School Supplies: Vintage Vest

-I'm posting again on another of my favorite items from my closet. This one will be a bit more brief than my Sperry post. I found this vest at Magpie, my favorite vintage/resale shop in Portland, a couple years ago. The label says Cal-Craft by California Manufacturing Co., but I don't know anything about how old it is or where it came from. What I do know is that it has kept me incredibly warm for the past few Northwest winters. It has a great flannel lining and big solid buttons. The best feature by far is the oversized, 70s-ish collar. A great, longlasting find for about $22. 

-Magpie can be found at 520 SW 9th Ave. in Portland, Ore. It's one of the few shops at which I've bought something probably every single time I've ever been in. One more unnecessarily Photoshopped image and a little bit of semi-cool news after the jump. -What was I going to say? Oh yeah, I've been inclined to show photos of things I'm wearing lately, I did a couple weeks ago with my windbreaker post, but I also feel like it's a slippery slope. Posting images of yourself of  public blog is only a few steps away from Myspace. What I have done though, is added a link to my Lookbook.nu page on the sidebar next to the youtube and flickr links. I know lookbook is kind of a juvinile, stock-hipster site. But I feel it's necessary to let our readers know WE PRACTICE WHAT WE PREACH, which is ballin, cost-conscious neo-prep style.  Check out my lookbook if you're at all interested in what I'm wearing and where stuff is from and how much it cost and whatnot. 

-Other news: Class Act blogger Maria is heading to Massachusetts to visit some friends at Smith for Spring break. She's taking my camera along to try to capture some solid east coast prep style. It's always been my opinion that east-coast style relies a bit more on money rather than actual creativity, so it will be interesting to see if she can bring back some Class Act approved looks. That's all. 

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Intro to Cinema: Street Dreams

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-The skateboarding world is going crazy talking about Street Dreams, an upcoming Rob Dyrdek production that stars Paul Rodriguez and attempts to bring an accurate picture of skateboarding to Hollywood. 

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-I'm less critical of Dyrdek than most skating purists because I think he's funny and it seems to me like he has the right idea with this one. Even if it ends up being corny, the girls will flip for P-Rod and it will make a ton of money. 

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Lecture: Ferrari and the Environment

-My third favorite magazine Wallpaper, has an interview with Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo up right now. Montezemolo talks about the role of modern architecture in Ferrari's design process, but what struck me as the most intriguing and important topic of the interview was his explanations of the effort Ferrari is making to lessen its eco-footprint. 

-From the interview: 

"We have a plan regarding the environment which involves our road cars, for which we are targeting a reduction of CO2 emissions by 40% by 2012. At the same time, we want to reduce the emissions from our production facilities through a better use of the energy and the use of alternative sources. The extensive use of glass for our buildings, as well as some of the most advanced technologies to control the light inside the buildings, are just part of the plan. We also built a solar plant which, together with a trigenerator that will be installed early next year, will allow us to reduce energy consumption by 25% and CO2 emissions by 35%. This new installation will make Ferrari completely self sufficient in terms of energy needs."

-I understand that Ferrari produces far fewer automobiles than a company like Ford or General Motors, but it just seems that the kind of thinking going on in the European auto market is light years ahead of the American companies and well, we know how that's all working out. Just a thought. The above photo is of the new California, via Wallpaper. 

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Peer Review: Breakfast at Sulimay's

-This series of videos, in which old people at a Philadelphia breakfast joint called Sulimay's review the latest cd releases, has been getting a lot of attention in the blogosphere lately. In this episode the reviewers listen to Santogold, Portishead and Death Cab for Cutie. The episodes that feature hip-hop artists are funnier, because old white people hate rap, but I picked this episode to feature because the really old guy, while explaining where Death Cab is from (holla) references 54-40 or Fight, a campaign from the 1800s when the boundaries of the Oregon Territory were being drawn up. I hadn't thought about 54-40 or Fight probably since Northwest History in 8th grade, but dude looks like he may be old enough to actually remember the acquisition of the Territory, and just think how weird things could be if the boundary of the U.S. extended another couple hundred miles northward?

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Music Theory: Say Hi

-The predicted hipster exodus from Brooklyn to Seattle may be becoming a reality after all. This week's The Stranger features an article on Say Hi and their frontman Eric Elbogen. Elbogen moved from Brooklyn to Ballard to record the band's new record, and we're glad he did. I haven't done the best job of keeping up with the Seattle music scene as of late, but I've been listening to "Spiders" (below) all week and I think this band has a very promising future in the Pacific Northwest.

Spiders - Say Hi
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School Supplies: My Favorites

-I know I've been doing a lot of personal posts lately, but I haven't had much time to be trolling the blogs. I've decided, after getting a good response to my military coat post, to post on a couple more of favorite items in the coming weeks.

-I've worn these Sperry Top-Siders (above) more than any other shoe in my life. I've had them since 2006 and I've worn them in the rain, snow, sand and ocean. I've skated in them, hiked in them and worn them to school probably 90% of the time throughout my college career. The wear on the leather reads like an unfinished canvas, layers exposed, the process clearly evident. My Top-Siders are a map showing where I've been and hinting at where I'm heading. I've got too much rambling to do, so the rest, along with more photos, is after the jump.

-I remember a long time ago, probably three or four years, reading a Glenn O'brien style guy response about the appropriateness of Top-Siders. It was one of the only times in my life when I've completely disagreed with Glenn's opinion, which was that Top-Siders ought never be worn anyplace other than the deck of a seagoing vessel. To me, the Top-Sider is the ultimate everyman shoe. It's got a class shape, but it's easy to slip on and go. It's low cut makes it ideal for the break of a narrower jean or trouser.

-I shot this with my Nikon, b-t-dubs. And a 50mm f/1.8 Nikkor lens. Be sure to click the photos and check them out in greater detail 

-A reminder: All of these photos, as well as a bunch of our photos that never made it on to the blog, can be found on our Flickr.

-I've got a pair of creamy white Top-Siders, the BoO Sperry boots, and two pairs of Sperry slip-ons (one pair being the Modern Amusement collab, which are pretty rare,) but these are still my favorite. They've held up pretty nicely, especially considering the abuse I've subjected to them, but the sole on one of them is starting to come off a bit. I'm looking into Mighty Mendit.

-That's all. Thanks for reading and share your thoughts in the comments. Unless your thoughts are anti-Top-Sider, I don't want to hear none of that shit. more

School Supplies: Spring Items

-It's hard to get enthused about Spring style when it's snowy one day then 50 degrees and clear the next, but I'm starting to look around for things I need for the upcoming season. I wrote about my love of Toms Shoes way back when, and I still need to expand beyond my one black pair. The new spring styles are out now and the charitable company keeps putting out fresh takes on the minimalist design. 

-Another thing that caught my eye is this versatile bag from Tretorn, it would be a nice upgrade to my stock black camera bag, though it's quite a ways out of my price range. 

-Posting has been a little sparse lately, we apologize. I've been putting in 13 hour school days and Tim works every day in addition to school, but we've got some good shit coming including, hopefully, a lot more scene on the street shots when the weather gets a little warmer. Keep checking back.  

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School Supplies: Buffalo Finds

-I lost my American Apparel windbreaker a while back and I've been meaning to replace it. It fit well but it wasn't even waterproof so y'know, whatevs. Ever since I saw Patrik Ervell SS/09 I've been interested in getting a windbreaker with a less tapered fit. Glossy looking breakers were big this year and I almost picked up one by Homeroom at Locust a while back, but it was a little too expensive for something so light. Yesterday Tim and I dropped by the Buffalo Exchange and I found this fresh breaker for $12. It's a little wider and shorter than the normal cut that I look for, so there is room for great plays on proportion and length. Tim bought a Kobe No.8 jersey. 

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