A blog dedicated to the interesting, scandalous, useful and cutting edge in the world of men’s style, fashion and grooming.
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Our friends at UrbanDaddy gave us an inside peek at the latest J. Crew outpost in Tribeca, and it’s pretty impressive. Lower Manhattan can be a tough locale, especially for national brands, so for this spot they’ve approached things more like a boutique, flooding the store with collaborations, cross-branding, and plain old outside labels.
As we’ve noted before, cobbling’s a tough racket. And while we’ve seen a lot of good stuff come out of the UK, domestic shoe men are usually more interested in basketball than brogues.
We’re curious fellows here at Kempt, so we’re always up for a little rack-hunting.
To that end, we took a peek inside In God We Trust, a boutique split between New York’s SoHo and Williamsburg. Managed by designer Shana Tabor, the stores split their stock between the house label—mostly female, but with a few very tempting bags—and what Shana calls “like-minded brands.” The store and the label both project a kind of Newport bohemianism that comes off much easier than it sounds.
The trick, we suspect, is being selective.
Our friends at UrbanDaddy just turned us on to Assembly New York, a new vintage-plus boutique on the Lower East Side. Like their neighbors Black Sheep and Prodigal Sons, Assembly stocks a healthy selection of random objects to back up their more than formidable rack fodder. Our favorites include a ram-shaped bolo tie, four-eyed Chinese masks (an artifact of an earlier time, we’re sure), and enormous (but surprisingly sturdy) vintage corkscrews.
When a particularly good sale comes down the transom, we like to pause and take stock.
Manhattan’s Bblessing is giving up to 80% off this weekend to clear their shelves for spring. We’ve been fans for a while, and not just because of their clothes.
We’ve been fans of John Varvatos for some time, but his takeover of the old CBGBs space looks to be yet another feather in his cap, renovating the space with a lot of respect for the venue’s storied past. It’s not his fault the previous owners lost their lease, but he’s managed to keep a lot of the old spirit alive.
Here’s a few pictures we managed to snag, courtesy of our friends at UrbanDaddy.
The French brand Kitsune caught our eye with their spring collection, shown above. The name is Japanese for “fox”—hence the logo—and the designs are suitably multicultural. (For instance, the collar on that dress shirt seems distinctly Asian.) The brand doubles as an electronic music label, leading to one of the more confusing websites we’ve seen in some time.
They opened a flagship store in Paris a few weeks ago— 52 rue de Richelieu, for the curious—that will focus as much on their music as their clothing.
If last year’s overwhelming resurgence of Ray Ban Wayfarers taught us anything, it’s that in matters of eyewear, everyone looks cooler in old stuff. Earnest Sewn—the masters of coopting quirky-but-classic brands—will take the idea one step further and about a century back, when Moscot’s pop-up shop opens in Earnest Sewn’s MPD store this spring.
Paying homage to the New York eyeglass store that opened in 1915 (that’s a solid 22 years pre-Ray Ban and 68 years pre-Risky Business), the shop will offer Moscot’s Original eyeglass and sunglass frames, as well as two new, collaborative, limited edition styles: the Lemtosh Frame in Buffalo Horn and a new, lighter Blond. So you can take a little chance without running the risk of resembling 1985 Tom Cruise.
Hysteria! Loud noises!—Muji!Muji! Muji! Muji and more Muji! Blogs and buyers alike have been waiting with oddly baited breath (what, did Muji invest in Racked or something) for the opening of the minimalist lifestyle supplier to open up on Broadway and Grand. On Friday, the Muji-hideen got their chance to peruse the pop-up-store-sized version of what one customer termed the, “Ikea of Japan.” That evening, we nudged our way through the ironically high number of Japanese tourists to see what the maker of our favorite business card case might offer for the Kempt man. While the pickings were few among the tasteful eggshell teapots, there were a few bargains for the taking. More on Muji…
Portland, Oregon isn’t anyone’s first stop on the fashion tour, but the city’s style quotient got a much needed injection with the June 07 opening of Stand Up Comedy. A mix of women’s/men’s, Stand Up Comedy offers a remarkably hip lineup by any standard: Henrik Vibskov, Slow and Steady Wins the Race, Acne Jeans, and Pleasure Principle anchor the men’s side…
If it’s possible to add more sex to Vegas, we’re pretty confident there’s only one man for the job. Word is that Tom Ford, the designer who brought sexy back in the land of women’s attire before moving on to menswear, is opening a flagship in the heart of Las Vegas. The Gucci-rivaling storefront will be located in the new CityCenter development, right on the strip (of course).
Seems like an obvious next step from the man who brought us the G shaped bikini wax—a trend that, we have no doubt, really hit home in the City of Sin. The store is said to have a similar aesthetic as the original Madison Avenue location, but our guess is that they’ll be moving more merchandise in the new digs (it’s Vegas, after all). Las Vegas and Tom Ford—some things were just meant to be.
—A.P.
Next time you ask a fellow astigmatic where he got his frames, he might refer you to the tattooed opticians at SoHo’s new Silver Lining. Described by co-owner Jordan Silver as, “the first optical shop in New York, or anywhere for that matter, that has a definite masculine feel,” the boutique will offer a selection of over 6,000 vintage frames and 500 one-of-a-kind pieces for discerning four-eyed customers when it opens November 2nd.
Already known for partnerships with several fashion houses and the venerable Selima Optique, Silver has joined with certified optician Erik Sacher to “bring back the profession” of matching unique men with unique frames. Of course, you don’t need 20/40 vision to get in the door. Silver Lining will also be turning their eye for craftsmanship and rarities to classic sunglasses. Visit Silver Lining at 100 Thompson Street between Prince and Spring, on the web at silverliningvintage.com or call 212-274-9191.
—G.B.
