Garbstore Fall Collection
Garbstore seems to be making pretty strong strides each season as Ian Paley refines his materials, cuts and designs. Taking inspiration from the things he likes and the collections within the actually Garbstore location in London such as Mountain and Naval Research, Engineered Garments and Post Overalls, the fall collection has to be the best to date. There are a number of great looking jackets including one of the better parkas and chore coats on the market for this fall. Garbstore covers more bases however with some great basics like their crew neck fleece and some classic looking flannel shirting. It’s easy to notice the branding getting smaller each season, the color palette becoming more refined and the product value going up. While the aesthetic feels very made in USA or England with the classic work wear cut and designs, the collection is mostly manufactured in China. This isn’t really considered a bad thing as Mr. Paley has been working hard to create a really good product. He notes that it’s unforuntate that made in China carries a bad wrap, as there is a lot of great manufacturing factories in the country - which is true. It comes back to what we as people want to buy, and buy into. The Garbstore product might be just as good as another label, in looks and in quality, so would it change your mind?
Ask h(y)r | Albam + Grenson City Brogue
When a reader emailed me to ask my opinion on the Albam City Brogue, I was happy to recommend it. Hand crafted by Grenson, the shoe is full of character, excellent quality and great value for money. I particularly like the tan colour, slim last and half brogue styling. However, his main concern was the toe area which he felt looked overly square. This is often a problem when ordering things online, sometimes you just want to see the product from another angle. With that in mind, I popped into Albam, took the extra picture and emailed it back to him. This turned out to be really helpful and he ordered a pair right away. I thought I’d post the image in case any of you were having similar doubts. Suffice to say the overall shape is very sleek and while the toe could be described as chiseled, it’s by no means too square.
Brand New Second Hand
I’m sure a lot of us own too many clothes, particularly if you work in the industry and you’re always seeing new things. It’s great to have options but sometimes you look at what you’ve accumulated and it’s time for a clear out. That’s usually where eBay comes in but this Sunday a group of well dressed Londoners is doing it themselves. Between noon and 7, Le Regal on Leather Lane plays host to Brand New Second Hand, a clothing sale featuring some the best brands around. Entry is £1 and there’ll be bargains from Visvim, APC, Supreme, Comme des Garcons, Neighborhood and many more. If you’re in London this weekend, it’s definitely worth a look. Make sure you go to the bank on your way though, it’s cash only.
Brand New Second Hand @ Le Regal
91 Leather Lane, London
Sunday July 5th, 12 noon till 7pm
Received | European Acquisitions
I’m now back and feeling fresh in Vancouver after a quick paced journey to London and Paris. It was really hot, really busy and definitely quite fun. I had a chance to meet some people I had been wanting to for a long time, check out some places I’ve been hoping to and look at a lot of nice clothing. I’m actually happy to be home to re-group for some upcoming projects and now less than three weeks until New York. On the recent trip, I actually really didn’t purchase very much for myself and apparently picked up a lot more magazines and books then clothing. The products I did manage to bring back were mostly complimentary and I would like to say thank you to everyone that has been supportive and generous on my visit. Thank you to SNS Herning, Mismo, Monocle, Oi Polloi, Capsule, Albam, Gitman, Margaret Howell, Adam from The New Order, Kyrre from Blender agency, the folks at Visvim, Nigel Cabourn and I’m sorry if there is anybody I left out. My most prized pick ups have to be the Monocle x Porter Boston bag, the EG chambray, Mismo shopper and the SNS Herning exclusive cap for DSM. I picked up a fair bit of reading material as well. I was really impressed with Reed Pages and the great approach to advertising. I managed to get a Visvim catalog which are extremely impressive, as well as my first copy of Apartmento and to round things off, the latest copy of Monocle is one of the best yet.
Junya Watanabe Fall Collection
Junya Watanabe’s fall collection was definitely one of my favorite’s on the runway, however, most of my favorite products, brands and collections don’t show in the runway game. I find that Junya’s designs and collections are extremely interesting to see and look at. They way he plays with the styling and shapes and puts unique twists on shirts and jackets by blending different aesthetics and pieces is quite unique. On the runway I find it works really great and the styling for the last two shows has been some of my favorite. However, when you bring a lot of the pieces into a more conservative ensemble, it can be a little tough to make it work throughout. There are of course some really amazing pieces that I would love to have and Colette now has a few in store and online. The prices are pretty high, and these pictures aren’t great. I had a look through the pieces in person and was pretty blown away by the fitting and feel of the jackets especially. The leather patches are buttery soft and the brown quilted material works well with most items, but the fact remains you need to be in a certain tax bracket to be able to play with Junya properly.
The New Order | Pop Portrayal
The New Order released it’s second issue while I was in Paris at the Capsule Show and over at Colette, not a bad place to debut the magazine. The issue has been polished up further in terms of the editorial design and layout, while the increased editorial is well noted as the magazine feels very solid from cover to cover. The issue features some of the suspects you might suspect like Kaws and Murakami, as they are on the two different covers, but also some nice pieces about Labour and Weight, Tet from W)Taps, Albam and of course a little mention of THE collection by (y). I’d like to thank Adam, James and the rest of the team for the support, as well as for pushing forward with their publication. It’s great to find a couple other guys who are working hard to develop what they love and produce something good and actually contributing to this culture of ours. Be sure to pick up your copy of The New Order’s 2nd issue through SlamX, or wherever you can snag it.
Visvim Fall Outerwear
Visvim’s fall collections are always filled with some of the finest outwear on the market. Their design sensibilities, desire for a functional product and relentless quest to use the best materials leaves us with a rising price tag and some of the best products you can buy. I have really enjoyed seeing Visvim’s soft good collection grow in the last couple years especially, however, I am often sad I either can’t find the products or afford them. This fall they have arguably one of the strongest selections of jackets getting ready to ship out. These are my personal top choices from what’s been previewed online so far. I would gladly accept all of these pieces into my fall closet rotation as they work incredibly well together while offering a nice variation of styles from technical to more formal. The herringbone 3 button blazer with elbow patches and button down pockets might be my favorite, while the brown leather Elmendorf might be perfection. The varsity, denim and M-65 styles with different collars and colors offer a pretty wide range of items - I just need to figure out which one I need to save up for.
Margaret Howell, Paris
While in Paris, one of my favorite places I visited was the freshly opened Margaret Howell location. They just opened the space this spring and were using it to present the SS10 collection for buyers and press and we thoughtful enough to invite me. The people involved with the brand are very nice and quite helpful. It was interesting to hear a bit more of the back story in terms of the high percentage of Japanese market the company shares, and is actually owned by. I didn’t take too many photos to show the collection as it us often tough to get good shots, but rest assured, it was very sharp. The mainline collection featured some of my favorite trousers I found in khaki and navy chinos and a lighter linen blend I believe. There were some great jackets including a khaki raincoat and a nice collaboration with Baracuta. The collection definitely deserves to be handled and tried on if possible to get a full feeling and understanding of the pieces. Perhaps this is why nobody in North America has brought the collection over yet. Rumor has it a certain LA boutique might just answer the call, but we’ll wait to see in a few months. Read more
Superior Labour Canvas Tote
Probably one of the manliest of all tote bags out there is the 2 way natural canvas bag by Superior Labour. With thick grade natural tan leather straps, brass hardware and a thick shoulder strap, the bag would be hard to confuse with a purse. J. Crew has manged to wrangle up a few of these as exclusives to the US market which is pretty impressive. They are definitely continuing to do good things with their brand and product range. The canvas tote doesn’t come cheap via J. Crew, but it has been pretty hard to track down goods from Superior Labour in the past and this is one of their best.
Visvim Website Launch
It’s pretty amazing these days to come across a brand, store or person even, that doesn’t have an online presence. Visvim has managed to grow incredibly strong, both in products and a loyal following without venturing online in over eight years . As of about 15 minutes ago Visvim now has a website to showcase the brand, the story and inspiration for the SS09 collection and of course to let you know where you can find the products. Surprisingly a couple stockists I thought were legit might not be. Anyways, I actually had a chance to meet Hiroki about two hours ago for the first time. He, and his small team were extremely nice people and very accommodating. It was interesting talking about the new website, the international growth and the potential for online sales (which is still not happening in the near future). In all of the interviews I’ve seen and read with Hiroki, you can easily see how focused he is on the product and making something special and something you can be excited to pick out and wear for your day. While the retail world, production and technology can be pretty complex, it’s nice to have such a simple outlook and goal. The new website talks about some of the materials used, or thought about and where and why they make sense. I’ve been trying to hunt down the Visvim catalogs the last few seasons, but now if you aren’t one of the 600 that snag them outside of Japan, you can read a little bit more on the website.
Wings+Horns Fall Collection
Wings+Horns has one of my favorite collections this fall. Not that many ‘fashion journalist’ can get too excited about the flat front chinos, wool M2-K Military jackets for classic Wings+Horns zip/button flannels, but it would be hard to find so many high quality, easy to wear, great looking products from another brand. The collection is fairly small, but feels really well put together and quite cohesive. With additions like the mackinaw style wool vest, the chambray quilted field jacket and the leather arm varsity jacket, there is definitely enough to set it apart from the market. Being all designed and made in Vancouver, Canada of course brings a special feeling for us, as we are proud to have a brand that is pushing forward while representing our North Western aesthetic. The must haves for me this year are the wool Canadian military coat in navy, the chinos in at least two colors since they have improved the fit even more and probably a grey fleece cardigan. Many of the basics aren’t pictured here either as I just used the images from the 2nd issue of The New Order which has the first preview of the collection. Definitely look for Roden Gray to have the best selection of the collection, as well as a few new stockists for fall.
Want: Arne & Carlos Cardigan
Sometimes a sweater you don’t really think would work is exactly what you need to mix it up. With all of the one color oxfords, chambrays, olives and blues, it can feel a bit drab and one dimensional. I think once fall starts to poke it’s head back out again, layering a loud pattern like this with whites, blacks, reds or blues could add that bit of interesting texture and pattern to help spice it up. I’ve seen it done by a few people really well, and the result can be subtle, but beautiful. Maybe beautiful isn’t the word, but it can definitely look great breaking up a chambray and denim or chino and adding some life. Arne & Carlos make some of the best options for this I feel. I’m sad I missed out on their fall knits as they were some of my favorites. However, the spring has some gems as well, including this lovely pattern, knit of course in Peru with Pima cotton.
Available at Tres Bien
Mark McNairy White Fred
The footwear collection by Mark McNairy has been quietly receiving some very nice press and words from buyers, consumers and bloggers alike. Made in England with one of the older, classic men’s footwear factories around, the New York designer has put together a really nice selection of products. However, it hasn’t been very available until now, and still very limited. His white ‘Fred’ model is now up for purchase at a very reasonable price of $265 USD. These red brick sole bucks in white are definitely some of the best summer shoes out there, and for the value, some of the best as well. I have a pair of shoes by Mark myself, and have been wearing them consistently and have been really impressed by the comfort and look. I wish I had been on top of things early on and picked up the white model, but better late than never.
Available at Epaulet
Opening Ceremony Crewneck
I don’t know what my problem is, I can’t get enough knitwear right now for some reason. At least they aren’t EG though right? This time the object of my attention is a crew neck version from Opening Ceremony. Classic grey with a few white stripes that are the perfect width. Stripes are nothing new but combined with some subtle perpendicular cable knits and you’ve got a piece that might not normally work but balances nicely. Being a nice light cotton blend it’s the kind of sweater that you could easily wear in lieu of a button down to mix it up in the heat. I think it’d even look good with some darker shorts and sneakers. A solid spring knit regardless. There, I think I’ve got them out of my system now.. for a little while at least.
Junya Watanabe, Paris
Paris has been exciting this year as I’ve been able to meet some people and visit some places for the first time. It’s always interesting to get a look behind and into the process from another perspective. Fortunately I was able to have a look at what’s happening with Junya Watanabe’s collection while in town. Besides seeing the pieces, I had a chance to try some things on, feel up the fabrics and even add a couple personal’s to the list. With interesting collaborations with Mackintosh, Tricker’s, Saint James and Brooks Brothers, the collection was pretty interesting. Of course I was drawn to the more tame items, such as the baggy chinos, gingham and outerwear. The products were pretty amazing and of course quite expensive, unfortunately we will never see these back home, but for those lucky enough, there are definitely some pieces to look forward to.
