As you might have gleaned from reading our blog today, we're gearing up for a long weekend of boozin', barbecuin', and generally celebrating the things that make America great. We'll be back on Monday for more—until then, enjoy the holiday, and be glad you'll spend it relaxing, not sparring like poor Mr. Balboa (who took to the ring on Independence Day) below. [Ed. note: Mr. Creed's Stars-and-Stripes shorts not recommended.]

The prevalence of black and white combinations on the European runways—as highlighted in our report on the top 10 trends—had me thinking of the graphic contrasts that Carlo Brandelli used to such effect in his Spring 2009 show for Kilgour, and that in turn had me thinking about what a blow it was to menswear when he subsequently departed the brand. And that got me thinking about those other great design talents in absentia, Hedi Slimane and Helmut Lang. (I guess we can now throw Martin Margiela in with that group, too.) If anyone understands the interplay of wearable and interesting, it's those designers—and they're all on the sidelines.

We've already shown you how to drink your patriotism, but it'd be a dereliction of duty not to show you how to wear it, too. For the stylish and the brave, the latest collaboration from Baron Von Fancy and our friend Mordechai Rubinstein, a.k.a. Mister Mort: an Old Glory-themed bow tie.
$85, available at Steven Alan, 103 Franklin St., NYC, (212) 343-0692, stevenalan.com, and Opening Ceremony, 35 Howard St., NYC, (212) 219-2688, openingceremony.us

Brazilian design duo Fernando and Humberto Campana—famous (or notorious) for making chairs and other household objects out of odd materials—are collaborating with Lacoste on a limited line of alligators-gone-wild polos for the company's fourth-annual Holiday Collector's Series. How'd they get picked? Call it typecasting.

[via Dezeen]

You've probably already decided what you'll be buying from the Spring 2010 collections, but did you ever pause to think what four fashionable women would choose to wear from the top menswear designers? Okay, probably not, but that didn't stop our sister site Style.com from asking Colette's Sarah Lerfel and co. for their picks.

Creative Time is giving New Yorkers a good reason to check out Governor's Island, but those art lovers who won't set foot outside of Manhattan (never in short supply) aren't without recourse. British video artist Steve McQueen's 1997 Turner Prize-winning short film, Deadpan, began its run on MTV's Times Square 44#189; megascreen this week, in its first-ever outdoor showing. A send-up of Buster Keaton's classic gag sequence from Steamboat Bill, Jr., Deapan depicts McQueen—from multiple angles—as the side of a clapboard barn collapses on him. (Like Keaton, he passes through an open window unscathed...despite 18 takes.) "So many people were made homeless post-Katrina, and I think the image—a house, a home—is very apt for what's going on in the economic climate right now," says McQueen, who recently returned from the Venice Biennale, where he represented Great Britain. After that, how does he feel about showing amid the roar of Times Square? "I think this is the ideal venue," he says. "It's sort of the middle of a hurricane, and you're in the eye of the storm."
Deadpan runs through July 31 in Times Square, NYC, creativetime.org

According to the Beer Institute (nonpartisan, we're sure), July 4th is the biggest beer-selling holiday of the year. Makes sense. Washington was a brewer. So were Jefferson and Madison. You might even say it's our patriotic duty to drink beer on Independence Day. So, to support the cause, we're highlighting three fine suds from U.S. craft breweries ('cause it's also American to support entrepreneurs) to pair with your hot dogs and fireworks.

First, Colorado's Dale's Pale Ale: With its bright, hoppy body, clean finish, and red-white-and-blue can—yes, can—design, it's a shoe-in. (Plus, it's light enough to sink three without much effort.) Coors guys might object, but hop-heads will love Ballast Point's Big Eye IPA from San Diego, which will leave your tongue bristling with bitter goodness for minutes after each sip. Finally, Delaware's Dogfish Head, a brewery we've long admired, has a solid contender in its full-flavored, supremely drinkable Indian Brown Ale.

Need even more recs? Check out our summer beers hotlist, or, for your cheap uncle, our favorite blue-collar beers.

For as long as there's been Thom Browne, there's been the rub: If you want to squeeze into those snug suits (not to mention any of the gender-bending wedding dresses), you've got to pay the piper…handsomely. But according to WWD, the brand's new CEO, Josh Sparks—a veteran of the Australian denim brand Sass & Bide and industry consultants HL Group—aims to lower price points 20 to 30 percent. No word on how the cuts on Browne's prices will affect the cuts on Browne's suits.

The trick in designing a men's collection, at least the kind of men's collection that's intended to be shown on a runway, is striking the right balance between wearable and interesting. That sounds self-evident, but in a given season, only a handful of shows manage to avoid being either dull or outlandish (of course, some designers make clothes that are both dull and outlandish; they often become stars on Project Runway). The two standout collections for Spring 2010, the ones that not only had clothes you could wear but that sparked a desire to wear them, were Bottega Veneta in Milan (pictured, left) and Junya Watanabe (right) in Paris. Bottega's Tomas Maier is generally hailed as a brilliant designer, and rightly so, but sometimes he can be almost too refined for his own good. This season there was a gutsiness to the colors, the military elements, the mix of tailoring and denim or sweatpants. By the same token, Junya Watanabe's reinterpretations of classic menswear staples can occasionally feel a little studied, but spring's parade of plaid blazers was a perfect mix of jaunty and streetwise. Somehow, even the ascots on the models stayed on the right side of affectation. Those at least were the highlights for me. What were your favorite shows of the season? Anyone want to make a case for Raf, Lanvin, even Givenchy?

Five things worth knowing today

- Siena hosts the Palio, the horse race around the city square that's been a city tradition (along with its occasional attendants, bribery and death threats) since 1310.
- The green-centric Rothbury Music Festival, committed to both live music and energy independence, begins in Michigan. Yes, that overlap of interests means you'll have to sit through some String Cheese Incident. But it's worth it to see Dylan, the Band (separately), Willie Nelson, and a slew of other greats.
- Meanwhile, true believers of a different order gather in New Mexico for the Roswell UFO Festival.
- Today in 2001, Robert Tools received the world's first artificial heart.
- And today in 1947, comedian, actor, and misanthrope Larry David was born. You wouldn't want to be stuck on a desert island with the guy, but bless him for saying what we're (usually) all thinking—even if only to himself (below).