Frames, o Frames.

Frames, frames, frames, and more frames. Having been wearing the same pair for a good year, I'm feeling a bit tired of having the same silhouette around my face the whole time. Thus, I've been out on the hunt for new ones to add into rotation. Couple googles, blog hunts, and forum searches later.. the candidates are.


Tai Hachiro x Uniform Experiment


Oliver Peoples x Nom de Guerre


Some Gram frames which I can't order online for the life of me.

Listed in the order which I want the most, I can, at this time, only realistically afford the last one. I'm not one to skimp out on quality due to price, but after the conversion, at 80usd, the price point and the look of those Gram frames cannot be beat.

A sort of meld between the two former choices, It's something I'm willing to settle for until I: a. Become a Drug Lord, b. Win the Lottery, and c. Get a rocking Job. All of which, except for C, might not come in the near future.

That's all for tonight, for those interested where the frames are available they are all readily google-able. For the cheapest deals though, hit me up with a comment or a PM. Good morning and Good night.

WANT: Random Picks

This is just something that I had to get out of the way before getting on and working on today. First off, I would like to clear my head and say.. "damn you internet!"

1. NBHD Black Trucker Hat

I opened my mail today, and the kind people of Neighborhood are always keen on emailing out whenever they've got something new coming out, whether it be on their Web store, or with sales in any of their stores.

I've gotten mighty familiar with Babelfish in translating the random Japanese and making something cohesive out of it. Well, today, they've got me. March, 11, 2009, they'll be releasing 3 Trucker Hat as part of their "The Filth, and The Fury" collection, exclusive to their Web store.



I've been meaning to replace the lone Adidas Trucker that I've been wearing much as of late, as a means to cover the overgrowth of hair otherwise known as my mug, and the all black one that Neighborhood is releasing is just.. Hm. It looks like a suitable and rational replacement, one would like to think.

Much as I love.. the sort of love worn things, I feel that 6 years of wear is enough for a Trucker, so come March 11, I just might lay you to rest Adidas Trucker. Why replace you with an overpriced one that is probably built with the same quality is entirely beyond me. I'm sorry.

2. Nigel Cabourn Swedish Parka

Something else that's made its rounds in the blogs, and again, not to jump on the bandwagon, but it is just damn good. My affinity for repros, and such always come to surface, as I'm a sucker for anything with atleast two cents of historic detail and this piece has it in loads.



Much as I'd like to attempt to phrase it in my own words, Ryan, from h(y)r collective, says it best.

"The jacket is a part of a collection dedicated to Sir Edmund Hilary in reference to the clothing he was wearing in 1953 during an ascent of Mt Everest. The jacket was produced by repro specialist, Cabourn in 2003 and has now been remade again. The Swedish military inspired jacket has a beautiful soft blue tone, leather toggles, big black buttons, and looks perfect."

Now, I don't know if you get this yearning wanting feeling when you hear words such as "produce by repro specialist", oogle at the fact that sometime during 1953 Sir Edmund Hilary was wearing the exact same piece as he was climbing Mt Everest, or have your mouth water when you hear words like.. beautiful soft blue tone, and, damn it, Leather Toggles?!

Available now at Oi Polloi, for L479.00, It's probably something that I can never afford unless I win the lottery, but a piece that I will always look to for inspiration. I'm glad to see that out there, there are people setting the bar, in terms of quality, and attention to detail. As much as I'd like to blab on more about this piece. I'll another photo to supplement my point even further.



3 and 4. Visvim Gabo Elk Penobscot & Heavy Sweat Flight Pants

From the favorite brand, I can seldom afford, Visvim is just one of the staples, at creating great pieces. Be it their garments or footwear, they always seem to hit it out of the park.

Biased as I am, I will not lie that I am a big fan boy, but I feel that it's warranted. For a good 2 years that I've known of the brand, they've consistently put out pieces that have always created this buzz, be it on the internet or amongst peers that have shared affinity for the like.

There may not be any new ground breaking technology, but the desire of designer Hiroki Nakamura, to source out the best possible materials for his pieces always come through. Simple designs, constructed and made to near perfection.

First off, Heavy Sweat Flight Pants.



I've been looking for something to grey to way this summer, in terms of pants. There's a couple options of light grey washed denims out there, but this stuck me as interesting. Sweats? With no idea how it'll fit into my wardrobe for the summer, I feel like it'd be interesting to see how it goes.

Second. Gabo Elk Penobscot.



Some new footwear from Visvim, some of you might have seen this a month or so back when they displayed their collection in Paris. Though, I didn't see this model in particular, there was a high top version of this piece that looked interesting.



It looks like the trust funded love child of my two other favorite models, the Keifer and the FBT. I'd like to end this post by restating the title. To all the pieces, and footwear mentioned above, I may not be able to afford you, and your collective cost can probably feed a small Somalian family for a month, I would just like to say..

I want.

Pattern Recognition: It comes with Age.

Just a random incident, that comes along with more and more frequency. Being a byproduct of working on the front line of a retail store, I've spent a good amount of two years being out, either at the mall or somewhere relatively close to one. I've been encountering these random incidents where old guy would walk in and I'd just be stuck there in this weird stupor admiring this fellows style.

Breaking this vague statement down even further. What I mean by how I like their style is it's how everything is put together and done so with little to no effort. From the colors, to the pieces, to how everything is put together. Be it cuffed, tucked in, a handkerchief in a chest pocket, our grand parents have it all figured out.

I'm not quite sure if this is born out of my affinity for work wear, or my desire to look like a well-traveled old hobo from South America, but there is just something about how they put it together that just beguiles.

Before going on any more, I'd like to share two incidents that I had in the span of two days.

The first one being last Friday, as I was walking to the store. I ran across this man. Short sleeved shirt, largely white, with accents of pink and salmon. That tucked into a pair of tan Chinos cuffed a bit above the ankle, held up by a really aged brown leather belt. In a pair of really old worn Sperry's that seem to have been beaten to submission. That being capped off by patterned socks.

The second was at the poolside today, while having a smoke and a coffee. Retired Vietnam War veteran, age, 64. Classic black Fred Perry polo shirt, with a white accent around the collar, tucked into what I figure to be wool, or really incredibly textured gray trousers, held up by a cream canvas belt. The outfit being finished off by two tone saddle shoes. In my head, I went.. "Wasn't that on a blog the other day?"

Now I'm not quite sure, if it's the story I write in my head about where they must have been, the experiences they've had with these clothes. Maybe it's because of their taste being extremely contemporary in the sense that the looks are something you'd see out of an SS 09 collection by (insert random Designer name here).

After well, much.. okay, not a lot of thought. I've come to the conclusion that yes, I figure, no wait, I'm certain. It comes with age.

If what we do wear is a reflection of ourselves. Expressions and experiences, harking back to God knows when. Garments and pieces with stories I can only begin to wrap my head around, I, we, you, probably have a long way to go.

As much as the stories would be easier illustrated by a photo or two, we're just going to have to settle with a bit more reinforcement. Encountered 5 minutes ago on the Sartorialist, the photos say it all.

The not so rare occasion: Garbstore Spring 09

Being on the internet a good third of the day, doing the daily blog run, updating myself self with the world, more and more often, I seem to keep coming across things I really like.

It seems that with the large amount of noise one can encounter while browsing through the web, perseverance, and a good mental filter or two will lead you to this. A not so rare occasion where you find something amazing, something totally aligned to your interests and goals that it is quite frankly inspiring to see that someone else is already there.

Well, here's my weekly internet gem, Garbstore Spring Collection 09.

Internet Lemmingness aside, their collection has popped up in more than a couple blogs that I love reading everyday, Hyr Collective's Daily, being one of them. From the countless write-ups and to the many encounters with their collection's photos on the internet, I think it is damn warranted.

From the styling, and how the outfits were put together. The cobblestone streets, and where it's set. Everything meshes together making the looks just damn good.

I really like their Flight and Officer's Shirts, and the Woodland Side Racer Jacket. With that rich shade of blue, I don't even know how I'm going to put it together with the rest of the clothes I've got but gah, I want. With the same amount of salivation that I have as I flip through the a Visvim Lookbook, I wont delay any longer.

WANT: Real Japan Blues 66BSPBK

Going along with the long list of wants this coming summer. This one is just entirely out place. How the hell am I going to use these in the heat that we have here in the Philippines? But for some reason, I feel like it's the kind of irrational buy that I'm just itching to pull the trigger on.

One of the sister/parent companies of one of my favorite Japanese brands, Real Japan Blues. Their design philosophy differs in such a way that it's not as traditional or reproduction oriented as Flathead. They manage to put out there relatively less conservative/traditional things, and with a tad more creative freedom to fool around, they put out pieces that are not necessarily Avant Garde by any means, just different from what Flat Head does.

Nothing ground breaking, or new by any means. These prototype jeans slated for a late March release is something that I've looked for in a pair of black denim for quite a while. It answers that simple want of mine to have black stitching on black denim. Definitely a main contender for the black jawns of my dreams. It's a toss up between the latest slim fit jean Iron Heart (already available at Self Edge) has already released.

Drooling is by all means welcome. My wallet is already feeling the hole that this or the Iron Hearts are possibly going to burn.

Pictures, courtesy of Kiya Babzani, after the banter. Enjoy.