review: timex t series / t2n700

timex is a brand i love. a brand, who in the last 5 years, when Casio got their thing together and those cheap 80′s watches became hot again, changed up their portfolio and became current in their own right

i mean coming from a background like Timex do, arguably bigger and better than their closest rivals, they continued with the cheaper end of sports watches, whilst releasing a huge set of colourways in their Timex 80′s range and then took back their spot back in current style and fashion

and this is where they come in. ‘preppy’ took off a while back and with it strong heritage looking brands and robust, chunky watches guys can rely on came into play

given the chance to review the Timex T Series Fly Back Chrono (T2N700) thanks to the ladies over at MHPR (big ups), i jumped at the chance

i was given the J Crew for Timex version a while back which i love. easy to change straps, looks great, always bang on time. and the T Series is the same.

first thing i realised was that i hadn’t set the time. thinking this wasn’t going to work that well i was really shocked. completely automatic, flips round, dials come to life and time and date is bang on. OH. so there’s a light on this? right ok, starting to get serious for only RRP £125

so it’s a really reliable watch, which looks great – see pics. love the strap, equally like my own Timex you can switch it up, but it looks great as it is. may get a bit dirty, but that’s a minor and you could totally clean it with no problem. the dial colourings and against the main strap looks great, chunky and pretty serious

if i could say i travelled up mountains, i could say i went skydiving with it, i could even say i went swimming, i would, but i didn’t. i just wore it everywhere for a week and didn’t put it down whether at a smart work thing or slobbing around Sainsburys. it’s just a lovely looking watch.

buy it, do whatever you like with it, but it’s a great purchase for something reliable, cool and cheap for the spec. allow my hairy arm. next reviews a waxing salon

style: got a spare G for a jacket? Bernard Willhelm’s your boy

taken straight off my favourite retailer Oki-Ni……

‘graduate of Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Bernhard Willhelm earned his fashion stripes working for Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen and Walter van Beirendonck before showing his own collection in 1999. Bernhard’s work is rich in fantastical imagery and his pieces have an innocent playfulness mixed with unadulterated freedom’

either way these jackets are ridiculous

don’t know, better get to know

brands: when content and celebs collide

I’m not a movie maker, nor am I someone who aspires to be. What I am good at is knowing how content works and how you can make a good piece standout from the start. Someone who is visual in their thinking is always going to love branded content. Coming from a brand background I get where marketers are coming from. Content is king. It’s changing and is going to continue to change how we consume media and entertainment.

The issue is how best to do it.

I wrote a while ago about Swizz Beatz’ work for Jaguar. And I’m now writing again about Jag, this time regarding Damian Lewis. Now. Do get it twisted Damian Lewis is one of the best actors to come out of the UK for a long, very long, long time. And I get when a brand approaches you and supports a solid looking script with a big cheque and a life supply of cars for you and your family, really I do.

But the Jag piece, a film behind the launch of the F Type looks try hard and feels it. I can feel my shoulders tense watching it. Lets see how many times we can mention ‘car’ in the script guys. Its shot well, it looks visually lovely and it’s a great way of pushing a new car to the masses – I mean literally what else can be done to market cars!

It’s not even just a debate about the content its whether working with actors makes this right. Does it make it more interesting for a consumer? Sure they watch it cause their favourite celeb is in it, but would they buy it due to him? I doubt it. Damian Lewis isn’t really much of a jag man anyway. I saw his interview on Top Gear…..

So like I said the debate isn’t Damian. Its celebrities. I mentioned Swizz Beats. Check this out below. Shoot me.

Or Kano’s recent ad for Mercedes – another great (bad – however better others) example of cars and celebs.

So what is the magic formula to content? It depends on the brand and the end goal as always, however for me personally something like an edited script looks and feels try hard and fake. Gritty, user generated, consumer driven pieces work OR if we are talking big brand, big budget, make it look and feel that way rather than hiding it in a script written by a ‘collective’ of famous people (see Jag ad). Remember that content needs to make the end consumer feel comfortable, they need to engage not be put off, like and want to share, not criticise and comment to that point.

Either way contents here to stay and a billion users on YouTube alone should be your audience, not making sure a video looks good for you boss or gets you entry to a pack of celebs.

event: asahi back room

bit late to the game (sorry) but Asahi killed it this week, launching their sleek little set up at the Star Inn

the Asahi Back Room saw performances from Scottish indie rock band ‘The Xcerts’, currently supporting the European Tour of fellow Scots ‘Biffy Clyro’. Local students from the Academy of Contemporary Music were on-hand to provide the support acts Trails and Ollie & Sam “Bare Jams”

the Back Room is going to continue to smash out live gigs throughout the week so get down, sample the lovely Asahi and get involved

check out some pics from the night below, follow Asahi here and info on the Star Inn here

Asahai-12 Asahai

i’d give my right air max to recreate this legend

i don’t think you quite realise how much i would love to be involved in redesigning the legendary nike air max this year

celebrating 25 years in the game nike are asking a set of London creatives to give the Air Max 1, Air Max 90, Air Max 95, Air Max 97 and Air Max 2013 their spin and come up with something completely fresh

jealous doesn’t come close

engagement is nice. but…

Engagement, sticky, micro this, optimise that. New buzzword everyday. Yawn.

I don’t get excited about engagement. Sure one day it’ll be a lovely thing. As far as work goes it’s a second thought to me.

Reason being content is what I care about. I love being wowed with amazing content. Whether I watch something really stylised or something really funny or just something that makes me jump out of my seat, I’ll sit and watch whatever the brand message is at the end. But if the contents shit your engagement is shit. Lets be real about this. And this is all we’re talking about at the moment. Engagement. And I know why…

A good piece of content can be anything. The most important is to nail it with the consumer. Try too hard you create something ‘funny’ and you end up with the likes of Cillit Bang (below). Genuine shame for something which could work really well. Don’t try, but listen to the fan, understand what they want and you’ve got something like Nike.

Good content can start a movement. No one thought when YouTube kicked off we’d all be tuning in every day, that every piece of video would then be played out on their, or that we’d be that interested in videos of people farting or pandas in supermarkets, but it just so happens we are. It can be the starter to a conversation and the end to one.

T Mobile created a series of moments which took things to a new level in the UK. Stand out blanket coverage and something which aggressively knocked off the influence of their competitors online, albeit for a 3 minute window. Old Spice reignited their brand online with a completely unexpected series of content which to be fair, I don’t think they completely anticipated just how popular it would be.

Either way if everyone is talking engagement then the piece before this is the content. And lets be honest this is the creative, exciting bit that can completely game change, nothing else.

ouch. nike huarache/free run review

I love sneakers. I love them so much I changed from calling them ‘trainers’ to sneakers. Rebel without a cause right.

So when I get a pair that doesn’t fit me I don’t like it. And nor do my feet. I use them a lot and cutting off the circulation to them isn’t ideal for a £100 spent in Nike Town.

Try and get Nike to come back to you as much as you can, but don’t expect them to…

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Either way brief review of the new black/ grey Huarche/ Free Runs is that they are dope. They LOOK amazing, they look great for summer, but oh yeah, I cant feel my left foot as its so damn tight. They would pop off with some red laces this summer, but I’ll probably keep them all black. But this depends if my foot turns black owning to lack of blood.

This is how they look just either buy something else or go a size bigger.

shoes

eat: brunch cleveland ohio

Bonbon has got to be one of the coolest little places I’ve been in the States. OK so the coffee blows, it blows in most places in the States. So once you get over that and realise that the food is amazing you’ll power through.

So not immediately somewhere, I’m sorry Clevelanders but its true, not somewhere I would imagine hipster kids would hang. It feels looking at the staff like a Sailor Jerry tattoo convention, but in a good way. The people there are fucking lovely. The service is awesome and it’s a nice vibe. Its busy but not mental, its interesting but not over the top you know.

Anyways so like I said the food. We don’t eat like Americans. They don’t get this. So when the portions come out and I’m looking at a piece of succulent friend chicken (the best I’ve ever tasted) on top we’re talking avocado (winner. Always.) and tomato. Beneath we’re looking at an egg, a muffin and I think some kind of sauce (cant remember), OH and some cinnamon apples. I mean that totally goes with the rest. Ahem.

Its ridiculous how good this all tastes together. Lit.er.ally the best. And that’s where the review ends. The food was and is amazing. The End.

bonbon

hotel: gramercy park new york

So one year you go with your cousins to the big apple. You stay in a hostel which is like Guantanamo Bay. So the next time you go you don’t want to be water boarded, you don’t need to be in a straight jacket and you’d like to see the sun sometimes at least. So that’s when you go a bit nuts and have a look on the amazing mr and mrs smith

You pick the nicest, most ridiculous hotel you can find, purely cause the beds look amazing, and don’t look back

And you arrive at the Gramercy Park Hotel in New York. The most beautifully stylish, cool and classy place you’ve ever stayed. Why? It’s not cause on arrival you order two croissants, coffee and hot chocolate and pay 40 GBP for the priviledge, no. That’s not it. It’s because from the moment you set foot in the place is absolutely stunning

Classy and cool, the décor is opulent. Silk curtains, suede this, swish that. The Rose Bar on the ground floor is small but some huge hangout for the rich and famous

The room. Gad damn. It’s really dark, but in a nice way. The bed is like 20 pillows waiting for you and the couch is the size of the backrow of a movie cinema, without the popcorn and sweets on the floor. Really really stunning, you know why you’ve paid the money for this. I mean anywhere with a bathroom as big as and NFL lockerroom gets my vote. Literally the most comfy place I’ve stayed. It just encourages you to fall asleep

Highlight for me doesn’t come from the most amazing room. It comes from the main reason I booked the place in the first place. The rooftop terrace. Now Gramery Park isn’t smack bang in the centre of town. So the view you get (me standing on a chair) is panoramic. But not gawdy office blocks, perspective on the city. Big difference. The rooftop itself is indredible, get a sunny day there and its bliss. Sit out and have all manner of amazing breakfast and don’t be put off by the 30 tax charges at the end of your bill (only applicable to Brits), cause its worth it

Oh. And the artwork in there? Amazing. Check it out on the same floor as the rooftop terrace

Gramercy-Park-Hotel-photos-Room-Deluxe-Gramercy-One-Bedroom-Suite gramercy-park-hotel-1314377735 Gramercy-Terrace 25_sittingroom_lg

 

 

 

editorial: Vice x i-D vs Credibility

Vice Magazine first came into play for me back at uni. back then it was a massive deal. you picked it up everywhere. you went out of your way to go to the shops around east or carnaby that stocked it. it was a status symbol as much as something you could rely on for finding out what was up

what was interesting about Vice was the creative in there. it was cool and credible. no one was doing anything similar and that’s exactly why everyone jumped on it. it got a quick, core, cool base of people who loved it, talked about it and it grew. quick

the Vice Student Guide was pretty jokes. lots of dumb shit as you come to expect but it was small, easy to take around and again something nice to have in between shitty plates of leftover kebab and cans of australian piss

VBS is a massive deal for me. ok so sure it’s got a mix of things on there, from the ridiculous to the ridiculous, but the site has also been praised for doing shit others dont. going to the London riots, having a relevant point of view, being one of many

what killed Vice was that they went too far

naturally, for any company things get big and they get big real quick if you’re doing well. the ad revenue flooded in and then the editorial with that changed. it started to read just fucking strange. credibility goes and you lose your base original reader in the case of this brand. it’s always a fine line keeping credible and maintaining the business expectation and this is ultimately what happened

big for their boots, you get complacent i guess. start believing the hype and things go wrong. as someone who is regularly asked ‘shall we work with Vice. what are they like. are they expensive. is it right for the brand’, if you’d asked me 10 years ago i would have said hands down yes. now? fuck no are you serious? for brands they don’t do the job. they are expensive and sadly for the guys reading it, they are transparent. brand associations don’t work and things have caught up

dont do a blogger piece with them, do it yourself. i’m part of the VBN myself. it’s shocking.

dont try and couple a brand with their style of editorial. someone you deal with is going to fucking hate it and the reader is going to see through exactly what’s going on

in short loads of other ways to do this thing

so for me? for ID i’m a bit worried. i’m not a monthly reader of ID granted, but i pick it up, i check out the site and i’ve worked with them in the past. you know what you’re getting, they are great to work with

for the mag and the editorial i wonder how much of a reign the Vice bods will have over this. if it’s that the cretin work experience lot at Vice get an edge in, if Andy Capper has anything to do with the style then fuck something is going to go down the shitter in 12 months

if i’m wrong. hold my hands up. but jesus christ i hope the ID lot know what they are doing

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beats to the slopes

damn i need to take up snowboarding after seeing these. Beats are getting everywhere. but then you have your mates launch a brand synonymous with premium, hip hop, style and design and give it to the most overly exposed celebs in the world. it’s going to drop. big

this time they’ve done Beats squeezed into the POC Receptor Bug Communication Helmet. not sure if it’s available in the UK yet, but the sound is integrated into the helmet neck roll which pulls top quality sound together with, what else, dope design. make calls, listen to Dre. whatever. they are retailing about $300. get googling for the UK stockists.

next they’ll have Beats in Virgin Airlines. Watch.

helmet

when you can’t be arsed with another broken iPhone

so if like me, and there are probably few of you, you have tried. and tried. and tried. to love the iPhone. thing is you do, it’s the dogs. but then it never works.

so man the fuck up. get a Samsung Galaxy S III. You think i’m taking the piss don’t you. i’m not. it’s proper. once you get past not using the iTunes store (weird), and you use Google’s services – Play Books, Music and Movies, then you realise how amazing this phone is.

name an App, it’s in the store. oh wait. remember playing Mario Kart? Super Mario? F Zero? And basically any other game from back in the day? Yeah. well download Super GNES and shit gets REAL. i’m playing the lot for 2 quid

either way, the maps, the look and feel of the phone is incredible. it’s well well worth a look if you’re not sure. blackberry aren’t going to be killing it anytime soon

the iPhone is sleek and looks cool as fuck, but listen just check it out see what you think

sg

hotel: The James Chicago

24 hours in Chicago. not sure where to go. so easiest thing is look for something online. either you bite the bullet and get in a hostel (i don’t mind) or you fork out and live it up. so you choose the second option sometimes

did that this year at The James in central Chicago. literally amazing little place. Lots of city suits there, but also lots of lovely people milling about. think Soho House but less wanky. nice people, stylish and no one is going to look at you like you’re an idiot because you don’t work in media

reception – cool. little bar, great beers from the local area (cost you though) and the rooms. the rooms are ridiculous. want a little desk? sure. massive bed? yep. ridiculous shower, fuck yes. you got it. oh yeah, and you also get an amazing view in the middle of town

being there 24 hours and after two weeks of travelling about you get room service. serious burger tings. juicey proper american burgers

all in all an expensive but amazing stay will definitely be going back there again. lets hope soon

chicago copy

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ted baker barber. blink and you walk right past it.

walked past the Ted Baker barber in Soho the other day. didn’t even know the place existed but to be fair, wet day, need a haircut and it looks the business, you’re going to get my attention. walk in, standard barber with a bit of razzle dazzle and i’m sitting in the chair

sure this reads like a joke, but there’s not punchline. it was really good. i mean sure the dude didn’t speak too much English, but really, what men go into a barber and want to have their ear rabbited off

isn’t that what happens when you go home?

so the Turkish dude cutting my hair was really nice. Singed my ears (what’s with that), had an awesome watch and a bracelet made of snake spine. i mean who doesn’t nowadays right

so hairwash, cut and i’m out, 30 quid lighter but for once i don’t have to go home and cut it myself cause the 10 pound option in Mr Cuts didn’t make the grade

recommended. get yourself down there. sad i’m tempted into some man treatment stuff as well? nah surely not….

 

Edward 1

turnstile style

football style. none right? nothing to it, nothing about it. no identity. right? wrong.

football, wherever you go, especially in the UK has its own identity but trends that unify the whole lot.

so we had football hooliganism. we had it back in the 80′s we’ve still got it now. it’s not going anywhere. films like The Firm, documentaries like Donal (?) MacIntyre’s dont let you forget. we love the violence, we love the excitement and we love getting dressed up to do it

what unifys the whole lot is what you wear. and that’s what happened with the 80′s. the perms, the undercuts, the track tops. Fila, Lacoste, Adidas.

90′s it was all about ridiculously expensive Stone Island, shitty Burberry scarves and Harrington jackets in-between broken glass, fat lips and sovereigns

now we’re talking Comme Des Garcons, along with armies of Newcastle tops, groups of students dressed up as chicks and dudes dressed as Hercules

who knows what’s next, what isn’t going anywhere is the violence

Eric Clapton doesn’t mess about

ever wondered how Eric Clapton’s been recently? wondering why you don’t hear him on the radio? nah thought not

well anyway, thing is about Eric Clapton. he likes nice things. so nice that he buys nice stuff. nice stuff like his personal Patek Philippe which is valued at nearly $4million. wtf. there’s a lovely, really lovely video which has been produced around the watch, one of only two Patek Philippe 2499′s IN THE WORLD. so you’re starting to see why Christie’s went for ‘yeah about $4m Sir Eric…..’

check this out

Zoo York HH Day VI

Harold Hunter was a leg-end on the skate scene. he was also that guy in Kids, probably the best and most horrendous film ever. you need to catch it to know what i mean

anyway sadly he died a couple years back, suddenly from a coke OD. not good. sad stuff

so his old skate mates at Zoo York hold a tribute to him every year. the best new and old skaters from the ends, all having a laugh and all in the name of his charity the Harold Hunter Foundation 

so long story short, it’s cool, it’s a wicked event and the videos which come out of it are awesome. check it out. and make sure you watch Kids

for the love of barbour

sitting in the office the other day looking at the two guys sitting opposite me with identi-Barbours on, i thought how nuts it was Barbour has gone from a staple in my dad’s wardrobe to something of an essential in Shoreditch.

i mean i’ve got beltaffs I’ve kept for years. the more beaten up an worn in the better right. but when you to get another one and the price tag pops out with a 7 a 0 and another 0, something about that isn’t cool

so step up a British brand who especially in the last two years have killed it product placement with some of the best in the worlds of fashion and music, a marketing campaign which has taken them from what my dad wears (and still does) to something everyone wants to wear. even better were collabos with the likes of Liberty. nothing says ‘girl’ better than a flower in a jacket your boyfriend wears. and that’s about it. they killing it

d-o-double stussy deluxe

Stussy Deluxe are dropping their new line for winter which looks right up my street. Lots of heavy work-wear, buttoned up shirts, embroidered jackets.

Taking it into the London media, Albam, YMC, Folk type scenario but yeah ok go there.

Don’t know whether I like the dog more than the clothes but the shoot kills it. Check it out, available at Stussy soon.

sleek, stylish. Uniform Wares new 300 series

huge, long time, appreciator, fascinator and lover from afar, Uniform Wares have always caught my eye. discovered them way back when I could be bothered to pick up a copy of Monocle ie when I had time to carry round a 2 stone mag

either way, the simplistic design was com-ple-tely fresh for a company out of the UK. sniffing around to find out where in Japan they were stocked as the design had to be that fresh that only it could come from there, I realised they were round the corner in East

recently they launched an amazing collabo with 12 different graphic artists from around the way called 12:24 to celebrate the launch of the 150 and 200 series watches

and that’s what I’m talking about. these guys are pretty serious with the range, but what has caught my eye is the new 300 series. wow. comes in three colours, but by far my favourite has to be the brown on brown action. looks luxurious, chunky, but not over the top and would look amazing on a different strap, stripe or suede, but why would you. Check it out below and the spec which I stole (thanks) from Oki Ni, where it retails at £620

tech spec:

CASE – 316L Stainless steel

FINISH – PVD coated rose gold

MOVEMENT – Swiss made ETA 251.471 23 jewel movement

DIAL – 42mm grey lacquered brass

HANDS – Rose/grey lacquered aluminium

CROWN – PVD coated rose gold

LENS – Scratch resistant sapphire crystal

STRAP – Oiled Italian leather

BUCKLE – PVD coated rose gold

CELL TYPE – 36 Months

WATER RES – 5ATM

ACCURACY – +/- 10-15 sec per month

DIMENSIONS – 240.0 x 42 x 11.25mm

WARRANTY – 2 Years

telltale signs of a sneaker addiction

liking the smell of new trainers

liking white laces more than anything

washing them independently of your trainers

washing your sneaks in the first place

having a urge to get new creps every single month

starting to think sneaks can increase in value over time. They can’t.

colourways. you definitely needed that in 6 colourways. Oh and ‘in Japan they do 6 more?’ You def need those then

going to Japan with the sole reason of finding new kicks. It ain’t a cheap trip.

outdoing your mates on sneaker terminology. ZX whatever, new low t’s that.

wanting to set up your own sneaker business and thinking its easy. adidas weren’t built in a day

the idea of wearing proper shoes brings you out in a cold sweat

reppin the ends. converse pro streets.

Converse are taking things to the next level with ProStreets to celebrate the launch of the Pro Leather range

If you’ve got the talent, they’ve got the platform, and if you want to get your skills caught on camera then head to the site here and get repine

The comps taking place in all over Europe so make sure you check it out in London at Brixton, Camden, Finsbury Park, Ladbroke Grove and Mile End (details on the site)

You can also catch Converse at their mad Facebook page and Twitter feed