Beams Plus..... by Shaun Dangerfield

Beams Plus has quickly turned into my most bought label of recent times, I love the quality materials and simple designs and it was only by chance I saw this dead stock piece from last summer at a heavily reduced rate.
Beams+ linen red shawl collar knit with wood buttons, I clocked it last summer but I was concerned over the structure of it from the pictures that were doing the rounds so I put it off and forgot about it until the latest browse revealed this last piece left and thought I'd take a punt on it, glad I did as its a beast, sturdy and right up my street style wise.

Early bird mix up.... by Shaun Dangerfield

I love putting out music and mixes on a Friday but I'm off tomorrow morning for a well earned little break so I'm going to put them up now, get as excited as you want but "DON'T" listen to them until tomorrow evening when it's officially Friday and groove time because if you do the Boogie man will get you when you're asleep.

A couple of Boogie based mixes here, the first from Belgium's Spirit Catcher and then one made special for our other blog BoogieCartel by Glowing Palms.

While I'm on the subject we have revamped The Boogie Cartel blog and it's updated daily with music, interviews, guest slots from lot's of other DJ's into similar thing's as us and you can find that link below, check out the Krystal Klear track with Jenna G on there which will be in a mini mix I'm doing this week and also the massive Haywoode track, it's worth it.
www.boogiecartel.com

Boogie House & Disco, you should know the drill by now on here....

Albam Carpenter Shirt.... by Shaun Dangerfield

I've not bought any Albam for a while, I was having a browse (as you do) and picked this up in the sale for a ridiculous price.
Beautiful made in Portugal overhead shirt in burnt orange...... because it's important to look like a Terry's chocolate on the dance floor.

Sunday Get Up & Garbstore Langdale...By Saul Wilks

It's Sunday, I've just finished work and I'm on my way down to London for a few days to stay with the lady.

With it being such a glorious morning, while making my way to the station I thought I'd celebrate my freedom with some hearty what you wearing today posting.

I'll keep the text short and sweet... the pictures can do the talking, but it's probably worth noting that it's Baltic cold and it's perfect weather for some good honest Garbstore Landgale action.

The other accompaniments are listed below for the clothing nerds among you.

Have a great Sunday one and all... Hi-Ho!

(Hat - Barbour Tweed Baker Boy / Scarf - Aquasucutm / Jacket - Garbstore / Gloves - Vintage Leather / Trousers - Dockers Alpha / Socks - Burlington / Footwear  -Thorogood)

 

Vintage Seiko Diver... by Shaun Dangerfield

I have a bit of a thing for time pieces and going through the various vintage Seiko watches I'm not sure where this lusting will stop.
With all the aftermarket pieces available and the ability to pretty much construct the watch of choice it's kind of opened up a whole new can of worms for me.
I knew what I wanted so I sourced the model down and imported it along with some Nato straps and new spring bars and put it all together on arrival.
This version of the Diver model is the 6309-7290 and uses the Kinetic movement, I've looked and searched through so many various watch brands and styles but nothing has really made me want to put big money down on a time piece, I don't know why, probably because I like change and numerous items as opposed to one and I can get this with the vintage Seiko pieces and change them and modify them so can get exactly what it is I'm looking for.
Only problem now is where does it end ?.......

Weekend Sauce..... by Shaun Dangerfield

This mix is another one I have a listen to now & again from Danny Krivit.
Straight up disco funk, early evening laid back vibes but well worth the listen especially from 5 minutes on when he drops a track I hammer on the ipod and will probably play next Boogie Cartel.... 1986 Blue Moderne "Through the Night" a soulful bass laden chugger that at the right place right time is sheer heaven.



Next up for late Friday feelings is the Legend that is Larry Levan (RIP) live at the New York Sound Factory in 1991, expect classics and stacks of vocal, bass lines, good feelings and Jackin'..... Exactly what it should be about.
"Wooahhhhh Black Betty bam ba lam"

Enjoy x

The First Picture of Summer...By Saul Wilks

For anyone reading this thinking It's only February, why is he mentioning summer already? I completely understand, but in all honesty the past two days have been pretty glorious here and seeing as I'm a sprightly kind of fellow when it comes to sorting out my wardrobe for the forthcoming season, I thought the time was perfect for this post.

Bleu De Paname have been turning out some excellent clothing over the past few seasons and is without doubt my 'go to label' of the minute, however, past collections don't really have a patch on their forthcoming selection - something I invested heavily in last week during a stop off at the brilliant Anthem Store in Shoreditch.

Having a French girlfriend is a fine excuse to stock up on Breton and French influenced clothing and with Blue De Paname being from the motherland I made sure I took full advantage of their new season, picking up some killer bits in preparation for the warmer months.

As it happens I'm bit of an impatient bastard and at the first signs of sunshine today I decided to head down to my favourite spot on the Welsh riviera to take some snaps of me sitting around pretending it's really hot, while bemused locals strolled past musing at how much of a ponce I am.

The nice thing about this little spot that regular readers will by now know well is that it's built around the old docklands area, meaning the muddy banks hold relics and clues from a time when the area was a thriving industrial hub and makes for an interesting backdrop for these kind of pictures...

Location, location, location!

 (Sunglass - Han Kjobenhavn / Jacket - Blue De Paname / Jersey - Blue De Paname / Denim - Nudie / Footwear - NB)

(Bag - Ban'N'noun / Scarf - St James)

With the mercury being a little higher than what it has been lately I decided to get into the summer vibe by going sock-less and donning sunglasses - as you do in the middle of February -  but to be fair it was fairly pleasant in the sun and the lighting was perfect to catch the ace mix of colours I had going on.

Having picked up a couple of different garments from Bleu's S/S collection I wanted to make sure I snapped all that was worthy of some blog space, so I packed what has quickly become one of my favourite garments in a long while into my bag and after a stealthy change of top - which probably looked well dodgy - I did just that.

Breton jersey's are Breton jersey's at the end of the day, they pretty much do what they say on the tin. The gold button up jacket is indeed gorgeous and perfect for summer but my favourite piece from Bleu's whole summer collection is without doubt the killer print sweater, pictured here in all it's glory.

I've always had bit of a soft spot for bold printed text such as this on sweaters, long time readers may remember a certain wood wood effort a few years ago that I wore to death. This has the same effect on me, although this seems less street, more chic and is a damn fine release from the new French kings of cool - in my book anyway.

To round off this post it would be fair to say that I thoroughly enjoyed taking these photographs today, if nothing more than to really appreciate the fine qualities that each piece of clothing has and how pleasing to the eye it looks when communicated through a photograph.

Beauty is obviously in the eye of the beholder, but looking at these pictures now just makes me realise just why I love the thing's that I do and why my passion for conveying that is never faltering...

In the words of the French,

Maqnifique.

Barena, Beams+ and a Trip to Trunk Clothiers...By Saul Wilks

I've been meaning to get myself along to Trunk Clothiers for a little while, having heard some great things about the independent London boutique that's tucked away on the quaint streets of Marylebone. Trunk is a little off the beaten track and requires a brisk but thoroughly enjoyable stroll through the regal avenues that surround Oxford Circus, but it's most definitely worth it.

Upon arriving at Trunk, a quaint and traditional boutique that invokes a warm and welcome kind of feeling, I was greeted with very polite and knowledgeable staff who were only to willing to attend to my fussy needs. Aside from the excellent customer service, the one element that stood out for me above all other's was the exemplary brand list that Trunk stocks. With an interesting and carefully selected balance encompassing the likes of Japan's Nanamica, through to domestic classics such as North Sea Clothing and French contemporary giants Maison Kitsune.

I can only imagine Trunk being the stop off point for the true modern and international dandy, with such a rich and well presented selection of stock, set out impeccably well - more than seductive to one's coffers. Speaking of which I didn't set out that morning with benign intentions, having made a mental shopping list of some of the things I wouldn't mind picking up if my budget allowed.

Now it's now secret that I'm fond of a bargain, so I was delighted to find a healthy portion of sale stock still available along with the full RRP goodies, so, as always, here comes the fun part where I get to post loads of photographs of beautiful clothing that I've recently bought.

My wardrobe has taken a slight change in direction of late, with a steady but certain shift from buying parkas and hooded jackets in favour of investing in a slightly more sophisticated style. That's why the first thing I was drawn to and eventually bought, was this fine three button blazer from Barena.

The quality of this garment isn't just evident in the touch, on first sight you can tell this isn't any normal blazer. The rich wool mix makes this stand out, with a four button wrist detail and single chest pocket - still stitched of course - among my favourite details.

One thing's for sure, Barena is certainly worthy of it's sartorial plaudits, of which there are many. Along with this particular example, some of the new season Barena was equally as tempting but this just had that impeccable Ivy vibe going on, both in it's cut and style and I couldn't help but feel an irresistible urge to spend.

Having been enticed by all manor of exotic and finely constructed garments and with the above Barena already bagged up, I decided to reign in the wallet for a change and picked a sublime classic button down from Beams + which was my other Trunk purchase of the day.

I'm a sucker for a button down shirt and not so shy in expressing my love of gingham either, so this was an obvious choice for me. Having picked this up off the sale rack for a paltry seventy quid I had absolutely no complaints and for anyone who has bought Beams before, you'll need no explanation of how good this gear is - it's pretty much flawless.

The Japanese have always prided themselves on utter perfection and strived for unprecedented levels of quality when it comes to their technique and production of clothing and this ethos is perfectly exemplified by Beams.

Yes, I know it probably sounds like I'm sitting here having an orgasm over a button down shirt but I can't wax lyrical enough about how good it actually is. It's pretty much the best shirt I've ever bought and I'd go as far as sticking a big fat 'period' on the end of that, but then I know I'll be buying more from Beams + over the coming months, so for now there's no need for such blatant statements.

To summarise on what was a more than rewarding day, I'd urge any individual who hasn't been to Trunk to pay the store a visit as it's certainly one of the best places in London that stocks more than your average turn out.  

One thing's for sure, I now see Marylebone as being more than a railway station to purchase when striving for financial dominance in Monopoly...

...and quite rightly so.

Ten-C..... by Shaun Dangerfield

"Ten c, The Emperors New Clothes, introduces the forever collection. The original fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen tells of looking beyond what you are told to see and to value what is truly there. The ability too see past the fashion media barrage is a new interpretation of the original fairy tale.

Ten c. Seven pieces that wear no labels either inside or out. They ask to be loved for what they are. Pieces that last forever. These timeless and iconic jackets are created to live and age with you, and the incredible Japanese jersey will, with time, mould itself almost imperceptibly to you."

I couldn't be more impressed with this jacket, the Ten-C Snow Smock. 

From the belt to the Japanese fabric I'm not going to lie to you it just makes me wet.... in a good way.
Designed by Alessandro Pungetti and Paul Harvey (Former Stone Island & CP Company) who have put forward a clothing range with no labels (just model tags) that will continuously run in design, you choose your desired jacket, colour and size and love it for a lifetime. Sounds good to me.
The material is a knitted nylon/polyester micro fibre that is designed to follow the shape of your body and age with you, it's a beautiful material and the only material they use in any of the outerwear they produce.
You can buy various inners and hood liners that button in which is a great feature as the jacket can be worn all year round, this is the spring summer 2013 collection snow smock and comes with all inner buttons ready for winter should I want to buy an inner.