Cowboy boots don’t get a whole lot of love around these parts. Despite all our harping on heritage and craft, none of us (frankly) have the balls to wear what are, honestly, a pretty artful form of footwear. Yet, even with our inclinations to avoid them stylistically, we can’t help but avoid the appeal of the Cowboy.

On May 15, 2010, the New Mexico Museum of Art opens Sole Mates: Cowboy Boots and Art. Viewing the boot as an important symbol of western life, the exhibition brings over 150 examples of contemporary and historic boot related material (painting, print, ephemera, etc.) to view. Works by Fredric Remington are included. So to are fancy footwear by the likes of James Drake – shown above.

Up through October 17, 2010.

More examples of Cowboy Boots and Art after the jump.

An old hand in the luggage department, Italian manufacture Calabrese gets a colorful kick with its special production for Garbstore. Balancing slightly off-kilter (for a traditional bag model) colors with a rather conventional tan, the weekend bags have an almost two worlds identity about them. Canvas with leather trim.

Quite obviously, Garbstore has them.

More looks at the Calbrese for Garbstore bags after the leap.

A fairly permanent Rapha location has opened its doors on 146-148 Clerkenwell Road in London. “A combination of gallery, shop and café, the Rapha Cycle Club is a meeting place and hub for road riders. Unlike most ‘pop up’ stores, the Rapha Cycle Club will be more than just a retail space. With live screenings of road races and a full calendar of exhibitions and events, the Rapha Cycle Club will be a home for the sport and culture of road racing. This is the ultimate Rapha experience.”

More photos from the Rapha Cycling Club London opening party after the click.

Nowness presents once again an engaging new film, this time directed by photographer Sharif Hamza, about the Kris Van Assche designed Fall 2010 Collection by Dior Homme.

“Kris Van Assche’s fall 2010 Dior Homme collection is a triumphant affirmation of the house’s aesthetic for the new decade: clean lines, translucent layers of fabric, deconstructionist touches and oversized silhouettes. Quietly iconoclastic, it’s a tempting and elegant proposition for men who have grown out of their skinny jeans. The standout piece of the collection is the floor-length trench, a deceptively light garment that undulated elegantly down the runway in Paris in June. Unveiled under a ring of fluorescent lights, accompanied by the Sisters of Mercy’s “Temple of Love,” the piece mixes bold 80s power dressing with the swaddled folds of fabric Van Assche had witnessed in Indian dress on a trip to the country last August. The collection’s sensuous feeling of movement provided the inspiration for today’s film, created to mark the occasion of Dior Homme’s first UK flagship, which opened this week in the Westfield Center, London. The entrancing vignette is styled by Robbie Spencer and directed by photographer Sharif Hamza, who conceived it as “something like a fashion show that never happened,” setting it in a mysterious, bleached corridor (recreated from a Polaroid of an anonymous interior that had been lying on Hamza’s desk for some months). According to Hamza, the film creates a “dialogue without words,” in which nuanced glances and a slowly advancing zoom lens come together for a mysterious, cinematic experience.”

Also make sure to read their interview with designer Kris van Assche, for some background on the collection. The interview follows here.

New headgear which is safe for wear off the shores of the Mississippi. nonnative delivers three “Voyager Hats” for your perusal. The braided hats are finished in brown, black, and wheat. They call the last one beige but I like wheat better. All three are quality with the Made in Japan stamp of approval.

More looks at the nonnative Voyager Hats after the click.

Hard to argue the classic appeal of the Breton shirt. High fashion incarnations are relatively frequent, especially with eyes toward maritime tradition these days. Flamborough Marine, out of the UK, sells genuine Breton shirts manufactured by Armor Lux. The shirts come in long and short sleeve of 100% Egyptian spun cotton.

A great range of colors are available. For spring/summer 2010 a limited run of blue and green stripes complements more traditional navy and red looks. In any case, the Breton shirt remains a simple, timeless garment.

View the current and traditional options after the jump.

Cool Hunting Video once again brings us an interesting episode. We always appreciate getting an inside look at traditional high end production, such as the Mast Brothers Chocolate factory in this case.

“In this latest Cool Hunting video, we visit Brooklyn to tour the Mast Brothers’ bean-to-bar chocolate factory—one of just a handful in the U.S. The chocolatiers, Rick and Michael Mast, walk us through their uniquely intensive process, DIY machines, and a little of their food philosophy.”

Enjoy!

Fashion magazine Flaunt has dedicated their new issue to German luxury leather goods house MCM. Ever since the former adidas Global Art Director, Michael Michalsky took over the reigns at the brand, it seems like they have a comeback. New flagship stores have opened in New York, Berlin and London in recent years. We appreciate that they take it slow this time around, after majorly falling off in the 90s. The cover of Flaunt magazine carries the signature monogram pattern by MCM, which we find from a graphic perspective already quite intruiging.

Flaunt also present some behind-the-scenes images and videos of the issue here. The magazine is now available at colette.

After Christian Lacroix and Martin Margiela, it was the turn of French fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier to re-design the former apartment of famed French architect Jacque Carlu. The designer used his signature nautical stripe design all over the apartment, resulting in a very interesting and actually beautiful monochromatic look. The apartment is situated right in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris and is certainly worth a visit on your next Paris trip. Rumors are going around that Gaultier is already working on an on-going interior collection, something that we can hopefully tell you more about soon.

More images of ‘La Suite Elle Decoration’ by Jean-Paul-Gaultier follow after the jump.

A while back we reported about Louis Vuitton’s “Journey of a Man’s Wardrobe”, shot by The Selby. After Paris the journey moves on to Shanghai and Tokyo. The Selby documents some interesting personalities in both cities, including Verbal and Tatsuya Matsui, as well as the Louis Vuitton offices and flagship stores in both cities.

Check it out here.