Summer Holidays

As you've probably seen I haven't posted anything in the last month or so. I've been pretty busy working on some other projects (super nerdy stuff), and helping my brother get ready for his wedding last weekend (there will be the annual Summer Wedding post at some point).

So I've decided to take a break from the blog over the summer, and hopefully come back with some exciting content in a couple of months. I actually have a couple of new pairs of sneakers to write about already, so there'll definitely be some good stuff coming.

If your a regular reader (I'm never sure if there actually are any) and your going to miss updates then hit me up on twitter and say hi (link on the right), other wise hope everyone has a great Summer!

 (The photo above was take on holiday in Japan a couple of years ago.)

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.

Bape Thursday No.5

This weeks Bape Thursday continues the collegiate theme from last week with this athletics influenced tee. The front has a pretty simple Bape logo, but the pairing of navy & gold/yellow are a classic varsity sports combination with great examples such as the Cal Golden Bears or the Michigan Wolverines. This is further emphasised by the varsity style lettering and the classic heathered athletics grey.

But the part of the shirt I really love is the back print. It takes the APE lettering and turns it into a great athletics logo by adding the winged foot and the trademark Bape shooting star. It really reminds me of vintage Nike running logos and definitely captures the feel of a college athletics department.

Its another great example of Bape doing something a little different than the camo & ape heads that they're more commonly know for.

Bape Thursday No.4

This weeks Bape Thursday features a collegiate inspired Bape sweater. As I mentioned in a previous weeks post, a lot of my favouite Bape pieces are inspired by military or collegiate styling, and they do a great job of taking classic Americana styles and giving them the uniquely Japanese Bape twist.

The sweater takes a lot of cues from vintage sports jerseys with the applique numbering on the back (1993 is the year that Bape was founded) and the elbow pad detailing that you see on vintage rugby & football shirts. This is combined with the varsity B giving it that classic US college style with the addition of the 'A Bathing Ape' stitching detail.

Much like the previous Bape sweater I featured this is Bape in a really subtle understated way, but also featuring great elevated details that give it the varsity styling that I love and making it a really wearable classic piece.

Any given Sunday...

Being a big sneaker guy there are often shoes that I really like, but can't justify buying as I know I won't ever really wear them much. Normally its basketball shoes that look ridiculous off court, or materials that aren't practical (suede dunks for winter?). So in the case of the Nike Zoom Turf Jet 97 do I really need a shoe thats meant for playing American football on astro turf?

A lot of my all time favourite Nike shoes are from 1995-1998. Maybe it was because I was an impressionable teenager at the time, but something about the design & style from that period really resonates with me, and the Zoom Turf Jet 97 is no exception. It has a lot of the details I love from this era, the pod design, the mix of materials, the contrast stitched swoosh, and the forefoot mini swoosh. It definitely feels like a relative of the Zoom flight 95 or the Penny 1& 2, some of my favourite basketball shoes.

So ignoring the fact that I probably won't have much occasion to wear them I did a little hunting on ebay and was able to find a lighty worn pair in my size. I got them for under £50 including shipping & tax from the states, and apart from some slight yellowing to the clear sole, they're in almost perfect condition.

There are a ton of elements that I really like about this shoe. I love the aggressive shape of the upper with the ridge design on the toe box, the big metallic strap and the studded outer-sole all making for a really strong, tough looking shoe, perfect for the gridiron. This is contrasted by the metallic pod with the zoom air detailing. This gives it the great futuristic feel that I love in performance shoes. This is all combined with the great contrasting materials. Smooth & pebbled leather, woven mesh on the tongue & heel, the metallic strap and the quilted satin lining all come together to make this an awesome looking shoe.

I have played touch American football with friends on occasion so I'm definitely going to try and organise a game for the summer so I can give the shoe an outing for its intended use. But I also think they'll look pretty good with shorts in the summer so hopefully I will get some wear from them. But also sometimes its just nice to add something to the collection.

Bape Thursday No.3

I think it was about 10 years ago that I got my very first Bape item, the cotton candy Bapestas. I first saw them on the Nike Talk message board and it was hard to resist a shoe that looked so different & crazy. Bape had taken the Nike Air Force One shoe and given it a make over by replacing the swoosh with a shooting star, and then using a whole rainbows worth of different colours in super shiny patent leather.

Each colour of the Bapesta was super limited, so this combination of eye catching colours & materials, and exotic Japanese exclusivity made them really special. They were the first thing I'd ordered from Japan, and it was super exciting to wait for something so different to arrive from the other side of the world (especially when they came packaged in Bape camo wrapping).

I love the classic Bape 'Cotton Candy' colourway, with the blue & pink contrasting brilliantly with the bright yellow shooting star and sole. I also like that this version has the trademark ape head detail on the heel. They're definitely not a subtle shoe, but they're great to break out on a sunny day when you want to go for something a little flashy.