New LVC is now finally getting to stores in the U.S. – it should be exciting, but I can’t help but feel cautious against these new attempts from Levi’s (I’ve been let down before by some of their other high end options one too many times).
Bill down at Craft summed up several common complaints heard about the line in the past in this post: has Levi’s addressed these at all? Are we [denim enthusiasts] supposed to buy them just because they’re Levi’s? In the $200-300 range, you have a lot of choices from other denim lines made by folks who are very passionate about it.
LVC is currently available online at Blackbird and Farinelli’s, and this thread on superfuture is a good resource for information.
As a PSA, Johnny Cash’s 6th and final album from the American Recordings is being released tomorrow (the tracks were recorded during the same sessions for American V: A Hundred Highways). Amazon seems to currently have the best price on it if you preorder.
From Lost Highway Records:
The songs on American VI are drawn from all over the musical landscape and from various eras, and include Sheryl Crow’s moving “Redemption Day,” close Cash friend Kris Kristofferson’s “For The Good Times,” “Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound” by Tom Paxton, Bob Nolan’s “Cool Water,” the hopeful “Last Night I had the Strangest Dream” by Ed McCurdy, J.H. Red Hayes and Jack Rhodes’s “Satisfied Mind,” Queen Lili’uokalani’s song of farewell, “Aloha Oe,” and the never before heard Cash original, “I Corinthians: 15:55,” written over the last three years of his life.
And a review from the Independent:
As with A Hundred Highways, the song selection lacks the shock value of earlier volumes in the series, eschewing transformative covers like Cash’s version of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt” in favour of material that fits the ageing troubadour like well-worn-in boots. Once again, death stalks these songs, though this time it’s the singer’s own looming mortality, rather than the emotional trauma of his wife’s passing, which seems to haunt them. “Ain’t no grave can hold my body down,” sings Cash on the title-track, but the arrangement suggests otherwise, a funereal shuffle-slouch with plaintive banjo underpinned by sepulchral organ and a few portentous piano chords. Of course, it’s not Cash’s body that survives, but his art and his lingering stature as a giant of American music.
Posted in Culture | Tagged Johnny Cash
Here are a few shots I took of the new Highland jacket from Engineered Garments (previous post on it). The chambray fabric ended up being perfect for the warmer weather that we had in Seattle on Sunday.
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Not that Rogues Gallery, though the name did catch my eye when I was skimming through shelves at one of my local used bookstores this weekend. Published in 1969 by Edgar Parker, the children’s book has some fun illustrations that I couldn’t pass up.
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Posted in Books | Tagged Illustrations
1. Most of the high end glycerin-based shaving creams are functionally pretty much the same.
2. Pre-shave oils are a waste of money. Instead just rub a little bit of shaving cream on the skin before applying it with a brush.
3. Art of Shaving’s ingrown hair cream is the best on the market.
4. Alum blocks are rarely needed, but are still handy to keep around.
Since the early 1970’s, the Porsche Design Studio has produced a wide assortment of contemporary accessories, tools, and home goods (the group was founded by F.A. Porsche, and is a part of Porsche SE). Some were quite groundbreaking for their time and continue to influence designers today.
After all these years they’re still going strong, and my favorite pieces recently created by them that I use regularly are a santoku chef’s knife and a mechanical pencil (both are very comfortable to use for long periods of time). The lighters are quite cool as well.
Here are a few ads showing some of their creations from the 80’s and early 90’s. The older sunglasses in particular have a bit of a cult following and can fetch high prices through vintage dealers and ebay.
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Rin Tanaka’s Inspiration meetup took place down in LA last week and Albert Thomas was able do a great writeup and report from the event for Styleforum.net. Hopefully Rin will decide to do this again next year – I will definitely make the trip!
I’ll admit that I felt a bit out of the loop a year ago when I first heard of Rin Tanaka and his “My Freedamn!” book series which covered Americana elements from the 30s-70s of motorcycle, surf, hot rod, and hippie fashion scenes. It was a bit like finding out that Steve McQueen, Elvis Presley, Brian Wilson, and Jim Morrison had made a home movie documenting their road trip weekend binge in Las Vegas. When I got the call about the two-day show, I knew it wouldn’t take much coaxing to get me to trek down to that hangar in Santa Monica.
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Related: Previous post on Inspiration.
Image by Albert Thomas for Styleforum.net.
It’s apparently a piece from the early 90’s, and is made from rayon. The 10 gallon cowboy hat behind it is a great touch.
More info on Sartorially Inclined. The navy suede versions are going to be a hit.
New up on ralphlauren.com. The second outfit is the same one shown in Christian Chensvold’s recent article for Rake.
This chambray sport coat and pink gingham shirt combo is also noteworthy.
Found in an old issue of New York Magazine. Ralph Lauren reminisces about his upbringing, getting his start in fashion, and Brooks Brothers.
Some quotes:
Q: And where did you get the notion of Polo as an appropriate name?
A: I’ve always liked sports and athletics, and name were not important to me. I was not a guy that would wear a designer name. I wouldn’t wear Christian Dior, Bronzini, or any names of the names of that period. So I came up with my own style, which was a sport that had an aristocratic image, and that was Polo.
Q: What about the Japanese influence on fashion? Do you think that’s real, or media hype?
A: I think it’s real. You know, fashion is – that’s why I don’t like fashion – always looking for something new, something new to sell, something new to promote. I’m for anything that’s exciting, that’s interesting, that has individuality.
Q: What do you see in the future of evolution of fashion design, the nineties, the year 2000?
A: There are new technologies every day. As the new technology evolves, the clothes change, but people are still wearing warm tweeds, they wear cashmeres, they wear flannels, they wear scarves around the neck, they wear Chanel kind of shoes… People still need comfort, they need warmth, coziness, a sense of realness.
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Reproductions by The Real McCoy’s. Superdenim.co.uk has two of the jackets available (the M-65 and tanker).
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Completely missed this piece in the NYTimes from last week, but I’m glad I came across it today. Cathy Horyn writes about Cindy Ferrara, a clothing industry veteran who tells a story of how garment manufacturing and production has changed over the past several decades.
Once again, models are ready to strut and designers take their bows in the latest reenactment of the emperor’s new clothes. The back story of New York Fashion Week is far more interesting: an industry in turmoil, the drastic loss of local factories and suppliers, the manufacturing dominance of China and other countries, the gradual decline of technical expertise in the face of apparent consumer indifference about fit and quality. As usual, the story goes well beyond the limited world of runway collections.
Recently, over a meal at Ben’s deli on W. 38th Street, I spoke to Cindy Ferrara, a veteran production specialist, about her job and how the work has changed. The wingspan of her career is enormous. Now manager of product development and production at Danskin, a Moret Group brand, Ms. Ferrara first came to New York in the early 70s to buy fabrics for a shirt company she started as an Iowa college student. She learned her craft from experience, seizing opportunities as they came along—Bendel’s Studio, cutting coats for a furrier. She made her first production trips to China and Korea in the early 80s, for a now-defunct silk clothing label. She then spent 11 years on the production side of Liz Claiborne, initially with its dress division. She has seen the close of one era — the garment made and sold in the Garment District — and now, she says, she is seeing the end of another — the shift of technical skill, and gradually even design and merchandising, to other countries, mainly China. Here’s an edited transcript of our conversation. I’ve kept it long because I feel what Ms. Ferrara has to say is worthwhile.
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