Every once in a while you come across one of those things that you just have to have. Unfortunately it seems to happen to me a lot more frequently than others- just look at my shoe or electronics collections. But then there are those times when you see something, have to have it, get it and then have to write about how freakin’ awesome it is. My new Saddleback Leather bag is exactly one of those things. They ain’t cheap, but they’re damn sure worth it.

An American company, Saddleback Leather was started by a guy named Dave and is currently based out of Texas. I don’t know Dave from Adam, but just by checking out the company’s website and going through the order process I’ve gained a sense of familiarity with he and his company. If you check out the website, (which incendetally is the ONLY place you can buy these bags), you quickly come to realize that the company is one of those who doesn’t believe in corporate propaganda, likes to speak plain language and is in business because they have a quality product to sell for a good reason.

Their purpose? “To put it simply, Saddleback’s goal is this:  To make excessively high quality, tough and cool looking leather pieces for a few people that will last a really long time.” So long, in fact, that their bags come with a 100 year warranty!

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Tired of your old kicks looking battered and bruised. Sometimes all it takes is a fresh coat of paint to make them look almost brand new. French artist, Nicolas Chevalier, often injects color into his life by hand-painting clothing, accessories and art. He even has a limited-edition collection of Nike high-tops that he’s dyed with a customized palette of almost 100 mixed hues and tones.

Sure, you can probably purchase the paints from his store in Paris, but you don’t need a fancy Parisian artist to do it for you. This tailor-made look has DIY project written all over it. Freshen up your old sneaks with facelift by changing up its original color.

view a few more pics from Chevalier’s Nike sneaker collection

The day has finally arrived and it was only a matter of time before Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, came out with the men’s version of her ever so popular Spanx. Men tend to hold their weight around their tummy, specially the beer drinks and couch potatoes out there. I exercise regularly but during the winter I also tend to double my calorie intake and do less outdoor activities. I’ve mentioned this before that I felt like a bear in hibernation. If only I could sleep through the winter and wake up in the Spring…. wouldn’t that be nice. That being said, during the winter, I do gain a few pounds and a little help in the midsection would be nice, not so much to deceive a guy into thinking I have a six pack under there but more to be able to still fit into the same clothes I did over the summer. I don’t wanna resort to buying ‘fat pants’ cause this will only encourage me to probably eat more. Bye bye gut spillovers!

There are three different designs for the Spanx for men, a crew neck tshirt, a v-neck & the tank top. Depending on how much control you need or what you are wearing. I don’t particularly have fat shoulders or arms so if I were to wear these, I would go with the tank version. I think the best part of this product is that it helps with posture and supports your back, pretty cool idea specially for people that sit in an office chair all day like me.

See the claims Spanx makes on their website.

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If you remember Lady GaGa’s Grammy performance with Sir Elton John then you would remember the black piano slash sculpture they performed with. Lady GaGa wants to buy the piano which was designed by Canadian artist Terence Koh which costs £300,000.

Who is Terence Koh?

Koh was raised in Mississauga, Ontario, and lives in New York City. He is a Chinese-Canadian artist who received his Bachelor degree from the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, Vancouver. - wiki

GaGa attended and performed at the 2010 amfAR gala in an outfit by Terence Koh with matching inspired makeup. I guess GaGa does love Canada! Her performance which debuted her new song “Future Love”, also featured a sculpture/piano by the same designer.

I just thought I’d give props to Canadian talent specially because of this amazing collaboration between these 2 amazing artists. Go Canada!

more pictures after the jump

I woke up this morning with the tragic news that the fashion genius, Alexander McQueen was found dead in his London home today. If you are not famliar with McQueen you may recognize several of his designs featured in Lady GaGa’s Bad Romance video. The metallic dress and reptilian hoof-like heels from his Spring 2010 collection were one of his latest creations. His unfortunate death comes just a week before London Fashion week.

“We are deeply shocked and saddened at the news of Alexander McQueen’s untimely death. He was a unique talent and one of the world’s greatest designers. Our thoughts are with his friends and family at this sad time,” said a statement on the London Fashion Week’s Web site.

I’m deeply saddened by this event with the dying art of couture, his death will affect the fashion world in a major way.

Here is the story as reported on CNN.com

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In December, I wrote a post about Kellan Lutz becoming the new face of Calvin Klein underwear. After weeks of anticipation, the wait is finally over. Calvin Klein has unveiled not only Kellan Lutz’s underwear ads but also actor Mehcad Brooks, tennis pro Fernando Verdasco and footballer Hidetoshi Nakata’s photos.

Photographer Mikael Jansson shot the underwear models in New York City. Vanity Fair has scored the rights to run the hot ads first for their magazine. Be sure to look for them when they hit newsstands on March 9, 2010.

The new line of underwear is made of premium microfiber and cotton modal. In addition, there is a hot embossed “X” marks the spot on the waistband. The first batch should be hitting stores later this month.

check out full sized pictures of all the ads after the jump

Perhaps the boxers shown above aren’t the most comfortable nor practical, but you can’t deny their ingenuity. While creating jewelry or clothing from recycled goods isn’t anything new, but making fine jewelry and luxury goods from discarded circuit boards is pretty interesting.

Admittedly a few items shown after the jump aren’t wearable, but instead work better as pieces of art- especially the shoes. If you take a closer look, circuit boards are actually filled with precious metals. Some of the computer rejects can be made from silver, gold and copper.

SNEAKS by GABRIEL DISHAW
Check out these wicked creation made by junk-metal artist, Dishaw. He makes a few styles inspired by his favorite shoes. Unfortunately, each sneaker is made for a perfect 9.5 sized shoe.

more circuit board goodies after the jump

This week, Sci-fi and fashion geeks unite with the launch of a collaboration born in a galaxy far far away. Adidas has just launched its limited edition Star Wars fashion and runners. I can’t help but want a pair of the Skywalker sneakers!!

Check out the whole collection here.

My brother, sister and I grew up in a house where Star Wars was frequently playing in our VCR. My dad always enjoyed sci-fi movies… Everything from the Terminator to Star Trek were his favorites on TV and Screen. As such, we were no stranger to the genre of film. We would watch on a Sunday morning, then go outside and make ice forts as if we were on the ice planets we would see in the movies. Strong fortresses that would keep us safe from the creatures depicted in the classic films.

When I was in high school, there would be an occasional movie night featuring the classics especially as the new series was being launched. I think it was at this point that it became “cool” to have kept your star wars toys from when you were a kid. I watched episode 1, 2, and 3 as they were released into the theaters; you couldn’t help but want to be part of it. The series shaped so much of my childhood imagination and captivated my attention during my first visit to Disneyland via the epic StarTours.

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I’ll admit it. I’m a hairy guy. More hair than I would like. Some of it is manageable (arm pit, chest, arm) and some is not (nether regions, back, neck). When you have a partner (or really good friend), manscaping those hard to reach places is less of a hassle, but when you’re single it’s up to you to trim the hedges.

I don’t really mind the hair on my chest, but I can’t stand the limited hair on my back. A couple of years ago I tried laser hair removal, which worked to some degree, but it was expensive, it hurt, and I probably need about 3-4 more sessions to get the results I want.

An easier approach is to use a razor or an electric trimmer. I’ve tried both.

Razors get real close, but it’s really difficult to reach the middle of your back, and going anywhere between the legs with a razor blade makes me nervous, so I sometimes do my shoulders and neck with a blade, but usually save those for the face.

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