A.P.C. Leather Weekend Duffle

I'm not sure if A.P.C. is really considered best-in-class for any specific product, maybe affordable raw denim, but they sure do a great job overall as a brand and a collection. It's one of the few brands that can't do much wrong and seem to effortlessly do a lot of right. Their latest version of the weekend duffle comes in a full grain leather. The classic shape takes a fair bit of leather to get the job done and with the subtle branding stamp, good size for it's use and perfect colour, it's a great looking bag. Without actually feeling the leather and putting it to use I would say it's one of their better bags in my opinion. The detachable shoulder strap, nice looking handles and satin lining are as they should be, so as long as the bag holds up it's only going to look better and better.

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Tricker's Green Suede Kendal

For those of you who didn't see The Bureau's spring stock from Tricker's, it's definitely worth a look. While the red brick sole has become nearly as common as boat shoes, I'm not really one to shy away from something I know I like even if everybody and their brother like it too. The red brick sole will always have its place and I feel that it's best paired on a cleanly designed buck in suede. Besides navy and white, olive is probably next on my list. It hasn't been a common pairing for the most part until this spring and The Bureau have commissioned Tricker's to make the latest rendition. I would find myself some olive green laces to put in as soon as possible, but besides that the shoes are perfect. Tricker's are well known to make some of the best shoes available and I'm not surprised to see they've done this lovely combination more than justice.

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Spring Essential: Fatigue Shorts

Over the last couple summers I overcame my own issues with wearing shorts and have actually started looking forward to wearing them in the coming months. I used to just prefer pants; jeans, chinos, cords - I just thought they looked and felt better at all times of the year. I've come around and now I have to say one of my favorite pairs out there is the fatigue, or camp short. This spring Engineered Garments have brought back their best knee length pants in a variety of perfect colours and fabrics. The reverse sateen, light-weight denim and chambray complete a perfect arsenal of shades to get you through the summer. The model isn't new and the chambray and reverse sateen are common materials in the EG collection, which are nice familiar faces now. I was lucky enough to recently find a pair of the chambray shorts from SS09 for $45 which is definitely an easier price to swallow. That said, J.Crew also have had a very nice version of the shorts and thanks to Mr. Pate's heads up, they were one of my favorites last summer. —

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Icons: James Ellroy

While he's been criticized for not developing his characters enough, James Ellroy never skimped on outlining their visceral attributes. Perhaps because the Demon Dog himself has as much style sartorially speaking as his staccato prose writing does. A lot of it probably comes from his extreme self confidence and bravado personality. It made him seem cooler than he should be as he wore wide, poorly tied ties, big herringbone blazers, hats and loose necked shirts back in the 90's when he was writing about the fifties bebop era. More recently though, he's been writing about the sixties and seventies and his style has evolved into a veritable prep guide. Amazing patterned bow-ties, perfect seersucker and immaculate tab collars are doing him well these days along with his token circular wire frames. If it's a look you're open to then take notes. Either way though, you should at least read one of his books.

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Engineered Garments Ashfield Jacket

Last fall Engineered Garments made up their version of a safari jacket exclusively for Beams Plus after Kenichi Kusano, the director, had become interested in the aesthetic and found a vintage piece to send Daiki. The tale has it that Mr. Suzuki isn't a big fan of some of the original details like epaulets and some of the things that make it more of a safari jacket. Thus, the Ashfield was born in its current state and has now been made available on the Beams website. The khaki twill cotton is really the perfect fabric for the jacket and I was excited to find my size last fall when we visited the Beams Plus shops. The jacket has been featured in our last online issue as well as the Beams catalog where you can see how it can look quite nice for daily wear. If you don't manage to pick it up this spring from Japan, the model will be available next fall in some other nice fabric options and colors – we are looking forward to getting our hands on it in a few months. —

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ReViewed | Haven Select

Back in December Arthur and Daniel Chmielewski, the brothers behind Haven, opened their second shop here in Vancouver. We're always fascinated by build outs and excited at the prospect of some of our favourite clothing lines being more accessible to us, so we tried to get in and document the process as best we could. Admittedly, our journalism wasn't in top form as we weren't there from the beginning when the 'story broke' so we missed the early stages of the build out but we did manage to catch some of it. From nothing into something, the new shop is a diamond in the rough. Inspired by some of the Japanese lines they carry, the intimate shop design and unique space is one of the best new shops in recent memory. To go along with it, the shop will house some new, exclusive brands to the Haven brand in the near future... Read more about Haven and their new shop in ReViewed section of the website here.

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Truck Furniture

Originally started in 1997 by Tokuhiko Kise and Hiromi Karatsu, Truck is making some of the nicest looking furniture out there. I hadn't heard of the company until a couple months ago when Simon told me about their website. As soon as I checked it out I fell in love. I'm not much of a furniture-head, but I know what I like when I see it and between the simple design, clean lines and beautiful photographs on the website, I've only grown to like it more. The duo have recently opened a new, large showroom/workshop in Osaka and have waiting lists up to 6-months long. Truck's furnishings have definitely been an inspiration for me as we've been working on our new space for Inventory. The honest feel, perfect mix of metal and wood and simple but refined look just feels right. I'd happily fill my home, office and the nearest coffee shop with pieces by Truck. The company has recevied some nice press over the last few years but for some nice insight into Kise and their new space, Monocle has a short article in their latest issue, which we now have available in the Inventory Stockroom. —

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Albam Explorer Jacket

The latest edition to Albam's outwear offering is their spring Explorer Jacket. The English brands continues to update and upgrade their fabrics as they refine their products and production. The Explorer jacket is a very simple looking jacket but the stripped down details and fabric choices make it extremely appealing. The outer is made from a cotton canvas and is coated in Teflon to help with spring showers. The mid-weight jacket appears to be just right all around as it's not too heavy that you can't wear it in the winter but it's light enough that you could wear it deep into the spring season. It comes in black and navy and has been outfitted in 2-way RiRi zippers to top it off. I'm always a sucker for navy, so that would definitely be my choice for this piece. —

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