Here’s the first Spring/Summer collection from the new design team at London’s Swear footwear. They bring references to “early colonial Britain and mid-century America” through an assembled collection of classic looks in new textiles and colors.

More looks at the Swear Spring/Summer 2011 collection after the click.

Formed in 1976, as Warsaw, the Joy Division defined the look and sound of the post-punk era despite a shortened four year run. During that period, photographer Kevin Cummins was offered full access to the young group. He says, they “were learning to pose as a band while I was learning to shoot bands.” Cummins archive of Joy Division photographs, coupled with rare ephemera (including Ian Curtis’ own notebooks), forms the definitive monograph Joy Division. From composed shots in T.J. Davidson’s rehearsal room to raw live performance photos, and even portraits on the streets of Manchester, Cummins view of the band is broad and unfettered.

In the forward, Jay McInerney, author of Bright Lights, Big City, articulates Joy Division’s sound. He writes, “What Joy Division seemed to have, still seems to have, was a kind of gloomy authenticity, a direct line of transmission to the pain and uncertainty and raw emotion of that vantage point at the precipice of post-adolescence.” The words quite accurately describe Cummins photographs as well, for they are documents full of intimacy between both band members and the City of Manchester. As McInerney suggests, the collected ephemera and photographs successfully capture the imagination of people and place. The era is frozen in time, and with it the mood of a pioneering band.

A conversation between Cummins and Joy Division founding member Bernard Sumner rounds out the publication – undoubtedly the most complete celebration of the band on paper.

© Joy Division, Rizzoli New York, 2010.

Available from Amazon.

A selection of ephemera and photographs by Kevin Cummins after the jump.

A great color in the Castoro boot from Church’s. “Boot in a rough castoro suede from Church’s. All lined with leather, metal eyelets and a goodyear welt constructed commando sole. A boot that will take all the way through the winter and many season more. Crafted in England.” Tres Bien has them (of course).

More looks at the Church’s McFarlane Green Castoro Boot after the click.

A San Francisco based company, “Triple Aught Design was founded in 1997 by Patrick Ma.” With his roots on both coasts of the US and serving time in the US Army, Ma was able to appreciate “durable and reliable equipment,” which led to T.A.D gear. The Spectre hardshell jacket” is just one example of his work. The jacket offers “fully seamed taped laminated zippers, three-layer eVent barrier and drop tail hem” allow this jacket to move and secure everything.

On my last visit to their retail store, the jacket was available in my size; trust me this jacket rules. On top of the great fit, it had all the features and details of any Northface or Arcteryx jacket in the market. This is a perfect rain jacket for anyone. It’s available atTripleAughtDesign. (gb)

More looks at the T.A.D Gear Spectre Hardshell Jacket after the click.

The Red Kap company, now known as Bulwark has been developing workwear for almost 35 years. They focused on the flame-resistant protective garment market by developing new innovative “fibers, fabrics, finishes and garment construction.” The flame reistant, 9 oz. 100% cotton twill offers up an intense “12 oz. two-layer quilted needle punh modaquilt.” The ribbing, collar, cuffs and waistband are all produced by Nomex. This jacket can withstand some pretty heavy duty fires.

It’s not surprising to me that they issue Chevron gas attendants these jackets, with their logo of course. My cousin was able to get a hold of one and it’s an amazing jacket. They run big so size down. Flameresistantuniforms has them. (gb)

“All clothes in the video are taken from the new Kitsuné Spring-Summer 2011 collection: ‘Reporter.’ All music in the video is to be featured on Kitsuné Maison 10 “The Fireworks Issue”.
Release date : November 29th 2010″

Proudly named for the founder of Hartford, Thomas Hooker Ales & Lagers are hand crafted in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Along with a full range of year round offerings, Hooker produces three seasonal beers. In just a few shorts weeks, their winter lager hits shelves – “Brewed to celebrate Winter in New England, Nor’Easter Lager possesses a Hearty Malt flavor delicately accented by mild winter spices.”

The brew contains a variety of malts – Canadian 2-Row, Munich Light, Carapils, Caramunich I, Caramunich II, Vienna, Wheat Malt – and hops – Bittering (Spalt, Hallertau), Flavor (Hallertau), Aroma (Saaz) – and lands on November 1 with an ABV of 5.8%.

Yeah, yeah, it’s another item with a shawl collar. We’ve been wearing these so much around town we often that people have started to refer to them as ’selectism style’ – which is slightly unsettling, but true. This one’s double breasted, is free from the overdesign a lot of shawl collars are prone to and it’s made in England. There’s also a nice subtle detail on the pockets for the folks who pay attention to the little things. You’re only trouble with be stopping your girlfriend from stealing this off you.* (Daniel Jenkins)

It’s getting cold out there and that means it’s time to start looking at gloves. We’ve covered some ‘trendy’ outlets for gloves but, let’s face it, a good pair of gloves is a good pair of gloves – whether it’s from Norse Projects or Bentley. These gloves are cashmere lined (as you might’ve guessed from the title) and the leather’s buttery soft. In case you were wondering, we prefer the brown version, black gloves are far too stereotypical Russian hitman for our tastes. (Orvis)

Today we are feeling historically inclined…

01. Underwear: from corsets to bullet bras and back

“As recently as 70 years ago, foundation garments, as corsets were called, were fundamental to the way that women dressed. This film features author Eleri Lynn shot in one of the V&A’s most evocative storerooms as she leads us on a tour of a long hidden world. Eleri’s brief history of shapewear starts with the hourglass and S-bend forms – and steel and whalebone engineering – of Victorian and Edwardian corsets carries on through the breast-flattening bandeau bras worn by 1920s flappers, the New Look underwear of Christian Dior, the conicle bullet bras of the 1950s and concludes with  the arrival of Lycra in the 1960s and the renaissance of corsetry through the new popularity of burlesque.” (V&A).

02. Militia Officer’s Hat

“This Napoleon type hat, the oldest man’s hat in the museum’s collection, dates between 1830 and 1835.  Made of dark brown wool with brown ribbon trim, a brown ribbon rosette and bow, and metallic rope, it’s one of several military hats from various eras that the museum owns.  A similar styled hat in the Sturbridge Village collection is made of beaver.” (Millmuseum).

03. Words, words, words

“Reading Bob Nicholson’s delightful article, “Racy Yankee slang has long invaded our language” which appeared in the Guardian got me thinking about a couple of words which have either been around a lot longer than people suspect or have changed their meanings.  Two words in particular came to mind; “pig” and “gay”. I think we have a tendency to view the first of these as an epithet applied to the police, particularly in America in the 1960s. Images of violence on the one hand and police brutality on the other conjure up visions of protestors screaming “Pigs” usually preceeded with another epithet beginning with the sixth letter of the alphabet.” (Vichist).

04. Exposition coloniale internationale, 1931 (Above).

“On May 6, 1931, the first of 33,000,000 people walked through the gates of the Exposition coloniale internationale in the eastern suburbs of Paris. The exposition, which continued for six months, included a recreation of Mount Vernon from the United States, along with pavilions from Italy, Japan, and many other countries.” (Graphic Arts).