Summer 2010 Trends: Army Jackets

Still showing no signs of deserting the trends radar, the military look simply refuses to play dead. Backed by everyone from catwalk king Balmain to high street hit River Island, the one piece that no girl should be without this summer is the army jacket.

Reinterpreted in casual summer fabrics including cotton twills laundered for that lived-in look, the silhouette has to be super-lean and sexy. Balmain (pictured from www.vogue.com) embraced a dressed-up take on the look, mixing army jackets with sequin cargo pants, leather hot-pants and spray-on biker jeans, but this look works just as well mixed with a pair of vintage wash skinny jeans as modelled in the main picture by Alexa Chung, this season’s face of Pepe Jeans.

Inspired by a more regimental look, the Pepe Jeans army jacket is a cropped cotton style in stone with drummer boy details and antiqued brass buttons. Already a hit with the models pictured backstage in both New York and Paris, the army jacket might just have enough fire-power to knock the biker jacket off its popularity throne.

To find out where you can pick up the Pepe Jeans army jacket call 020 7313 3800. 

Vettel goes from pole to pain

In case you didn't already know Pepe Jeans is sponsoring the Formula One Red Bull team this season. So, you can imagine our groans of intense frustration yesterday when, after winning pole position for the second consecutive race of the season, we lost out for the second Grand Prix of the season due to mechanical problems.

In the first Grand Prix in Bahrain, faulty spark plugs led to Sebastian Vettel dropping from first place to fourth, while in Australia it was Vettel's brakes that failed. "I had some sparks coming up from the left wheel," said Vettel. "We didn't know what it was so I wanted to pit. A couple of corners before the end of that lap I had a huge vibration building up and, when I touched the brakes going in to turn 13, I had some sort of failure and ended up in the gravel. It breaks my balls not to win but there's a long way to go in this championship," added Vettel, who ran off the Albert Park track in 2009 while fighting for second with BMW's Robert Kubica.

It's clear that Red Bull has the fastest car on the track,but until the team irons out its reliability issues it doesn't look like Pepe Jeans will be sharing its place on a Formula One podium. 

Paul Newman comes to the South Bank

You have to love Paul Newman. From Cool Hand Luke to Ceaser Salad Dressing, the man is an all-round  legend and a phenomenal ambassador for denim.

In April, some of the most acclaimed celluloid works from this versatile actor, boundless philanthropist, motorcycle nut and one-time semi-pro race-car driver are being showcased by the British Film Institute. From April 1-30 in a season dedicated to Paul Newman, you can catch Cool Hand Luke, The Verdict, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, The Sting, The Hustler and Scorsese's Oscar-winning sequel The Colour Of Money at London's South Bank.

Tickets are priced from £6.40-£9 and you can book tickets at www.bfi.org.uk.

Vampire Weekend takes preppy to the dancefloor

It may have been out for a couple of months now but here at Pepe Jeans HQ we're still getting our audio kicks from Vampire Weekend's second long-player, Contra.

Yes, we were hooked from the second we caught A-Punk back in 2008. And, little could have prepared us for the bouncy Senagalese-inspired pop that was to define the band's self-titled debut album. But, two years on we're just as stoked by the band's latest offer.

The African/Peter Gabriel-esque lilts may be less dominant but the new sound is no less intoxicating, with its melting pot of new wave, ska, synth-pop, punk, and even classical creating a bouncy self-deprecating pop personality with enough urgency to fill a dancefloor.

The band's thrift-store preppy sensibilities have also caught our attention. Lived-in chinos, lazy-day polo shirts and collegiate knits have rarely looked so hot. Preppy rocks.

Summer 2010 Trends: Blue on Black denim

Ignore traditional style advise - blue on black is definitely one of the hottest looks for the summer. It's been bubbling under for a while now and has been as relevant for dapper chaps combining black knits with inky blue suits, as it has been for catwalk queens mixing floaty black tops with sludgy blue peg leg pants.

The influence for Pepe Jeans comes straight from the streets of Camden where indie-rock urchins like T4 presenter Nick Grimshaw (pictured left), have been combining beaten-up, size-too-small denim jackets and shirts with black skinny jeans for the last 12 months.

Avoid raw denim or dark indigo jackets for this look, as it's all about getting the contrast right. So, go for a mid-blue denim top (whether it's a chambray shirt or a trucker jacket) and match it with a pair of black or slightly washed-out black jeans, the skinnier the better.

At Pepe we're loving this season's black Pixie jean (see main picture of Alexa above) which has all the proportions of a jegging but with the silhouette and detailing you'd expect from a five-pocket jean.