Selectism

Veteran Japanese retailer Takayuki Minami has set up a great boutique in Tokyo called 1LDK, which stands for 1 living room,dining room, and kitchen. The shop is located in an old apartment building and resides in a residential apartment. It functions as a ‘friends apartment you can shop from.’ Although not a completely new concept, it is still so rare it feels fresh. The boutique carries Japanese lines Soe, John Lawrence Sullivan, and imported designers Adam Kimmel and Patrik Soderstam. Via Hyrcollective

Daiki Suzuki's Engineered Garments has been a Selectism favorite for a while now. The refined re-interpretation of classics from the brand, get us excited every season. Now Odin's concept shop Den, which only carries one brand at a time, will be carry Engineered Garments exclusively for a couple of months.

"The shop will also sell the new Workaday line and E.G.'s first women's collection. (In other words, bring your girl.) In keeping with the brand's m.o.—namely, giving workwear a fashion-forward twist—the 350-square-foot space has been dubbed a "Country Store," and will carry J.W. Hulme luggage, Faribault blankets, and other Americana brands." Via Men.Style.

One more image of the space after the jump.

Over the last couple of months we have kept you posted on the renovations at famous Parisian concept store Colette. The store worked together with Wonderwall on the redesign, the same architects that are also responsible for all Bape stores worldwide, some Uniqlo stores, the Original Fake store in Tokyo and many other incredible retail outlets around the globe. Thus we had of course big expectations.

In the matter of less than two months they changed the entire store and created something amazing. The sneaker section moved to the ground floor and has become a massive glass sneaker wall. Also they introduce the Tee Box, a large box made out of glass and metal, housing all t-shirts of the store. The Tee Box is also located at the ground floor. Furthermore Colette introduces shop in shops of Original Fake, Bape, Alife as well as BBC/Ice Cream. The Original Fake and Bape sections you can see on the image here above.

Overall the store has been cleaned up and appears much more structured than before. The water bar also got renovated and now has more of a restaurant feel to it than before. Accessories are being presented in free hanging boxes, that are also equipped with light. The magazine section grew in size and is also more organized, just like the Beauty section of the store. On the first floor you still find the gallery, as well as the haute couture brands.

What can we say? Mind-blowing. How can one store do this much? The new design is clean, sleek and displays much better and more efficiently all categories of product that Colette represents and sells. Also it seems like the new interior is much more efficient, allowing Colette to display overall much more product. The amount of sneakers and t-shirts now present, would have been almost un-imaginable in the old interior. Via Highsnobiety.

Bottom line, get on a plane, or hop on the train, and check out the new and renovated Colette store live, pictures can only say so much.

We have lots more images of the newly renovated Colette Paris store after the jump.

Manchester's Oi Polloi, working with Etnies Plus, has devised four styles of footwear hedged on subtle details. All feature the Oi Polloi Magpie motif. As with each Etnies Plus release each pair is individually numbered. 

Some more words on the collaboration:

"The shoes maketh the man is what we were told when we were growing up, which must have had some kind of impact, as we've been left mentally scarred with what can only be described as a slightly fanatical obsession with shoes," said Steve Sanderson, Co-founder of Oi Polloi.  "One day we were talking to the nice chaps at etnies about the merits of geography teacher shoes, and how we were keen to make some shoes of our own. Not long after, the wheels were in motion, and as if by magic, the etnies Plus Oi Polloi Collaboration was created!"

Full preview after the jump.

I stumbled across a store feature on Urbandaddy.com the other day about a greatlittle vintage store in the East Village named Stock.

Although it's been a go-to spot for inspiration for designers like Tom Ford and Ralph Lauren for years, Stock has managed to stay under the city's radar so far. Which means you'll have an unencumbered shot at goods like a Buco Biker Jacket (perfect for that James Dean/Shia LaBeouf look) and turn-of-the-century Edwardian shirts and suits, for that frontier shopkeeper vibe you've been going for.

Stock's owner, Melissa Howard, is an expert at picking out the right old-school complement to your personal style, whether it's sneakers from the 1920s, WWII-era dungarees or just a plain old fedora. There's almost nothing after 1970.

Even if what you're after isn't in the store, there's a decent chance it's in storage somewhere. Just leave your number and you'll get a call when they track down exactly what you're looking for. Stock, 143 E. 13th St (between 3rd and 4th)

On July 19th the new eYe Junya Watanabe Comme Des Garcons flagship store in Hong Kong opened its doors. Situated at 22 Wyndham Street, the store is close to Visvim, Neighborhood/Wtaps, BBC/Ice Cream and the Comme Des Garcons flagship store in Hong Kong.

Yet another Japanese brand that goes to Hong Kong, making it an even more attractive shopping destination. Via I.T.

Many more images of the new store after the jump.

As the summer is coming to an end (I know, very sad, but true), I wanted to take one last look at some summer shorts. A more tailored short has become in vogue this summer and we have two great examples pictured above. What's great about these shorts are the cut and the ability to roll them up to get the desired length you like. Because shorter shorts are also very much in trend this year, so its great to have the versitility, as not everyone can wear their shorts at the same length. Pictured above left is the Wood Wood Sjakal in White (was $150), now $68. Pictured above right is the John Patrick Organic Cotton Drill Short in Navy (was $132), now $66. Both available at NewDandyism.

For 15 years Jason Denham has been building an archive of denim regalia that has become the inspiration for his signature collection. The first collection is aptly titled “the truth is in the details” which illustrates Denham’s knowledge of vintage product combined with a passion for modern design.

DENHAM is produced in Japan and Italy by a great jean maker named ‘Hiro’ who is also, oddly enough, a revered sake maker. To celebrate the launch of DENHAM, Hiro has gifted 100 bottles of the finest exclusive DENHAM branded sake. This is the first ever export of his family sake outside of Japan in 7 generations. DENHAM is opening a gallery boutique denim store in Amsterdam in December. Via Anothercompany.org

Also this partnership we have already announced. Finally Colette will come to New York City (well, for a little while at least) thanks to Gap. Below all the details on the roll-out of this project.

"Gap has commissioned renowned Paris boutique colette to create a special one-month installation in Gap’s rotating concept store adjacent to the New York City flagship store at 54th and 5th Avenue. The collete x GAP store will be open from « September 6 through October 5, 2008. This exciting endeavor marks the first colette store in the United States, making the brand’s sought-after items available to U.S. consumers for the first time ever. Similar to the Parisian store, colette x GAP store will offer a mix of hard-to-find products from around the world and cater to an ever-evolving mix of genres and tastes alike."

Something to look out for!

London's Dover Street Market is currently getting in the Autumn/Winter 2008 collection from their designers. Also the store welcomes several new spaces by guest designers in the building.

This season Salvatore Ferragamo is in the house showcasing 80 years of archive pieces. Hussein Chalayan's new collection can be purchased on the third floor (picture above), Lanvin has a new space and Yves Saint Laurent presents Edition 24, a space designed by theatrical set designer Michael Howells.

Have a look at all the new spaces after the jump.