01. Kyoto’s Newest Hotel Takes Minimalism To A New Level – 9h (above)

“This is not necessarily the new chill-out spot — you’re meant to sleep and shower, and 9h has it all down to clockwork: Each guest is allotted one hour to shower, seven hours to sleep and a final hour to rest (equaling nine hours, of course). Guests are evidently woken naturally by the changing light. At least the experience won’t break the bank: each pod costs roughly $54.” (globorati)

02. LIFE’s 2009 Picture of the Year

All the best from 2009 from LIFE. You know… (life)

03. Emotionally Traumatic Christmas Toys

There is a lot of anxiety wrapped up in that precious morning, so the last thing you want to do is ruin it with nightmare-inducing product that will cause the child to question far more than the existence of Santa. Here are a few toys you might want to avoid, unless your child has ever made a cameo appearance on The Adams Family… (coudal)

04. AIR and LCD Soundsystem Confirmed For Sonar Festival

“Taking place simultaneously in Barcelona and A Coruña on June 17-19 in 2010, the festival was headlined by Grace Jones and Orbital earlier this year.” (nme)

Japan’s Foot the Coacher delivers a set of ultra warm winter mid top shoes. The best feature is the ankle strap that assists in keep the winter elements from slipping into your socks and liner. Don’t you hate that? If you’re not into fur, stay away from these as they do come lined. Just putting it out there. (museumark)

More looks at the Foot The Coacher Arctic Shoes after the click.

Two new models of th classic IWC Portuguese look to be on their way to market. As reported by Perpetuelle, a “red gold chronograph,” and a beautiful silver dial “automatic” should arrive soon. On the Automatic, they say, “This watch has a highly polished steel case with a silver dial and gold hand markers.  Like other variations in this collection, its has a 42mm case, classical small seconds hand and seven-day power reserve display. This movement in this watch is IWC’s largest automatic movement on the market, the IWC Caliber 51011 calibre, with IWC’s exclusive Pellaton winding system, and 7 day power reserve.”  Price is about $13,500. I’ll take two.

The hook belt post yesterday got some people up in arms – well more like suggestive. One commenter hinted us at Charlottesville VA’s Wiley Brothers Belt Company. They may not be from Connecticut but from the looks of it, they’re making some fine leather goods down there. Marc and Peter Wiley founded the company in 1999. “Our … American heritage and involvement in equestrian traditions inspired us to create artisanal leather goods, applying the aesthetic and craftsmanship of fine equestrian tack and harness to our own belt designs. We have built our products around a material with which we have been well acquainted since our earliest years, English bridle leather.” Choices, people.

More looks at the Wiley Brothers Belts after the click.

Steven Alan has stock on two classic oxford models from Quoddy. “Our classic four-eyelet oxford. Chromexel or Grizzly leather upper, glove leather lining, and Quoddy moccasin construction combine to cradle your foot in a hammock of comfort.” Handmade in the  U.S. of A. Get them for around 288$US.

More looks at the Quoddy Maliseet Oxford Shoes after the click.

ts(s) is a Japanese lined designed by Takuji Suzuki. The line pulls from the best in traditional menswear – borrowing from the work, military, and sports heritage of styles that live on and on. Suzuki’s personal approach to the line brings focus to detail, colors, and patterns, while evolving those traditional views of fashion.

More looks from the ts(s) Spring/Summer 2010 collection after the jump.

Tokyo’s Bedwin & The Heartbreakers combines with Lee for the “Alvin” jacket. A classic coverall of indigo denim, the jacket features a shawl collar favored by 1940s US Naval smocks. Its lined with flannel and secured with Lee cowboy studs. The denim makers hallmark is affixed via a small envelope label on the jacket’s front pocket, and there is a union made label in the inside front placket. Bedwin’s flare comes through a chain stitched embroidery over the front pocket, and a “heartbreakers” print below the flap pocket.

Full look an additional detail after the jump. Available from Garbstore.

While Church’s have been above the collaboration hype, they’re clearly not above the reissue hype, as this re-release of the Shanghai model shows. The Shanghai model was originally made in 1929 and was noted for its artisanal approach – these were the first Church shoes to have the company name etched on the sole – and casual appearance. The rubber sole also made it perfect for remaining dandified in adverse weather. These go on sale this week and, like most Church’s shoes, these will only be available in store.

Take a leap to see detailed looks at each shoe.

How about this for a giveaway? Our friends at FEVER offer Selectism readers a chance to win a pair of Italian made MOMA Black Lace-up Low Top Boots. The ankle high boots are well aged and look great with just about anything.

We’ve made it pretty easy to enter and win.

Follow Selectism on Twitter and tweet the following message:  Follow @selectism and RT this message by Dec 21 for a chance to win a pair of MOMA Lace-up Boots http://bit.ly/6shqQj

We’ll randomly choose a retweet as the winner on Dec 16th. Good luck.

More looks at the  MOMA Black Lace-up Boots after the click.