Men's: MOD, Portland Mercury

Tanner Goods for The Woodlands

Kayla Rekofke — Mon, 20 May 2013 09:25:00 -0700

Tanner Goods just dropped their latest collaboration with The Woodlands, and just in time for your upcoming summer trips! This small luggage collection features all the of bags you’d need whether your camping out at Sasquatch, hitting up the Coast, or just playing tourist in Seattle. Check out more deets below, and pick up your very own at The Woodlands before they’re gone.

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Men, You Are Less Beautiful Than You Think

Elizabeth Mollo — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:29:00 -0700

It was only a matter of time. On Tuesday we posted the Dove Real Beauty Sketches video, which has taken the internet by storm this week, garnering both positive and negative feedback from a variety of people. Now someone has gone and done a parody of it, highlighting the fact that men often think they are more good-looking than they actually are. Pretty funny stuff.

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Sparks: A Short Sartorial Review

Elizabeth Mollo — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:14:00 -0700

Sparks is playing The Aladdin Theater on Sunday and I am beyond excited. I have been a huge fan for a while, (so much so in fact that I manged to get an interview with them, which you can read here.) Sparks' career has spanned over four decades, and with that comes many changes in style, both in music and wardrobe. My favorite sartorial period of Sparks is the 1970s, and Russell Mael combined the styles of glam and disco while his brother Ron's style was a throwback to the 1940s. A very interesting juxtaposition that worked well visually with their performance styles. Here are some of my favorite looks, including a couple of videos.

I totally dig the white leisure suit that Russell Mael is wearing. You can get a better view of it in their video for This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us:

One more outfit I really like is Russell's in the video for Beat the Clock:

This look, as well as the song, is totally 80's, but in fact this video was made in 1979. I am pretty sure I have seen dudes rock this look in Portland, especially the colored denim. So I guess Sparks were ahead of their time not only in the music they produced but the clothing they chose as well. And then of course there's this:

Always the jokesters.

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PINO X Pattern People X PICA

Elizabeth Mollo — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:14:00 -0700

Serial collaborator PINO has teamed up with Pattern People to produce limited edition printed silk bow ties, with proceeds benefiting PICA programs and artists. Only 100 of these were made, and with that stunning graphic print I can imagine these will sell pretty quickly. To purchase click here.

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Golden Bear for The Woodlands

Kayla Rekofke — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 09:11:38 -0700

Varsity Jackets aren’t just for jocks anymore, just ask the guys over at The Woodlands. Golden Bear, out of San Francisco, produced a small run of traditional varsity jackets for The Woodlands Spring '13 collection in two equally rad colorways: burgundy, and loden. Perfect for Portland’s unpredictable weather patterns, this versatile jacket is a welcome staple for your existing coat collection. Check em’ out here.

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Two Faced

Marjorie Skinner — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 10:12:00 -0700

On any given week there are at least a handful of enjoyable fashion/retail happenings in this city for women. Even though the options for men's clothing have improved dramatically, they just don't get as many parties. Tomorrow marks the second annual Two Faced, the second annual exception to that rule. Here's the deal: There will be limo rides shuttling between participating retailers Solestruck and Machus, with each shop offering a different set of fun times and bargains.

At Solestruck, you'll find 25% of all shoes, a Made in Hell-A Apparel pop-up shop, a photobooth, giveaways, and the requisite refreshments.

At Machus, take 20% off storewide, meet designer Daniel Patrick and his collection of limited editions, grab a gift back, listen to the DJ, and have another drink. Not bad for an otherwise ordinary Thursday.

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Woodlands SS13 Arrivals

Toby Robboy — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 09:59:00 -0700

Menswear boutique Woodlands just released a mini-look book of their new Spring/Summer arrivals from Creep, Norse Projects, Penfield, Reigning Champ, Tellason and Yuketen. Having has carved out a niche for themselves as one of the few menswear shops in town known for carrying cool, laid-back streetwear, they've stuck to their winning formula with this selection of camo and khaki worker pants, leather mocs and wesley style shirts.

Check out the goods:

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Yoko Ono's Make-up Tips for Men

Elizabeth Mollo — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 13:23:00 -0700

Hot on the not so recent heels of her Opening Ceremony Collection, Yoko Ono just released her Make-up Tips for Men video. It's not so much a video tutorial as it is an inspirational video with animations of cute boys and text about rainbows, sparkling, and "pull[ing your date] by his dyed blond hair." The video is short and sweet, and I can totally see the party-goers of Blow Pony heeding Yoko's advice.

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Natural Born Elegance: The Interview

Toby Robboy — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:59:00 -0800

I recently got a chance to sit down with Mike Hare and Julian Cerruti of men's neckwear line Natural Born Elegance, to discuss their new collection of jackets, their philosophies regarding design and production, and, well, life in general. While the company is headquartered in Portland, they use textiles created by Lanificio Cerruti, an innovative Italian mill that has been run by Cerruti's family since 1881. Fittingly, emphasis on great fabric is at the core of the company's vision, as is a staunch rejection of mass production. While the textile mill's clients include some major global fashion houses, they are not interested in what Cerruti refers to as "grandeurized mass market" (basically selling a bunch of homoginized shit produced in China and marking it up 500% because it has a fancy designer label). For each model of tie or bowtie the company designs, only upward of twenty copies are produced, and each piece has individualized details such as the lining and the band, making it one-of-a-kind.

The jackets, which are handcrafted with exquisite attention to detail, mark the company's first foray into wholesale (the neckwear is sold exclusively on their website). While this makes it virtually impossible to make each jacket one-of-a-kind, they are produced in small batches, with each of the five models coming in a range of fabrics and colors. The sillhouettes, which range from casual to formal, are pared down and classic, but include innovative surface design elements, like a totally rad crocodile print on cashmere, that make the jackets feel very modern and fashion-forward. Fibers such as wool, hemp, cotton and cashmere are often blended to make textiles that are durable and warm, but insanely light and breathable (I got to try a couple of the jackets on and did not want to give them back). Details like hand-sanded ridges in the sleeves give each jacket a bespoke quality.

Cerruti and Hare love Portland because of the emphasis here on the value of handcrafted goods, independant design and small scale production. Cerruti notes that in major fashion capitals like New York and Paris, it is becoming increasingly necessesary to have broad commercial appeal just to survive. As he points out, "In some of these cities, unless you sell 20,000 jackets they're not interested." This creates a dynamic in which fashion houses strive to become giant lifestyle brands that churn out as many different products as possible to meet the demand of a ridiculously accelerated fashion cycle. Natural Born Elegance, on the other hand, would rather make the very best of a small range of products, and produce them based on how people actually buy clothes, not the fashion calendar. As Cerutti puts it, "We're going back to real values; tangible values, sustainable values."

Check out some of the jackets:

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Jacket Attack: More from Natural Born Elegance

Marjorie Skinner — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 10:14:00 -0800

Earlier this month I introduced you to Portland-HQ'd-via-Italy menswear company Natural Born Elegance's expansion from neckwear into jackets. Now they've released a bunch of new images of the designs, so commence Monday eye candy:

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Natural Born Elegance: The Jackets

Marjorie Skinner — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 10:59:00 -0800

Back in October, I first caught wind of Natural Born Elegance, a Portland-headquartered menswear company with deep roots in Italy. At the time they were solely focused on neckwear, but they recently announced an expansion into jackets.... extremely nice men's jackets. MOD correspondent Toby Robboy has a forthcoming appointment with designer Julian Cerruti to see these beauties in person, but in the meantime peep the all the preview photos; they are really quite impressive.

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OMFG CO. x Bridge & Burn Launch

Toby Robboy — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 08:59:00 -0800

The collaboration between branding/design firm OMFG Co. and apparel company Bridge & Burn, first mentioned on MOD here, has been released online, with an official launch taking place this Friday, 4-8 pm at the soon-to-be-permanent Bridge & Burn retail space (1112 SW Morrison). The two companies created a worker's uniform that includes a shop jacket, worker's shirt, work pants, and apron. The pieces were made with utility in mind, using sturdy cotton and linen, and run longer than standard Bridge & Burn fits. While the shop-worker purpose may cater to a somewhat limited customer base, I kinda think some of the pieces would be cool just to wear (is that too poseur-y?). The collection is now available for purchase on both companies' websites.

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Menswear Fall 2013 Part 2

Toby Robboy — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 14:14:03 -0800

The menswear shows wrapped up in Paris last Saturday, with designers continuing to play with traditional concepts of masculinity and femininity. A wide range of trends showed up on the runways including leather, heavy layering, and some new takes on silhouette and texture.

One of the biggest leather proponents was Phillip Lim, whose biker themed collection had a lot of interesting striped jackets and pants:

The collection had some of my favorite looks of the season, but at one point it took a strange turn into hipster territory that felt overly affected and not very new.

Comme de Garcons is no stranger to slouchy silhouettes and heavy layering, and these elements were ever present in this collection that felt unfortunately like a parody of itself with it's easter egg pastel color palette, and bunny/mouse eared hats:

Also, I don't know if it's because I spent most of last week sick in bed, but I felt like a lot of the collection looked like clothes to wear to the store when you have the flu.

And would designers please stop trying to turn bathrobes into fashion!?

Balenciaga is in sort of an awkward stage now that Nicholas Ghesquiere is gone and Alexander Wang is yet to start, and it showed. This collection consisted of a somewhat incoherent mishmash of themes ranging from military to gothic monastery.

There were some nicely tailored suits and coats, but none of it had the compelling, directional quality you'd expect from Balenciaga.

I think my absolute favorite collection of the season was Jonathan Saunders. Using a color palette consisting mostly of harvest tones with some shocks of bright color, Saunders matched simple, pared down pants and T-shirts with coats and sweaters in textured wools and felts. The earthy feel of the natural fibers was contrasted with shiny leathers and synthetics.

What made this collection so successful was that Saunders didn't try to reinvent the wheel. He put out classic silhouettes and used color, texture and contrast to make it feel cool and innovative. That is, in my opinion, the key to great menswear.

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Menswear Fall 2013 Part 1

Toby Robboy — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 09:48:06 -0800

The menswear Fall 2013 shows are under way in Milan as we speak, having started last week in London. In recent years menswear has become increasingly important to major fashion houses, which means we are seeing a lot more interesting, inventive looks on the runways. So far this season I have noticed two contradictory trends on the runways: a focus on classic menswear tailoring juxtaposed with some modern casualness, and on the opposite end of the spectrum, dramatic gender-bending looks inspired by womenswear from past seasons.

Fendi's Iceland inspired collection successfully embraced both these trends at once, starting the show with some beautifully constructed, conventionally masculine coats, and partially plaid shirts and ties.

As the show went on, designer Silvia Venturini Fendi introduced some scene stealing fur coats paired with and boots paired with leather skinny pants.

While I appreciate the theatricality of these looks, I can't help feeling they were a little too Lindsay Lohan circa 2007.

The late Alexander McQueen could always be counted on to mess with people's heads (in the best way possible), and Sarah Burton carried on this legacy with the label's presentation. The show started with models wearing classic pinstriped suits with shiny plastic masks that made them look like some sort of creepy mannequin bank robbers.

As the show went on the masks were dropped and more drama was incorporated into the clothes themselves, like these stunning black and red coats:

At one point, though, the collection took an unfortunate turn into Hugh Hefner territory with long, wide-lapeled blazers over silk bathrobes.

J.W. Anderson embraced the womenswear as menswear trend wholeheartedly, with, err, questionable results. While I'm all for pushing the envelope and challenging conventions, there can sometimes be a fine line between avant garde fashion and Zoolanderesque parody (I in no way mean to endorse the movie Zoolander). For example, the ruffled skorts (!?) that appeared throughout the show would have looked silly even in womenswear, and on men they looked just idiotic.

Same goes for the cheap looking hospital gown.

Italo Zuchelli of Calvin Klein, not surprisingly, stuck to sleek tailoring and minimalism, showing some great leather and wool jackets, and some quilted vests.

My only issue was this burgundy/eggplant color that kept showing up. I felt like it could have been kinda cool in small doses, but when incorporated into entire outfits it was a little much.

All in all this feels like a pretty big moment for menswear. The fall collections can often feel like sort of an afterthought as designers are busy preparing the very important womenswear shows in February. It seems that more designers starting to just focus as much attention on the male customer, and putting out increasingly daring and imaginative collections. Of course more risk taking inevitably leads to more missteps, but I prefer that to just a shit-ton of identical suits and ties.

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Red Clouds Collective

Elissa Hall — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 08:59:00 -0800

An afternoon a few weeks ago I walked into the two-car garage off of Alberta Street to ask Seth Neefus and Owen Johnson a few questions. Once used for storage, the garage has been gutted and re-purposed into the fully functional workshop and studio space for Portland-based line Red Clouds Collective. Industrial sewing machines, prototypes, drafting tables, and craftsman tools adorn the space. It's apparent: these fellows work hard. Neefus and Johnson represent two primary components of the 9-plus person Collective and after a few attempts to meet at local coffee shops, the pair ask if I'd just like to stop by the workshop. I, of course, obliged.

You see, I've visited their workshop before. Whether for summertime campfires, jam sessions, or new design exploration, the Red Clouds Collective home base seems to serve as a gathering place for friends and makers. This is because, at its base, the line is a natural extension of its community's lifestyle. In fact, Red Clouds first developed in response to this. From tool rolls, to backpacks, to iPhone cases, each design addresses a specific need encountered by Collective members. Neefus elaborates, “Products are constantly being developed as we go, out of necessity.”

I have also noticed a large degree of creative overlap within RCC that reaches far beyond product manufacturing. Mediums include photography, video, screen-printing, musical performance, sewing, leather working, and woodwork. The line functions as an amalgamation of these pursuits. “There are so many different elements of handmade things.” Neefus states, “We have done all of these things in our lives, so this brand was created as an outlet to bring that all together… Anything we enjoy doing can be brought into the brand.”

This emphasis on handmade methods is a driving force behind production. Owen Johnson has been a strong presence in Portland's bike messenger community for over a decade, and his handiwork reflects his experience. Each bag is skillfully and carefully crafted at the sewing machine where Johnson perpetually resides. Johnson emphasizes the importance of “quality, industrial machines that can sew through leather, canvas, and even your hand.”

The Collective's balance between hard labor, experience, and creative impulse results in products that are both superior in quality and design. Perhaps the line's most visible item is the Goodbook, an iPhone case developed to “consolidate the many items we carry in our pocket.” On its fifth incarnation, the Goodbook now offers a wallet, iPhone case, and sketchpad in a convenient fold-able design, and it is all executed in the highest caliber, hand-sewn leather.

Other RCC products include recent collaborations with Hand Eye Supply on a sailor's knife sheath and with Mama Bird Record Label on a limited run of magnetic beer koozies (for optimal beer access while working on motorcycles).

This spirit of collaboration runs through the entire line, like the Taylor Brubaker Apron Tool Roll, the David Wien t-shirt; each item grows from a “group of individuals whose lifestyles and creative energy inspire the products we create,” and it is all happening right here in a NE garage in Portland.

Find out where to find Red Clouds Collective locally here.

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Yoko Ono: Fashion Designer

Marjorie Skinner — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 11:14:00 -0800

Oh boy, here we go: Love her, hate her, or blame her, Yoko Ono is... not boring. You know this already through her ~~unholy hooting and screeching~~ music and art, but now you can look forward to her take on men's fashion, featuring such items as a boot with an attached incense container that smokes while you walk around. Hello, necessary.

That's just one of a collection of men's fashion sketches Ono produced in 1969 called "Fashion for Men," which she presented as a wedding present to John Lennon, with designs meant to highlight aspects of his "very sexy bod":

Sadly, the collection went unproduced at the time (when it would have probably gone over like gangbusters), but the people behind Opening Ceremony have made it happen, with the 52-piece collection hitting their New York and LA stores next week. "Men’s fashion has not changed that much," says Ono of the time lapse between sketch and store. "That’s why I wanted to say with my designs, ‘Hey, loosen up, guys!’ I think they will have a lot of fun wearing these clothes I visualized in 1969.”

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TOMS X Movember Launch Party

Elizabeth Mollo — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 08:59:00 -0800

Movember is now in full swing, and that means we will see many moustaches sprouting in order to raise awareness about men's health issues this month. TOMS has taken the initiative to collaborate with the Movember organization by creating a limited edition TOMS Movember shoe and launching them with parties around the world. In Portland the party will be at Blake and will feature a barber for a clean shave & start to the month, DJ Nature, food, a whiskey bar, and the opportunity to preview and purchase the Movember TOMS shoe. It's all happening tonight from 7-10 pm.

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Our Turn

Marjorie Skinner — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 12:44:00 -0700

Behold the somewhat dramatic call to arms behind a new Machus/Solestruck collaborative fashion event directly squarely at the menfolk:

We've paid our dues.
We've followed our better halves to fashion events, drank boxed wine and gave feedback on high heels.
We've worn multiple hats as drink-fetchers, clutch-holders and iPhone photographers.
We've seen more avant garde dresses walk down local runways than we probably need to.

And now, it's our turn boys.

That sounds like a pretty specific type of man, but plans underway for the event, happening this Friday, also sound pretty accessible to a multitude of dudes:

From 7pm to 11pm on November 2, both Solestruck's flagship location (417 SW 13th Ave) and menswear fashion boutique Machus (542 E Burnside) will offer in-store events and one-night-only promotions at both locations. A limousine shuttle will transport guests to and from each location every 30 minutes. Complimentary cuts/grooming by Bishops, beer and whiskey, a deco-paint shoe station, giveaways and, for the first time, a vast presentation of men's footwear options will be available at Solestruck. Machus will have exclusive one-night-only promotions, a limited quantity of 25 covetable gift bags, video installations, complimentary whiskey and a presentation of future merchandise.

Says Justin Machus, "Ty and Henry from Solestruck approached me a few months back about supplying them with clothing for various photo shoots. They have started to focus a lot of attention on men's shoes and this fall marks their big launch. Up until now they have mostly been known only for women's. We liked working together for those shoots and thought a party was in order that brought the two stores together. For our side of things we will be having drinks from New Deal Vodka, DJ Yohuckleberry, new video art by Solestruck and 25 special gift bags for first come first serve. We will also be having a promotion on the few shoes we carry and all our fragrances for that night only. (Nasomatto never goes on sale!)."

Things'll start shaking this Friday, 7 pm at both locations.

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TOMS + Movember Launch Party at Blake

Elissa Hall — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 08:59:00 -0700

In a town known for an abundance of beards, I am pleased to announce an event focused on moustaches. Movember & Sons is an organization that aims to raise awareness and funds for men's health, specifically prostrate and testicular initiatives and, frankly, they make this issue sexy. Whether rugged or well-groomed, "generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts."

Backed by TOMS, the collaboration launches at Portland retailer Blake Nov. 6. You can sip on some fine bourbon in the whiskey lounge and tame any wild moustaches at the shave station. Tunes provided by DJ Nature, moustache eye candy provided by the handsome folks of Portland.

Festivities begin at 7.

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Mr. Man

Marjorie Skinner — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 11:14:00 -0700

In case you've been worried that it's been forgotten this year, fear not: The pre-holiday onslaught of pop-ups and group sales is steadily approaching. I freaking love these things. Far from a corny, namby pamby craft fair, the Portland standard is a clever, modern stylish affair where you can score thoughtful, locally produced gifts—often for a special deal. And frequently there's a theme. For instance on Nov 16 & 17, there's a men's-specializing event, called appropriately, Mr. Man happening at The Good Mod's new space at 1313 W Burnside. There are retailers, yes, including damn fine ones like Shwood, Hand-Eye Supply, Salvage Works, PINO, Reveille, and so many more.

However, Friday evening will also feature and art show by Rob Lewis, DIY workshops, beer, pizza, alcohol tastings, beard/mustache trims from Rudy's, and a motorcycle display by See See. All this bonus material means there's something of a catch, in that you need to purchase tickets ($7-10). Hit the break for the in-progress list of vendors.

Shwood
Lizard Lounge
Thread Counts
Bullē Classic
Hand Forge Metal
Hand-Eye Supply
Machus
Salvage Works
Shop Adorn
Pino Portland
See See
Frawn
Romango
Fetch Eyewear
HuMn Wallets
Red Clouds Collective
Reveille Clothiers
PDX Pickers
Imaginary Authors

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Natural Born Elegance

Marjorie Skinner — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 08:49:21 -0700

Next time you feel like making the old argument about Portland's European aesthetic, and/or further taking down the moldy stereotype that everyone here dresses like a hippie, I present to you more fuel in the form of Natural Born Elegance, another company catering to an apparent demand for more formal men's clothing, neckwear in particular. (We're racking up a tidy local selection, with upstart specialists like this and PINO joining stalwarts like Duchess and Adam Arnold). NBE's base of operations is here in Portland, but their roots extend to Italy—specifically a wool and cashmere mill started in 1881 in Biella.

Michael Hare, the former CFO of formerly Portland-based Holden Outerwear, left the company to begin Natural Born Elegance with Julian Cerruti. Cerruti's day job? Director of Lanificio Cerruti, the aforementioned mill run his father Nino Cerruti.

While Hare holds down the business side of the operation, Cerruti designs, using the fabrics of Lanificio Cerruti exclusively, with each tie produced 100% in Italy. "NBE's mission is to make fine goods in small quantities," says Hare. "We use historical manufacturers that are willing to make artisanal quantities (most of our neck ties are one of eleven, all of our bow ties are one of a kind). We choose these manufacturers based on their historical connection to sewing ties rather than price or location. There are some excellent historical manufacturers of ties in New York, but the best small operators we know are still in Italy. Surprisingly, there is little cost difference between making our ties in Italy and making them in the United States: labor costs, duties on raw and finished goods, and shipping are close to a wash. We are currently sampling a new product (not ties) for which we will import the fabric to the U.S. for finish sewing, but only because the best small manufacturer of this product is in the U.S."

"Portland nurtures designers, artisans, wine and food culture (a lot like Milan!)," continues Hare. "Proximity to this type of inspiration is more important to our business than proximity to manufacturing partners. In this respect, Portland is the perfect location. Harlo Interactive, a local firm, designs and maintains our web site. OMFGCO designs our packaging and product collateral. Our collateral is made locally, from product boxes to the thank you cards that go inside. There is a robust community of photographers, filmers, and artisan manufacturers with whom we can collaborate. It is a dynamic business environment and great place to live." While he says they are "executing collaborative efforts with some retailers but we do not intend to sell products wholesale," you can browse and purchase on their web site. And who knows, at this rate, there might even be a dress code in your future.

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Myelabl

Marjorie Skinner — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 12:14:00 -0700

Even as more and more Portland designers become proficient and pledge to keep their production local, often utilizing groundbreaking small-run manufacturing firms like the Portland Garment Factory, the scales are, perhaps unfairly, if unsurprisingly, tipped far in favor of womenswear. So here's a bright spot for the men of Portland: Myelabl was founded in 2010 by Adam Fous, but has flown under the radar (or, at least, my radar) until now. A line of shirts and jackets produced entirely in the city, Myelabl is available locally at that bastion of understated, workwear inspired classics, Dunderdon.

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The Modern Man Moves South

Marjorie Skinner — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 10:59:00 -0700

NE Alberta's self-described alpha-male barbershop, The Modern Man, is expanding their territory—how masculine of them. The new location is at 4538 SE Hawthorne and is aimed at "more gentlemanly and scholarly types." But even if they've switched up their north side taxidermy for Southeast's specimen jars and bookcases, one important constant remains: whiskey. Friday night is the grand opening party (7-11 pm), at which they'll be pouring out complimentary Burnside Bourbon from Eastside Distilling, suds from Gilgamesh and door prizes like (ha) two tickets to see Portland Center Stage's Sweeney Todd. (Another pair will be given away to a winning customer who makes an appointment on Saturday, the first official day of business.)

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Menswear at Leanna NYC

Toby Robboy — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 08:59:00 -0700

Leanna NYC joined the growing crop of stores around town to add menswear to their mix last month, and I just got a chance to check out the goods. I'm a big fan of clothes that turn jean and hoodie styles into something special, so I was excited to see the selection of unique and interesting streetwear pieces from labels like Threads for Thought, Cafe Bleu, Bench Urbanwear and Fidelity Denim.

Store owner Leanna Carreon decided to expand to menswear in response to requests by male would-be customers for clothes that fit the fun, eclectic style, and reasonable price-range that the store is known for. "As soon as we opened, people started walking in asking for men's," she explains, "and we want to give our customers what they want!"

Check out some of my favorites:

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Louie's: Open for Business

Marjorie Skinner — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 09:59:00 -0700

At long last, the new extension of the block-dominating Imelda's and Louie's shoe store is open, boasting more room for a grander selection of men's shoes, in addition to roomier digs for their online operations. In the past few days the weather has taken on a distinctly autumnal pallor, so if you're still in the market for a fresh pair of fall boots, or you just like that new-store smell, they're having a grand opening party this evening from 5-8 pm with Whiffies Pies, live music from Just Lions, plus giveaways and raffles.

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