The J.Crew men’s shops are best experienced in person, but I thought that instead of documenting the new store on Madison Avenue (at 79th Street) in the usual manner, it would be cool to team up with Mr. Sean Sullivan to put a little video tour together. If you don’t live in New York and were curious what this whole J.Crew men’s thing was all about, I think this gives you a good impression of what the company is doing. If you do live in New York and are too lazy to go that far uptown, this will save you $2.25 in train fare. I’m impressed with what J.Crew is doing and like it or not, you have to salute a company that is giving guys their own shopping experience, separate from the ladies.

Music is by native son of Ohio Mr. Dan Auerbach (Whispered Words — Keep it Hid).

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Grand Central Station is one of the only New York City tourist destinations that I can stomach, and I mean that literally. Tucked away in one of the giant building’s cavernous hallways is a piece of quintessential New York — the Oyster Bar. It’s a great place to kill time drinking beer while waiting for Metro North. Oyster Bar is also a great place for a solo lunch. When I want to escape for a half an hour I sit at the bar, drink a nice cold draft beer and put the hurt on some oysters or a lobster roll. L-I-V-I-N.

More photos here.

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Tucked at the end of Extra Place — an alley off of Bowery — sits New York’s coolest new shop Extra. If you don’t take care and pay special attention the shop can be difficult to find, but it is certainly worth it. To be honest, when I saw the address for the first time I didn’t even think it was in Manhattan. The shop’s proprietor is a very nice man named Koji Kusakabe who’s a long time (and much respected) vintage hunter. This fact becomes very obvious when you step foot in the modest space and see all of the treasures that are on offer. In addition to a whole host of vintage gems and collectibles, Koji stocks new goods from Engineered Garments and Post Overalls. The man has a knack for vintage and workwear, it’s a beautiful thing.

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The people at Gant have teamed up with The Impossible Project to put together one heck of an in-store giveaway. I’m a big fan of Gant and am super impressed with what the folks at The Impossible Project are doing, so I thought it would be cool to share it with you guys. The spoils of the contest are: a limited-edition Dutch-style city bike (made expressly for Gant) and an amazing deadstock Polaroid SX-70 Alpha 1 camera with a full kit. Starting today, anyone that buys something from the new Gant AW10 collection at the company’s Bleecker Street store can have their picture taken and entered for a chance to win the whole shebang.

If you aren’t familiar with The Impossible Project, they are people after my own heart. IMPOSSIBLE was created with the aim to save analog instant photography from extinction, and has recently succeeded in producing new analog instant film for traditional Polaroid cameras, thereby saving millions of perfectly functioning Polaroid cameras from becoming obsolete since Polaroid ceased production several years ago. As it stands today IMPOSSIBLE is the only company in the world making instant film. And hats off to them for doing it. What the folks at IMPOSSIBLE did is pretty close to my dream of saving a dying factory or brand from closure. So hats off to them.

Enter at: Gant Rugger 353 Bleecker Street | New York City

The Contest runs through New York Fashion Week after which a winner will be announced.

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There is really nothing like a clothing factory. And I mean clothing in the proper menswear sense of the word — suiting. It really is amazing that I haven’t visited the good people at Martin Greenfield sooner, but I never really had a good opportunity. When Tyler Thoreson and I got to talking about Gilt’s Martin Greenfield suit offering it was just the chance I was looking for. Ladies in smocks constructing jackets, sewers sitting together stitching by hand, and of course, Martin (along with his two sons) on the factory floor full of enthusiasm. Check this off my list.

You can tell this place never stops and probably hasn’t for years. (Note the GGG clock.) The floor gets layered and layered around tables and machines because there is no time to stop production and redo the worn out floor. The factory has been there so long the neighborhood went from good to bad to hipster in a blink of Martin’s eye. During their breaks, the Greenfield factory workers spill out onto the sidewalk in front of the building and mix with seemingly unemployed creative types that inhabit the post-industrial streets of Bushwick.

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The past few days have been spent running around (though actually I have been biking) looking at all of the spring 2011 clothes that have rotated over to New York. These times of the year are always fun and inspirational. It is also great to be able to see friends that have come to town from all over the world. I tried to stay focused (which was especially tough yesterday after Monday’s late night activities) and document the good stuff I found and saw. Hope you enjoy.

That's a tasty shirt from Billy Reid

Hamilton Shirt Co.

Garbstore does such a good job. I want everything from their line.

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The people at Schott NYC have something nice and new coming for Spring ’11 — a little off-shoot collection of outerwear called Perfecto Brand by Schott NYC. The new goods were designed by none other than Mr. Greg Chapman, who seems to have given up Britain for the New World (at least for the time being). And not to worry Greg, if you keep designing clothes as nice as these we’ll let you stay. The initial line includes several shapes and materials, everything from the pictured Cone Mills selvedge pea coat and duffel, a rip-stop nylon parka and a small selection of leathers (a nod the the Perfecto heritage no doubt). Prices range from $400 to $1000 — everything made at the Schott NYC factory in Elizabeth, New Jersey. We’re getting an early look at this stuff, so you will have to wait until next January before you can add any of these to your closet.

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Last week during my visit to Terrapin / Stationers Engraving & Printing Co. I had a chance to watch the engraving process first hand — something truly amazing to see in person. It was equally amazing to take a trip back in time via the Terrapin archive. The company has 50+ years of old business cards, stationery and other printed goods sitting around. The good news is, they didn’t mind letting me look through it.

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At one point there were hundreds and hundreds of printers and engravers in New York. Varick Street was the center of the printing district and the buildings were packed with all sorts of different companies proficient in various specialties; but these days the New York printing industry is a shell of its former self and only a few businesses continue the tradition. The good news is, the art of engraved stationery is alive and well on 37th Street at Terrapin / Stationers Engraving & Printing Co. The family run business, operated for years by a husband and wife Lloyd and Cathy Harrington, and their son Ted, has fought off all of the challenges presented with a changing industry. Recently Lloyd retired and Cathy and Ted have carried on their company’s nearly 100 year tradition of producing some of the finest stationery and printed goods in the U.S. Even the recently shuttered (and well respected) Mrs John L Strong would send their engraving work to Terrapin. As would law and financial firms, and of course fashion houses; anyone looking for beautiful letterhead, business cards, note cards and or invitations.

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The folks at GANT brought their Rugger range downtown to 353 Bleecker Street with their new industrial inspired shop. This new store is one of only two places (in the U.S.) where you can shop the entire collection of Rugger gear (something we showed you a while back). The collection —which I really like — was put together by GANT designer (who is a Swede by birth, but an American patriot in my mind) Christopher Bastin. The new downtown store is all inspired by GANT’s industrial past, with all sorts of factory like decor and a fitting room fashioned as a foreman’s office complete with archival order forms and historical press clippings. Good stuff.

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One block east of the Diamond District on 47th Street. One half block west of J. Press and Madison Avenue. Do yourself a favor and approach via Madison and save yourself the punishment that is 47th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. I remember someone once said that “real” New Yorkers say “Sixth Ave” and not Avenue of the Americas. I definitely say Sixth avenue, but I don’t consider myself a “real” New Yorker, and don’t think I ever will.

Anyway, the guys running Phil’s Stationery are definitely real New Yorkers. Walking into the shop (which I first learned about from my friend John) took me back to 1970, yeah 1970 after what must have been some sort of riot, because Phil’s is a goddamn mess. The place is an amazing clusterfuck of boxes and dusty office supplies — some that clearly have been sitting there for years. It seems to stay afloat by supplying the diamond district with all sorts of specialty office supplies. The “office” in the back (if you can call it an office) is even more messy and completely old-school charming. There are boxes and boxes askew and four or five Windows ’95 era computers stacked on top of other stacks of old boxes. The place is just begging for one of those hoarding shows to come in and clean it up and get the owners checked into some sort of therapy. If you have any sort of spacial anxieties, you will definitely need to stop by the bodega for a Klonopin and a Coke before heading over.

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Every single stitch, button, thread and piece of fabric is Grown & Sewn in the United States of America. That was half of Rob Magness’s concept, to source everything domestically. The Ralph Lauren alum’s other idea was to combine denim fits with khaki cotton twill fabrics. The result are some very nice looking, wearable, washable goods.

I first heard about Rob’s collection at the second Pop Up Flea in November. A very nice young lady told me about their new store in TriBeCa, but it wasn’t until a few weeks ago in Las Vegas that I could meet the designer and see the collection. I’ll be honest, at first pass I wasn’t sold on everything (and there are a few pieces that are definitely not for me) but on the whole, the line is excellent. There are three fits to choose from, and just like with denim, there are varying wash options — everything from raw to distressed. (Note the top photo, distressed on the left, medium in the middle and raw on the right.)

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