Bape Thursday No.6

Its been a couple of weeks since the last Bape Thursday so I thought I'd come back with a few random pieces of Bape stuff that I have.

First up is my Bape wallet. I think I've had it for about 6 years and as you can see I've worn it in well. It was a really clean natural leather, but years of use have given it a really nice worn & weathered look. The pale colour isn't very practical for keeping clean so I make sure to keep it away from raw denim (leather cleaning wipes are a must), but it will continue to develop its own unique look and the high quality leather means it should last me for years to come.

Next up is a Kaws x Bape Baby Milo keyring. As I've mentioned in previous posts I'm a big Kaws fan, and I love the Baby Milo character, so this is a great little vintage piece that makes my keys a little more interesting.

Finally I have a Busy Works coaster. This was a random pick up from the flagship store in Harajuku, and makes a nice addition to my coffee table.

1 cent

Last month ESPN released 'This Magic Moment' a 30 for 30 documentary about the 95/96 Orlando Magic. This was when I first got into basketball so I have a real love for the era. My very first basketball was a Magic graphic ball, and my first NBA jersey was the classic Shaq black pin-stripe Orlando jersey.

Of course I also loved the shoes of that time, especially the Nike Penny line. The Penny II is my all time favourite shoe, and over the last few weeks I've been wearing a bunch of different Penny shoes. However 90's basketball shoes aren't always the easiest shoe to wear to the office (they're not exactly subtle), which got me thinking about a shoe I slept on when it was released back in 2014, The Nike Penny Air Force 1.

Originally made as an exclusive just for Penny Hardaway, the shoe takes elements from the classic Orlando colorway of the Air Max Penny and uses them to make a really unique Air Force shoe.

It features the royal blue wave pattern swoosh in a high gloss plastic, and the pin-stripe tongue (that mirrors the pinstripes on the Orlando jerseys), both details that really stand out on the original shoe. It also has the awesome 1 Cent Penny logo on the heel, and then repeated in a big version on the icey clear outer-sole.

All these details are combined with some great pebbled leather and the royal blue lining making for a great combination of subtle and striking.

For some reason I passed on these when they release in 2014, but I was able to find a pair on ebay and got them for a really good price including shipping from the States. The white Air Force is a classic Summer shoe and these will definitely get a lot of wear over the coming months.

Kaws Part 2

A few weeks back I blogged about the Kaws exhibition at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and how excited I was to get to see his work in person. Well the Kaws excitement continued last week with the launch of his collection for Uniqlo.

Part of the UT t-shirt range, the collection was curated by Nigo, the founder of A Bathing Ape, who has been a longtime Kaws collector and collaborator. It's made up graphic tees & tote bags featuring a range of classic Kaws designs and artwork.

The collection released last Monday, but I totally forgot about it until I got home from basketball that night. By that point everything had sold out online. I figured I'd swing by a Uniqlo store the next day, but somehow I completely forgot again until Thursday.

However this actually worked out okay as when I visited the Uniqlo flagship store on Oxford Street they'd just had a re-stock, so I was able to pick up the two designs I wanted. Like the tote bag I got from the exhibition I went for the companion graphics as they're my favourite Kaws designs, especially as I've now been able to see the sculptures of these pieces.

Its great to be able to get Kaws designs at high street prices (the shirts were £13 each!), as his work with Original Fake & Bape has always been at a much higher price points. I particularly like the embroidered cross eyes on the sleeve, a great detail that you might not normally see on a high street tee at this price point.