Friendly Fire

Retail: A little weekend sale at one of the best shops in all the land | Nomad

Clothes: Nom de Guerre takes home the title of best Marled wool sweater | Mens.style Upgrader

Business: Sure iPhones are cool, but are people buying them? Only 6.9 million in the last quarter | Tech Crunch

Life: How many fans do you have? Apparently you only need 1,000 true ones and you’re set | Aesthetic Poetic

Bags: One of my favorite Porter bags has been re-released - The Phototote | Allbeams

Issue Six Live

Issue six is finally up. Enjoy. Nom de Guerre, WANT Les Essentials, Business of Buying, Komakino, Peter Taylor among several other pieces. Check out the Battle of the Oxfords in the focus section along with every single other page in the magazine. Enjoy. Less than a month to go until issue seven, hurry up and read.

Supreme Fall Hits Canada

With only one Supreme outlet in Canada since Richard Kidd closed up and the rumors of a northbound Supreme shop never becoming a reality, it leaves Nomad as the only door north of the border. Supreme’s fall collection is actually one of my favorite yet. I love the coats and shirts this fall, complimented nicely by their classic 5 panels and bags. Nomad just dropped the line in Toronto so if you missed the boat online or in the US, now is your chance to get them goods. Nomad usually garners a lineup for their Supreme release dates so I wouldn’t plan on waiting for a sale to get the piece your scoping. I am more blown away than ever at how Supreme spans markets, ages, and customers and actually makes so many good items that almost anyone can relate to or wear. It has to be one of the most authentic ‘lifestyle’ brands on planet earth.

Engineered Garments Vest

Puffy vests are pretty cool, I think I’ve always thought so. It’s interesting to see some of the more interesting, design focused lines bring in the classic piece and put their spin on it. This interpretation by Engineered Garments is definitely well done. It has a great, thick collar that snaps across or can fold down. The charcoal gray is pretty much my favorite color as well right now, so that only helps. I have actually had to refrain myself from buying any more gray this fall. I need some more reds. However if you haven’t got enough gray, then this vest might be for you. I also highly recommend checking out the rest of the EG line, it’s really nice. The coats and knits are unique, well made, fit well, and look great. It’s probably one of the most liveable lines while still pushing the boundaries of casual menswear. This vest along with the fall collection are available at Nomad.

Issue 6 Preview

Well it’s not that far away now. I know everyone has read through our huge 5th installment by now, right? Do it here if you haven’t. This month has been an odd one. I’ve had a lot less time to spend on the magazine, barely able to squeeze in blog posts at night and in the morning, but we’re working hard to keep it moving. Issue 6 catches up with one of our favorite brands Nom de Guerre, along with Canadian product designers Bryon and Dexter of WANT Les Essentials. We also have one of my favorite features we’ve put together on the Business of Buying, getting into the challenges of buying in today’s market for some of the best independent boutiques including, Tres Bien Shop, Nomad, Roden Gray and a couple more. There are a couple good focus articles as well with a look at Vancouver artist Peter Taylor, and a battle of the oxford shirts available on the market today. Look for the drop next week.

Monocle Shop-in-Shop @ D.S.M

Monocle is a dope magazine. I don’t care what the haters say. It’s beautifully designed magazine that pulls in a great variety of information on business, fashion, design, and international endeavours of all sorts. Whether you like pictures, nice print books, or expensive things, you have to like something about Monocle. Now they have taken it to the next level by opening up a Shop-in-Shop at the Dover Street Market in London. The shop has all of their back stock issues, along with a collection of their new collaboration products. To top the list is a collection of four bags by Head Porter. The olive green tote, boston, and weekender are accompanied by a new short hauler in black by the Japanese baggage vets who did a great job. Also in the shop is the ‘Scent One’ which was the collaboration scent with Comme des Garcons, so you can bet the shop is probably smelling pretty good as well. For those of us in North America, apparently Nomad has the Porter collection in store as well.

NVSBL Tailors @ Nomad

One of the leather lines I’ve been most looking forward to is the NVSBL Tailors collection. I want to wear 3/4 of their fall collection, and that’s not happening too often. I really like the look and cuts they provide, and the take on classic silhouettes. The bomber is definitely the jammy. It just arrived at Nomad this week and runs you $660. Without having handled one of the jackets myself it’s hard to say how good the quality is, although I can imagine it’s not bad. The fit is apparently slim and quite fitted, the price isn’t insane, as long as the quality is good. These just may be one of the best valued leather jackets you can get right now. I need to figure out a way to fandangle myself one of the leather biker/bombers this fall pretty badly. I find it very hard to find a good leather that suits my style and price point, I now have some hopes the hunt might be nearing an end.

United Front: Hypebeast Essentials

Speaking of Nomad, Hypebeast’s latest series of Essentials features some of the United Front’s top players. Jesar, Oliver, Matt, and Paolo let us know what “their” essentials are. I put the “their” in quotes because it’s not really their personal picks, but their personal picks from stuff in their stores. Everything chosen is available right now in either Ransom, Nomad, or Goodfoot, so if you want to make their essentials, your essentials, it’s relatively convenient to do so. Although it’s a bit funny, it’s not a bad thing. All the items are good, ranging from Neon 95’s, to face wash, to Wings+Horns Dayton boots. The United Front is so strong, partially because they really act and function as a team. They work hard and help each other out, and really keep a lot of business flowing through the internal fam. So it’s not surprising to see their picks turn out this way. You know when HB hits me up and I have to say my essential daily blog I hit up for the hot ish, it’s h(y)r collective yo!

Robert Geller Fall @ Nomad

To be honest I haven’t been as blown away by Robert Geller’s recent collection as a lot of people I’ve heard from. That is not at all because I think it’s bad, it just hasn’t been my particular style. That is until I saw the pieces that Nomad just received. I NEED these Maharadja pants, first off, assuming they fit half decent. The outerwear is definitely a stand out. The toggle parka with the fish tails and the toggle bomber are also retarded. Wait, did I mention the boots yet? Damn. Why have I not seen these pieces before. I was just seeing jewlery and oddly shaped and see through sweaters. Once again, I’m not saying those are bad, just not for me to wear. These Maharadja pants and the boots definitely are. I’m happy the pants aren’t too outlandishly pricey but some saving must commence immediately.

Nomad Stuff

Nomad is one of my favorite shops, probably in the world. Not just because I got a fresh box from them since they are blowing out the last of their summer stock, which includes some great items. But the aesthetic of the shop, the lines, the service, and their quick shipping. It’s hellish dealing with a lot of online retailers, let alone boutiques who haven’t realized the Internet isn’t going away. Nomad doesn’t actually have an online store but you can stay up to date with their blog and ordering from the shop is easier than, pretty much anywhere. Quick response, quick shipping, great products. I’ve definitely bought too many things online and could put a couple people on blast for their service, but I’d rather just help point you in the right direction. Nomad has some good stuff still on 70% off right now, but more importantly they have received a lot of fall stock from Rag and Bone, Nom De Guerre, A.P.C., and Wings+Horns to name a few. Shop there.

RRL Rucksack

I came across this leather RRL Rucksack today online. It’s amazing. Rucksack bags are hard to mess up, but RRL took this one to the next level by going all out with the leather. The price reflects the quality unfortunately, as it’s retailing for $1,095. It is pretty much a perfect sack however, the worn in leather, brass looking buckles, perfectly situated outer pockets, it’s really good. It’s available at a new shop out in DC called Farnelli’s. They also have a great RRL duffel, denim and more goods on the way. I find it exciting coming across the RRL stuff and checking out the shops in the US because we don’t have it up north. Our only hope for now is Nomad as we heard Matt George mention bringing in Polo a few months back when he spoke with DNR. Time will tell but I think it would be a good move.

Simon Miller Denim

Simon Miller denim has been growing in popularity over the past few seasons. With an undeniable similarity to A.P.C.’s standard cut, it makes the denim easy to wear and easy to look good. Simon Miller has been increasing the quality of the denim and including some nice selvedge models. For a lot of people raw denim has been the best thing they’ve ever seen in the world in the past couple years. That means it’s time to move on and get some washed out, faded, light colored jeans. You can do it yourself but that takes time or effort. There are really not many lines that are making a pre-washed jean that actually looks good. Finding a balance between colors, fades, and amount of treatment is hard since everyone has their own taste. I picked up a pair of Cures in a vintage wash that A.P.C. used to do and that is definitely my jean of choice these days. These new washes from Simon Miller look fairly similar and definitely would work. I like the lighter and darker non-raw, not an easy choice…both? Available at Nomad now for $280.

A.P.C. @ Nomad

Nomad seems to be the first shop north of the boarder to receive a fairly extensive order from the French line A.P.C. I was able to check out most of the fall line in New York before I came back and definitely found a few pieces that were buyable. I have to say, Nomad pretty much ordered all of the pieces I was looking at. The red removable collar shirt was really good, along with the gray motorcycle bomber, some ties, and some belts. Nomad does some of the best buying for boutiques anywhere I’ve been in the world, so it’s no surprise to got the pick of the litter. Although it isn’t too difficult with A.P.C. I find their line very hit or miss, they make some great stuff, but when it’s bad, it’s pretty bad.