Road Tested: Common Projects BBall Low

Click to enlarge, huge.

Some people have nicknames for their car. Some have nicknames for their manhood. And the really pathetic even name their balls. I don’t really give anything nicknames, but I am turning over a new leaf and decided to call these all white Common Projects ‘Sarah’. It just seemed appropriate. I guess it is more of a dedication than a nickname.  If I am going to jump back into the all white shoe game – it has been since the 5th grade (double-lace Kaepa’s) - these BBall Lows are absolutely perfect. Yes, they are slim. And the toebox area is really low profile, but the extra long tongue make them a favorite with ladies.

The quality is absolutely top-notch as expected. Every bit of this shoe is buttery leather, with the exception of the sole and laces. The soles clean up nice and buttery ass leather has broken in very nicely. And just like the cougars you hunt on weekends, the wrinkles and creases actually make these look better. Wrinkles = Experience.

Conversations With Other Women

Movies like this actually make me look forward to getting older. Being wiser. More experienced. I feel like I am starting to get there now (I definitely look older ), but I like the idea of a time when you can forget about the rules, but still struggle with them a bit, and just be impulsive. If you were not breaking some obnoxious rules, it would not be as exciting. But because you are older, you understand the importance of living for the moment, with no regrets. This is a dope movie… one of my favorites.

Starring one of the hottest ever, Helena Bonham Carter, and now one of the coolest… Aaron Eckhart.

Tyrone Responds to a Stalker/Hater

This youtube beef shit fascinates me. I mean… how tough can you really be on a webcam? Through our work with Jermaine, I crossed path’s with his right-hand man, Tyrone, a few times. Tyrone holds it down quite effectively and as far as far as hip-hop assistants go, he is by far the coolest of those that I have met. He just has a the right kind of perspective. He has an incredibly enviable gig – traveling the world with JD (and Janet), the nightlife, etc. He has seen and done more than most people at his age, so he will no doubt draw some envy-based hate.

Watch Tyrone take a break from the good life to put this hater in his place, and as always, he does it with style. LOL

2008 Predictions… A Look Back

Last year, actually towards the end of 2007, I made some streetwear predictions. As an industry outsider, I deserve a little freedom to get things wrong, but they were not really all that bad. I put together this super slick excel spreadsheet that factors in posts from Hypebeast, Selectism, and other blogs and media outlets coupled with photo sites like Cobrasnake and Last Nights Party to give me a ‘Percentage Accurate” with 100% meaning I nailed it. It is easy to make predictions every year, because NOBODY ever goes back to see how they did. I have nothing to lose, so I did:

Prediction 1
Bulky, dirty sneakers will complement tight jeans. Think Jordan 6-10s with skinny jeans on hipsters. Note: This is not a sneaker-head thing… more of a waify, pasty hipster thing. Hipsters will rebel against the current trend of wearing women’s Keds.

Calculation: 72.5% Accuracy. According to a sweep of major blogs and photo sites, everyone from Lil Wayne to 12 year old skate kids were wearing skinny jeans with bulky high-tops, but they were not necessarily dirty. Keds and the like were still spotted with relatively high frequency on pasty hipsters.

Prediction 2
The lines between streetwear and luxury will continue to blur. The more mature streetwear kids will step their game up, which will no doubt require new jobs. Nigo has been spotted in a vest/tie/jacket combo more in the last 3 months of 2007 than in the last 10 years. You’ll hear streetwear kids rattle off high-end designers/labels with ease.

Calculation: 90.5% Accuracy. Shit! Have you looked at Hypebeast lately. You could slap a Brooks Brothers (shit, even lower, a J Crew) logo on some of the items featured and nobody would question it. This would have been 100%, but the number of new consumers entering the space offset the older streetwear kids’ effort to move towards more luxury to a small degree. Yes, there were a ton new luxury brands that became must-haves, but unfortunately, far too many brands still spit out nothing but t-shirts and New Eras.

J Crew? The Gap? Merona? Nope, it’s a brand called Useless (from Hypebeast).

Prediction 3
Legacy will be the dominant theme of 2008. Brands with a real history will reign supreme. Think Levis, Vans, Stussy, Reebok, Carhartt, etc. The hot new-ish brands will stick around, but nobody will be excited about new brands, and nobody will want to endorse them. That is not to say that new brands won’t give it a shot, but it will not be pretty. Hypebeast has already reached total laughable status.

Calculation: 80.25% Accuracy. According to the spreadsheet, all of the brands above had great years and some superb collaborations. With the influx of newer, higher-end, more sophisticated brands and looks making waves, if your name wasn’t Levis, Vans, Stussy, etc… you simply did not get noticed.

What do you think? Agree? Disagree?

Prodigy – Out of Space (Live)

Aww man, I get goosebumps watching this video. Even though this video was recorded waaaay after it was originally produced, it still throws me into good ol’ days goosebumps mode. They were sick back in the days. I bumped this in my Geo Storm, and you could be assured that any friend was also bumping it in their Escort, Celica, CRX, MR2, Mazda B2200, or Hyundai Excel. And the rich kids were bumping it in their 3000GTs, Supras, and Stealths. Music… bringing the social classes together!

I want Maxim’s job!

Prodigy is poised for a comeback, but what the hell does that mean in today’s music biz? No doubt a tour, and that sounds good to me.

B.o.B – Generation Lost

I will say it again… Bobby Ray is the future.

Road Tested: Common Projects Chukka

Click to enlarge

I have long been a fan of Common Projects, and it took me a while to finally indulge because but I had some issues with their slim Euro widths and appearance.  I loved the simplicity, but they just reminded me too much of the Italian guys (the ones vacationing from Italy) that would walk up and down Broadway with arms full of expensive shopping bags in their form fitting Pumas or Diesel sneakers.   You cannot go from rocking a bulky pair of Clae Russells or even Visvims, to these super slender Italian jobs.  But finally, I gave in… after I saw they made one of my favorite cuts… a Chukka (see Vans).  This will be the first of a few different Common Projects Road Tests.

The simplicity is so refreshing, and works so well with my Refine in 09 personal strategy.   And although I had not owned an Italian pair of shoes in awhile, I was quickly reminded of what my Dad always told me… the Italians do it best.  Yes, even better than Nike   You would expect some sort of noticeable wear in the waxed suede, but it always looks brand new.  I mean… I would not wear in the rain or anything, but there is no doubt, these shoes are a great value.  They are slim.   Maybe they will inspire me to lose some weight.  I am trying to get down to my fighting weight of 120 lbs.

These are perfect for the office, for big city commutes and even for Sunday brunch if you are into that sort of thing.   I am not really that into brunch, but I think these would work out well at a brunch.   Go get a pair and let me know what you think.

From the Back of the Closet: DC, Bally, NB & Clarks

Went digging in the back of the closet this weekend, and dug out some old classics I had stuck back there.

Click any photo to enlarge:

Check these Air Max inspired DC’s. I think these are about 12 years old now.  Lightly worn. Shit, for a skate shoe these would be considered BNIB. Make offer

These Bally’s are still some of the nicest shoes I have ever owned. Haven’t worn them in 5 years at least. Back in the day, they were all the rage in magazines like Wallpaper and Surface. Heck, I think Dwell even covered them back when it came out every two months, back before the emergence of all the Joe and Jane ModernHome people started overextending themselves on midcentury modern homes.

These New Balance were one of the first online purchases I ever made, back in 1997 or so, when I finally got a credit card. Wore them once or twice.

I have probably owned 6 pairs of Wallabees over the years – most of which were concentrated in a 1.5 year time period back when I was obsessed. I think was going through my shaggy hair, Richard Ashcroft phase back in college. My parents had the homeboy hook up – $55. Here is a pair that I never wore once. I believe the Nike-obsessed little kids would refer to these as ‘deadstock’ or as I like say… ‘douche-stock**’

** Who am I to judge… I am the douche posting my shoes on the internet.

Kanye West – Welcome to Heartbreak

I think this is the perfect combination of visuals + music. I know this video will catch major hate from those who prefer their visuals spoonfed to them like an episode of Real Chance of Love, but oh well, can’t please them all.

Fine Feature Film: My Bodyguard

If you are under the age of 30 or so, you are probably asking yourself… WTF?