The fine gentlemen at Selectism have asked me to write a column on the very cool (and recently redesigned) men’s online magazine. The space will differ slightly from ACL in that it will be a more personal viewpoint on things. You can read my first few posts now, including more fun stuff from my trip to Japan. Bookmark it and check back for new updates. Many thanks to Jeff and David for bringing me on board.
Prior to coming to Japan I thought New York was the best shopping city in the world. Talk about epic misconceptions. Tokyo has some of the coolest stores I have ever seen. I spent the better part of today wandering around Shibuya, Shinjuku and Harajuku. What I saw was just the tip of the iceberg. The highlights were Tomorrowland, United Arrows, the Journal Standard shops (Furniture, JS Homestead), Prada in Aoyama and my favorite Tokyu Hands. Some store photos (in the craze of things I didn’t shoot every store) from day one are below.
Since I am away I thought it would be a good time to repost a few of my favorite entries that may have gone unseen.
I’m headed East to Tokyo for an eight day adventure. Not sure how much I will be able to post while I am traveling, but check back for updates. Also, keep an eye on the ACL Twitter feed and Flickr if you want to follow the action live.
It’s not everyday that I see something on eBay that makes me throw all rational thought out the door, but yesterday was one of those days. Occasionally, Andy from Reference Library will email me with a cool eBay discovery (he is the master of finding cool things on eBay if you haven’t noticed) and the most recent email was a whopper. Andy found a fully stocked WWII U.S. Navy officer’s steamer trunk, complete with multiple uniforms, buttons, sunglasses, U.S. Navy belt buckle, ID bracelet, signal cards and documents including the sailor’s honorable discharge papers. Amazing! Bidding starts at $99 and the auction is still live so you still have a chance to own a piece of history.
The show Mad Men gets quite a bit of coverage here on ACL, everything from the sixties era style, to the character’s excessive alcohol consumption. While I don’t want to go overboard obsessing about the show (might be too late, the AMC series even has its own category), it is worth pointing out that a few enterprising people (or the AMC marketing department, but I doubt they have what it takes to pull this off see comments) have picked up where the show leaves off and are keeping the characters going 24/7 on Twitter. At first glance it seemed a little goofy, but after a while I really started to enjoy the constant twittering of Betty saying things like: “Trying to spend more time with @sally_draper and @robert_draper, so they don’t feel invisible. It’s hard on them with Don not around” and “Looking for my grandmother’s recipe for German noodles.”
There seems to be a serious return to the classic cocktail underfoot. I personally can say that when I started drinking Rye Manhattans a few years ago it was a pretty remarkable shift in my perception and subsequent consumption of alcohol. I learned to appreciate the art of a rigorous ice cube and a well made drink. Recently a friend gave me the 1949 edition of the Esquire’s Handbook for Hosts. The book is a gold mine of old school drinking and party advice, everything from Stocking the Cellar to Highballs. There are literally hundreds of pages that I could have included. Some of my favorites below.
If you can’t be bothered to make a strong cocktail at home, I put together a list of New York bars that know the art of making a proper drink. The full map can be seen here.
