School Supplies: Class Act Endorsements

-This post comes from a few different things floating around in my head this morning. Firstly, its been raining, secondly: Hypebeast had a blurb about the Band of Outsiders x Sperry collaboration, albeit they're a little late with the news, given that GQ and even Teen Vogue had pieces from the collab months ago. We are, of course, true Sperry fans, and I've been a B.O.O. fan ever since I saw their take on classic ties. But I've always had a problem with overpriced simplicity. To me, Band of Outsiders didn't do much different to the classic Sperry form, but the price of the collab shoes are between $200-300, instead of $50-100 like most Sperrys. Marc Jacobs did Vans slip-ons and they were priced at a reasonable $85. The point of all this is that, like the overpriced B.O.O. Sperrys, their ties are also overpriced, for what they are (muted tonal striped ties, mostly).

-That brings me to this: Although my co-editor dissed Urban Outfitters in the last post, I think that if you approach U.O. with the right perspective, you can pick out the gems (like Fred Perry or Modern Amusement^1).

-I was recently at urban and they had a line of ties (pictured) I was previously unaware of. The brand on the ties was Hi-Brow, but I couldn't find a company Web site, so I'm unsure of the origin. Nonetheless, there was an assortment of interestingly patterned, perfectly narrow (6cm at the widest point) ties. For about $28, not $128. However, there were about 30 different ties in the store and I could find only two from this particular line at the urban online shop, so make the trip to the nearest retail location. 

-Now I know that the counter point, as it usually is when arguing in favor of designer goods, is that the pricier goods are quality made, probably by hand, probably not by kids in Indonesia, probably with better materials. But when you're young and on a budget let your conscience and wallet take a break and score some fresh ties. 

1-Interestingly, a Modern Amusement logo patterned tie that was, to me, overpriced, was featured in both GQ and Details in recent months, it's whatevs.