Writing, reviews, interviews, photography.

Posts by A. Frankel

A Recap of 2012

Posted on January 4, 2013

Thanks and Happy New Year!

2012 was a very important year for us. It saw the addition of our creative director, Steve Streisguth. We expanded from our start in Philadelphia, PA. to a second arm in Los Angeles, CA. It launched the first video productions facilitated by The American Classic. We took part in the creation of two albums, created 45 unique posts, covered several events, curated Natural Process, created product shots, lookbooks, and more. Our viewership is up 536% over 2011, not even factoring in things like Tumblr and Twitter, and we couldn’t be more proud of that. We’ve come a long way since our humble beginnings in 2010 and for all of you out there reading this, thank you for your support. 2013 will bring changes that will allow us to share better content to a broader audience. Be prepared for some new types of programming that you haven’t seen from us before. Hope you’ll stay tuned and we’re looking forward to another year!

Top posts of 2012:

Hammarhead Industries Day Pack

Natural Process

Frank & Oak – Well Curated, Well Cut

Inquiries & Responses Vol. 10: Rogue Territory

Field Trip to Self Edge NYC & Hickoree’s Hard Goods

Top Search Terms of 2012:

  1. “derringer cycles for sale”
  2. “the american classic”
  3. “trove general store”
  4. “frank and oak review”
  5. “hammarhead industries daypack review”
  6. “teppei teranishi”
  7. “red wing iron ranger”
  8. “uniform wares”
  9. “best made hudson bay axe”
  10. Variations of Hammarhead Industries Daypack
Categories: Announcements

The Battle Royale of the American-Made Shirt: Vol. 2 Lumina Clothing Co. & Brooks Brothers

Posted on December 18, 2012

Volume 2- Lumina Vs. Brooks Bros

Welcome to Volume 2 of the Battle Royale of the American-Made Shirt. The idea behind this article started with a simple purchasing conundrum; there are plenty of great brands out there and with a few parameters set forth, how can we really narrow down what shirt is the best for our needs as a consumer? Our rules were simple:

  1. We wanted a shirt that would appeal to the masses, though showcased each company’s best effort, that fit the average cut guy very well.
  2. The shirt had to be made in the United States of America.
  3. If it could be helped, the shirt had to be under $200.00

After doing research, this proved to be far more difficult than we had anticipated. When it comes down to it, many brands aren’t familiar with the origins of their fabric or didn’t make the shirts themselves. Most of our favorites – the really distinctive patterns – were typically beyond the allotted price point. You will see that we did make a few exceptions along the way but stayed true to these rules for the most part. Most of the brands were quick to point out that in differentiating between most labels with the exception of a very select few American makers, all shirts are essentially the same. The variables are in the fabric and the cut with only slight variation in construction seen across the board. Once you’ve seen one shirt, you’ve seen most of them; or so it seemed.
We have taken the approach to looking at these shirts as someone who puts average wear on clothing with occasional days working in the field on creative projects and more frequent days sitting behind a desk. We tested all of these shirts and combined our opinions with those of the fit models who wore them for the photo shoots. The brands we will review in this volume are Lumina Clothing Co. from Raleigh, NC. (though manufactured in Chicago) and Brooks Brothers from New York, NY. (though manufactured in North Carolina). Click below to view the full article and photos.

Categories: Photos, Writeups

The Battle Royale of the American-Made Shirt: Vol. 1 Taylor Stitch & Rogue Territory

Posted on November 20, 2012

Welcome to Volume 1 of the Battle Royale of the American-Made Shirt. The idea behind this article started with a simple purchasing conundrum; there are plenty of great brands out there and with a few parameters set forth, how can we really narrow down what shirt is the best for our needs as a consumer? Our rules were simple:

  1. We wanted a shirt that would appeal to the masses, though showcased each company’s best effort, that fit the average cut guy very well.
  2. The shirt had to be made in the United States of America.
  3. If it could be helped, the shirt had to be under $200.00

After doing research, this proved to be far more difficult than we had anticipated. When it comes down to it, many brands aren’t familiar with the origins of their fabric or didn’t make the shirts themselves. Most of our favorites – the really distinctive patterns – were typically beyond the allotted price point. You will see that we did make a few exceptions along the way but stayed true to these rules for the most part. Most of the brands were quick to point out that in differentiating between most labels with the exception of a very select few American makers, all shirts are essentially the same. The variables are in the fabric and the cut with only slight variation in construction seen across the board. Once you’ve seen one shirt, you’ve seen most of them; or so it seemed.

We have taken the approach to looking at these shirts as someone who puts average wear on clothing with occasional days working in the field on creative projects and more frequent days sitting behind a desk. We tested all of these shirts and combined our opinions with those of the fit models who wore them for the photo shoots. The first brands we will review are Taylor Stitch from San Francisco, CA. and Rogue Territory from Los Angeles, CA., hence the Californian imagery in our masthead. Click below to view the full article and photos.

Categories: Photos, Reviews, Writeups

The Battle Royale of the American Made Shirt

Posted on November 7, 2012

Over the past few months, we’ve been rolling around Los Angeles photographing shirts from several of America’s premiere makers. This has been an awesome hands-on opportunity for us to get very familiar with the construction and fabric offerings from these companies as we’re always trying to expand our knowledge on brands and their products. Over the coming weeks we’ll be rolling out a new mini-series featuring these shirts and our critiques and praise for each. The bottom line with shirting is that no cut will fit everyone perfectly, but some of these have gotten pretty damn close. Featured will be Hamilton 1883, New England Shirt Co., Taylor Stitch, Brooks Brothers, Rogue Territory, and Lumina Clothing Co. We’re very much looking forward to sharing these photos and opinions with you. Stay tuned.

Categories: Announcements, Photos, Reviews, Writeups

The Standard Relay: Tenue de Nîmes, Papafoxtrot, Whiskies of the World, A Vest Comparison, & The Joinery NYC.

Posted on October 30, 2012

Tenue de Nîmes 2nd Store

Located in Haarlemmerstraat, Amsterdam

Not only is Haarlemmerstraat the only word you’ve ever heard of with 4 “A’s” paired into sets of two, but it’s probably a word you’ve never heard of before reading this. Unless you’ve been to Amsterdam. The ever-prolific shop Tenue de Nîmes has opened their second shop in Amsterdam and it looks beautiful. Click through to see several more photos of the shop (via Another Something & Co.).

Papafoxtrot’s Space Fleet

Keeping your mind soaring whilst chained to your desk

I’ve never heard of a company name like Papafoxtrot before and frankly it sounds kind of creepy; no matter, they make some awesome replicas of unmanned spacecrafts using extremely high quality materials. I highly recommend, if you’re in the market for moderately expensive but playful-looking desk decor, checking these out (via Gearpatrol)

Ian Buxton’s Whiskies to Try Before You Die

Global brown liquor. It’s crazy.

If you like whiskey and are tired of the usual American crock (of goodness, that is), check out this book that will seriously learn you a new one regarding the subject of foreign whiskies (via Cool Hunting).

The World of Vests

By FREE/MAN Brand

I don’t wear vests and neither does Steve but I’ve got plenty of friends who do and many of you may appreciate this nonetheless. FREE/MAN Brand has put together quite an impressive and well-thought-out collection of vests complete with photos and details on a few and links to the rest. Highly recommended if you were even for a brief moment considering purchasing one (via FREE/MAN Brand).

Joinery NYC

The newest, coolest webshop

The Joinery has opened online. Though it’s not new news, it’s worth a look if you haven’t already. Plenty of home goods to keep you occupied and though some are frightfully expensive, some are rather reasonably priced, especially for some of the more useful and handy items. Take a gander.

You can check out the last Standard Relay by clicking here.

Categories: The Standard Relay