Talking Shop

Hamilton 1883 always has pretty fantastic editorial pieces on their website.  They recently posted a bunch of conversations with a variety of shop owners who stock Hamilton 1883.  Sart Inc favorites ACL & Co., Epaulet and Unionmade all take part and it's great to hear some incredibly respected folks talk about not only why they are into Hamilton 1883, but a little about themselves.  Not a bad read for a Thursday morning.

-L.A.S

Pop Bottles

Do you live in or around NYC?  Got plans for the weekend?  You should probably swing by the third annual Pop Up Flea.  The brainchild of Michael Williams and Randy Goldberg (aka A Continuous Goldberg) gets better each and every year and the third entry looks to continue this trend.  Check out the list of vendors:

-Oak Street Bootmakers
-J.W Hulme
-Levi’s Vintage Clothing
-L.L. Bean Signature
-Smith + Butler
-Tellason
-Billykirk
-Aether
-Tanner Goods
-Scout Original
-Wooden Sleepers
-Riviera Club
-Alexander Olch
-Gant
-Oliver Spencer
-The Hill-Side / Hickoree’s Hard Goods
-Grown & Sewn
-Stanley & Sons
-J.Crew
-Gitman Brothers Vintage
-Schott NYC
-Digby & Iona
-Alexander West
-Leather Head / Lemon Ball

Pretty impressive shit, no?  Anyhow, I highly recommend checking it out, blowing a couple stacks and having a few beverages.  I'm heading over on Saturday to intern for my good friend Brian Davis so be sure to stop by the Wooden Sleepers booth and spend that Christmas bonus you don't have yet.  And say hello too.  I'll be the dude not wearing a Barbour.

-L.A.S

Attn: Mark McNairy x ACL & Co. Painter Pants

Painter, or carpenter, pants are usually viewed in the same light as cargo pants as most people have a bad taste in their mouth from all the terrible versions they have seen over the years.  It's tough to think about this stuff without conjuring up images of whatever discount warehouse store your mom used to take you back to school shopping.  The best thing to come out of all the recent trending styles some of us have grown to love or hate is the rethinking of classic rugged aesthetics.  A perfect example of this are the painter pants Mark McNairy has done for ACL & Co.  I've been fortunate enough to see these pants in personal and as it stands now are the only version of the classics I could picture myself wearing.  The fit, like most of Mark's pants, is spot on - it's slimmed up, but not even remotely approaching skinny nuthugger syndrome.  I guess you could call it a slim straight if you really want to get into semantics. Regardless, it's a confident fit that would work on most, if not all, guys.  The details and fabric are typical McNairy fare.  The cotton twill is sturdy yet breathable and lends itself to year round wear.  Pockets and loops adorn the pant legs and seat - some extremely functional (carrying cell phones, keys, pocket knife, pogs, what have you), others admittedly for form.  Overall, it was tough not to pull the trigger, but after buying some new Bastian gear I'm not exactly lighting my cubans with burning bearer bonds, although that would be kinda awesome.

-L.A.S

Mr. Classic

There are a ton of gems in the ACL photostream, but the hands down winner is a set of photos aptly titled "Mr. Classic".  I had seen a few of these J. Press F/W 2008 (?) looks floating around the Internets before, but up until now I had yet to peep the entire collection.  Everything pictured was presumably designed by Mark McNairy and the styling is pretty much perfect - you may notice the cigars in a few breast pockets.  While this stuff isn't exactly that new-new you all crave, and pretty much completely out of season at this point, it's still pretty much timeless inspiration in my eyes.

[All pictures courtesy of Michael Williams.]

-L.A.S

Debate: Steven Alan for ACL & Co. vs. Save Khaki

The black oxford shirt is making a strong case for "shirt of the moment".  The two most prominent examples are current offerings from The ACL Shop and Save Khaki.  Interestingly enough, both also come clad with a flap pocket, which I personally think is a really cool detail.  Black shirts are tough to pull off, but if you are going to wear one oxford is the route best traveled.  Ultimately, price point isn't really an issue here (ACL = $168, SK = $150) so going purely off of aesthetics which one would you wear? Is this actually a "trad" vs. workwear argument? Could a black oxford shirt even pass as "trad"?

Steven Alan for ACL & Co. Flap Pocket Oxford

vs.

Save Khaki Black Oxford Work Shirt

-L.A.S

Attn: Steven Alan For ACL & Co. Oxford

Another top notch collaboration finds its way to the ACL Shop today with the addition of a flap pocket oxford shirt.  I'm a huge Steven Alan fan, and while I prefer the reverse seam model, this shirt is based on his popular "single needle" fit.  The shirts are co-labeled and come with a flap pocket, button down collar and like all of Mr. Alan's gear it is made in America.  Mr. Williams, and his shop, may be loved or hated, but never ignored. Pick one up in classic black or white for $168.00.

 

 

 

-L.A.S

Per-suede-sion

Not everyone is crazy about suede shoes, but I personally love the feel, texture and look of the napped leather.  Even more on the fringe is dyed suede, most commonly seen on blue suede shoes.  I'm not sure if it's because spring is coming up or what, but colored suede footwear has been making it's way to the marketplace as of recent.  I'm totally okay with wearing colored suede year round and especially fond of donning it with shorts.  Chukka height shoes and shorts were a big hit last S/S and I see no reason for this look not to continue as we approach the warmer months of 2010.  Colored suede chukkas are a great way to take this play on proportion (medium height shoes and shorts) to the next level and really do something interesting.  You've probably seen some of these shoes before, but I thought it would be interesting to take these ideas of form, fabric and color and present some viable options for purchase.

Epaulet x Mark McNairy Blue Suede Chukka...$275.00

Clarks Desert Boot for David Z...$95.00

Clarks Desert Boot for David Z...$95.00

ACL & Co. x Mark McNairyBlue Suede Chukka...$375.00

-L.A.S

Attn: ACL Shop Adds New Shoes

Say what you want about Mr. Williams, his blog or his shop, but at the end of the day his products speak for themselves.  The blogosphere (part of me wants to start calling it "the style cartel") was kinda split on the shop's initial offerings and I can understand that.  When things went live people had good things to say, but nothing particularly glowing.  The stuff was good, but with Michael people usually expect out of this world.  It now appears as if things may be headed in the direction folks initially expected.

What has always interested me the most about the shop and, kinda Mr. Williams for that matter, is his relationships to industry folk, such as Mark McNairy (designer extrodaniare and creative director at J. Press).  Well, new shoes have launched and I am pretty impressed.  More red brick sole, but this time on some unconventional styles to feature such a detail ala longwings and cap toe boots.  Both shoes are made in England (like all of McNairy's shoes) and feature goodyear welts.  I'm ridiculously feeling the brown, pebbled leather longwing.  Cool stuff, but pricey.  Check 'em out.

Update: Must have also missed the Pendelton x Property Of... messenger bag when I typed this up originally.  I'm not a fan of messenger bags to begin with so this isn't as big of a deal as the new kicks mentioned above.  Apparently this is the first ever callaboration Property Of... (who makes fantastic stuff, got my brother one of their wallets recently) has ever done, so that's pretty noteworthy.  There are a bunch of different colorways available, so check out the store.

-L.A.S

Attn: ACL & Co. Shop Has Gone Live

This afternoon saw not only a feature on Valet (contains some insight into the shops conception and launch), but the launch of the official ACL & Co. shop.  Many of the products seen at this weekend's Pop-up Flea are now available for consumption online and I can already hear the blogosphere reaching into its collective wallet.  What we end up with are a variety of apparel and accesoires that are much in the vein of ACL's overall aesthetic.  Offerings are simple, classic and made in the USA (outside of the shoes, which were produced in England).

I particularly like the dirty bucks, which are a collaboration with Mark McNairy.  Mr. McNairy makes the finest shoes on the market, in my humble opinion, so I cannot wait to what else the shop carries in the near future (by the looks of the stuff for sale at the Pop-Up flea we are all in for a treat).  Some of the smaller items are cheap, while pretty much everything else is upscale.  Not to toot my own horn, but it also turns out I was spot on with the cargo pants revival.  Check it out and edit your Christmas list accordingly...

[All pictures courtesy of ACL.]

-L.A.S

Attn: The Pop-Up Flee

[Pictured: Pop-Up Flee flier courtesy of ACL.]

If you've already read about this, I apologize.  If you haven't, well then I guess I'm doing my job.  Randy Golberg and Michael Williams (aka "A Continuous Goldberg") are putting on their second annual pop-up flee later this week and you should make the trip if you can.  I heard last years was awesome and I can't imagine this year's being anything short of the same (peep the flyer for the list of participants).  The biggest news is obviously the debut of Michael's ACL & Co. NY products.  While the shop is going live next week, the flee will be your first chance to check out and/or pick up the highly anticipated products.  Here is the website and below you'll find all the pertinent information courtesy of ACL.  Take advantage.  I know I would in a heartbeat if I could.

"Announcing the lineup for the second ever Pop Up Flea. Everything kicks off this Friday afternoon at 3pm and runs throughout the weekend. The complete dates and times are below. See you there.

Friday, November 20th, 3pm-9pm
Saturday November 21st, 11am-7pm and Sunday the 22nd 11am-6pm.

201 Mulberry Street, Between Spring and Kenmare
New York City
Get Handsome."

-L.A.S

ACL x Cole, Rood & Haan Co.

[Pictured: Cole, Rood & Haan Co. x A Continuous Lean Jack dessert boot available here for $395.00]

I haven't seen these posted anywhere (am I right?) so I figured I'd throw them up in a quick post.  I know Mr. Williams has a ton of exclusive stuff planned for his ACL store, but I didn't think that stuff was supposed to be online yet.  Anyhow, Cole, Rood & Haan Co. are a primary advertiser over at ACL and sponsor his film series as well, so this shoe seems like the next logical step.  The model, called Jack, is in the vein of the classic suede desert boot, but with what appears to be some modern details aka a slimmer and updated sole.

p.s. Check out the Cole, Rood & Haan Co. webstore for some archival goodness.  If you've got the money they seem like a pretty good investment.  Especially these.

-L.A.S