This may sound silly, but I was told at the end of last year that camouflage was going to be a force in the year to follow. I scoffed at the idea, but its certainly come into fruition. Whereas a varied amount of designers will always dabble in camouflage year by year, its presence as a trend in 2010 is clear. Though the print is mostly Japan-centric (almost enforcing it into trend status as they often are), there are a few crossovers, many good (which we will cover), some not so good, and for women too.. love it or hate it, the trend this year is certainly undeniable.
Let’s explore:
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The first three of the following photos was from a skate-shop called KCDC just a couple of blocks from my home in Williamsburg. They hosted a showing of the Epically Later’d adventures in Mexico video and then gave out a lot of free drinks. Diane and I missed the showing, but still made it for the ensuing debauchery that free tequila guarantees.
A few hours later, I headed into the city and met up with my friend Mark who was in town from Portland. We are old university buddies, and I don’t see him often as he stayed in Oregon (and holds it down for Nike SB). We managed to run around town a bit, and made sure that Mark would lack any possible freshness required for his big media presentation and event the next day.
I would miss both unfortunately– one which featured Gucci Mane, shit!
So the last 9 photos are of the after party scene at The Jane Hotel (the crowd, Mark himself, the shoes and reason for the season, Jill, Heron Preston with a pillow on his head), the sleep-over line of only Chinese people (not singling out a specific race here, just stating a fact) waiting for “the release of the iPhone 4” as I was told by one person, and my new late night food obsession “South Brooklyn Pizza”– the unmarked spot on 1st ave.
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Though I enjoyed Take Ivy and some of the nerdier points of classic prep style, I’m happy to see the trend coming to a close. If I was born in the 50s or 60s, I most definitely would have been born on wrong side of the tracks– smoking cigarettes from a young age, greasing up my hair, and getting my nose bloodied from fist fights with area preppies. Really, these things happened during my childhood anyhow in spite of the fact that it was the 90s. So, now its time for the next phase of the Americana saga, the representation of ‘those kids,’ greaser, rocker style.
Interestingly, those who are doing it best are the young Latinos in East L.A., usually high school aged or so. When I was out west I witnessed a few who really put the Harajuku guys to shame– perfectly cuffed tees and 501s, and literally the best example of hair grease put to use I’ve ever encountered. In stark contrast, they would usually be walking with “normal” looking teenybopper type friends.
One thing that also separates these ‘Graseros’ from their seeming caucasian, Japanese, or random Europeancounterparts, is the fact that they have that thing behind it– they can really strut. I wish there was an east L.A. style blog, I was seriously so intimidated by the swag of some of these 16 year olds that I shied away from asking to take their picture.
Here are a few pretty classic greaser photos, and a few I stole from kids on myspace !
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Penny University
I kept hearing about this coffeeshop on Redchurch St. that was meant to be new and quite terrific– I of course assumed that like most of the places I’d been it would prove to be a delicious espresso– yet one that didn’t quite meet the high bar set by Prufrock. The guys at Hostem quickly corrected me, telling me that they were a filter coffee only establishment also warning that there are specific rules to the whole process, but also that it was cool and worth a visit.
Sure enough, it was all of those things. Beautiful storefront– super minimalist, small– seating around 7. Additionally, there is no take away, so when the place first opened it was a long wait to get seated. Once you get your seat, you see how the time was used: in a careful intimate process of serving and enjoying drip coffee in just about the finest establishment that exists outside of the comfort of your home kitchen.
The brew, like practically all of the East London coffee specialists, use Square Mile Roasters. However, Penny U. happens to be Square Mile’s first experiment at running a cafe, and they only signed a few months lease so check it out quick !
The Penny University
5 Redchurch Street
London
E2 7DJ
England
Ps. Sorry for being a little slow on the blogs lately– travel tends to slow this shit down.. but now that I’m back in the New York I’ve got a few stories to tell.
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A couple of years ago I travelled with Converse to the Bread & Butter trade show in Barcelona in order to survey their booth as well as the rest of the scene at large. In general I found it not unlike the Arab Parrot’s experience at the Magic Trade show in Vegas, and I came away feeling quite underwhelmed by the majority of the exhibitors, projected trends, products, and the “brand experience” people were attempting to sell. Thankfully it was in Barcelona, so naturally it was still a great trip.
A few things did manage to stick out at the show– I came across one of them cleaning house the other day:
This is a small stamp that is used to apply the fragrance Comme des Garçons “Man 2.” I can’t remember the story of the collaboration between the brand and designer Ana Mir, but I think it had something to do with a local magazine putting it all together. Its such a cool, simple idea.
Recommended for summertime: Blues
First, the blue workshirt, a vintage (late 70s, early 80s?) JC Penney “Big Mac” No-Iron shirt, 50/50 Poly/Cotton blend should be a no brainer. It is simple, has attractive styling, goes with anything, and if you’re lucky you can find it at your local thrift or vintage spot for 10 bucks or less. The downside is that finding good sizing can be a challenge.
Second, the shoes are a pair of ‘winos’ or ‘zig zags’ by Supreme. Reading around, people seem offended by the pricetag of $68, as you can buy these exact same shoes at pretty much any supermarket or pharmacy for close to a tenth of the price. However, hearing it from the horses mouth, the point of these shoes was to create an ‘off-skate shoe,’ using a ready made classic with a production value (note: they are still made in China) meant to last.
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Continuing with my previous post on noted trends, an interesting inspiration package has caught my attention. Beverages.
Hopefully you’re also scratching your head at the designers whose paychecks are derived from essentially their ability to come up with the most useless, uninspiring ideas, and somehow get their brands behind them. Again I beg the question– is this recession proof?
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