"They must be on Coke!"

This was a bonafide WTF moment. Allow me to set the scene. Sunday afternoon, about 30 degrees, sun blazing. I'm chilling in the shade. The venue is a small local Bratislavan cafe serving the best in Slovak cuisine and ice cold pints of beer at €1.50. Perfect. I'm in heaven. Then I spot three chicks in afro wigs. I think "What the F@*k?". As I said, it was about 30 degrees, why would you do that to yourself. I dismiss thinking it must be a Hen-do (You know, pre-wedding blow-out for the bride-to-be and her female entourage). I turn for a sip of the chilled brew that Mr. Waiter has just delivered, then I take a second look. "WHAT THE F*@K!!". These girls are wearing Coca-Cola branded tracksuit tops with graphic references to football (World Cup 2010) and are handing out mini cans of chilled Coke to the perspiring towns people. OK, smart and rather strategically placed distribution, but what's with the friggin' afro-wigs?! Is there some local cultural reference being made here or am I right to be shocked by what I assume is a bad taste, inappropriate choice in cultural reference to South Africa and the aesthetic make up of a portion of it's people? Really? At this day in age?! Anyone have a direct line to Coke? Might have to blow the whistle on this sh*t.

Get Shirty

Did you hear the one about the three Japanese dudes with grafitti on their shirts? No, nor did I. It was probably a crap joke anyway.

Joggers

Tracky B's and braces is a potentially big look. Check it. I can see it now - ankle swinger sweatpants with absolute zero elastic in the waistband, loose like a clowns trousers, super airy for the summer months and suspended with suspenders, the manly type of course... spot on Derek!

DUDE!

What a little dude! A Parisian one at that. Hangin on the corner with his homies, by far the youngest in the bunch, but rockin the look. Impressive.

Twin Set

Two prime first hand yet polar opposite examples of the Twinning code of attire. One clearly mutually appreciated. The other case seems to stem from a dictatorial background. Firstly, why do dads do that? Or are mothers to blame? This is just wrong and ridiculously effortsome. I mean, where oh where do they sell the same garments in everysize from toddler to extra sizeable male? I have yet to encounter such a store. Besides, it's cute for about a nano-second, then you're left with this feeling, like, "poor bastard. How long will that carry-on?".

The second example is likely to become increasingly present on streets around the globe as we see teens giving in to the fact that it is ever so hard to distinguish oneself and actually, realising that, looking identical is a much more impactful feat worthy of a double-take count many times greater than that of any BAPE all-over print hoodie. Rather than risk the embarrassment of turning up to group night out where two of your buds happen to have gotten the same American Apparel hoodie for xmas and appear to be wearing it with pride, why not go the whole hog and orchestrate the impact. I like that "Orchestrate the impact". Anyway, there you have it; Twinning.

Highbury & Islington Crew

I caught up with these guys on a grey rainy day in Finsbury Park. It was the hats that did it for me. "Army surplus, like 4 quid. It's freash" one replied when i asked where they got their matching headwear. Certainly makes a change to the New Era standard issue. We had a brief chat whilst waiting for the bus, exchanging tips on music to check, they told me to go see Joe Black. "He's Highbury mans. Hot, hot, hot" they said. It'd be rude not to share the tip-off... myspace.com/joeblackuk

Mind your T's & P's

The right man for the job. Nuff said.

"To the batmobile. Let's go!"

How to look scary in broad daylight; get yourself some body armour. Although designed for the motor biker, this sh#t puts you on a par with Batman, bringing a superhero aesthetic to any mortal human silhouette.

The Two Shoe Drop

For those that don't know it was this technique of tying one's chucks that inspired the double tongue All Stars. It's an old shot but a goodie and sits well with it's neighbour; the Shell Toes. These were the most Boxfresh kicks I'd seen in a while. Actually, there's been a resurgence, probably owing to their availability in stores, of the classic White Reebok Work-out Low of late, particularly amongst the more clean cut of urban youth. I've been seeing them around, particularly on these freaky warm October weekends that drove people to don shorts in winter, when the presence of sun lent itself to the crispy clean glean of fresh leather. But the Reeboks I've seen had nothing on these. Still fully tagged as if they were on the shelf, this is boxfresh on parade, the proper way.

Miss Match

A simple lesson in the subtle art of 'same-same but different'

Mindies Got Luv 4 Fiddy

I wished I'd asked her about this friggin T-shirt. Can't get my head round whether it could be 100% real love for the big guy or just some ironic statement. Either way, it's a look, Non?!

"What BY-ATCH?!"

What a little styler. Fresh to def. Kitted out proper for his Sunday afternoon date.
Sneaker tongues out - CHECK. Thumb in belt pose - CHECK. Backpack with nothing in - CHECK.

Making a statement

Rebelious Thai boy in Bangkok openly flaunting his provocative wares.

Yo Shorty!

Did somebody say board shorts? I thought so. The term 'RAD' sprang to mind when I copped a peek of this dude. Knitted jumper and coordinated board shorts, now that's a look.

Stunners'N'Stripes

Portable Venetian blinds! Who would have thought. Reminds me of a joke;
Q.How do you make a Venetian blind?
A.Poke him in the eye.

Beanie Man

About 2 minutes ago it was only Asian kids who wore their beanies like this, but now the JD Sport consumer owns this shit. Check it out. This wasn't even Capital City cock walking with his pals, this was Camber Sands on a sunday afternoon in perfect Cream Tea weather. We're talking tumble weed town. Things spread fast these days, there's just no denying it, but whether there's room in the current spectrum of fashion stories for the 'blind little busker boy' look, I couldn't say.

The Early Bird...

There's a saying where I come from, which is now fairly universal; The early bird cathes the worm. Where this mornings journey to work was concerned, the opposite applied. Running a tad later than normal, I exited the tube station with speed in my stride only to stop dead when this little tyke caught my eye. I proceeded to 'catch the worm', there and then. Swift and fast. And what a catch. Just take a look at the attention to detail; The rebelliouos neck tie technique where the shorter and stubbier it is, the better. Then theres the zipper on the Umbro training jacket, lowered in order to expose the neck tie with out obscuring, as if the all-boy school emblem is a flag of which to be proud. Look at the hat, a pseudo-New Era type cap pulled right down for ultimate identity concealment topped with the shower proof hood, so carefully placed. At this point I would like to say that today is one of the very few real summers mornings we are likely to see in London and such attire is way beyond necessary. This look was meticulously constructed and will be stringently stuck to regardless of the climate. This a social shield. Hailing from Stratford, London, home of the increasingly present Olympic stadium, this young man was out scouting the West End for a new pair of kicks. Although wearing black trainers to his school is an excludable offence, today he will replace his current "mash-up" pair with something in the same vein, happily running the risk of punishment, gesturing toward his baggy fit school trousers that largely conceal the make up of his chosen foot coverings. "They don't see me" he says, with a smug sense of victory in his early morning rasp.
Here's to stealth and going to school; a challenging task, increasingly comparable to an SAS mission in these knife-crime riddled times.

Hat Man Jim

See! And there was you, thinking that there were only two ways to wear a Trilby; your Grandads way and Trousersnakes way. But nay I say, because there's a third way. Introducing Funny man Jim who stacks on a whim. Yeah, he is SO next level... literally. Stackin 'em high never looked so fly.

Ralph from The Muppets

No longer happy to settle for Superman New Eras or the very shady Warner Bros cartoon icon hoodies, the new 'mans on road' look is a deconstructed minimalist take on a long standing family entertainment icon: Ralph The Dog AKA the piano playing hooch from The Muppets. It's all about the flappy ears, it brings a misleading soft edge to an otherwise sinister satorial selection. But the hat alone isn't enough as a tool of identity concealment, oh no, you still need the hood. That tried and tested, socially contested head covering gets primary head priority, followed by the new urban crown, the Ralph hat. Talking of crowns, I reckon this guy is actually taking his queue from Richard The Lionheart, who often donned his crown, the finishing touch to a full body of armour, over a hood of chainmail. So, there you have it, this is after all a soldiers look rocked by a muppet.

Ralph from The Muppets pt.2

...the close up!