I used to make fun of people who wore denim on the slopes, but Burton recently made it more functional with this first edition Gore-Tex LTD Grail Denim Jacket and Pant.

Denim alone is probably the worst thing you could wear in cold and wet conditions, however an exclusive collaboration with Gore-Tex gives Burton the sole rights for two years to use their technology that makes denim more snow ready.

Lining the denim with Gore-Tex lends water resistance, insulation and flexibility while pit zips provide an out when overheating. Ride off the slopes straight into the bar and you’ll fit right in with the aprés crowd.

The limited edition line is shipping to Burton stores now and should be on racks any day now, but act quick because supplies won’t last. You can also get it online at Burton. The Jacket goes for $600 and the pant $500.

Nike SB and the good people at Goodfoot hooked up for a little gang-bang action of the shoe design variety to produce the Strange Brew pack in celebration of the canuck cult classic’s 24th anniversary. Don’t be a goof, put your goodest foot forward and check them out at your local Goodfoot branch.

Info.Image: Complex

Parra, of Rockwell Clothing, has designed a special t-shirt in honor of Stones Throw Records’ nationwide 2K Sports Bounce Tour. The shirt comes in white or black and features a specially designed Stones Throw logo. The shirt will be sold exclusively on the tour so check the Stones Throw site for the dates nearest you.

Info.Image: Stones Throw Records

by Christene Barberich and Piera Gelardi

With holiday globe-trotting right around the corner, we found it to be the perfect time to scour our favorite sources to bring you a range of bags that make keeping it together an easy feat. Take your pick from winter’s chicest crop of handbags.

From left: Andarei Fede Black Patent Handbag, $550, at Revolve Clothing; Obesity and Speed Hobo Bag, $105, available at Obesity and Speed; Hope Envelope Clutch, $245, available in New York at Bird, 430 Seventh Avenue, Brooklyn; 718-797-3776.

From left: BOYY Augustus Bag, $670, available at Boyy Club; Mike & Chris Langston bag in Whiskey, $745, available at Barneys New York; Barbour Waxed Cotton Utility Bag, $190, available in New York at Steven Alan.

See all 11
on Refinery29.

In today’s trend of collaborations, those on the apparel side of things have been pumping out the mash-ups with every Japanese label imaginable.  That is why Rocksmith is the newest, with Masterpiece to bring you this series of shiny lightweight jackets.  Not quite as shiny of Puffy and Mase back in ‘97, but still enough to draw some attention.  Available now, in a variety of colors, at Essense for about $330 USD.

Info.Image:  Essense via Hypebeast

Maison Martin Margiela launches its first line of sunglasses, aptly called “L’Incognito.”

Produced by Italian eyewear manufacturer Marcolin, the women’s sunglasses come in black, brown, mirrored, and transparent, and are constructed from ultra-light injected polycarbonate that provides 100 percent UV protection.

Based on the superior performance of the Audioengine 5s we were excited when their new smaller desktop speakers arrived and they don’t disappoint. Like their predecessors, Audioengine 2s are powered speakers constructed of wood featuring a silk tweeter and a newly updated kevlar woofer which makes for the same impressive bass and satisfyingly rich sound—but packed into a third of the size (approximately 6″x4″x5.5″).

The sounds is truly impressive for their size and they look great on a desk, though they might work better on a shelf—though they’re video shielded, we’ve run into problems with mobile phone interference. I also think they might be a little more well-suited for desktop use if the power and volume controls were more easily accessible.

Otherwise, for music snobs, the mini Audioengines are a great addition to a workspace or would be perfect for use with TVs, portable players, video games or anything with an 1/8″ mini or RCA jack.

Available in white or black, the Audioengine 2s come with all cables and a three-year warranty for $200 from Audioengine.

Also on Cool Hunting: iPod Speakers, Part I, iPod Speakers, Part II

Dr. Romanelli x Andrew Brandou x Maharishi have linked up to produce some masterful work within the realms of fashion and art. Dr. Romanelli has continued to widen the lane he has created and this time around he brings along Andrew Brandou to provide an artistic backdrop as the final touch. The clothing and paintings will debut at London’s Maharishi space on the 22nd of November so mark your calendars.

Info.Image: SlamXhype

Aki Hoshino is one of Japan’s most successful and celebrated bikini models, thus is comes as no surprise to see that KIKS TYO has featured her on a tee with some sneakers dangling around her chest and back. This tee is the perfect fit for those nights when you are home alone in your bedroom playing Mario Galaxy and listening to rap music.

Info.Image: Hypebeast

As you may have noticed Barneys Girl and I haven’t blogged a lot about fashion trends recently. Mostly, it’s because we haven’t been particularly inspired. Doesn’t it seem like you can wear last FW’s clothes and still seem fashionable this season? There is one trend that we have been loving from last season and it continues this season -the ankle boots.

I’m not a particularly exciting person and I like to know that I can use my expensive shoes (my so-called investment items,) over and over again, so after searching for two seasons, I finally found my perfect pair of boots. I love the shape and the leather is so gorgeous. They’re comfortable too (-Prada). Obviously they would be more practical if they weren’t so high-heeled, but I guess it’s time I learn how to walk in high heels!

The other pair that I am loving this season are these Aldo boots (right). They look suspiciously like the pair of Louboutins (left) I was drooling over last FW. I love the Aldo pair so much that I’ve tried them on in LA and Chicago, but I didn’t get them because I had already bought the first pair by then. They are so easy to put on, plus they cost only 100usd!

While browsing on the Aldo website I noticed this pair of boots. I realise that not everyone has adapted to the recent round-toe shoe trend, so this is for those who still like pointy shoes.

Meet this year’s Louboutins, the Metallika. It looks like leather wrapped artistically around feet!

These Gucci boots are such stylish winter boots. (I feel warm and fuzzy and stylish just by looking at them!) I’m not a big fan of suede (esp since it rains so much in London,) but this brown is such a fantastic shade.

Even though I don’t like that the zippers are in the front of these KG boots, I like the shape of the toe area. You see the way it hooks up? It reminds me of this season’s Stella McCartney pumps that I’ve been staring at over at Net-a-Porter.

And finally, this season’s major trend -patent leather. Shiny, patent leather risks the possiblity of looking tacky, but this pair is just classy. Sigh, isn’t this pair of Miu Miu so gorgeous?

These basic boots are perfect for almost all outfits. They can go with jeans, pants and even mini-dresses/ skirts, so they’re a must-buy for this season, (that is if you didn’t buy a pair last season!)

Image credits: www.net-a-porter.com, www.aldoshoes.com, www.kurtgeiger.com, www.saksfifthavenue.com

“No helicopter looking for a murder, Two in the morning got the fat burger, Even saw the lights of the goodyear blimp, And it read ice cubes a pimp” ahhh the good ol’ days. I can’t personally see myself rocking a can of chicken noodle soup on a t-shirt but the Ice Cube’s a Pimp tee is a definite cop. Cop the tees over at Boundless.
Info.Image: Boundless via Hypebeast

Out of all the November SB’s, I think the “Bloody Sunday” Dunk High takes the cake.From the pic it looks like a quality shoe with quality materials that actually make sense with the design. The other November releases include the “November Rain” Mid, the “Pigeon” P-rod II, and the Unitedfront pack of Zoom Air Harbor and Zoom Team Editions. These should be hitting your SB retailers real soon so get ya paper up quick.

Info.Image: Nike SB via Hypebeast

by Passa Chattra

The guys at Warrior teamed up with Pollen Design in NYC to come up with the ultimate solution for Hockey and Lacrosse players. The Warrior Black Hole “Funk Off” Fan Bag features a mesh opening on one end and a a die-cast industrial (and removable) exhaust fan that draws out the moist, sweaty air inside the bag, drying used equipment in just a few hours. For those who don’t know, Warrior is like the Burton of the Hockey/ Lacrosse world.

The protective gear of a Hockey or Lacrosse player is difficult to wash due to its size and materials, therefore it rarely gets cleaned. Typically a player would air out their 30-40 lbs of wet, sweaty equipment in a spare bedroom or garage. But after a long, exhausting game, many players are too tired to properly air out the gear. The zipped-up bag breeds bacteria, mold, fungus etc. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) actually issued a warning that advises proper care of sports equipment to prevent health risks. If you’ve ever had to live with, or just walk past one of these equipment bags, you know that the odor could burn the hairs right out of your nose.

Made of ballistic nylon, the bag will survive the battering of the hockey/lacrosse lifestyle. “Funk Off” Lacrosse version was introduced earlier this month, the hockey version will be available in January. As the folks at Warrior put it, “This bag blows.” Available for $108 at Lacrosse.

The wardrobe staple, dress shirts are essential whether you are trying to achieve the preppy look or you need it for work. And they are literally every. There will be at least one dress shirt type thing in any store you walk in. But when it comes to finding the perfect one, that is when it gets tricky.
When I first got into the business of finding a dress shirt, I fell into the trap of buying a pretty and structured one. I mean, the line between dress shirts being manly and feminine is thin, so I thought I’d err on the excessive side and find a highly feminine one. And that is how I now have not one, but TWO, v necked structured dress shirts in my wardrobe from Ted Baker that looks terrible on me- kind of like these two here from Express above (Ted Baker must have seen the error of his ways and stopped producing them, because they were nowhere to be found on his site).

Not that it doesn’t look good, but this design is VERY hard to wear- especially when one has a flat chest like me. The fit everywhere else is fine except the chest part, which has an awkward spacious puff because I have nothing to fill that area with. And because of the structured design, there is no way around it, pulling it down does not help and it gets darn uncomfortable in the long run. Therefore if you have a small chest like me- please, DON’T buy v-necked dress shirts no matter how pretty they look. And I heard that the other extreme is not fun either. i.e. if you have a larger chest, you have the problem of having unseemly big gaps in between the buttons. You could wear a tank top underneath I guess, but that gets kind of hot.

So girls, next time you go looking for a dress shirt, beware of these traps and make sure that it FITS you perfectly and comfortably before buying- as hard as finding a perfectly fitted and comfortable dress shirt is. No wonder so many of my working friends get their’s made!

Image Source: Express

The New Balance x Sneakers N’ Stuff M577’s dropped a couple of days ago at the Sneakers N’ Stuff online shop and they’re going pretty quickly. Only 252 pairs were released and I’m sure the numbers are growing increasingly low, so hurry up if you need em’.

Info.Image: High Snobiety

BRISBANE’s uni students are swapping faded jeans and old rugby tops for some serious designer labels, writes The Courier-Mail’s Elizabeth Tilley.

Adidas has decided to unleash the beast with their latest kicks, dubbed the Animal Pack.  This beastly group includes 2 classic Adidas silhouettes, the Americana Mid Lux & the Stan Smith, and features unique animal-like applications to the sneakers upper.  The Americana Mid Lux is modeled after a wolf and is trimmed in fur along the collar, while the Stan Smith draws inspiration from the stingray and has a upper that resembles its pebbled skin.  You can get these now at Sold Out.

Info.Image:  We Sold Out via Hypebeast

Taking sneaker obsessions to another level, this Clear Box, by Japanese designer Neo, is actually useful when choosing which shoes to wear and good-looking—well, depending on which pair you have in there.

Perfect for those who have a grip of sneakers or even just to display a prized possession, we think the plexiglass box would make for good stock packaging for a sneaker company looking to up the ante. Until then pick one up for €65 from We Sold Out.

via Highsnobiety

The days of using Polaroids to tell which sneakers are in the box are over. Japanese designer Neo, has just released the 100% plexiglass sneaker box over at Soldout for 65 Euros. So if you want to showcase ya’ favorite kicks or you’re just tired of the brown box look Neo’s got you covered.

Info.Image: Sold Out via High Snobiety

New Balance’s latest sneaker model, the MT576V “Thunder God” is a hybrid combining the upper of the classic 576 sneaker and the midsole of the Japanese favorite MT580. The Thunder God drops Saturday Nov. 3rd and will be available from Mita for $155 USD.

Info. Image: Hypebeast

I am constantly amazed at my mom’s ability to be so up to date with the latest going ons in fashion. Her latest discovery are the trendy dresses at Vivienne Tam. Surprising isn’t it? I’ve always related her style as western with oriental influence and wouldn’t exactly call it trendy. So when my mom told me she’d bought me a dress from there, I was like, what?
Luckily for me, the dresses over at Vivienne Tam seems to have gone through a revival and are much trendier than I’d imagined. The dress my mom got me was this one, except mine is black and made of a woolish material. Now to be honest, when I first saw the dress (and identified it as this one in the catalog), I didn’t like it very much. It was past my knees and it has the most awkwardly positioned tie thing in the middle. That is not exactly the most flattering cut. But after playing around with it, I’ve tied it at the waist, such that a little puffy effect is created and is shorter, which is kind of cute with ankle boots!
This of course got me looking into the rest of the catalog and now I am lusting for more Vivienne Tam dresses! They have more simple casual (kind of shift) dresses. I especially love the grey one in the middle. The color is also so nice and wintery without being too black.

And check out those silver Mary Janes! I WANT a pair. They look so perfect in the winter with all these cute short dresses!
For something more sophisticated, there are these more polished creations. The dress on the right is my favourite! The bottom frills gives it just the right touch of girliness to the otherwise sophisticated and simple design.
Something a little more fun, there are these printed dresses. The rich silver brocade dress is so adorable! And as a side note, I really like that look on the far right (sorry about the bad scanning). Its so simple to achieve too. All I need is to go out and get myself a cute printed mini!

Hailing a brief mention in one of Ami’s postings a couple weeks back I decided to find out more about the web based T-shirt company Bountee. With less than a year’s uptime, the company’s fast becoming a top contender in the online t-shirt industry. Offering pre-designed prints in their gallery which are uploaded and voted on by the online community, as well as the option to create and sell your own designs, this two pronged approach seems to solve all the traditional problems associated with silkscreen methods. With no set up charges, a user-friendly interface and the option for single units and short-runs it seems they’ve mastered the art of on-demand printing. Using a “Direct to garment” printing method, in which graphics are literally printed directly onto the tees, Bountee offers unlimited numbers of colors, gradient printing and a turn around time that a traditional screenprinter would scowl at! If you like what you see at their website feel free to use the code “lovecoolhunting” at checkout for 15% off your order. To delve deeper Bountee’s Steve Hunt was kind enough to answer a few questions

Who came up with the business model/idea and why?

Bountee was really born out of a couple of other t-shirt sites that I used to run. I actually studied fashion illustration back in the day and really enjoyed the freedom that t-shirt design offered, but having to squeeze design work into my spare time on evenings and weekends really didn’t fit with the day job and I was gradually spending less and less time designing and more time fixing code and answering emails—basically doing day-to-day website running tasks and not enough sketching.

What I really wanted was a service that would take the hassle out of website owning and shirt printing for me while still allowing me freedom to pretty much design what and when I wanted.

I’d always been interested in on demand printing (especially as it considerably reduces overhead/outlay as a designer), but was never really impressed with the vinyl and transfer methods that some of the other, big “print on demand” websites offered. Both of my sites used the same techniques and it was a little embarrassing to be honest and I didn’t really have an interest in printing mugs or mouse mats either. I had heard vague rumblings about a newer technology based on ink-jet printing, so I hooked up with a couple of friends and we starting talking around the idea of a website that pretty much ran itself and would cost nothing for the designer to get started. This beta version of Bountee is the first step along that path really…

In fact, as a designer I don’t need anything to start selling t-shirts now, except for ideas and a graphics program capable of producing vector artwork. It’s almost too easy now!

As for the business model, one core aspect of the site that we are proud of is our Terms and Conditions, especially our views on copyright, which have never changed since the day we sat down and started sketching stuff out. We own nothing of the designs that get sold through our website, and everything belongs to the designer.

We see a lot of sites these days paying a few hundred bucks for exclusive use of a design and basically locking the designer out of any future profit, and that kind of rankled with us. Sure we make some money off of each sale, but the key to Bountee is that the greater chance for profit from each individual sale is with the designer; the creator. And if a designer decides that he or she wants to go off and print a hundred of their designs and pimp them to their local shirt store, then who are we to stop ‘em?

Our model is pretty simple really. We hope that in time we will have earned the respect and trust of the designer so that they keep using the site and to keep working with us.

Tell us a bit about your printing method (as opposed to silk screening)?

Continue reading…

The always festive Disney Co. and Japanese clothing label, Roen have joined in on the Halloween antics with this new Mickey Mouse t-shirt.   This take of the iconic mouse features prints on both front and rear, custom tag & ripped/distressed areas on the sleeve and bottom seam.  Look for this to drop on Halloween @ 12:00 am (Japanese time) for $209 USD at Crown Jewel. 

Info.Image:  Crown Jewel via Hypebeast

Don’t know what to wear to that upcoming costume party, but absolutely HATE dressing up in full costume?  The dudes at New Era got your cranium covered with their three-cap Monster Series.  Making up the group are “Brain Stew”, “Mr. Sockets” & “Split Personality”; all featuring different embroidery elements to make the given names come to life.  Happy Bag-Snatching Day!!

Inspired by a silk dress, the wrapping for a new Neiman Marcus store in Boston undulates and folds around the building.

Neiman’s philosophy is that every store should look completely different from every other of their stores. In line with this, the wrap to this outlet in Boston is made from patches of stainless steel knitted together and is 40 feet high and the length of two football fields.

The secret is in the subtle change of colors and the way that they are merged together, creating the breezy look of a silk skirt. Apparently it’s modeled on a particular dress, one that the architect Howard Elkus of Boston firm Elkus Manfredi once designed for his wife to wear to a music festival in England.

For more inspiration, I turned to the streets. More specifically, celebs and current pop culture icons.
First off are Lindsay Lohan’s outfits for Halloween 2006. Her aerobics outfit is not bad. And as for the other one…well I guess it IS Halloween and looking slutty is a prerogative. After all, didn’t they say in Mean Girls that Halloween was an excuse for girls to look let their slutty side out?
More inspiring and less slutty, I love Hilary Duff’s gypsy idea. And I think if one is to go for the aerobics look, Haylie Duff knows how to do it. The colors and accessories match perfectly, everything just looks so cute! Also, she doesn’t look like she forgot to put pants on i.e. Lohan above.
One of the sources of inspiration for Halloween I believe are movies. Last year it was probably Marie Antoinette and Memoirs of a Geisha. So I tried to think of all the thematic movies out this year…. there weren’t that many:Harry Potter, Spider Man- too cliche. Finally, I settled on the Pirates of the Caribbean and Hairspray. For Pirates, you can either go for Kiera’s whole Chinese pirate look (not that I think Chinese pirates dress that way) or go for a more simple Pirate look i.e. loose white short, black skinny pants, captain hat, compass and sword. And for Hairspray- 60’s fashion and BIG HAIR.
And last but not least, we can all take inspiration from Marc last year and try the Ugly Betty look. I bet you they probably sell that poncho somewhere by now. And for something highly imitable with a trip to Walgreens, there is Betty’s Halloween costume last year.

And these are all my more “creative” ideas so far. Betty Boop, cowgirl, Greek Goddess (actually not bad), playboy bunny, Barbie, Elle Woods, goth, Edie Segwick, pinup girl, Dita von Teese, cheerleader, preppy, American flag, zombie, hobo also comes to mind. But they didn’t strike me as very easily achievable or creative. Any more smart and creative ideas to share?

Out of East London, the-affair is not just another t-shirt label interested in fashion. They do a good job blending social commentary and design to create a statement that goes deeper than the typical tee.

Exploring themes like the futility of religious intolerance, Muslim Jesus (above left) just looks like another image of Jesus, but take a closer look and you’ll notice that Islamic crescents make up the image. Their MiniLuv t-shirt (above right) is another take on our present cultural paradigm. Taking references from Orwell’s 1984 and the Ministry of Love, the t-shirt comments on the Big Brother attitude of late.

Each design is printed on American Apparel t-shirts and limited to a run of 200, so head over to the-affair quick and get yours for £25.

FYSH Clothing Co. will be drops a series of fitteds on their online store. These fitteds are made from scratch under the FYSH Clothing brand. Featuring FYSH’s monogram underneath the brim, embroidered logo in the back, lifesaver sizing sticker, and a large embroidered whale, there are three colors to choose from: red, black, and aqua

Alife has just released their Fall apparel and Haven is one of the first stockists to carry it. Besides the IRAK crew neck collaboration, the other pieces are pretty basic. The difference lies in the quality materials that the garments are produced from. Check out Haven to cop. I’m sure other stockists shall be receiving their shipments soon.

Info.Image: Haven

AP - Liz Lange, the clothing designer who helped transform maternity clothing from boring to chic, once suffered from cervical cancer, she tells Glamour magazine.

We’ve always respected the way Nike maintains sport culture as one of their core values and their upcoming Supersonic race puts those values at the forefront of their marketing efforts by throwing a party requiring at least some athleticism to enter. If you think you’re fast and quick—fast would be a 1k race, quick would be a 100m sprint—you’ll need to be both in order to attend Nike+’s exclusive event.

Promising a rave-like atmosphere, on the night of 17 November 2007 at a classified London venue, 1000 people will sprint a lit up 1k course, cheered on by 2,000 of their friends. At the finish line, the invite only bash will feature some of the U.K.’s biggest bands. The catch is, to get that invite, you have to compete for tickets at 100m speed trials held in and around London throughout October. The first one is this Friday, 12 October 2007, in Finsbury Park (North London) at 5:30pm sharp. Each race will feature live DJs and the opportunity to demo some new Nike gear.

The fastest 1000 (500 guys, 500 girls) will receive a race pack including an iPod nano, Nike+ Sport Kit, a pair of limited edition Nike Zoom Jasari (pictured left) and a coveted invite to the party along with two guest passes for their loudest supporters.

To register for trial events, see videos and learn more about the event, visit the Supersonic Myspace page.

First speed trial: 12 October 2007 at 5:30pm
Finsbury Gate
Seven Sisters Road
London N4 map

Even before Hot Topic pretty much ruined any kind of legit fandom, wearing a concert tee (unless is was a homemade “This is Not a Fugazi T-shirt” or Mr. Bungle’s rare sort-of subtle masturbation celebration) was a sell out move. That’s why we particularly appreciate U.K. t-shirt maker Worn By’s AKA line of tees that pay homage to bands by referencing names they had before they made it big, names they played under for secret shows and that kind of thing.

Wearing one is a way to play the “in the know” qualifier game and the outré names themselves, like “Bingo Hand Job” (aka R.E.M.), add a general WTF appeal.

We also like how some of the designs play on the graphic design associated with the bands as we know them, for example “Polka Tulk” (Black Sabbath) and ” Johnny and the Moondogs” (The Beatles). Others, like “Stiff Fingers,” timed to coincide with the release of “Control,” the new feature about the band in their later incarnation, is more interpretive.

The AKA series runs £28 a pop from
Worn By.

Also on Cool Hunting: To Be Confirmed Spring/Summer 2007

Reuters - Breast augmentation? Hair extension?
Body tanning? Ziba has done it all in Islamic Iran, where only
a woman's face and hands should be visible and the garments she
wears in public must hide her curves.

If you haven’t peeped Supreme’s Fall/Winter line already then do so quickly, and seek out the hoodies that bear the same crest that is featured on this beautiful fitted hat.  This Crest Logo New Era will be available in 4 colors (red, purple, black & turquoise) to complement your chilly weather gear to the fullest.

Info.Image:  High Snobiety

BETSEY JOHNSON
263 W. 38th St., between Seventh and Eighth Avenues; (212) 391-6495
Sale: Oct. 5
Open: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Party dresses, separates and accessories are 80 percent off. Strapless sequin cocktail dress, $95 (reg. $375).

FRENCH CONNECTION
Metropolitan Pavilion, 110 W. 19th St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues
(212) 221-3157
Sale: through Oct. 7
Open: Fri., 9 a.m.-7 p.m./Sat., Sun., 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Their first sample sale in 3 years, go check out marked down outerwear, shoes, knitwear and accessories, which start at $40.

Spring 2008 Ready-to-wear: Reviews and complete collections for all the major shows AND Spring 2008 Preview: Sarah Mower previews London fashion week.

AP - Nan Kempner was a clotheshorse extraordinaire: closets and closets full of haute couture. During a three-day auction, many would-be fashionistas were able to snatch up some of the socialite’s fineries, paying from $125 to upward of $11,000.

The STD crew has been on vacation for a while. Well, no one went on vacation, actually. In fact, no one made it 30 blocks past their front door (except Kemp Illups, he needed to hit some fixed-gear bicyclists with his pickup truck) because everyone in the STD crew is too fucked up to comprehend Velcro, let alone a transit map. But six weeks later, the STD crew is back to explain why Parisians are whore-mongers and why Kanye West fans are gaylords.

50 Cent
Curtis

TOP EIGHT REASONS 50 IS A GAYLORD:

8. Have you seen that nigga’s abs?
7. 50’s the only man in Hollywood who has not taken sexual advantage of drunken Britney Spears.
6. Something, something, Cam’Ron – no homo.
5. Have you seen that nigga’s eyebrows?
4. Vitamin Water.
3. Remember 50’s photos from GQ Magazine – exactly.
2. 50’s protégé is named Hot Rod.
1. STOP DRY SNITCHING!

–Kemp Illups

We Are Wolves
Total Magique

American douche bags say, “You’re a Canadian, eh!? Eh!” as if the Canadian pastime is grunting broken English like fucking cave-people. We Are Wolves says, “Fuck ‘eh’ saying Americans and their petite canines.” Well, that may not be true, as, sometimes, We Are Wolves sing in French – for all English speaking Americans know, We Are Wolves may be reading the ingredients from a box of Tide. All the same, American girls love this Montreal group for their oh-so-cute accents and their nonlinear fashion. Ugh, Total Magique, totally, dude!

– Paxil Smarts

Arctic Monkeys
Favourite Worst Nightmare

Surely the best ever band to come out of England since the Beatles, well maybe not, but they played on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show so that has to be a good thing. Whether the audience understood any of their lyrics is open to debate, but they are from the steel city of Sheffield, so they can be forgiven that.

- Ben Williams

Liars
Liars

To non-Los Angeles residents, the city is douchy: smog; whores; gangs; taco stands; Magic Johnson; Hollywood; American Apparel; and pornography, just to name a few! But the city is not all fixed-gear bikes and shitty graffiti – there is rock music, too! Lairs Liars dispel the city’s douche-isms with kick ass rock on their self-titled album. Listen to “Protection” four times, tap a Polish woman’s head twice, shotgun two Canadian beers and Mike Mills will appear.

– Beef Curtains

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
100 Days, 100 Nights

Firstly, fuck Mark Ronson for swagger jacking the Dap Kings from Sharon Jones for that pickle eating ho, Amy Winehouse – someone had to say it, again and again. 100 Days, 100 Nights is yesteryear’s soul music, today! It is amazing that so much soul exists in a woman that is five-foot-nothing. 100 Days, 100 Nights is truly unique for its funky gospels, a rarity in 1960, let alone 2007. The conviction in Jones’ lyrics and powerful vocals – vocals that make people shiver – makes Jones the undisputed champion of soul music 2007. In a fist fight, well, look out Amy Winehouse – pickle bagger!

–Kemp Illups

Kanye West
Graduation

TOP EIGHT REASONS KANYE WEST FANS ARE GAYLORDS:

8. Kanye fans were, at some point in time, Will Smith fans.
7. Kanye fans are too naive to pick up on all the trends Kanye bites.
6. Kanye fans wear Abercrombie and Fitch.
5. Kanye fans are too Kanye-gaga to realize he cannot rhyme.
4. Kanye fans are too drunk to realize that “Drunk And Hot Girls” is about them.
3. Kanye fans think Takashi Murakami is a city in Japan.
2. Kanye fans are two years away from graduation – high school graduation.
1. Kanye fans often think Kenya was named after Kanye.

–Kemp Illups

Knocked Up

Some movies have stories that are so far fetched it’s hard to like them. Knocked Up has one of those stories, but for some reason it just work, think 40 Year Old Virgin spliced with Three Men and a Baby, it’s hilarious with a bit of true to life edge.

The film finds slacker, stoner and general lay-about, Ben Stone (Seth Rogen), and television personality, Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl), having a one night stand and conceiving a baby after she goes out to a club to celebrate her big new promotion. The fact that she keeps the baby and also wants to make a go of things with Ben makes things seem a little too perfect, but there are some genuine emotional moments that really make this movie stand out. The fact that Alison seems to be contemplating a termination before seeing a scan of the embryo brings an air of realness to it. Realizing he’s going to be a dad, Ben tries his best to become a new man and leaves his drug addled, slightly weird but very funny friends behind. This helps to flesh out the film as well as the characters and help to make it a more rounded film, although it does add to the running time especially towards the end.

Knocked Up may be termed as the funniest adult comedy for years, but Knocked Up provides the laughs, as well the drama to be the major surprise of the year.

- Ben Williams

2 Days In Paris

Is Adam Goldberg’s character, Jack, a neurotic American boyfriend or is Julie Deply’s character, Marion, a Parisian whore who confirms Jack’s jealous suspicions? Wait a minute, 2 Days In Paris is larger than two New Yorkers in a two-year relationship who take their summer vacation in Italy and return to Paris for a two day layover; 2 Days In Paris is a sociopolitical evaluation into why George Bush fed hot dogs and hamburgers to France’s President, Nicolas Sarkozy – a presidency that may mark the end of the American Empire. Or, wait, is 2 Days In Paris really about ordering fast foot in Paris: “No English? Ugh, moo, moo,” mimic shotgun sounds, “double,” says Jack who ultimately has to point at a photo to get what he wants. (Note: Jack was not impressed when Marion’s father, Jeannot, fed him baby rabbit.)

What Jack wants is for Marion’s ex-boyfriends to stop groping her with sexy, sexy French words that may be innocent, but for all Jack knows, these rude French men are talking about fingering her and it is drive Jack in-fucking-sane!

The beauty of 2 Days In Paris are the definitions of what is socially expectable when two cultures collide: Marion’s parents (played by Deply’s real parents) have threesomes; Marion’s father creates crass, boarder line pornographic paintings; and Marion’s ex-boyfriend, Manu, invites himself to stay in Jack’s New York apartment, after telling Jack he was Marion’s first sexual partner.

Thomas Appleton said it best, “Good Americans, when they die, go to Paris.”

The self-actualization of Jack and Marion’s relationship sadly grips emotions – think after being dumped by “the one” – in a whirlwind of he said, she said arguments that are too real for the American romantic comedy formula.

Bottom line: Deply’s directorial debut may be her slept on masterpiece.

- Kemp Illups

Never knew what to wear with those, uh, toeless boots that are everywhere this season? Here’s the solution: Tall toeless socks / leggings lite — $85 at Marni.com.

Manuel Angot, of Art Force One, like so many others made a natural transition into sneaker customization, although his transition was more natural than most : “I had a new pair of Air Force 1’s and my marker pen fell down and splashed on my new shoes. The rendering was kind of nice actually, like symmetrical stains.”

Manuel is clearly an optimist (how many sneakerheads would be delighted at stains on their shoes?) and this is reflected in his color selection, made up almost exclusively of neon colors. After recent collabs with Atmos, ALIEN, and Nike, Manuel is back to what he does best - making shoes look like discoballs.

“It makes me super happy when someone who bought one of my pairs tells me that it is exhibited in his living room.”

Format: Before customizing sneakers, you were already a part of the street art industry in France. Please discuss the work you did before customizing sneakers.
Manuel: Before painting on sneakers I used to do graffiti. I had my first encounter with this art in 1988/89 in Paris. I was looking at the bombed trains next to where my uncle lived and I’d copy all that on papers. Then in 1994 I started to put up on my own.

Format: Being that you were already addicted to sneakers, why did it take so long before you started customizing shoes?
Manuel: It all started as a mistake once, when I was tagging in the metro. I had a new pair of Air Force 1’s and my marker pen fell down and splashed on my new shoes. The rendering was kind of nice actually, like symmetrical stains

Format: You use an extremely bright palette. What attracts you to these colours?
Manuel: Fell into the Sneakers thing in 1990 /1991 and my addiction for that got soon confirmed when the Air Tech Challenge and the Command Force with their pumping system and all their fluo colours appeared, it was mad! It’s precisely that type of sneakers—that era—that I’m retranslating into my customs, these incredible colours that remind me of my childhood.

Format: What exactly is Art Force One?
Manuel: Art Force One it’s the name of my company and my brand that I built with my wife who is also a sneaker addict. We decide to give the name “Force One” to the tribute of the emblematic model Air Force One, the first pairs that our moms bought us, and “Art” you can guess it’s for my works.

Format: For many people, the amount of colours you use, and the variety, make your shoes beautiful, but unwearable. How do you feel about that?
Manuel: Well it’s more than a pair of sneakers, it’s like a painting! It makes me super happy when someone who bought one of my pairs tells me that it is exhibited in his living room, it’s crazy! And as I said , for me Art Force One is a colour, my colour, it’s kind of hard for me to explain it.

Format: Many customizers add materials and modify the shoe when developing shoes whereas you generally do not. Why do you work primarily with paint as opposed to other materials?
Manuel: Yes, I have the plan to add materials. It’s just that I really love painting on sneakers, sometimes people say that I do too much. But, yeah 2008 will be a year full of surprises and even a little futuristic.

Format: What separates your work from other shoe customizers?
Manuel: My magic fingers.

Format: Recently you presented your work at Who’s Next in Paris. Please describe this experience.
Manuel: The Who’s Next, it’s like the Magic in Vegas. I had the opportunity to be selected by many designers to present my work as a customizer and present my new clothing line.
It was cool. We met a lot of people from all over Europe during this week.

Format: What was your experience like working with Nike for the 25th anniversary of the AF1?
Manuel: It wasn’t the first time that Nike France contacted me for an event but this time it was more exciting because it was for the book “Paris in Force” for the anniversary of the AF1. A book it’s immortal. I was very proud to be the person who represented the France for the customization. It’s the kind of experience that you can’t forget.

More Info: http://www.art-force-one.com/

Here we have some more hot shit from JAME from the CRNX Crew over in Switzerland. Someone needs to collab with this man for some gear quick. I predict nothin’ but great things.

Info.Image: Wooster

If you are what you eat and like to wear it on your sleeve (or in this case around your neck), the bacon scarf makes a fitting accessory for metaphor-mixing bacon lovers. Made from 100% acrylic, it may not be the classiest of bacon scarves but what it lacks in quality it makes up with taste. Pick it up for $35 from Shopsin’s General Store.

Thanks to Sterling for the tip!

Also on Cool Hunting: BLT Ring

Not just made in China, these shoes were actually conceived of in the Middle Kingdom as well. For decades, the simple hi-tops have been the footwear of choice for Chinese miners, farmers, construction and factory workers. Called Tian Lang (Mandarin for “Skywolf”) Trainers were originally produced in central China close to the Shaolin Temple in the Henan province 50 years ago. The new apparel company Ospop now works with the Tian Lang factory, making them available for the rest of the world.

Originally designed for the worker, they’re extremely comfortable shoes with an insole usually used in athletic shoes. They’ve got a clean industrial-look, made with a twice vulcanized outsole and tough canvas. The character on the side means labor or work and if it can take the abuse of a mine worker, we’re pretty sure it can withstand the meanest streets around your city or town.

Available in three different colors, check them out here. Each purchase supports an education fund for those in the Tian Lang area who lack the necessary means for their first year of university studies. Check with Ospop in the near future for purchasing details and dealers.

Manu Angot has become pretty well known in recent years for his Manu Customs. Specializing in hand-painted designs on everything from shoes to electronics, Manu has created quite a name for himself with his brand Art Force One.

On our recent trip to Paris, we discovered that there was more to Manu than Nikes and Reeboks. Walking into Aimecube in the 1st Arrondisement, we were immediately drawn to a row of beautifully bright-colored sneakers embellished with iconic graphics.

But these were no big, padded sport shoes, these were the most simple narrow leather shoes we had ever laid our eyes on. In colors including yellow, teal, and burgundy, and covered with fresh graphics of everything from sunglasses to screwdrivers, the shoes strike a perfect balance between classic Keds-like style and funky flare.

Prices are in the range of €200, but outside of Aimecube we don’t have any info on where you can get your hands on a pair.

AP - “No chemise please,” pleaded the refrain of a pop tune, referring to the sack dress which thrilled women and dismayed men in the 1950s.

THE Australian market is key to Marni and you can expect an influx of searingly-bright fluoro red darted sack dresses as retailers copy their latest designs.

News about the Lacoste x Kidrobot collaboration has already hit the streets, but now we pics of the limited toys that accompany the sneakers.  Designed by eBoy for the special union, these toys feature an enlarged Lacoste logo and come in 3 different colorways. 

Info.Image:  High Snobiety

Quite possibly one of the most prolific sneakers of all time, the Air Max 95, has now just been added to the Nike Members Only Store!  In case you didn’t already know, the Members Only Store has WAY more materials and special colors to choose from… making your next iD experience that much crazier.  Register today to get in on the action.

Info.Image:  Nike via High Snobiety 

MomiMomi has consistently been one of CH’s most-liked t-shirt lines, so we’re happy to see that one of the designers is going green with his new line, Green Tee Clothing Company. Now based in Florida, designer Danny Leder, launched the collection printed exclusively on organic cotton using only water-based inks last month at the Project tradeshow.

The theme for their second collection, which will be out just in time for the holidays, is “Gifted,” exploring the inherent contradiction between natural beauty and modern materialism (both referred to as “gifts” in our language).

“Humans have a funny (and often seemingly arbitrary) way of giving value to the ‘gifts’ that nature’s bounty bestows upon them,” observes Leder. “They ascribe the promise of a fulfilled wish to blowing apart the fuzz of a dandelion blossom; infinite monetary worth to strange rocks that come from the belly of the planet … The graphics in our second line give a subtle nod and a little thanks to these peculiar relationships.”

This latest line of clothing hasn’t been posted on the website yet, but you can contact Green Tee directly to see what we’re talking about.