A menswear store under the influence

Jun Takahashi of (fashion label) Undercover has created two new fragrances along with Comme des Garçons Parfums. The fragrances are called Undercover Holygrace and Undercover Holygrapie and drawn inspiration from Takahashi’s enigmatic doll-making universe, in particular his fantastic plush creatures – Grace and its child Grapie. The two scents play off each other and intend to “express ambivalence – the violence of children and the sensuality of adults”. Holygrapie reflects the smell of babies, kindness, sensuality and spice while Holygrace is a perfume of elegance, soap freshness and guess what ?!, poison…
You can now smell them at the shop!

This is another of our Found Photos we sent to the Sartorialist and that he selected for his Vintage Photo Contest. (see it here)
The back of the photo says the year is 1945 and we’re guessing this is probably somewhere in the countryside.
Observe this gentleman’s meticulously parted hair, the raised argyle v-neck sweater over a white shirt and a diagonal
stripe tie. Notice how elegantly and effortlessly he sits in some kind of early rustic “pretzel” chair.
Judging by his focused gaze, maybe there was a distant lover on his mind…

If you’re anything like us, there’s always a moment when packing your bags to go somewhere, that you stubbornly try to fit the shoes in,
only to find that there’s not enough space left…
Well, if there’s a shoe that fits every suitcase, its the plimsoles. A combination of durable canvas uppers with practical rubber soles, these sneakers have a timeless appeal and can be dressed up or down. Acne knows this and so they came up with their own version for SS10.
The Arch sneaker comes in bleached and washed black denim, four-eye lace up closure and contrasting burgundy leather laces.
So keep in mind… if the shoe fits, wear it!

Although some of these pieces may have arrived a couple of weeks ago, we decided they deserved a little enhancement so, we went on and did a little round-up on Our Legacy’s HIDDEN HARVEST collection for Spring-Summer 2010. Featured are the sundried chinos in olive and blue and the terracota and olive bombed t-shirts. The 1940′s blue lino oxford shirt displays Oldschool details like button on back collar and a loop
to hang it up. In a more classic tone, there’s the handsome, wear with all, placket button down shirts, in red and marine candy oxford cotton. Knitwear also has it’s place in the collection with superfine made in Scotland sweatshirts and cardigans boasting real wood buttons. Watch out for the linen Iceland check shirt and don’t worry, there’s no smoke coming out of this one…

Ok! It isn’t summer yet but it sure feels like it. It’s been so hot for the last couple of days that people already started wearing t-shirts and shorts on the street, which is quite alright as long as you know how to pull it off. Speaking of which, check out these guys attitude with their crazy haircuts and wearing baseball t-shirts and sneakers. They sure took it another level back in ’89. In “Do The Right Thing”, director Spike Lee captured in detail all that late 80′s street style vibe, in a time when rap and hip-hop were really hot.

Going for a swim?
It’s that time of year again. You head to your closet in search of swimwear only to find that pair of shorts looking
a bit shabby from last summer’s adventures.
But don’t worry, Paul Smith is glad to help. Every year he manages to come up with something new… Go Figure?!?
Playing with this season’s mandatory check pattern, he makes a longer above the knee version with adjustable waist straps and side
slit pockets. Planning on going “undercover”? Then opt for the shorter “camo-style” flower print with back patch pockets, that will help
you blend with ease into any surroundings.

The last 24 hours have been really crazy and rewarding for us. In this period of time, we got so much international press that our
internet server is actually having trouble in managing the visits to the website…;-))
HYPEBEAST, SLAMXHYPE, SELECTISM, Diane Pernet’s A SHADED VIEW ON FASHION, between Yuketen shoes and the Moving Window,
they all featured our stuff. It’s nice to know we got our back’s covered by some of the most influential blogs in the business.
At the same time, we’ve reached our first 1.000 fans on Facebook so, guess we’re no virgins on that department anymore either.
And then, there was all your nice comments and emails, that we would now like to publicly acknowledge.

Thank you for all your support and we’ll do our best to keep it up.

Warm Regards,
The Team @ Por Vocação

P.S. You can check out all the posts and reviews by clicking on the images above

This is the window we made for the SS10 Buttero sneakers, with movement in mind.
With more than 50 windows done so far, the reaction to this one has been really amazing.
We are quite happy to say that the Moving Window is a real showstopper!…

These are the latest items from the Neil Barrett SS10 collection to arrive at the shop. Finely striped shirts have shredded collars,
short cuffed sleeves and pocket square details. In the sartorial tradition, the lightweight cotton jacket has its sleeve buttonholes left
deliberated closed to allow shortening. Pleated shorts are made from a dapper linen fabric and a cotton and lyocell mix is used for
the double layered, skull print sleveless tank. Hence that lyocell, is the most eco-friendly of the naturally regenerating fibers.
Our intention is, to keep your wardrobe light, cool and ecologically balanced this season.

Yuketen is a classic “Made in USA” heritage brand, inspired by old world craftsmanship, artisanal techniques and innovative design. The shoes are handmade one by one, by artisans who really care about the quality of their work, with an obsession about the quality of each product.
Only the most durable and precious raw materials are used in their genuine hand-sewn moccasin construction. Each shoe is lasted by hand and hand-sewn with unequivocal accuracy and soles are attached with heavy-stitching vintage equipment. Yuketen wants to inspire people to be conscientious about their purchases: consider its origin, background and heritage, in addition to its aesthetic and style.
Here’s our three proposals for the brand, one more fun, other more serious and another one, just in between.

Our second round of SS10 looks, moves a little closer to the Summer vibe with fresh linen Ts(s) jackets and very light cotton sweaters and cardigans from Raf Simons and Acne. For those of you who feel more relaxed, we’ve thrown in some Boglioli smooth cotton shirts and comfy Band of Outsiders track pants. In case you’re planning a weekend getaway, don’t forget to pack up all your essentials in a Paul Smith Mini bag. A more “rocky” feeling screams out from our last look, with a hooded zip vest worn over Neil Barrett’s check tie-shirt and fitted trousers.
In the footwear department, we’re really loving the Buttero sneakers and boat shoes right now, with the only exception being made to
the Converse by John Varvatos Star trainer, featured in red canvas. Shades are Linda Farrow Luxe and LF for Raf Simons collab.
You know the drill, click on main photo to change between looks and roll mouse over to see price and detail.

German band Palais Schaumburg was part of the short-lived Neue Deustche Welle movement that kicked off in Germany around 1979.
The Hamburg-based band debuted in 1981 and had amid its founders, Thomas Fehlmann (currently The Orb) and cult figure Holger Hiller,
who later gave way to renowned music producer Moritz von Oswald. Their avant-garde unique sound and lyrics became one of the major influences among german musicians and artists during that period.
Although mostly recognized for their ground breaking sound, to us they also symbolize the beginning of a certain aesthetic that is so present these days. Their looks, hair, clothes, the way they move and dance makes it almost impossible to believe that this was nearly 30 years ago…

Neil Barrett has long accustomed us to his understated and essentially masculine style, focused on detail, design and fit of a garment.
For the current SS10 season, he took it a step further, introducing what he called the Artisan Bonding Collection. In his own words, bonding is taking the finest of glove leathers and applying it on top of garments, almost like a shadow impression in leather. He did this on jackets, shirts and pants while using a neutral color palette and complemented it with the first use of print he has made in recent years.
Here’s some of the runway key looks and backstage pictures.