Urban Tailor

Jay contacted me about his new company, Urban Tailor, which brings custom tailored casual clothing to the the rest of us. You can choose between three patterns - the hoodie, the bandana jacket, and the asian track jacket. From there you get to design everything else - the fabrics for the interior lining, rib, jacket body, sleeve, and hood, and the details - the thickness of the garment, style of hood, rib length, buttons, zipper, and pocket locations. The only flaw in the process as I see it is not being able to see your design in some form of a rendering as it comes together, but considering the number of design choices you are given, the whole process is remarkably intuitive and straightforward. Urban Tailor also carries a selection of ready to wear hoodies and jackets.

Gravis Fulton

The new spring 08 line from Gravis is out. The new Fulton is a revamp of the old Lokash shoe. I like the contrast of the blue sole against the white midsole and brown upper. The little sockliner heel tab and rivet are nice touches as well.

Nike Arctic Women's Jacket

The Arctic Women's Jacket jacket from Nike looks pretty dangerous. If you ever wanted to look like a crazed bloody maniac on the slopes, this jacket is for you. All you need is some zombie makeup or a hockey mask and no skiers would dare get in your way.

Future Craft

Josephine and Jenna Rivers - a mother/daughter team - emailed us about the launch of their Future Craft shop. We don't feature much by way of apparel, but I really like the graphic elements in their textiles. They work almost exclusively in black and white and create their own very graphic and patterned textiles by way of weaving, quilting, knitting, crochet, sewing, and needlepoint. I dig!

Duncan Wilson

We posted about Duncan Wilson's Pixel Notes before, and while checking out his website today, I came across the awesome Knives T-shirt. I love the continuation of the graphic on the back of the shirt, and the way he uses shadow to add to the image. Check out Duncan's website for more great work.

Altamont Apparel

Altamont is the new apparel company started by Andrew Reynolds. They make some very nice stuff. Lady of the Night (left) and Invisible (right) are both from the 2007 hoods line. I like the washed-out qualities of all the clothing. Check them out.

Beautiful/Decay Artist Series Apparel Line

Sasha from Beautiful/Decay emailed us about their artist series apparel line, where they collaborate with established and emerging artists to create t-shirts. A few of the shirts I liked (left to right): "Girls Girls Girls" by Milano Chow (not actually from this line of shirts, but I liked it and there aren't any girls' tees in the artist series, yet), "Heavy Drummer" by Saiman Chow, and Jan Kallwejt's "Lung Music".

The Simpsons go to Paris

Found over at Notcot.com...This is hilarious! In honor of the soon to be released Simpsons movie, Harper's Bazaar has a fashion spread titled "The Simpsons go to Paris with Linda Evangelista" in the August 2007 issue. The illustrations feature the Simpsons dressed in haute couture or as the various designers themselves.

A Priceless Way

Love these t-shirts from Seattle-based A Priceless Way. Besides being beautiful, APW seeks to make you think about how you communicate with the world. According to the website:

Phrases spoken, heard, read, taken out of context, mis-translated and re-translated over the years were jotted down into countless sketchbooks. The Series 1 collection is a result of this process of gathering, curation and refinement.

Thanks, Justine, for the tip!

JaymaDesigns

Cute t-shirts from JaymaDesigns. I like the dandelion tee the best.

Supreme 2007 Camp Hat

I am usually wary of the new 'streetwear' out there like BAPE, Ice Cream, etc. But Supreme has been doing it longer than anyone. And they've been doing hats for as long as they've been around. Usually simple and showcasing their Barbara Kruger-esque logo. I really like the gradient of the polka dots on the Spring 2007 Two Tone Camp Hat.

Dennice Mankarious

I love these neck cozies by Dennice Mankarious. They are hand knit with wooden buttons and come in both charcoal gray and olive. The cozies are available at Little Paper Planes.

Hable Construction

One of the companies I was introduced to yesterday at the Biz meetup: Hable Construction is a sister-run business (Katharine & Susan). They make just about everything that uses fabric...I especially like the apron line. Very clean, graphic designs. Besides at their online store, you can check out their work in person at their new york store in the west village.

Stormproof

When it comes to living in the Northeast, rain is always an issue. Waterproof jackets have come a long way since pvc coated fabrics. Waterproof and breathable laminates are the best choice for foul weather gear and they work great. Next time you visit an outdoor store, be sure to check out how complete the waterproofing is on any rain jacket. From taped and welded seams to little individual hoods for the zipper gates, you can be sure to stay dry walking around the city.

Above is the EMS Thunderhead II Jacket from EMS. I have always been a big fan of EMS gear, since I grew up in the Northeast and it was all over. Their gear is incredibly durable and the value cannot be beat. And while they do not command the premium of companies like Patagonia and The North Face, they actually build more usable details into their clothing and gear. Like the inside pocket on the Thunderhead Jacket for your ipod so you can control it from the outside pocket.

Nike Elite Quilted Jacket

Dress for the cold. It's getting chilly here in NYC and girls are starting to break out the puffy jackets. But the bubbles are so unflattering. The Nike Elite Quilted Jacket is a great women's winter jacket with great use of material and a great silhouette as well.

Marzipan Garden

Lovely ladies Eva and Nina of Marzipan Garden have a great eye for color and pattern. I love their colorful pillow throws with lace flowers or fabric birds. Eva and Nina have diamond doves and a parrot respectively, and you can see that inspiration throughout their work. Besides the great pillows, check out their cute aprons, bags, and bird ornaments.

The Mountain Equipment Co-op

The Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) is sort of like the REI or EMSof Canada. They make some of their own equipment and they carry a range of clothing and equipment from other outdoor equipment manufacturers. However, the few items they do make are better designed than most of their American counterparts. The Slipstream jacket and the Pika Plus daypack are both examples of really simple and functional design. The best part is that MEC's stuff is all sold in Canadian dollars, so the 12.00CAD pack is only 10.00USD. You could never get a bag for 10 bucks at REI or EMS. Too bad there are only stores in Canada.

eS holiday 06

The eS holiday 06 line is out and the theory mid and the kraigh jacket are both pretty nice.

It's hard to find shoes that are better than the accel, but eS have been putting together a lot of designs that build on the accel's simplicity and board feel.

pattern : color

kr3w apparel's TK hoodie is an interesting take on the streetwear patterned hoodie. Steve Fordiani runs clothing design and merchandising at kr3w and they have consistently presented very affordable and wearable stuff with a boutique feel. It looks good for chilling, but I would hate to slam on it down at the banks.