Common Projects AW09

One of our favorite Manhattan-based men's labels Common Projects makes clean and under-stated shoes with a very luxurious feel. Every pair of Common Projects shoes has an ID number printed on the heel but apart from that, there’s no other logo or label on them. All models are human-stitched in Italy with the finest materials. Here's a few of our favorite mid to high options for Fall.

ALIFE for Barneys!

ALIFE scratched leather high top sneaker with contrast sole exclusively for Barneys. You can't go wrong with any of these colorways.

There's no place like home pt 2

We posted some pointy Margiela glitter pumps from one of our friend's boutiques in London a couple of seasons ago. This current design by Christian Louboutin has a rounded toe and different vamp shape. We love! Want em'? Get them at Barneys NEW YORK now.

Start a wedge fund

Adorable wedges from French wedge king Christian Louboutin!

Android Homme

The interstellar collision of street and lux design have birthed Android Homme. Welcome to the Now.

ANDROID HOMME BRAND LAUNCH VIDEO from Android Homme on Vimeo.

Q & A with Leila Baboi

Leila Baboi is a woman of many talents and obsessions. Her passion for art, photography, fashion, and design have resulted in a prosperous and exciting career in the fashion publishing industry. She's worked with Flaunt, Modern Luxury, URB, and a slew of successful entrepreneurs in the publishing industry as well as musicians like Hot Chip, Outkast, Yoko Ono and Peaches. She is now settled in as the West Coast Market Editor for world renowned fashion trade publication WWD in Los Angeles where she continues to feed her obsession for vintage shoes and jewelry. CLICK HERE to go to Leila's website to view her past projects and recent work.
Who's your style icon? Why?
Miuccia Bianchi Prada. With no formal design background she pushes conventions through eccentric and unconventional uses of design, never underestimating the power of pop culture, and always keeping a femininity of dress.
Favorite designers or brand?
RTW: Rei Kawakubo, Alexander McQueen, Camilla Staerk, Galliano, Maison Martin Margiela
Sportswear: Ksubi, Insight, Larsen Gray, Kill City,
Spikes: Pour La Victoire, LD Tuttle, Report Signature, my Chucks sans height
Gold or Silver?
Silver
Favorite book?
Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho
Favorite film?
Le Grand Bleu by Luc Besson
Art?
Basquiat, Van Gogh, Helmut Newton, Picasso, John Miro, Gustav Klimt, Ronald Kitaj, Raffaello, Robert Rauschenberg, Duane Michals, Henri Rousseau
What's playing in your IPOD?
Lykke Li, MGMT, the Virgins, Neon Neon, Minuit, The Kooks
What's your guilty pleasure?
Cigs + chocolate
If you had one wish?
Love for all
Your favorite find? or accessory?
A mixed metal triple wrap chain that once belonged to my friend's fabulous grandma.
If you could go back in time and pick out anything to bring back with you, what would that be?
Peace, worldwide.
Tell us about the accessories finds you chose to share with us and where you got them. When I vintage shop I generally look for accessories. SHOES and JEWELRY. They just don't make shoes like they used to and the jewelry you can find is unmatched to contemporary pieces. It almost feels as if I'm wearing a piece of history and I love that there is probably no other like it in the world. I found the white rhinestone star earrings at a no-name vintage boutique off the Pacific coast highway in route to San Fran, both pairs of shoes at the Fairfax flea market in Los Angeles, and the fabulous sequined blue cocktail lounge dress and wing earrings at the Pasadena swap meet in Los Angeles. I chose to share these because I'm obsessed. Especially with vintage shoes - I CAN'T GET ENOUGH !!! and I always get compliments and people asking where I got them.

Junya Watanabe Spring 2009 accessories preview

Journal Standard x Danassa Deck

Journal Standard (one of our favorite Japanese brands) does it again! This time it's the mid version of their collaboration shoe with Danassa Deck. It comes in 7 lovely color ways so you really can't go wrong. Here are our 2 favorites.

John Varvatos boots

We love these washed leather button boots, suede chukka boots with hand stitched welt seam detail, and combat boots with an exaggerated toe spring from American designer John Varvatos. All handmade in Italy.

Read the fine print

These photos are from a Nike ad campaign we saw the last time we were in the Harajuku area of Tokyo.

One of a kind: Champs-Elysées, Paris

These ankle boots are made out of fish skin! Amazing.

Make your own pair of shoes

Our friend Melissa at Prescott and Mackay School of Fashion and Accessory Design offers 5 day courses in shoemaking in both London and San Francisco. CLICK HERE to check her course dates and prices. And if you don't feel like making shoes you can always buy a pair at one of her 2 boutiques in London or on-line at Black Truffle where she features seasonal collections of shoes and accessories by small contemporary design labels.

Neon signs

Get ready to brighten up your wardrobe. Designers are making way for eye popping neon shades in everything from make up to shoes. Here's a few items which are completely wearable: ankle boots from Christian Louboutin, gloves by Carolina Amato, and bag by Marc by Marc Jacobs.

Brand new Chucks

We like the simplistic design of this new Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Low. All black leather with no graphics, logos, or laces.

Guidi

Since 1896 Guido Guidi, Giovanni Rosellini, and Gino Ulivo established the Conceria (tannery) Guidi E Rosellini at Pescia in Tuscany. Here the art of leather tanning can be traced back to the middle ages. Ruggero Guidi, who now runs the tannery spends his time looking for the perfect balance between advanced technologies and heritage, dealing with demanding requests from designers all over the world but always finding a way to get them what they want. His passion for leather and respect for it's tradition gives Guidi's current footwear and bag collection true meaning, only something a true craftsman with his knowledge and experience would be able to make. Guidi refuses to mass produce, offering something unique with a twist of tradition. You can find Guidi footwear at Journal Standard in Tokyo, Andreas Murkudis in Berlin, Butter in New York, The Library in London, and The Archive in San Francisco.

Washed cordovan
Lined full grain kango
Lined goat leather
Lined cordovan reversed

Jonathan Kelsey for Mulberry

Mulberry's first footwear collection created by British shoe designer Jonathan Kelsey is now available for purchase . To shop the collection now CLICK HERE.

Fiorentini + Baker

We've always loved the vintage Frye and Levi's boots aesthetic so it's obvious why we are fans of Fiorentini + Baker. Fiorentini + Baker is a creative collaboration of one Bologna’s most highly regarded interior designers - Gianpaolo Fiorentini - and shoe designer Deborah Baker, one of London’s finest exports. Their greased leather round toed ankle boot and pull on motorcycle boot in classic dark brown leather as well as their distressed leather pull on knee boot in blue grey (photos below) are the perfect women's autumn/winter city boots, where you must look good but you also need to be able to trek through harsh weather conditions and stay dry and comfortable. And if your planning a holiday where you know your going to do lots of walking, they have some amazing flat gladiator style sandals in rich greased leathers and vintage looking aged brass fittings as well.

Vintage military Re-Edited

Hollywood Trading's Zip Stevenson began his company out of love for the artful workmanship and distinctive quality of handcrafted leather belts often identified with vintage Americana. We closely identify with his aesthetic because we've been collecting vintage accessories since we can remember. He has maintained the level of quality and workmanship for his line throughout the years and only distributes to the best accounts around the globe. Now HTC has taken things a bit further with The Generic Man pop-up store inside the HTC store (inside Fred Segal Santa Monica) which is now displaying TGM's Re-Edit series of footwear. The Re-Edit series is The Generic Man’s new ‘green’ series made of vintage army materials. Two size runs of the exclusive Re-Edit Sportsman’s will be released with more versions to come over Fall/Winter. Each shoe is a one of a kind with the pop-up store being the only place to get the TGM Re-Edit series until full international release January 2009.

Running man

DMC World Champ at the age of 15, DJ for Kanye West with remixes for Boys Noize, Simian Mobile Disco, and Digitalism to name a few, and now musical director for Jay Z's current tour on his resume, A-Trak has already exceeded all expectations as a DJ. Now he's breaking new ground with his own Nike Dunk design and debut record Running Man in collaboration with Nike , a 45 minute composition specifically for runners. CLICK HERE to download a sample of his album.

Common Projects

Common Projects is hands down our favorite men's shoes brand right now. We remember seeing them at Nom De Guerre in New York a couple years back when the company was just getting started. The Italian made label began by creating a minimal, luxurious sneaker and have now evolved into a wide range of casual and semi formal footwear as well as bags with a similar aesthetic.