Posts Tagged ‘shopping’
Brand Spotlight, Gifts, T-shirts, Polos & Shirts
By SLaw on June 19th, 2009

A good Father’s Day present is hard to find; we picked out some fab gifts yesterday, but my Dad was after a T-shirt. I headed to the high street to find him one, but quickly realised that what once was a goldmine for interesting, unusual tees was now a factory of cartoon characters, fussy design and ugly graphics. After a look around a few more typical high street retailers, I’d almost had enough.
Massive palm trees, logo’d shirts (I mean, really, in 2009?!) and the word ‘Osaka’ on every third T had really got to me. It’s the equivalent of wandering around Tokyo wearing ‘Luton’ across your chest. The oddest thing was the disparity between the immaculately-styled mannequins (in one shop, they had a sharp DJ over a loose white vest, belted with a black silk cummerbund) and the stuff lining the shelves. A frustrating shop, to say the least.
But then I remembered Carnaby Street’s little boutiques and dropped into Super Superficial. Simple, pretty graphics, no ‘distressing’, logos or Japanese city names. Added to that, the lovely & helpful staff and a Cafe Nero-style loyalty card scheme (after 10 Ts, you get one free) and you’ve got the recipe for the perfect Father’s Day present and quite possibly a bit of self-gifting as well. While it’s not exactly high street prices, it’s definitely worth a visit if you’re looking for an unusual but still stylish gift for your Dad.
Tags: father's day, high street, shopping, Super Superficial, t-shirts
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Accessories, Gifts, Grooming, Lifestyle & Gadgets, Scent & Aftershave, Watches
By admin on December 18th, 2008

Click image to enlarge
Everyone is guilty of it, (well not everyone, I have a colour-coded Google Docs spreadsheet, natch!) but last-minute Christmas shopping can often leave you with gifts that have an air of desperation about them.
These picks have something for every wallet and they all carry an air of “What this? I bought this in November” insouciance. The Habitat lamp is a tasteful nudge for every Ikea junkie, and the watch will help the wearer get the ‘Sexy Cab Driver’ look which is going to be very important in ’09. A ‘To Do’ tattoo list is useful when compiling all those New Year’s resolutions, and all the more useful because they’re temporary. Resolution, what resolution?!
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Tags: cdg man, christmas, gift, habitat, presents, shopping, timex, topman, urban outfitters
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Entertainment, Gifts, Lifestyle & Gadgets
By Will Reid on December 15th, 2008
“Bored of perfectly folded paper and exquisitely tied ribbon? Fancy adding a more ‘personal’ touch this year? Then why not have your Christmas presents CrapWrapped™ at Firebox. This exclusive, uniquely shoddy gift wrapping option involves us wrapping your pressies in a slapdash fashion. “
The Daily Mail reports that Firebox.com is paying “20 of its male forklift truck drivers and warehouse assistants to wrap presents as quickly as possible, using ugly brown duct tape and very little care” for their latest ‘CrapWrap’ service. The service has proved popular with over 500 Firebox customers after only a week of its launch but what do you think?
Is it a bit stereotypical to say that all men are bad at wrapping or do you agree with Geraldine James, buying manager for Christmas gifts at Selfridges, who states that “men are perfectly capable of wrapping presents beautifully. They choose to pretend they can’t so they don’t have to do it.”
Vote ‘Yay or Nay’ to the service after the jump!
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Tags: brandish, christmas, Clothing, crapwrap, daily mail, firebox, geraldine james, Gifts, internet, selfridges, shopping, will reid, wrapping, wrapping paper, yay or nay
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Clothing, Footwear, Luggage & Travel, Sales
By Colin Chapman on December 12th, 2008
With the post-Obama glow making the US a desirable destination again, the pound not doing so badly against the dollar and hot guides like Buck magazine’s current New York issue, you may well be considering a shopping trip to NYC for Christmas or for the sales.
Head downtown where (reasonably) well known destinations like BBlessing and Oak offer the novelty of man boutique shopping at good prices (for us Brits at least). Ralph Lauren Rugby, aptly off University Place and not available in Europe feels like Vampire Weekend’s dressing up box. Other lesser-known places include TheCAST’s first retail store and Freemans – the offshoot of the uber-trendy restaurant.
If you make if off Manhattan (its EASY!) then Williamsburg has some great options: the original Oak store, the APC sale shop and Shoe Market (THE place in the city for deck shoes at half UK prices). Oak, TheCAST and BBlessing all have webstores if you can’t make it in person (though be cautious of those import taxes at the UK post office).
Image: Bblessing

Tags: apc, Bblessing, Lower East Side, menswear, new york, oak, Ralph Lauren, Rugby, Shoe Market, shopping, Williamsburg
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Designer Spotlight, News
By Jonathan Smith on October 28th, 2008

The H&M Comme des Garçons collab website has gone live and it has prices and everything! Speaking of the prices it all seems to be reasonable and has certainly piqued my curiosity enough to put a mark in my diary for the worldwide release which is of course 13th of November.
The collection does genuinely look really nice and far better than the usual H&M attempts. I usually don’t buy into the business of convenient collaborations between high fashion and high street but this one has really grabbed me by the balls so I can only recommend that you get yourself down to one of the select H&M stores on the release date.
Check the website here.
Tags: collab, collaboration, commes des garcons, H&M, rei kawakubo, shopping, website, www.hm.com
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Heroes and Celebrities, News
By admin on August 22nd, 2008
DJ Spoony has been telling the Guardian about his favourite type of shirts, where his manbag is from and all other types of fashion-related stuff.
A bit of a surprise was the mention of Burton in his favourite UK shopping destinations:
“For clothes, Harvey Nichols or Selfridges are good. And Burton is nice now as well, honestly. I’ve found some real gems with their jeans and T-shirts. They fit beautifully and they wash well.”
I have to say his description of shopping is in my mind the only way it should be done: “I’m a hitman – in and out.”
Click image to enlarge
[Charles Knight/Rex Features]
Tags: dj spoony, guardian, manbag, shopping
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Accessories, Clothing, Designer Spotlight, sunglasses
By Will Reid on July 29th, 2008
I’m currently down in London, lapping up the (dubious) sunshine and attempting to dress in a way befitting of the cramped, and quite frankly torturous, morning tube journey. Turns out they’re not too pleased about being next to someone wearing a blazer with Margiela-esque shoulderpads. Basically, the heat is ridiculous and so yesterday I wondered into Convent Garden and bought some vintage sunglasses at Rokit.
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Tags: Agyness Deyn, Anna Ter Haar's Sunglasses, catwalk, fashion, Glasses, Klavers van Engelen, london, rokit, runway, second-hand, shoot, shop, shopping, sun, sunglasses, thrift, thrift store, vintage, vintage store, weather
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Entertainment, Heroes and Celebrities, Trends
By Will Reid on July 24th, 2008
Way back when (honestly Cristiano,) at the peak of the short-shorts trend, Brandish was rife with talk of Wham!, a model short-shorts wearer and metallic fabric. In an awfully weird way, Cristiano Ronaldo looks like a mixture of about three weeks worth of posts.
In case you haven’t already been blinded my that horrific pic to the left, I’m talking about this week’s latest fashion crime: those tight, silver short-shorts. Ronaldo was snapped while shopping at the Christian Audigier boutique in Beverly Hills, perfectly tangoed and crutch-ridden. Unlike that signature white suit, I can’t even bring myself to jokily utter that infamous question- Yay or Nay?
(Image Source: Most Wanted/Rex Features)
Tags: brandish, celeb, celebrity, Clothing, Cristiano Ronaldo, famous, football, George Michael, metallic, shopping, short, Short Shorts, shorts, trend, Trends, wednesday, Wham, yay or nay
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Accessories, Designer Spotlight
By Will Reid on July 10th, 2008
Now, I’m not really a jewellery kind of guy and apart from my vintage Omega watch and ragged friendship bracelets I really don’t indulge in the decoration of my exterior.
However, I do quite like this signet ring from Topman and the mixture of edgy ‘blue metal’ and classic signet ring is undoubtedly cool. It would require little other jewellery but would work perfectly with silver pieces such as necklaces and mangles (that’s bangles for those less acquainted with strange fashion-lingo.)
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Tags: Accessories, blue, brandish, colour, fashion, Jewellery, online, ring, Seasons, shop, shopping, signet ring, tattoo, topman, trend
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Heroes and Celebrities, News
By admin on July 3rd, 2008
I almost didn’t recognise Thierry Henry in this picture, gone is the footballer’s Gallic chic style which has been replaced by an altogether more ‘street’ (whatever that means) look.
We’re more used to seeing him in sharp suits like when he launched a capsule collection with Tommy Hilfiger late last year. The French aren’t known for their sartorial grasp on casualwear but I like his New York look. Although the jeans would look better either tighter or baggier and I’d ditch the dodgy belt altogether the trainers and t-shirt are pretty cool. All he needs is a few accessories to set off the tie print tee but the matching red sunnies are a nice touch.
What do you think, do you prefer our Tel in casual or smarter looks?
[Images: Rex Features]
Tags: football, new york, shopping, thierry henry, tommy hilfiger
Posted in Heroes and Celebrities, News | 2 Comments »
Designer Spotlight, Heroes and Celebrities, knitwear
By Will Reid on May 19th, 2008
Resort season is always a bit of a drag for me; overly-frivolous (yes I see the haute-couture irony) and just another season to get my head around, the jump from cashmere coats to cruise is always too much. Karl Lagerfeld’s show for Chanel was proving nauseatingly frilly and I would challenge any British man not to feel melancholic at the sight of a male model in pink tie-dye. That was until Brad Koenig swaggered down the runway wearing that Chanel jumper. You may think that referring to a item as that only three days after it made its debut might be slightly forward but it’s cashmere, a jumper, Chanel and now on Brandish’s WISHLIST. Need I say more?
Lookout for more coverage of male resort looks this week on Brandish.
(Image Source: Marcio Madeira)
Tags: brad koenig, brandish, Calvin Klein, Chanel, jumper, Karl Lagerfeld, resort, shopping, Trends, Wishlist
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Accessories, Designer Spotlight
By Will Reid on May 14th, 2008
Now I know for a fact that I wasn’t the only one disappointed with Met Gala-attending celebrities lack of Superhero costume inspiration. In fact, Zac Posen was the only attendee who matched up to my high standards of fancy-dress. Therefore, I was delighted when I came across this River Island cap with Marvel Comic decoration (Persil, Armani, River Island- what isn’t Marvel on at the moment!) The only River Island I have ever entered outside the realm of cyber-space was in Fife, Scotland and the fact that the staff could collectively set up a tattoo and piercing parlour helped me to never return. Add to this that I was once told I don’t have a “hat-face,” I was understandably cautious of putting this on my WISHLIST. No longer shall I worry as this cap has enough Wham! Zap! Pow! to last me at least another month of pretending I could wear it.
Marvel Cap, £12.99, River Island
Tags: Christina ricci, comic, marvel, Met Institute Costume Gala, Met Institute Costume Gala 2008, river island, scotland, shopping, superhero, Wishlist, Zac Posen
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