Shopping with Megan Fox

This weekend I wandered over to American Rag.  A vintage store in Los Angeles, on La Brea just south of Beverly.  The store is a big vintage store, with a nice variety of styles and pieces.  As well as a furniture store, a cafe and a denim bar.  American Rag also had a section of over-priced clothes sold at luxury retail prices.  This combination of offerings along with the friendly staff and good music make it quite popular, for good reason.

The store had some fantastic finds, especially in the denim bar and vintage shop.  The denim bar had a wide variety of jeans, but my favorites were the raw denim.  They carried at least 7 different brands of raw denim jeans including, APC, RRL, Nudie, Stronghold and others.  Each company making the denim in their own weight and cut, my favorite after trying them on were Naked & Famous.  Well cut jeans, pure raw Japanese Selvedge Denim and no embroidering or stitching or washes or gimmicks to take away from the jeans.  These jeans are just that, jeans.

I also enjoyed the collection of clothing at the vintage shop.  A nice selection of jackets, suits, oxford shirts and flannels.  The variety and size of the hat collection was stunning and belts were very cool, all naturally distressed.  Some of the shoes, especially the boots were quite memorable.  The jackets were the items that stole the show.  They had a great collection of velvet jackets and tuxedo jackets.  They also had some beautiful peacoats and overcoats.

My favorite was a wool peacoat in a black and white herringbone, just my size for $300.  It was magnificent and a show stopper for sure.  It was lined with dark fur had leather covered buttons and fit like a tailored coat.  Quite a special piece and something that would be worn maybe twice a year, if your lucky, living in LA.  But for traveling, the coat would be immensely useful.

As for the title of this blog, I saw said Megan Fox while I was shopping their.  She seemed hurried and frustrated, but conspicuously alone.  I am sure she was with someone, but when I saw her headed to the changing rooms, she did not seem to be with anyone.  I gave her an unrequited smile and hello and left it at that.  I think my ego is better off for it.

New York City Awaits...

At the end of October I will be traveling to New York for the weekend.  Part business, part pleasure.  I am certainly looking forward to shopping in NYC.  One of the stores that I am really excited to check out is Uniqlo.  I want to see the quality and fit of the clothes up close and personal, as well as pick up a few items if the clothes hold up to my standards.  From pictures alone, they certainly do.

Uniqlo is kind of like H&M, inexpensive clothes made in Europe.  They carry everything from casual t-shirts to wool suits.  I am very interested in checking out the no wale corduroy jacket that they are selling for $69.95.  I love the idea of a no wale cord, I hope it lives up to my expectations.  I also want to check out their trench coat, which is only $99.  Both seem like a good deal to me.  Finally, I am interested in their buffalo check flannel shirt for only $39.  Hopefully, the shirt fits nicely as I would rather get that shirt for $39 from Uniqlo than for $69 from J Crew or $85 from Woolrich, essentially they are the same shirt, at least in pictures.  I will know more once I am there.

I am certainly going to be checking out additional stores in New York, let me know if you have any suggestions on cool stores to check out.  I will also keep you posted on my Uniqlo finds.

Martin + Osa - Another Shopping Option

I happened to stumble across a Martin + Osa store yesterday and was pleasantly surprised. From the outside looking in I expected a more expensive version of JCrew meets LL Bean, instead I found a fairly reasonably priced JCrew meets LL Bean. The prices are actually in line with JCrew and the clothes have their usefulness in the clutter that exists, some pieces were even downright affordable (like JCrew and other corporate store fronts).

I like the O-Ring Belts at Martin + Osa, a great look in a full leather belt. This would look great with chinos and jeans and a sport shirt. They often showed the look with a shirt underneath and sport shirt unbuttoned, which is a look that is great on manikins and horrible on humans, but aside from that those belts are a great addition to add some flair and uniqueness to a wardrobe.

The second items that stood out considerably was the casual jackets sold at the store. The fabrics used were not commonly seen in the colors shown and are great for odd jackets. The major bonus was the cuff buttons were working buttons, otherwise known as "surgeon cuffs" and typically only seen on really well tailored jackets. This was a nice touch and could help add sprezzatura to an outfit if left unbuttoned.

The last piece worth mentioning were the jeans, as they came in three useful cuts: Vintage Slim (preferred), Super Slim (only useful to super skinny guys) and Straight (preferred by men with extra girth). The jeans were reasonably priced $79 - $99, but aside from cut had no discernible advantages to any other pair of available jeans.

As a whole the store was nice to look at and had some bargains to be gained and unique pieces. It certainly has its place but will probably not be a favorite destination of mine, rather a way point when convenient.

Lastly, I will be out of town on business the next few days and will not be able to post. I will miss you all but promise to return with a vengeance next week, probably on Wednesday.