Duckie Brown and Odin Release New Images of Edward
- story Chioma Nnadi
We’ve been following updates on Edward, the highly anticipated Duckie Brown/Odin Collaboration for months now, and a about a fortnight ago were treated to two lookbook images on WWD. New pictures are trickling in thick and fast of the collection which is said to be 17 pieces deep and all comfortably under a $500 price point. Edward will be in all Odin locations on November first, and the waxed cotton jacket and double-breasted charcoal number are the sharpest, most elegant antidote we can imagine to a Halloween night of Jabba the Hutt costumes and Pee-wee Herman impersonators.
Itemized: The Petit Bateau Mariniere shirt
- story Chioma Nnadi
Every week a different FADER staff member will pick a clothing item or accessory that he or she has lately been spending a lot of time with—or would like to—and write a little love letter to it. We would’ve done a column on who we’re dating but that seemed a little bit much. This week Chioma Nnadi writes about the Petit Bateau Mariniere shirt.
Designer Malia Sias Marks the Beast
- story Chioma Nnadi
If you’ve ever come face to face with a set of googly eyes staring up from a drain pipe, paper towel dispenser or condom vending machine, then you’re already familiar with the work of designer/artist Malia Sias. Her latest project, The Beast Mark, pays homage to her unwavering dedication to animal prints, with feline photo collage tees, beaded wolfman earrings and all the best wild girl pieces to build around the bestial look, like acid wash motorcycle jackets and skintight denim leggings. Alongside her new line of women’s wear, Sias blogs about animal kingdom fashions, diligently sourcing out four-legged thrift store art, pictures of Liberace in head-to-toe leopard skin suits, and lots and lots of doe-eyed creatures. We’re just waiting for the day that our trashcan gets plastered with hypnotic snake eyes.
Oi Polloi Brings in 1950s Back Packs
- story Chioma Nnadi
The phrase Oi Polloi comes from Greek and literally means “the many,” and to be honest the mind does boggle at the masses of rotating wares on the UK-based webstore. The shop’s physical location is in Manchester, England—they started in 2002 and since going online have exposed dudes worldwide to a stylish Northern English sensibility, one that calls for sturdy old school umbrellas and Paddington Bear toggle coats. Newly up on the site are these 1950s school backpacks by Great River Canoe Co. The yellow pendelton blanket joint has already, we’re told, sold out. Still, we’re also very partial to wearing a spot of plaid on our backs.
Fifty Years of an American Military Company and Our Winter Wardrobe
- story Chioma Nnadi
In a quick straw poll of the FADER office, we found that at least 75% of staffers will be using an authentic item of military clothing to get through what promises to be one of the most frigid winters in NY history. A large chunk of those pieces were probably produced by military clothing company Alpha Industries, with the the M-61, M-65 field jacket and USN peacoat ranking in our top three winter warmers. They recently put together a 50th anniversary book, The Alpha Story, which charts the history of pretty much every jacket, pant and bizarre protective hood they’ve ever made. The book is intensely nerdy and includes copies of 30-year-old government contracts and hand-written cost sheets—but it is also filled with weirdly compelling facts, for example did you know that your M-65 has a hidden triangular glove attachment to protect you against radioactive fallout? Either way, this book will definitely help when it comes to picking through the indestructible pile of flight jackets at our local army surplus.
Public School and The Invisible Man
- story Chioma Nnadi
Menswear line Public School have a muse of their own invention for spring 2010, a fictional character by the name of Eddie Red. He’s a young New York hustler circa 1975, a shadowy figure loosely inspired by Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man. Red’s monocle-eyed moodiness in the new lookbook is giving just the right amount of sartorial shade for next season, and hands down the best collection we’ve seen from the label thus far. After marinating on the collection for a bit—and all the glorious bleached denim and badass leather accessories (holsters, suspenders, hats)—we’ve supplanted their invisible man with our own interpretive muse, namely dancehall legend Shabba Ranks in his early-90s X-tra Naked heyday. In case you’d forgotten, Shabba rocked his monochrome looks with checkerboard stunners.
Oak’s Happy Hour Special
- story Alex Frank
When we spoke to Jeff Madalena and and Louis Terline of Oak for our 10th anniversary issue last year, opening a bar was still just a glimmer on the horizon. Blackout is now officially open, and in true Oak fashion, is bringing the best of the best tonight, with DJ sets from DFA and LCD Soundsystem whiz James Murphy, amongst others. We predict a bar filled with Brooklyn kids (and probably a few Manhattan folk too) dressed in asymmetrical black ensembles. And If you mostly can’t afford Oak’s pricey duds, like us, the promise of an hour of $3 well drinks tonight might be your best chance of buying into the Oak way of life.
Style Eye Candy at Backyard Bill’s
- story Siri Thorson
Of the millions of paparazzi-esque street style blogs on rotation in our RSS feed, photographer William Gentle aka Backyard Bill stands out as a man who likes to take his time. He hones in on just one smartly dressed guy or girl at a time, snapping them in pieces from their own wardrobe, on their own turf, and leaving each of his subjects with a beautifully executed fashion shoot of their very own. To top it off, each one of Bill’s pretty young things fills out a charmingly concise questionnaire. We’ve been hooked for a minute now, and recently Bill got familiar with extended FADER fam Mister Mort, resulting in an explosion of polka dot bowties, technicolored plaids—and the hats, oh the hats!
A Zine For The Finer Things
- story Alex Frank
England’s Manzine is a cheeky, well-written ode to the joys of shopping for gravy boats, antique linen shops, and the age-old domestic debate over what’s better, drying or washing the dishes after dinner—basically a masculine appreciation of the fairer, finer things in life. There’s a one-page story dedicated to a brand of biscuits called “Dorset Knob,” which seems less like an essay on crumpets and more like a 500-word chance to luxuriate in a cesspool of jokes. “Fancy a bit of Dorset Knob tonight, darling?” A little research on British slang will definitely enhance the uhm, comedy here.
Master-Piece Make Bags For Opening Ceremony
- story Chioma Nnadi
Tracking down a bag by Osaka-based accessory specialists Master-Piece
used to involve a Japanese translator, Paypal and a lot of eBay heartache—we were lucky enough to sniff out our awesome purple 60/40 back pack in a menswear store in Boston last fall. The label has been consistently making stylish but highly functional bags (no bells, no whistles) for the past 15 years, and the new collaboration with Opening Ceremony showcases everything we love about the line, especially the lovely suede color combos. Now the only question left is, do we keep carrying that heavy load on our backs? Or go with the nifty over-the-shoulder instead?
