Penfield x St. Alfred
In the midst of the work/outdoor wear ‘revival’ we’re seeing right now, Penfield continues to stay relevant in today’s crazy market of here today gone tomorrow trends and lines. This time they’ve teamed up with Chicago boutique St. Alfred to make a nice clean lightweight down puffer. I actually like the jacket quite a bit, but at the same time I’m disappointed. The projects they’ve done in the past with the likes of Stussy, Wood Wood and Alife were all so much better. Slapping a chest logo on the most plain coat in Penfield’s arsenal seems almost like a waste of time. Hopefully the rest of the Fall collaborations turn out a little more intesting. Read more
Masterpiece 2 Layer Jacket
I’m still looking for a solid rain coat for fall. Something dark, lightweight and slightly longer with a hood. It’s not too much to ask for really, but I’m vein, I don’t want a harsh technical jacket like Arcteryx or the like, which seem to be the only ones that get that. Wood Wood has made a couple solid options in the last couple seasons but they’re hard to find and fall apart relatively easily I hear. Japanese brand Masterpiece seems to have heard the calling and has come through with a pretty good looking option in my opinion. Two-toned black, solid length, good detailing, 4 button front and minimal branding. I like it. Read more
(More) Denim Shirts
I recently posted about denim shirts, now I’m doing it again since I noticed a couple nice ones coming up for spring. The thing with these pieces is that there is no raw denim in sight. Our Legacy and Kistune, along with Wood Wood for this fall, all have light colored, somewhat faded denim shirts. I don’t know if a lot of other guys aren’t wearing raw denim as much these days, but I know myself and O.P. are feeling the washed out look as I had a pair of jeans out on my patio for a few weeks and he currently still has some on the roof of his building getting ready for spring. Anyways, I like that the idea has been translating into some shirts lately. Since actually wearing a denim shirt into a faded state would probably take the greater portion of a decade it’s good to see pre-faded, tasteful washes becoming available on the market, especially with a shirt that will fit well. I really like the Our Legacy version we saw at Capsule, they are also doing a faded denim pant for the spring which looked quite good.
Wood Wood Fall ‘08
Wood Wood is definitely one of those lines that dances on the line of ’street wear’ and more progressive fashion. Their mix of classic pieces and interesting cuts, over-sized pants, clinched bottoms, odd patterns, and great materials keeps them more than relevant each season. I really like the colors in the fall line, lots of blues, different shades, and materials. They also did some interesting slacks, which seem to be one of their trademarks now. Offering a variety of cuts, you can easily wear most of the line or just pick one or two pieces and assimilate them with any other line out there. Distribution for Wood Wood is pretty limited in North America but I know Ransom in Toronto and Acrimony in San Francisco carry the mens line. I would recommend having a look if you can because these guys are just getting better.
Adidas A to ZX: UNDFTD & Wood Wood
By now you surely know about the Adidas a-ZX line (if not, that’s what Google is for). The A-H models just dropped this past Friday with some bangers from the likes of Goodfoot, Collette and Footpatrol. The I-P line though (with the exception of the Neighorhood jawns) is pretty weak. If we’re being frank, I think the models are bad and the colourways are ugly. Thankfully though, I can already look forward to a couple shoes from the Q-Z portion of the line. We give you the first look at The UNDFTD ZX 8000 and the Wood Wood ZX9000. Kind of unsurprising, UNDFTD went with bright ostentatious colours. While not my cup of tea, I think it ended up OK because they picked the 8000. The first ZX 9000 we’ve seen thus far comes from Wood Wood. An awesome shoe with a really good subtle colourway. A good ‘trainer’ that will look dynamite with some Wood Wood Thompsong pants perhaps?
Hats I Like
Next up in the “(Thing)s I Like” are some hats. I find most hats are tough to wear, and because of that, I either don’t wear them or actually end up making myself look worse by wearing a hat I think looks cool. I am also finding myself liking more straw/fedora style hats these days. Although with my current hair situation and personal riff with fedoras, I just can’t wear them. That leaves me with panel caps, beanies, and buckets. Nobody seemed to be able to make a good cap like Supreme, until I came across Wood Wood’s version which killed it. Also featured for a spicy alternative is this golf style lid by Henrik Vibskov. I still had to throw in a fedora so I went with the Boneyards offering, and for the straw summer/tobacco plantation look, Wacko Maria came through. To round out the list, is an odd bucket/bike hat by Hobo. You can find these at hnyee.store, Tres Bien, Boneyards Vancouver, and Wood Wood.
Tres Bien Sale
Tres Bien, along with the rest of the world, are having a huge spring/summer sale. I suppose with all of the new shops, boutiques and online stores that have opened in the past couple years, combined with the general recession going on in North America, sales are down. It seems like every store, every where, are putting on big sales. Tres Bien Shop has a bricks and mortar space in Stockholm, but also have a great online store. One of the easiest to navigate and find what you want. Right now they have 30-50% all of their spring stock. Although good sizes are going quick, you can still find some really nice pieces from Our Legacy, Raf Simons, Patrik Ervell, Common Projects, Opening Ceremony, Nom de Guerre, and Wood Wood. It is definitely worth checking out to see if you size might be hanging around.
