Now I'm Just Big, Ya Dig?

More Big Boi, this time with Vonnegutt on Letterman. A couple notes...

- First off, the hat. Pitchfork liked it and I have to admit, it's pretty awesome. Because of André 3000's eccentricities, people seem to forget that Big Boi is pretty wild in his own right... Also, that DF chain is dope, probably about as classy as bling gets.

- The rapper in Vonnegutt looks like Lance Bass or some other blonde dude. The other guy looks like every other frontman in the past few years. In doing some research, I discovered that Vonnegutt worked on some Purple Ribbon and Dungeon Family stuff, so they've been with Big for a while now. That's pretty cool but it's a little odd because they seem kind of run-of-the-mill. I downloaded a free EP of theirs so I'll see if they show more of their stuff on their own material than they did on the comps and features I've heard.

Time Keeps On Slipping

This watch by Devon Works is incredible. It's oddly attractive, extremely high-tech, and it has real gadget-like appeal. While I'm far, far, far from a high-end watch consumer-- and even if I were in the market for an expensive timepiece, I'd probably choose something more classic-- I can definitely see the appeal. The technology is cool, but what's even more impressive is the creativity and willingness to think differently displayed by the folks at DW. Read about it at Hodinkee and check out the Devon Works site, too.

City By The Bay

I've come to really enjoy Mayer Hawthorne despite how he reveals his vocal deficiencies at times (all jokes aside his music, with the exception of a couple songs, is really good). Here, he teamed up with Huf and Freegums to release some goodies in honor of the final night of his U.S. tour, which happens to be next Thursday in SF. Ignoring the music for sec, I noticed that in this video, Keith Hufnagel of Huf (the guy in gray) might be wearing his yet-to-be released new shoe. It only caught my eye because after having lost track (and interest) of the sneaker scene and shoe culture, I randomly checked in on a couple blogs recently to find a pretty clean-looking shoe about to be released by Huf. I've been meaning to get a pair of nice, classy gray sneakers and I think these fit the bill.

Fly-er Than The Rest Of 'Em

The Sartorialist has been posting old photos from other people as a part of his Vintage Photo Contest. I thought I would repost this picture and the accompanying text because the man looks bad-ass and it reminds me of some old photos I have seen of my grandparents. Not that my grandfather wore anything as adventurous as those boots but he was usually looking pretty sharp. It seems like people just had a way a dressing back in the day, which makes me wonder how futures generations may view the way we dress now...



The date is January 3, 1954. Pictured in the center is my grandfather Yukio (known to me as Ji-chan, Japanese for Grandpa). My dad (pictured on left) is 9 here, his brother a couple years older. The three of them are getting ready to leave Japan for the first time and emigrate to California. My Japanese-American grandmother (born/raised in Calif.) had earlier left her family in Japan in order to find a job, a place to live, and get settled here. Then she sent over for her husband and kids to come and join her in the States.

This photo of Ji-chan reminds me of a Japanese Indiana Jones with the leather jacket and fedora, ready to go on an adventure in a far-off land. He always looked sharp when he went out.

Ji-chan was always a bit of a mystery to me as there was a language barrier (he spoke only Japanese) and he was a quiet man. But I really loved him. He would sneak behind my grandmother's back and smoke cigarettes in the garage or in the car. I'd always laugh at him becuase it was so obvious. He would awe me with his yo-yo tricks. When I was little I'd hold his hands and he would let me step on his toes while he'd walk around the house. And he was a highly regarded gardener in the Japanese community and won awards for his amazing bonsai plants. He was in his backyard garden, sitting at a chair next to a little table tending to one of his mini-tress when he passed away when I was 14. When my grandmother discovered him she thought that he was simply taking a nap because he looked so peaceful.

Got To Get It

I don't know if these will even fit my face but if anyone has a few hundred dollars to spare and would like to buy me a gift, I will gladly accept it. Salt Optics Terry, "Tweed Moss" or "Burlywood", please.

When's It Comin' Out?

Look at ultra-stylish Kanye doing his best Denim Dan impression and listen to Aziz Ansari be hilarious. If paparazzi followed one of my friends around all the time, you know I'd be yelling out the most random things when the cameras were rolling. I wouldn't even need to be promoting something. I'd just holler out things like I was playing Catchphrase or something. It'd get old but I'd have some fun with it, I think. Anyway, I'm kind of looking forward to Ansari's new show with Amy Poehler and I'm glad it's not a spin-off of The Office.

I Want It All

It's probably too big but I want it anyway. (TWSS...)

Sunglasses At Night

Here's a slightly blurry picture of my new sunglasses. I had been looking for some Ray-Ban Club Masters but I discovered those suckers were too small for me. I found these Stussy Coltranes on Haight St. a couple weeks ago. They're a similar style to the Ray-Bans but slightly bigger. I didn't buy them at the Stussy store because they were too expensive but I ended up looking around online when I got home. I found them for about half price at Sunglasses Giant so I didn't hesitate placing an order. Even though it took a few days for them to process my order, the shipping was fast. It only took about 5 business days when it was all said and done.

These are the first expensive pair of sunglasses I've ever owned and I am pretty happy with them so far. Aside from really feeling the style, what stands out is how much more solid they are than the cheapos I'm used to wearing. Assuming I don't lose them or mess them up, I bet they'll last a lot longer than my cheapos too. If I have any complaints, it's that the case that came with them isn't a hard shell (I know I'm going to break these eventually) and that they squeeze my fat face a little bit (but I knew that ahead of time from trying the on in the store). But those are pretty minor complaints so as long as people don't think they make me look stupid, I should be rockin' these when the sun's out.

Happy Fourth!

Frisco Staaand Up!

When I was passing through Chinatown this morning, I saw this tourist tee for $1.88, so I bought it.

May The Wind Take Your Troubles Away

Since I haven't posted anything with any substance in a while I figured I'd give you a quick rundown of my day.  I took the day off because I needed a break and I'm at the limit of how much PTO I can accrue. I used the free time to take care of some things and relax.

A while back, I got into a fender bender on the way to work. To make a long story short, I switched lanes on 6th Street and hit a minivan. No one was hurt but there was body damage to both cars. This morning I drove out to Walnut Creek and took my car into the body shop. One week from now, it won't look like this anymore.

I took BART back into the city and met up with Wendy for lunch. When we couldn't find the place we wanted to go to, we settled for this pizza and kebob place called Cello. I got a chicken kebob and it wasn't bad. It was good catching up with Wendy.

Oh yeah, when I was waiting for Wendy, I saw this bike. I only took a picture of it because I thought it was Mash rider Jonathan's bike. It actually belongs to Jason from Macaframa. I could be wrong though.

After lunch, Wendy went back to work and I went shopping. I hit up BR and got a few things. It's crazy how expensive things are but at least I got hooked up with a discount gift card from LoudJeff. Thanks for the hook up homey.

I stopped off at Niketown real quick to use the bathroom and see what's new. I left there empty handed but that's probably good seeing as I recently got a ton of stuff at Swoosh online. 

I'd been wanting to check out the new Hundreds store at Post and Taylor so I headed over there after walking through Union Square. It's been written about a bunch, but the inside of the shop is daaaark. It's cave-themed, which is cool but you can barely make out the colors and details of the clothes. I picked up a black t-shirt and I was on my way.

Here's a shot of The Hundreds sign out front. I like the logo and it's cool how the sign grabs your eye without looking entirely out of place on the street. More than a few people looked at it when they were walking by but they could have just been wondering what I was photographing.

Before heading home I stopped by Huf. I saw a couple things by BBC and Supreme that I liked but I didn't get them. $250 for a long sleeved shirt? Yikes. It's pretty high-quality stuff, but I don't know why it has to be so expensive...

I hadn't walked around downtown in a while so it was cool playing "shopping tourist" for the day. And aside from the massive winds, it was a pretty good day for being outside. Since I got home, I've been cleaning my room, doing laundry and burning CDs. I'm getting pretty hungry so I should go get to cooking...

... 

P.S. You should check out The Hundreds website soon. Right now, the opening page image is a screen shot of the cable car blowing up from The Rock. In the movie, the cable car slid out of control down Jones St. and shot into the air right in front of the corner store up the street from my house. I'll post the clip sometime soon.

We Major

I've said it before (but maybe not here) and I'll say it again: Kanye's blog is awesome.  He's always dropping these quick hit entries about the latest in design, art and music. Basically he blogs about stuff I can't afford. The latest dope gadget he posted is this cool beat machine:

He also recently put up a post about the Fossil Starck watches. A few months ago I was looking into getting this one but Macys didn't have one to try on. I didn't want to risk getting something that wouldn't look right on me so I didn't get it online. Now it's sold out but that's okay because I'd feel a little weird buying it after a million people saw it on Kanye's blog.

Lately I've been thinking about getting this watch (which happens to be on Fossil's homepage) but I'll probably hold off for a while. I spent the last few months gearing up for a few major purchases and now that the spending is underway, I don't think I need to buy things that aren't near the top of the list. More on that later...

This Ain't Fantasy Island

Adidas is dropping 20 different "remixes" of Gilbert Arenas' signature shoe. As if I didn't think Gil was crazy and awesome enough, they're using these GilTV videos to promote the kicks. Most of the shoes looks pretty awful but at least we get to see Gilberto interact with some guy in lobster outfit. Watch Glbert's "Hibachi" episode to get some cooking tips and have a happy Thanksgiving!

I'm A Bathing Ape Fanatic, Red Monkey Junky

Condé Nast Portfolio did a pretty interesting profile on Nigo and A Bathing Ape. The article focused on the business side of things, as was to be expected, but it also touched on Nigo and his relationship with the Japanese fashion industry. I knew Nigo was a huge nerd and a recluse but I didn't realize people in the industry thought so negatively of him. Even Hiroshi Fujiwara, the man responsible for the name "Nigo" was accusing him of falling off. I wonder if this will stir up streetwear beef because of Fujiwara's words. (I'm definitely joking but Nigo and HF are the Biggie and Pac of Japanese streetwear fashion. Well, based on their longevity, maybe Nas and Jay-Z are a better example...)

It would have been nice to get a fresh look at the Bape phenomenom (sure, it initially gained popularity through word of mouth but I still wonder exactly how/why that worked out so well) but I guess that story's been told before. I just think it's crazy how Nigo has been able to keep the exclusive feel around his company when it has clearly grown into a well-known brand. I guess he had a vision, something he focused on from day one and that has allowed him to keep people interested in what he has to offer. I just think what he has been able to create and achieve is incredible.

Lastly, I found it amazing how a company that's worth upwards of a billion dollars is supposedly on the verge of selling out. You know your company's big time when "selling out" means opening more international stores. Damn...

Read it.

I Wear My Sunglasses At Night

A while ago my sunglasses broke and I've been in the market for a new pair ever since. I've been trying on different glasses for about a month now. (No exaggeration. Before this weekend, I'd been to Union Square four weekends straight for various reasons and every single time, I've looked for a new set.) I have always had a hard time finding sunglasses that fit my face and so far these are the only ones I really like. The problem? They're Gucci. I originally wanted to spend less than $125 but now I'm considering paying a lot, lot more. I don't know... But it may be worth it, just so I don't have to drive to work wearing sunglasses that have only one arm.

Move That Behind Like Clockwork

Some of you readers (yeah, all five of you...) have been asking about the Uniqlock. It's a promotion for Uniqlo, which is the Japanese version of Gap, if it were trendier and of a higher quality. Specifically, I think they're pushing their new dry polos. My friend picked one up for me from the US flagship store in SoHo and it's a really nice shirt. Anyway, I know the Uniqlock is a little annoying but I'm trying to win a limited edition G-Shock x Uniqlo watch. They're giving away one watch everyday for 60 days to people who post the qlock. We're 36 days into the giveaway and so far I'm a big loser. Oh well, I didn't expect to win anyway. It was just too easy to enter this contest because I didn't have to write down a mailing address or give away my phone number. So bear with the bizarre, mildly annoying music for the time being. At least you get to see cute Japanese girls do weird dances. And every hour a famous dance duo does some crazy pop'n'lock routine. If you're ever reading near the bottom of the hour, you should stick around a few more minutes to check it out.

Always Fine Tuning Everything

Today, a few of us went out the Nihonmachi Festival in Japantown. I used the opportunity to check out the Fatlace store again. It's a pretty awesome shop because it's clean and simple, and it reminds me of some of the streetwear stores in Tokyo. But more importantly, both times I've been there (today and on the store's opening day a few weeks back) I had good experiences. Yeah, I know that's a weird thing to say about a small clothing shop but it's pretty refreshing when the customer service is noticeably good. Maybe I'm getting older and pickier, or maybe I'm just sick of going into stores that have employees who think they're too cool for school. They're the people who ignore me because I don't fit the "profile" and so they can check out the latest Youtube video or send text messages to their friends. At Fatlace, Ronnie and Victoria were helpful in answering my questions and showing me the latest goods without trying to get me to buy every last thing. After a quick chat, I ended up getting a pretty sweet shirt for my brother.

Oh, and while it's nothing special, the gift wrapping was definitely a nice touch.

Big Watch and a Pair of Bapestas

Tim Blanks from men.style.com toured Japan and made a few videos about different clothing stores in Tokyo. Here's the one about Bapexclusive, which is definitely one of the coolest stores I have ever visited. I went to a couple Bape shops in Tokyo and this one was clearly where it's at.

Also, Kanye West filmed a few scenes for "Stronger" inside the store so it must be cool, right?

I'll Be On Time Like Big Ben

I've been having the same conversation a lot lately, so I wanted to clear things up:

"Yes, it is a nice watch. Thank you... I know it's really white. I like it... No, it's not that big. I just have small wrists."