regurgitated.

All over the map.

I have to apologize for the sloooow pace of content on NewDandyism over the last week. I’ve been doing laps around China while Ninski shipped off to his homeland to see the F1 Grand Prix du Canada.

I have to tell you that I’m a bit exhausted. Here’s the list of my travels for the last week… NYC, Hong Kong, Dongguan, Hong Kong, Dongguan, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and know I’m getting set to go back down to Dongguan again.

There has been a noticeable lack of men’s style content on the site lately and that has to do with the fact that we are feeling a bit uninspired at the moment. I was hoping this trip would spark some excitement in me but it just hasn’t. I want to be surprised and I’m finding more and more there are no surprises. Hopefully it is just an issue of the moment and things will turn around.

Fortunately for Ninski, he was infinitely inspired by his trip to Montreal and I know he will share some thoughts with you on his experience at F1.

Factoid - April 15, 2010

50% of NewDandyism is currently in Asia, doing stuff. Oh, and despite killing zillions of his own people, Mao enjoyed a nice hearty belly laugh now and again.

Back to reality.

I returned from the Los Angeles on the red-eye Monday morning just in time for Compass. And I have to say it was a great trip. I got to catch up with old friends and make some new ones.

I don’t get a lot of opportunities to cruise around with the windows down, or cruise around at all. So the first couple days of driving in LA are always a bit nostalgic for me until I get sick of having to get in a car to go everywhere. As always when visiting LA one of the first things I do is stop in at Amoeba Records to pick up a stack of used CD’s (yes CD’s) to listen to while cruising in my rental. Here is my snapshot review of the three worth mentioning here… Blakroc is overrated and over-produced. Clipse’s Til’ the Casket Drops is severely underrated. And XX is on point. So once I got my soundtrack set it was time to shop, eat, and drink.

I think that the first thing that hits you in the face if you’re shopping LA over the past few weeks are the huge sales. Especially for us from the East as all the Fall and Winter gear is deeply discounted right now. 75% off was the norm in most places. And with months of cold weather left here in NY, that worked out just fine for me. For the best sale selections head over to Douglas Fir, Opening Ceremony, and American Rag. They all had some really nice items albeit all with broken size runs. So it can be the luck of the draw.

The town was buzzing because of the Grammys, so restaurants and bars were packed with B-listers and stores were full of stylist picking items up for clients and backpack rappers turned actors. I love any city when it’s buzzing like that. Definitely not a good weekend to get a table at The Bazaar though.

Stand out shop in LA proper right now is Confederacy. What an amazing space! And a great product selection but really no sales to speak of. Just goes to show how a deep pocketed owner (Danny Masterson) can run a store with out desperation to bring in revenue.

I spent more time down in Venice and Santa Monica than I usually do. Was trying to get the sun there to wash the NY cold off of me. Santa Monica is decidedly unfashionable but relaxed, a good place to meet up with some buddy’s for beers. But Abbot Kinney in Venice was the real star. The boulevard continues to transform itself into a must on any trip. I stopped in at Stronghold and fell in love. The building alone is worth seeing. It’s so out of place and oddly strange in Venice. It looks like a miniature red-brick factory building with a Spanish-style terracotta shingled roof. Apparently, the building was a boxing gym before they turned it into retail.

While I was there (spent probably a couple hours in the store) I had a pair of the slims modified for me. Slight taper, an extra 2 inches on the hem for a nice cuff, and suspender buttons (Thanks Carolina!). The denim is a great deep blue raw selvage with some give. They were straight off the line and weren’t even on the racks when I walked in. They’re in transit to me as I write this and really looking forward to wearing them in.

Some quick notes on some labels or brands that are not new but impressed me were Apolis Activism, RRL (specifically the shop on Melrose), BD Baggies, and the Spring Y3 footwear and accessories collection is killer. An industrial desingers dream. I’ve always thought it was the best and most consistent of the fashion + athletic collab lines out there, but with this one they truly get all my respect.

Cozy. comfy. Part 2

I travel oversees more than the average, so I spend a lot of time trapped in the cabin of a jetliner. However much I enjoy travelling I don’t necessarily love the experience getting there, which is why any experienced traveller figures out all kinds of little tricks to make themselves more comfortable on long flights. As comfortable as business class looks it can get old on a 15 hour flight, which brings me to this nifty piece of footwear from Harrys of London.

One of the first things I like to do when I settle into my seat for a long flight is slip off my shoes and put on the socks that come in the complimentary travel case, but unlike many, when I walk around the cabin to get a snack or use the wash room I slip my shoes back on. I’ve seen way too many travelers do all these things in their socks, which honestly is pretty disgusting.

The Jet Moc, which is a cross between a driving moc and a slipper, could be a nice alternative for having to slip on my shoes. They are designed to be as comfortable as slippers but have a very thin rubber outsole they call a “Skin”. This makes them comfortable enough to sleep in and protect you feet as you walk about and stretch your legs. But at £275, they are quite the investment.

j.a. daye’s Moustache

Steve of Style Salvage is just finishing up a trip to Hong Kong and is filling his readers in on some of his finds. As a frequent traveller to HK I’m always interested in discovering new places to explore and Steve just got me excited for my next trip.

j.a. daye is a tailor shop that I heard about when it opened back around June of this year but did not have time to visit on my last trip in September. But as it turns out since June the NYC transplants have already opened a second door and now run a small boutique of there in-house line, Moustache. It seems all the garments are made to be tailored off the rack fusing their design perspective with traditional Hong Kong tailoring. A very nice concept worth more investigation. More to come.

Keep your cool… by Tyler Brûlé

I keep debating on how many times we should be posting images of Tyler Brûlé here, but with this one I had no choice. In Brûlé latest column for FT.com it’s all about him. Rather than discussing a topic of his choosing he has decided to take on his reader FAQ’s. Here’s an excerpt of the most interesting tidbit:

“Q: What time of year is the best time to visit Japan? I know it’s very hot in the summer, but I’ve never been there, so should I wait to visit?
A: No! If you’ve never been then seize whatever opportunity comes your way. Yes, it’s dreadfully hot in summer but it’s not to be missed. In fact, I’m penning this column from the tropical heat of Tokyo and, while it can be uncomfortable, it is also bearable if you have the right tools.

Armed with Gatsby freezing face wipes, a fan from Kyoto and a tenegui to mop my brow (and also an extra shirt in my tote bag), it’s all you need to keep you reasonably fresh throughout the day. I landed in Tokyo on Sunday, and for the past few days my thoughts have returned to an earlier column about all those products and concepts that Japan should pack into NYK containers and start shipping around the world. Aside from the basic cooling tools mentioned above, which will become increasingly necessary for a warming planet, Japan’s captains of industry might want to also start pushing the following into hungry markets:

The 28ºC Summer Work Environment: A meeting at the headquarters of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Wednesday was perfectly comfortable with the air conditioning set at 28ºC rather than at 19ºC. With my jacket slung over the back of the chair and a fan close to hand, it’s an agreeable climate to work in and a concept that other governments and companies should follow. I’m sure it’s also better for your health, as it prevents the body from being thrown into the extremes of freezing temperatures and then blasts of heat during the working day.

A Cooler Way of Dressing: On a flight from Haneda to Seoul on Monday morning, I was really envious of a handsome man in his jinbei (a traditional summer pyjama-type combo, consisting of open weave shorts and kimono-style short coat), flip-flops and jaunty travel cap. While other passengers were looking a bit beady on the brow, he floated through the terminal looking like the coolest man at the airport.

Sky Barber Shop: Tucked away in a basement in Tokyo’s Marunouchi district, Sky might be standard in Japan but it’s the type of barber required by men the world over. In 10 minutes flat, a series of talented hands will shave and trim your beard, tidy eyebrows, sharpen the hairline on your neck, deal with stray nose hairs, moisturise your face, style your hair and send you on your way for just over £10.

The Prius Taxi: Toyota’s electric/ petrol hybrid, the Prius, is becoming the industry standard on the streets of Tokyo, and is just the car that other cities should specify for companies seeking taxi licences. While London has allowed bigger (in fact, too big, Mercedes) to join the ranks of black cabs, they should also allow something smaller and more nimble, such as the Prius, to prowl the streets.”

Street life, it’s the only way to go by Tyler Brûlé

Sometimes it’s tough for us to write about certain things here because we want to keep some secrets all to ourselves, rather than share them with thousands of readers. But in the end we always end up showing all our cards because we can’t help but share, as is the case here… Tyler Brûlé writes a weekly Fast Lane column for the FT Weekend Life and Arts section of the Financial Times and they are always filled with little nuggets of great insight. Saturday’s column had some that were particularly on point with Ninski and my discussions together, and we’ve highlighted those here.

“I know the summer season has officially started when two things start to happen. The first is that regardless of where I’m travelling, I no longer pack socks that go any higher than the bottom of my ankle (I’ll make an exception to go on-stage at the FT’s Luxury Conference in Monaco next week).

The second is that the annual “Italy vs Spain as the perfect Med destination” debate starts raging in my head (sorry France, apologies Greece and worry not, Lebanon – I’ll be spending time with you in early August). While Italy was the clear winner last year – thanks to much planning by my friend Olivia – this year it is Spain that is way out in front. It managed to get a cheeky head-start in late spring when I based myself for a few days in Palma, Mallorca.

Five or six years ago, I managed at least two trips to Palma a year. I would check in to the Hotel Portixol, eat club sandwiches by the pool, sip cava and go for late afternoon runs along the seafront into town. On my last trip there, I felt I’d been too absent for too long and decided to do something about it. First, I visited some real estate agents to see what kind of apartments were available in the city and, second, I asked one of them if they had any retail space available in the Santa Catalina district. By the time I boarded the flight to Milan I’d found a nice fixer-upper close to the market and a shop not far away.

Following a quick dash to Bali and back last week (which included some hair-raising thunderstorms over the Bay of Bengal on Friday night), I’m now parked at the Portixol and attempting a week off. I say “attempting”, not because I’m clattering away on my keyboard writing this column, but because this is also week one of a new retail experiment in which we have taken our Monocle shop concept and not only moved it to the Med but also staffed it in a completely different way.

Having found a typically Spanish shopfront that also boasts full living quarters at the back, I thought it might be a fun experiment to get colleagues out of the office in London and into the sunshine of Mallorca to meet our customers. So last week, Gaby, Kirsty and Yoshi descended on Palma to whip the tiny shop into shape, and this week Poppy and Natlie have been figuring out the rhythm of the neighbourhood to gauge opening hours. Should it be 11am-1pm, followed by a five-hour siesta and then 6pm-10pm? Or should it stretch to capture diners still looking for after-dinner distractions and stay open till midnight? So far everyone’s in agreement with having the whole afternoon off but we’ll have to see how the Santa Catalina district behaves as locals, Swedes, German, Norwegians, Danes, Brits and Antipodeans drift in and out over the coming weeks.

One of the most valuable lessons we’ve learned since moving into the shopkeeping business last November is the importance of offering people a place to sit. The addition of a simple teak bench in front of our London shop a month ago has revealed a number of interesting facts about human behaviour and modern urban planning. The first is that the sheer number of men and women – both young and old – who take up a place on the bench to rest their feet, take the sun or even devour a sandwich suggests that there’s a shortage of public places to sit down.

In fact, a quick scan of Marylebone in London reveals that the only places to sit on the street come with a menu. I chatted to a very informed local woman in her seventies who’s become rather fond of our bench and she explained that street benches have disappeared because they serve as beds for the homeless or potential hiding places for “the tools of terrorism”. “It’s actually nothing more than a cost-saving exercise,” she went on. “Much better to get mums and oldies to buy a cup of bad coffee than allow them the right to sit down for a few minutes.”

In Palma we put two benches in front of the shop, and within the first few days of trading we’d found more people looking for a place to sit down, catch their breath, have a chat and then move on. While Spanish cities seem much better at placing street furniture than London, our end of the street doesn’t have any seats or benches so they’re likely to be popular as the temperature rises and visitor numbers swell.

Too many cities are terrified of encouraging street life as it might generate too much laughter or create forums for staging revolutions. Smart mayors are starting to realise that busy, occasionally boisterous streets are better for the local economy because they have a trading life that goes from dawn till dusk. Moreover, truly vibrant, mixed-use neighbourhoods usually police themselves because residents live above the shops. Indeed, we wouldn’t dare step out of line in Palma because the lady and her chihuahua in the flat across the street seem to be in charge of our stretch of pavement and take up watch on their balcony every evening at 8pm.”

By Tyler Brûlé for FT.com

Hong Kong Shopping Recap Part 2

So we didn’t just shop at Lane Crawford, we hit everything from department stores, to chains, to boutiques while there. We of course visited Visvim’s F.I.L. store, went around the corner to check out Miharayasuhiro, Ann Demeulemeester, Margiela, and the Comme de Garcon shops, all of which sit next to each other on On Lan Street. Disregard the BBC store pictured above, it’s the one eyesore.

Also visited what has to be one of the best and most underrated department stores in the world, Joyce.  Joyce makes Fred Segal and Jefferey look boring in comparison. Beautiful space and amazing product selection. The store is even a bit creepy in a Tower of Terror sort of way that adds to the allure. Especially hard for a place that sits inside a generic commercial building.

Read on for the best tidbits we could get shots of.

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Hong Kong Shopping Recap Part 1

I had a good weekend of shopping last week in Hong Kong. It truly is one of the best shopping cities in the world. Unfortunately for me (but fortunate for my wallet), shopping in HK is always bittersweet as my size in shoes and clothing are usually sold out because I’m not the tiniest of guys.

Shopping Hong Kong is great because it has one of the best mixes in the world of international labels spanning from the US to Japan, both big and obscure all together in one place. I’ve pulled together images of some of the things I saw while there. They aren’t all things I’d wear, just things I found interesting in some way. And I apologize for the quality of some of the pics as some were incognito spy shots. The following is just from Lane Crawford at the IFC Mall alone.

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Going away again…

Since we have been neglecting to put content on our ‘who’ page, most of you have no idea who the two pissy and excessively meticulous gents are behind NewDandyism. Well, I’m not going to fill you in on those details here, but I promise we will get around to the bio’s soon.

That being said, I think most of you have an idea that I (Christopher or cTo, as you see up in the author credit) am in the design, footwear, and retail industries. Basically in that order. As a part of that, there are times when I have felt I was living out of a suitcase. Travel has slowed for me as of late - a direct result of a slowed economy - so it’s been a nice little break and a chance to reconnect with an everyday schedule. But I’m off again…

This time to what feels like my one hundreth trip to China - Hong Kong, Dongguan, and Shanghai. I’ve never been good at documenting my travels. I sadly don’t have photographic journalistic tendencies. But I am going to try to do a better job this time, hopefully these aren’t just empty promises to myself. There is a lot that I will be doing in China that I can’t share with the world, but what I can share I will. So stayed tuned, Ninski (aka Christopher 2) and I will still be posting but I apologize ahead of time if it becomes spotty for the next couple weeks.

See more for updates my travels…

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