There is a great American Trad story in the Isetan spring 2009 catalog that I thought was worth highlighting here. The Isetan in Shinjuku is one of the most impressive stores in the world, a labyrinth of materialistic pursuits. In fact, the men’s shoe section nearly made me cry. These clothes below might not be identified or available for purchase to most of us, but I thought they are great from a styling / photography perspective. Enjoy.
There was a little gem in the back (front?) of the new issue of Free & Easy, Cramp leather goods. (That link worked last night but not today — fyi.) Cool stuff, strange name. Lately Free & Easy seemed to be getting more bizarre by the minute, making you feel like you had taken acid and were mowing a lawn of dandelions on a John Deere tractor. Luckily the good folks who put out my favorite non-English magazine were able to shake off the psychedelic haze for the May home issue. The Cramp canvas and leather shoulder bag, plus the other items pictured below, are some great looking accessories. Definitely something I need to keep an eye out for on my next trip to Japan.
The folks at Beams are at it again this spring. Anyone that has spent any on the Beams website will likely report frustration on a variety of levels. One being that it is hard to navigate (especially for me since I don’t speak a lick of Japanese). Second, that the online offerings aren’t as much fun as real life or even the catalogs and third the clothes aren’t available to North America / Europe. Luckily the folks at Beams send me (us) their catalog via special delivery so we can at least know what we are missing. Torture, I know.
To relax, some people play golf or some people go sailing; I like to visit factories. Maybe it was all those Mister Rogers “how it’s made” segments I watched as a child. Or it could just be my insatiable curiosity about what goes into things. Provenance and all that sort of good stuff. POST OVERALLS started making its own line of work wear back in 1993, well before anyone ever thought about reproducing authentic American goods like chore coats, dark denim jeans and chambray shirts. Long before people were arguing about dressing blue-collar on the internets. Respect and credit is due to Post for paving the way for all of the work wear brands that are out there today.
Items from the POST O’ALLS autumn / winter 2009 collection.
With men’s market week going on in NYC, a lot of people are in town and much is happening on the news front. On Tuesday I had a chance to meet up with the gentlemen from Beams+ for cocktails at White Star. Once the Absinthe arrived we quickly got down to talking shop. Seeing as Beams+ is my favorite store on earth, I take their recommendations seriously. One of the things that came up is a new limited edition line from the esteemed UK brand Barbour. The eight piece outerwear collection — designed by Japan’s To Ki To — is a hybrid of classic Barbour from the brand’s archives and modern technical outerwear. I took some time at the Collective trade show to investigate further. After coaxing the Barbour people to show me the line I was blown away by the collection.
The canvas bags from the Japanese maker Superior Labor seem to consistently rise to the top. This Enginner 2Way tote from Utility Coop is especially nice. How could you argue with a “Product by Handmade Superiority.”
I like the way the magazines work in Japan. The focus is generally on still-life product pages and not on cluttering up the layout with pesky stories. I had a chance to make it to the bookstore and pick up some new magazines from Japan. Since I am feeling crunchy these days, I really enjoyed the outdoor product pages in GO OUT. A lot of The American List brands are represented throughout the book. Enjoy!
These Amaort boots would have come in handy yesterday as I attempted to navigate the sloppy, slushy New York night with my friend Johnnie Walker. Amaort is another one of those Japanese companies just doing its thing, turning out great looking boots without a care in the world. I would wear these with jeans or with a nice tweed suit from Freeman’s. As long as they are warm, they could be deployed all winter long.
My thoughts on the Japanese retail scene have been pretty well documented, but I could resist posting some slightly out-of-reach items from MAPS. The men’s shop is another one of those amazing stores where I would buy most everything within arms reach. The classic styling and attention to detail get me every time. With that being Japan and this not Japan, the only consolation is the internet — at least you can look at all of the cool things you can’t buy. That is, unless you have a friends in good places. So the moral of the story here is, get yourself a friend in japan. Some of my favorite items from MAPS are after the jump.
Engineered Garments green duffel
As it turned out, I was one of the five people to score a Workers x Reference Library denim apron. When I went to Kiosk today to claim my coveted purchase the girl said to me. “You’re lucky, those sold out so quickly!” Now that is my idea of a Black Friday victory!
Don’t be discouraged, there is still a lot of great stuff up for grabs at Mini #8: Reference Library.
The August, 2007 issue of Free & Easy includes one of my all time favorite articles from the Japanese publication, a buyers guide for dogs. I can see someone like New York Magazine doing this sort of feature (actually my pal Rosecrans wrote a much more logical piece on the topic in 2007), but not with the endearing absurdity that only Free & Easy can produce. After seeing this issue it became clear to me that the magazine is just a guide-book to living like an American. That was also the same day that Free & Easy — with all its quirkiness — became my all time favorite magazine, after Vitals of course.
Everything is better in Japan. McDonalds recently launched two Japanese concept restaurants in Shibuya and Omotesando called Quarter Pounder. As expected, or not expected, the place is totally amazingly on-point. The super simple menu is limted to a Quarter Pounder, Double Quarter Pounder, fries and drinks. That’s it.
Curious why they would open a restaurant that only sells Quarter Pounders? According to Business Week, it all comes down to the grill. “McDonald’s has sold its Quarter Pounder in the U.S. since the early 1970s. But until a few weeks ago there was only one place in Japan where you could get one: in Kumamoto prefecture, on the southern island of Kyushu. Former McDonald’s officials say the fast-food chain’s outlets in Japan lacked the proper grill to churn out the burgers in big quantities.” There you have it.
Dear McDonalds, please open a restaurant in your own country that is cool. Thank you.
