  A bad one can ruin a perfectly good evening of bear wrestling in the Swiss Alps.  That is why we take no chances and only drink the best.  A perfect example is from our good friends in Scotland with the Highland Park 50 Year Old, and even though we have never had the pleasure to taste this glorious looking masterpiece of single malt scotch.  It comes in an Oak box that has been hand carved to show the glorious handcrafted bottle inside, through a porthole made of Sterling silver of course.  Along with the Sterling silver on the Oak box, the bottle itself is incased in a beautifully crafted web of silver (Sterling silver of course) that was designed by Maeve Gillies of MaeVona, New York.  You must hurry though, as only 275 of these will be made since they are handcrafted.  And the cost of all this glorious sophistication and elegance?  A small cost of £10,500.00, and for our American friends, that is around $16,800.


Available here for a limited amount of time.  Drink responsibly mates.

Well. . .

The plot thickens. . .

Welcome my friends.

While sitting in our red crushed velvet chairs, in the library of our old English Castle in the southern hills of North Whales, smoking our hand carved, mastodon tusk ivory scrimshaw pipes filled with the purest cuban tobacco found in an ancient city that was once located on the top of Mt. Everest, my mates and I had the idea to share our practiced art and discipline of Gentle Sophistication.  As a result of the aforementioned sitting, we picked out a perfectly aged whiskey and set to work on our project to bring the Art of Gentle Sophistication to the masses.  The following entries will be our thoughts and commentaries on all that makes up the modern world.  Welcome my friends.  For we are about to embark on a journey.  A journey to enrich our lives with sophistication. . .the Art of Gentle Sophistication.