WDSG Introduces their new collection called "Gentlewomen by WDSG". Now i know that I tend to lean towards the menswear collections through this site but this collection was something to highlight. This collection was derived from the 1920's era in the USA, portaying liberation and independence through-out their pieces. This collection was inspired by Amelia Earhardt.
Wudai Shiguo is a state-of-the-art creative boutique based in Hong Kong that specializes in creative design, branded consultancy and a rich ability for visual communication. The shop contains a conceptual selection of rugged apparel with representatives from Double RL by Ralph Lauren andMister Freedom - along with lifestyle products, industrial furniture and timeless crafts from around the world. In their own words, Wudai Shiguo have dubbed themselves "a team of boundary crossers who ponder from centers to edges and respect yet suspect everything in the world. We closely connect with individual talents by providing them a comfortable creative sphere to sound and echo, establishing a working culture of humor and humility." Wudai Shiguo No.9 B1, St. Francis St. Wan Chai Hong Kong
Founded in 1993 in New York by Japanese designer Takeshi Ohfuchi, Post Overalls designs still adhere to their original ethos of producing authentic, beautifully crafted clothing. Ohfuchi blends together robust, American workwear-inspired silhouettes with premium fabrics such as Wool Herringbone, creating authentic reproductions that painstakingly replicate the construction, materials and silhouettes of the original garments. The A/W’12 collection – aw with previous seasons – remains packed full of technical detail. utilising materials more suitable to the colder months, such as a heavyweight wool herringbone and robust cotton canvas. Outerwear makes up the bulk of this collection with the ever-popular Engineers Jacket and Royal Traveller Vest seeing an updated and worthy return. They sit neatly alongside the Cruzer Vest and a range of smartly tailored shirts, highlighting the practicality and accessibility of these workwear-inspired pieces.
The interwebs be burning with all the garment love happening in the new James Bond 007 SKYFALL flick. This Levi’s Vintage Clothing 1930s Distressed Leather Jacket has been spotted in some grainy on-set photography. A beautiful jacket to be worked for all. Bond is not the only one deserving of this. Bench and Loom has it.
More Eastman news. Following on from the excellent Quality Mending Co. collaboration, this Thunderbird Field Jacket from the mainline offers more leather goodness from the label. Thunderbird Airfield, Arizona was the brainchild of Hollywood producer Leland Hayward alongside big name investors James Stewart, Cary Grant, Henry Fonda, Robert Taylor and Margaret Sullavan. In 1941 the field, constructed to look like the mythical Anasazi Thunderbird from the air, became a United States Army Air Forces training base. Step forward this jacket from that period. Based on an A-1 Instructor’s Flight Jacket, it features olive wool serge for the body, seal-brown WarHorse® hide for the sleeves and rayon-satin for the lining. As if this wasn’t enough it’s also decorated with the original rayon patch made on 1920s looms, a spot-on reproduction. More info on this awesome jacket over here.
At first glance, this IWC Mark XI Pilot Watch doesn’t look like much. However, peel back the layers on the watch’s storied pedigree and impressive vintage hand-wound caliber 89 movement and you just might find enough to justify the estimated $6,000 USD price tag. Swiss watch maker IWC was one of the original contracts whose watches were issued exclusively to British airmen during World War II, with production for the Mark XI beginning in 1948. Standard for many pilot watches of the time, the brushed, stainless steel case is fitted with an internal casing of soft iron to protect the movement from being adversely affected by magnetic fields. The watch itself gets a Nato strap, and luminous hour and minute markers. And if you’re still not sold, a close look at the watch’s case back reveals its extremely limited numbers — a true war survivor, and one highly sought after by watch collectors.
Stretching preconceived notions of what Kickstarter can kick start, Vinted Goods is a Los Angeles-based design label in the midst of prelaunching an entire collection via the creative project funding platform. Fusing modern chic with classic heritage aesthetics, the Californian bag brand presents several key pieces for the project including the Charlie duffle, Roger briefcase, Tomson backpack, leather wallets, iPhone sleeves and even camera straps. Beautifully made with California sun-tanned leathers using modern manufacturing processes like RF fusing, the collection offers up stylish minimalist pieces for the urban exploring gentleman. Help back the project in exchange for dibs on some of the pieces here.
In “The Things They Carried,” Tim O’Brien’s now classic fictional account of the Vietnam War, that which is carried by the soldiers — both physical and intangible – act as windows into their lives. Similarly, a standard military issue item from that time — the Vietnam War Zippo lighter — now serves to collectively capture the various moods and sentiments of the 1960s and 1970s, the tiny object a lens into a large and politically-loaded historical period. The classic metal, flip-top Zippo lighter was first manufactured in 1933 by the Zippo Manufacturing Company of Bradford, Pennsylvania. Advantageous because of its ability to stay lit in inclement weather, its ‘windproof’ reputation garnered it instant success and popularity within the ranks of the military. It has played a large role in nearly every large war since its inception — warming bodies, lighting cigarettes, starting fires, and even acting as mementos, much in the same way dog tags were collected upon soldiers’ deaths in remembrance of their lives. In popular culture, the “clink” of the Zippo as its top is flipped open has become as iconic in Hollywood as its design and original function.
Although popular in the Second World War, it wasn’t until the Vietnam conflict that engraving Zippos became widespread and popular. The lighters were inscribed with a personal message and artwork that spanned the vast range of sentiments from fear and regret to hatred and humor. The phrases, maxims and images that reflect this spectrum of emotions and beliefs are at once witty and blunt. Popular messages included the Psalm 23-derived ‘Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for I am the evilest son of a bitch in the jungle,’ ‘Death from Above,’ and ’We the unwilling led by the unqualified to kill the unfortunate die for the ungrateful.’ Other, more personal, inscriptions included ‘To Mom, from a lonely paratrooper’ and painstakingly honest ‘The only thing I get out of killing a person is the recoil of my rifle.’ The less verbose and more visually inclined often opted for an array of skulls, women, and military insignias and symbols.
Recently, Bradford Edwards, a collector of some of the best vintage Zippo specimens, decided to auction off 282 of them at the Cowan’s Auctions in Cincinnati for approximately $35,000 USD. Though an exorbitant amount in the estimation of many, it is hard to argue the value of the Vietnam War Zippo lighter — now part artwork , part historical artifact and one of the more personal glimpses into an event most know only through history books and film.
Schott’s Fall Winter 2012 collection while inspired by the railways of WWII era offers us an opportunity to look at outerwear which is well timeless. Outerwear from the likes of Schott will remain in your wardrobe longer than most jackets. These classic garments with just a touch of modern fit. Check the shearling leather bombers, the moto-inspired fitted leather jacket, and the safe peacoat shown above,. These are indeed trend-proof staples for any man. Pass them down to your children, when ready.
Know how you're walking down the street and you see someone with the exact same item as you? Well you don't have to worry about that with Forestbound. Forestbound only uses found and salvaged textiles to create a line of durable, utilitarian bags. Their designer Alice Saunders searches for the perfect historic fabrics and hardware all throughout New England. Most of these bags use materials from the '30s, '40s, '50s, and the general WWII era. Some of the unique fabrics include a WWII era US military duffel bag, a 1930s era cement worker's apron,and a 1950s era Boyscout pack. The beauty of these bags is that while there may be some fabric discoloration, you don't mind it because that's what gives them character. Forestbound also uses some additional fabrics to give these bags a more luxe feel, like soft and supple deerskin. Find your perfect one here.
