Friday, April 30, 2010
Future Development Exibit Launch Party - Hosted by Va$htie
All of my art heads, and Graffiti enthusiast will love this event. The downtown sweetheart, Va$htie will be hosting the event that boast not only artwork by some of today's most respected graffiti artist but also body painting done by the world renown graf artist Quick. If you are available on Friday May 7th between 7 and 10pm you should definitely stop by and check it out.
PRPS Fall/Winter 2010 Lookbook
Leave it to the fashion industry to remind us that Fall is right around the corner as soon as the temperature starts to warm up. In the case of the PRPS Fall/Winter collection, I don't really mind. The brand, best know for its variety of washed and distressed denim is now venturing into a full scale cut & sewn collection of shirts, pants, coats and knits. That native american blanket patterned shirt and the distressed patchwork denim shirt are among my favorites. Check it out and let me know what you think.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Original Fake x Medicom "Companion" Bearbrick - Black Version
It has been only about a month since the last Kaws bearbrick but it seems as though Kaws is giving the collectors what they want ASAP and releasing the Black version of his dissected bearbrick companion on May 8th. This color rounds out the 3 possible colors for this figure and is my favorite one thus far even though I also have the 1st two. The toy comes in 1000%, 400% and 100% and they are also releasing a matching t-shirt. Very Cool!
Bonus:
1st Colorway
2nd Colorway
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Pencil Vs Camera by Ben Heine
This guy Ben Heine, takes pictures all over the world and then with a pencil and paper he draws in a part of the image or a completely different image all together that somehow fits with the original image. This looks like it takes a lot of patience. He MUST not be from New York. Check it out. Very Cool.
Labels:
Art,
Ben Heine,
That's Different,
Things I Like
A Bathing Ape "Ape Face" British Flag Rug
I have been going back and forth on if I should post this or not but the truth is I actually really like this item. A Bathing Ape has released a new rug for it's Spring/Summer 2010 collection with a British flag as a theme on top of the classic "Ape Face" design. It's now available at Bape store worldwide. Just don't put it in a high traffic area because it looks like it would get FILTHY really quickly.
Labels:
accessories,
Bape,
Household,
rugs,
That's Different
Lupe Fiasco - I'm Beamin' (Video)
Directed by Illusive Media, I'm Beamin' is the 1st Video from Lupe Fiasco's upcoming album Lasers. Check it out!
Theophilus London - I Want You (Mixtape)
I've really been paying attention to this guy recently. Theophilus London drops his new mixtape "I Want You" today, and you can download it right HERE
Labels:
Mixtape,
Music,
Theophilus London,
Things I Like
Louis Vuitton iPad Cases
I personally think that the iPad is a complete waste of money. I used to have an iPad mini called an iPod Touch but that's neither here nor there. Probably the BEST reason to have the iPod right now in my opinion is the new Louis Vuitton cases for the iPad. The cases will be released next year and come in either the Classic LV monogram or the Graphite Damier pattern. Each case cost $240 which actually isn't that bad considering they sell coin purses for that same price. Check it out.
Labels:
accessories,
Hype,
iPad,
Louis Vuitton,
Things I Like
Friday, April 23, 2010
How I Fell In Love With Sneakers
Since I was really young I've always been into getting "fly". I was born in 83 and I spent my summers in East New York Brooklyn where my cousin who I believe worked for Macy*s at the time would always keep me in Guess Jeans and Ralph Lauren polo shirts, and make sure my mom kept it up during the year, and there was nothing flyer than a pair of Air Jordans.
It was the summer of 1991 and Air Jordans were not as expensive as they are today but they were still pretty pricey for a pair of sneakers for a kid going to 3rd grade at the time. I needed a pair of Air Jordans next year and I was not taking no for an answer, so when the summer came and it was time for back to school shopping I was on it. At the time the Air Jordan VI in the Black/Infared colorway was out and I remember going to Modell's with my mother and BEGGING her for a pair. She eventually gave in and got them for me. I thought that I could jump higher and all of the other things that little kids would believe when they saw an Air Jordan commercial back then. Unfortunately for me I think I got two solid months of having those shoes because by the end of the summer i jumped from the top of my steps into some wet paint that my uncle had left out after painting my patio steps. Washing them helped but the kicks just werent the same. I needed a new pair of sneakers and my moms was NOT buying another pair of Jordans. It didnt help that I had already had my 1st taste of that Air Jordan "crack" and I was hooked.
But I think the very moment I actually FELL IN LOVE with my footwear was in 1992, right after the Bulls had won their 2nd Chip and we being referred to as the "Untouchabulls." Michael Jackson came out with a video for his song "Jam" off of his 1991 Dangerous album and Micheal Jordan had on the Bordeaux colorway in the Air Jordan VII. I think I wanted those more than anything else in the world at that point but at the time my mother had already bought my school shoes and it was NOT happening. I think I fell in love with Air Jordans right there, probably because I couldnt get them and I just REALLY liked that colorway. I blame my Mom and Michael Jackson for my sneaker addiction, and it didnt help that every time I turned on the TV Dwayne Wayne (A Different World) Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld) and Will Smith (The Fresh Prince) had on a pair of Air Jordans.
Needless to say, I couldnt get a pair every year, I got a few Air Jordans when my Mother could afford it when it came time to shop for school clothes. I think we drove all over new your city looking for the lowtop Air Jordan 11 in white/light grey in the summer of 1996 as a gift after I received my Holy Confirmation from Sacred Heard School in Queens. Yeah...I'm a Catholic School boy, so what.
But when I got to high school and got my 1st Job at Waldbaums Supermarket in Bayside, it was ALL OVER. I would cut last period and go buy Air Jordans on a monthly basis. Air maxes were getting equal shine too because if it was new I had em and it didnt stop. My entire check would go to Nikes and clothes because you cant be fly with just fly sneakers, the outfit has to match, but thats a story for another blog.
My boys at Cardozo HS down the block could wear sneakers every day but I had to lie to the nurses and tell them I sprained my ankle to get a sneaker pass to wear my kicks or it was detention for breaking uniform. Again, I'm a catholic school boy so there had to be ways around everything. To this day I have sneakers that I probably only wore a hand-full of times since high school but I'll break em out if I feel like it on a nice day.
College was worse, 2 of my best friends and I would promote the biggest parties on campus so I really didn't know what It felt like to be a stereotypical "broke" college student and mommy and daddy weren't giving me a DIME for my habit. I grew up with these guys so needless to say they were "sneaker-heads" too so It always seemed like we were in competition for the newest kicks out.
Before A Bathing Ape was even in in the United States, my boys and I were shipping them in from Japan. Back then patent leather bapes were lame...it was all about the colored snake skin Bapesta. I remember people asking me "What I had done to my Nike Air Force 1s?" and "Why was I wearing fake Nike's." Fakes weren't my style...being up on that new new was.
Then the Nike SB Dunk hit and it was all over. I would have people stop me in the street and offer to buy them off of my feet. "Where'd you get those" was a question my boys and I would hear ALL THE TIME on campus. It was like having a foreign car on your feet, people liked them but had no idea how to get them or how much they were. I will tell you right now that there are a lot of sneakers that I will wear today that if you bought them today might run you close to $1,000 and I paid $90 for them and bought them with no problem because I just knew about them from way back then.
The was an attention factor that you get from having on a fresh pair that nobody could get and I fell in love with the exclusivity.
Then in 2005 right before I graduated, the Nike SB Dunk low "Pigeon" came out only at 1 store in NY while I was still up in college. And right then and there the game officially changed. There was a riot for these shoes, kids were getting robbed, people were getting escorted out by police and it made the FRONT PAGE of the New York Post newspaper. People started to realize how crazy this "sneaker game" was and it got over saturated, everyone was on it and I began falling out of love.
Now dont get me wrong, I still love sneakers but I don't buy nearly as much as I used to, they aren't the same. The shoes are being made cheaper and when they "Retro" the classics they don't look or feel the same anymore but there is just something about a nice sneaker that always brings me back in. I guess I'll never really change, I just slowed down a little. I look for sneakers that have a stand out quality, or are some type of collaboration between Nike and another artist, store, or brand like the pair I have on in my profile picture. Done by Nike and a Japanese brand named Swagger, these actually came as 1 pair of sneakers in 2 different colors. (People ask me about that ALL THE TIME)
I think I'm going to wear sneakers until the day I die, I just may slow down on the buying sprees for now. Afterall, sneakers cant pay your rent or a car note....right?
It was the summer of 1991 and Air Jordans were not as expensive as they are today but they were still pretty pricey for a pair of sneakers for a kid going to 3rd grade at the time. I needed a pair of Air Jordans next year and I was not taking no for an answer, so when the summer came and it was time for back to school shopping I was on it. At the time the Air Jordan VI in the Black/Infared colorway was out and I remember going to Modell's with my mother and BEGGING her for a pair. She eventually gave in and got them for me. I thought that I could jump higher and all of the other things that little kids would believe when they saw an Air Jordan commercial back then. Unfortunately for me I think I got two solid months of having those shoes because by the end of the summer i jumped from the top of my steps into some wet paint that my uncle had left out after painting my patio steps. Washing them helped but the kicks just werent the same. I needed a new pair of sneakers and my moms was NOT buying another pair of Jordans. It didnt help that I had already had my 1st taste of that Air Jordan "crack" and I was hooked.
But I think the very moment I actually FELL IN LOVE with my footwear was in 1992, right after the Bulls had won their 2nd Chip and we being referred to as the "Untouchabulls." Michael Jackson came out with a video for his song "Jam" off of his 1991 Dangerous album and Micheal Jordan had on the Bordeaux colorway in the Air Jordan VII. I think I wanted those more than anything else in the world at that point but at the time my mother had already bought my school shoes and it was NOT happening. I think I fell in love with Air Jordans right there, probably because I couldnt get them and I just REALLY liked that colorway. I blame my Mom and Michael Jackson for my sneaker addiction, and it didnt help that every time I turned on the TV Dwayne Wayne (A Different World) Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld) and Will Smith (The Fresh Prince) had on a pair of Air Jordans.
Needless to say, I couldnt get a pair every year, I got a few Air Jordans when my Mother could afford it when it came time to shop for school clothes. I think we drove all over new your city looking for the lowtop Air Jordan 11 in white/light grey in the summer of 1996 as a gift after I received my Holy Confirmation from Sacred Heard School in Queens. Yeah...I'm a Catholic School boy, so what.
But when I got to high school and got my 1st Job at Waldbaums Supermarket in Bayside, it was ALL OVER. I would cut last period and go buy Air Jordans on a monthly basis. Air maxes were getting equal shine too because if it was new I had em and it didnt stop. My entire check would go to Nikes and clothes because you cant be fly with just fly sneakers, the outfit has to match, but thats a story for another blog.
My boys at Cardozo HS down the block could wear sneakers every day but I had to lie to the nurses and tell them I sprained my ankle to get a sneaker pass to wear my kicks or it was detention for breaking uniform. Again, I'm a catholic school boy so there had to be ways around everything. To this day I have sneakers that I probably only wore a hand-full of times since high school but I'll break em out if I feel like it on a nice day.
College was worse, 2 of my best friends and I would promote the biggest parties on campus so I really didn't know what It felt like to be a stereotypical "broke" college student and mommy and daddy weren't giving me a DIME for my habit. I grew up with these guys so needless to say they were "sneaker-heads" too so It always seemed like we were in competition for the newest kicks out.
Before A Bathing Ape was even in in the United States, my boys and I were shipping them in from Japan. Back then patent leather bapes were lame...it was all about the colored snake skin Bapesta. I remember people asking me "What I had done to my Nike Air Force 1s?" and "Why was I wearing fake Nike's." Fakes weren't my style...being up on that new new was.
Then the Nike SB Dunk hit and it was all over. I would have people stop me in the street and offer to buy them off of my feet. "Where'd you get those" was a question my boys and I would hear ALL THE TIME on campus. It was like having a foreign car on your feet, people liked them but had no idea how to get them or how much they were. I will tell you right now that there are a lot of sneakers that I will wear today that if you bought them today might run you close to $1,000 and I paid $90 for them and bought them with no problem because I just knew about them from way back then.
The was an attention factor that you get from having on a fresh pair that nobody could get and I fell in love with the exclusivity.
Then in 2005 right before I graduated, the Nike SB Dunk low "Pigeon" came out only at 1 store in NY while I was still up in college. And right then and there the game officially changed. There was a riot for these shoes, kids were getting robbed, people were getting escorted out by police and it made the FRONT PAGE of the New York Post newspaper. People started to realize how crazy this "sneaker game" was and it got over saturated, everyone was on it and I began falling out of love.
Now dont get me wrong, I still love sneakers but I don't buy nearly as much as I used to, they aren't the same. The shoes are being made cheaper and when they "Retro" the classics they don't look or feel the same anymore but there is just something about a nice sneaker that always brings me back in. I guess I'll never really change, I just slowed down a little. I look for sneakers that have a stand out quality, or are some type of collaboration between Nike and another artist, store, or brand like the pair I have on in my profile picture. Done by Nike and a Japanese brand named Swagger, these actually came as 1 pair of sneakers in 2 different colors. (People ask me about that ALL THE TIME)
I think I'm going to wear sneakers until the day I die, I just may slow down on the buying sprees for now. Afterall, sneakers cant pay your rent or a car note....right?
Thursday, April 15, 2010
The Triumphant Return Of The Boat Shoe...That Never Really Left.
Over 7 decades ago, in 1935 Paul Sperry invented a shoe for the man who loved the thrill of sailing on the open water and named them Sperry Top-Siders. With a white rubber sole for stability and to help avoid scratching the deck of a boat. Paired with a leather upper and leather shoe strings, the original boat shoe was very practical for sailors; So much so that even today Sperry Top-Siders are part of the US Naval Academy's casual uniform.
But much has changed since then and in the past 2 years we have seen a big resurgence of the "boat shoe" and its not just for boats. Other brands like Tods, Lanvin, Converse and Rockport have come out with their own version of the boat shoe which has taken off amongst the wealthy and the casual buyer alike.
I actually had this pair a few years back
The best thing is that you don't need a boat to own a pair anymore. "Deck shoes" as they are sometimes called can be seen on the feet of young urban dweller all over the country. They are made in a simple silhouette and doesn't take much more than a well fitting pair of jeans/pants to make it look good.
Boat shoes now come in either high or low top, a wide array of colors and are made out of various materials all while staying true to the rubber bottom, or a variation of it. Recently the well known fashion brand Band of Outsiders has gone back to the roots of the boat shoe and has collaborated with Sperry Top-Sider for their own twist on the boat shoe. Being made in a wide array of colors and materials the boat shoe is on its way to becoming the new sneaker. There isn't a color that you wouldn't be able to find and Band of Outsiders is making your search for the perfect outfit just a bit easier.
Band of Outsiders x Sperry Top-Siders Spring/Summer 2010 collection has a lot of gems including this very very nice pink nylon/suede colorway that caught my eye immediately. Normally I probably wouldn't be too interested in a pink shoe but the choice of materials and contrasting colors drew me in so much so that it made me write this post. The grey pair made from sweatshirt material is not too shabby either. Very Cool.
Nice spin on the original
Oh yeah, I'm a size 9 by the way *wink wink*
Source: The Sartorialist
Source: Highsnobiety
Source: Sperry Top-Sider
But much has changed since then and in the past 2 years we have seen a big resurgence of the "boat shoe" and its not just for boats. Other brands like Tods, Lanvin, Converse and Rockport have come out with their own version of the boat shoe which has taken off amongst the wealthy and the casual buyer alike.
I actually had this pair a few years back
The best thing is that you don't need a boat to own a pair anymore. "Deck shoes" as they are sometimes called can be seen on the feet of young urban dweller all over the country. They are made in a simple silhouette and doesn't take much more than a well fitting pair of jeans/pants to make it look good.
Boat shoes now come in either high or low top, a wide array of colors and are made out of various materials all while staying true to the rubber bottom, or a variation of it. Recently the well known fashion brand Band of Outsiders has gone back to the roots of the boat shoe and has collaborated with Sperry Top-Sider for their own twist on the boat shoe. Being made in a wide array of colors and materials the boat shoe is on its way to becoming the new sneaker. There isn't a color that you wouldn't be able to find and Band of Outsiders is making your search for the perfect outfit just a bit easier.
Band of Outsiders x Sperry Top-Siders Spring/Summer 2010 collection has a lot of gems including this very very nice pink nylon/suede colorway that caught my eye immediately. Normally I probably wouldn't be too interested in a pink shoe but the choice of materials and contrasting colors drew me in so much so that it made me write this post. The grey pair made from sweatshirt material is not too shabby either. Very Cool.
Nice spin on the original
Oh yeah, I'm a size 9 by the way *wink wink*
Source: The Sartorialist
Source: Highsnobiety
Source: Sperry Top-Sider
Labels:
accessories,
Band of Outsiders,
Boat Shoe,
Shoes,
Things I Like
Monday, April 12, 2010
Nike SB Eugene Backpack - "Gucci" Colorway
Let me start by saying that although I like the design of the Eugene backpack by Nike SB, I do not like how it fits. I always feel like I am taking up entirely too much space when I have it on. I have the now infamous "Buzz Lightyear" colorway and I bought it simply because I liked how the colors went together. I think I am interested in the Eugene backpack yet again because of the same reason. The Gucci colorway is always a classic colorway and I think Nike put the icing on the cake when they made that front buckle with a metal gold finish. It doesn't get any better. Inspired by the recent release of the RESN "Gucci" Dunk SB Hi this backpack may go down as one of the best colorways...in my opinion at least. Look for this to release very soon at select Nike SB retailers. Very Cool.
Labels:
accessories,
Backpack,
Gucci,
Nike SB,
Things I Like
New Kaws Book by Rizzoli
Drake - Over (Video)
Finally we have a video for Drake's official single, "Over" from his upcoming debut album "Thank Me Later." Check It Out.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Aloe Blacc - I Need A Dollar (Video)
This is probably my favorite song from the HBO "How To Make It In America" Mixtape. Directed by Khalil Joseph this is the 1st single from Aloe Blacc's upcoming debut album "Good Things" on Stones Throw Records. Enjoy!
Labels:
Aloe Blacc,
HBO,
How To Make It In America,
Music,
Things I Like,
Video
Taka Hayashi x Vans Vault Collection
Let me 1st say that I REALLY like these. Its really not the normal shoe that I would be attracted to but there is something about the trifecta of Native American goods, craftsmanship from various Italian-manufactured footwear and antique military surplus that drew me in.
This is yet another joint effort between Vans Vault and Taka Hayashi which debuts two new silhouettes, namely the Prison Issue Lace LX and Priz Hi Lace LX. The gray Priz Hi Lace LX may have to be next on my "hit-list"
Both are available at select Vans Vault retailers worldwide.
Prison Issue Lace LX
Priz Hi Lace LX
Source: Nice Kicks
Source: Phil-G's HighSnobiety Column
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