the PIPELINE: Style on Tap

• May 28, 2008 5:00 PM
• The Goods

Berlin's Service Offers Basic Training for Everyday Dudes

By Jonathan Lawhorne

When it comes to clothes, the military seems hard-wired to steer clear of overwrought, complicated wares. Ask any G.I., crawling through foxholes or crossing the desert sands with 150 pounds of solid-steel gear just doesn't lend itself to embellishment (imagine D-Day with blouse sleeves). Price is also built into military sartorialism. When you've literally got an army to dress, $70 T-shirts just aren't happening.

Luckily for the discerning gentleman reluctant to splurge on big-ticket, high-concept items simply for show, someone has applied this martial, spartan sensibility to designs for sidewalk warfare. Formerly of the German army, designer Oliver Kroll incorporated his active duty experience into his first label of military-inspired basics and silhouettes, Berlin Industrie. While he may have lost that battle, Kroll carried this martial-uniform aesthetic to Service, a new, instant-classic collection of wearable standouts.

A veritable arsenal of timeless, utilitarian garments in muted tones, of the German label, Service is forging a beachhead in the menswear market thanks to their accessible, affordable staples. Our favorite is the remarkable asphalt-gray field jacket whose leather neck attachment creates a smart, subtle embellishment that would pass muster with even the most rigid drill sergeant. Ten hup, soldiers.

Service is available at American Rag in Los Angeles and San Francisco