The Rookie

You don’t want to be odd man out this season but you’re more comfortable on the sidelines than out in the shops. Sneak in this style with a fresh pair of white Chuck Taylors and someloud colored lacesof your choice. Pair with khakis and a white tee and everyone will see you know the score.

The Seasoned Veteran

It’s not a tough call. You’re up for the sport but you don’t want your closet tackled by just one season.  Show off your seasoned skills with this two tone Marc by Marc duffle. Whether your gearing up for the playing field or the pavement this duffle will carry you well into a winning look.

The MVP

You’ve played this game before and you’re not about to let a little colorblocking slow you down. Show your opponents you’re up for the challenge with this Jil Sander cotton sweater. It has all the key elements to help you take top prize and is smart enough to keep around long after the season ends.

You’ve had your training. Now pick your game plan and suit up! It’s gonna be one fun season.

Pronounced “Go-tea-yay”, the Belgian-Australian singer/songwriter has already made a name for himself in Australia. Now he’s setting his sights on getting well know stateside. His third album, Making Mirrors, was originally released in August 2011 (US release, December 2011) and ended up on many Best of 2011 lists.  In November 2011 Gotye took home three ARIA Awards (think Australian Grammy’s) for Single of the Year, Best Male Artist and Best Pop Release.

If you can’t get to one of his shows (see below), you will definitely want to buy the Making Mirrors album. The album is chocked full of amazing audibles strung together by Gotye’s signature voice. With sounds ranging from Motown (Eyes Wide Open) to Electric Lounge (State of the Art) this album’s got a little something for everyone.  Don’t be surprised when these songs start popping up on movie soundtracks and commercials all over.  Drew Barrymore loved “Learnalilgivinanlovin” from his 2^nd album Drawing Blood so much it ended up on the soundtracks for her films Whip It and Going the Distance.

Having already sold out shows across the US. A new NYC date has been added for March 25^th. Tickets go on sale, Friday February 3^rd at noon.

If you’re lucky enough to score a ticket you can see Gotye perform live on the following dates:

February 2       Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey (SOLD OUT)
February 6       New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom (SOLD OUT)
March 22         Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club (SOLD OUT)
March 23         Philadelphia, PA @ TLA (SOLD OUT)
March 25         New York, NY @ Terminal 5 *NEW DATE*

March 27         New York, NY @ Webster Hall (SOLD OUT)
March 29         Boston, MA @ Paradise
March 30         Montreal, QB @ Corona Theatre
March 31         Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
April 3             Chicago, IL @ Park West
April 4             Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theatre
April 6             Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre
April 8             Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre
April 10           Seattle @ Neptune
April 11           Portland, OR @ (venue TBA)
April 12           San Francisco, CA @ The Independent

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January 9^th, I ordered pair of Harry’s of London Jasper boots from Mr. Porter. This was the first day of a sale and these were marked down to $238.50 from $795.

January 10^th, The boots arrived. I tried them on and they hurt. These were extremely tight all over. After looking at the boots that were marked a 45 by a Mr. Porter tag, close inspection revealed something rather interesting.  The boots were actually a 44 but someone had taken the time to write over the last 4 to make these look like a 45. The person even used a silver pen to match the manufacturers silver marking.

I called the Mr. Porter number and explained what happened. The customer service representative didn’t really understand what I meant no matter how I tried to explain someone writing the size on the boot.  They only understood they didn’t fit.  They looked for another pair but unfortunately were sold out and said I could return these for a refund.  The rep offered to put me on a reserved list for these boots, in case someone returned them. I have used the wait list option on Mr. Porter before and nothing has ever become available once it goes on sale. I asked to speak to a manager, was placed on hold and then told the manager couldn’t do anything since they were sold out. I didn’t understand what had happened. I just wanted the boots I ordered. Who would take the time to write over the size to make them look like a 45? What kind of operation was this?

Later that day, I sent out a tweet explaining my disappointment with Mr. Porter and a picture of the boots with the handwritten size on them.  I received a direct message from the Mr. Porter account asking for an order number. Responding to them took an extra day since the Mr. Porter twitter account holder didn’t realize you have to follow someone for them to respond to your direct messages.  I actually had to tweet that to them to get them to follow me so I could respond.

At this point you are probably wondering, why I was so bummed out over one pair of boots?  Look there aren’t that many options when it comes to guys shoes. If you see a nicely made shoe in a color, it’s usually a subtle shade that everyone else offers. These are a rich, almost burnt, burgundy color.  Try to find a pair of burgundy lace up boots that aren’t Dr. Martens and that would work with a suit as well as a pair of jeans.  Please let me know if you find these. Also, if you’ve ever owned a pair of Harry’s of London you know these shoes break in beautifully and will last you a long while.

January 11th, I was contacted by a Mr. Porter representative wanting to know what happened, since I tweeted about it.  I explained, they apologized and were going to investigate. They were going to contact the manufacturer to see if they could get another pair for me. They issued me a $25 dollar credit for my troubles. The least expensive thing on the Mr. Porter website at this time is a $25 tee-shirt from J.Crew. J.Crew has the same shirt on sale for $19.00. I was told to call my dedicated rep if I wanted to order anything else in the future and they would take extra care of my future orders to make sure it would be handled appropriately.

 January 13th, I placed a call to my dedicated rep about a sweater. I left a message. When I didn’t hear back for a while I went ahead and placed the order online using the credit. I got a call later that day apologizing for not getting back to me sooner. They had seen the order in the system and thanked me for placing it.

January 18^th, I received an email that my reserved boots were available. When I called I found out these were actually the boots I had returned. The system messaged me automatically. There were no other boots returned. The rep said if the boots were “returned by a miracle” (No lie. That’s what was said, I saved the message.) I would be contacted. As for the writing on the boots, they were in the process of “launching an investigation” and “looking at tapes” to find out what had happened. They had contacted the manufacturer to get another pair of boots but it didn’t look good.

January 31^st, I left a message for my rep asking for a follow-up since I hadn’t heard anything yet and still wanted these boots, which were now back on their website at full price in smaller sizes.

February 1^st, I received a message explaining their investigation turned up nothing and they couldn’t tell if this had happened at their warehouse or with the manufacturer. The rep said to please call with any other orders or questions.

I realize mistakes happen all the time. However, someone took the time to try to cover this up with a silver pen.  Mr. Porter has no explanation of who wrote on the boots or how it happened.  They weren’t able to get the boots in my size but the boots are back on their site at full price available in other sizes. This whole thing is extremely disappointing and shady to say the least. The time wasted on this ordeal was worth a $25 credit to them and I was the one who had to call to follow up.

I had high hopes for Mr. Porter. Were these hopes too high? Am I asking too much? I don’t think so. If you are thinking about ordering from Mr. Porter ask yourself this…how much is my time really worth? After 22 days with no boots and no answers I finally realized, my time is worth more than a $25 credit.  I’m not going to be placing any more orders with Mr. Porter.

February 4 – Queers Beers & Rears (QxBxRx) Five Year Anniversary and Final Party @ Glasslands
DJ Set by Luiza from CSS
21+, 9pm, $10

This one was going to be kept a secret. We weren’t going to tell anyone. We may have found out about this in advance and were so pumped, we wanted it all to ourselves. Then the guilt set in. Then we told a few people and they wanted to kill us for not telling them earlier.  Hopefully you’ll be able to forgive and forget…

OAK is having a last minute cleaning out their closets Sample Sale. They are tying it in with the last week of their 30/40/50 Sale, which is now at 50% off.  Downstairs at the Bond Street store you will find the basement full of apparel, shoes and accessories.  They started to put out stuff this morning but after talking to the staff, they have a lot of boxes to open so expect more stuff out on the floor tomorrow morning. Here’s a tasting of what was found….

The Seventh Heart ‘Liz’ Tee $10 (orig $48)

ACNE Gladiator Sandals $50 (orig $349)

OAK Half Tank $18 (orig $82)

Front man, Steve Five, gave us some insider info on what went into the band’s upcoming album, Works On Paper. Since the band appreciates different aspects of art, references to pioneering artists are layered throughout the album. Basquiat & Rothko get song titles while Rene Char, the author of the poem the band is named after, gets referenced in the “Hypnos” titles (Waking, Waiting & Returns).  Five, says the album’s title, “Works on Paper” itself is even a layered creative reference since it’s the name of an album whose cover art is a picture of a painting. 

When asked about the album’s theme Five points toward “survival”. From an artistic side there is “always that struggle to get away from that sad sack artist image; Rothko suffered with bouts of depression, Basquit didn’t even make it out of his twenties”.  From the human side, Five references New York City as a great example of survival on a day to day basis.

While the band is excited to share the new album with fans live, Five is looking forward to playing “Fly Sucka on the Score” since it’s a different sound than their fans are used to. As for listening to the album, Five recommends listening to the whole thing at once with headphones on to get all of the subtle audio details that are included.

SERIALLY had a chance to check out the Works On Paper album (through headphones) and it’s an impeccable addition to any winter soundtrack. Throughout the album you get opposite  tempos and moods, often side by side which makes for more of an impact on the lyrics. This is also why listening to the whole thing on the first go-round, is key.  Best example of these contradicting carols is the pairing of  the standout song “Fly Sucka on a Score”, which tells the tale of two people not seeing eye to eye on the idea of love through some down and out tempos. Any idea of love gets smashed by the next up faster and angrier “Burn It Down”, with it’s lyrics of broken hearted angst. Further along these 180 emotions are revisited with the harmonica happy “Spray Painted Life” being followed by the somber ”This is Why the Wind Blows”.  Other stellar songs include “The Broken Guitar”  and the album’s first single, “They Don’t Know You (Like I Know You)“.

Works On Paper is out Jan 31st, and you can see The Library is on Fire live February 18 at Broomies.

You can pick up her EP on iTunes, check out her video for “Dreamer” and catch her live at the following celebratory gigs.

9/27 – Dominion NY
428 Lafayette St
New York, NY  10003

10/3 – Bardot LA
w/ Hanni El Khatib
1737 North Vine Street
Hollywood, CA 90028

Pre-order the album at Amazon.