Beams Deck Shoes
February 4, 2009 by Ryan Willms 
If you hadn't already figured it out Beams is kind of awesome. They design and produce clothing, accessories, stationery and music while importing other items from overseas for their retail empire, and they seem to do it all well. The latest offering I'm impressed with by Beams (and another reason for me to go to Japan) are these 3-piece deck shoes. They're made of a pretty sturdy looking canvas and come in three great colourways all of which have the perfect accent colour just about the midsole. Other little details like the thin 'dress' laces and the 70's era heel decal also make them appealing to me. They look like the perfect spring sneaker for this Take Ivy look that myself and a lot of other people are probably going to be rocking 90% of the spring. If you aren't down with that look the classic simple design makes for such a useful shoe that you can co-ordinate easily with any other spring outfit. I think the beige is my favourite, but I've changed my mind 7 times since I started writing this, I love them all equally. They're available at zozotown for a very reasonable $100.
The collection has now arrived around the globe at a number of shops like 
If this steezy old chap doesn't look like he just wrapped a Band of Outsiders look-book then I don't know. I grew up watching Mr. Rogers and the trolley and all of the wonderful adventures of the fairly odd show. Little did I know I would be looking back over a decade later and the casual-preppy look being done better than I see it on the streets today. Maybe Mr. Rogers had a good stylist but I have a feeling he had a knack for that sneaker, nice button down oxfords, collegiate ties and perfectly colored cardigans. Even the cropped pleated chinos look pretty fresh. After looking through the photos from the last couple weeks of international fashion shows, I'd say that Fred would have been holding his weight in the off runway scene with a couple minor updates and a nice leather tote bag. His style didn't go unnoticed as he pulled in an Emmy, got a star in LA on the sidewalk and touched a lot of children with his show and work off the screen. There have probably been a couple designers looking at these pictures for the last couple seasons, and probably a few more that should have been.
Things have become very disposable in fashion in the last couple years and that is nothing new or unknown. Blogs are not entirely responsible for that as it's been happening for years, but they certainly haven't helped the cause. The fairly recent return to classic, hand made, made in the USA or Canada attention is a great thing. Unfortunately, even that has it's problems. As we've seen Quoddy's prices seem to have gone up substantially as the latest round of Rogues Gallery boots are coming in at $528 US => $655 Canadian. Now I'm not saying they are a rip-off or anything, I think they are great, but the price is no doubt hard to swallow. So here I am to remind you that here in Vancouver, BC are some really nice, hand made moccasins by Ken Diamond. Ken and Jolene source all of the materials themselves, most of it comes from here in the city and every hole and stitch is done in their small studio. You can choose your leather color from a really nice palette and have a pair of these beauties back to you in a matter of weeks. So while prices are on the rise, there are still relatively good deals to be had while getting something really special with a focus on the made by hand detailing Ken has perfected. Last I checked they were $320 Canadian for a custom/personally order. That's only about $255 US if my currency calculator is right.
Contact ken@kendiamond.com or 604 669 4179 for a pair.
I promise that I will give it a bit of a break after this post but if I didn't post it, somebody else might have, or you just might not have known where to get some of the best spring pieces out there. Odin is probably the biggest EG supporter in North America as far as I know. They go deep into the collection and went as far to feature the brand in the Den last fall. This spring I don't see why they wouldn't carry a large portion of the line, although a lot of it will never been seen here in North America. This spring they did the currently blog popular parka in a great navy blue with all of the best details perfectly laid out; leather tabs, back slit pocket, four front pockets, waist drawstring - basically I'm getting this. Although I've said it for a lot of pieces this spring, and I'd like to say it again for the Baker coat, I will have to be picky about which items I actually do get, EG is just making it hard this year. Anyways, Odin's first shipments of the spring collection look great and whats also worth noting is the fairly reasonable prices as the baker coat only comes in at $289 while the parka is at $425. Check the link for a couple of the best accessories; leather D ring and madras scarves. All at 
