Feb 24, 2009

Not Another Diamond In The Rough

The Diamond Centre 

In its rough state a diamond is fairly unremarkable.  The act of polishing a diamond and creating flat facets in symmetrical arrangement brings out the diamond's hidden beauty in a dramatic fashion.  The Diamond Centre has taken a vintage cut (think Mazzy Star and The Raincoats) and recut it into a modern shape, accentuating the fire and brilliance while preserving most of the original crystal.  

Feb 23, 2009

Trend Spotting - The Tuxedo Jacket


A 123 year old symbol of sophistication, your tuxedo jacket aka dinner jacket, shouldn't be hanging in the back of your closet till the next 007 theme party or your burial. Pull it out and put it on with your favourite t-shirt and jeans and watch what happens.

How to wear your tuxedo jacket?

Wear your tux jacket casually with jeans. For some great casual tuxedo jacket looks try William Rast, Costume National, Iceberg, Neil Barrett, Alessandro Dell'Aqua, Miharayasuhiro
Wear it with any of these shirts.

vintage loose fitting military tank

vintage Dutch military undershirt dyed black

Japanese military officer's wool undershirt

Buddhist Punk


Russian naval shirt
vintage Metallica t-shirt

Related Posts:
12 Men's Wear Trends

Feb 17, 2009

Things to do in Portland

Inspired by some fabulous online Portlanders I decided to take a trip to the city with the grandiose motto; 'In livable cities is preservation of the wild'. Having just less than 24 hours during a very cold January I plopped myself down in the Pearl District and let my five senses lead the way.
SIGHT

Stacy Reynaud

Powell's City of Books 1005 W Burnside bring your laptop, have a coffee and be visually soothed by the thousands of titles

vintage Apple Macintosh computer at Powell's Technical
Stacy Reynaud

Powell's Technical Books sits just outside the North Park Blocks at 33 NW Park Avenue. A feast for techies that holds the most obscure Dover collection I've seen. Don't miss the vintage Apple computers (circa 1984) and the IMSAI 8080 (circa 1975).


the common area at The Ace Hotel Portland
Stacy Reynaud

Not only is the Ace Hotel, 1022 SW Stark Street, a great place for people watching, it's a great place to stay. Sandwiched between two of their sister companies, Stumptown Coffee and the Clyde Common, the Ace Hotel provides an exceptional boutique hotel experience.

Herman Miller, vintage industrial artifacts and handmade soap.
Stacy Reynaud

Until May 19th you have the opportunity to 'stick it to the man' with your room key. Leave your corporate costume behind. View more photos of The Ace Portland on our Flickr Photostream here.
SOUND


830 East Burnside Street
Stacy Reynaud

The Doug Fir Lounge serves 299 of Portland's uber cools their music seven nights a week. Across the bridge from the Pearl District so cab it, skate it or take one of Portland's biodiesel buses.

511 NW Couch Street

Remember the arcade? Across the street from Upper Playground is Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade. You can finally beat Sinistar while downing a few pints listening to an Industrial Dj and having the Portland Pinball League compete behind you. What more could you ask for, really?

203 SW 9th Avenue
Stacy Reynaud

With vinyl record sales up by 50% in 2008 you'll need to pop into Jackpot Records. Admit it, those CDs should really be recycled into something useful anyway.

TASTE

Parsnip cake with cream cheese frosting and clove ice cream at Clyde Common


Portland is an epicurean's dream. Local Microbreweries (Terminal Gravity), creameries (Rogue Creamery), trophy class trout and fresh produce are found readily. Vegetarian friendly Portland offers more than a cobb salad hold the meat on the menu.

Stacy Reynaud

So many restaurants and so little time. Arriving in Portland later in the evening, I dined at the hotel restaurant, Clyde Common. My meal was a wonderful half order (yes, you can have a half order) of pappardelle with cranberry beans, sage, rosemary and granapadano. For dessert, I savored every inch of a Parsnip cake with cream cheese frosting and clove ice cream.

interior of Clyde Common
Stacy Reynaud

Full from the night before I shot back a few cups of French Press in my room and inhaled a croissant from Whole Foods. I gloriously snacked on a slice of Rocco's Pizza for lunch - 949 SW Oak Street.
SMELL

820 SW Alder Street
Stacy Reynaud

I love the smell of a cigar store. Tobacco in its raw form smells divine. Rich's Cigar Store carries over 200 blends of tobacco not to mention Euro design mags.


Pearl District
Stacy Reynaud

In my short time there I felt that Portland really was living up to its motto. A pedestrian friendly city, which, in turn, doesn't have that big city smell.

TOUCH

333 SW 10th Avenue
stacy reynaud

Redlight, with a sister store in Seattle, offers up some great finds. With vintage clothing representing over seven decades on the racks, the texture and color alone in this store are enough to set Liberace rolling. For the trained eye, 1970s Lanvin dresses can be found for less than $20.
apparently, bmx is not the bike of choice in Portland
Stacy Reynaud

Street art is pretty much on every corner in the Pearl District. Classical, modernist, brutalist it's there for you to touch.
Let Portland be your best kept West Coast secret. Did I mention there's no state tax?

Feb 16, 2009

How To Wear A Vest

  • A vest must cover the waistband. No belt buckle should show. This adds girth (the appearance of weight) and directs the eye straight to the waist.
  • The bottom button is meant to be left undone.
  • If there's an X across the middle when buttoned, the vest is too tight.
  • Yes, you can wear a vest with a T-shirt. Leave it unbuttoned and wear it a size or two larger.
  • Add some flair to the plain short sleeve button up with a vest and skinny tie.
  • Avoid the white and black combo.

What is wrong with this vest?
  • Vest is too small. His waist band and belt buckle are showing. Notice how it adds bulk to his waist.
  • Too tight. Note the X across the middle.
  • Bottom button done up.
  • Pants are too tight. Note the pulling across the crotch.
  • The shirt is too big. Note the puffy sleeves near the shoulders. Either short or long sleeve please.
  • He looks like a waiter.


Feb 11, 2009

How To Make A Table From A Garage Door


You won't hesitate to show your guests to the door when it's your table. An old solid door, whether industrial or rustic, can be converted into a table quite simply.

Materials:
old garage door table with iron brackets for legs
Stacy Reynaud
  • old door - demolition sales are a great place for inexpensive oddities
  • screwdriver
  • drill
  • saw
  • eight double-wide corner braces
  • four wooden cable spools for legs - pick these up from the phone or hydro company
  • four rubber 'feet' for each spool
  • paint for the cable spool optional
  • a sheet of polished glass for top optional

Instructions:
  1. Remove any hinges or hardware from the door if desired
  2. Plan and measure desired height of legs
  3. Place tabletop section face down and mark the placement of the legs
  4. If using a large door like the one above, use a cable spool in each corner. You'll need to saw the spool down to the desired height.
  5. Paint spool if desired
  6. Glue rubber 'feet' to bottom of each spool to steady it if necessary
  7. Place spools/legs on top of the door
  8. Place two double-wide corner braces next to each leg on either side
  9. Predrill holes for the screws, secure braces with screws
Related Posts:

Feb 9, 2009

7 Hairstyle Trends for Men

With men's hair trends for Spring Summer 2009 leaning toward the long side you'll finally be able to save a buck or two. Burberry Prorsum, Dries Van Noten, Rag & Bone and Hermès showed low side parts, layered crowns and long bangs.
Change is good. You may have a few months to reevaluate your present situation - and there couldn't be a better time to grow out your hair - even if you've been buzzing it. Long men's hair styles were shown at Paul Smith, John Paul Gaultier, Hermès and Anne Demeulemeester.





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