‘los angeles’ Category
Stussy at Rose Bowl Swap Meet - Real or fake?
My wife and I and some others went to The Rose Bowl Swap Meet last weekend. It was the first time I’d ever been there; pretty sad as I’ve lived in LA my whole life.
Over all it was pretty cool, but I’m not writing a review on that. My real issue here is the Stussy booth that was set up there. I could not figure out if the clothes real or bootlegged. Overall, most of it looked real, but the whole set up was so messy and unofficial looking that I really couldn’t tell.
Hundreds of Stussy New Eras, thousands of tee shirts… all just piled on tables outside. I mean does Stussy really sell their stuff like that?
I saw at least one shirt that looked like it fit badly, like it was too short and wide. I saw another shirt where too much ink was applied on the silkscreen and the image was kind of bubbly. Maybe they were just seconds, like mistakes and what not, but I couldn’t help thinking it was all fake.
One guy picked up a Stussy x Mad Hectic x Undefeated tee and asked the lady working the booth how much it was. She told him it was $40 and that it was available only in Japan. Well according to Hypebeast it was available at Undefeated in the US, too. Maybe she was just misinformed… or maybe she was trying make a sale on some fake-ass shit!
The Rose Bowl Swap Meet is a huge event though and I would think that if they were selling fake Stussy, they’d get caught real quick. What the hell do I know, though.
Anyone out there know if this stuff was real? I mean shit, I should have bought some if it was.
Tags: streetwear stussy tee shirt new era fashion los angeles rose bowl
New FUCT website and collection
FUCT has been making a comeback in the last year or two and have just recently released their new site and their new F/W ‘07 collection. Looks OK.
They’ve got 2 lines: BDU (Battle Dress Uniform, according to Highsnobiety) and Premium. It’s definitely a departure form what they’ve been doing.
The BDU line is mostly black and white and the art is in a west coast graffiti/tattoo type of style.
The Premium line so far seems to consist of just 3 tees which are soft cotton, thin tees with soft, worn feeling prints.
An apparent anti-war message runs throughout the line. It’s kind of a weird thing with FUCT, I can’t figure out where they’re coming from, what they’re saying. The website has got girls in lingerie drinking in front of a confederate flag. It’s all very artistic and tasteful mind you, but nonetheless… it is what it is. That combined with what seems like anti-war messages and it kind of seems like FUCT doesn’t really know where it stands. Not that drunk girls and peace are necessarily conflicting ideas, it’s just that I can’t tell what this line is about now or who what demographic they’re aiming at. The vintage-cotton tees aren’t my thing either. There’s nothing wrong with them, but it seems to me that when a line starts printing shirts like that, they’ve basically left teh streetwear market. I wouldn’t be surprised to see these shirts end up at Barney’s NY, Scoop, or Fred Segal, places like that. Which if they do, props to FUCT and founder Erik Brunetti for getting his shit out there. I remember when I thought I was dope with my FUCT logo tee and then they started carrying it at Urban Outfitters. I couldn’t buy anything else FUCT for a while.
I just read an interview with Erik Brunetti and he definitely seems like a smart, cool, down-to-earth dude. And FUCT has been one of my favorite lines for the last 12 years or so. I’m glad to see they’re back and I hope they do well. I’m just a little confused at what they’re putting out there. Maybe it’ll just take a little time to digest.
Rogue Status disses The Hundreds on new sticker. Snaps!
I saw this on a MySpace bulletin from Rogue Status, a new sticker they just put out:
I mean DAMN! Maybe it’s tongue-in-cheek and they’re good homies and The Hundreds family is laughing with them, but I doubt it.
Rogue Status is probably most well known for their “Gun Show” tee:
I personally don’t think RS has any real right to diss The Hundreds like that. I’m looking at their site right now and these shirts are nothing special. I’m guessing that Rogue Status takes pride in the boldness of their designs. And they are bold and definitely catch your eye, but bold just for the sake of being bold is really just loud and obnoxious. I mean, the “Kate Moss Blows” shirt? Come on… who wears that?
The whole thing is pretty childish. You don’t see top companies out there shitting on their competition. You don’t see Stussy with a shirt that says some shit like, “Fuck Upper Playground.” Yanawmean?
And also, the sticker doesn’t even make sense. It’s one thing to say “Streetwear is dead.” Alright, whoa, you’re making a statement here, you’re opening up our minds. But “The Hundreds killed it”? As if The Hundreds is responsible for the streetwear explosion that’s happened in the last 3 years? They’re a big company, don’t get me wrong, and they’ve done a really good job getting themselves out there. But outside of streetwear circles, nobody’s even heard of them.
My point here isn’t to diss Rogue Status, just to say that it’s not cool when your intention is just to piss people off or rile them up. If it’s done creatively and subtle then that’s different. It’s cool when you hide your message behind aesthetics, but this in-your-face kind of dissing is boring. It takes no creativity. It’s too easy to do and really just makes Rogue Status look jealous. They sound like some plain ‘ol haters.
“I” to the “M” to the “O”
Tags: the hundreds rogue status streetwear fashion tee shirt
Fairfax - LA’s streetwear Mecca
My wife and baby girl and I had a little time to kill today and we took a cruise over to Melrose and Fairfax where dunks reign supreme and if you ain’t got the sticker on your New Era, you best to get the fuck out.
Thanks to the vision of Eddie Cruz, who opened Supreme on Fairfax 2 or 3 years ago, the spot has blown up into what is undeniably the West Coast streetwear Mecca. Store front signs reading Alife, The Hundreds, Supreme, SLB, Flight Club LA, Hall of Fame (a shop of strictly fitted caps), Turntable Lab, Diamond Supply Co. and a rumored new edition of an LA arm of Huf, make this block and a half strip in the heart of LA’s Jewish neighborhood the undisputed go-to spot for bright graphic tees, hoodies, skateboards, Jordan IVs and all the other hot shit you be trying to get your hands on. The block is flooded with young people in dark denim, crisp Nikes, and crooked New Eras. Anywhere else and you might look cool in your fresh new gear. Here, you’re just another sneakerhead.
Every shop has it’s own look and it’s own vibe, some I feel, some I don’t. Supreme is obviously classic. Fresh decks and fresh gear.
While I was at Supreme today I ran into my boy Eric, the buyer at Backside in Burbank and their online store: droppingstyles.com which both carry CHILDREN.
Alife, I just don’t get. I know they’ve blown up on the east coast, but I just don’t see the Sesame Street face shirts selling very well. I mean, would you where one of those?
Alife did have some cool shoes, though. The solid color ones were nice. The store is one hallway with like, 10 foot bullet-proof glass walls on either side that the items are displayed behind.
Diamond is a clean, sleek, modern space. It’s nice, but they only have about 4 shirts and 3 decks in their store. I like it, but I don’t see how they’re staying in business.
Diamond:
The Hundreds store is small but they’ve got a nice selection of their stuff. If you’ve ever read their blog, I’m sure you’ve seen images of their store. It’s all black and clean.
A view from inside The Hundreds (image jacked from thehundreds.com):
The store that really stands out over there, though is SLB.
SLB is owned by legendary skateboarder Sal Barbier and carries a supply of Vans, Lee Jeans authentic line (which are dope and I really haven’t seen anywhere else), Clarks shoes (they had a cool pair of camouflage ones)
and some camping/hunting type jackets and Fedora hats. Definitely not your run-of-the-mill streetwear store. Solid, masculine stuff, more like an upscale and modernized Dogtown Z-Boys-style store. Part skater, part cholo, part tattoo artist.
So if you’ve never been to Fairfax between Beverly and Melrose, get your ass over there.
