Not far from the popular mix of boutiques, bakeries and restaurants that adorn St. Laurent street, twin brothers Dexter (left) and Byron Peart (right) – founders of WANT Les Essentiels de la Vie – are balancing their agency life and their own accessories label from Montreal’s Garment District. Over the past decade Montreal has been the launchpad and home to several fashion and accessories labels ranging from Rudsak to MO851 to Philipe Dubuc. WANT however, has achieved notoriety in a relatively shorter period of time with quality leather offerings and models carried by major player stockists such as Harvey Nichols, Opening Ceremony, Le Bon Marche and Holt Renfrew. Backed by years of senior-level experience at Sixty and Diesel, their own agency, and each other, Dexter and Byron Peart are delivering WANT Les Essentiels de la Vie from Montreal with love.

(Continued…)

Kurt Geiger has teamed up with some pretty heavy footwear hitters recently like Grenson and Tricker’s. Now, it’s Sebago’s go at it and expectations are riding high. For Spring/Summer 2010, they’ve teamed together to offer an exclusive and limited-edition capsule collection of a reworked classic. The result, is another version of Sebago’s popular Dockside Beacon Boot dubbed the ‘Manitou’ as an ode to its New England heritage and aptly named after the 62ft yacht sailed by JFK during his presidency. Produced in a leather and suede combination and available in three colour options including chocolate brown and beige, mint green, grey and cream and sky blue. Available here.

For whatever reason, we don’t get into pants nearly as much as we should. Maybe it’s because you’ll be hard pressed to find anybody from the office in anything but denim. Otherwise, there has never been a shortage of good selections from some usual suspects: Wings+Horns, Woolrich, and W-Taps. Some labels actually have us considering elements well outside our usual – Engineered Garments has us actually considering some fatigues. This brings us to UK-based Griffin, whose Spring/Summer 2010 collection recently dropped to well deserved fanfare.

Known in the urban cyclist community for quality cut and sewns that are equally functional for city rides, Griffin’s impressive collection this season features among many things, a nice trouser selection. Needing a fairly rugged gray pant, the slimmer fitting Kingston trouser’s were decided upon after first catching a glipse of the buttoned flap pockets. Made in Italy from Italian denim, their feel is thick and luxurious to the touch with all the quality Griffin has been known for for 20 years. If you’re looking for something even more rugged, another favorite of ours, their Archback Trousers are made from made-in-England, British Millerian Dry Wax fabric. Attention to detail is key on Griffin’s line up. Everything has been considered and only the best was chosen. From the British Army Desert Camo fabric on the inside waistband to the wise decision to include handmade zips by RIRI of Switzerland.

Mine require some breaking in with a few bike rides this Spring, but with my experience in breaking in raw denim, I’m rather looking forward to the process.

Available here.

One of the things we most look forward to every year is The North Face and Supreme collaboration. You may recall earlier drops in the form of the Summit Series, fleece collection and Denali in previous years, but this latest in the form of an anorak is the truth. Personally, I’ve always found this collaboration a bit off putting. There always seems to be something a bit off with the colorways or one year (back in 2007), the choice to run the brand name down the sleeve.

This season’s Expedition Pullover features a 100% waterproof 3-layer faille weave shell with tricot backing. Available in three colors, the jacket will release on March 18th in the US for both in-store and online as well as March 20th, in Japan. Many of us haven’t owned a pullover jacket in ages, but if there’s one to get, this is it. Points for the camo.

Logos are a love/hate thing. If you’re a lover, the bigger the better, and on every article you own. If you’re the latter, you end up leaving a lot of your favorite labels on the racks and shelves. The Comme des Garcons play logo has become one of the most recognizable and loved for the Japanese brand despite being largely plastered on t-shirts and to a lesser extent, cardigans, polos and coats. Haters can’t resist. Neither can the counterfeiters – just check eBay. This is from way back, but a little history on an influential brand never hurt anybody (we suggest starting with Nike’s iconic swoosh first). From Poland to Japan, Filip Pagowski gave birth to CDG’s iconic logo surprisingly organically after working with CDG on and off for a few years before being discovered by Rei Kawakubo.

“The PLAY logo happened just like that! I remember working on something, while all of a sudden not connected to anything, I got this idea of a red heart with a set of eyes. I drew it instantaneously and the first draft was it. The rest is history.”

Read the rest of the interview here.

Admittedly, the last thing the East Coast needs is a Canada Goose redux for early Spring. Admittedly, there are a lot of options that are not of the Canada Goose variety. Admittedly, there are even more options for a technically sound, aesthetically pleasing coat. Admittedly, we want you to buy Canadian.

This coat is in fact, packed full of Canadian-esque features. From the down-filled body, to the removable down-filled hood, the Polartec fleece, and welt-flapped, zippered handwarmer pockets with fleece lining. Plus it hits a mid thigh which is never a bad thing for rainy days especially if you’re on the West coast. Fortunately/unfortunately there won’t be too many Spring days you’ll actually want to wear anything down-filled, but lucky for us Fall is just around the bend.

Admittedly, people will be going out of their way to avoid Canada Goose for the next few seasons to differentiate and position themselves as a ‘trendsetter/tastemaker’ rather than a follower, and to them we have two thoughts: One, you’re doing yourself a disservice on the warmth front. Two, your trendsetting boyfriend Drake isn’t deterred. But admittedly, I also thought starting a bunch of sentences with that word would work in my literary and comedic favor.

Kyle Ng is taking Farm Tactics to big things in 2010. Beyond the tees and bags, Ng has stepped up to outerwear and more cut and sewns while keeping the same military-workwear aesthetic for his Fall/Winter 10/11 collection. The jacket in the bottom left for instance is made from British Millerian wax canvas, whom outfit the British Military. The rest of the collection feature pieces with an array of materials ranging from pigskin leather, rugged canvas and wool. Another sign of great things to come from this deadstock artist. Check for current Farm Tactics stockists here.

Before we pack away our winter footwear, here’s a damage assessment of my second Canadian winter with Shofolk’s Andre Boot (photos on the next page). While we’re no stranger to boots made by American craftsman like Quoddy and Yuketen nowadays, a few years ago, European labels was where it was at.

These have held up fair. Based on our research, they are handmade in Portugal from Italian leather, and in small batches just like their aforementioned American counterparts. Efforts to find a long-term test with the competitors unfortunately yielded no results. After begrudgingly and shamelessly wearing them through heavy slush and pools of salt for two seasons, and even after spraying them, the lower uppers are beginning to look more weathered, even with a relatively thick sole that generally keeps you above the slop. That’s not to say though that the leather doesn’t still look the part because they do. While we’re on the topic of soles, these don’t have a tread, which proved challenging on a Bambi-on-ice level on several occasions. In snowier conditions however, these are the truth with interiors that are thickly lined with sheep-skin and leather. We’ll stop short of saying these could beat a Sorel, but from a purely aesthetic perspective, these get the co-sign.

We recently made our first trip offline into print with our spot in Art & Design Montreal. Straight from the source, through expositions and publications, “A&D will contribute to the rise of Montreal design as much on the local scene as the international…From photography, illustration and graphic design through fashion and industrial design, A&D concentrates on four points of view: personal work, commercial work, the relationship to the client and the creative dimension.”

Our spread features none other than our E in C and the contents of his carry-on bag on a recent trip out West. We’ve always found it pretty interesting to see what other creative types carry around with them, so we were thrilled to share. If you’re wondering, our new logo on the bottom left corner is on lockdown until we drop our upcoming projects.

Big ups to Jimmi Francoeur for the opportunity. A&D is available here.

For those among us that prefer a closed-toe shoe for sockless enjoyment in the summer, aside from the classic boater, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better choice than the look and feel of a good moccasin. And that’s not to say we’ve forgotten about the Nappa leather that wraps our bare feet in a classic Common Projects sneaker. Surface 2 Air makes some of the finest looking footwear for a non-footwear based label. Each piece, from their boots to their sneakers are always on point and this seasons drop is no different. We’ll eventually get around to giving each model its proper stage, but for now, we’ll just describe these moccassins made from soft, premium suede with a flexible, lightweight sole. Available here.

Part of the new Kitsuné golf range, this Blouson jacket is inspired by the classic harrington. We’ve been partial to the look of a classic Baracuta as of late as we prepare for Spring, but there’s something fun about wearing a piece for the course off the course. With the exception of argyle of course. Made from seersucker cotton in a 3-colour gingham, what really sets it off is the Kitsuné golf patch on chest which is something entirely new. We’ve never been ones for big logos, but a small, embroidered patch that’s well designed is really the way to go. Available here.

Best Made Co. was founded by designer and author Peter Buchanan-Smith, and outdoorsman and environmental entrepreneur Graeme Cameron to create the finest, most beautifully hand-crafted axes. Buchanan-Smith, a Grammy award winning designer and author who has created designs for Wilco, Philip Glass, Brian Eno, David Byrne, Paper Magazine, The New York Times, and Isaac Mizrahi among others. You may have already spotted their axes that double as works of art on the November/December issue of I.D. Magazine.

Best Made Co.’s first foray into apparel doesn’t stray far from their roots firmly planted in the great outdoors. A favorite among lumberjacks and hipsters alike, The Red Cap of Courage just may be our favorite hat of the season, made of 100% cashmere. Believe us when we say, everything has been considered, right down to the packaging. It comes delivered in a small, hand-made spruce and cedar crate, wrapped in a hand-stamped paper and secured with red cashmere string. Best of all, the small non-descript logo provides a subtle touch of color and is embroidered in a way that reminds us of the Cub Scout badges we worked hard to earn back in the day. We believe this article fulfills the requirement for our Computer Badge.

Available here.