Black Keys at the AG Party

Highlights included Kasil (again) …

Kasil womens pant for fall '11

… Kanvis (again),

Kanvis Jacket for fall '11

Kanvis woven plaid shirt

… and Madison Park.

Madison Park Cargo Pant

Had a great meeting with Jeffrey Campbell, who has graciously allowed me to rummage through his magnificent collection and come up with some eco friendly takes on his designs. With his direction I think they came out pretty sweet. I’ll update you when I have styles in hand, which shouldn’t be too long, as Jeffrey works quickly. Got to love that.

Also like to give a small shout to two non domestic lines that I love but cannot at the moment buy: Life/After/Denim  and Creep. Both are great looking and well priced, but completely Chinese made and non-organic. I am going to work on these lines and try to get them to do something Earth friendly.

Overall, I loved the atmosphere at the shows. Hopeful, I would say. Lots of smiles, lots of orders written, better sales stories from across the country. Very different from two seasons ago. So I hope that positive attitude rubs of on consumers as well, because we have excellent stuff coming into the store at this very moment. Newness from Kasil, Kanvis, Native, Crate, Obey, Leftfield, Spiewak, J Brand (mens), Fortunate Son, Madison Park. Love to see you anytime. 

Standouts included Kasil Workshop for men, where I geeked out over the wool cargo pants, a loose fit, tapered ankle piece of awesomeness that will be on my body when it delivers in July.  (Got a quick preview of Taylor Jacobson’s womens fall line.  More to come on that later).

Wool cargo pants by Kasil

Also loved the clean, sophisticated look of Spurr, by Simon Spurr, definitely a designer on his way to the big time.  All made in US, so great for the store.  A little pricey for me, but the quality is there, so will last a long while.  Won’t go out of style either, as these are all timeless looks.  Loving the long sleeve green pique polo.

Spurr mens jacket

Spurr long sleeve polos

Jump over to Capsule, a more forward brand show featuring many local New York designs as well as great European fashion.  Standout here was ironically from LA.   I already carry the line Crate, so know it fits great and guys love it, so really excited to see the line grow in size and style.  Especially loved the vests and jackets for Fall.   Best part, everything is made from dead stock fabrics, which means they have been sitting in a warehouse waiting for a cool designer to find them and create something fantastic.  Crate delivers.

More updates to come.

PS – best burger ever at DBGB on Bowery.  Made up for the lousy weather.

Crate vest made of dead stock

Plan on checking in often as I will let you know about upcoming events, new arrivals in store and new lines I find that excite me. You’ll hear about exclusives to the store and be able to reserve some of the hotter styles before they fly off the shelves. I just returned from an extremely successful trip to lovely Las Vegas and will be posting some pictures of upcoming spring finds. The good news is the industry seems to be on the upswing as the shows were busy and people seemed pretty enthusiastic about the coming months. Here on 4th street I am swimming in new fall product, another good piece of news, so if you are in the area or visiting, make sure to swing by and at least say hello. I love to meet new customers and there is a chance you could end up on our stylish customer photo wall.

Buy organic, buy American, bye for now!