Individualism » Oki-Ni

Week 9

nigel — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 22:43:27 +0000

Name: Ethan

Occupation: N/A

Favourite shop: Hackett/Ralph Lauren

Never be caught in: Topman

Anyone that has a place in their heart for Hackett and Ralph Lauren, has a nice comfy chair next to Hackett and Ralph Lauren in my heart. After Ethan and I exchanged our views on quality shirts, I complimented his amazing tan leather Oxfords which he purchased in Italy.

Name: Joshua

Occupation: Jaeger Menswear Designer and Bespoke Tailor - Joshua Kane Bespoke

Favourite shop: Jaeger

Never be caught in: The High Street as it’s too busy, enjoys quieter shopping experience

The first thing I noticed as I stepped into Starbucks - to purchase a refreshing strawberry and cream frappuccino - was Joshua’s stand-out blazer, one that he made himself.

The rest of his ensemble complements his blazer wonderfully; from the blue button-down shirt and elegant watch to the slim navy tie and scissor tie bar. A very classic look with a dash of on-trend, rolled-up fitted jeans.

Name: Jee

Occupation: Assistant Buyer/Product Merchandiser for Oki-Ni

Favourite shop: Eclectic

Never be caught in: N/A

For all the street wear heads out there, you’ll recognise and respect Jee’s Nike X Hideout Air Footscape Woven sneakers. The same sneakers that had enthusiasts lining up at 4am on the day of their release in Tokyo…I wonder if Jee was there?

Anywho, his gilet is great too, as it ties his look together really well against the navy. And the neck detail on his top - two thumbs up!

Wiley Brothers Four Loop Belt

aaron — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 19:27:32 +0000

A quality leather belt is something that will stay with you forever. So it’s safe to say that investing in one would be a wise decision for any man. This week’s P.O.T.W. comes from US brand Wiley Brothers.

Made from English bridal leather and christened with a majestic Hook Loop, each belt is hand-crafted and goes through a detailed 15-step process ranging from cutting and sizing to burnishing and stitching.

The brand was founded in 1999 by two brothers. Raised in rural Virginia, these passionate siblings grew a deep appreciation for English Bridle leather from their daily interaction of the fabric on their Horse Farm. So what better backdrop to shoot this week’s P.O.T.W. than London’s very own Camden Lock.

A product that is timeless, gets better with age and has a deep British heritage… what more could you ask for? Oh how to style it? We’ve got that covered…

The belt draws so much attention to itself that the styling was based around it. The bottle green and gold buckle draw your eyes to it, so we placed it over a neutral pair of shorts- this one being a khaki/grey. We then highlighted the green with these green leather low cuts.

A red chambray shirt with a patterned pocket square adds some colour to the fit, while a pair of tortoise shell wayfarers are used to complete the look.

The timeless tan colour can go with almost anything. Here we paired it with some classic blue jeans. A vintage knitted zippy with cable knit detailing over a blue shirt finishes this rather simple yet casual look.

Head straight to the Wiley Brothers website to take a look at their whole collection.

Stay Stylish,

Aaron C.

Gram 283g

aaron — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:00:20 +0000

This week as promised on our Twitter page, the P.O.T.W. was going to go through a small make-over, something this guy could do with. We felt that a little change in the way we displayed the products would help freshen things up a tad.

So like our previous video P.O.T.W. posts we’re going to add some styling ideas with the product. All our own ideas.

Styling: Aaron & Reuben Photos: Earl Alburo

This week’s P.O.T.W. comes courtesy of Swedish brand Gram. The sexy beast you see above is the 283g, which is part of the gramLW line. This mature looking design combines a crisp cotton canvas and super soft EVA outsole. This shoe-sneaker hybrid’s neutral colour palette lends perfectly for pairing with a pair of smart cotton trousers or some carrot-fit jeans.

We love the reference to traditional oxford styles with the contrasting toe cap. It’s a simple elegant piece of footwear and a shoe that holds a quite confidence. The lack of branding and sombre colours are prime examples of this. The minute ’283g’ branding seems to fuse it all together.

They come complete with shoe horn and care card. Mostly importantly however they are limited to 191 pairs produced worldwide.

Don’t crash the site now!

Stay Stylish,

Aaron C.

Liful

aaron — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:07:26 +0000

For this week’s brand watch, we spoke to Tres from Korean based brand Liful. As usual, head over to ACTN for the full article.

Alexander McQueen Painted Skull T-Shirt

aaron — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 12:29:31 +0000

In the wake of the tragic death of one of East London’s most famous fashion exports, the infamous Alexander McQueen, we’ve decided to dedicate our ‘Product of the Week’ to the talented man himself.

Hailing from the London borough of Lewisham, McQueen attended Rokeby School in Newham, our very own borough. McQueen then left with one O-Level in Art, going on to serve an apprenticeship with Savile Row tailors before attending Gieves and Hawkes.

Soon after he rose to fame and eventually started his own label…and the rest is history.

His journey to success is an inspiration to us all; to all those who are struggling to start up a business or pushing hard for their creative venture to take off, we sometimes blame a lot of external factors for our lack of immediate success.

But McQueen showed that despite your background, upbringing or class, with enough enthusiasm and hard work you can push and really let your creativity take flight.

From studying under a number of fashion houses and then Savile Row, he didn’t take the conventional route to success but he had passion and a plan. But this is still a stark reminder of how frail life can be. That with all our success and through the perseverance and difficult journey we should try our best to maintain a balanced life. That includes time with our friends and family.

Today we pay tribute to his incredible work with this iconic skull print crew neck T-Shirt.

A simple white crew neck T-Shirt with signature McQueen skull print in this season’s paint effect. Represent a king of creativity with this stunning and captivating print. Made from 100% cotton this T-Shirt should be dry cleaned only. You’ll never want to ruin it now will ya?

Oki-Ni has limited stock so get your Bauer Turbos on.

Stay Stylish,

Aaron C.