Writing, reviews, interviews, photography.

Posts from the “Writeups” Category

Field Trip: Tradesmen LA

Posted on January 22, 2013
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A few weeks ago I visited a mens lifestyle shop in Venice, CA. called Tradesmen LA. The shop has an amazing selection of Baldwin and Tellason Denim, all the Velva-Sheen products you’ve never seen for sale before, Ursa Major, Pendleton, Five Brother, Palmer Trading Co., Rogue Territory, Truman Handcrafted, and more. Do a quick search on some of the lesser known brands they carry and you’ll find that much of their stock cleans up in the Japanese market, making this shop even more of a find for the dudes of LA. This is the kind of place you go for top of the line wardrobe staples that you can dress up or down and feel comfortable wearing without reservation as the craftsmanship is just that great. Click here to read the full article.

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Categories: field trip, Photos, Writeups

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

Inquiries & Responses Vol. 11: Andrew Apostola

Posted on November 26, 2012

 

Unless you’ve been living without the internet on a backwoods Alaskan retreat for the last eight months, chances are you’ve heard of the relatively new Svbscription service from the folks that brought you Portable. In case you haven’t, Svbscription is a luxury curated subscription service for men, released quarterly and based on a one-word theme. The items in the parcel below were curated around the theme of Study, and included an aluminum fountain pen by German manufacturer Kaweco, a suede folio by designer Loden Dager, a copy of the The Yips by author Nicola Barker, and finally two fragrances from Le Labo with a custom engraved metal travel tube. I haven’t been so excited to receive something in a long time, and regularly harassed the mailman until I finally saw a package with that familiar tape. I did my best to open everything slowly and really take it in, but sometimes your enthusiasm gets the best of you. Svbscription curates very high end designer items and custom collaborations, and it is very very likely that you will be receiving something that only a few hundred people in the world own.

The third incarnation, based around the theme of ‘Leisure’ is anticipated to be their best parcel to date, and is set to be released in the beginning of December. Earlier this month, we sat down with Andrew Apostola: co-founder and creative director for Portable, CEO of Svbscription, and probably one of the most down to earth guys in the industry. We decided to present the interview in it’s entirety, discussing topics from the subscription service model, retail in the Web 2.0 era, and what it takes to redesign aging retail models and connect the designer more directly with the consumer.

Would you like to win one of five limited-edition parcels co-curated with Brooklyn Magazine? Details at the bottom of the article!

Categories: Inquiries & Responses, 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

Made in Philadelphia: Norman Porter Co.

Posted on November 14, 2012

A denim and leather goods company operating out of the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia, PA, Norman Porter is Michael and Dave Stampler, and John Mahaffey. The Stampler’s father was an aircraft mechanic and their grandfather an engineer; a heritage of hard work and detail that is evident in both attitude and production at NP. Recently, Norman Porter held an exhibit at Art in the Age in Old City, Philadelphia, to introduce the public to the work that goes into a pair of handcrafted jeans. This past Friday, I swung by the studio to see for myself.

Categories: Photos, Writeups