Although most of our windows are made from scratch with original developed ideas, we sometimes draw inspiration from other cool stuff we come across. That was the case with this window made for a very stunning pair of Paul Smith shorts in June 2004. At this time, we’re not quite sure where we’ve seen this first but it was such a good idea that we decided to adopt it for a window. In case you’re wondering, there was massive bleeding on the shorts colors during the weeks they were immersed so our word of advice is, don’t try this at home kids…

Born at Soloba, a little village 300km away from Mali’s capital Bamako, african photographer Malick Sidibé became know to the general
public largely for his portraits and documentary photography about the Malian youth culture in the 1950s and 60s. His pictures, almost all
in black and white, are renowned for their intimacy, intensity and authenticity and are taken on his own studio, at parties, dance-clubs, and also in the poor boroughs and streets of Bamako. Witnessing his country’s tremendous social and cultural shift, Sidibé’s work reflects not
only the hopes, desires, contradictions and frustrations of the young but also dreams of western society, being a unique testimony of the
Malian society of those years. For us, they are also a powerful document about trends and personal style.

Ranging far out from your well know handkerchief or paper kleenex, the Pocket Square has long established itself as a true accessory in a men’s wardrobe. With different ways of folding and wearing it from more formal to flamboyant depending on the context, a Pocket Square
can definitely complement a suit and add your look a touch of style. Paul Smith has come up with some silk ones with colorful fun prints
that spread from polka dots to the London map. The seams are rolled and hand stitched and there’s the usual Paul Smith signature logo.

One of the most common things about growing up is to be dressed either by your mother or close relatives. We came across this spanish
family album and were surprised by these boys looks. Wearing their overalls, shorts, shirts, ties, bow ties and cardigans. Either indoors
or outdoors, at parties or in the garden. Regardless of the situation or place they always look good and well dressed, steadily and soundly
building the basis of their future wardrobe. Our point is, family (mostly mothers) play a major role in this department, at least by pointing
out the right direction to follow. The rest, will be entirely up to you…

The great Giorgio Brato bags are back in stock. Having talked about them a while back we couldn’t help but to do it again since they’re
quite amazing. Made from soft horse leather and canvas, they are dyed after they’re made which gives them unique characteristics in terms
of color and overall finishings. These bags are light, versatile and are guaranteed to look good hanging from your hand or shoulder.

From the unsteady streets of Soweto to the door steps of our city house, passing thru the quiet countryside, color is the key element of
these record covers. Yellow, red, blue, green. Different shading and use, in shoes, hats, shirts, trousers, shorts, bow ties, even in hair styles. On another note, and to further enhance the looks, notice the rolled up or short pants, preppy v-neck knits and the tucked in large fitted shirts.
With the world cup in South Africa having started and the Summer now running at full speed (at least around these parts…), we went for the use of color in the selection of these record covers as it is most often associated with hot seasons or climates. If you’re wondering about the last cover’s neck scarf, we admit it. Guess the football fever got to us all…

We love the beach. In fact, we think it is one of the best things the Summer has to offer. Paul Smith thinks that way too and we’re pretty
sure that was the reason why he came out with these multi color stripe beach towels. With their larger than usual size, there’s enough
space for two, which might be a good thing for those of you wanting to stay close to someone while enjoying the late afternoon sun.
By now, you probably already know where we’re getting at, don’t you?!….

Raf Simons continues to project his radically different image of masculinity with music, art and performance always playing a key role in displaying his creative vision for the contemporary man. A longstanding collaborator to Raf Simons, fashion photographer Willy Vanderperre created this short campaign video that truly embodies the mood of restraint that themed the Spring Summer collection.

Daisuke Iwanaga brings us Cornelian Taurus, a brand anchored in Japanese traditional methods and techniques while fully expressing the designer’s sensibilities. For his creations, Daisuke uses high grade horse nume leather which is imported from Europe and then vegetable tanned in Japan. Often inspired by things around him, all goods are handmade following exquisite designs and enjoying durable construction. Great skill and attention to detail result in unique, excellent made products which build an understated brand of seasonless trend free appeal. The trifold wallet and the small coin bag should definitely keep our financial life organized,… at least for a while.

Although we’re as much football fans as the next guy, this shoot’s color choosing had nothing to do with our country’s proud colors in the
World Cup. It just had to do with the sneakers contrasting laces… (now you know our trick ). With the north wind blowing quite strong,
our only challenge was to keep the paper sheets in place.
With the usual Paul Smith signature spit left to right on the back of the sole and multi stripe tab at the heel, the Gyozo is a kind of seven
eyelet plimsole sneaker that is available in white and washed blue canvas with matching trims running on top and color double stitching
on the outside of the foot. The decorative floral printed insoles bring the wearers extra joy also when taking them off.

We had already talked about Neil Barrett’s SS10 Artisanal Bonding Collection that consisted in enveloping everything in ultra thin leather. Now, in collaboration with Wallpaper magazine and Swiss watchmaker Maurice Lacroix, he extended this concept by fully wrapping the Lacroix’s Pontos Decentrique GMT Watch. This limited edition piece will be auctioned for charity purposes at the watchmakers website.

A dog’s life is not always easy, taking care of their masters or acting as guards, protecting the house and watching out for intruders. Therefore, if you want your dogs to remain faithful, you must treat them with respect and give them some gratification from time to time. That’s what we did with ours. Not being the usual guardian dogs, these Dalmatians always keep an eye on our backyard so, we decided
to give each a Neil Barrett silk bow tie so they can feel a little special. Here’s the end result. They sure look conspicuous, don’t they?!…

At the risk of having these pages looking more like an obituary than our store’s men style infused blog, we couldn’t help but to pay tribute to the life and work of one of 20th century’s greatest artists – Louise Bourgeois. Her work has always fascinated us in the way she revealed her personal traumas and tensions exploring the themes of betrayal, anxiety and loneliness and for the deep male presence surrounding it.
Also very appealing to us, was her collaboration with one of our biggest fashion references – Mr. Helmut Lang.
In SS/03, he used a reproduction of a silver choker she designed in 1948, in his Paris show. He had her singing in the soundtrack of two following shows and her sculptures were often exhibited at the Paris store and the New York studios. She featured in ads shot by Bruce Weber and they collaborated on the “Séance de Travail” exhibition-project for the Wien Kunsthalle, together with Jenny Holzer. For the AW/04-05 collection, he created a series of limited edition t-shirts and scarves using prints from her famous “Janus in Leather Jacket” work.
As friends, they shared a very strong emotional and unconditional bond.