Last week I was feeling a bit sluggish so haven’t been touring the media hinterlands as I would have liked. Having said that there are still a few things to share. Obviously the football season is upon us now so all pretence at being an edgy and artistic young buck are out of the window in favour of the daft fervour that comes with hugging overweight men in pubs and swearing at talented strangers. This is of course not to pour scorn on the idea that football has its own artistic and creative heart.Anyone who had the pleasure to watch big Jan Molby drop a shoulder in the late eighties knows that the beautiful game has the potential to rival ballet for physical poetry (Ninjinsky with an eating disorder.) Sadly these days what with Wayne Rooney’s face it’s easy to forget that there is such a thing as footballing grace.
To remind ourselves of some of the reasons why we love football in spite of its occasional crassness read a bit about Walter Tull (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Tull) and Bert Trautman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_Trautmann) and try listening to any Half Man Half Biscuit records. These “four boys who shook the Wirral” help to illustrate clearly that some of the best football and the most dedicated supporters operate away from the glare of the premiership. On a personal note: Become Tranmere Rovers fans immediately. We need you and will make you all very welcome.
Mmmm I can taste the hotdogs and hear the singing just looking at this picture. TRFC forever!!!!
4.What a difference a day makes. My two teams both drew over the weekend and instantly the lustre has gone from the football season. Not even glorious defeats to stir the soul. So let’s get back to those things that are immune to mediocrity: Music, art and drinking until the pavement bites us in the forehead.
It’s very easy to talk about the natural beauty of life and how diluting this simple poetry with drink and degeneracy is an affront to the innate perfection of the universe. Having said that, after a couple of boxes of wine even the dogshit in the gutter begins to look like an ergonomically designed pillow. How can anything be wrong with that? Obviously most things are wrong with that. For example it’s very difficult to remember to close your eyes (and thus avoid blindness) when using excreta to cradle your ravaged bonce.
Enough about my lifestyle! Through the wonders of facebook I have become aware of an old school pals efforts to breathe some arty life in to Liverpool. This is happening right now so if you find yourself up north swing by: http://www.catalystmedia.org.uk/nervecentre/whats_on.php It looks great and is exactly the sort of thing we all should be doing all the time. Gosh darn super groovy.
Thinking about the old country is making me wistful for the accents and attitudes of the North. Here’s Tony Harrison:
“…The Autumn/Winter (launching in October) collection is currently being seen in London by every respected fashion buyer in the industry and will be available to buy from reputable outlets, as well as on the Pretty Green website (keep a look out for the confirmed retail list on the site in a few weeks) . The reaction to the collection has been incredible and people are already touting Pretty Green as the next big thing in menswear.
As well as the top industry people, we invited some of our community customer’s along last week to have a look and see what’s coming this October.
Every single person who attended was blown away by what’s to come this season from Pretty Green.
We wanted to share some of their thoughts and comments with you…
“It was a brilliant day and I left buzzing to get my hands on the majority of the new range! I haven’t been able to stop talking about the new range, whilst making people aware that pretty green is about to shake up the marketplace in a big way! I left knowing that pretty green is creating clothes specifically for people like me. People with similar interests and the same desires about what their clothes should say about the people who wear them and the envy they put into the people who are not wearing them” (Ben D)
“I love my clothes and from what I saw today i have no doubt that from now on all I will buy is Pretty Green. Thank-you Dean and all at Pretty Green, as Liam would say you are all BIBLICAL!” (Jaswant)
“I thought everything in the new range was fantastic, I loved the t shirts, jumpers, jeans in fact it was just all brilliant and as for the leather jacket that was just amazing it’s top of my wish list, got me fingers crossed for that lottery win! However I’m currently throwing most me clothes out to get some space in the wardrobe for an October shopping spree! … Anyway keep up the good work, Pretty Green is shaping up to be the best brand out there!” (Ben P)…”
Ok chaps this one’s for you. If you like your threads, dig your suits, or just love strutting it down the local high street looking sharp as hell and feeling like the coolest geezer around, then this website is for you!
Selectism.com is a daily online men’s fashion, footwear, lifestyle, culture magazine and news site focused on covering the latest products and style trends across the globe. From Limited edition Burberry trench coats to trendy cardies and Paul Smith hiking boots that have been given an authentic “pre-worn” look with exposure to mud and stone. Whether you’re in the market for something new or just fancy a peek at the latest trends Selectism appears to have it all.
Cool Hunting’s “video of the week” is all about one thing…”the ass”. And to be more specific, bikinis at the São Paulo Fashion Week 2009. This is a very sexy montage of models, fashion and style; as well as some amusing and interesting comments by Brazilian designers expressing their opinions on the “Brazilian bum”. A colourful display of sight and sound that is sure to arouse the senses!
Definitely one of the most interesting blogs on the web today, The Sartorialist has revolutionised the way people look at fashion on an every-day stage. Started by Scott Schuman in New York who after leaving a career in fashion sales and marketing, devoted his time to shooting every-day people on the streets of New York and posting the photos to his blog: “I thought I could shoot people on the street the way designers looked at people”.
He now writes a monthly column for GQ magazine and is involved with numerous fashion projects as well as work with style.com. The Sartorialist blog has also been voted one of Time Magazine’s top 100 Design influencers. Scott Schuman now covers street fashion from New York, Paris and Milan, to Rio de Jeneiro, London, Sydney and Moscow.
It’s a great site if you love and enjoy fashion and provides a fascinating snapshot of what people are wearing around the world.
Continuing on with the summer theme I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to rave about Bensimon trainers. As much as I’d hate to see everyone sporting them this summer (a chap has to be original after all!) they really are the perfect summer trainer.
Lightweight, robust, durable, cool as hell and not to mention cheap! They have a rubber sole and a canvas top and would best be described as some sort of plimsoll. French and very cool, they really are hard to beat when it comes to summer fashion.
Even if you’re not planning a trip to Paris in the near future you should definitely check out the Colette Department store. Paris is renowned for its boutiques, shopping and fashion stores, and Colette is no exception. Named after the 19th Century French novelist Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, the department store is one of the most cutting-edge shopping spaces in Europe.
A funky and very cool mix of fashion, beauty, cuisine, culture and style, a visit is an experience in itself. Now a quick trip across the Channel to the Continent might not be on your agenda but what you must visit is the website. A fantastic visual experience of colour, design and French cool. The eShop has got everything from the latest fashion, street vintage and design to beauty, literature, music and art.
This has to be one of the coolest websites around. Coolhunting is an independent web page dedicated to art, culture and design. Daily updates bring you features on ideas and products that have to do with the world of fashion, technology, design, art, museums and culture.
The name Coolhunting is a marketing word from the 90’s that makes reference to a breed of marketing professionals know as coolhunters who were responsible for monitoring and reporting on changes in cultural trends.
The website also features weekly videos that spotlight the people behind the designs, giving you an inside look at the creators behind them. Some of the more popular topics include accessories, travel, New York, MoMa, technology and furniture.
Even if you’re not searching for anything specific it’s full of cool and interesting reviews on design products, museum exhibitions, music releases and fashion updates.
With the recent launch of Liam Gallagher’s new clothing range Pretty Green comes the revival of the classic parka, classic trench coat and suede desert boot. Gallagher insists that it’s nothing crazy, just plain blacks and browns. “Anything I put out won’t be shit. It’s gonna be good. Know what I mean?”
When it comes to telling it how it is the Oasis front-man certainly doesn’t beat around the bush. “If you ever see me in a pair of pointy shoes drive over me. That and spray-on-jeans.”
