djrajio

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't BB's denim made in China?

Don't go to Atrium. The sales people don't know shit and its like a meat-packing plant there for denim. Instead go to Famous Friends. Richard will totally hook-u-up and knows everything there is to know about denim. Also hit up Opening Ceremony, they have awesome cut and sews there.

Head porter is available at the Stussy store on the 2nd floor, not Bathing Ape. They only have the more famous lines from Head Porter. They have some backpacks there, dont know if they are from the x-pack series. Prices are higher than if you were to buy it in Japan.

Not as good as I thought it would be. Am I the only one annoyed at "The Brilliance!!?!?!". I just can't stand reading that site. Even the most benial topics are published as !?!?!Hype!??!!?!? Actually, I've sort of stopped reading those hype sites. It seems like "find the newest pop cultural phenomena/brand/trend" idea has gotten pretty saturated to the point that even these sites have a hard time finding diamonds in the rough. I mean is a new BAPEsta colorway posting really that awesome? I prefer to getting out of the element/going out in the city/going to a museum/art gallery/reading a book as a better means of finding inspiration. The only English sites worth going are still beinghunted and this board.

Yes, Brooks Brothers does slim fits that aren't too slim as well as the classic styles. And yes, they also do custom tailoring. Plus, I believe the majority of their shirts and ties are made in the good U.S.A. but are woven in England and Italy. Pink seems to be a relatively new phenomenon in US? It's a mainstay in England, I know, but they seem to be doing a lot of aggressive expansion in America, or have they always been around?

I like Brooks Brothers for my work day shirts. Very conservative but good quality for the money. Also Zegna (yes more pricey) but I like them. For more dressy, Costume National. Good solids, plus they due unusual hues and colors (earth tones) and slightly off primary colored shirts. Recently, I've been really feeling the new Prada collection, bringing back the slim blue suit with usual oranges, reds, purples, and green tones for the dress shirts. I too am fed up with the "stripey". It seems to be the unofficial club uniform for all white males 18-40.

Yo Homie, search the forum. This topic has been answered already.

Are you serious?! That's just some fancy stitching bra'... lol, this denim game has gotten too crazy....

"It sounds a bit lame, but I'm not really into haveing a crazy stocked closet of shit I haven't worn in years."

I totally agree with your philosophy. I'm actually quite the same. I tend to buy very few items but of very high quality and items that are very versatile and can go with many outfits. I actually don't have closets worth of clothing myself. I think this was also one of the reasons I decided on the trench coat because trench coats never go out of style; very timeless.

As for Lad Musician. No they don't sell any of it in the US. But I live in Tokyo and would be happy to swing by and pick a shirt up or allow you to order from their online store and have it shipped to my address. I also part-time as a buyer for japanese brands for new york / LA boutiques and will also be starting a re-selling online store soon, so if I'm lucky with my connections, you might be seeing labels like Lad Musician in New York boutiques by next year or on my online store. *Keeps fingers crossed*

Good looking out with those comments. Reason I didn't feel the fur trim coat is that it felt too "hood" for my tastes, particularly considering that I my style is more lean/punk/rock/simple, I felt that the coat might not work with my style. On the dinner jacket, true with Dior having more resale value, I've never have put any of my clothing on resale; I guess its cuz I never make purchase decisions in clothing based on what it'll fetch on ebay later on, solely cuz I never intend on selling any of my gear. I also am more into lesser-known designers rather than high-profile designers. Fashion tends to be tremendously fickle on what's hot/what's not, how much things will fetch later on. For example, mid-late 90s, Gucci and Prada were seen as the creme d'la creme and their garments had high-mark up/resale value. Now, Gucci and Prada have been struggling and actually have lowered their price points to match lower demand. You can particularly see this with Gucci after Tom Ford's departure. But I degress that's the falacy of fashion. If you're into Cloak/gothic stuff too, you should definitely check out the brand Lad Musician; they do amazing garments as well and I have an awesome blazer from them. Peace!

I believe the new location? 110 Mercer St.? Its near the APC store. Didn't know they had an older location...

Mouko, didn't get a chance to check out the Carpe Diem boots, might head back again when time permits. But that Cloak dinner jacket is awesome! I actually was debating between the jacket and the trench but in the end, since I'm working in Tokyo and its approaching winter, I wanted something I could rock when the weather gets mad cold. But the material on the dinner jacket is bananas, its a nice piped-like coudaroy blend in a steel-grey/black with an amazing cut. Soo soo nice, might cop one too later next month....

Edited by djrajio on Aug 28, 2005 at 07:23 AM

What y'all think?

^^Ha! Perhaps they are some evil manifestations of SHOWCASE SHOWDOWN? Late registration is very good in my opinion. I'm not particularly down with Kanye's raps; honestly, his raps sometimes kill tracks and don't do service for the beats he makes, but he is definitely one of the better role-models in the hip-hop camp. Visionary trend maker, Yes. Outstanding MC/lyrical magician, No. But you gotta admit, the Maroon 5 track and Touch the sky are fire. No one is doing tracks as dope as that in hip-hop.

Yeah, like soultek said. Hit up a outlet mall with Levi's. You can get em for $20 in every imaginable size and color.

Fuck. My thread died. Anyways, after seeing mouku in the Cloak trench on the earlier what are we wearing thread, I decided to head to the 10 Mercer st. store which opened just last thursday. Let me tell you that the store is bomb. Its got a old victorian library gothic motif and the dressing rooms are hidden behind trap doors in the library shelves! Very hot. The garments are all high quality and first rate and the prices aren't Dior-excessive either! I was very surprised that the price points weren't 2-3 times higher. The store clercs were also very approachable and we ended up talking about good vintage stores in London and Japan. At any rate, I ended up getting the trench coat:

After hitting up Cloak, I decided to hit up Opening Ceremony. I really like the concept of the store and found it to have the best cut and sew garments in all of NYC. Lots of cardigans and layering pieces on display which were all really thick and had many layers to them. In particular, I spotted a nice Cardigan jacket with a hentley/waffle lining. Very cool. Also found Cloak here too as well as Rag & Bone, but no selvege. I also found some nice pieces by May Ping (I think that's her name), very slim cuts ala Dior/Cloak but with more color. Also found the girls working there to be very hot.

Next, decided to hit up Zakka on 147 Grand St. Lots of t-shirts with techno inspired Ray-gun pre-millenial "internet graphic" prints. Not my thing really. Two Japanese guys work the store. I decided to hit up the architecture books and then the Jap mags. Made the owner pissed off us I kept taking the mags from the racks and walking over to my shit to read em. He took em thinking I was gonna buy them but told him I just wanted to read the articles. This sort of made him pissed and he cursed to his friend in japanese about me. I later asked for his business card in Japanese just to spite him. Heh.

Next, decided to go to Seven New York, but it was closed for re-construction.

Finally, hit up Atelier on Crosby St. Everything in the store is high-end casual/designer collection only in Black, Gray, and Brown. They sell Cloak here as well, plus Number (N)ine and Undercover. I particularly was disappointed with this store. I was the only on there when I visited and most of the clothing seemed too avant garde and unapproachable to wear. In particular, the prices for Number (N)ine and Undercover were just outrageous given the materials used and the looks conceived. Honestly, is 150+ dollars for a jersey cotten t-shirt really worth it? Perhaps, I'm just not progressive enough? *Shrug* Fuck that.

In my opinion, hit up Cloak and Opening Ceremony when you're in Chinatown. Peace!

Edited by djrajio on Aug 27, 2005 at 10:14 PM

One of the best clubs for underground/local hiphop, break-dancers, and reggae artists in Tokyo is called Club Citta in Kawasaki City. I can almost guarantee you that very few foreigners will be there but they always host the best underground/homegrown events for emerging artists. If you are into bars, I recommend Club Pure in Shibuya, only because its all you can drink and they have a good mix of foreigners and japanese, but I think the place might have gone down in quality. All the major "super" clubs in Tokyo will require you to pay around 30 bucks entrace fee w/ 2 drink included and drinks are 5 dollars a glass. But if you into going to one, I suggest Harlem in Shibuya cuz it has the best DJs, such as DJ Masterkey, DJ Watarai spinning on some nights. Also, the place has close connections with Nitro Microphone Underground crew, so sometimes some of the rappers come by and do impromptu sessions. There also seems to be a dance summit on 8/31 at Yokohama Matrix club. Apparently a lot of really famous crews will be performing as well as the R&B group L.L. Borthers. You might also want to check out Core in Roppongi, but its Roppongi so it all depends on the night. Others include Bay Hall in Yokohama, Basement Bar in Tokyo, Quattro in Shinsaibashi, Air in Shinjuku, Seco Bar in Shibuya...yeah too many. Mind you, you could always just go to a hole in the wall bar/pub and have a cheap and good ole' time. Peace!

What sort of subculture/niche market are Surrdener and SBTG immulating? Of course, Japanese street brands. Besides, Surrender is co-started by Lavelle, who was intrumental to bringing A Bathing Ape and Futura to the masses. SBTGs entire concept is based on the tired formulated format of "A Bathing Ape" which their silk-screens. I've been to Singapore and have tons of Singaporian friends, they even concede that they have no culture. Weather HK, Singaporian, Taiwanese dress better than Americans is all subjective. I'm more bullish about China, particularly the new youth in areas like Shanghai.

I concur. HK, Singapore, Taiwan has no/little fashion identity. They just copy what Europe, Japan, Korea, and America (more erring towards Japanese trends).

Yes and no. I think the vast majority of the population doesn't place that much emphasis on personal style and fashion aside from keeping abreast with current trends and looking decent. And honestly, why should they? If they have a regular 9 to 5 job and bills to pay and kids to feed, paying GAP or AE to make them look "hip" is perfectly fine with them and obviously it works otherwise these companies wouldn't be around. If you got other things going on in your life, I don't think being on the cutting edge is really that important. In many ways, the posters on superfuture (with me included) are pretty maniacal about fashion, styles, trends, etc; I know I am. And in some ways, people prolly think I'm weird. Thing is, I don't care if people think I'm weird for being really into denim and obscure cool designers and brands. I guess the only demographic that bugs be are those that try too hard and still don't get it. I've said it before and I think its been mentioned so many times on this board: you gotta develop your own style. What really erks me are people that subscribe to a certain trend or brand or whatever without reflecting weather it even reflects their own personal style or even if it looks good on them! People that follow what the "stars" are wearing or based their fashion opinions and decisions on what someone else tells them is cool really annoys me. Everyone's body and looks are different so what looks good on a model or actor may not look good on you.

Edited by djrajio on Aug 23, 2005 at 04:36 PM

Yo. Dude like the other guy said in the previous thread. Shut the fuck up. Your posts are retarded.

Go to Campos & Campos on 14th street. They hemmed and re-attached the original hem for 18 and it was perfect. They also shortened the sleeves of a D-squared shirt that I bought. Needless to say, fucking up a $300+ shirt was not in my best interest and they charged me $30 for very nice job. Although it is expensive, I'd rather pay more with the assurance that they won't screw it up and they didn't.

Yes I think Kansai is better than Kanto. Food is better and people are nicer. I work at an investment bank in Tokyo. Give me an e-mail/PM when you arrive if you wanna hang out. Peace!

I think sugarboots hit it on the head. After the bubble economy fall-out in the 80s, the early 90s was the impetus for the cultural boom or "Gross National Cool" cultivation that Japan is best known for. Basically the lost decade of the 90s saw the rise of all of the famous Japanese pop culture we take for granted and a lot of this was developed in Harajuku by disenfranchised youth looking for something to believe in as an alterative to the salary-man lifestyle that had so eluded/screwed over their fathers, friends, themselves. Famous artists like Hiroshi Fujiwara, Nigo of A Bathing Ape, etc developed their brands, art etc in harajuku, which in the late eighties-early nineties was seen as a backwards neighborhood rather than a artistic, fashion, cultural mecca. I think photo documentaries/magazines of the mid-90s like Fruits really put into perspective the dichotomy and artistic ferocity that Japanese youth developed in reaction to the effects of the Japanese economic fallout. Its kinda funny cuz Casio is now advertising a new campaign called "Back to the 90s" which celebrates the great cultural revolution that Japan had (and also the time when Casio G-Shocks were cool)...the graphic design, fashion, and art of the era was very futuristic/dream-like/post-modern optimistic as sort of an anesthesia for the general economic situation surrounding the country at the time.

Literally everywhere. Last golden week I did Kyoto to Tokyo to Aomori to Sapporo and then back to Fukuoka and Hiroshima in one week. I've worked in Tokyo a number of summers in a row including areas in Saitama-ken and Yokohama. Have also lived in Shizuoka-ken in Ito for a summer and Kyoto last spring. Im currently in New York but will be working in Tokyo for two years starting this September. I personally like Kansai better than the Kanto region. The people are nicer and the food is better but the weather is more brutal. >_< My suggestion, if you are looking for thrift markets is to head to osaka and kyoto. In particular, in kyoto head to Kawara-machi. The entire street is full of really awesome and cheap thrift stores. Plus the atmosphere is so much better than Tokyo since people are more playful with their fashion and so much nicer and relaxed. Also, if you get the chance go to Hakata/Fukuoka at night. The yatai-ramen stalls by the river make the BEST RAMEN. Its literally to die for. My bro and I basically ate ramen and drank beer all night while watching the summer matsuri fireworks and then fell asleep on the beach. Best experience ever. Finally, here is a URL of an online map of all the cool shops in Tokyo, Kyoto, Kobe, Osaka etc. Ask your japanese friend to direct you. Peace~

http://mensnonno.shueisha.co.jp/map/

What are you into? Are you looking for expensive lounges? Trendy bars? Clubs? What type of music are you into or vibe u are looking for? In all honestly, if you look somewhat Japanese/Asian and can speak somewhat decent Japanese, the only stopping you is how much money you wanna spend. I'll be honest though, going through 100+ dollars in a night is usually the norm rather than exception. >_< But yeah, check out places that only Japanese hang out at, those are the most sincere places because they aren't there to "meet" foreigners and tend to be realer and the experience will be much more enjoyable. Gimme a little more information of what u are looking for and I'll help you out.