In a menswear landscape where low-end mingles gleefully with high (like a worn out vintage Levi's trucker jacket with bespoke shoes), A.P.C. is the ultimate middle ground. Jean Touitou's Atelier de Production et de Création (I'd translate it for you, but some things are best left in French) is a mountain of consistency looming over the desert of flighty fashion labels.

Each season, A.P.C. makes the clothes you want just when it occurs to you that you want them. "I like military parkas, but olive is played and surplus can be gross." Well, A.P.C. has one in olive or a irreverent purple ripstop that actually fits. "Hm, I've got a pair of loafers, but I want some with go-to-hell tassels on them." Hey, there's a pair from A.P.C. "I've been wearing A.P.C. raw indigo New Standards for five years. This spring I'm feeling like ditching the crispy dark blue for some washed out jeans." And there they are, from A.P.C. They can read minds.

A.P.C. takes iconic pieces in men's wardrobes and distills them down to a deceptively simple design. Their jeans are basic and five-pocket, but in a universally appealing raw indigo that washes to a comfortable blue. Read more Their New Standard cut has truly been the gold standard denim fit for 10 years, an idealization of a pair of jeans that may have singlehandedly brought back designer denim. A.P.C. also brings markers of relaxed French style to the rest of the world. The line carried a perfected French Army F-2 jacket for a long time, and this year is offering a slim wool Pull Marin, or French sailors sweater. A.P.C.'s clothing is seasonal and current, but you can mix stuff from this year's collection and the jacket you bought on Rue Madame in 2004 with no dissonance whatsoever.

Written by Pete Anderson

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