A discussion on Japan’s Inazuma Festival is one usually left to the forums of Supertalk – this is their territory in many ways. But after visiting the festival, which is a double bill promotion between Lightning Magazine and Club Harley, you immediately get the sense that you are walking into a celebration of America’s greasemonkey and workwear past, present, and future.

Inazuma brings together in a swap meet style environment some of Japan’s finest craftsmen who are kicking out everything from denim, shirts, motorcycle jackets, leather goods, and even customized Radio Flyers. Walking the Inazuma grounds which occupies a parking lot on the outskirts of the Tokyo may be as Self Edge’s Kiya mentioned, “like walking through the Rose Bowl Flea,” except we’re in Japan. It was also a very family oriented event with parents outfitting their children in the proper attire.

Anyone obsessed with top notch quality and production of Japanese denim, leather goods, and jewelry would have nothing short of a field day at Inazuma. Prices on some of Japan’s best were slashed for the festival resulting in this writer walking away with his own bag stuffed with Japan knitted crews, denim, and workshirts.

A wide of brands via their local Japanese representation were on hand including Luminox, Avirex, Buell (now defunct in the USA), Samurai, Dry Bones, Iron Heart, and many others. If you decide to venture to Tokyo for next’s year event, be sure to bring a lot of cash. While many vendors accepted plastic, you’ll be safer with fistfuls of yen.

Many more  looks from Tokyo’s Inazuma Festival 2009 after the jump.

This is the one and only shot I have of Free & Easy Magazine’s The Rugged Museum in Tokyo. It’s one of those incredible spots that would not allow for us to take photography inside – and it would seem for good reason. What you walk into at this location is a true historical look at heritage US goods from a time past – a treasure trove  - all of which are in absolute pristine condition. Inside you’ll find not only a new selection of heritage inspired goods and collaborations, but deadstock crew necks from the 40’s, military spec jackets from the 50’s, and deadstock footwear which is a workwear junkie’s wet dream. I will no doubt stop in for one more visit before heading back to the West.

Bell & Ross has added their latest “Limited Editions Catalog” to their their website. The 2009/2010 catalog features a varuety of one off and special run Bell & Ross timepieces that is sure to start a fiery of collectors to seek out some of these prized “fighter pilot” and “commando” models. Note that the header on the page lists the catalog as 2008, but we beleieve it to be current. View the PDF version at their website.

More looks from the Bell & Ross Limited Editions Catalog 2009/2010 after the click.

01. In Search of the Wild Cohiba
“All we really wanted was a smoke. Yet here we were in Havana, the traditional capital of cigars, not puffing on habaneros but marching through the Museum of the Revolution. The once-ornate chambers in the former presidential palace are now occupied by scenes from the Twenty-sixth of July Movement’s glory days; guards sit reading as tourists file past dim glass cases containing faded manifestos and bloodstained martyrs’ garments.” (Believer)

02. The Velvet Underground: A New York Art (above)
“The Velvet Underground’s association with Andy Warhol is well documented; perhaps what is less well known is the art that was actually made to promote the band’s gigs and albums during the mid-to-late 60s. A new book documents the rise of their decidedly New York art…” (Creative Review)

03. Beer in the Bathroom: The Circle of Life
“Drew mentioned this earlier, but it bears further examination. The Redskins are selling beer in FedExField bathrooms? Holy crap, that’s awesome. And unsanitary.” (Deadspin)

04. The Dozens: Bill Frisell
“As unassumingly as Bill Frisell presents himself in his everyday life is as fiery and unabashedly bold he is with his musical choices. A stylistic chameleon once all-too-appropriately deemed the “Clark Kent of jazz,” his fascination with and dedication to collective improvisation and his early training with Dale Bruning and Jim Hall imparts a jazz approach to most everything Frisell does – regardless of whether it sounds like jazz, or country, or folk, or rock, or a fusion of all, or none of the above. But the truth of the matter is that stylistic categorization hardly matters in his case, and in fact, it almost surely inhibits his personal mission.” (Jazz)

“In June 2009, Epaulet co-owner Michael Kuhle and documentary filmmaker/animation artist Tom Eaton visited the Alden Shoe Company in Massachusetts. During our stay, we were treated to a rundown of the entire shoe crafting process, a meet and greet with the Alden staff, and some seriously good cheeseburgers….”

Priced at just shy of a g-note, Lucien Pallet-Finet delivers two watches – each celebrating the good and the bad. The bad comes in the form of a skull face while the good is delivered through a hemp varietal. Both are finished in stainless steel and borrow from the classic looks of timepieces that came before them. (ar)

More looks at the Lucien Pallet-Finet Watches after the click.

It is about time that a company developed a toothbrush and soap holder that appealed directly to color palette of men. Denmark’s Vipp drops a new set of bathroom tools on the market. ” Both pieces feature stainless steel trim, silicon rubber.” While they are available in stainless steel and white, we tend to agree with Acquire on the preferred color of powder coated black.

It looks like the latest “upmarket” collection from Topman has made its way online. ‘LTD is like the Design teams very own solo album consisting of the kind of garments we all like to wear. As Gordon Richardson,  Topman’s Design Director told to Dazed, “With a simple paired down aesthetic these are familiar pieces within main range but have a more discreet style and subsequent fashion longevity… designed as complete collections with distinct themes throughout the season…” Available online at Topman.

More looks from the Topman LTD Collection after the click.

Aside from Skin & Bones, the tattoo show exploring body marking in the life of the American Sailor I worked on, there are a few other wonderful tattoo exhibitions open at the moment. It’s a great time for the art, with the Sailor Jerry film having just been released and a number of good books in the works. In that the scholarship is strengthening and the push toward collecting the stories of many of the living greats is building.

Freaks & Flash brings to life the roots of Western Tattooing through vintage flash and circus banners. Focus in on midwestern artists and collections, but the scope is nonetheless international. Some major figures of tattoo history are well represented – the legendary Englishman George Burchett, Milwaukee’s Armund Dietzel, and the inventor of the tattoo machine Samuel O’Reilly, to name a few. Co-curated by Anna Friedman-Herlihy and Jan Petry, the exhbition presents many fine examples of tattoo history to the public for the first time.

Freaks and Flash opened on September 11 and runs through January 9, 2010 at Intuit: the Center for Intuitive and Outsider Arts, 756 N. Milwaukee, Chicago. (via Curated).

Above is a piece of flash by Sailor Bill Rodgers. Hit the jump to see work by Burchett and O’Reilly.

This post may be more Jason’s territory but I’ll give it a whirl. Maison Martin Margiela offer an interesting distressing option to the oxford footwear game. “The shoes are white leather underneath and are covered as a result of the flocking process which gives the shoes a velvet effect surface. The shoes are designed to become distressed with the wearers use.” I was under the assumption that all shoes gained some personalization with wear. Looks like this pair may simply accelerate that process. (browns)

More looks at the Maison Martin Margiela Flocked Oxford Shoes after the click.