Permanent Style Launches Casual Chambray Work Shirt

Two distinct narratives emerge in menswear this week. The first details the launch of a new casual work shirt from Permanent Style, developed in collaboration with Buck Mason. The second explores the continued denim experimentation from Acne Studios, which is leaning into printed illusions and pre-distressed effects.

The PS x Buck Mason Work Shirt

Permanent Style has introduced a two-pocket chambray work shirt, developed with input from Buck Mason and available exclusively through PS. The shirt is modeled on old US Navy designs but features a roomier body fit intended to work both tucked and untucked, with a collar height designed to sit well under a sports jacket. The project took three years to finalize, with the team eventually partnering with Buck Mason in Los Angeles after difficulties achieving the right wash with Italian suppliers.

The shirt's design focuses on simplicity, omitting pen pockets and complex pocket variations in favor of refined cut details. The side vents were raised and the hips brought in to reduce bulk when worn untucked. Available in a light blue shade close to a traditional oxford button-down, the shirt features white buttons for versatility. It is positioned as a more affordable staple, with a manufacturing approach similar to PS's chinos, using robust materials and simpler construction without hand-sewing or mother-of-pearl buttons.

The founders have been testing the shirt for two months. Sizing recommendations suggest ordering one size down from a customer's usual PS shirt size, though checking specific measurements is advised. The shirt is shown styled both with tailored jackets and flannels, as well as casually with t-shirts and jeans.

Acne Studios' Denim Innovations

Acne Studios is pushing creative boundaries within its denim offerings, building on the viral success of items like its keychain-covered jeans from 2024. The Swedish brand's latest collections feature trompe-l'oeil prints, including designs that mimic a knotted scarf and jewels hanging from a belt, teddy-bear and ribbon prints, and an image of photocopied jeans printed on actual denim. Another style includes fake strips of tape, while a 'mended' fit uses contrasting patches and hand-applied stains to create an organic, textured effect. A recent Hussein Chalayan capsule collection further experiments by mashing light and dark washes together.

Despite these playful and often kitsch designs, Acne maintains its foundational Scandinavian sensibility through classic, clean cuts. This balance tempers the eccentricity of the prints. The brand's pre-dirtied jeans continue to inspire DIY replication attempts on social media, where users try to mimic the effect with mud, clay, and coffee. Acne's approach seems to acknowledge this trend by incorporating the illusion of wear and decoration directly into the design, skipping the DIY middleman.

Two years after its keychain jeans breakthrough, this experimental direction in denim feels consolidated into a recognizable house signature. The combination of optical illusion prints, distressed effects, and the brand's reliable fits creates a unique position in the market. As one observer noted, this sense of humor, paired with the cuts it built its name on, means nobody is quite doing denim like Acne right now.