Porter x Monocle Collection
While these bags aren’t breaking news, with the opening of the Monocle store in London and the release of the bags through All Beams I thought I would highlight these great pieces. The stripped down look, minimal outer pockets and fine details make these Porter bags a little bit special. It’s nothing short of impressive what Monocle and Tyler Brule have accomplished within such a short period of time. While magazines are loosing money and going out of business they continue to push the limits and definition of what a magazine is. Product collaborators, retailers and continuous projects and small publications that really add a lot of value to the magazine itself. The Porter bags reflect that a bit with the multiple bags that come with the large duffle, weekender and short hauler. Each Porter x Monocle bag comes with a selection of smaller laptop cases, shoe bag, pencil case and more. The black and army green are great color choices and the leather detailing on the handles and hang tags is a great accent. Overall the project was perfectly executed and the collaboration of Monocle and Porter only keeps me more optimistic for the (y) x Porter collection.
Cotton Tweed Vest by 45rpm
I am not sure about the spending habits and financial capabilities of all of the readers out there but I doubt that buying 45rpm is an every day or even every season occurrence for most of us. This beautifully worn in, comfortable, wearable, cozy cotton tweed vest runs a cool $635. While it is of the highest quality and looks beautiful, it’s got to be hard to spend that amount of dough on a vest that I know I wouldn’t be wearing everyday…forever. R by 45rpm has a really nice collection and a beautiful space in New York, I’d be interested to find out who their main clientele are and if they are from North America.
Nom de Guerre Interview
If you missed the interview I did with Nom de Guerre in issue six, then go back and read it. Under Features > Archives. But after you’ve done that head over to We Are The Market and find out whats up. They just did a pretty interesting interview with Nom de Guerre as well as a couple other designers recently. The blog also has a good post on how men’s retailers are still holding on while spending in general has come to a stand still. We Are the Market is definitely a busy blog putting up a variety of content and for the most part it’s all good. It’s hard to say what font size you’re going to be reading but the content is definitely going to be interesting.
Obedient Sons Sale
I actually got this flier in the (e)mail and I don’t usually post about sales or things I get as press releases or whatever, but I thought it should be known. Obedient Sons put a really nice collection together for the fall for us fellows. Some great cardigans, knits, toques, button downs, everything. Obedient Sons is really nice, it’s worth checking out and although the retail price can be intimidating at times, the idea of a sample sale is a good one. Getting near perfect items for better than perfect prices is a good thing. Some of my favorite Obedient Son’s items this fall are their sport jackets and cardigans. Along with some head wear, the collection is more than notworthy and worth checking out for the dates specified.
Stussy x One Warm Coat
Stussy has joined with One Warm Coat this winter to help out the less fortunate with some warm winter gear. It’s definitely something I know I often neglect due to getting wrapped up in trying to finance some new boots and shirts while eating well and sleeping in a warm bed. But there are a lot of people out there who could really use the help and I think it’s great of Stussy to help out. You just have to bring in any lightly worn jacket to any of the Stussy Flagship stores and you get 15% off a new jacket. Canadians can join in now in Vancouver and Toronto, Americans have more options, Washington DC, LA, Philly, get your old jackets out and get a new one. Win win.
Friendly Fire
Scents: Jake Davis breaks down the beauty and power of a scent | Jake Davis
Design: 1988 - Adobe 88 using computers and lasers to make graphic images | Another Face in the Crowd
Fashion: Band of Outsiders SS09 look book video, for those who haven’t seen it | Blackbird
Fashion: Canvas stuff, bags, shoes, wallets, belts - all good | Mens.Style
Design: Something that looks cool but doesn’t really do anything (art) | PSFK
Albam x Gloverall Pea Coat
Albam has become a favorite of some of the bloggers I know, with their online exclusivity and only being sold otherwise out of the UK home, the line is one of those hard to find but great to find collections. With a really nice variety of outerwear, button downs and footwear Albam have become fairly sought after, not to mention they are one of the only couple companies that makes a great version of the deck boot. This fall however they hooked up with English jacket making veteran, Gloverall to put together a really nice pea coat. The dark tone with the contrast eyelet stitching is a nice subtle detail, combined with a good sized collar and not messing up the traditional buttons, they did a great job. The Melton Pea Coat is retailing for 250 lbs at their online shop.
Pet Peeve: Bad Merchandising
This is going on a bit too often these days in a few shops that it really shouldn’t be. I understand that it’s fall, jackets take up room, the economy is down so maybe space is limited. But if you are selling some of the best labels in your shop, you should probably be taking them time to merchandise it at least reasonably. I’m not saying you HAVE to go get custom shelving, special order racks, hangers, tables etc, but you should. If you are selling Nom de Guerre, Margiela, Raf Simons and the likes these lines deserve the kind of attention the customer wants to give them. Retail is in a state of influx, more shops than ever are open(ing) but with the way things are going, this will likely change and the strong will prevail. A lot of these brands work really hard and are pretty selective where they sell and they deserve a strong representation. As well as a consumer it makes the experience of the brand, the store and shopping a lot more enjoyable and I am honestly more likely to purchase something. Ok, thanks…and please don’t hang chunky cashmere knits for weeks on end…please.
Cash Only?
Okay, it’s 2008, what are you trying to prove by having a ‘cash only’ business? I don’t get it and I don’t like it. I rarely carry cash with me, debit and credit, I’m a plastic carrying man, as are a lot of people I know. So what are shops, cafes, restaurants or anybody else who is trying to make money doing by not having a debit machine? Not only are you costing yourself money and sales but now I am actually bitter. Going into a cafe to get a coffee and I can’t because I don’t have cash is ridiculous. I understand if it’s temporary or isn’t working but to just say, ‘nope, I don’t think we need it,’ has got to be a pretty bad idea. There is no possible way that it would cost you more to operate a machine and have all the possible sales you could, than to limit yourself to only selling to those cash chucking folks who probably now can’t buy the scone because they only have $2.64. There’s another $2.50 lost. I think there should be a new law, no more cash only.
Been Busy
Sorry for the lull in blog posts the last couple days. I’ve been quite busy the last week getting issue 7 finished and published, finishing a school project and Saturday we we’re shooting the look book for Jonathan+Olivia most of the day. Everything sort of culminated down to a couple days. So my girl came for a visit and I have been trying to clear my mind, reorganize and get things in order to get back on attack. I should be able to get back on thangs today tomorrow so you don’t have to worry about finding another blog just yet. The photo has nothing to do with the post other than it was taken last week while I was rushing between the Stussy store, school and a quick meeting. I had to stop as the colors seemed really nice and once I looked around a bit more I realized how nice out it was. i guess there is something to be said for that smelling the flowers saying. So don’t let issue 7 pass you by, take your time and read it.
Issue 7 Live | Empty your Cache
Right on time as usual, issue 7 is now up live for your viewing, and I hope reading pleasure. I loved this image so much I changed it to the cover last minute. Beautiful shot of Lars Stoten in action. The main fashion feature this month is on Mjolk. I am seriously behind this collection, Lars is a great guy and a very talented designer. We also caught up with Black Milk, Edina from BPMW Agency, Sarah Kahn, an up and coming Parisian designer and New York based (Malin+Goetz). This issue is the least fashion intensive with some design, business, art and finally a music feature. I also want to thank Dexter Austria and Calvin Pais for their contributing this month on the ‘This is the Last time’ and ‘Olso - A new Look’ respectively. I finally spilled my tale of my first love in the Sneaker Diaries as well…ahh The Questions. I also took the chance to break down some of my favorite shawl neck pieces of the season. Be sure to read every word, look at every picture and enjoy every second.
Our Spot Birthday Sale
It’s getting warm down under so we need to rescue some of those extra warm Nom de Guerre pieces. If you live in New Zealand, it might be a great chance to snag a piece you’ve been eyeing also. Our Spot is having their 6th birthday and celebrating with their customers by taking 20% of selected items by Common Projects, Nom de Guerre, APC, CDG and Rittenhouse, all great stuff. Sales are pretty great and there hasn’t been much of a lack of them in the past year which is also great. There is nothing like feeling like you got a good deal and really good value. From this photo it looks like the NDG high neck regulation as well as the Common Projects low top court shoes might be apart of the sale, two of my favorite items I own. Check out the web-store here.
Found: Rag & Bone Dodger Boots
I posted about some Rag & Bone boots a couple weeks back but they seemed like a bit of a mystery as they didn’t appear to be available anywhere and no prices could be found. While they have been released on the new online shop, Forward. The website has been curated by the folks at Revolve to retail some of their more high end lines since Revolve’s stocklist has grown to have an overwhelming number of lines, unfortunately including the likes of Ed Hardy, Affliction and others that have made me stop visiting. Although there are some great lines available at Revolve I don’t like having to scour the website to find what I want. Anyways…the Rag & Bone Dodger boots are now available in black and brown. They are pretty nice, pretty expensive and probably have to be perfect for you to buy them.
Stussy Vancouver Chapter 2
This build-out on the Vancouver Stussy shop is well underway, I’ve been into the shop every couple of days and it feels like a different space each time. Matt and John are definitely on their grizzy getting the shop together. The 2nd chapter of the build out documentation is up on the Stussy Vancouver website with a nice break down on the different steps. This chapter I ended up taking all the shots, it’s been good working with these guys, now its time for the final push. Apparently there will be a few Stussy products dropping that have been kept on ice for a bit…
The Future of Fashion - In a “quote”
Mens.Style.com caught up with a couple of now’s most popular men’s designers to find out what they thought about the future of designing clothing for guys. It’s somewhat interesting, I personally thought the illustrations by Micky Duzyj are the most interesting. For the most part the best designers will keep doing what they are doing and the weak will fall away. The recession is hitting full effect in the US with thousands of lay offs, so make sure you do something nobody else can! The men’s market in general is sure to drop, but it will be interesting to see how much it will affect some of the small, nice independents. Check out the latest edition of the Upgrader here.
