Petal Pushers: Yes, we admit it, we love flowers, but there’s a limit, people. [NYMag]

The Razor’s Edge: Men’s Vogue takes on the razor blade arms race. [Men’s Vogue]

Con Job: Sit down with Converse’s creative director. [Coolhunting]

The 75 Skills Every Man Should Master: We’re solid with about 58 of these. [Esquire]

Bowery Mission: Rogan Gregory opens a new store on the Bowery, serves the local cocktail. [Refinery29]

In a Huf: A skate-punk brand grows up. [Coolhunting]

Silver Foxes: Black, grey, whatever - as long as our hair stays on our heads, we’re good. [NYTimes]

Porn and Politics: The Italian Parliament is starting to look more and more like a strip club. [Radar]

Oh, and remember to call your mother on Sunday. There’s nothing wrong with a ladies’ man admitting that he’s also a momma’s boy.

These mid-tops came our way as a Franco-Japanese collab between Springcourt and Resistance.

The idea of mashing together 18th century upholstery and 20th century sneakers is an interesting one, and the Vuitton-esque pattern is a nice touch if you don’t look to close, but the skulls-and-crosses motif is a little more Goth than we’re used to. It’s not the first melodramatic pattern we’ve seen set into casual clothes, but hopefully we’re closer to the end of this trend than the beginning.

Chuck Taylors are so iconic at this point that they’ve overshadowed the original style they came from: the old-school basketball shoe.

When the sport was invented around the turn of the century, there was a rush of shoes with lots of ankle support, almost no arch, and a stripped-down canvas aesthetic. It’s hard to get ahold of them these days, but the fine folks at Winn Perry have gotten their hands on a recreation of one of the original models: the 1892 Colchester Rubber Co. Sneaker.

True to the time, it’s still just vulcanized rubber and canvas, but it should catch a lot more eyes than those Chucks.

See the pre-Chucks closer up»

Mining subcultures is a tricky business, and nobody knows it better than Converse. They were already known as a hipster brand…and a whimsical web video full of Williamsburg landmarks probably isn’t helping anything.

The delicate balance of marketing»

The oatmeal-loving minimalist Richard Chai is getting another shot at retail, thanks to a well-timed popup shop. This time, he’s taking to his brother’s rotating hipster depot DEN, with a few choice items from his recent Paris shows hitting the racks for the next few weeks.

As for the goods, it’s a bit more dour than last time around, but that might just be a sign of the times. The pants are all heavily cuffed for a grittily urban effect—none of Thom Browne’s nerd-chic here—with a few well-sewn jackets to complete the effect.

And apparently, like everyone else, he’s holding onto his chucks.

Take a look at the store and the line»

Old school sports shoe are pretty fantastic, but so far most of the love has been concentrated on one particular model. It might be time for some new blood.

This Japanese pair from Master & Co. fit the bill pretty nicely, with a pleasingly retro off-white and two rubber patches on the side to keep it out of knockoff territory. Let’s just hope the soles are a bit more durable than the average Chuck Taylor.

This snap comes from the Converse-sponsored Shoelace Project, which wrapped three morris-style chairs in a truly staggering amount of Chuck-ready shoelace.

No sooner did we gush about Seavees’ Gitman-inspired madras model than this flannel Chuck came down the transom from Woolrich. It’s not quite as drool-worthy as Gitman’s sneak, and both the flannel and the hijacked-Converse model land it pretty squarely in the grunge revival camp, but it’s a trend we’re happy to see continuing. Now if only the folks at Clae would come into some remaindered suits…

Palladium Boots generally deals in heavy cloth-and-rubber boots, so we were pleased to see them moving in a sneaker-y direction with this Pampa Boot. It’s essentially a beefed-up version of the Chuck Taylor, but the rugged rubber bottom means it won’t fall apart after a year like every latter-day Chuck we’ve ever owned. The result is something light enough to wear through the summer, but heavy enough to take a few concerts’ worth of stomping. The light canvas version hasn’t found its way to retailers just yet, but if you can’t wait, you can find a heavier ones here.

In not too long, it’s going to be time to mothball our winter stompers and break out something a little lighter. If you couldn’t tell, we’re literally counting the days—and naturally, we’re not the only ones.

In anticipation, Converse has let slip a few hundred pairs of their latest Chuck Taylor update, made with the grand discovery of 2009, chambray. As a trend item, it’s a little late, but it makes up for it by being a genuinely good idea.

Chambray breathes a lot better than the treated canvas you’ll find on the standard Chuck Taylor, so this should be a more summery version of a classic summer shoe. (We’d even recommend going sockless, but each to his own.) Odds are it’ll also wear out faster than the average Chuck—if that’s even possible—but if you’re careful with it, it should see you through at least a couple summers.