Yesterday I went to a meeting at Independence Seaport Museum and was given a quick run through of recent acquisitions. One of the finest items was a 30 year old Sperry Top-Sider. They’d been resoled several times, and the foot-bed too had been replaced. But, the upper held a fantastic three decade long history. One America’s cup, countless local yacht races, and an owner proud of the respect granted by the shoes natural patina. They were one part disgusting and one greater part glorious.

I’m posting the new Sperry collaboration with J. Crew, a rather nice chino version, more or less as a reason to tell the above story. Moral of that, the older and rattier the Top-Sider the more respect you’ll get in the boating community.

Not really into yachting? Then the J. Crew version will likely garner the street respect you crave.

Check the AW 2010 Raf by Raf Simons collection which HIghsnobiety gave some love to recently. “We take a first detailed look at the Raf by Raf Simons Fall/Winter 2010 Collection. The designer worked with a lot of leather and the classic leather biker jacket seems to take center stage in the new collection. It comes made from a mix of wool and leather and also in the form of a vest, looking very interesting.”

More looks from the Raf by Raf Simons for Autumn/Winter 2010 here…

We dropped a few previews of Narrative’s SS10 collection a while back, but here’s a look at the whole collection. Hybrid is the word of the season at Narrative towers, with more (successful) meshing of shoe styles than we’ve seen in any of their previous collections. There’s brogued up high tops and trainers – it’s not a new concept, but the execution is much better than we’re used to seeing. With shark soled chukkas, boat laces on desert boots and vibram soled oxfords, there’s plenty of CWT’s (Classics With a Twist) in the collection for the folks who like their shoes just that little bit different.

Take a leap to see the rest of the collection.

One more nod to quality handmade baseball gloves.

Nokona Athletic Company, of Nocona, Texas, started producing sporting equipment in 1933. I guess that means it has some heritage, or that it feeds off a great internal tradition. Ultimately, what strikes me about Nocona is that they make beautiful baseball gloves. Above is their Buffalo Combo glove, built from ranch sourced South Dakota Bison. Touted as “soft and sturdy,” the glove probably works best for guys like us – those that haven’t played in years and are ultimately too lazy to break a new one in.

In addition to gloves, Nocona produces nice core baseball product – bats and catchers equipment. And, some really sexy bags. If you happen to be interested in the craft side, check out the American Craftsman Project, which features Nokona and some other good stuff.

The bag comes after the jump.

We know what you’re thinking – ‘this has dropped in stores already!’. Well here’s a couple of styles that weren’t picked up by every store in town. The element sweater that we posted up earlier is available in hoodie and 1/2 arm length sweater form; the 1/2 arm length sweater isn’t for everyone, but we’re fans – anything that saves our cuffs from summer-push-up-abuse is fine by us. Elsewhere in the collection is an array of the sweaters, undergarments and hooded knits we’ve come to expect from the good folks at SNS.

Song remains the same, take that leap to see those pictures.

iDsgn turns us onto Haik Avanian’s ingenious new project. Teaming up with his mum, the graphic designer asks people to send in old sweaters and his mum will reknit them into smaller accessories (the above picture is an example of this in action). So if you have an old sweater that you think would make a particularly natty hat, feel free to send it over to ReKnit. You’ll have to be quick though, orders are capped at 30 a month. As Avanian notes, “due to the unexpectedly overwhelming response in January, and because I only have one mom, we’ve decided to limit orders”. (The ReKnit Project)

The good thing about being the middle of a season is that what you see is what you get. Winter? get your boots on. Summer? get your loafers on. But anytime between seasons (like now) and the weather forecast is your friend. These Grenson grey suede brogues have the double whammy of being suede and leather soled – so it’s not one for the rainy days, unless you like sliding to work and ruining suede at the same time. (ASOS)

Zozo’s of Japan is a great site for discovering one off items that may tend to remain buried otherwise. These wing tip shoes from Edifice are a prime example. The shoe itself is set on a “boot” like sole which drives home a solid mix of ruggedness and style.

More looks at the Edifice Wing Tip Shoes after the click.

We covered Bump Pitch a while back. Their take on soccer/football as a lifestyle (rather than just as a sport) is inspiring to many. Today they announced the release of their first signature “hoodie.” “We kept the hoodie classic and simple and put all of our attention into the cut, the feel, the fabric and the little details that often get overlooked. One of the key components is the fabric we chose. It’s a heavier weight, 380 gram French terry fabric that has been dyed and washed to our liking and has the warmth, feel and softness that people expect from Bumpy Pitch.”

More looks at the BPFC Signature Zip Up Terry Cloth Sweatshirt after the click.