31-17.
Those digits wiped away the 40 year legacy of the New Orleans ‘Aints. It comes as no surprise that the play that sealed it all was what else, a pick-six. In only 5 years, the city that America had forsaken, has turned it all around and now bring home the Lombardi Trophy for the first time ever.
Congrats to the Saints and all of New Orleans for their accomplishments and meteoric return to prominence.
(Somewhere, Lil’ Wayne is going nuts!)
The woodsman theme seems to have caught on with every brand imaginable as of late, and 10 Deep is no exception. Only difference is, when the Tenth gets on something, they don’t just do it – they kill it.
And so we bring you the Barnstormer Jacket. Fully equipped to handle the cold weather, this ain’t some sort of fashionably ill-fated attempt to be hard – this thing is tough. And coming out of NYC you can clearly see the influence. Taking it back to the days when cats really got down, stompin’ boots and all. From the steel clasps, to the reinforced shoulders, to the hideaway hood under the corduroy collar, the Deep’s got street life all over this one, so panzies need not apply.
More pics after the jump…
The latest collection from Ralph Lauren has gracefully landed on our shelves. Aptly titled “Neutral Territory”, the collection pays homage to some of the classic looks that RL Polo has brought us over the years, while managing to create an “earthy” aesthetic through tactful usage of natural hues and muted tones. Yes, that includes the shirt pictured above, which clearly drew it’s inspiration from the richly warming palette of a woodland sunset.
Polo has also seemed to have abstained from the blatant logo plastering as they pushed to minimize the use of the “Pony” for this collection and saved the iconic silhouette for the traditional polo shirts that the brand whores flock to. This set expresses itself differently from other collections, by being Polo without having to tell you that it’s Polo.
This is easily the most versatile of the shipments we’ve received since getting on board with RL, and it really bodes well for future expectations. Not to mention that being named as the official outfitter of the U.S. Olympic Team means that RL will definitely have to be on their A-game this year. We’re sure they won’t let us down – I mean, have they ever before?
More pics after the jump…
Lately, I’ve been working on an endeavor to change this blog around from being just a bulletin board for the shop to, well, an actual blog! And after the max-iPad (Maxi Pad, get it?) article a couple posts down, i realized something – ripping into s**t is actually fun!
Ever wondered why in the hell you never seem to have any money, in spite of the endless nights working overtime at both jobs? Well CNN has found the answer. We’re all getting ripped off (well duh)!!! But this time it aint’ the banks or investment firms (or just Madoff) it’s actally the little things that you and I take for granted. Here’s a little rundown of Americas Biggest Rip-offs
- Text Messaging: 6,500% Markup (caught me off guard)
- Movie Theater Popcorn: 900% Markup ($6.50 and no refills, you kidding me!)
- “Free” Credit Reports: Up to $180 a year (I wanna punch the guitar dude now)
- Name-brand Painkillers: 60% Markup (want a real headache?)
- Wine at Restaurants: 500% Markup (no that’s not Dom Perignon you’re drinking)
- College Textbooks: $900 a year (but you already knew that)
- Premium Gasoline: 15% Markup (probably knew that too)
- Hotel Mini Bars: 1,300% Markup (I got Gummi Bears for 14 bucks!)
- Hotel In-Room Movies: 200% Markup (at least the cable’s free, right?)
In short, if you want to save an assload of cash, all you gotta do is eat your veggies, use the land line, ride the bus, pay your bills on time, avoid your girlfriend, and drop out and you’ll be just fine!
Read more here
As of late, contemporary fashion seems to be almost anything but contemporary. Anywhere you look, one can find evidence of how the latest trends spawned by simply reaching back and borrowing concepts and iconography from past trends. Thus proving the old “all things go in cycles” adage true, as the “last big thing” will inevitably return as the “next big thing”. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Since hindsight is 20/20 it’s only natural that the pioneers of tomorrow would look to the pioneers of the past for direction. And since we’re a civilization that is “always improving” (supposedly), and there are all kinds of laws/statutes prohibiting plagiarism and blatant copyright infringement, would-be designers (who may otherwise be lacking originality) have to come up with ways to tweak or improve past successes before they can be mass produced and shoved down our throats by the media as the big “It”.
Sure, some of these trends have shown a bit of range in the past few years. From brazen copycats of popular silhouettes (the Bape Sta), to slick reiterations with a touch of finesse (Gourmet and pretty much every Jordan), to recycling leftover components to form some sort of hybrid conglomeration (Yeezy’s, Spizikes).
It seems as if we’ve found yet another candidate to fill that “last, next big thing” spot. As the culture of the “fashion forward” society, from hypebeasts, to divas (and everyone else before, after and in-between who sincerely believes they have at least an ounce of individual style) seems to be shifting toward this “I live here, but wanna look like I’m from here” mantra, it’s apparent that preppy-yet-woodsy-themed gear is whats big on the horizon. Especially duck boots.
Up and coming brand Pome’ is the highlight here, along with their new line of signature “duck” boots. Now I’m no spring chicken, and I’ve never seen ducks wear boots – but if they did, they’d probably look like these.
The shoes take an all but subtle cue from L.L. Bean’s iconic Bean Boots (who probably found inspiration from another outdoors company). Not too much of a deviation was made as the models sport almost exactly the same build, and near identical tread patterns (but that could just be the standard duck boot pattern). However, where Pome’ starts to differentiate themselves is with visual aesthetics. L.L. Bean is – has been, and always will be – an outdoorsman company, favoring rugged, earthy material and natural hues. Whereas Pome’ is intended to target the city dwellers. Sporting a mash up of recognizable materials (such as the Timberland style nubuck) and an innovative color palette (Nike would be proud), Pome’ immediately asserts itself as “not your mommas rain boots”.
Surprisingly, even though they are obvioulsy marketed “against the grain” as far as demographics, the boots seem to hold up pretty well and actually show to have practical use. This is just the first drop in what is expected to be a good, long run, and if they keep this kind of quality and presentation up – and don’t get all Skittle’d on us – you can expect to see these guys around for years to come.
More pics after the jump…
Lemme’ drop some knowledge…
Since 1916 the popularity of Keds has been in a constant state of flux, punctuated by the styles and ideals and icons that come and go with each new generation. Heralded by many as the first actual “sneakers” the brand gained rapid popularity in the 20’s becoming the shoe of choice for tennis players s they graced the court 13 championship matches. Back in the 50’s it was Grandma Gatewood and her epic hike along the 2,168 mile Appalachian Trail (Georgia to Maine). In the 60’s it was Katherine Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe and Jackie O heading the front. And in the 80’s they were staples of the teenage “every-girl” wardrobe (remember the slouch socks?)
But it was back in 1949 that Keds (then U.S. Keds and previously U.S. Rubber Company) revolutionized athletic footwear with the introduction of the Pro-Keds line and their first shoe, the Classic Royal, popularized by “Mr. Basketball” himself, George Mikan. These “hardcore” athletic shoes went on to completely dominate the market, reaching the peak of their popularity in the 70’s when they were adorned by NBA legends such as JoJo White, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Nate Archibald and Pete Maravich. It was thanks to these icons that during this time, the hype had permeated into inner-city culture and cemented Pro-Keds as a must-have item during the early days of hip-hop.
During the 90’s as brands like Nike, Jordan and Reebok rose to prominence through innovative design and revolutionary concepts enhancements that exponentially raised the bar as far as performance (Air Soles and “The Pump”), Pro-Keds took a back seat and began to slowly fade into relative obscurity.
But as of late, with the shifting trends and contemporary emphasis on the “retro” aesthetics, it seems that the world’s first “sneaker” is starting to make a comeback. After almost 100 years of historical prevalence, the shoe that spawned a million look-alikes (Vans, Puma, Adidas – just to name a few) has once again been resurrected to take it’s place at the helm of the fashionable-yet-practical world of footwear. The king as returned, and he’s kickin’ it old school.
More pics after the jump…
I’m sure by now that you’ve all heard about Steve Jobs’ new obsession, the iPad (I gave you 3 days to let it simmer). And if your’e anything like me, I’m sure you got a kick out of watching him prance around on stage trying to convince us that it’s “a truly revolutionary and magical product”. But all erroneous hyperbole aside, the real questions are – Is it a game-changer, or an epic fail? and Will you shell out the beans to get one? Here are some specs to help you decide.
What it does have:
Display: 9.7 inch IPS
Size and Weight: 9.56 by 7.47 by 0.5 inches, and 1.5 to 1.6 pounds
Processor: 1GHz Apple A4 Chip
Storage: 16, 32, or 64GB flash (4 times the size, yet no storage capacity upgrade)
Battery life: 10 hours battery life, over 1 month standby (who’s leaving it running for that long?)
Connectivity: 802.11n Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (AT&T exclusive, WTF?!)
Other Features: Accelerometer, compass, speaker, mic, 30-pin connector (wait, no camera?)
Price: “Starts at $499″ (16GB w/o 3G, $130 extra + either a 14.99/mo or 29.99/mo data plan thru AT&T for models w/ 3G)
What it doesn’t have:
No 3G support for Verizon (You’re killin’ me here!)
No new user interface
No built-in camera (Holy S**t!)
No Flash support (WTF!)
No user-replaceable battery (…)
No TV subscriptions (…not like it mattered anyway)
My Opinion:
Overall, as a device I will admit it’s pretty cool, but the lack of many core specs and features (especially, its incompatibility with Verizon users) that should honestly be a given for technology in this day and age, leaves me not quite sold. Maybe future generations or maybe even a few last minute upgrades before they hit stores might sway me, but for now, I’ll pass. Look, I’m no Apple hater (I’m still after a MacBook, and keeping my fingers crossed for a Verizon iPhone – I’m hearing July) but whenever I look at this thing, I can’t help but just see a big ass iPod (yes, I said “pod” not “phone” – and no, not “beefed-up” just overgrown). For what it’s worth you’re still better off with a MacBook or just sticking to your iPhone, as for me I’m good with my Droid.
Will ya look at this! This weeks TYFA comes courtesy of our homie Royal-Tee as he stopped in today to catch up on lost time. And he was more than happy to model a look for us. Ro’s rocking a Play Cloths “Spiffy” Flannel with the matching “Bear Cat” cap and “Cash” scarf, a False X Better Off Dead “Sickle Chanel” tee, a pair of [our favorite] APC Rescue Denim’s, and bottomed out with a pair of Silver 1/2 Cents (we still got a good run left!). Dude was so hyped to be back around and he just couldn’t wait to fill us in on the details from his recent road trip (except to drop a tweet here and there). That energy carried on throughout the shoot to the point that his seemingly never-wavering enthusiasm caused what shoulda been great shots to come out mad blurry (but don’t worry we got enough good ones to cover this post). Homie even saw it fit to bless us wit a hot 16 fresh off the top, I’ll get that vid posted as soon as i figure out how to get off my phone. Oh yeah did I mention the fit was dope too?
More pics after the jump…
There’s a big time accessory sale going on right now @ the Factory.
All watches, belts, shades, wallets, backpacks & lids are 35% OFF!
From now ’til Sunday.
We caught up with our man Keelan as he was waiting up for his girl outside the nail salon. It seemed as if he’d been there for a while, ’cause the look on his face told about a thousand stories about the “other things” he could be doing. Needless to say, he was bored as hell. Couple that up with the crappy weather outside and my all-seeing lens and you’ve got yourself this week’s TYFA post.
This shoot took a little longer than usual due to the unforgiving circumstances, so kudos to Kee for being all game. There must have been a real occasion as he was rocking attire that was pretty atypical to what were used to seeing. His fit consisted of a Crooks & Castles “Foreman” jacket, an all black Mixer Utility woven by 10 Deep, a pair of G-Star 3301 Signature Series denim’s and a pair of Sweet Classics by Nike. As for the Amongst Friends duffel bag, I’ve got no clue what that was for.
After leaving to get a bite I returned to catch him taking snoozing on the bench. I figured it would be cool to get some of that footy on the blog as well. (He even sleeps with steez!) 
More pics after the jump…
