Inspired by the film “The Usual Suspects,” Martin Margiela drops some rubberized men’s shoes for the basic of men. Inspiration is also pulled from the simple times of the 70’s. The rubber finish gives these shoes a matte like finish. Not a bad look (colette)

More views of the Martin Margiela “Rubber” Shoes after the jump.

Bucks have been raising their profile lately. In fact, everything from the saddle shoe to the penny loafer has seen a resurgence lately. If we did trend reporting, we’d call this year would be the rise of the classic shoe. While we wonder how far you can go with the shoe renaissance, anything that makes people realise square-toed shoes are abominations is fine by us. The only possible problem with these bucks is when to wear them. Wear them in the heat of summer and you’ll feel like you’re carrying weights around your feet. Wear them in bad weather and you’ll mess up the suede. If you can get around that earth-shattering dilemma, get them from Farfetch.

Check detailed shots after the hop and skip.

In our ongoing quest to find Barbour pieces that aren’t being worn by hundreds of self-facilitating media nodes in East London, we’ve found this bag. For us it’s perfect. Not one of their more grandad-y pieces, it could fit into a young mans wardrobe without looking like he’s decided to play dress up for the day, which is a risk you run with the workwear look. We’d usually advocate waiting until stores start their sales before buying (nothing worse than buying a piece for it to go on sale a week later) but Barbour don’t look like have online sales, so it’s available from their store now.

While Computer Arts is far below the likes of Men’s Non-No and Monocle in the magazines we love list, we have to give credit where it’s due. They’ve worked with Non-Format (who they also interviewed) on a special cover design, which is a great argument for why print should never die. Using embossing and die-cuts, they’ve made a pop-up cover that spells the word ‘Birth’ when folded out.

Take a look at the folded out cover after the hop and skip.

01. Fire Design (above)

“Fire Design – The very beautiful French fire extinguishers” (notcot)

02. New York’s High Line Park in the Sky Opens Today!

“An elevated park in the sky built on top of the skeleton of an old rail system? It may have sounded impossible only five years ago, but today, the eagerly awaited High Line elevated urban park officially opens for thousands of New Yorkers looking to escape the hubbub of the city below!” (inhabitant)

03. XXX Posters As Found On Ebay in 2002

“As it turns out, many of these posters can also be seen here, in the book X-Rated: Adult Movie Posters of the 60s and 70s.” (reflib flickr)

04. Colleen Woods Pencils

“The Colleen Woods series represents an exciting vision of woodcase pencil manufacturing. The series is also a profoundly simple and beautiful pencil set. Pencils have been made from cedar for a century or more, and more recently from jelutong, pulai, and basswood. Pine and fir have also been used.” (penciltalk)

05. Sherwin Williams ColorSnap iPhone App

“Quick and easy, it works by simply scrolling a finger across an existing photo or a new one to locate the exact point for color match up. ColorSnap then instantly offers up one of the 1,500 corresponding Sherwin-Williams paint hues and a list of their closest retail stores.” (coolhunting)

Racked LA reports on the opening of menswear line, Ludwig’s new digs in Chinatown, Los Angeles. “Ludwig’s trio of creators aren’t so much inspired by powdered wigs and cravats as Beethoven’s massive output and artistic prowess. They’ve channeled this into lots of nylon jackets, denim, and subtle graphic tees (a few of which do actually read ‘Listen to Beethoven’), all of which will soon be joined by toys, accessories and books.” Find Ludwig at 720 N. Figueroa St. in Los Angeles’ Chinatown.

Wings + Horns returns with another run of boots by Vancouver’s Boots by Dayton. Distressed well, “these bad boys are in a new oiled cowhide that will age beautifully and stand up to whatever the elements throw at them.” Well crafted and sure to last for some time. Get them for 798$CAD at Roden Gray.

More views of the Dayton for Wings + Horns Service Boots in brown after the jump.

NYT’s Suzy Menkes has written a great retrospect on the eve of  Comme des Garçons 40th anniversay and the launch of their “temporary brand called ‘Black.’ “Rei Kawakubo created black as the color of fashion’s rebel yell. She might have pronounced later, in her enigmatic way, that “red is the new black” and made that vivid color — checkered or regal — part of her repertoire.”

Well worth a read over at New York Times.

Geneva’s Alpina watchmakers have been on the sport tip since the early 30’s and it shows. Their prices remain reasonable in the chrono world while remaining focused on performance. Take these new models from their Extreme Divers 1000 series for Spring/Summer 2009. They feature large 48mm casings surrounded by a black PVD coating finish. Choose from ”Yellowtail”, “Orange Sunset”, “Cote d’Azur”, and “Black Ocean” faces. (timezone)

More detailed looks at the Alpina Extreme Divers 1000 Meters Watches after the jump.

Bathroom accessories are not normally fodder for design experimentation. Antonio Gardoni has taken a bold step in that direction, designing functional objects that add a touch of glamor to the toilet experience. His FRAGILE toilet brush, for example, models after a wine glass. Additional pieces in the collection elegantly hold soap and another toilet brush (this inspired by a vase). (via Yatzer).

A more direct image of the FRAGILE brush after the jump.