Esoteria

Every cool guy worth his Nike SB’s knows about Supreme. I have a feeling that if this tee is part of their Spring line (my Ubiq peeps told me about the Kermit/Supreme steez a few weeks ago), it will be one of their most popular ever. Why? Because the brand’s hype bubble has yet to burst, thanks to its exclusivity and seemingly sporadic releases. Add to that their cryptic brand of branding and you have every street snob’s wet dream.

Still, why would a tee of kermit wearing a Supreme tee be a big sell? For starters, it’s Supreme. Secondly, it’s part of a line of tees that have featured the likes of Jimmy Jones & Juelz, Mike Tyson, and Tera Patrick–which is to say, there’s a history (and tradition) behind it. Lastly, not everyone wants to wear a shirt with a pic of people like the ones named above. I definitely couldn’t get away with wearing the Tera Patrick tee around fam or to school, and the Mike Tyson one would definitely bear explaining to my grandfather (as would the DipSet one, for that matter). Kermit’s harmless though. And therein lies the geniu$. With a figure so innocuous, all the hypebeasts who have craved Supreme gear forever, those who have followed their stuff for years, and all those in between will want to have a shirt that is immediately esoteric in a way that is chock full of meaninglessness. When asked, “What’s the deal with your shirt?” you either say “Iunno,” “Nothing,” or begin to explain Supreme to someone who prolly doesn’t care and is regretting they asked you in the first place. Either that, or you just say, “You wouldn’t get it.”

I know what you’re thinking. My point exactly.

Scarves are the new hoodies

Strictly for the Gear Guide. Though I’m not exactly saying that you should follow anything Jimmy does (or says)…

…Makes my cipher complete

Swingline

So I’ve been in the market for a letterman jacket for the past few years. I almost picked up the one 10deep made last year, but chose not to due to the fact that I wasn’t head over heels for the design and because it was too recognizable and thus, too pedestrian. When Hov said, “I just took back the Phantom. Too many f–kers could fathom what it felt like to have one,” I knew exactly what he meant… kinda.

Well, way back in the spring I caught glimpse of the joker above and decided that this was the one. It just dropped, and ya boy is copping it ASAP. I won’t run down all the details, but let’s just say it’s understated and intelligent. And if you don’t know…

Can’t Get Out The Game

Winter is fast approaching people. The day’s are getting shorter, the nights colder, and my bank account, smaller. I’ve pretty much satiated my denim desires. (Still holdin’ out on the PRPS and some grey levi’s though.) The hoody game is deader than the dunk game. All I need is a plain grey zip jawn. I’m thinking old school Champion or Russell Athletic. Yeah nigga, Russell Athletic. The tee game is non-existent. I mean, it’s bout to be winter, and I’m a nigga’s nigga. I do not play when it gets cold. The less amount of skin visible, the warmer (and friendlier) I am.

Still, that nagging issue persists. Kicks. If it weren’t for that cot durn swoosh, my life and bank account would be bursting at the seams like my closet or a fat girl in a cheap cotton leotard.

This Saturday’s a big day too. For one, I have class from 9am to 4pm (kill me now). Secondly, two vicious Air Force 1′s are releasing.

I need these ppl. It’s not a game. Eff UPenn.

Trickle Down Nigganomics

I’m setting up my classroom. That means one thing: Summer’s over. Not officially, we have 20-something days till it’s officially Fall. But Labor Day is this Monday, and like I said, I’m setting up my classroom. That basically means fun in the sun is done. So, since I’m bored and waiting for my couch and coffee table (upgrades abound, son), I’ma put some of y’all onto some ish.

Dunks are dead. This is very old news to the true sneakerhead, (as is the fact that–like hip hop–a good Dunk never dies), but to the masses, Nike Dunks are still the ish. People come to me a lot and ask me about Dunks as though they’re discovering something. I try my best to help them without shattering their dreams, but Nike pretty much exhausted the creative possibilities of the Dunk model a few years ago. [stunting] I’ve only bought one pair of Dunks in the last 2 years and I’ve worn em less than 5 times [/stunting]. I say this not for the stuntastic arrogance of it, but more so to let you know that the golden days are long gone. Even more so for the Dunk SB game. So stop buying dunks to stunt. You’re failing. You look like everybody else.

For the newbie sneakerhead, some words of wisdom: buy what you like. That may mean you buy those composition notebook dunks cuz you like them. Whatever, to each their own. An arrogant old head such as myself will look down on u, but hey, who listens to Al Sharpton these days anyway? Secondly, do your research. Don’t get had by fakes. College provided me with hour upon hour of unstructured time with which I was fortunate enough to procrastinate with a purpose. The result: I know too much about sneakers and not enough about English Lit. I can spot a fake in the dark from across the street, but can’t remember most books I’ve read. (Think about how many books I actually read.) Lastly, know that the sneaker game is not what it used to be. There is no reason to let capitalism force you to pay 2 times the retail price of a pair of kicks unless they were only released in some random place like Turkmenistan in a limited run of 274 pairs. Otherwise, chill. If ebayreseller24 wants $200 for a shoe he paid $65 for, come up with a creative expletive and tell it to him. It’s not that serious.

There are exceptions though. I mean, you can’t put a pricetag on love and if the shoe is one of ur grails, then honestly, it’s fair game. That’s how I got my OG Flightposites. But that’s when u gotta make sure u do ur research. You may really crave some strawberry jam (hmm), but that doesn’t mean you’re gonna pay $12 for a 8-oz jar. Just means u might get it at Whole Foods (pause) and not at Wal-mart. Ya dig?

So yeah, Dunks are Dead, but if you still like what they’re making, by all means, cop till you drop. But if u wanna be stuntastic, stop. Especially if ur only buying SB Dunks cuz of the “SB”. Those ppl are losers. Don’t be a loser.

Really, I say give up on the sneaker game altogether, unless ur buying OG (original) joints from back in the day. Buy yourself some jeans. Nice ones. And by “nice” I mean “These ain’t Diesel, nigga, these is Evisu” type nice. And don’t be a jerk and get a whole bunch of ridiculousness on the backpocket to announce what you’re wearing. Do you really want everyone staring at ur butt cheeks?

Here. I’ll name drop; you google:

LVC
Sugar Cane
APC
PRPS
Samurai

This is by no means exhaustive and it’s actually not as ballerific of a list as I guess I could make, but they make good stuff. And while ur at it, look up “selvage” so you can be a snob. (I’m being more genuine than sarcastic here). To conclude the ostentation (sidebar: pretensions of any sort annoy me, including this post), I just picked up a pair of APC’s today. I have a pair of Canes and the LVC’s were my first pair of raw selvage denim. They’re fading nicely. If I win the lotto, I’ll buy myself a pair of PRPS, but I since I don’t play the lottery, I guess I’ll have to steal them when I need street cred to get my rap career off the ground.

Oh look, the couch is here.

This is a Public Service Announcement

STOP WEARING WALLET CHAINS

Save the first installment, updates to Greazy’s Gear Guide are few and far between. But as the summer approaches, and I think of things that annoy me when I’m in the streets of Philly, I feel the need to educate my brothers and sisters.

Black people, if you thought wallet chains were lame in high school, then they still are. They belong with one group of people: hard-core rockers. A wallet chain is not suddenly hiphop jus cuz DipSet and Lil Wayne started rocking them. Let’s be serious here folks. What is your wallet chain even connected to? I’ve yet to see one person connect his or her wallet chain to an actual wallet, which is what the durn chain is meant for anyway. I don’t care how much you paid for it or how many skulls are on it. I don’t care that you think it matches your extra slim fit skull and crossbones thermal undershirt that you’ve decided to wear with your mathcing skull and crossbones belt with rubies in the eyes of the skulls. Take it all off (no homo). You look ridiculous. In a couple years you’re gonna look at that picture of you with 4 wallet chains and think “Why in the name of all that’s holy did I dress like that?”

So for those of you who were thinking about going to that stand that sells wallet chains and belts that light up, I hope this will dissuade you. Some trends were never meant to be followed. If I see you wearing a wallet chain, I’m gonna think you’re lame. And that will be because you are.

Now ladies, when, where, how, why did weave and wigs become such a fashion staple for black women? I mean what ever happened to taking care of your real (“My hair is real!” “Shush. It doesn’t grow out ur cot durn scalp, woman”) hair. I mean really, it’s the friggin status quo to go to the hair dresser bald and come out with a head full of hair cut from Chun Li, a Chinese immigrant girl who makes her way through the world fighting in streets among the likes of metrosexual Spaniards and Mike Tyson wannabes. Whatever happend to a perm? A press and curl? Do hair dressers even know how to do that anymore or is it like the 8-track player? “Come in, sit down, and lemme stick this suction cup on ur head so I can needle-and-thread 9 inches of jet-black stringy hair that makes even ur baby hairs look nappy. And yeah, I’ma style it and give you bangs too.” Bangs? Weave bangs? I mean, you didn’t even have enough healthy hair to pull off bangs? Yes, I know, we’ve never seen how much hair Beyonce really has, but it’s Beyonce, and as long as Jay’s happy, she can get as much million dollar weave as she wants. Last time I checked, none of you were her. (Correct me if I’m wrong tho.)

Despite what most would assume, I would much rather see a woman who took care of the hair growing out her scalp–short or long–than a woman who’s funding communism by spending her child support checks on Chinese hair or, worse yet, wigs, instead of buying some formula for her baby. No, it doesn’t have to be bone straight. It just has to be healthy. Nothing worse than a woman with a fresh ‘do and a spoiled everything else. Where are your priorities?

Now that I’ve got that off my chest, on to some things for the summer. Fellas, a few must-haves:

White shoes. This should be a no-brainer. It’s bout to be friggin summer. What are you doing not wearing white? Preferably more than one pair: a low top sneaker and a high top one, as well as a loafer. Pass on the lace-up hard bottoms though.

Chancletas: Yes, I know you wallet-chain wearers are cringing about the thought of what your hero Cam’ron “Get a shot of my [kiddie] pool in the back” Giles would say about you wearing sandals or flip-flops but let’s be real, when the heat really kicks in, we all need to let our toes breathe. Let Cam wear his Timbs to the beach. Besides, what’s less gangsta, sandals or facials?

Don’t forget to exfoliate Jimmy!

That’s it. As far as me, I’m doing the same I’ve always done. More sneakers u think are ugly today but will be asking me about in a couple months, tee shirts you don’t understand, thrift store dress shirts, fresh fitteds, and japanese selvage denim.

P.S. ya boy’s bday is coming up. I’m thinking about a week-long celebration here in Philly. Start a grease fire in the city, “ya dig?” [said like Weezy]. That reminds me, I gotta wax philosophical about The Carter 3 soon. Another post. Another day.

Call Me… “the trapeze artist”

It’s a sickness. I know.

You don’t have to know me for long before you realize that I have a severe addiction to shoes. I’m a “sneakerhead.” I can tell you more about tennis shoes than you could tell me about your life. That said, being on salary has not helped my obsession. Indeed, coming back to the East Coast, in the sleeper city of Philly, it’s been a little too easy to find the shoes I want when I want them. Once (at the second hand store I shop at), I found the shoes pictured here, a pair of Nike Air Trainer 3′s Limited Edition Viotechs (I know, it’s sneaker-speak) for $26. $26!! That may mean nothing to you, but these shoes have appreciated to around $250-$350 on ebay, and I found a nice-but-used pair for $26.

Add to all this that Nike decided to release two of my all-time favorite shoes ever within one week’s time; so ya boi now has a much smaller bank account to match the ever-decreasing amount of space in his closet.

Regrets? not really. I’m happy with pretty much every purchase I made. Even though you outsiders prolly think I’m crazy. And I am. I realize this. But I love it.

So without further ado, I present to you, 2 out of 3 of my grails, shoes I have longed for since childhood and now can finally bask in the joy of knowing that I own. The third will be purchased by Friday, God-willing.

If you’re a sneakerhead and you don’t own a pair of Jordans, then you’re not a real sneakerhead. If it wasn’t for #23, the sneaker game wouldn’t even exist. We’d be trading Pokemon cards or something.

As for Air Jordans, we all have our favorites, the XI’s are by far the most popular, but for me there was always one pair that I loved and desired: The black and silver V’s. With their simple elegance, icy soles and reflective tongue, they were beyond words. If the XI’s were the Lamborghini’s of Jordans, the V’s were the Bentley: stately, refined, and beautiful. Look at how icy those soles are!

I just purchased these retro’s this past saturday. One of the happiest purchases ever in my life.

If you’re from the Washington, DC metropolitan area, then you know that Chocolate City is the home of the Foam and Flightposites. The first pairs of Nikes fetching for $150-$200, these shoes were part of DC’s uniform. By far, the most beautiful out of the entire series is the Flightposite 1. A clear evolution from the previous Foamposite shoes, the Flightposite 1 captured in a beautiful silhouette the form of the foot, not to mention that the original two colorways, gold (pictured here) and eggplant, were equally stunning.

No doubt, it’s a polarizing design, but either you abhor it or you abso-friggin-lutely love it, and I love it. I happened upon these on ebay at a very decent price (not $26 though, :-p) and have yet to put them on.

Finally, the 3rd shoe in the triumvirate of grails has yet to be purchased because it has yet to be released. The Penny Foamposites, have the icy soles of the Air Jordan V and the foamposite upper of the Flightposite 1, with no swoosh. These are the only shoes where I can remember the exact time I first saw them on someone. It was Miami, Florida, summer of 1997. I was over at somebody’s house and saw a bunch of boys running through the street. One of them had those shoes on. He was gone as quick as I saw him, but the image of those shoes have been emblazoned in my mind ever since. They will complete the triumvirate. That is, unless I get the eggplant Flightposite 1′s too. :-p

And oh, did you notice the selvage? hehe… so fly.

I tried to told yall…

A reprieve from the abstruse complexities of teaching.

sometime while i was teaching, 10 deep blew up like woah. Jeezy’s wearing a hoody in his newest video, and i saw their gear in almost every hood shop on South Street last weekend. I remember when it was a small skate/streetwear brand u could only find in a few shops. I can’t lie though. Fall/winter ’06 is real hot. especially for the thinking man…

oh the irony…

For those who don’t get this one. The pic is made of different shoe boxes.

I feel like i’m selling old stock info…

Greazy’s Gear Guide Vol. 1

I was tryna see Borat tonight, but it seems like every person west of the Schuylkill River had the same idea and they all wanted to go to the same theatre so i’m back at the crib on 43rd. In order to pass the time, I have decided to write the first of a series of intermittent posts. I get a lotta questions about my sense of style, seeing as i try to stay ahead of the curve on most fronts. I was blessed in that my mother studied fashion in college and always made sure I knew the difference between “name brand” and “quality materials.” Her love for clothes got passed down to me through my genes i guess. Therefore, out of my own sense of altruism, I have decided to begin to share my knowledge with the world. And by “world,” I mean the 4 ppl who read my blog.

This first edition of Greazy’s Gear Guide is for the grown ups. I’m a twenty-something, salaried professional, so we’ll talk hoodies, tees, and nikes later.

Timepieces:
I have decided to open Greazy’s Gear Guide with a brief tutorial on watches because I have recently gotten into the watch game. I’m very much a lightweight right now, no swiss-made timepieces, no automatics, no COSC certified chronometers (picked up a Japanese quartz Rose Gold Invicta cronograph for my bday in June) but all in due time. Either way, I will begin with the basics.

How do I wear a watch? This may seem an ignorant question, but judging by what I’ve seen over my life, it is obvious that most ppl do not realize that a watch is meant to be worn on the left wrist. Unless the crown is placed on the left side of the watch casing, go southpaw with the timepiece. The reason is functional: with the crown on the right side of the casing, one may reset the time without taking the watch off one’s wrist. Of course, this goes to show the millenia of favoritism for all things right-handed, but such is life. If you’re left handed and wanna wear your watch on your right wrist, get a left handed watch.

How do I know a left handed watch from a right handed one? The crown is on the left side of the casing.

Now, for you right handers who’ve been wearing your velcro Timex’s on your right wrists, undo your strap and put it where its sposed to be or you will be forever seen as an imbecile, maybe not by the majority of ppl, but definitely by those who know the difference between chronograph and chronometer. And better to be seen as a cheapskate than an all-out idiot.

Now, that we’ve gotten that one outta the way, one thing I’ve been asked often is “where’d you cop that?”(Usually that comes 2 months–or years–after the same person asks “WTF are you wearing?” with a face like i just shoved excrement in their mouths). I’ve always been very tight-lipped about those types of things, so as to not unleash the hypebeast in us all, but I will begin to divulge some of my best not-so-kept secrets. I tend to stay away from the generic spots with mass-produced products (i.e. Express, Kenneth Cole, and H&M more recently). I would hate to see somebody in the same button-down or hoody I just bought and it hurts to pay more than $25 for anything, especially if i can’t say like Kanye “Nigga, you ain’t up on this.”

For me, the top priority is always quality. Buy gear u can wear for the next 20 years. Who cares what the name is or if its plastered on the front for all to see. Craftmanship and fabrication are key. Poly and Ester are always a no-no. Cotton, Wool, Silk, and Linen are always best and it helps to know subsets of fabrication so that you know what ur getting when it says Cashmere, Merino, Lambswool, etc. Likewise, its a good thing to know about blends: Cotton/Linen, Silk/Cashmere, blah blah, etc. Know what’s good for what kinda weather. Don’t wear the seersucker blazer out to the club in November and don’t wear the camel hair blazer to the club in July; u’ll look like a fool. Look at seams, zippers, overall construction. Know pricepoints. 100 dollars is expensive for a cotton sweater, but cheap for a good cashmere one. (You can still find it cheaper tho )

BUYER’S GUIDE
“Don’t ask me what it costs, ask me what it’s worth.”

<– My sexy pose. What I paid. Blazer: about 15. Shirt: 20-30. Loafers: 42. Jeans: 40-60. (can’t remember exactly, i jus know that i splurged on the jeans)

Now for retail prices. Blazer: 200 (estimation on the low end) Shirt: 145 (no lie). Loafers: 175. Jeans: around 150, maybe more tho.

Add both sets up and compare them to each other. “You are now looking at one smart black boy. Mama ain’t raise no fool…” LOL

When it comes to grown up clothes, the answer is always second-hand shops (and next is outlets). Somebody else already paid for the name and got a couple wears out of it. You get to be young and fly without paying flashy prices:

The Scholar Shop For all my STL folks, the Scholar Shop is the one-stop spot to get gear before your interview. The stuff is always well taken care of and where else can you get a Brooks Brothers dress shirt for $6-$12? For those that don’t know, the Scholar Shop is a consignment store where ppl take the clothes they no longer want (or fit) and sell it. A portion of the money is used to fund scholarships (i think) or something feel-goodish. Basically, old, rich white folks take their stuff there and you can get good deals on high-end gear. Of course, you gotta search for the good stuff and you gotta fish through a number of Cosby Sweaters and ugly golf polos, but if you don’t mind knowing that someone who probably suffers from osteoporosis once wore your suit, you’re good to go.

I bought a heavy wool suit from there for 12.50 (it was during a 50% off sale) once. The jacket fit but the pants were too big. I took them jokers to a tailor and got em fixed up for about 20-30 bones and WAM! I’m wearing a fresh suit that prolly retailed in the 4-figure range, but i paid less than 50 for it (BALLIN’!!!)

Buffalo Xchange For my Philly folks, there’s no better place to pop tags then Buffalo Xchange. Is that Ralph Lauren Purple Label Cashmere? You bet it is, and ur payin 15% of what they’d charge you at Neiman Marcus. (Copped!) Now when you say “Purple Label sweater with the logo secret,” like Jay-Z, you’ll really be tellin the truth. It’s honestly not as cheap as The Scholar Shop (it’s the East Coast, after all). A Polo button-down is about $16 there when it might be 10 in stl, but its still a heckuva lot cheaper than $85 retail. But because the ppl who bring their stuff there are generally younger, it’s a lot easier to find stuff for the interview and for the club or the latest cool-guy shindig.

Lastly, Ebay If you know what ur looking for as far as product–not brand name–then Ebay can give you good deals. I’ve had more than a few ppl ask me about a camel hair blazer I have. (pictured above) I got it off ebay. I knew I wanted a camel hair blazer and i typed it in and found one my size and paid less than 20 for both (i have 2). No, I didn’t type in “Bape hoody.” I type in the product and fabrication of what i’m looking for: “Cashmere sweater,” “Corduroy blazer” “Hammer pants,” etc.

The only time I search for a brand name is if I know its obscure enough that there won’t be 25 ppl bidding on the same product. So the names we all know (Prada, Gucci, Versace…) are never a good idea. Plus, it’s ebay, the land of a million fakes. It’s MUCH more likely that you’ll find a fake Ralph Lauren dress shirt than a fake Hickey Freeman dress shirt.

And when it comes to brand names, while quality always trumps a name, it’s good to know that some brands are known for quality product and construction. Even more important to know is that while some brands are household names like “Ralph Lauren,” others like “Hickey Freeman” aren’t (so far as twenty-somethings go). It doesnt hurt to go look for that Rolex when you wanna ball with a timepiece, but there are a number of brands that are equally sought after for quality craftmanship, if not more so. Audemars Piguet will prolly be the next Cristal when ppl begin to realize what Jim Jones and Jay and Beyonce were saying in “Ballin’” and “Upgrade U” respectively. Besides that, there’s Vacheron Constantin, Omega, Baume & Mercier, the list goes on.

The point of that isn’t to name drop (though it seems i did a pretty good job at that). When you know what ur looking for as far as quality, u’ll discover the names that carry that level of quality consistently and realize what’s baller and not. You don’t get the Purple Label sweater at the second-hand shop cuz it’s Purple Label (i’m lying. u do get it cuz it’s Purple Label, but stay with me), you get it because its a high quality fabric with top-notch construction that’s meant to be passed on to your son some day.

And it’s not a bad idea for us to think that way about our gear. It’s your money, get the most out of it. Really, us roosters strut for the hens of the chicken coop anyway. And maybe its crude to think that this all revolves around procreation, but really, it does. And for those who are “beyond” that notion, you can at least say it’s about posterity in some strange, pretentious way.

*plays “All Falls Down” softly in the background*

Call Me… “Mr. Bombastic”