Friendly Fire

Michael Williams has a chat with Mr. Touitou – No time for leaving comments on blogs | ACL
Another blog with a bunch of cool things to look at and drool over | Riveted
A lot of people who take pictures and have blogs, some just look better | Viktor Vauthier
Jay Dee was one of the best and one of my favorites - worth a viewing | Stussy / Dilla

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New Balance x Beams 1500

This is one of those collaborations that feels unsurprisingly surprising, or maybe the other way around, I'm not sure. The two large companies that are Beams and New Balance have come together to create one of the most simple shoes released this spring. A lot of New Balance's collaborative efforts have been that of a more colorful manner and it took the masterful eye of the Japanese to pair down one of our favorite models by the American shoe maker. It's very difficult to go wrong with a grey suede trainer from New Balance, but it has been even more difficult to find the 1500 in this simple colorway. Classics like the 993 and now 996 are generally available, but Beams have done a nice job with one of the more playful models by New Balance. The odd thing from my perspective is that Beams is a huge champion of US made products, New Balance also tries to make as much as they can domestically and yet the 1500 is not an American made sneaker. While there are a lot of issues from materials to pricing that make it possible, it would have been nice to completely round out an otherwise great collaboration by having it made near by - even if it's not available anywhere close. — News via Hypebeast

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Alden Chromexel Plain Toe

Alden have certainly seen one of the biggest pick-ups during the "Americana" resurgence around North American. While the brand has been strong in Japan and steady in Europe, it's been the shops run by younger buyers that have been picking up the brand again and doing some subtle but interesting things with the shoes. We had a chance to meet with Nate Humble from Alden last week and it was definitely a pleasure. Over on the east coast however, Epaulet have received a very good looking pair of plain toe Bluchers in a brown chromexel leather. I really love the pain toe Blucher myself, but I find the classic Cordovan to be a little formal looking for my wardrobe. The chromexel leather however has paired up really well with the plantation crepe sole for a much more rugged looking shoe. There isn't anything I don;t like about these shoes - I want them pretty badly in fact. —

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Band of Outsiders Spring Collection

I'm well aware that probably everyone browsing the internet has probably seen the latest look book by Band of Outsiders, but I'm not going to let that stop me from posting it again. While I know what to expect every season from Mr. Sternberg, I can't help but be impressed time and time again at how he pieces the collection together, shoots with the lovely aesthetic of Polaroid and seems to be having fun while doing it. While the prices are always high and the garments sit on the best shelves around the world, the brand continues to not take itself too seriously, it at least make it feel that way. I haven't seen a particular piece that I must have, but the way the brand is presented makes it very appealing and the spring look collection photos again are one of the strongest of the season. —

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Engineered Garments Reversible Chambray Vest

The spring waist coat seems to be an item that I generally really like the look of but when it comes to spending around $200 on a light-weight layer, it can be difficult to pull the trigger. Engineered Garments and Post Overalls are both guilty of making great looking vests this spring but have two very wearable sides in one vest makes this Engineered Garments piece that much more appealing. The perfect shade of blue chambray on one side and a great texturized grey chambray on the other – it's probably one of the best reversible pieces I've seen lately. White the large white buttons make the piece much more spring friendly, the compliment both sides nicely and I'd be happy to sport either side of this vest. I'm also a fan of the fact the waist coat doesn't have a collar like many of EG's usually do. The cut makes it more casual and frankly more wearable from my perspective as I don't wear many 3-piece suits. —

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INTERMISSION

I did a post like this a little while ago with a video a friend of mine had put together for a J.Dilla track. I like the idea of presenting something different from time to time and this seems a fairly unobtrusive way of doing that. It keeps things personal, but also adds an element of variety to break things up a bit. The video's an official one this time. It's incredibly simple, but right from the Neil Young-esque titles at the start (think Tonight's the Night and Rust Never Sleeps), it's perfectly suited to the track. The song itself is the forth on the latest Bobby Birdman record New Moods. It's got a bit of everything and there's obvious comparisons with Damon Albarn on the vocal side. I've been playing it non-stop for a couple of months now and can't seem to stop. I hope you find it equally addictive.

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Margaret Howell Typhoon Hat

Margaret Howell's spring collection is another one of the strongest of the season in my opinion. Simon recently outlined the collection with some well-styled looks and focus on the casual silhouettes that Margaret has perfected over the years. One of the items that stood out in my memory from viewing the collection in Paris last summer was the Typhoon hat. It's a very simple item and I believe it's made from a light weight linen-cotton feeling blend. It sits really naturally and looks great. I find that sun hats and buckets are very tough to find and when you do they still don't work more often than not. This definitely seemed to conquer both issues and when I saw it last week I was pleasantly reminded how nice it looked. —

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Woolrich Woolen Mills Cardiff Parka

The Woolen Mills spring collection continues to be one of the most anticipated for me as I am in love with the colour palette Daiki has laid out. Owen just posted the perfectly colour blocked shorts and now I am really into the Cardiff parka which definitely feels within the same vein. The micro corduroy material isn't something I would normal hunt for in a light spring jacket, but it does work here with the nice shades of blue and light khaki. The jacket's simple design and great colours allow for a very casual spring feel that would work just as well with shorts as a nice pair of trousers. This is one of a few items I am on the fence with purchasing this spring, although the pull-over anorak just might beat it out. —

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