BAPE Baby Milo Parachute T-shirt

This A Bathing Ape (BAPE) Baby Milo Parachute Tee cost me $73. What? $73 dollars for a t-shirt? Now look, I'm well aware that there's no way to justify that kind of money for a screen printed t-shirt, no matter how high quality or detailed it is, and even if it's manufactured in Japan and imported in with a crazy currency exchange rate. But it's worth $73 to me because I love the BAPE brand, I love that it's part of the culture I grew up in, and I love the exclusivity you get with BAPE.

BAPE is a Japanese apparel and lifestyle brand created by Tomoaki "Nigo" Nagao, a music producer and DJ for the Japanese hip hop group Teriyaki Boyz. The brand really blew up here in the US when musicians Kanye West and Pharrell started sporting BAPE gear.

So why are BAPE products so pricey? Basically, it's because they're produced in limited quantities, are only available for a limited time, and are only available from official BAPE stores--most of them located in Japan. There's only two BAPE stores in the entire US, one in Los Angeles and one in New York. I actually cop'd this shirt when I visited the BAPE store in NYC (wrote about that here).

Other than dealing with a handful known-good eBay vendors (Pondon, Plainflour, Tokyoape) the only place you can cop legit BAPE products online is at the official BAPE website [link]. Everything else you see online is probably fake (FAPE) because BAPE gear is heavily bootlegged.

DQM x Nike AM90 "Bacons"

I got two words to say about these sneakers: GRAILS BABY! That's right, the Nike x Dave's Quality Meat (DQM) "Bacon" Air Max 90 is one of my "Holy Grail" pair of kicks, which is to say it's one of those that I've wanted for a long, long time that I just HAD to have in my possession. Unfortunately, since they came out about 5 years ago and are one of the most desirable and iconic colorways of the AM90 ever, they command a hefty price on the after market.

You might recall last fall that Nike released the Air Max 90 Current Huarache in a Bacon-inspired colorway, which I cop'd and already blogged about [link] and yeah while they're insanely comfortable, they're just nowhere near as awesome as the Original Bacons. The subtle textures and colors of the OG Bacons perfectly capture the "meat" look, but the new Current Huaraches are freakin' garish in comparison. They just don't hold a candle to the OG Bacons. But I bought em anyways since I didn't have the originals--but now I do! Ha ha!

You know, I wanted these DQM Bacons so bad that I actually made a point to go to the DQM shop in NYC [link] just to catch a VIBE off the place...and all that did was make me want the Bacons even more!

Oh and in case you were wondering, and just to clear up some confusion, there were TWO releases of the OG Bacons. Well okay THREE if you count the special "Friends and Family" version that didn't go to retail. But of the two that did, the first run (2004) had a "Dave's Quality Meat" tongue tag and the second (2006) had a "Nike" tongue tag and came with a matching t-shirt. Both were released in extremely limited quantities that didn't come anywhere close to filling consumer demand, which is why they sell for $500 dead stock on eBay, ISS, etc.

Fuck it tho, you only live once, right?

A.R.C. x Nike Dunk Hi Supreme

So I pulled these ALIFE Rivington Club (A.R.C.) x Nike Sportswear Dunk Hi Supremes outta my closet a few weeks ago to wear down to Austin and it dawned one me, "I never did a blog write up on those." Well here we go, time to catch up on one of my favorite pair of kicks.

Surely every sneakerhead already knows about the ALIFE Rivington Club, right? If not, STOP RIGHT NOW and go read my blog post about it [here] and then come back to read the rest of this. [waiting...waiting...waiting] Alright, we cool now? Okay, on with this post.

The A.R.C. Nike Dunk Hi Supreme is a limited Tier 0 Nike Sportswear release, a "Classic Lining" (CL) Dunk and NOT a Nike SB like so many of the popular Dunks out there. Personally, that's a good thing for me since I prefer Sportswear over the Skateboarding line. While not flashy in appearance, the materials choices on these are insane: super-plush black suede, Schoeller technical fabrics, and a .44 sticky rubber gum bottom. They also came with a set of white laces that I put in for a while, but I ended up switching back to the originals.

These kicks caused a little bit of a ruckus when they released this past summer (along with a matching "Black, White, Gum & Bang!" t-shirt FREE to the first 100 buyers) with a big-assed line that streched down the street. Like all their colabs nowadays, ALIFE released the shoe across the street from the actual Rivington Club at their A.R.C. Sports storefront, but afterwards everybody filtered into the back patio behind the Rivington Club for a party. Here's a [link] to event coverage with pics from Freshness Mag if you're interested.

Like I said, these are one of my favorite pair of sneakers. They're clean, classic, durable, and very wearable--and of course my memories of going to NYC to cop em are priceless.

Premium Pete's Vision

Premium Pete is the guy who runs Premium Laces, a great sneaker shop in NYC's SoHo shopping district that I visited last fall [link]. In addition to being a shop owner and sneakerhead, Pete also has mad crazy visions of sneaker designs floating in his head--evidence of that fact: the insane Elephant Print 3M Air Force 1 Bespoke he designed [link] which is probably my second favorite Bespoke so far (behind the incomparable Marcus Troy Bespoke). Pete's Bespoke is so hot it was even bootlegged!

So yesterday morning, Pete was watching ESPN and they were talking about Nate Robison's performance in last year's All-Star Dunk Contest, where of course he was wearing the KryptoNate Foamposite Lites [link]. Well as we all know, the Copper Foampsite Ones are one of the next big sneaker releases coming out soon, and Pete got the idea to put the green & yellow colorway on the Foamposite profile. I did a little 'choping in Photoshop and sent the mockup to Pete and *BAM* his vision was born!

Pete popped the pic on Twitter and on the Premium Laces blog [here] and Twitter lit up with folks cosigning the design--but Pete wasn't done yet. We talked on the phone a bit about his OTHER vision and I jumped back into Photoshop and we came out with this:


Yup, that's right: an Air Jordan XI Space Jam inspired colorway on the Foamosite One profile. Pete posted this one up [here] and Twitter went bananas! Cats went bonkers over the colorway, and everyone said Nike needs to make this one. Some folks even said they'd camp out for it. Haha!

Truth be told, I'm not personally a fan of the Foamposite One design, but I'd rock the shit outta that Space Jam Foamposite!

Look out for more in the Premium Pete's Vision series coming in the future. I know he's a wealth of ideas; I just hope my Photochop'n can keep up with what he's got cookin'.


*EDIT*
Holy shit, these Photochops made it onto SneakerNews.com, one of the very biggest sneaker related websites out there. Check it out! http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XKNE218S

Nike x DQM Air Max 90 Current Huarache

There's a long story behind these sneakers, but before I get into all that, let me just say that these are without a doubt the most comfortable pair of shoes I own. The neoprene sock is soft and squishy and squeezy, the forefoot has incredible movement thanks to the Nike Free sole, and of course impact is minimized with the Nike Air unit in the heel. Honestly I can't believe how soft and squishy these are; they feel comfy like a pair house slippers more than they do sneakers.

I did buy a half-size larger (11.5) than I normally wear (11), which is actually a full-size larger than my feet really are (10.5) so if you're planning on buying Air Max 90 Current Huaraches, take that into consideration. I purchased these at Adikt Footwear in the West Village shopping district in Uptown Dallas. Darren, the shop owner at Adikt, also tried these on and said they felt like they ran a bit small too, so it's not just me.

Alright, so here's that long story:

About five years ago, Nike released a Air Max 90 sneaker nicknamed the "Bacon" designed by Dave's Quality Meat, a famous Nike Tier 0 sneaker shop in NYC (which I visited/blogged about here). Get it? Bacon...Dave's Quality Meat...bacon colored sneakers....butcher-inspired sneaker shop? Yeah, well the kicks were hot and a whole lotta people slept on em when they first dropped but nowadays they sell on eBay for $500/pair. It's a certified classic sneaker colab.

Now around two years ago, Nike released another Air Max 90 collab called the "HUFquake" designed by HUF out in San Francisco, another one of the rare Nike Tier 0 shops. Get it? Crackly lines....earthquake....San Francisco. Yeah, well these too became a sneaker classic.

So now, fast-forward to today.

Nike has introduced several sets of high-end, out-of-the-ordinary sneakers in what they've dubbed "Rivals Packs", usually focused on some aspect of an EAST-WEST rivalry. Lots of celebrity sneakerheads have been involved in the project like DJ Clark Kent and DJ Premier repin the East Coast, and Eddie Cruz and DJ AM (RIP) repin the West Coast. There have also been a few seemingly random EAST-WEST Rivals that have dropped without much name recognition behind them.

As part of this ongoing EAST-WEST "Rival Packs" series, Nike created a pair of rivals that take their inspiration from the original designs of the famous Bacon and the HUFquake sneakers--perfect "rivals" since both shops are Tier 0 and each rep a different coast. As an update, Nike switched from doing a straight retro of the shoes and instead applied the respective colorways to the new Air Max 90 Current Huarache.


As you can see, the new models are obvious descendants of the originals but don't just straight ape 'em; in both cases, the colors used are the same but they're applied differently and feel a bit darker overall.

As for the new shoes themselves: the new Air Max 90 Current Huarache is hybrid of two shoes: the overall profile and sole of the Air Max 90 Current (which itself is a hybrid of two shoes, the original Tinker Hatfield designed Air Max 90 and the Bruce Kilgore designed Air Current, updated with a Nike Free sole) fused with the neoprene sock, toebox, and rear strap of the 1991 Nike Air Huarache. Nike even went the extra mile and replaced the thick plastic strap of the Huarache with a thin and light Flywire strap. The end result is a supremely comfortable shoe built using modern technology but with a retro profile that's still very reminiscent of the original shoes they're modeled after.

The DQM Bacon-inspired EAST colorway was released as a Quickstrike on November 27th to select Nike retailers. If you're in Dallas, stop by and see Darren at Adikt Footwear to see if they've got any left in your size. Better hurry though, Quickstrikes are always limited in quantity and sell out fast.

The HUFquake-inspired WEST colorway supposedly hasn't hit the streets yet (originally should have dropped in October), although it's rumored to be coming out as a Christmas release, so it could potentially drop any day now. Or later, who knows. Guess I'll try to pick that one up if/when it drops, too.

Rugged Sole

Rugged Sole is a sneaker shop I visited deep in the heart of Brooklyn--Crown Heights to be exact. Wait a minute, the Crown Heights where the 1991 riots took place? The Crown Heights where Biggie and Jay-Z grew up in? Yup, that's the place.

The store is located on Utica Ave just about a block south of Eastern Ave, the big tree-lined main street that runs through the neighborhood. To get there, we took the B line outta Manhattan, over the East River on the Manhattan Bridge (great views of the city) and into Brooklyn, then transfered to the 3 at Atlantic, and finally got off at the Crown Heights - Utica station. Musta taken us 45 minutes including the wait at Atlantic. Once we got up to street level, we realized just how different this part of the city is from Manhattan.

This is the New York that tourists don't see. Dirty, decrepit, forgotten. Trash everywhere. People just hanging out on street corners, going nowhere, doing nothing. Every restaurant--except for McDonalds--seemed to operate their cash registers from behind a protective glass wall. The hustle and bustle of the Manhattan shopping, all those tourists spending money, none of that is anywhere to be found in Crown Heights. Just the people who live in the neighborhood, trying to make it. That's it. We actually bought a fresh cut mango in a Ziplock baggie off a woman on the street corner who was sitting there with a box, a knife, and a cutting board. What the hell? You'd never see that in Manhattan. LOL

But on the corner of a small three story building, behind a bus stop and an overflowing trash can, is this great little sneaker shop, Rugged Sole. I think just about every brand was represented: Nike, Jordan, Adidas, Puma, Vans, Alife, Asics, Converse, DC, Clae, Creative Recreation, Keds, New Balance, PF Flyers, Dr Martens, Timberland, Sperry, Red Wings, Clarks--damn I mean, it's hard to come up with a sneaker brand they didn't have. On top of that, the entire back wall of the shop was covered in New Era 59fiftys, including some unique Brooklyn collabs.

What really made the place stand out, though, was the prices--and the random old deadstock they had laying around. So like, there's these pair of Jordan 1s in the metallic red Do The Right Thing colorway that I'd had my eye on the whole trip. Every single sneaker shop in Manhattan had them, and everyone was selling 'em at full MSRP of $110, but Rugged Sole had them for $80 bucks. You know I had to cop em right then, didn't even blink.

Then, while I was looking around at other stuff, I found a pair of Jordan 5s in the original colorway from the 2008 Countdown Pack--the ones that came with the 18s no one wanted. But they were selling the 5s alone, split outta the CTP without the 18. They only had two pair left, and one was in my size. But the icing on the cake was the price: they were originally marked $310, marked down to $260, then $150, and finally were tagged at $100. WTF??? I'd literally held the exact shoes in my hands the day before at Flight Club for $195--and had considered buying them. At $100 it was a no brainer. Cop'ed!

I don't know if it was because of their location, or clientele, or what, but they had tons of older sneakers that they just hadn't sold, colorways that other shops had run out of months or even years ago. So many Air Max 95s and Dunks and Blazers that you haven't seen anywhere else in forever, and at killer markdown prices. This place was a gold mine!


NOTE #1: Rugged Sole has another location in Manhattan in the West Village, which I also stopped by. Even though it's smaller, current brands and products were well represented, but the crazy good deals and the old stock were nowhere to be found. You know those $80 Jordan 1s I bought at the Utica location? They were $110 at the Manhattan shop--and it was the same day.

NOTE #2: In the month since I was there, the Utica location and phone number has been removed off their website. When I called their old number, it was disconnected, so I was afraid the location had been closed, but I called their Manhattan shop friday and they said the Utica location was still open. Dunno why the info is off the website; maybe they're gonna close it or maybe move in the future? Who knows. Probably worth giving them a call first before you head down there tho, just to make sure it's still open.


Recommended for adventurous sneakerheads

Alife Rivington Club

Alife Rivington Club (A.R.C.) is sneakerhead heaven. Flat out, there's no better place in NYC to buy hot new kicks than the Rivington Club. Damn, let's not limit that to just NYC; it's the best place in the entire world. Seriously, this is the pinnacle of high concept sneaker shops.

First off, you'd better know the address of the shop is 158 Rivington Street because that's how you gotta find it--there's no big sign outside like you'd find at any normal store. Other than the address, the only external marking you'll find is a small bronzed plaque on the wall between two locked doors. Locked? Yeah, that's right, locked. You gotta press a button to be buzzed in.

Once you're in the door, you'll find the richest looking shop ever. On the right is a long leather bench along an ostrich-skin wall, and across the plush green carpeting is a wall of individually illuminated dark wood cubby holes showcasing each sneaker like a work of art. Above the cubbys, locked behind glass, are rare Air Jordans. Hanging from the ceiling is a lavish chandelier. At the back is a wooden podium with an old time red telephone. Then out the back is a large open air courtyard to chill in. Spend one minute in the shop and you'll instantly know why it's called the Rivington Club.

As for the kicks, what you'll find is the absolute best selection of the newest sneakers available. Being one of only six Nike Tier Zero accounts in the entire country, the Rivington Club gets the hottest and rarest new Nike kicks. Of course, being consistently rated as one of the best--and often THE best--sneaker shops in the world, they also get the new hotness from other manufactures like Adidas, Reebok, New Balance, Fila, and more. Watch out tho; they sell out of sneakers fast, and they don't restock old joints (gotta keep it fresh) so if you see something you want, you better jump on it fast because it'll probably be gone if you wait--and then you'll be stuck slummin it at your local mall searching for leftovers hoping to find the heat you seen and shoulda bought at the Rivington Club.

About the staff--I met Chris and Jesse, and they were two of the coolest doods I met in NYC. They treated me like I was their best friend, talked about sneakers, music, made fun of some rude dumbasses, just all kinds of shit. I happened to be wearing my Wu Tang shirt and Chris asked me if I was going to the Raekwon show @ Santos that night (which unfortunately I wasn't) and we got to talking about the music video that was filmed there that summer; it was for a Dilla song featuring Raekwon and Havoc that of course I'd already seen. Chris mentioned that the dude in the video that gets tied up was Jesse--that's cool as hell. Who wouldn't wanna be in a music video, and a Wu + Dilla one at that? Damn.

In addition to the Rivington Club, you'll find two other Alife stores in the vicinity. Next door--through the other locked door out front--is the Alife brand store where you'll find sneakers and apparel from the Alife brand themselves. Across the street is their third store, A.R.C. Sports, where you'll find the Alife collaborations with companies like Nike, Fila, and other major brands. I ran over there to pick up some of the limited edition Black, White, Gum & Bang! A.R.C. Nike Dunk High Supreme TZ sneakers--and as luck would have it, I bought the next to last pair of size 10.5 they had.

Yeah okay, so can you tell I liked the place? Ha ha! What's not to like for a true sneakerhead? Freshest kicks, rare heat, unique collabs, best atmosphere imaginable, and the coolest staff. Absolutely without a doubt, Alife Rivington Club is the shit. If you're going to NYC, you absolutely must hit this place up.

Highest possible recommendation.

Academy LPs

Academy LPs in the East Village is one of three stores run by Academy Records, each with its own unique focus. The Flatiron location sells Classical and Jazz LPs and used CDs, the Williamsburg annex sells rock and jazz LPs, while the East Village shop specializes in Jazz, Rock, Pop, R&B, and Hip Hop. Naturally, that's the location I was most interested in.

The selection at the shop is extensive--in my opinion, one of the best in NYC for diggers looking for sampling material. The dollar bins are deep and full of gems. I bought an armload in there, more than any other shop I hit on my vacation.

There's also a very respectable selection of classic hip hop joints and even some new reissues. You may not find exactly what you're looking for if you're hunting for something specific, but you certainly won't have any trouble finding lotsa good stuff to buy. There's also a listening station where you can check out your potential purchases.

Nice spot for diggers. Recommended.

Reed Space

Reed Space is store that sells--well, cool. That's the best way to describe it, really. They carry such a wide range of street lifestyle goods that it's hard to pin down exactly what they specialize in, except to say that it's all really cool shit.

Shirts, jackets, caps, sneakers, books, magazines, mixtapes, toys, jewelry, watches--man you name it, if it's part of the streetwear culture, Reed Space probably sells it. Brands represented include 10 Deep, Acapulco Gold, Crooks & Castles, Burton, The Hundreds, Stussy, Rogue Status, Alife, Benny Gold, Diamond Supply, Freshjive, Kangol, In4mation, Mighty Healthy, Mishka...man it just goes on and on and on.

Of course the star attraction--at least in my mind--is the brand Staple, purveyors of the Pigeon (complete with poop). Staple is one of my very favorite streetwear brands--probably because I got a soft spot for pigeons, comes from living downtown I guess--which is the brainchild of graphic designer Jeff Staple, who also happens to own Reed Space.

They literally put a picture of shit (pigeon shit) on clothing people step all over themselves to buy it--including me! If that's not a ringing endorsement, I don't know what else is.

If I could only shop for streetwear at one store in the whole world, Reed Space would be it.

Highest possible recommendation.

The Sound Library

The Sound Library is a great little vinyl record shop located in the Lower East Side neighborhood of NYC. The selection seems to be focused on Hip Hop with a bit of Funk, Soul, and Disco as well--which pretty much describes the kind of records I buy, so needless to say I was impressed.

The vast majority of their well-organized and extensive selection is used vinyl, and there are a couple of listening stations so you can drop a needle on most everything you might be interested in to see if you really wanna buy it. That's a good thing since the prices--while very fair--are exactly what you'd expect them to be; that is to say, they know what they got and they price accordingly. Most LPs seem to be in the $5 to $15 range, but there are some classics and rare joints that command more. If you wanna do some diggin, there are plenty of dollar bins to sift through as well.

All in all, I'd say this is one of the best hip hop centric used vinyl record shops I've ever been to. If this place was in Dallas, I'd be broke as hell!

Highly recommended.

Russ & Daughters

Russ & Daughters Appetizers is another place in the Lower East Side that I found out about from watching Anthony Bourdain’s Disappearing Manhattan episode of No Reservations.

This tiny family owned storefront is a New York landmark that's been in business since 1914 seving the quintessential New York dish: lox on a bagel with cream cheese. Until you've tried it, the thought of cured salmon with cream cheese might not sound appealing, but once you take a bite you'll understand why it gets so much hype. Very unique flavor that I can't quite describe better than "yummy".

If you're ever in New York, do yourself a favor and get a bagel with Lox at Russ & Daughters. Sit on the bench outside, watch the city, and enjoy.

Recommended.

Katz's Delicatessen

At first, I felt like such a tourist whore for planning to eat at Katz's Deli in the Lower East Side, but after I watched Anthony Bourdain’s Disappearing Manhattan episode of No Reservations, I just knew I had to go. One of the many reasons I was going to NYC was to eat like a pig, and what better way to do that than stuffing an old school New York pastrami on rye down my gullet?

At $14.95, the sandwich ain't cheap, but it was large enough that my wife and I split it--and we were both stuffed. It's a sloppy mess of a sandwich, but it's friggin' delicious. Hell, I didn't even know I liked pastrami--maybe that's because until now, I'd never had good pastrami.

Thankfully our Hotel was only 3 blocks away because after that meal, I needed to take a nap.

Ninth Street Espresso

I found out about Ninth Street Espresso from a blog post on Gizmodo--and after reading about the one-of-a-kind, hand-built $15,000 La Marzocco espresso machine, I just had to check the place out.

Their main location is on 9th street in the Alphabet City neighborhood of the East Village, just a few blocks east of Tompkins Square Park, but they have two other locations as well, including one on 10th street on the other side of the park--but I wanted to see the La Marzocco machine, so we went to the main location.

It's surprisingly large for a coffee shop in NYC; so many others I saw were tiny in comparison. Ample seating indoors and a large front patio. The place has a nice independent vibe.

Of course, the real star here is the espresso. Holy shit is it good--I ordered a macchiato and honestly, it was probably the most perfect cup of coffee I've ever had. My wife had an espresso, which was dead on perfect with the most beautiful creama ever, but I personally feel a macchiato is a better balanced coffee drink than straight espresso. But that's just my opinion--drink whatever floats your boat, because I believe everything they serve is just about as good as it gets.

Highest possible recommendation.

Turntable Lab

I was really excited about heading down to the East Village and checking out Turntable Lab--and the TTL Annex next door--because I order stuff from them all the time. Hell, I check their website everyday for the new goods.

Turntable Lab sells music, gear, and related accessories while the TTL Annex sells clothing, caps, bags, books & magazines, gadgets, toys, sunglasses and...well pretty much anything they deem cool. You never know what's gonna be popping up for sale next.

The stores are really pretty damn small, even by NYC standards, but they seem to pack a helluva lot of product in there. I imagine that if you have a need for something turntable or DJ related, they can hook you up. And if you just want to see what's new and cool in the scene, they got you covered there, too.

Highly recommended.

McSorley's Old Ale House

McSorley's is and old pub--really, really old. Founded in 1854, it's the oldest continuously operating bar in New York City. It even operated through the Prohibition era, albeit secretly in the basement. This little bar in the East Village is just dripping with age; absolutely everything about the place seems ancient. From the tables to the walls, the photos and newspaper articles on the walls, the original bar taps, even the front doors, everything seems to have an antique yellow patina to it. Stepping in McSorley's feels like going through a time warp.

The only thing they serve to drink (not counting sodas) is their McSorley's Ale, available in either light or dark. Each has their strengths, and while the dark is more my taste, I'd suggest having both. They're served in small glasses, two at a time, but they're dirt cheap. Everything's on the honor system, so keep track of what you drink. And be aware: cash only!

There's a little kitchen in the back serving a nice selection of bar-style food. It's certainly not a restaurant, but you won't have any problem getting something to eat if you're hungry.

Sure, place is a definitely a novelty, but it's a good one.

Recommended.

Dave's Quality Meat

Dave's Quality Meat has the weirdest shop name (there's a story behind it with this name-changing meat/veal shop in the Meat Packing district, kinda funny) but there's no denying it's one of the coolest shops in NYC. Sneakers, streetwear, and skater gear in all its glory. Skaters sitting on the stoop smoking cigarettes talking about where to score some weed. Unique sneaker collabs with the biggest names in the sneaker industry. Sneaker exclusivity at it's finest, being one of only six Nike Tier Zero accounts in the entire country. Dave's Quality Meat is fresh, no doubt.

Of all the places in NYC that I wanted to hit up, DQM was near the very top of my list--I was not disappointed. Like most other sneaker and streetwear boutiques, the shop is very small, so they're limited in how much they can possibly carry, but what they do have is dope as hell. Prices on t-shirts are very affordable (as low as $15 on sale), but some of the pricier outerwear can run into the hundreds of dollars. Sneaker prices are in line with most other places, but what really sets this place off is the DQM-specific products, both original and collaborations. Some of it is very affordable, some not, but that's the nature of unique shop-specific collab products.

One extra cool thing about DQM that they carry my favorite streetwear brand, Benny Gold. Anyplace that rocks his gear is golden in my book.

Highly recommended.

Bleecker Bob's Records

Bleecker Bob's is a famous vinyl record store in Greenwich Village; it's one of the oldest record shops in New York and has one of the weirdest and most eclectic collections of music you'll find anywhere. There are categories for every music taste imaginable, and probably entire genres of music you've never heard of. There are plenty of rarities behind the counter as well, one of the better selections I saw for collectors.

Unfortunately, while I was able to find some interesting stuff, there really wasn't a lot there that really interested me. The hip hop section had plenty of odd, off the wall records, but nothing I'd really pay money for in order to listen to that I didn't already own. Their dollar bins might have been fun to dig through, but I didn't have the time to do that right then.

There's a strangely large selection of water pipes for the pot heads--in fact from the outside, the places looks more like a head shop than a vinyl record collector's store.

I'd go again if I was looking for something oddball, especially if I wanted something outside of my normal genres, but it's not really my kinda shop.

Fat Beats

Fat Beats is a vinyl record shop in a second floor walk-up on the edge of the West Village in Greenwich Village, NYC--and it's the best hip hop centric vinyl record store I've ever seen.

I've been ordering online from their website for several years now, so it was sweet being able to hit up their actual brick & mortar store, but even though I knew sold new vinyl I had no idea just how extensive their selection really was. I mean really, it's crazy how much shit they got--I kept hearing myself say, "damn I didn't even know this was available on vinyl!" And on top of that, every one of my favorite classic hip hop albums was there, available for purchase, on shrink wrapped virgin vinyl. It was like heaven, but it hurt the hell outta my wallet. I spent more at this record store and any other in NYC.

You know that this place is for real when you see the lineup of folks who do album signings, promos, releases, and other events here: Q-Tip, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Talib Kweli, 88-Keys, EPMD, J. Rocc, Large Pro...and then the day after I was there, Raekwon was gonna be doing a signing event for OBFCL2 that dropped that week. Damn.

If you're looking for hip hop on brand new vinyl, either classic releases or new joints, then Fat Beats can hook you up better than probably anywhere else on earth.

Highest Possible Recommendation

New Era Cap Flagship Store

If you're into streetwear, or baseball, then you know what the New Era 59fifty cap is: the original fitted ball cap, and the official on-field cap for all MLB teams. New Era only operates a handful of Flagship stores in the world, and only three in the US: Buffalo, Atlanta, and NYC.

Located in the NoHo district near a few blocks east of NYU, the New Era Flagship Store is practically a museum dedicated to the iconic flat billed 59fifty cap. In addition to every on-field MLB cap, the store also sells licensed NHL, NBA, and NFL caps as well as collaborations with a diverse range of streetwear brands--and even licensed DC and Marvel Comics caps. They also sell other New Era hat styles and some apparel, but the store mostly deals with the 59fifty.

People ask me all the time why I wear fitted baseball caps, especially since most folks seem to wear adjustable or flex-fit golf style caps. In my opinion, wearing an adjustable/flexible cap is like wearing stretchy pants. I mean come on, I wear shirts, pants, socks, underwear, and shoes fitted to my size; why wouldn't I wear a cap that's fitted as well?

Recommended for fans of the New Era 59fifty.

Flight Club

No doubt, Flight Club is a hardcore sneaker collector's heaven. There are three locations in NYC: Green St. in NoHo; Nassau St. downtown just outside of Tribeca near the WTC; and Lafayette St. in SoHo. I did hit the Lafayette shop (which mostly has apparel and used sneakers) but the real heat is at the main Green St. location next to the NYU campus.

Unlike most sneaker shops, Flight Club sells consignment shoes, but that doesn't necessarily mean used; at the Green St. shop, everything on the walls are all brand new (but there are a few highly collectible kicks in a display case up front). What this means is they have shit in stock that you probably cannot find for sale anywhere else outside of eBay.

I went in looking for a few specific pair, and to their credit they had them in stock on the shelf, available in my size. Unfortunately, they were priced way outta my league. That's what I get for wanting highly desirable and collectible sneakers. Ha ha!

One surprise I found was the new international-only Jordan III in the True Blue colorway. That shoe flat out isn't available for sale in the United States--but if you want em, they got em in stock for just $275.

If you're a Jordan sneakerhead, Flight Club will blow your mind. I think they had every relatively recent release and tons of various colorways of just about every Air Jordan ever released, including many premier releases. Most were priced between $175 to $400, but the rarer releases went up as high as $2000 (maybe more, but that's the highest price I saw). They even had the 2009 Jordan XI Space Jams in stock--and that shoe don't even come out for public release until this Christmas!

While their strength is probably in Air Jordans, they had plenty of Nike Blazers, Dunks, and Air Force 1s as well as many Adidas, Puma, Converse, Vans, Reebok, and others. Basically, if you're a sneakerhead, then Flight Club on Green St. is a must hit.

Highest Possible Recommendation.