The Facing Page

Design, Culture and Style from Vancouver

Category: We Wear

23 May 2013

Engineered Garments F/W 2013

by Connor Keller

As always, there’s been a great deal of online buzz surrounding the release of Engineered Garment’s Fall/Winter 2013 lookbook. Consistent with previous Engineered Garments collections, there appears to be a great deal of pattern and fabric mix-and-matching going on. And, as always, there will be a plethora of pockets. A continued use of florals compliments some of the black on black and flannels, giving you something to be excited about once the warmth of spring and summer give way to colder weather and the need for heavier layers. While some of the pieces may be slightly over the top, there are a considerable number of highly wearable pieces, particularly some of the more traditional pieces like the collegiate outerwear. The collection should be arriving in your local Engineered Garments stockist sometime around August.

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21 May 2013

Converse x size? All-Star Ox

by Connor Keller

Not to praise Converse too much – they clearly don’t need it – but following on the heels of successful collaborations with Inventory and Nigel Cabourn, the classic sneaker maker has teamed up with British retailer size? to produce a new series featuring the All-Star Ox. The resulting collaboration is a set of four sneakers, all with minimalist lines, a clean off-white rubber sole, and tasteful details on the tongue and heel. The most important feature here though is the richly textured nappy suede that covers the upper portion of the sneaker. There are four colours of the nappy suede to choose from, including the Phaeton Grey, which looks a little like the Converse x Reigning Champ sneaker, as well as Warm Sand, Fig and Bijou Blue. I’m personally a bit particular to the Fig option, as it really stands out amongst most sneakers on the market and would go equally well with a pair of denim as a navy, khaki, or moss chino. Head over to your size? retail location or their webshop to grab a pair.

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7 May 2013

The Shirt Factory

by Connor Keller

A well fitted shirt is a essential in the wardrobe of any man, but with so many options saturating the market it can be a tough task to pick and choose the one that works best for you. Sure, there’s cheaper options from H&M and the like, and there’s classic staples like Gitman Vintage, but one name that doesn’t get mentioned as much as it should is Swedish brand The Shirt Factory. With a name like The Shirt Factory, it would be a disappointment if the shirts were going to be anything less than amazing, which happily they aren’t.

Their collection of shirts covers everything from an excellent slim chambray button down to the staple white and light blue workshirts with the occasional gingham thrown into the mix. The Shirt Factory was founded in 1988 by Swedish designer Linnéa Braun who wanted to create a shirt for those “who prefer a well-balanced, individualistic style with implicit quality and pleasing fit.“

The full spectrum of their men’s shirts is available to peruse and order from their online site or from one of their Stockholm, Malmo or Gotenberg locations. With free shipping anywhere in the EU, it might be time to take a break from hassling your Japanese proxy and make new European connections.

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3 May 2013

Inventory x Converse One Star Academy

by Connor Keller

Recently, Vancouver’s Inventory were presented the chance to produce a sneaker with the much-loved brand Converse. Rather than produce their take on one of the more ubiquitous models like the Chuck Taylor or Jack Purcell, Inventory chose to work with the One Star Academy – the modern update of the Jack Star, a classic 1970′s shoe. Inventory have made the most of this opportunity. The result is a cleaner sneaker in a number of ways compared to its more famous cousins, particularly the absence of any stripe on the midsole, which fits in nicely with Inventory’s clean aesthetic. This version is a leather lined, tonal sneaker coming in two colorways, either antique white or navy blue suede. It also fits a little large, so size down by a half size if you’re looking to buy online. The shoe is now available in either physical Inventory Stockroom as well as on their site in antique white or in blue suede.

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2 May 2013

Sun Buddies Eyewear

by Connor Keller

Tres Bien, in addition to having become one of the world’s most successful menswear retailers, have recently launched their own line of sunglasses to combat the bright – and long! – Scandinavian summer days. Named Sun Buddies, these are an elegantly designed option to keep from squinting too much come the summer days. Shaped somewhat reminiscently of the Ray Ban Wayfarer with a round and smooth top. They do differ more around the bottom of the frames where a slightly sharper edge gives the glasses a bit of an aggressive finish. In Tres Bien’s own words, they’re “sporty yet smart.” As an added bonus, they also feature high quality lenses from German optical manufacturers Carl Zeiss Vision, the same lens makers who make some of the most well-reagrded scientific lenses available today. To learn a little more about the glasses, as well as where they can be bought (other than Tres Bien), it’s well worth heading over to the Sun Buddies website, featuring the campaign for the Type 01 shot and directed by Stockholm based Tony Cederteg.

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30 April 2013

wings+horns Westpoint Short

by Connor Keller

While some people naturally feel comfortable in shorts, I often find myself quite hesitant to pull on a pair for anything that doesn’t involve exercise or swimming, a hangup that in the peaks of summer this can be something of a curse. However, I believe I’ve found myself a cure this spring in the form of wings+horns’ Westpoint short. Design-wise, this is a version of the Westpoint twill pant with a considerable portion of the leg cut off. This suits me fine as the only thing previously keeping me from wearing the Westpoint chino was that the legs were too short. Armed with an excellent slim fitting cut, the wings+horns designers put together a quality pair of shorts with some visually appealing details like slanted and convenient front pockets with the signature “+” bartack reinforcement, branded w+h brogue buttons and a handy coin pocket. The short is made in seven different colors, ensuring there’s an option for everyone. I’ve found myself in the rust option, but there’s also a really nice union blue as well as navy, black, olive, sand and tan alternatives. While they’re not exactly cheap, they’re an excellent option for the days and nights of spring and summer, and are well worth having a think about. It’s worth noting that they are made in Vancouver and we always advocate supporting local business. If you’re able to try a pair in person you can get a better sense of the quality you’re getting, but if not, they’re also available on wings+horns online shop.

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17 April 2013

Husbands Two Button Suit

by Connor Keller

I’m entering the stage in my life where owning a suit goes from a should to a must, and while I haven’t been actively hunting one, I have been keeping an eye out. While on the pricier side of things, this offering from Parisian brand Husbands is one of the best suits I’ve come upon in a very long time. Husbands is a relatively small brand who promise passion, integrity and honesty in each and every garment they produce. From what I have seen, this navy two-piece seems consistent with the goals of the brand. It is a two-button, fully canvased suit made in Italy with British wool (by a French brand), and features details such as horn buttons, notched lapels, two side vents, and high waisted trousers. Of course, the suit is customizable and made-to-order so you’re going to be getting what you pay for. As an added bonus, it’s apparently very difficult to wrinkle due to its 830 times twist construction (meaning the fibres are well twisted to make sure they retain their exact position.) If you’re in the market for a high-end suit, this may well be one worth taking a look at.

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11 April 2013

Reigning Champ Hooded Poly Jacket

by Connor Keller

As we found out over the last couple days spring weather can be very changeable, especially in Vancouver. We’ve gone from a week or so of beautiful sun to gray skies and frequent downpours. Luckily for us, Vancouver’s own Reigning Champ has the perfect solution – the pack-away printed poly hooded jacket. The jacket is available in a variety of colours to brighten your spring wardrobe. The jacket made its first appearance in the Reigning Champ line this spring, and is cut from an lightweight, heather-printed 100% polyester fabric with water resistant membrane coating on the inside and water-proofing layer of bias tape on each seam. Not only is the resulting jacket lightweight and convenient. It can be packed into the right front pocket, making it exceptionally handy to carry around in your bag in case the weather decides to take a turn for the rainy. For added wearability, the sleeves are cut for freedom of movement. The cuffs are elastic bound and there are elastic cord and rubber locks on the hood and bottom hem. To round the package off, the jacket is made right here in Vancouver and if the durability of past Reinging Champ garments are an indication, will last you for many rainy days to come. They’re available in Reigning Champ online store, but if you do happen to be in Vancouver, Haven or Roden Gray are both stockists as is Victoria’s Four Horsemen.

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2 April 2013

Our Legacy Spring/Summer 2013

by Connor Keller

Having given the Our Legacy denim a shout recently, I’d still feel I hadn’t quite done my due diligence if I didn’t showcase a few of the rest of the pieces from their Spring/Summer 2013 collection, aptly titled ‘smile.’ One of the obvious standouts (especially given the collection name) is the ‘Smile’ reversible sweat, a remake of the great sweat, turned inside out and printed with a huge red smiley face on the front. While it obviously won’t be for everyone, I really like the playfulness of the sweat. It’s guaranteed to turn a few heads as you walk around in it. There’s also a foray into footwear with some excellent sneakers that have the Hypebeast-crowd clamouring and a few pairs of leather oxfords and brogues that wouldn’t go amiss in either of our wardrobes here at the Facing Page. As with some of Our Legacy’s past collections, there are also some great suiting options including their unconstructed blazers. The navy unconstructed blazer is the sort of piece I’d recommend most highly for any man looking to build his wardrobe around a few simple yet staple pieces. The entire collection is well worth a browse, and can be found in the Our Legacy online store. Victoria’s Four Horsemen and Vancouver’s Neighbour also have great selections, and both are well worth looking at if you’re in Canada and want to avoid paying the duties and extravagant shipping costs that come with buying from Europe.

- CK

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24 March 2013

Reigning Champ Spring/Summer 2013

by Connor Keller

Always one of our favorite collections, Vancouver’s Reigning Champ has released their Spring/Summer 2013 collection recently, offering consumers an excellent selection of simple basics like t-shirts, vests, hoodies and sweats as well as some new items including running shorts and light jackets. Beyond the addition of new clothes to the line, they’ve also added a ton of colours to the list – branching into reds, yellows and greens from the traditional grey, white, black and navy from previous collections. There are also some excellent fabrics, the traditional jersey and loop wheeled cottons being joined by a lightweight printed poly blend, a diagonal loop wheeled terry cotton and an interesting terry/poly mix in some of the shorts. As always, if you’re in the market for new basics, the Reigning Champ collection is a great place to start. They’re available now in the Reigning Champ online shop as well as at excellent Canadian retailer Haven – both instore and online.

- CK

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