BRANDS TO WATCH - OFFICINE GENERALE

It’s a family story, between land and sea. On one side, a grandfather working as a tailor, surrounded by old Singer sewing machines. On the other side, a grandfather working as an oysterman, always dressed in his workwear, an old chino, a chambray shirt and faded heavyweight jacket. Pierre Mahéo would never choose between those two influences.

Created in january 2012, Officine Générale mixes workwear heritage with classical tailoring. Every detail, every pocket, every stitch has been thought about to ensure the item last longer, and improve the comfort of its wearer. The washing of the fabrics also give each item a distinct life and real depth. Because beauty is in the authenticity.

But clothes from Officine Générale also have the perfection of tailored pieces. Fabrics come from Japan, England or Italy. Oxford, chambray, poplin for the shirts, fresco for the jackets, french terry for the sweats, and so on… Here nothing is flashy or vulgar.

Made in Portugal, Italy and France, Officine Générale collections look like their creator Pierre Mahéo, who previous worked for several big fashion houses from Italy and France. At 38, he created Officine Générale to design the clothes he had always dreamt of wearing. After two seasons his brand is already available from a selection of 45 of the best shops in the world. Officine Générale's flagship Paris store is due to open next year in Saint Germain des Prés, the neighborhood where Mahéo lives and works.

RALPH LAUREN - THE MODERN EXPLORER

“I have always been drawn to the beauty of things designed to function. Mixing technical pieces with more traditional prints and patterns creates not only a quality experience, but a look that is unique, and for me, very exciting.” 

–Ralph Lauren

STANLEY TURNS 100

Remember the green bottle your dad or grandpa always carried on fishing trips or on his way to work? It probably had a few scratches on it, may have even been dropped once or twice, yet despite the abuse, it always kept coffee hot... for hours. That’s the legendary Stanley bottle.

Born from inventor William Stanley Jr. who forever changed the way hot drinks were consumed in 1913, he fused vacuum insulation and the strength of steel in one portable bottle inventing the all-steel vacuum bottle we know today.

The Stanley brand has a rich history and is headquartered in Seattle, WA, home of MT Rainier and the birthplace of Jimi Hendrix. Surrounded by mountains, evergreens, and the Puget Sound, the brand live and breathe the outdoors.

COUNTRY HOUSE AUTHENTIC BLUE AW 2013

A new Season, a new visit @ Country House Authentic Blue.

It's always a pleasure to meet up with Harry Polderman owner of Country House. With a cup of coffee in our hand he explains the collection to me, which brands are new and the specialties of his other brands. One of the new guys in town is Pike Brothers, known for their raw denims. One of Pike's eye catchers is the Denim Overall presented under a tin cloth jacket from Filson. Speaking of Filson, Country House is one of the few stores world-wide who sells vintage Filson bags, presented on the wall with a Woolrich Parka. My personal favorite in store is the Filson Guide Work Jacket in Harris Tweed. (btw it isn't Harry on the picture it's a Authentic Blue fan, who came to show his 1988 bike)

THIS AIN'T THE NEW LOOKBOOK OF RRL

This collection of pictures is taken long before RRL started with it's mugshot inspired lookbooks.

In 1990 the Australian Historic Houses Trust rescued a remarkable collection of NSW (New South Wales) Police forensic photographs from a flooded warehouse in Lidcombe. Created between 1912 and 1964, the archive contains approximately 130,000 glass plate negatives depicting crime scenes, police activities, forensic evidence and mug shots and may be the biggest police photography collection in the southern hemisphere. The Historic Houses Trust has the job of conserving, repackaging, digitising, researching and cataloguing the archives contents, for which original record systems have been lost. You can find the story behind these pics and even more of them at Twisted Sifter.

AT THE MIDWAY @ THE WASHINGTON STATE FAIR IN PUYALLUP

At The Midway is a project of Marcellus Neel, he is the special project art director of Eddie Bauer, together with photographers Caleb & Ariana Babcock and stylist Brynn Renné.

At The Midway captures the uniquely American coming-of-age experience of a visit to a State Fair: the setting sun over the rides, the lights, the games, the food, the animals--and how young relationships and romance and flirtation play out over that setting. The photographers are this cool husband and wife team that are somewhat just starting out but have a ton of talent, and the stylist is really talented, too. They shot it at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup, Washington--about a half hour south of Seattle. Basically they just found this good looking group of friends, said they'd take them to the fair, pay their way and tell them what to wear if they'd let them follow them for snaps.

GANT RUGGER - SPRING/SUMMER 2014

Click here for all looks of Gant Rugger Spring/Summer 2014 collection.