Junmen Preppy Belt

May 08 2008

Junmen Belt In White

This preppy style leather and ribbon belt from Junmen is suited for the season’s lighter colors, and aims to add just the right accent to your denim, cargo or short pants. The belt is made from natural and synthetic leather and comes in two colors, red (shown) and blue. The item costs around $70usd.

The only thing I don’t like about a good belt is that it’s unlikely to get seen much, at least with my own sloppy dress style. So I’m proposing a new fashion trend, for, let’s say 2010, when I think we’ll be ready to wear our belts over our shirts and about half way up the chest. It could totally help me out in certain situations. Like this fantasy date scenario:

So the only good thing I’m wearing is this Gucci belt that I stole off my roommate, but I have to put it on somehow so that it’s pretty much the only thing she notices. So I show up to dinner wearing tiny cut off shorts, sandals, no shirt and the Gucci strapped over my shoulder like its Rambo’s ammo belt, and the whole thing works out surprisingly well until the belt comes off and my mojo vanishes like a pack of Extenze at a Hummer dealership. Damn you stylish belt! This would of never been a problem had I worn another one around my forehead!

I can’t wait for 2010…

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Denime Tokyo Cooks Denim In-Store

May 07 2008

Denime-Tokyo-Selvage-Laundry

There’s something wonderful about Japanese service. On the bustling island, it is said that the customer is King, and you really begin to feel it when some minimum wage server sprints from the kitchen to your table just to shave three seconds off your wait time. In Japan, everyone is working like hell for everyone else, and they always seem to find ways to serve the customer better.

So when I saw this unusual picture of washers and dryers sitting in Denime Tokyo, I immediately thought of how cool this service would be if it were available in all denim shops. In truth, Denime Tokyo is not the only place that provides this full service. Now, other stores, like the best Evisu boutiques, have caught on and give the option to shrink and hem purchases for next-day pickup. But Denime Tokyo shortens the turnaround to a couple hours, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen washers so prominently placed in a boutique before!

When you see raw denim, in it’s clown-sized original form, stiff like cardboard and only awkwardly wearable around family members and empathizing denim connoisseurs, providing an in-store shrink and cut gives the option for immediate gratification. It’s kind of like tossing a craps table, a couple strippers, and Hunter S. Thompson’s briefcase in front of a loaded Daniel Baldwin. It gets the plastic swiping (or chopping)!

Anyway, I’d love to see this service offered by more high-end denim shops, even though I’d probably side with caution and do the shrink myself.

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Streetwear Fashion Was Never New

May 06 2008

Geisha ganguro streetwear fashion

A lot of times, I look at the youth of Japan and wonder where they get their inspiration to look so outrageously defiant. There’s the ganguro and yamamba of yesteryear, and the many other tribal micro-cultures that flourish everyday amongst the country’s rebellious youth.

Then I take a look at some of Japan’s traditional wear.

On the right, we have some apprentice geishas (maiko) loitering in Gion, Kyoto. On the left, a modern ganguro chats it up. My analysis: They’ve dug the tropical batshit crazy look for centuries.

And just because something is labeled ‘traditional’, doesn’t make it any less likely to bring back memories of staring at old people on the bus after inhaling a canister full of melting Bubblicious, smoldering cigarettes, and humid Mountain Dew vapors. Not that I tried that over the weekend. OK, so I might of. But it was a dare. And for charity. Hey, at least I fared better than Cody’s salvia induced narcoleptic ape-man regression.

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How Levi’s Distressed Denim Comes To Be

May 01 2008

Levis distressed denim

Ever wondered how distressed denim is made? Yea, me neither. So it came as a bit of a surprise to learn that Levi’s doesn’t loan their jeans out to impoverished Cambodian farm laborers, or hobos in LA, to get that realistic weathered look.

No. The process is performed by a crack team of denim specialists delivering all kinds of abuse to the freshly dipped cotton. It’s kind of like an S&M dungeon, but for denim. And strangely, I’m not getting off from watching any of it. Well, not as much as having a pair of raw selvedge jeans smudge all over my white seat cushions.

So, if you’ve given up on destroying your own pair of raw denim jeans, make sure to buy some from a top-notch outfit like these guys. The operatives look like they’re working out of Cadbury’s secret lair. You know, the one used during the cold war to surgically pack caramel into those scrumptious chocolate squares. Or, I’ve misinterpreted the entire scene and they’re doing something totally out of Scarface. Hey, it never hurts to drag a nasal straw across your imported third world jeans hitting all the whiskering and bleach lines. Ya never know…

Large magazine scan from Smart Max after the jump. Continue Reading »

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Takeo Kikuchi Hoodie

Apr 29 2008

Takeo Kikuchi Mens Wear

Takeo Kikuchi is a well-known Japanese designer of industrial products and men’s apparel. On occasion, I’ve visited his boutiques and have always found myself impressed by his line’s sensible tastes and original designs. His clothing is usually cut for a slender build that can sometimes be a bit ‘metrosexual’ for North American tastes. But if you’re able to squeeze into some Kikuchi clothes and still feel comfortable, there’s a good possibility you’ll try and wear it every chance you get.

You know, I hate this ridiculous idea of having to wear something fresh everyday. I’d much rather wear what I want, and find a way of avoiding people that saw me the day before. Then I could go around every freakin’ day of the week sporting the same perfect Kikuchi outfit nailing a perpetual lineup of first encounters like Criss Angel in a room full of actors.

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