BLOG : FASHION & STYLE

Pop Up Flea IV

By Tom Ran

Published: December 2, 2011 under Fashion & Style

Kirk and Chris Bray of Billykirk and James Wilson of Secret Forts from last year's Pop Up Flea

Photo: Michael Williams

Michael Williams and Randy Goldberg return this holiday season with Pop Up Flea #IV. It gets bigger by the year with a list of established and independent labels. Over thirty brands will be participating including L.L. Bean Signature, Red Wing Heritage, Levi’s Vintage Clothing, Billykirk, The Hill-Side, J.W. Hulme, Oak Street Bootmakers, Terrapin Stationers, and many more. They’ve changed location and moved over to 159 Bleecker Street. Pop Up Flea opens today from 3-9pm, Saturday 11am-7pm, and Sunday from 11am-6pm.

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AETHERstream

By Tom Ran

Published: November 14, 2011 under Fashion & Style

The AETHERstream taking temporary residence in LA

Photo: Paul & Williams

AETHER, the outdoor sportswear, is taking their latest collection on the road and setting up temporary residence in different cities. After a month in LA, the AETHERstream is traveling 3000 miles across the U.S. and stopping in NYC. For a month and a half the mobile retail shop housed in a 34’ PanAmerican Airstream will be parked on the corner of Prince and Mulberry. AETHER partnered with designer Thierry Gaugain, Philippe Starck’s former right-hand man, to reconfigure the airstream from leisure to retail space. Gutting out all the essentials for modern living and styling it into a workshop / lodge. Planks of reclaimed oak secure the floors while a hanging fireplace sits comfortably in the back of the trailer, almost every component of the AETHERstream was custom made. The mobile store will open its doors this Thursday, November 17 from 11-7pm, 7 days a week till December 31st.

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The Daily Recommendations

By Tom Ran

Published: October 5, 2011 under Fashion & Style

WILD & WOOD COFFEE around the corner from the Fantastic Man office.

Photo: Fantastic Man

You know how challenging it is to run a blog? It’s a ball and chain. Once you start, it’s a long road to commitment. Volume is what it takes for returning readers, but there are other sites that are just as good without having to post five to ten times a day. Take Fantastic Man’s Daily Recommendations as an example. It’s a fresh perspective on endorsement with one entry a day. Quite often it’s about style, like a recent week devoted to jumpers or another on denim. Other times it’s simply about a good coffee shop around the corner from the office. The Daily Recommendations is a bite size nugget of daily info that is consistent with their editorial point of view.

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Rugged Factory

By Tom Ran

Published: September 22, 2011 under Fashion & Style

Sketch of the Rugged Factory

Photo: Free & Easy

Only a handful of magazine have been able to create a brand strong enough to exist beyond its publication and expand into products. Monocle is one, Free & Easy is the other. Free & Easy has been operating The Rugged Museum in Tokyo for several years selling vintage American clothing from workwear to military garb. They have since developed the Rugged name into a full collection called Rugged Factory, with offerings from coats to shoes. Now Inventory Magazine reports that they are in the process of opening up a retail space for their line. There’s no mention of a launch date or a location for that matter, only a sketch of what the shop is suppose to look like.

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Hudson Semi-Automatic

By Tom Ran

Published: September 9, 2011 under Fashion & Style

Semi-Automatic, an oversized vending machine stocked with designs from CFDA’s Fashion Incubator

Photo: Hudson hotel

Unlike Japan, vending machines in the United States don’t go much further than offering snacks and drinks for sale. But Morgans Hotel Group and the Council of Fashion Designers of America will change this. The two have teamed up for Semi-Automatic, an over-sized vending machine featuring items from designers taking part in CFDA’s Fashion Incubator. The giant machine will play the role of a hotel gift shop as it sits in the lobby of Hudson hotel. The glowing yellow lights illuminating through the box will be unmistakable, offering designs from Alice Ritter, Gemma Redux, Grey Ant, Jolibe, Public School, Ruby Kobo, and Sang A. Semi-Automatic will be fully operational 24 hours a day throughout the week.

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Buddy Holly 75th

By Tom Ran

Published: September 6, 2011 under Fashion & Style

Buddy Holly's 75th Birthday

Warby Parker is celebrating what would have been Buddy Holly’s 75th birthday for this year’s Fashion’s Night Out. They teamed up with producers Randall Poster and Gelya Robb from the tribute album Rave On Buddy Holly to host a live performance from Justin Townes Earle. And to top it off cocktails and cake will be served. This all happens at Partners & Spade this Thursday from 6-9pm.

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FEATURES

Battersby Brooklyn

By Sarah Williams
Left: Chef Walker Stern Right: Chef Joseph Ogrodnek

Photo: Tuukka Koski

At Battersby, it’s all personal. Chef-owners Walker Stern and Joseph Ogrodnek have a long-standing friendship that’s taken them through culinary school to stints at some of the city’s best restaurants.

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Chuck Miller

By Caroline Hwang
Chuck Miller with his wife Jeanette Miller

Photo: Michael A. Muller

The Meatpacking District in New York is full of beautiful Manhattanites, working professionals, and stylish tourists who are staying at the nearby Gansevoort Hotel and the Standard. So when you…

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Journal: Clift San Francisco

By Michael Muller
Frontside view of the Clift from Geary Street

Photo: Michael A. Muller

On a recent trip to San Francisco, the Clift hotel was the central figure and home base on a quick three-day stay during the onset of autumn in…

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