Posts with tag americana

Whit Honea is a slacker, a borderline degenerate, and a daydream believer. He's also our resident expert on casual chic. If it's comfortable, and not heinous, he's all over it. He's quite charming, really.

Barking Irons apparel label is just plain cool. They make t-shirts with an appreciation of history and art that is seldom found in the world of fashion. They are smart, literate and enjoy a good beer. Where we come from that's called a sweet trifecta.

From the website: The designers at Barking Irons have taken their inspirations from writers such as Walt Whitman and Stephen Crane, Civil War era military uniforms, old American baseball outfits, old New York firemen, and turn-of-the-century fashions. The line has also paid homage to classic American tales such as the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Moby Dick.

Tankfarm seems pretty sure of themselves. Not that one needs to be modest to design a quality garment. Hell, if Project Runway has taught us anything it is that the opposite is usually the case. That said, Tankfarm does make a great product.

This is how they describe themselves: "From the dust of the Earth, we are the new blood. We are the American independent. We are the romance of nature courting industry. We are the road and the journey."

Their clothing is "a blend of timeless vintage and adapted street wear for the modern day working man," which "strives to be the brand that can outfit the working man's daily life and his ongoing journey."

Does that sound self-righteous? Maybe. I like to think it's a hybrid of reflection and optimism. If you want righteous check out their shirts:



See, righteous indeed.

The company cites such influences as Dylan and Cash, stating that music is their passion and as such they have a musical motif woven throughout many of their vintage and nostalgic themes and designs. They channel Americana, "referential to the birth of rock'n'roll and a slower and more meaningful time."

Mom, apple pie and bad ass t-shirts. I can salute that.

First the dodo and now this. My childhood is falling apart (please note the dodo was actually gone long before my childhood).

Polaroid is going to focus on flat panel televisions and digital photography and in the process will be laying off 150 workers. What does this mean to us, the non-Polaroid employees? It means that future generations will eye instant photography with the same awe and doubt formerly saved for the likes of 8-tracks and corduroy shorts. Another piece of Americana is now history. On the bright side, this may have a positive effect on any pending eBay sales of said products. How's that for a nice spin?

I wonder how André 3000 feels about this. Will every Outkast concert have to be stopped mid Hey Ya! and the art of shaking 'it' like a Polaroid picture explained? Or will we leave such knowledge to the tall tales of previous generations? Or Google?

It's a bittersweet trip, this progress.

This is the one day of the year when -- if you're American -- you're practically required to wear red, white and blue. But for those of you heading out to the fireworks tonight, who really want to get blinged-out, USA-style, check out these heels from Stuart Weitzman, adorned with the American flag.

OK, I'll admit, they're incredibly tacky -- downright ugly, in fact. But you'll be able to wear them every 4th of July for the rest of your life, and no one will make fun of you. Plus, they're sparkly!

Even if you don't buy the shoes, you should totally check out the user-submitted "reviews" on the Stuart Weitzman site. This is my favorite:

Amazing! I wore these shoes through the mud and rubble of a bombed out home in Iraq just to show these folks what freedom really means! Then, believe it or not, I ran into a woman, the owner of the rubble, and she had on a pair just like them except they had an Iraqi flag on them. I told her they must be knock offs, I mean, would Stuart Weitzman make a pair of shoes with anything but an American flag? Anyway, we're still good friends and we still marvel and laugh over that coincidence. Great shoes!

I have a sneaking suspicion that the review is sarcastic, but I'm really, really hoping it's not.

Happy 4th!

[via Manolo's Shoe Blog]