Spring essentials: Outerwear..

For as long as i can remember i have always been interested in the great outdoors, from the early days of being in the scouts to the duke of edinburgh expeditions at school. My favourite piece of clothing was probably the jackets. especially the mountain parkas and raincoats.

These are two nice pieces i own and are looking quite popular in my wardrobe for SS10..

LL Bean Baxter Parka...

Jordache Raincoat...

a forgotten classic...

The monkey boot..

 

Whilst on a Sunday stroll down brick lane with friends, the man who sells those dodgy £5 plimsolls had a re stocking of the classic Grafter monkey boots for £25. I remember reading a book about punks a while back and wondering i could get myself a pair of the boots they were wearing as they were a bit more casual than the doc martens. Now i own a pair in the classic burgundy colour. great for the summer, if we ever get one!

Heritage: Motorcycling..

Motorcycling is filled with icons, and many of them are what draws people to the sport.  If there was a Motorcycle Clothing (and Accessories) Hall of Fame (not a bad idea, that...) there are two jackets that would be on display at the front door...


The belstaff trialmaster...

The famous trialmaster has been worn by generations of motorcycle enthusiasts, such as Che Guevara during his journey across America. The quality of the Belstaff jackets is very high, as once regarded not to be as well constructed as the Barbour jackets. The Jackets produced in the 50s and 60s are very sought after pieces for the guys who like timeless fashions which are also practical.

To complete the look you might want to invest in an equally manly bag, the Belstaff shoulder bag is once again practical and fashionable..

The Barbour International Jacket...

The Barbour international has been in production since 1936, which was worn "by virtually every British international motorcycle team until 1977. The Barbour is also instantly recognizable by its classic signature tartan interior cotton lining, which is also very comfortable.  And best of all is the "Made in England" label, along with its gaggle of Royal seals, attesting to Barbour's official appointments to various Kings and Queens.

I am a huge fan of jackets with a large amount of pockets, which i enjoy putting random things in, like laces, paper, pens etc... and these two jackets do not disappoint, but overall i think i would personally choose the Belstaff trialmaster, as i feel it has a slight edge in the fit, but both fantastic jackets and generally a must have for any wardrobe!

both jackets can be found at British motorcycle gear. 

don't let them get away....

I went into Albam today to see what they had in, and they have come up with another great collaboration with Grenson shoes.

The Gibson weekend shoe...

 

This simple design is a great addition to any outfit, with the single leather sole, giving it a much lower profile than that of the Grenson Archie brogue, which is perfect for the spring/summer season.

these shoes can be found here

songs i work to...

this is a classic boogie tune i dug out today whilst looking for a book about mountaineering which i will share with you in due course..

Savanna, i cant turn away, 1981

Layering: the tweed jacket...

Max from the vintage showroom...

Max works at the vintage showroom, which is possibly my favourite mens store at the moment, providing a great variety of vintage clothing ranging from many different years and many different countries. They are probably the pinnacle of the term "heritage" at the moment as they are providing us with certain key pieces for our wardrobes.

check out the vintage showroom here ...

The great outdoors: Holubar

Holubar Mountaineering, established in 1946, designed and sold modern, innovative mountaineering equipment. The company pioneered the use of lightweight down sleeping bags with the use of nylon fabric, which became popular in the 1960s. Holubar manufactured many of its own products and offered high quality climbing and camping equipment and supplies for retail sale. Starting in Boulder, Colorado the company grew to ten stores in Denver and other Colorado cities and a few out of state locations. The company was purchased by Johnson Wax circa 1975 then declined. The brand was sold to The north face in 1980. 

THE HOLUBARS: Immediately after World War II, Colorado was a ripe market for a business targeted to mountaineers and skiers. In Boulder, Colorado, Alice and Roy Holubar officially opened for business in 1947 by purchasing a business license.... Roy was also known as LeRoy Holubar. He and Alice had met as Juniors in High School, and were fellow students at Colorado University (CU). LeRoy graduated in 1936 in engineering and taught there until the demands of Holubar Mountaineering became too great in the later 1960s.

Read more about Holubar here 

The original Buffalo: Ray Petri..

The man who styled a decade..

In the early 80s, Petri brought together a group of young model-muses (Nick and Barry Kamen, Tony Felix, Simon de Montfort, Howard Napper) and photographers (Jamie Morgan, Roger Charity, Marc Lebon), plus assorted, like-minded west London creatives.

He penned the term 'Buffalo', which was closely associated with Bob Marley and the 'Buffalo soldier'..
He explained where the term came from...

'but in fact it's a Caribbean expression to describe people who are rude boys or rebels. Not necessarily tough, but hard style taken from the street... a functional and stylish look; non-fashion with a hard attitude.'

From expressing the style of a small gang of west London movers and shakers, Buffalo hit the big time when the heavily pregnant Neneh Cherry took her Buffalo stance from Notting Hill to the Top of the Pops studio and the charts.
Photographer Jamie Morgan in one of his interviews on Showstudio said “What Buffalo did was to try to create its own agenda outside the fashion system. We were interested in the images and the attitude. Yes, we loved the style and the fashion but that was just part of it. We would use an Armani jacket because we liked the cut, not because of the label. What Buffalo helped to create was a force outside the establishment.”

More of Ray Petri can be found here

Inspirations: Heritage

Throughout my blog I will be looking at the term heritage, which can be described as "practices that are handed down from the past by tradition". I will be looking at this terminology within fashion and how it has taken off in a big way come 2010, and i hope it may continue because all the countries in the world have a lot to offer us and will try and discovery everything i can..


To begun I will take a look at the shop Albam, and how they are doing what they do and doing it well! 


A little biography:


We are now coming into our third year of Albam, and it has been quite a journey. For those who have recently found us, we started in a small office in Nottingham just myself and Alastair and 7 styles in our first catalogue.

Our journey has been a lot of fun with its fair share of sweat and backbone to get it to where we are today. Now we are an independent clothing company with a small but perfectly formed team who all share the same vision of producing products in the eye of our starting ideal: Modern Crafted Clothing.
 We continue to manufacture our products in Great Britain and if this isn’t possible then we look as close to home as possible, so we now have good friends in Portugal, USA, Italy. Our aim is to bring as much product back to Britain and we have spent the last year building a business with your help and support that is enabling our British factories to grow and develop with us. 

Hunting Cagoule...

Mountaineer Chino..

A new casual trouser shape. Based on the Taper Chino with a knee dart to articulate the leg. Single rear patch pocket and back cinch. Crafted from English corduroy. These are limited as we are testing the shape out so get them while you can. Crafted in England.

Albam can be found here .

Inspirations: Ozwald Boateng

Ozwald Boateng, Creative Director of Menswear at Givenchy, learned the trade in Savile Row, the fount of London’s leading tailors, and has expressed his passion for masculine elegance for the past 20 years.

What is couture? "A 20-year passion!" says Ozwald Boateng without a moment's hesitation. Born in London in 1967, he began designing clothes as a teen, selling his first collection to a shop in Covent Garden. At 17 he left his computer studies after discovering Savile Row, the home of bespoke tailoring in London. "At the time I saw this place so rich in history as a temple of formal and somewhat "dusty" elegance. That's when I met Tommy Nutter." Nutter, the star designer of "Swinging London", had been making bespoke clothes on Savile Row since the 1960s. He inspired Boateng, showing him the beauty of traditional tailoring.


Here he is talking about style,,,

buffalo Icon: Bobby seale

Inspirations: The Black Panthers

The Black Panther Party was a progressive political organization that stood in the vanguard of the most powerful movement for social change in America since the Revolution of 1776 and the Civil War: that dynamic episode generally referred to as The Sixties. It is the sole black organization in the entire history of black struggle against slavery and oppression in the United States that was armed and promoted a revolutionary agenda, and it represents the last great thrust by the mass of black people for equality, justice and freedom.

The Party's ideals and activities were so radical, it was at one time assailed by FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover as "the greatest threat to the internal security of the United States." And, despite the demise of the Party, its history and lessons remain so challenging and controversial that established texts and media would erase all reference to the Party from American history.

Founded in Oakland, California, by Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton on October 15, 1966, the organization initially set forth a doctrine calling for the protection of African American neighborhoods from police brutality.

find further info on the black panther party here .

BillyKirk Bags...

This hand-stitched shoulder satchel is modeled after a WWII Belgium Map Case they had.  It was just too small for our use so they re-designed it and made it larger.

Each one takes a few hours to complete. and can be found here .

Buffalo discovery: BillyKirk

Amish Country, PA


Brothers Chris and Kirk Bray have been producing leather goods for the last ten years. They launched Billykirk from Los Angeles in 1999, learning their craft from a third generation leather maker. A simple leather strap kick started the business, a decade later their collection has flourished into other offerings that consists of bags, belts, shoes, wallets, hats and other accessories. Since expanding and moving their operation to the East, they've employed a group of Amish leather makers to produce much of their line, while wrapping up production in their studio. We visited the brothers over the summer to observe their operation first hand and to discover the beauty behind the process.

looking at vintage workwear

I have always been interested in american workwear and looking into the history of brands such as Carhartt, Lee, Red wings etc.....

I stumbled upon a great japanese website which has found a lot of products and documented them..

Railroad Jacket made by Crown Overall Mfg.

Crown Overall Mfg was merged into Carhartt circa 1960's.

So this jacket is made before merger between them.
Square pockets and the stiches are similar to Headlight Overall's Railroad Jacket.

check out the website here