And Adidas are getting in on the action with a start to the 2009 advertising campaign that is believe to be a springboard for many other avenues of content in the new year.

…and FWIW, if I had a brand that said who I was when I wasn’t at work. This would be it.

Now available - AU$30 + shipping.

Here’s the latest t-shirt out of the bag. For all of those who are anti trance or the mainstay of the Sydney club culture at the moment, generic electro-house, this ones for you. Or perhaps you were the one who brought the cops down to the DSS Warehouse party on Saturday. If that was the case, you definitely need schooling on your music.

Is this simply an overreaction or an indictment on the ultra-conservative population of the USA?

From smh.com.au:

The US Dunkin’ Donuts chain has pulled an online advertisement featuring celebrity chef Rachael Ray after critics argued that a scarf she wore in the ad offers symbolic support for terrorism.

Dunkin’ Donuts said today it pulled the ad over the weekend because of what it calls a “misperception” about the scarf that detracted from its original intent to promote its iced coffee.

Critics, including conservative commentator Michelle Malkin, complained that the scarf appeared to be traditional garb worn by Arab men. The ad’s critics say such scarves have come to symbolise Muslim extremism and terrorism.

It’s quite funny, as I remember bringing back a kramah from Cambodia and wearing at as a fashion item for a while before I saw the keffiyeh in start to pick up in use. I think I may have seen it in use in a magazine somewhere at some stage. Why the discussion of the kramah? Because many thought it was a keffiyeh - and as you can see from the picture (left), there are some similarities. Yes, it’s an adornment (er.. scarf!) that can be worn around the head or neck. Yes, this is black and white. The red and white versions of the kramah also became synonymous with the Khmer Rouge. More recently, some friends came back from Berlin, sporting his and hers versions (black and red), and then the fashion item jumped the shark, appearing in low end fashion advertisments for companies like Roger David.

So, what do you think? Is it akin to wearing the Castro cap? Wearing camoflague fatigues that are similar in patternings to dictatorial nations? Or is it a storm in a teacup? It is a scarf after all.

Lastly, when it comes to Dunkin’ Donuts, you shouldn’t be eating that crap anyway! Go and eat a non-extremist carrot!

The members of Kraftwerk get spelled out. Buy at Redbubble.

I’m nowhere as bad as I used to be. Nowhere as bad when it comes to buying trainers. I lost count at one point as to how many pairs I had. I wasn’t the guy who collected them for prosperity, I just liked to have different colours and styles to match whatever I was wearing, and let’s not even talk about the laces.

I guess things haven’t changed too much - it’s just not the trainers I’m repping as much these days as opposed to other garments. If you’re in my network, there’s no doubt you would know that I’m a massive fan of the simplicity of the Adidas Superstar. That said, I’ve only got three pairs at the moment, two from the 35th anniversary series (pictured above (left) Berlin and (right) NYC) and a basic pair in navy and baby blue.

I’ve never been a huge fan of Nike, and not being a brand whore, it was always about style - something which Nike in my opinion haven’t done well in over the last decade. Apart from the Jordan IV and V it’s been a bit of a desert. However, Nike have brought back the all-time classic trainer from 1989 - the Air Structure. Noone’s seen the colourways that will be released on to the market yet, all I can hope is that we’ll see something like the originals (as pictured in the original print advertisement from the October 1990 Runners World Magazine Fall Shoe Buyers Guide).

The Republic of the Congo is the last place one would think of when it comes to the haute couteur names of Dior, Gaultier and Saint Laurent. Brazzaville, the nation’s capital and largest city has for many years been the worst city to live in from a quality of life point of view, which in recent years has only been usurped by Baghdad for quite apparent reasons.

However, as with any city - fashion plays a part in the lives of people, whether it be native dress of ones country, the drab olive utilitarian approach often seen in the remaining communist regimes, or something - perhaps a little more sophisticated. Colors Magazines reports on what could only be deemed the most expensive, most luxurious and most extravagant fashion in the world when making comparisons to its GDP. And no, pocket squares are not an optional extra here.

A clip from “The Scene” in 1982 with Shari Vari by A Number of Names - one of the cuts that started it all. Perhaps the get-ups could serve as inspiration for the next Paradise Lost party.

Some bread and cheese and fine white wine
Designer chic is a matter of time
Could this be the real thing?
Or is this just another fling?
Seen by millions nationally
L’uomo, Vogue, Playgirl, G Quarterly
Because he’s down on his etiquette
Shari Vari is really it

Chorus
Shari Vari
Shari Shari Vari

Smoking on his cigarette
Listening to his car cassette
Cruising with his hot playmate
In his Porsche Nine Two Eight
Heading for the highest heights
For the climax of the night
The people there they just won’t quit
Because the music’s really it

Chorus
Shari Vari
Shari Shari Vari

Chorus
Shari Vari
Shari Shari Vari

Smoking on his cigarette
Listening to his car cassette
Cruising with his hot playmate
In his Porsche Nine Two Eight
Heading for the highest heights
For the climax of the night
The people there they just won’t quit
Because the music is really it

Chorus
Shari Vari
Shari Shari Vari

National Geographic is currently running a feature, entitled “The Joy of Shoes” in its latest edition. Of particular interest is an article on the woman behind Berluti shoes, who found her calling through what can only be described as an epiphany.

Olga Berluti loves men’s feet - a passion, not a fetish, she says. The passion began with her convent schooling in Italy. A long corridor led to the chapel and a 14th-century statue of Christ. “I would approach the altar,” she remembers. “The nailed feet of Christ were exactly on the same level as my eyes. I stared and stared. I said to myself: When I am older, I will remove the nails. I will relieve the suffering of men’s feet.”

Olga Berluti arguably makes the most exquisite shoes on the market for men, and whilst I haven’t shelled out my hard earned for a pair as yet, maybe one day. However, a pair of ready-to-wears will set you back AU$1,160 and a bespoke pair upwards of AU$5,400.

Which makes me think that a pair of RTWs aren’t so unreasonably priced all things considered. After all, think of how much one suit costs - now ask yourself what your shoe to suit ratio is. For many, the wardrobe will only contain one pair of shoes, perhaps two.

It is Berluti’s view that a shoe isn’t a proper shoe until it has been worn for at least 20 years — the point when it takes on its owner’s personality. So even for your bespokes, you’re paying only $270 a year. Now, think about how much you might spend on shoes every year - even if you’re buying one pair to wear everyday, they’ll realistically set you back a minimum of $200, and who knows how long they’ll last. That is, unless you go for the Doc Marten tyre tread look, which I’m sure cost less than $200 and have great durability. The old Doc Martens were great back in high school when you needed a shoe that could go from kicking a footy to be a part of a uniform. However, they’re not quite up to the footwear required by the businessman of today.

A boy dons a suit in suburban Minneapolis and his lemonade sales increase sixfold.

Check out the ABC interview with Ethan Esparza.

Give him a pocket square and undo that bottom button and I bet he can improve further.

Other humorous links: an oldie, Obey The Suit.