This past Friday I took a trip to NYC to drop off a pair of jeans to Andrew Chen of Self Edge (sidenote: thanks again for sending them down for the Natural Process show!) and finally get a chance to check out the shop. I arrived a bit earlier than when they opened, but since he’s a nice guy he let me in anyway to talk about the show and about the shop. The space itself is relatively small (which means it’s average Manhattan 1st floor size), and they also have two other shops in LA and San Francisco. The details of the shop are what really sets it apart, from the furniture (all hardwood and metal) to the fixtures (custom wrought iron hangers). The curtain for the fitting room is even one single piece of selvedge denim. These details were perfect but since I only had my 50mm prime with me and try as I might could not get a full shot of the shop.
On the table is a pair of the Self Edge x Iron Heart x Leather Soul jeans. These babies a gorgeous deep deep indigo with no contrast stitching. To borrow a description from the Self Edge website, “…the jean is completely stitched together with dark indigo thread, so while being a 5-pocket jean made of an indigo denim it’s easily dressed up because of the lack of contrast stitching. For the jean we had Iron Heart produce us the darkest denim they’ve made that’s still indigo (blue) colored in a new 23oz weight, the denim is sanforized and therefore even due to it’s heavy weight, it’s still comfortable.”
Andrew graciously sent us one of these wood blocks for the Natural Process show which I, understandably, had a difficult time parting with.
Huge selection from 3sixteen and Roy, amongst many others.
The custom iron fixtures totally put every other store décor package to shame.
Check out the selvedge line on that fitting room curtain, floor to ceiling of course.
So after another cup of coffee from Handsome Coffee Roasters (courtesy of Andrew) and a few videos of Spanish bullfights (courtesy of Thomas), I was ready to make the trek over to Hickoree’s in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The store was a bit difficult to find (being on the second floor), but once I got up there it was really spacious and well laid out. They carry a lot of pants & jeans from Phigvel, Tender Co., and Choctaw Ridge, as well as Levi’s Vintage. Lots of awesome boots from Wolverine and Thorogood as well. Of course, there was a huge selection of ties, pocket squares, and scarves from The Hill-Side that immediately caught my attention.
While I was figuring out how to move some money around to pair up a chambray pocket square with one of their new pointed ties (though don’t get me wrong, I love the square selvedge ends), I spoke with Will from The Hill-Side about some key holders they were packaging up. They’re made in Japan by Phigvel, and apparently since being recently featured in GQ were severely backordered. If I could pair my keys down to a select few, I would have put my name right at the bottom of that list. Embossed details for Home, Office, Door, and Ignition really seal the deal.
Phigvel also makes some incredible clothing, like this selvedge denim deck shirt. From what I understand, Hickoree’s is the only place outside of Japan that you can find this piece.
They make an awesome cyclist’s jacket as well. This thing fits like a glove with all the pockets in exactly the right spot. The Napoleon pocket was extra deep, and just the right angle to fit your hand into without looking like, well… Napoleon. I’m also a bit of a sucker for an asymmetrical button closure.
I was glad to see a few hometown favorites from Art in the Age up there as well.
And without further ado, some more gorgeous shots of the rest shop:
Following this, I was trying to make it up to the Hella Bitters release event later that evening. Unfortunately, after a bit of socializing in Manhattan, the weather turned sour and we didn’t make it on time. From what I gather after following up on it, it was a hell of a party (as a cocktail bitters release party should be). I met some great people during the day, though. I’d like to thank Thomas and Andrew at Self Edge for hanging out (they’re some of the nicest people in Manhattan), and Will at Hickoree’s for letting me get in the way to take photos and even grabbing some Phigvel stuff out of storage for me to shoot. If you’re in New York, you should definitely stop by both of these places and say hi; tell them The American Classic sent you.
The American Classic 
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