Archive for the ‘Pick-ups’ Category
Triumvir M-65 Shadaloo jacket
I was introduced to SoCal-based Triumvir when they collaborated with Capcom to produce licensed Street Fighter shirts. Although most of their clothing isn’t really my style, I stuck around with the brand when I read their blog and became a fan. The designers put a lot of research and thought behind their concepts, and furthermore, eagerly share this information with their very devoted fanbase. (Example: Constantine’s Bomber Jacket for the upcoming collection)
But back to Street Fighter. Triumvir produced the Shadaloo Collection in late 2008 which I completely missed. The highlight was a Shadaloo M-65 jacket limited to 100 pieces. I didn’t find out about Triumvir until their second Street Fighter collection, called World Warriors. Looking at their back catalog, I loved the M-65 jacket but of course it had already been long sold out.
Luckily for me, about a month ago, David from Triumvir just so happened to be selling a brand new Shadaloo M-65 from his personal collection. I jumped at the opportunity.
Bape multi-camo tie
As a medical student and future doctor, I have to wear a tie every day I show up at a clinic/hospital and see patients. That being the case, I can never have enough ties to cycle through. For the 2009 Autumn Collection, A Bathing Ape released several plaid ties in addition to multi-camo ties for the first time.
My preferred Bape products lean towards the more subdued side, so this multi-camo is definitely a little loud for my tastes. In fact I didn’t pay any attention to it until I saw the accompanying style guide. Multi-camo tie… neutralized with a white dress shirt and doctor’s white coat… this could work!
Taeyeon arcade stick completed!
The mailman delivered a nice surprise yesterday: my custom artwork and plexiglass from ArtHong! I keep plugging his site because he makes quality products and his customer service is phenomenal. If you’re interested in customizing your arcade stick, I give him my highest recommendation.
A Bathing Ape - Taipei city camo
A Bathing Ape features many different camo designs and colorways. My favorite design is the city camo series. Bape has less than two dozen retail stores worldwide, and each one has a distinctive colorway that represents the store. These are exclusively sold at the representative stores, i.e. clothing with the Hong Kong city camo design can only be bought at the Hong Kong Bape store. The idea is to let fans “rep their hood”, so to speak. (The city camo colorways [1], [2])
My favorites are the three Tokyo stores and Taipei, which have a more monotone camo pattern compared to some of the outrageous color combinations for other cities. All city camo products are produced in very limited quantities so are usually difficult to find on the resell market after the initial release. From my experience, Taipei is especially rare. The city camo polos were released a few weeks ago, and I made sure to grab the Taipei one as soon as I saw one.
Leonid Afremov’s “Rainy Etude” giclée
My visit to Europe and the countless art museums I speed-walked through must have had an impact because ever since I returned, I’ve been itching to get some artwork to hang in my apartment. I was first introduced to Leonid Afremov’s paintings while looking for desktop wallpaper, of all things. I immediately fell in love with “Rainy Etude” and discovered Afremov’s website while looking up more information about the painting.
Afremov auctions off over a dozen giclées each day on his site. Giclée is a printing technique to make reproductions of original fine art. It is supposedly the highest quality method of making prints, and many of the reproductions found in art museums are created this way. Afremov’s giclée auctions routinely close below $50, which is a very appealing price. I’ve been monitoring his site daily for the past several weeks, not expecting to see my favorite Afremov painting show up, but waiting for a similar piece that resonated with me (he has a distinctive style and many of his paintings look similar).
So imagine my delight when the one and only “Rainy Etude” showed up for auction one day!
