Buying real threads through your PS3
Pasty-white computer game addicts take note.
Billabong have just opened a virtual store in PlayStation Home, featuring men’s and women’s apparel from the Fall 2010 collection. In other words, you can now switch on your PS3, ‘walk into’ the virtual Billabong surf shop, browse and ‘try on’ the latest Billabong clothes, and then purchase them online. All without leaving your lounge room.
But does anyone else out there see the irony in this? I mean, it’s probably a fair assumption to say that people who are that lazy that they buy their clothes through a gaming console, are probably a bit on the heavier side. And that they don’t like the beach. Or skimpy beach-wear. Or fluoro board-shorts. Or surfing. Or sports. Or fashion.
What I’m saying is, unless the Billabong store specialises in loose-fitting clothing in dark colours in size XXXXL, won’t their PS3 success be a little bit limited?
I guess I should commend Billabong on being the first virtual retail clothing store of its kind to be incorporated into the PlayStation Home Marketplace. It’s a nice idea, I just wonder how much return on investment it will bring back to The ‘Bong.
Read more about the Billabong PS3 store at the PlayStation blog.
Zanerobe goes all Fred Perry on your ass
A year or two ago, Zanerobe clothing epitomized the Aussie metrob (metro x yob). Any footy-loving, bourbon-swilling, mo-hawk doting, jeans-with-white-shoes wearing jock stumbling through the Brunswick Street mall looking over-confident and under-educated, seemed to wear one those old sport-inspired Zanerobe tshirts with almost military-like precision.
If you don’t know the tshirts I’m referring to, here’s a good example:
Cringe-worthy footy-jock poses aside, it must be all the rage for established brands to give their image a complete make-over (much like Diesel did with their new skate line 55dsl). Zanerobe has completely flipped its existing clothing line upside now, and has now opted for a far more refined and Fred Perry-esque style wit their release of a new range titled Zanerobe’s Game Day.
It becomes apparent as you become familiar with the brand that the creators of Zanerobe must be sports-inclined, but they’ve managed to now merge upper-class and perhaps more gentlemanly sporting influences, such as polo or hunting, into the mix.
Despite my distinctly non-footy ways I actually don’t mind the new Zanerobe range (although I will always consider rolled up jeans to be appropriate only for romantic walks along the beach in the 80’s).
You can check out the full range of new Zanerobe threads on the Zanerobe website.
Fazed Clothing
Fazed Clothing has just reared its not so ugly head in Australia.
The only thing that shits me about Fazed, is that a couple of their tshirt prints are a little bit cliched.
For example, one particular Fazed tee features a large black and white image of a semi-nude trashy lookin’ chick smoking a cigarette. Honestly dudes….this ’style’ (if you can call it that) been done to death….but that’s just my opinion, so feel free to check out the Fazed Tshirt Collection and decide for yourself
Available at Universal Store Brisbane City.
55DSL looks promising
I used to fucking hate Diesel. Their tight, over-branded “Euro” style clothing just ain’t my cuppa Earl Grey tea.
However, obviously I was not alone in my hatred for Diesel’s styling. And it seems that Diesel finally cottoned onto the fact that their threads just don’t appeal to the masses, particularly the masses on this side of the world. Or maybe they just employed someone who finally gave a shit about clothes that actually look half decent.
The result of Diesel going back to the drawing board, is a fresh new label call 55dsl. Despite sounding like an internet service provider, 55DSL is a fresh new skate influenced streetwear label boasting a pretty sweet range of tees, including a range of limited edition tees as part of the 10.55 project.
10.55 is a limited edition project in collaboration with different international artists to whom 55DSL gave complete freedom to design their own t-shirt or customise it with a photograph of their choice!
Each t-shirt is produced in a limited number of 1055 t-pieces worldwide and only available at authorised 55DSL dealers.
If you’re keen to get your hands on some 55DSL gear, you can probably find 55DSL in stores around Australia, but with the Aussie dollar going from strength to strength it’s probably easier just to stay comfy in that armchair of yours and buy some 55dsl gear online from Asos.
All a board
Four t-shirts later and I find myself thinking, “If I buy anymore Passport t-shirts someone might think it’s a little strange”. Putting that aside I could go all out and grab myself a few Passport skate decks, sunglasses, skate wheels, a beanie and even some socks.
I can’t put my finger on the one thing that draws me to the Passport brand (passportal.com.au), it could be that it’s the brainchild of a local skater, it could be it’s understated designs, or even awesome old-style illustrations. What ever it is my Passport shirts are my first choice in my wardrobe.
To pick up some of your very own Passport attire check out these local stores; Skatebiz, The Outpost and Sneak & Destroy.
I’m yet to try out the Passport decks and wheels but I’m sure they’ll pass the same great standard of their t-shirts. Get on board and support this great local brand.
The Astral Plane – tshirts for laid back dudes
I was down in Byron last weekend enjoying a bit of peace from the Brissy rat race. It was magical – The Pass had a nice little 1 foot wave sliding through, the vibe was cruisy all weekend, a waif-ish Bob Dylan impersonator kept us amused in the park for a good hour or two, and even the Beach Hotel even had a half decent band playing on Friday night.
Amongst all of that, I managed to duck my head into a couple of clothing stores. Admittedly it’s been a year or two since I was there last, but there’s a whole new bunch of shops there now selling some pretty sweet gear. One particular label I saw in a couple of stores was a relatively new Australian label called The Astral Plane, who are creating tasty tshirts that fit right in with the cruisy Byron vibe. It’s refreshing to see no signs of fluoro colours or cheap & nasty crass slogans in The Astral Plane range, it’s all laid-back and slightly tripped out designs on silky smoooove cotton.
If you’ve got the time, make the trip down to Byron Bay to pick up and caress an Astral Plane tee in the flesh. If not, you can probably snatch one up from The Astral Plane website.
Peace out, brothers.
Neuw Clothing Label – Vintage Revision Specialists
I have to admit, I’m not so keen on heading to the mainstream ’streetwear’ stores around Brisbane (or any of Australia’s other capital cities for that matter). The irony of forking out a small-house loan for fashion labels who like to take the guise of boutique and hand-made, despite being manufactured by the millions in China, has forced me to look elsewhere for decent threads.
Despite this, Universal Stores across Australia are now stocking of the Australia’s most under-stated vintage style labels, Neuw . The label was started by Par Lundqvist about 5 years ago in a deep dark den in Belgium, before being relocated to a deeper darken den in Melbourne where it has continued to gain momentum ever since.
The story behind Par’s threads is actually quite fascinating. As he eloquently puts it…
Certain people collect records, watches and books. I collect Jeans. Certain people collect items in pristine condition. I collect and archive garments that have been broken down, stained, altered and repaired. Garments that tell a personal story of survival, rebellion, freedom and rock n roll.
Yep, this label is a little more sophisticated than your average Universal Store brand. The whole concept of Neuw was spawned from giving pre-loved clothing a new lease of life….in other words, a manner of respect that should only be reserved for elders, a notion which I think is too often over-looked in our over-consumptive society. Here’s a couple of the tasty offerings from the current range, my fave being the humble plain white tee, which Neuw has managed to assemble sickeningly well.
With winter setting in, it’s a good time to tuck into some Neuw denim to keep your loins warm and cosy, especially before the masses find out about it and turn it into another artist-formerly-known-as-Tsubi.