The marriage between Converse and Music

Apologies for the lack of posting recently, EJ and myself have been pretty busy but be rest assured after the Easter holidays we will come back with a vengeance (I don't think this is the true message of Easter but that's what I take from it). Before I go back home to see the old folk and eat my body weight in various forms of chocolate and of course hot cross buns I thought I'd share with you an interesting article from the Guardian. Kriss Murison ponders how a sports shoe now owned by Nike came to symbolise good old fashioned Rock & Roll! The article discusses how a number of brands attempt the association with music and in particular trainers and some get it very wrong. This comes in the aftermath of the Dr Martens running an advertising campaign featuring dead rock stars such as Kurt Cobain and Sid Vicious wearing the brand's boots in heaven which caused a great deal of controversy and saw the Ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi sacked.

Edgy or bad taste and offensive?

What ever your feelings about the ad campaign it wasn't successful but Converse are always so good at demonstrating this link between music and their classic shoe. The new Converse ads bring together Sid Vicious and Joy Division's Ian Curtis alongside musical icons still-pumping musical blood, including Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong and soundclash experimentalist MIA. Non-musical legends, from Hunter S Thompson to NBA star Dwyane Wade, also appear in the ad, which is intended to drive home the message that Converse has "always been about inspiring originality and the spirit of optimistic rebellion". Karen O from the YYYs confesses her love for them "They have become as much a part of my image as the bright red lips and torn fishnets. I'm happy to endorse a shoe that my feet have known so intimately throughout my rock'n'roll exploits."

We all have at least one pair of Converse...I have four pairs...but are the shoes rock'n'roll? I was leaving the office yesterday for a spot of lunch when I looked down in the lift and noticed that all four guys inside were wearing the same pair of white converse like a uniform. We work in Marketing. I have to add though that while my peers had pristine glowing white ones mine were a little more rock'n'roll as they have become pretty darn battered and are more grey/brown than white. That said if you think of some of the most enduring rock'n'roll images ever captured many will involve Converse, from the Ramones' All-Stars sticking out like canvas clown shoes at the ends of their drainpipe jeans, to the Strokes' NME cover.

Many brands try to profit from the relationship between music and fashion but I don't any will be as successful as Converse who have a strong bond that goes far deeper than clever ad campaigns!

Happy Easter!

Found here

Yes, we're a bit early. Just thought we'd wish everyone a happy Easter- we're both off to un-internetted places for the long weekend, but you can expect a return to normality next week. Gorge yourselves on chocolate and hot cross buns in the meantime.

Picture postcard: that's amore

Dear Steve,

Some outfits are all about attitude, right? Somehow Dean pulls off a not-quite-right striped shirt, partly by keeping the rest of the outfit toned down. He pulls off a pointy receding hairline with a little bit of a bouffant... and those eyebrows. Just love his expression here. I reckon you should give that hairstyle a go- but how to get that much lift and retain that neatness?

Ok, ok, I admit it. I was in HMV, saw this album cover and just had to share. I wish I had the words 'pretty baby' floating above my head wherever I go. Perhaps I should go blonde again. Just listening to Dean Martin sing makes me feel even more slovenly for dressing in jeans.

EJ

Wow, the variety of readers that we get constantly amazes me! Thank's to EJ's wonderful post above I was made aware of ilovedinomartin. I loved reading through the Dylan Jones article on Dean Martin, especially the quote "His cool wasn't born out of arrogance; it was born out of indifference." I could not agree more. There were so many entertainers out there around the same time and subsequently who had to work so hard for the admiration that they received, Martin just acted how he wanted, when he wanted as it all came so easy to him!

Ice creams that I actually quite like...just don't offer me a flake as well

Have you heard the story about how I once got fired from my job at an Ice cream parlour located on Margate seafront? Well I'll tell you. I used to work from time to time in this little Ice cream outlet where I was by myself, bored silly...until I had a mad rush of customers from time to time. On cold days you can imagine how redundant and bored I felt. Well it was days like this that led to my downfall and ultimately got me fired. What would you do to occupy yourself, surrounded only by ice cream in various flavours (approximately 10, my favourite was mint choc chip), a whippy machine, boxes of cones and....flakes. It was the flakes that got me. I used to eat so many and to cut a long story short my employer didn't like my flake consumption and and the end of one weekend politely asked me not to come in the following weekend. Sad times indeed.

Moving back to the subject of menswear, I've not been a fan of the BBC range of clothing or the IceCream trainers but I have stumbled across the above during a recent visit to Kanye's blog. BBC/Ice Cream has just released the new Diamonds and Dollar shoe that looks like a hybrid between a boat shoe and a classic sneaker....The shoe features the notorious BBC/Ice Cream Diamonds and Dollars print printed all over the denim upper of the shoe. The White laces and White outsole give the shoe a classic look mixed with the denim Blue. It doesn't come with a flake though....What do you think?

And now, for something completely different...

Hello everyone, we haven't been able to get out and about style scouting yet, the weather has been horrible, rainy, cold... but while you wait, please have a look at our other blog: 

hazelnut Studio

This is linked to our surface/textile design studio. Hope you like it.

Etsy: because handmade's not just for girls

Some days it feels like the internet is made for women. I hear about something new, check it out with half a mind to blogging about it only to find it dominated by men. This could of course be because I'm a girl, and thus drawn to 'girly' things, or because what I blog about is so much considered to be a feminine pursuit (proven, I suppose by the huge imbalance in ratio of male to female fashion bloggers).

I trawl through sites like wardrobe_remix looking for something that will appeal to this blog's audience (other than tremendously pretty women in lovely clothes) with very little luck. I must be a glutton for punishment though as I set myself the challenge of finding stylish pieces for men from handmade emporium and stealer of my time, Etsy.

Etsy, for those of you that don't know is 'your place to buy and sell all things handmade', and frankly, it rocks. If you're ever stuck for a gift, it is the place to look for beautiful ceramics and prints. It also has a plethora of t shirts. Here are a few of my picks:


Cubist Literature

He knits, he sews, he draws, he IS craft man. See below for an example of his rather nice fingerless mitts... great thing being, of course, that you can get the custom made in whatever colours you want.

Found here

I also really like his 'ribcage hearts' stuff, an example of which is here. Oh, and I love this.

Ruffeo hearts Lil Snotty

These guys handmake all of their stuff from 100% salvaged material in their little studio in Seattle. It's bright and bold with lovely clean lines. I think when you're going to be wearing something this bold it's probably comforting to know that you're probably not going to see someone in the same thing.

Found here

This stuff's a bit more expensive, but I do think it's worth it. I also like this hoodie and this t shirt... sorry, textile art.

Timber!

T shirts and more t shirts. I very much like the prints on them though particularly the one below:

Found here and available in many, many colours

I suspect people are a bit bored of print t shirts now though. I'm not though, so if you fancy getting me this, feel free.

And finally, for something completely different, check this bad boy out:

Oh my.

Picture Postcard: Suffering from double vision is a treat times two!

I hadn't noticed this myself (it was pointed out to me by the lovely EJ) but both the sartorialist and facehunter took identical shots of the above gentleman. I think this is the first instance of this phenomena and I doubt there will be too many but I certainly enjoyed it. I would not tire of seeing this quintessentially attired Springwear. I had infact commented on the sartorialist as soon as I laid eyes on it. Looking at the comments opinion was pretty divided by it; it really seems like this outfit has the marmite effect, well I am quite partial to a thin layer of Marmite spread on generously buttered toast and I am a fan of the above get up as well.

Regardless of the dubious points of this outfit one has to applaud the colour palette and the textures surely? The coat is cut extremely well and I enjoy the juxtaposition of the tailored top half against the slightly awkward and chunky bottom half, with the short trousers and the boots. I love the mix of the checked trousers below the argyle pattern of the jumper. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the boots (as in they are not something I would ever be drawn to whilst shopping) but they work within this outfit. Yes, those glasses seem to be adorning the vast majority of noses right now but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. All in all these two shots have caused a little stir (obtaining exactly 100 comments on the sartorialist) but what do you think? Do you like his hair, the glasses, the everything...or have I just turned mad from all of my marmite consumption?

I like everything... separately. Together it's just too much of a muchness. I wish he'd bloody well cheer up too! (On a different note, the sart's version is a better compostition. When I first saw Yvan's version I commented to the boyf that this chap should be a bit more the right...)

Unlikely Style Icon 1 - Isambard Kingdom Brunel

This is a series that I have wanted to start from some time - Unlikely Style Icons - but where to begin? I have been searching for where to begin this thread and I'm afraid that I have had to resort to looking over another boys shoulder to get the answers. I picked up the new issue of Another Man (which is another great issue) and there on page 86 was Jsen Wintle's style icon...Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

For those of you who are not aware of him, Brunel was one of the most versatile and audacious engineers of the 19th century, responsible for the design of tunnels, bridges, railway lines and ships. There can be little doubt that images like the one above are truly iconic images, posing in front of huge chains with top hat and cigar in mouth (apparently he smoked 40 a day). His style was a little mismatched: refined meets awkward, even scruffy with his dirt splattered trousers and beaten up old boots (let's not forget what he did for a living). Wintle ultimately describes Brunel's style as masculine elegance and this style should be hugely appealing for most men. His look was very much his own. I very much enjoy looking at old grainy photographs and one of the things that I love about them is that all of the men look very similar... except for a few notable exceptions, one of whom is Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

I saw this, I want it, I need it...I must have it!

I saw this over on Fashion156 and I have fallen head over heels for it...


If you are wondering what it is, well I'll tell you...it is a camera brooch by Yazbukey (available @ http://www.kabiri.co.uk/) and it will certainly finish of an outfit!

Who has the hippest style?

So...have you got a favourite hip hop style icon. We at Style Salvage appreciate the individual styles of Kanye and Andre 3000, EJ's clear favourite is Mr 3000 himself but I'm not so sure...

In the red corner (because Kanye is so hot right now) we have Kanye West (the above shot taken with his girlfriend in Paris by the one and only Sartorialist) if you don't see his style credentials please check out this interview, here and here. Of course he likes Bape and Louis V but this guy isn't all about labels he is passionate about fashion, you can see from his blog that he reads highsnobiety and fuk.co.uk, he is a great consumer of fashion and I can certainly relate to that. I am a frequent reader of his blog and am constantly surprised by the clothes and designers that he features...he has great taste! There is of course talk of a fashion line and I am intrigued to see what comes out of it.

Below, in the blue corner (ice is kind of blue) we have Andre 'Ice Cold' 3000 who recently collected this award and of course he is working on his own clothing line. There can be no doubt that this Mr 3000 has a definite sense of personal style, it has evolved from a colourful hip hop style (by this I mean sampling a mish mash of colours and styles as opposed to just sneakers and gold chains) into a more refined style which has seen him collect silk scarves (one day i want to collect silk scarves)! Sources of his fashion inspiration include clothes from “Legends of the Fall” and “The Great Gatsby” and the “old men” in his neighbourhood.

Personally I can't choose between them, I'm going to sit on the fence and appreciate them both, in terms of their individual style and their understanding of fashion and how to look good. Have you got a favourite?