Last week I received a package from the folks over at COMUNE and I’ve been wearing their Denim everyday. I love the fit & the style, they are very clean and accomodate my long legs. Their Denim is made domestically in order to support the US economy. I’m starting to love the trend of domestically made product.

I don’t think I’ve come across a Comune piece that I wouldn’t wear. Over the course of the next couple of weeks I will be highlighting some of my favorite pieces that I’ve been wearing.

COMUNE was formed from the idea that there will always be people out there who not only embrace the rawness and imperfection of every day life but use it to creatively push the boundaries of what’s possible in fashion, art, and music their own way, with complete disregard of the consequences.

This season welcomes psychedelic, genre-bending artist Devendra Banhart to the Drop City Contributor Program, an experimental space for artistic innovation through COMUNE’s clothing brand. An embodiment of creativity, LA-based Banhart continues to bend the musical and visual boundaries and is a great addition to Drop City.

Continuing to be inspired by the arts and the LA lifestyle, COMUNE sets the standard for minimalist sophistication in the mens wardrobe. Emphasis on quality and design are essential, and Fall 2011′s new washes, finishing, and patterns have turned this into an innovative and forward collection.

I’ve been wearing this jacket every since my friends over at Converse blessed me with this beautiful piece.  I’ve always wanted the perfect biker jacket but it was challenging finding the one that I liked. The Perfecto Schott x Converse Leather Jacket happens to be the jacket that the game has been missing. The collaboration between these 2 iconic brands first came about when they both collaborated on some pretty dope  shoes. The details on this jacket is pretty cool, the star on the epaulettes is just killer.

The jacket fits slim so the large is perfect. Unfortunately this jacket was made in a very small run and it never hit retail. If you are lucky or have a few good connections, you might be able to get your hands on this coat. In the event that you can’t you might be able to find the Schott perfecto jacket at official Schott dealers.

Thank you to my family at Converse for the love.

My friends over at The BKc (Brooklyn Circus) had a Trunk show where they unveiled their latest shirting collection. I think the styles are pretty fresh. The product is all made in the USA with Japanese fabrics and finishings with the BKc Hand-Tailored fit. They’ll be releasing them at their latenight (5pm-9pm) Trunk Show in SF this Friday, April 22nd.

If you see Gabe, tell him I sent you!

Enjoy!

Photo by Phillip Angert

I got this really interesting piece today from Levi’s and Opening Ceremony. It makes me wish that Spring was actually here! Opening Ceremony & Levi’s collaborated on some chambray pieces that are pretty fresh. The Chambray polka dot scarf is also a great piece.

About the Collaboration :
Fun and unique is the look of Opening Ceremony – the New York–based fashion brand and retail store that is known around the world as arbiters of style. Its founding friends Humberto Leon and Carol Lim have joined our designers to reinvent the cool and classic looks they love from the Levi’s® archive.  Levi’s® Chambray by Opening Ceremony is the third collaboration between our two brands.

Chambray:
Levi’s® has been building its iconic work wear shirts out of sturdy cotton chambray for over a century.   For this collaboration, we have reinterpreted our “blue color” roots by creating a collection that uses multiple colors of light-weight and buttery-soft premium Japanese chambray in addition to the traditional blue chambray and durable two-by-one denim.

Levi’s® Chambray by Opening Ceremony, the latest collaboration marrying Levi’s® iconic American style with Opening Ceremony’s youthful energy and playful spirit, is set to hit stores during New York Fashion week in February of 2011.  The collection includes eight pieces—four silhouettes for men and four for women—all in a colorful array of premium, Japanese chambray and lightweight indigo denim.  Items in the Levi’s® Chambray by Opening Ceremony collection range from $175 – $300 and will be available at Levi’s® stores and Levi.com, as well as Opening Ceremony stores, OpeningCeremony.com and select boutiques worldwide.

I got a nice package in the mail this week from my friends over at Levi’s.  These pieces are from the Levi’s® Water<Less Collection which is a very cool initiative. A fresh pair of Levi’s 501 Shrink -To – Fit jeans and a Rigid Trucker denim jacket. (can’t wait to put pins on this) The 501′s are staples and a classic that everyone should have at least 1 pair in their wardrobe. I love the fact that these were made in the USA and I can’t wait to break these in.

The Levi’s® Water<Less range, is a new collection of denim, that reduces the amount of water used in the finishing process by an average of 11 gallons per pair!
With that, the Water<Less collection will feature beloved, iconic Levi’s® brand silhouettes. For men those include: the 511 Skinny; the 514 Slim Straight; the Trucker Denim jacket; and the jean that started it all, the original button-fly 501® cut, in a premium selvedge denim.

Given this range of leading, fashion-directive fits, the Levi’s® Water<Less assortment offers styles that are at once trend-leading AND also environmentally-minded.

Thanks to my family at Levi’s for the love.

Ouigi Theodore from the Brooklyn Circus curated this season Project 10 space at the Las Vegas Project Show. The beautifully curated space hosted some of the industry’s freshest up and coming brands. The fairly new brand (that I profiled last August) was back again this season with some very strong outerwear pieces. Strivers Row is really a brand to look out for over the next couple of seasons. I took the opportunity to shoot some of my favorite military-inspired items.

Enjoy!

Thanks to Emmett, Jason and Marcus for the booth hospitality.

Some of the most exciting & innovative product at the Project Show had to be the Swims footwear collection. Swims also make really nice and fresh outerwear pieces. This Swims Alta camo parka was just great. The camo was so subtle and the red accents just made it pop so well.

I’m looking forward to wearing this coat in the fall. The jacket is lined and 100% waterproof so it will keep you warm and protect you against the elements.

SWIMS

$589 USD

Thanks Simona & Byron

A couple weeks ago I was running around  New York City with my friend Byron and he was wearing “The Mac” rain coat aka The Mackintosh.  The Mac is a staple of sorts in menswear, I would even go as far as saying it is a necessity in every mans wardrobe. The jackets are handmade in Scotland  and represent classic craftsmanship.

$700 EUR

The Mackintosh or Macintosh (abbreviated as mac or mack) is a form of waterproof raincoat, first sold in 1824, made out of rubberised fabric. The Mackintosh is named after its Scottish inventor Charles Macintosh, though a letter k is added by many writers (this variant spelling “Mackintosh” is now standard).

A lot of brands have taking inspiration from the famous Mac jacket and have interpreted their way. I’ve added a new feature to my blog giving you guys an alternative to some of things I blog about.

Check below for some alternatives to the MAC jacket. I included a few pieces from some of my favorite brands.

Wing+ Horns, SWIMS, Gucci and Penfield

Enjoy

MY FIRST MEMORIES WITH GENERAL ASSEMBLY:

The great thing I like about walking trade shows is discovering new brands. I came across this brand called General Assembly and these 2 pieces struck me right away. I met Alexander the owner and I told him how these pieces reminded me my favorite Helly Hansen jacket from back in the day. He told me I was spot on and that Helly Hansen ski jacket was actually his reference point.

INSPIRATION BEHIND THESE PIECES:

We didn’t really see any cool looking outerwear out there that we could bike around in, especially none which incorporated reflective tape in a more cohesive way. Since everyone we know around Brooklyn seems to ride a fixed gear well into the winter, we decided to take up the task of making some. Some fleece lining in the body, popped vents in the back, a little tip of the hat to old-school HH, and it was a wrap. -Alexander Keith

WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT THE BRAND:

The brand is inspired by early hip-hop, skate, fashion and lifestyle.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY BIKE JACKET & VEST:

I remember driving down to New York with my mother back in the day to find  the Helly Hansen Jacket that Method Man and other Wu members wore in their videos.  I found the HH jacket I wanted for about $100 and I was the freshest kid that year. The General Assembly Bike Jacket and Vest just brought back so many memories and I told Alexander that I had to have it. My personal style has obviously changed since those days but I can definitely appreciate this new refined interpretation.

PRICE:

General Assembly Bike Jacket: $185

General Assembly Bike Vest: $125

RELEASE DATE

September 2011

SITE

www.generalassemblyline.com