The Shophound

CELEBRITY BRIEF: David Beckham's Underpants —Now In Motion

We brought you the stills earlier this month, and now here's the video.
Yes, folks the day when David Beckham's new men's underwear line becomes available at H&M is almost upon us,  so pretty soon your TV will be inundated with commercials featuring the sports star in his undies. We know. It'll be tough, but we'll get through this together. We hear the ads are going to debut during that Super Bowl people can't stop talking about which is apparently this weekend if you keep track of that sort of thing.

You don't have to wait so many days to to see Beckham's commercial, however. He is in motion right here in the preview you can see above set to the strains of the Animals' "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" (that's the non-disco version of the song). Make of that what you will. Well, actually he's not really moving much. It's actually the camera that's in motion, but the point is you can watch this little video as many times as you want, and nobody has to know.
Once again, you're welcome, and enjoy your Monday.

David Beckham Bodywear for H&M launches on February 2nd at H&M stores worldwide
Previously:
Captain Underpants: David Beckham Is Back In His Skivvies For H&M

THIS WEEK ONLINE: Emilio Pucci, ADAM, Rick Owens, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Hervé Leger, GANT by Michael Bastian, Florsheim by Duckie Brown, Givenchy, Furla, D&G

Here is your weekly sampling of some of the brands you can expect to find on the bigger online Flash Sale Sites this week. You should click over to the sites themselves for a full schedule of events, and be sure to check for the correct start time for each sale. Happy clicking!

GILT GROUPE

Emilio Pucci, ADAM, James Jeans, Miguelina, Corso Como, Stephen Dweck, Z Spoke, Charlotte Ronson, Matt & Nat, 6 Shore Road, Z Spoke, Geren Ford, DV Dolce Vita, Rick Owens, Coclico, Pink Tartan, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Herve Leger, Acne, Laundry by Shelli Segal, Hunter Dixon —join HERE

GILT MAN

John Varvatos ★ USA, Hickey-Freeman, Inhabit, GANT/GANT by Michael Bastian, Florsheim by Duckie Brown, Puma, Martin Greenfield, Burkman Bros, Façonnable, Jack Spade, Domenico vacca, Jan Leslie, 2(x)ist, Duchamp, Calvin Klein Suiting, Link Up Cufflinks & Accessories, Linda Farrow Luxe, J.Lindeberg, SeaVees, New Balance —join HERE

GILT HOME & CHILDREN

Cuisinart, Nourison Rugs, Lazy Susan, Donobedian Antiques, Nourison Rugs, Lillian August Decor, Simple Human, Odegard, Cenedese, J.A. Henckels International, Frette, Nellystella, Umi Shoes For Kids, Hushamok: Baby My Seat, Hammock & Stand, Street Surfing, Juicy Couture, Kukunest Bedding, Princess + Superhero Pajamas, Emu Boots for Kids —join HERE

RUE LA LA

Fratelli Rossetti, Nat Nast, Vineyard Vines, Arche, Skagen, Judith Ripka, Philosophy, Barbara Barry, Anne Klein, LaPerla, Concord, Giorgio Armani/Emporio Armani, W118 by Walter Becker, Steiner Sports, Calvin Klein Swim —join HERE

BELLE & CLIVE

Givenchy Handbags, Calvin Klein, Valentino Men's, Furla, Robert Graham, Raymond Weil, —join HERE

IDEELI

Seychelles, Hype, Ray-Ban, KDNY by Kelsi Dagger, Stitch's, Calvin Klein Jeans, Kenneth Cole, London Fog, Majorca, BB Dakota, KM Collections, Repetto, Steve Madden, Victorinox, ESPRIT —join HERE

ONE KINGS LANE

Gingko Home Furnishings, Casafina, Davek Umbrellas, Oyuna Cashmere, Baker, Steven Stolman/Scalamandré, Bell'Iinvito Stationery, Phaidon, Circa, Espalma, Kevin O'Brien Pillows, Matteo, Elite Leather Furniture —join HERE

HAUTE LOOK

Sam Edelman, Ella Moss Collection, William Rast, Tahari/ASL, Hawke & Co., Just Cavalli, Via Spiga, Joseph Abboud, IMPROVD, Florsheim, Chan Luu, Pour La Victoire, Stuhrling, Steve Madden —join HERE

MY HABIT

Timo Weiland, ADAM, Carmen Marc Valvo, Hideo Wakamatsu, Plenty by Tracy Reese, Gary Graham, Hilary Radley, L.A.M.B., Nicjolas K, Mackage, D&G Dolce & Gabbana, Projrct Alabama, Christian Cota, Nina Ricci, London Fog, Baron Wells, John Varvatos, Bodhi —join HERE

RUNWAY RESURGENCE: John Bartlett Is Returning To Fashion Week

A few months ago, The Shophound and a lot of other folks were disappointed to discover that John Bartlett had shuttered his much admired West Village boutique. As anyone who is familiar with his history knows, however, this particular designer is not to be counted out after a setback. While he has continued producing exclusive collections for Bon-Ton stores as well as a range of a range of casual items available through his website featuring his late beloved mascot, Tiny Tim the three-legged dog, we were fairly certain that he still had big things in mind for his own label. After a two year absence from the runways, Bartlett will present a new collection next month during Fashion Week under the sponsorship of automaker Lexus.

Since his last runway show, designer's personal ethos has evolved as he has sworn off using leather and other animal products in his collections and stepped up his work promoting pet rescue and animal protection. This collection will be sustainable and eco-friendly, as the designer tells The Fashion Informer, "...I looked to nature and developed a fantasy of guys living off the grid in some kind of 'future-rustic' universe." Bartlett promises organic shapes in plant-based organic cottons and recycled microfiber ultra suedes as well as upcycled/repurposed wool. With a little time out of the spotlight, we we feel confident that he has stocked up tons of good ideas, so we can't wait to see what he has cooked up for next Fall.

Fall 2012 Preview: John Bartlett (The Fashion Informer)
Previously: 
Closing Notices: John Bartlett Departs (8.30.2011)

POP-UP PREVARICATION: Karl Lagerfeld's Bleecker Street Pop-up Is Only Virtual Until Tomorrow

We're going to go out on a limb and say that Net-A-Porter was just a bit misleading in their press release on Tuesday, because they didn't fully explain that the pop-up shop on Bleecker Street launching Karl Lagerfeld's new KARL line would not be featuring actual merchandise. Silly us, we thought that if you launched a collection at a storefront on one of the city's favorite shopping streets, that there would be goods to buy.

Our friends from Racked tell us that a long line of shoppers descended on the store yesterday morning, and the first 50 people in line got gift bags with items from the collection as promised, but when the shop opened, it was only a display allowing visitors to win items from the collection by using the KARL mobile app and pointing their iPads or iPhones at the window. Net-A-Porter staffers were on hand with iPads to assist the non Apple-equipped, but there was nothing to actualy buy and carry away at that time. On the plus side, they reportedly had hot beverages, so ...free coffee for those who didn't win anything?

You can buy it online at Net-A-Porter right now, and Racked promises us that the shop will start offering real merchandise live tomorrow, Friday the 27th of January, so you will still have your chance to shop KARL like a regular, old fashioned tech-free customer this weekend.

Karl Lagerfeld's New Collection Launched With No Clothes (Racked)
Previously:
KARL by Karl Lagerfeld To Debut In A Downtown Pop-Up Tomorrow

 

FLAGSHIP WATCH: Big Belstaff Store To Boost Brand On Madison Avenue

Belstaff, the London based label best known for making pricey, nostalgic motorcycle hjackets and other outerwear is relaunching this fall as a luxury lifestyle brand thanks to its new owner, Switzerland's Labelux. Part of this relaunch will include two major flagship stores, one at 814 Madison Avenue here in New York, and another in London.

New Yorkers will find the new store at the corner of 68th Street where Malo has wound up its residency, and one of New York's first Gianni Versace boutiques once stood, and the 4,000 square foot space will be designed, like its much larger London cousin, by New York based William Sofield, who is best known for revamping the Tom Ford era Gucci store design concept. While he is associated with sleek, glamorous minimalism of that moment, the new store will take its cues from the 1876 London mansion that will soon become Belstaff House. "a modern version of an English country house," according to Harry Slatkin who is the brand's new CEO.

The new store will also launch ready-to-wear collections by new Belstaff chief creative officer Martin Cooper. Are New Yorkers ready for more than just outerwear from the English heritage brand? We will find out this October, when both stores are scheduled to be opened. Motorbike not required.

Belstaff to Open Flagships in London, New York (WWD)

SLIMMING DOWN: UWS Says Goodbye To A Gap

That highly desirable corner store at Broadway and 86th Street used to be a Gap until earlier this month. As a part of efforts to trim underperforming locations announced last year, it was closed along with a few other Manhattan locations which smacked of 10 years ago, when the mega-chain also corrected an overexpansion in the city that seemed to put a Gap on nearly every other corner. This particular store was one which many observers predicted would be shuttered due to its strange layout, and we can tell you from our own observations that it was not a particularly well designed store that probably should have been closed in any event —or at least gutted and completely redesigned.

One thing we can remember, however, is way back when the Gap was a great place to shop no matter how many branches sprung up about the city. Hopefully some of the new creative management at the company will be able to rejuvenate the chain which has held up poorly after the onslaught of H&M, Zara, Forever 21 and any number of other fast-fashion chains that have proliferated over the past 10 years.

This closing leaves only one Gap left on the Upper West Side on Broadway near Lincoln Center which is currently undergoing a long-running renovation that has left it covered in plywood even as it continues to operate. Hopefully, this means an exciting new redesign is in the works and maybe a rebirth for a battered but not quite beaten retail icon.

DIFFUSION FRENZY: KARL by Karl Lagerfeld To Debut In A Downtown Pop-Up Tomorrow

Net-A-Porter.com will be launching the new KARL by Karl Lagerfeld collection online tomorrow, but to garner a little extra bit of buzz, the luxury e-commerce giant has chosen five international cities to sell the line live and in person, and guess what? One of those cities is New York! Starting at 10:30 tomorrow morning, the collection will be available at 375 Bleecker Street, and the first 50 customers will receive a special gift from the collection. The other lucky cities are London, Paris, Berlin and Sydney. In case you were hoping to catch a glimpse of the Kaiser himself, you will have to get up really early and jet off to Paris which is where he will be making his public appearance, but one lucky winner in each city will be awarded a $1,500 shopping spree, which is roughly equivalent to half a Balmain jacket.

To win the loot, you need to download Net-A-Porter's KARL game and play it, putting yourself in the running for the shopping spree, but even if you don't hit that particular jackpot, just console yourself that you are in the only city in America where you will be able to buy the collection in a shop and take it right home without waiting for the UPS truck, or, if you are particularly extravagant, Net-A-Porter's pampering white glove hand delivery. There's always something to be said for instant gratification!

KARL by Karl Lagerfeld Pop-up shop 375 Bleecker Street between Perry & Charles Streets, West Village

FLAGSHIP FLASH: CÉLINE Set To Debut New Boutique By Month's End

Céline CEO Marco Gobbetti answered the "when is that store ever going to open?" question yesterday as he announced that the long awaited return of the resurgent luxury label to Madison Avenue would happen later this month. He was really announcing that the company would forgo its runway show for the Fall 2012 season in favor of less formal showroom presentations due to chief designer Phoebe Philo's pregnancy, but our concerns are more locally based. He offered no more details about the shop, though it will obviously play a major role in the protracted relaunching of the label after a revolving door of designers and, ultimately, Philo's arrival as creative director a couple of years ago to save the day. The label's previous location on Madison (now a Michael Kors lifestyle shop) was shuttered to give the new design team a fresh environment in which to sell the reconceived collection, but refashioning the former Gianfranco Ferré and temporary Dior store at Madison and 71st Street has taken a bit longer than eager shoppers had expected. Soon, however, there will be a new world of Céline to divert Madison Avenue's denizens.

Celine to Skip Runway Show for Fall (WWD)

WAREHOUSE ALERT: Barneys Warehouse Sale Dates Set For New York

Our friends at Racked have ascertained that the next Barneys Warehouse Sale will take begin on February 16th and run through the 26th. As usual, the Chelsea Co-op will close on the preceding weekend to prepare for the event. Much like last February's installment, the sale begins as Fashion Week winds down, and like last September's, it is only scheduled for about 11 days. Of course, the last time, it was extended for a few extra days due to the Hurricane, so perhaps we can hope for a blizzard to give us a little more time at the new, short version of the Warehouse sale. The difference this time is that the New York sale will now overlap with the L.A. sale which reportedly runs from February 10-21. How this will affect the selection and quality of merchandise available for us New Yorkers, who are obviously the most important shoppers in the world and entitled to the optimum selection of goods to choose from, remains to be seen, but we will consider it another upcoming chapter in the story of a rapidly changing Barneys.

The Next Barneys Warehouse Sale Will Begin February 16 (Racked)
Previously:
Barneys Sets Dates For 11-Day LA Warehouse Sale In February. New York Still Waiting

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH: Is Columbus Avenue Next On Deck For A Resurgence?

Anyone who remembers Manhattan in the 1980s would be able to tell you that one of the hottest shopping and social scenes of that moment was happening on Columbus Avenue. The East Village was bohemian, SoHo was only just beginning to transition from a gallery district to a luxury destination, and the Meatpacking District, despite the new appearance of a trendy restaurant called Florent, was mainly home not only to the actual packing of meat, but also to some very bold, gender illusionist ladies of the evening. Columbus Avenue, however, with its combination of trendy boutiques and even trendier bars and restaurants was hopping.

The 90s, unfortunately, were not kind to the Upper West Side as a combination of a harsh recession and disruptive sewage line construction robbed Columbus Avenue of much of its luster, as did the demise of its chicest anchor store, Charivari. The innovative designer boutique had two locations on Columbus as well as one on Amsterdam and another on Broadway, giving the West Side a fashion credibility it has not seen since. The min-chain was responsible for helping to launch then avant-garde designers like Jean-Paul Gaultier, Yohji Yamamoto, Matsuda and Dries Van Noten to New Yorkers. Think of it as the Opening Ceremony of its day, but it collapsed during the '90s as a result of overexpansion and squabbles among the family members who owned it.

Since then, designers migrated to SoHo and the downtown luxury boutique sprawl happened. While Columbus Avenue retained a few of its higher-end tenants over the years, it has transitioned into more of a neighborhoody corridor of restaurants and shops. It's still busy, but it has yet to return to its trendsetting heights. According to Crain's, however, that may be changing. A combination of high rents and scarcity of suitable spaces has made both SoHo and the Meatpacking District increasingly difficult neighborhoods for retailers to crack. They and real estate agents are looking to Columbus and rediscovering it as one of the city's wealthiest neighborhoods underserved by luxury-level shops with its premium stretch anchored by tourist magnets like Lincoln Center at one end and the American Museum of Natural History at the other. Recent designer arrivals like Rag & Bone, Helmut Lang and Burberry have found success, and landlords are feeling confident enough in the street's fortunes to start pushing up rents, sadly causing some longtime independent stores like the popular pharmacy, toy and cosmetic shop Therapie (pictured above in its final days) to close.

Right now, Columbus Avenue's revival is still in its early stages. Gap Inc, recently chose it for the first New York location of Athleta, its women's workout gear chain, and the area is strong in women's contemporary fashion with a branch of Intermix as well as Club Monaco, Reiss, Comptoir des Cotonniers and a newly expanded Theory boutique. Scoop has long been rumored to be looking for a suitable space, and they would fit easily but, since we are right in the neighborhood, The Shophound has noticed some other major lapses and opportunities in the street's mix of stores. One of them is menswear. There are exactly two men's stores, longtime neighborhood fixtures Sean and Frank Stella, between the Museum and Lincoln Center, and only Burberry and Patagonia sell both men's and women's clothing side by side. Chains like Club Monaco, Reiss and Theory that sell to both genders in other locations, stock only women's clothing on Columbus, and even Rag & Bone dropped its popular men's collection from its boutique there. Designer megabrands have so far stayed away as well, and while we don't expect Gucci or Prada to show up there anytime soon, the street would appear to be a good fit for one of the accessory driven "lifestyle" boutiques that Michael Kors is liberally sprinkling all over the city.

What will eventually happen to Columbus Avenue remains to be seen, but the local Community Board has taken some controversial steps to try and limit the kind of big box retailers like Michael's and Home Goods that have appeared there further uptown above 96th street. As luxury retail recovers from the recession with much more strength than other sectors (as it usually does) Columbus Avenue is looking more and more like a sleeper of a neighborhood about to be fully reawakened.

Meatpacking district cools as Columbus sizzles by Adrianne Pasquarelli (Crain's)

THIS WEEK ONLINE: Valentino, Temperley, Calvin Klein, Thakoon, Band of Outsiders, Versace, Sergio Rossi, Gucci, Vilebrequin, Sferra, Fendi, Timo Weiland

Here is your weekly sampling of some of the brands you can expect to find on the bigger online Flash Sale Sites this week. You should click over to the sites themselves for a full schedule of events, and be sure to check for the correct start time for each sale. Happy clicking!

GILT GROUPE

Eva Franco, Temperley London, 7 For All Mankind, Linda Farrow Luxe Eyewear, Paul & Joe Sister, Sorel, Line, Helmut Lang, Bettye Muller, 25 America, Pour la Victoire, Poleci/Black Halo, Noir, Calvin Klein Collection, Rosegold, Anagram by Gary Graham, Nanette Lepore/Tocca, SPANX, Valentino Prêt-à-Porter, Judith Ripka, Haute Hippie, Thakoon, Hyden Yoo/Dolce Vita, Edun/Vena Cava —join HERE

GILT MAN

Theory, Vince, Tateossian Cufflinks & Accessories, Band of Outsiders, Versace, Allegri, Ted Baker Footwear, Yigal Azrouël/Esquivel, Mimobot, Shipley & Halmos, Saucony, Luigi Bianchi Mantova, Calvin Klein Collection & Footwear, N.D.C. Made by Hand, Rag & Bone, Gant Rugger, James Jeans, Parke & Ronen —join HERE

GILT HOME & CHILDREN

Down Etc., ThomasPaul Rugs, Kalorik, Weiman Furniture, Crystorama, WMF, Anichini,  CanvasPop, Film Noir Furniture + Art, Staub, Baby Nay, Anais & I, Luck Bums, Edoche /Baby Champagne, UPPAbaby Vistas, 9 Seed Maternity, James Jeans, Addie & Ella Girls' Apparel, Green Lullaby/Creative Toy Shop, Kitty Kat Girls Dresses —join HERE

RUE LA LA

James Jeans, Lafayette 148, Cosabella, Bellora, Rotary, Fissler, Fendi, Sergio Rossi, L'Erba, Thomas Dean, Soicher Marin, Bashian Rugs, Madison Avenue Couture Resale, Vilebrequin, Seychelles, Candice Olson, Tallulah Wines, Ibex, Peter Millar, Fitz & Floyd  —join HERE

BELLE & CLIVE

Gucci Women's Apparel, Vintage Chanel Jewelry, Dior Kids, Vilebrequin, Cris Apparel, Report Collection, Canterbury of New Zealand, YSL Handbags, Fendi Kids, Design History, Linea Pelle, John Varvatos, Pour La Victoire —join HERE

IDEELI

Akribos, Calvin Klein Kids, Eight Sixty, Nambé, R.J. Graziano, Annie Griffin, David Kahn, Ellen Tracy, Etienne Aigner, Gentle Souls, Valentino, GUND, Lucien Piccard, Amrita Singh, Berghoff, Betsey Johnson, Cole of California, Invicta, Level 99, Naya —join HERE

ONE KINGS LANE

French Heritage firniture, Cuisinart, Coronet Lighting, John Robshaw, Modern Bird, Sferra, El Dot, Chamart Limoges, Karma Living Kantha Quilts, Badash Glassware, nuLOOM, Dransfield & Ross, Reflections Mirrors, Pet Essentials, Madera Furniture, Tufkenian, Zentique —join HERE

HAUTE LOOK

L.A.M.B., Muk Luks, Cargo Cosmetics, Arnold Zimberg, Keds, Mackage, Magaschoni, Enzo Angiolini, Elizabeth & James, Stitch's Denim, Donna Morgan —join HERE

MY HABIT

Catherine Malandrino, Qi Cashmere, Fendi Sunglasses, Jay Godfrey, House of Harlow, Calvin Klein Collection, Kova & T, Aviator, Comune, Trovata, Robert Wayne, Onia, Trafalgar, J. Campbell, Steve Madden, Cynthia Rowley,  Timo Weiland, John Varvatos ★ USA, Vera Wang, Carmen Marc Valvo —join HERE

JELLY JOINT: Melissa To Open SoHo Shop At Fashion Week

Fans of rubber shoes will be partying in a few weeks when popular Brazilian shoe brand Melissa opens its first U.S. store in SoHo on February 8th, the eve of Fashion Week. The label is most famous for its frequent collaborations with big-name designers like Vivienne Westwood, Gareth Pugh and Jason Wu to name a few, who have translated their signature aesthetics to Melissa's jelly based materials.

The store at 102 Greene Street right next to Jill Stuart's longtime boutique is said to be modeled after the brand's flagship in São Paolo which has a dramatic gallery format described by WWD as "hypermodern" and frequently hosts art exhibitions. The new store will open with a display from AVAF (Assume Vivid Astro Focus) collective which is run by Christophe Hamaide-Pierson and Eli Sudbrack who recently garnered a lot of attention for designing the GaGa's Workshop installation at Barneys New York during the recent Holiday season.

Melissa Opens First U.S. Store (WWD)

LUXURY ALERT: Bottega Veneta Plans A Men's Store Off Madison

Well, it's just Bottega Veneta day over here at The Shophound. Today's WWD announces the not-terribly-surprising news that the Italian luxury brand is planning a men's boutique on 67th Street just off Madison Avenue which will serve as a counterpart to the recently opened women's shop a few blocks uptown. It will be the label's first men's shop in the U.S. Bottega Veneta creative director Tomas Maier promises a new interior design concept specifically tailored to the needs of the store's male clientele. “We don’t want to make men walk through women’s bags — it’s a little awkward for them,” he told the paper, just after presenting his Fall 2012 collection. He may be overstating his customer's distaste for the sight of handbags just a tiny bit, but the store will feature materials and colors different from the standard Bottega Veneta boutique design focusing on “what a man would like to find” in a store.

So far, we have no specific details as to when it will open, or the exact address, but at the very least, John Caramanica will eventually have his opportunity to take on the brand after today's out-of-sorts Critical Shopper review of the women's shop in the Times.

Bottega Veneta to Open Men’s Store in New York (WWD)

ALEXANDRA JACOBS GOES SHOPPING: Sour Resort Luxe Edition

Today's Thursday Styles features Critical Shopper Alexandra Jacobs in a disagreeable mood as she goes to town on the new Bottega Veneta women's boutique on Madison Avenue. She barely touches on the store itself, however. First she turns her nose up at the concept of the "resort" collection, suggesting that it is an irrelevant contrivance for the rich who spent the winter months in sunny, tropical locales, and then brings up the horrific Costa Concordia crash to ruin winter vacations for all of us. Thanks.

...it’s a small, lightweight collection of clothes marketed at people who can afford long jaunts to the tropics when the rest of us are trudging through sludge and applying extra lashings of bronzer to our ghastly January pallor. It blithely ignores what the great wobbly mass of American humanity tends to wear while traveling — e.g., velour tracksuits and Disney mouse ears.

Wow. Sour grapes. Apparently she is aiming this week's column at Republican Primary voters, as if she has completely forgotten that Madison Avenue boutiques and luxury brands like Bottega Veneta were invented to serve the kind of people for whom the concept of "resort" remains incredibly relevant. In fact, they are probably sunning themselves on the beach right now. It's the kind of disingenuous reverse snobbery not seen since the loopy days of Alex Kuczynski. Of course, we aren't assuming that Jacobs live on Park Avenue and carries her own Birkin bag like we know her erstwhile predecessor did, but there's a certain sense that she has started out criticizing the shop for being exactly what it presents itself to be: a luxurious shop for wealthy customers. Madison Avenue is, and has always been, shopping for the 1%. Get over it or find a new neighborhood to shop in.

Critical Shopper: On the Sea of Tranquillity by Alexandra Jacobs (NYTimes)
Bottega Veneta 849 Madison Avenue between 69th & 70th Streets, Upper East Side

TRAIPSING THROUGH THE TRADE SHOWS: Our Picks From (capsule)

Click all images for a larger view in a new window

 The Capsule Men's Trade Show is over in New York, but with its move to a larger venue, it took us a few days to process the barrage of stuff we saw. There were definitely some growing pains for the new location including a sprawling setup and truly awful lighting in certain sections that had The Shophound and man other showgoers seeing spots. One of the reason we have featured a lot of shoes in this post is because, A. We love shoes, and B. they were often easier to see than pushing through poorly lit racks of garments. There were lots of familiar booths like Naked and Famous whose innovative jeans we still love, Wolverine 1000 Mile who has new collaboration with Filson (pictured above) and with Samantha Pleet for women's shoes and Tanner Goods, whose artisan leathergoods are all over the place these days, but here are the things that stood out and caught what by they time we finished were pretty crossed eyes.

THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING FUN AT YUKETEN
This Japanese designed and North American made shoe brand is a major destination for most Capsule visitors. It has hugely influenced the trend of brightly decorated and patterned men's shoes. This season, we saw fewer hand-sewn styles from them, and more structured models including an expansion of dress styles. Of course, for Yuketen, that means wingtip boots in at least three different materials mixed together.. Many of these more structured styles were made in Mexico to mitigate costs, but they still don't come cheap We loved the new, lower lacing monkey boot styles at right as well as the brogued ankle boots. As usual, they shared their booth with the Japanese line MONITALY, which offered lots of the remixed classic they are loved for and a slippery rug made of woolen camouflage material which represented one of most popular patterns throughout the show.

OVADIA & SONS ARE THE NEW DARLINGS
This pair of Brooklyn twins made big splash last season with their expertly tailored handmade suitings, and this time around they appear to have expanded their line with more sportswear and casual looks. They are unabashedly luxury minded, and avowed fans of Ralph Lauren, but they may want to tread lightly on ground that America's favorite designer has covered exhaustively (The mannequin display at left looked particularly Madison Avenue Mansion-y). Though they are still finding a more individual point of view, it's hard to resist their incredibly well-executed collection, which may turn out to give Ralph a run for his money at the high end.

FLORSHEIM BY DUCKIE BROWN STILL OFFERS SURPRISES
In case you were wondering if the folks at Duckie Brown had any crazy ideas left for Florsheim's classic dress shoes, we present the longwing brogue covered in multicolored caviar beads. In less elaborate designs, they offered the same shape in brightly colored suede with ring lacing on the ubiquitous white Vibram wedge sole. Get on board, guys, the days of plain old dirty bucks are over forever.

EVERYONE GETS SCREWED BY CUSTOMS AT SOME POINT
Ovadia's and Duckie's booths were placed in an area that clustered them with hot, young, attention-getting labels like Riviera Club, Billy Reid, Garbstore, Burkman Bros. and our favorite new designer IAN VELARDI who apologized for the fact that most of his Italian-made collection was stuck in U.S. Customs and probably wouldn't make it out before the two-day show ended. Velardi's debut collection has been selling well exclusively at Barneys and Park & Bond, and for Fall, he is sure to add more retailers. He was at the top of our list of designers we were excited to see at Capsule, so we fully plan to take him up on his offer to show us the collection when he gets it to the showroom. Expect a follow up post soon. In the meantime, you might still be able to pick up some great pieces on sale at Barneys and Park & Bond —we did!

WHERE WERE THE SHOES AT MARK McNAIRY NEW AMSTERDAM?
Because the New York trade shows overlapped with Pitti and the Milan runway shows, some booths looked a little thin, but this is the first time that we have found men's shoe deity Mark McNairy's booth without shoes! A slightly spacy rep told us that, aside form some basic, in-stock styles, the new shoe samples were with the designer in Italy, which didn't help us or anyone else at the show. It's certainly not his fault that he and his samples can only be in one place at a time, but perhaps the shows should be scheduled a little more carefully next season. At any rate, his expanded clothing line was there, including your definitive camouflage business suit, and a denim motorcycle jacket with crisp yellow zipper detail.

EASTLAND PROVES THAT SOMETIMES LESS IS MORE
While everyone else has been trying to find how many disparate materials they could pile on a shoe, the folks at Eastland have been doing very nicely by offering subtle tweaks to the classic, impeccably made hand-sewn styles in their premium Made in Maine collection. The newest styles had a new leather and rubber lug sole that gave a dressier edge to more casual styles in premium Horween leathers. Eastland also brought its 1955 Edition line which offers more fashion colors and details at a gentler price, like these classic boots in offbeat colors and that omnipresent white Vibram sole.

IT'S TIME FOR NORMAL SIZED WATCHES FROM UNIFORM WARES
Most of the watch vendors at both Capsule and Project were showing off how elaborate and generally bulky their new styles were, so it was totally refreshing to stumble over (literally, they were in the middle of the walkway) Uniform Wares' sleek, streamlined and thankfully scaled down watches. We hesitate to classify them as "minimalist" because they are full of clever details like bands that fasten cleanly to the back of the watch, but they are a welcome change from the current rage for dinner plate-sized watches.

THERE IS LIFE AFTER PLAID AND CAMOUFLAGE
Of course, plaid will never go away, but it took a back seat to camouflage this season. By next fall, you may be looking for something different, and you may find VANISHING ELEPHANT's oxford shirt dotted with tiny rosebuds. While nobody thinks of florals as especially butch, somehow this shirt looks remarkably masculine for something decorated with, well, tiny rosebuds.

GRENSON LOOKS FORWARD
The popular British shoemaker also had a booth that looked a little thin, and we suspected that a lot of their samples were also still in Europe, but we couldn't help loving new versions of the label's signature classic balmoral shoe and derby boot in black with a shiny silver patent leather cap toe. For a moment, we thought of early 1990's club-kid boots decorated with metal panels put through an ingenious filter of taste and refinement. Maybe we just love them because they are shiny, and isn't that reason enough?