Saturday
Jan162010
INVENTORY @ Dover Street Market
Posted on 
January 16, 2010 by Ryan Willms
January 16, 2010 by Ryan Willms 
Dover Street Market reopens today and we're incredibly proud to announce that INVENTORY now has a small area in the basement. To begin with you'll be able to pick up both covers of the magazine, as well as our navy Gitman oxford, Alexander Olch ties, Mark McNairy Bucks and Inverallan cardigan. New items will then be released over the course of the season. We're surrounded by some of our favourite brands and it's a huge honour to be involved with DSM and Comme des Garcons in general. It's definitely something we didn't expect, but it's made for a great start to 2010. I'd like to say a massive thank you to Dickon, Alex, Richard, Mia and Mimi for all their help. If you're in London over the weekend, make sure you pop in, there's new collections throughout the store so it's well worth a visit.
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Reader Comments (55)
DSM is the ultimate hipstsers store. Last time I was in there Elton John and David Furnish were buying trainers with their 'driver' waiting outside.
The death knell as far as i'm concerned.
Also, will it be 20% more expensive than everywhere else, like the all the other gear in there?
That's a nice feather to put in your hat. Congratulations gentlemen. Very proud that my illustrations
lay amongst those pages on that little green trolly.
I love DSM!
^Thanks a lot Wayne. It's definitely something we're very excited about. DSM has done an incredible job for a long time and to sit beside these brands and to work with them is nothing short of great for us.
—rw
Have to agree with robbo and mez. Never been a fan of DSM, something just feels really fake about it.
Agreed. DSM feels very generic and fake.
Congratulations boys! Well deserved! Now let's here more about this little local brick & mortar venture... I'm chomping at the bit here!
Congrats. Display looks great. I will have to swing by and have a look.
Congrats on DSM! And by the sound of how overexcited you are that you didn't even mention the great stores that were there for you from the beginning....Rodan Gray and the INFINITELY COOLER Nom De Guerre. Because DSM is way better, I mean COMB DEE GARENS!
Congrats, never been to DSM but it seems legit.
Thanks to the pleasant and supportive comments.
I'm a little surprised by some of the negative comments however. Dover Street Market is one of the best and most unique retail outlets on this planet, without a question. The products offered, edited and curated by the folks behind the company are unparalleled, anywhere.
We have mentioned a number of our retailers for the magazine such as Roden Gray, who we are always excited to be working with. Dover Street Market is the only shop in the world other than our online store right now where our Inventory Items are available and will continue to be as we release new items.
Calling DSM generic doesn't quite make sense either to me. It's probably one of the most unique stores there is. The variety or product and merchandising includes the world's best and has consistently pushed retail in London and the world for the last few years.
—Ryan W
I think there's just a negative vibe going through the blogs recently, there is definitely a trend that I'm seeing. I got my first ever neg comment today. I was pretty stoked to join the club.
People should just be happy that Inventory is doing well, it will ultimately mean good things for the mag and website in the end. DSM is a big deal, just look at the other labels being represented in the shop.
I enjoy visiting the site and try to stay positive. However, DSM is, without doubt, a shop that stocks whatever is 'the latest look'. It has no interest in heritage, build quality and authenticity. By stocking your gear it is recognising it as a trend. I have no interest in fashion and therefore find that disappointing and rest assured, when they drop this style for the next big thing, which they will in time, I will still be turning myself out the same, as i'm sure a number of the people who visit this site will.
By releasing a publication that reduces a look to a formula, which Inventory does in pages, you are telling people what to wear and increasing the risk that a lot of people will start looking identikit. With the rise of the Blog everyone thinks they were first, whereas a lot a people were wearing this gear a long time before you and the others came along. I don't want to go to the Red Lion and stand next to someone with the same clobber on as me, but who has bought it from DSM only last week. I therefore have two options, to go to another pub and wait for the scenesters to find something new or move on myself, and if I do that do I become a scenester?
Just like any other "department store" - ie your Harrod's, Selfridges, etc - I EXPECT them to stock the latest trend... What else would you expect them to do? That's not my contention with DSM. My contention with them lies in that, to me, DSM feels more like a clothes "Gallery" than it does a shop, and, with that, comes what I find to be a slightly snobbish attitude from the staff there.
True - the basement of the store (which is where the brands that people who read this blog would find interesting; the rest is all pretty much unwearable CDG stuff) is slightly detached from the rest of the store in that regard - but I have to say, I feel incredibly uncomfortable buying there. You should have seen the faces of the sales girl when I balked at the £700 price tag of the Visvims they had on display. Compare that with, say, the lovely personalities at Albam and you see where I'm coming from.
Inventory is trend driven? I thought it was a celebration of well made gear.
DSM only started stocking EG last year, coinciding with Junya Wantanabe's ridiculous 'hunting' collection. Before that the basement was all-over print tee shirts at £350.
DSM can be summed up by the fact that they used to sell 2nd hand Cazals, no doubt purchased off eBay for £50, at £500. And now Cazals aren't deemed cool any more they don't stock them.
I'm sure them stocking Inventory gear there is a real coup and money spinner, but be careful that the DSM crowd wearing it doesn't alienate it from the type of people that come here. I don't think it is a good move, but then I don't make a living from it.
Note that products are 'curated' at DSM (see admin post above). It is a clothes gallery. I agree with the Albam comment above.
Most of the staff in the basement are cool as fuck. How much are the cardigans retailing for in DSM? I'm assuming a mark-up has been added?
Mez, although your name sounds familiar your posts don't make much sense. Inventory are going to make.design clothes that at the end of the day they will wear. It is up to the punter to decide whether or not to run with it.
Gentlemen, however you look at it, at the end of the day it's just fashion and fashion is...well a business. Just because Inventory is associated with DSM doesn't mean it's sold it's self to the devil,
at the core it's always been and always will be about quality and knowledge. This is the very reason
Inventory is in DSM in the first place. Workwear and Classic American Sportswear is a trend no doubt,
but one that has the power to transcend into a staple type of attire for men. EG is one of the biggest
men's contemporary brands out their with their dignity and collection intact from influence from shifts in the market and buyers. Point is just wear the god damn clothes you like and stop bitching about someone pissing on your fire hydrant. Chances are the people complaining live in a urban area where
there are only so many hydrants to go around. DSM is just one in a long line of stores to do the tango
with workwear, Red Wing 875's etc. over the past decades. For those of you born on or after 1981 here's a little history lesson on some of the pioneers who humbly keep on keepin' on. http://www.americanclassicslondon.com/
@wayne pate....ah that website you posted is shit! nothing learnt there. most of the jackets are barracuta..... what are you on about?
^well said, sir. as long as you have trends...which will ALWAYS be the case with fashion, as thats what makes the business turn, you'll ALWAYS have the "i had it first, everyone is ruining it!" crowd nay-saying on whatever trend might be cranking at the time. That mentality has always been there, albeit probably not as prevalent since the rise of message boards and blogs. For better or for worse, i don't know....i'm all for the free flow of opinions. If you don't like DSM for their attitude and prices, then its safe to say you probably shouldn't shop there...stick to albam or whatever small boutique suits your personal needs..stick to what you like. Stick to what makes you comfortable. As wayne said above...and its been said a million times before. Its just fashion...but for some reason it really spawns such strong feelings around here.
This is a great argument and it seems to me that people here are very passionate about their "obsessions". Trends will come and go but the kid inside all of us will continue to have obsessions whether its workwear or something else, then "on to next one". Congrats to all you guys at Inventory.
Great shop. Your stuff will fit in there perfectly.
Thanks to all the well-wishers. We really feel this is an exciting step for us and the response to the magazine and products at DSM yesterday was great.
As far as the other comments go, there's not much to add to the well thought out points made by Wayne and T, but I would like to say that the negativity expressed about DSM is very surprising.
Rei Kawakubu's concept for the store is quite clear:
"To create a kind of market where various creators from various fields gather together and encounter each other in an ongoing atmosphere of beautiful chaos: the mixing up and coming together of different kindred souls who all share a strong personal vision."
In that sense, there is no one aesthetic considered correct, it's simply about bringing together the things that they like and feel have a considered identity. For us, these kind of ideas ring true and it's something we're proud to be a part of.
It's sad to hear that others feel the store represents something "generic and fake" and though you're entitled to that opinion, it does seem strange, and if I'm honest, a little misguided. Also, I don't in any way find the staff snobbish or unhelpful; in fact quite the opposite. Many of them have worked in the industry for a very long time, are passionate about it and have a considerable amount of knowledge.
In London, we're very lucky to be working with the smaller stores like Albam, Garbstore, Present and Monocle, but we also wanted to put the magazine into other environments and bring it to a different audience. I don't think this devalues what we're doing or signals "the death knell" and I'm sure the other brands in the basement - EG, Visvim, SNS, Yuketen et al - feel the same way.
There's no ownership attached to what we're doing. It's not for an exclusive group, it's about communicating the stories behind the brands we love. Frankly, the more people that genuinely understand the depth and consideration that goes into these things the better.
I also don't think we're creating a formula or arguing that we did anything first. These are the things we like but they were around long before us. I was lucky enough to work at Duffer for several years and be exposed to the likes of Trickers, EG, Red Wing and Cabourn every day. These are the kind of brands I continue to wear today and I don't feel the need to change that because someone at the pub likes them too or is into a similar aesthetic. I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but I guess it comes down to confidence and strength of character - if you like something wear it, don't worry about the guy next to you.
For me in particular, I get this feeling when reading the topic that DSM is the BIG TIME, when you already attained BIG TIME STATUS when the first 2 stores backed you, then consequently, you opened your own store. It doesn't get no better than Being the immediate source. I'm glad you guys are excited about DSM. I have no problem with the mainstreaming of aesthetics that many of us here enjoy, nor what DSM is supposed to represent. I just believe that DSM is nothing special compared Stores like Albam and Nom De Guerre, besides having a collection of interesting brands at extreme mark up. But I'm not falling for the perceived "prestige" of this store just because of the people behind it and because what they did first. I like stores with a focused aesthetic and what you guys have said in nicely verbose way is that DSM doesn't have a set one.
DSM is a great store and an incredible retail experience. Every time I've been to London, I've made it a point to visit. I really can't afford anything there other than a wallet or bottle of cologne, but I appreciate it for what it is.