ON & BEYOND

While Nike is taking their ID program to another level in the customization game, other brands like RL and Timberland who stepped foot on this boat are still in primary stages of the process. Having a bespoken suit may not be considered a rarity nowadays but a pair of bespoken AF1′s are. At a hefty price tag of 800USD, it takes a true Nike head to invest some hard earned guap. Marcus asked me to do some product shots of his creation, and I was glad to do them. For more info about the kevlar and waterproof denim, migrate here.

oh and shouts to: onlycure, eaton, slash, ls6, sebas on hb.

I met Justin a little while back through a friend who suggest we sit down and work together. Sat down we did. I asked him to do an interview with me so here I am, featuring JJJJound, one of the first (if not THE first) moodboard blog out there.

(I shot this photo from his own mood board in his work space)

Me: You dipped your feet into graffiti as a teenager, was that the turning point in your life??

Justin: From graffiti to hip hop, to basketball & skateboarding, it all played an unequivocal role in my upbringing.

Me: What brought you into fashion?

Justin: When I was in high school, I wanted to be a pro skateboarder right after wanting to be a pro basketball player. Then I got into hip hop, got kicked out of school and started doing my own thing… Some way, some how, I ended up meeting a dude who had belief in me and wanted to invest. Printing and selling t-shirts, caps, sweaters became my hustle. Eventually I decided it was time to move on to other endeavors. So I went back to school in fashion marketing; learned about accounting, merchandising, and basically learned another approach to what I had been doing for four years…

Me: And JJJJOUND?

Justin: I started caring much for the internet as soon as we got a computer at home. Around the time websites started updating every week. That blew me away – pertinent information from all these niche segments being moved around. That’s when I started saving stuff on my computer. Sharing is caring. I’ve sent you emails with attachments of cool photos and stuff right?

Me: yeah, I still have em.

Justin: Eventually, my list of emails got really long so I decided to put it all in one place…

Me: How did it snowball into what it is now though??

Justin: I have no clue, no idea why or how…

Me: How do you feel about people who have complained about seeing their photos on your site with no credits?

Justin: I got a couple emails with mention of credits, but I mean most people are pretty content about it being on there. At the end of the day, a good photographer’s photos should be recognizable. You can recognize your favorite photographer’s photo without it needing a credit or watermark: the subject, the context… I like that shirt a lot by the way, is it vintage?

(I was wearing a Ralph Lauren chambray).

Me: No, haha, it was on sale at the outlet…Can you talk abit about how you started with New York Times?

Justin: Basically, I started the blog and all of a sudden, I get emails from New York people; then NYT invites me down – want me to contribute for the The Moment. It made sense for me, since I don’t write on JJJJ, to word some of my opinions – great platform.

Me: Do you find yourself tuning what you post on NYT in comparison to what is on JJJound?

Justin: It goes from conversations I’ve had with them at the beginning. In other words, I’m not gonna post about items that are TOO niche or whatever… More long term investment pieces. But it’s fun, and I love doing it.

Me: Where do you think fashion is headed. The t-shirt game too kover in streetwear 5 years ago…. then people moved to dressing terry flannels…to oxfords…to full-on workwear. What next?

Justin: A lot of poeple have been asking me and frankly, I don’t know. I believe in the “forever” collection. I’ll always have a percentage of workwear, and a percentage of streetwear… high end stuff… I hope they don’t change anything because I’m gonna want the same socks next year…

While the harsh salted snow doesn’t allow us Canadians to wear coke whites all year round, my 875′s aren’t affected by the same predicament. Like a pair of 24 oz. Sammies, the built-to-last RW875′s only get better with time and distress. I’ve posted a few of my beat up footwear, but these 1 year old workboots take the cake. Feel free to send me photos of YOUR beat up beauties, and i’ll try to round em all up in a future post!

Ransom‘s varsity approach has been lingering on every forum’s latest jacket thread. Seemingly a quickstrike release from the Canadian brand, the jacket is exclusively available at the Toronto flagship store. While it would have been nice to have a custom built TOJ, it felt appropriate to support a local business.

The sleeves were a pleasant surprise, although confirmation is needed, they smell like they are made of Elk leather (I know elk when I smell it), and for an affordable price of $160, there was no time for hesitation. OK ok….it was a little crazy to think i could get elk leather sleeves on a 180$ jacket, after confirmation…they are calf leather.

Having worked with names like Nike & Burton, Nic’s photography work is exactly what I’d like to do if I were to pursue a career in photography. You may also recognize some of his work from Sneeze Magazine…he is the Editor-in-Chief after all. If you check out his website: here, you will notice that his photos scream the letters N.Y. In fact, I get the impression of watching screens of Woody Allen & Scorcese movies with a strong mix of Larry Clark. We met a few months ago for a Supreme gear transaction…a purist when it comes to the blog vs magazine feud, it may be nice to sit down and get an interview from him.

Ever since Gitman Bros did a red oxford for Inventory (Or formerly known as HYR), it was game over; the thought of finding a well-made red oxford seemed harder than I thought (the red pigment is a hard color to get right). An RRL one appeared here and there on a few blogs & forums but it was impossible to really find or acquire… Defining the middle grounds between the classic gentleman and the modern era, has been Our Legacy‘s strength. A sigh of relief came when I found this oxford over at Rooney‘s. With great help from the staff, it soon became irresistible so i gave in and took the wallet out.

My last pair of black jokhang’s were traded away for a pair of mowatt’s, so when I saw a pair of sand versions floating in an auction, I had to act quick. The guys over at Sutocorp made the transaction fast and easy. Honestly, they are the most professional proxy service out there, with order status updates every few days, I knew exactly where my package was and when it would arrive. The whole process was a pleasure to deal with. I paid a total of 80$ for these denim stained FBT’s, pretty stoke about that…

Most dedicated hiroki followers already have heard/seen this…(they’re probably disregarding my post by now). But I just saw it this morning. When the Americana Deck’s first got released in 08, they were an instant must have on my list. This year, they’re re-releasing them in a Visvim.tv exclusive. Composed of Horween Cow-hide upper & Horse-hide lining from the same well respected tannery (they also produce goods for Alden & Yuketen), the boatshoes also feature a natural cork footbed for great moisture absorbency and breathability. “Socks are optional but frowned upon.”