McQ Futuristic Hoodie

How did this one pass me by? I’ve  been scrutinising the McQ collection, the diffusion line from Alexander McQueen hoping that it would turn up something wearable, and I totally missed this little number. I suspect foul play.
I have, what you might call a “penchant” for printed hoodies (penchant is French for addiction). However, this one I’m sure you’ll agree is a beaut. What is that print? I wouldn’t even know how to describe it. The only thing it reminds me of is the workings of my Jelly see-through Swatch, which I had when I was about 14. The colour combination is genius.
And what’s more, it’s on sale – sale! – from Factory People. It’s still $188, but that’s peanuts compared to other McQ stuff.

Dior SS 2008 Hoody

As I’ve said before, I’m really not
impressed with the S/S 2008 Dior range. My main gripe with this collection -
aside from the ill-fitting jeans – is the fact that much of it is too
derivative.

The hoody on the left is pretty representative
of their collection – ugly and derivative. It looks like a GSCE student’s
attempt at a Jackson Pollock and the styling is something that Artful Dodger
did to greater effect. Seeing as Dior have dipped lately, hopefully some other
designer will come and take the skinny tailored mantle for a few seasons,
otherwise Pete Doherty will have nothing to wear.

Nom de Guerre High Collar Coat

If you’re not so flush with cash that you can afford a proper overcoat as well as a casual jacket for winter, this High Collar coat from Nom de Guerre offers a good compromise. It’s smart enough to be worn when you need to look posh, but will look equally at home when you’re on a night out or down the pub.
The military detailing is quite current as well, and the thick fleece lining will keep you nice and snug. The high collar is clearly the selling point and it’s a really nice touch – it can be rolled up for extra warmth or rolled down to stay out of the way.
They’re available from Context, but look out for something similar in the forthcoming sales.   

Dolce & Gabbana double breasted pea coat

Pea coats are all the rage at the moment.
We’ve featured them
numerous times and we thought
we’d found all the double breasted pea coats that were worth finding. We were
wrong. This Dolce
& Gabbana herringbone coat features every popular trend without looking
over designed.

With all that said, I could have done
without the shoulder flaps. But apart from that, this coat is as close to
perfection as you can get. As you’d expect, this coat isn’t cheap, costing
£965. It is worth it though and if you can afford it, you might as well get
something worth the money. 

Dior SS2008 Leather Jacket

The Dior SS2008 collection has been
underwhelming so far, seemingly taking out everything that worked and leaving
everything that didn’t. Seeing as we’re optimists here at Brandish, we’ve picked an item from the collection
that’s actually quite nice.

I’m fully aware that ‘quite nice’ is the
worst compliment you can get, as it’s something someone would say about a packet of digestives rather than talking about a clothing collection.
But that’s the best I can say about this leather jacket. It’s not mind blowing,
amazing or any other superlative. It’s just nice.

Acronym Grey Sweat

It’s a bit of a bugbear of mine (one of many) when you have clothes where every inch of them is spangled or bejewelled or ripped or embroidered or printed. I think it looks really crass.
On the other hand, when an item is loaded with lots of small details, like this sweatshirt from Acronym, I really like it.  Head over to The Glade and inspect the details through their nine (nine!) separate close ups. Its really quite impressive. Clever construction has given the sweatshirt some nice seam detailing, and the oddly positioned pockets on the front may not be practical but they look great. There’s also a bit of piping and a small embroidered logo to catch your eye.
All the clever detailing draws you in and creates interest without screaming for attention. Nice job Acronym.

Concrete Hermit T-shirts

Concrete Hermit is a ‘post-neo-old-skool’ T-shirt, print and book shop in London’s fashionable Shoreditch. They work with a number of selected graphics artists to produce their products which are as quietly anarchic as they are desirable.
Their products are also available through their web-shop where you’ll find amongst, other things, these monster T-shirts by Motomichi, which ably illustrate the Concrete Hermit aesthetic: quirky and amusing, with a strongly graphic design.
They’re all fairly reasonably priced too – between £25 and £30. I know North Americans might find that extortionate, but here’s it’s the price of a sandwich.

Yay or Nay: Visvim suede hybrids

Visvim are a high end Japanese
clothing brand. They tend to focus on Bape-esque copies of popular American
trainers. Personally, I’ve never understood this trend or its popularity.
Paying £300 for what it is essentially a pair of fake Nike Air force ones doesn’t
appeal to me.

Visvim have been doing the same
things with Converse All-stars and now these
hybrids between old school Kickers shoes and leisure trainer’s soles. For
me, this is the worst kind of hybrid, marrying the ugliest part of shoes and
trainers to make one awful shoe. That’s before we even get to the price tag,
which is a hefty £170. While they’re not to my taste, maybe you do? If you
think this are really pretty and underpriced then let me know in the comments
section.

Baracuta Tweed Jacket

Tweed is a trend that hasn’t quite
taken off yet, which means there’s plenty of time for people to jump on the
bandwagon without looking like they’ve jumped on a bandwagon. Baracuta have jumped onto this trend with
this tweed
jacket.

Elasticated cuffs don’t suit most
jackets but they’re perfect for this, giving the jacket the modern twist that most tweed
needs. It’s vintage mod styling whilst maintaining the on-trend look and you can buy it from the Start boutique for £215.

Apolis Activism Trench Hood

Moral stalwarts with an eye for fashion, Apolis Activism, have concocted this slightly strange but very wearable hybrid from the purest American cotton, a little environmental awareness and a lot of imagination.
The jacket takes some of the design elements from the classic trench coat: the double breast, the shoulder flaps – and gives them a biker twist with some very modern hardwearing detailing.
It’s a long shot but I think it kinda works. I can see it in with some tight black jeans in an Ann Demeulemeester way.
You can get the jacket from Context clothing.

Irrational hate #1: Toggles

Toggles are
the ugliest things in the world. Why do designers insist on using them? They
look more like blunt daggers rather than something you’d use to button your
coat. They’re unnecessarily over-sized and can be guaranteed to make coats look
like something secondary school kids would wear. They can’t even button a coat
by itself – they need the help of some equally ugly little pieces of rope.

Toggles had
been rightly thrown to the fashion cesspit, leaving them in the hands of pushy
mothers who forced a XXXXL toggled coat on one of their children. But some
designer had the bright idea of bringing back the lumberjack trend and with it,
toggles.

Whilst I
have no irrational hate for the rest of the lumberjack trend, all I want is a
little quality control. If you’re going to revive a look, at least show some
discretion.

YMC Double Zip Jacket

YMC – You Must Create – emerged from Duffer of Saint George many moons ago with their particular brand of quirky colourful designs. This shiny nylon mod-inspired mac is a bestseller at Oak and is also available from YMC’s on-line store.
The jacket has versatility built into the design with a choice of two front zips, depending on how slim you want it to be or presumably how many pies you’ve eaten, you greedy pig. Zips conceal pockets on the front and sleeve as well as a hood.
It’s probably not quite warm enough for the cold snap we’re experiencing at the moment in the UK (innit freezing?), but it will be perfect for the long cold slog into spring.

Jeans to bike in from Self Edge

Continuing my quest to uncover the most stylish bike wear, I’ve come across these jeans from Iron Heart and Self Edge designed with the cyclist in mind.
The catchily titled SEXIH03 are fashioned from the heaviest weight Japanese denim, making them extremely hard-wearing. They also have a number of features designed for extra comfort and resilience when you’re pedaling: Extra belt loops will keep your belt in place against the downward pull of your jeans; a crotch seam which has been moved forward by an inch for extra comfort and decreased wear; rear pockets which will carry a D-lock; and a higher rise at the back and lower rise at the front to accommodate the seated cyclist and stop you flashing your bum crack to drivers whilst you’re waiting at traffic lights.
These babies are severely limited edition: only 125 pairs have been made in indigo and only 25 in black. They’re retailing for $360 and are available from www.selfedge.com from December 1st.
[via High Snobiety]

GoodShapeDesign

Print designer Wayne Pate runs a bit of a cottage industry under the name GoodShapeDesign, screen-printing his striking designs onto cotton tees and heavy stock paper, both of which can be purchased through his website. Boasting a “simple minded approach to concepts and ideas”, he rates the quality of the materials he uses for his products on a par with their design, which is encouraging to hear from a designer.
These three designs are just a selection of the delights he has on offer. From left to right the 3-D cube, the Russian-inspired Cody Hudson and the whimsical Sergeant Pepper are all yours for between $25-30, so they’re very reasonably-priced as well as being proper gorgeous. Get on over to GoodShapeDesign to explore the whole collection.

Freemans Sporting Club so-bad-it’s-good T-shirt

When I was younger I had a friend who’s family had framed posters of wolves howling at the moon and eagles in flight. Their holiday snaps would show mother draped supine and dreamy across tree stumps or sitting beatifically in a stone circle. There was something endearing about the family’s unselfconscious naffness.
There’s something of same tree-hugging pseudo-spirituality which has been captured in this Freemans Sporting Club T-shirt available from Refinery29. Label co-owner, Taavo Somer’s design depicts an empty kayak, perhaps deserted by a Native American who has gone into the woods to marvel at nature’s beauty or smoke a peace pipe. Click on the pic to see the beauty close up. It’s now in the sale at a very reasonable $20 so its dead cheep. Refinery promise that its printed on the softest cotton which they claim will like you’ve owned it your whole life.
Yes, I know it’s awful, but don’t you think its charming?