Pitbull Mansion – Mens online streetwear store
My ears pricked up when I heard about an online stored based in Hobart called Pitbull Mansion. In fact, I was so intrigued by the radical name of this I felt obliged to hit up Google images to remind myself what a pit-bull actually looked like (…and I consequently confirmed that they’re nasty looking bastards, I’m sure you will agree).
Despite the menacing name, Pitbull Mansion is more than inviting when it comes to stylish threads. I’m deadly serious when I say that there’s not many online stores in Australia that offer such an extensive and awesome range of hard-to-find Aussie tshirt brands like Young Lovers and The Astral Plane. There’s also a heap of other gear on offer, like those old-school Casio watches that are currently doing the rounds, some not-so-conventional sunglasses, books, and even jocks…. so you can literally dress yourself from head to toe from the comfort of your computer chair (which is especially handy if you are a lazy lard-ass who can’t be bothered hauling yourself to your local shopping mall to buy new threads).
It’s definitely refreshing to see a streetwear retailer who is actively promoting and stocking Aussie and NZ labels, rather than importing Ameri-crap, so Pitbull Mansion gets two thumbs up from me. If you need some new threads, enjoy supporting local industry, and are on the hunt for something unique, a visit to the mansion is a worthwhile stopover.
Apartment – Brisbane Store Review
Stylish streetwear retailer Apartment was established in Brisbane quite a few years ago. It once was pretty much the only place in Brisbane that actually sold decent streetwear imported from Japan and the U.S. Now that fashion has become a little bit more serious (or dare I say, a little bit more commercially viable) in Brisvegas, the competition has risen, but the lads at Apartment are still doing a dang fine job.
The Apartment store stocks a nice mix of hard to find footwear, sneakers, tailored shorts, t-shirts, button up shirts, hats and jackets….as well as a few cool publications and mags. There is a bit of a skate flavour to the clothing instore, but by no means is it ’skaters-only’ territory. Brands stocked include 10 Deep, Alife, Umbro by Kim Jones and their very own home-grown Aptmnt label. Here’s a few tasty samplers to whet your appetite:
The Apartment store is located at 161-163 Elizabeth Street, in Brisbane City. If you’re after some unique threads with a bit of style in Brissy you can’t really go wrong here. Looks like they’ll also be selling some of their gear online soon, so keep an eye on the Aptmnt website.
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Planet Video, Perth – Store Review
It’s not often that I take note of random video stores on the other side of the country. But Planet Video in the outer reaches of inner-city Perth, Western Australia, grabbed my attention for a special reason…
Earlier this year, to be exact, on the 5th day of the 1st month of 2010, I was wandering the streets of London-town hunting down some half-decent tshirts that deviated from the run-of-the-mill, mass-produced General Pants shit running rife in my home back in Brisvegas. In a dank, dark little corner store somewhere in Soho I happened upon a tshirt label known as Blood is the New Black, which I’ve since learnt was founded and still manufactured in Los Angeles. Of course, only LA would be switched on enough to rear such beautifully crafted offspring, as this tasty Blood is the New Black tshirt, which I had no option but to purchase. Here is the tee, a few hundred wears later…
Unfortunately, my previously mentioned globe-trotting saga has now found me back firmly planted in Brisbane, a far cry from my Soho supplier of radness. So in need of a fix, today I flicked an electronic mail thingy off straight to LA (yeah, just to info@losangeles.com) to find out where I could get my hands on a few more of these super-comfy and super-stylin tees. The LA mayor wrote back to me promptly, with some good news, and some pungently-odoured news.
The good… YES, Blood is the New Black tshirts are available in Australia. WIN!
The gag-reflex-inducing bad news… a tiny little store in Perth, known as Planet Video in a little country town on the forgotten side of Australia, is the only stockist in Oz. HUH?
Anyways, thanks to my little friend Google I was able to jump on and do a little bit of research into Perth’s Planet Video from my very comfortable lounge chair in Brisvegas, about 4000 kilometres away. And I was quite happy to note that just because Perth is smaller in stature than some of it’s Eastern cousins, that it still packs a punch when it comes to offering tasty threads. Planet Video stocks One Teaspoon, Friends of Couture, Nookie, Children of the Sun, Nique, Route 66, Insight, Swear London, Blank Jeans NYC and apparently heaps more.
That’s a damn sight more than my local Video Ezy, that’s for sure. Planet Video.