Sometimes life presents you with the opportunity to undertake a quest that will ultimately change the course of your very being forever. That moment in time where you must make chose the right path and let destiny take its course, for better or worse. My friends, I’m talking about the time in a man’s life when he decides to purchase the ultimate watch. Ok Ok, I may be overstating this “quest” a little, but coming from me, who is definitely not the “watch guy”, this search is presenting itself as quite the challenge. Sick of my Nixons, G-Shocks and Nookas -all pleasing to the eye, but not ‘serious’ or grown-up. I need a timeless timepiece that’ll turn heads. Here’s the situation as best I understand it: I’m broke. That’s really the only conclusion I could come up when looking through the glass display cases. You would think with a budget of around $3000 the options would be vast, but in fact they’re few and far between.

With the expert help of Joe Fotheringham and Ben Clymer (Hokinkee.com) I’ve come up with a list of requirements, other than price: case size of 45-50mm, clean and simple face, and good durability & reputation. As with some of my other “quests“, I come to you loyal readers for assistance. Here are some of the options that have caught my eye thusfar.

The Omega Railmaster XXL Chronometer: a beast of a timepiece coming in at 49.2mm, manual-winding movement and a 53hr power reserve. This size will be discontinued by Omega and while it looks massive on my average-sized wrists, the timeless, clean aesthetic is hard to pass up. Stunningly simple, this watch will look good dressed up or down, and should continue to look good for years to come.

The U-Boat Flightdeck CAS BE: One of the biggest and boldest watches on the market, a U-Boat Flightdeck 50mm will surely turn heads. The question is whether the stares are because of its beauty and not its ridiculous size. The watch runs on a ETA 7750 caliber Swiss movement, offers date and chronograph functions and comes on a great-looking tan, perforated alligator strap. But is this too trendy, even for me? It’s tough call…

The Omega Speedmaster: If I were any kind of watch connaisseur, I would be all over the Speedmaster. In terms of heritage, this timepiece has it all. Made famous in the later 60s by its selection by NASA and the Apollo Program, it’s been to the moon and back, literally. My only issue is size: with the Professional coming in at 42mm, it seems too small for my taste. The Co-Axial Chronograph might be an option at 44mm, and is powered by the Caliber Omega 3113 self-winding chronograph movement with column wheel mechanism and Co-Axial Escapement for greater precision stability and durability of the movement.

Other options: Maurice De Mauriac Chronograph Modern XL or a Panerai Luminor / Radiomir. Both completely different watches, but also coming with heftier pricetags.

The search continues for that ultimate timepiece, that special watch that’ll land me my dream job, though I’ve got that with LH. Maybe it’s the dream girl I’m after? I am getting married in a month… Whatever is driving this quest, I vow to not rest until it is completed, killer watch in hand – or on wrist.

I wrote about Ernesto Yerena’s “Fidel” a couple weeks ago and to my surprise upon receiving the print I found a little gift from Ernie himself, an unreleased print not available for sale. The print is an adaptation of “Con o Sin”, which features an illustration of a “Norteño” Musician based on a photographed shot by Yerena in November 2007, in Mexicali B.C., MX. If you don’t recognize the quote, it’s from anthropologist Carlos Castaneda’s The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge…

“Power rest on the kind of knowledge one holds. What is the sense of knowing things that are useless? They will not prepare us for our unavoidable encounter with the unknown.”

A great print with a great message, Ernesto Yerena is quietly starting to build an impressive portfolio of work.

Fidel is available here while quantities last.

Soulscape made his way to LA from Korea yesterday afternoon and I had a brief moment to hang with him…. For those of you whom are unfamiliar with his work, don’t be startled. He is unknown to many in the Americas, but is making a name for himself at very rapid pace. Soulscape, who is also a director and producer, will be making his west coast DJ debut on Saturday. He will be providing the sounds for Michael Dupouy’s All Gone book release party at Stüssy LA. He and his 360 Sounds crew are making a lot of noise lately, and now he is getting a chance to showcase his talents abroad. We had a chance to rap about everything from fashion to music to travel and it was interesting to see his take on things. His sets normally consist of rare Korean breaks and grooves, this will be something that you won’t want to miss. If you are in LA this weekend be sure to check out the Stüssy +Clae +All Gone release event.

Every once in a while, a pleasant surprise comes along… Today, that pleasant surprise happened to be a pair of Pointer A.J.S. kicks. The A.J.S. is the newest silhouette from Pointer and a nice addition to the existing Pointer lineup. This company has been on my radar for some time now, but this is my first pair. They feature a high grade of leather, with contrast stitching, a low profile sole, and are very comfortable. These should be popping up in Pointer retailers within the upcoming weeks, so keep an eye out!

When people talk about a sneaker being clean, this is the exact picture I get in my head. While I haven’t posted much about Nikes as of late, my last two favorite purchases have been a pair of Jordan VI Retros and the Air Max 1 ND Wests. And it seems that everytime I tell myself I need to lay off picking up sneakers with a swoosh on them, I come across another pair that gets my heart racing. Together with the Air Max 1, the Air Max Light has that classic, timeless sneaker aesthetic that can be worn with almost anything. They’re comfortable, they look brilliant, and they allow you to go for that quick jog to the pub before last call. This latest colorway is looking particularly fresh, mainly for its simplicity: the all-whiteout look. Simply put, it’s clean… and good luck keeping it that way for long. Available at Shelta.

Here’s a nice set of photos from  Ashleigh Reddy. Everybody like a nice set of lips, including me… The rest of the photos can be seen here.

Flipping through (and by flipping I really mean “clicking”) Sneaker Freaker’s take on the Best of the Best in Sneaker releases for the year and what appears on page 18? None other than our good friend Angelo from Off The Hook holding a pair of White Pigeons! So we gotta give him props… Another Montreal-Connection: A-Trak talks about his love for retro Air Flight Lites. A good list to check out if you’ve got the time in between eggnog and shopping. Oh and if you were wondering what our top sneaker for 2009 was, click here. (Hint: it’s not the Yeezy).

Let me just start off by saying that I’ve never been more excited to try out a new board. While I’ve heard insanely great things about them, I’ve never personally strapped into a Never Summer. Brothers Tracey and Tim Canaday started designing boards in Colorado in the 80′s, but it was only in 1993 that they founded their company in Denver, committing to handcrafting boards to meet the highest possible quality standards. If you’ve never heard of Never Summer, it’s probably because instead of investing in marketing and a pro-rider team, they’ve put all their efforts into their craftsmanship and working with premier materials manufacturers and engineers to build the best high performance board on the market. Through all this, the brand is now recognized by those “in the know” to be one of the best out there, and are getting all the hype that the big boys spend millions of dollars for.

Is it deserved hype? Well, I can’t say for sure. What I do know first hand is that this Revolver-R, basically a wider version of the Evo-R, incorporates RC Technology (Rocker & Camber) and Vario Power Grip sidecut geometry. Sounds scientific, I know. In layman’s terms, this rocker & camber construction looks like a wave-profile; with separate camber areas at the ends of the board that gives you ollie power and snap out of turns, yet high performance and stability at high-speeds. A best-of-both-worlds scenario; kill the park and kickers, yet stable when ripping though the trees at eye-watering speeds.

I promise you this: if this is indeed the ultimate ride, if Never Summer lives up to its pseudo cult-status on the hill, as it does in the minds of snowboarding aficionados, well than this’ll be the best assignment I’ve ever worked on. Stay tuned, all I need now is some snow…

Welcome to LH’s first post from 35,000 feet!  I’m currently flying from Los Angeles to New York on Virgin flight 412.  I’ve got free Wi-fi and a full-touch screen media center embedded in the seat in front of me.  The media center features full satellite television courtesy of Dish Network, so you can follow Sportscenter on ESPN (news flash: reports that Allen Iverson will retire from the NBA), the latest world news on CNN, or follow the latest in culture on Boing Boing.  Of course, the media center also features current, classic, and foreign films.  Both the bottom of the screen, which tilts for ease of use and comfort, and the handy remote that is attached to your armrest feature a slot to slide your credit or debit card, so you can purchase movies or, in my case, a $7 can of 21st Amendment IPA beer.  Needless to say, I’m enjoying this flight immensely.  Oh, and the purple ambient light sure sets a gentle mood.  This is my first flight on Virgin, and I have to say I recommend it highly.  Both the amenities on the flight and the entire staff have been superb.  Here’s to a safe landing!

WeSC and Generic Surplus will be having a warehouse & sample sale starting tomorrow, November 19th, until Saturday the 21st. This sale only happens once a year, so if you are in the area I suggest you try and make it. New to the lineup this year is Generic Surplus. They have been making a lot of noise this year, and with already low price points this would be a great opportunity to bag some sweet items for less. More details below.

What: WeSC’s annual Holiday Warehouse Sale
Why: Gear from top (jackets, sweaters, tees, hoodies, hats, headphones) to bottom (jeans, skirts, pants, sweats) for $10-$150.
When: Thurs. & Fri., November, 19th & 20th, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sat., November 21st, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Where: 11099 S. La Cienega Blvd., at 111th St., #170,
Los Angeles (310-670-5190)
(BY LAX AIRPORT @ THE CORNER OF 11TH & LaCienega, WHERE THE 405 & 105 FREEWAYS MEET)

Just in time for Thanksgiving comes a great new design from Mr. Johnny Earle, aka Johnny Cupcakes. I’ve always been a huge fan of Johnny’s playful designs, and the quality of the shirts are always top notch. The limited edition releases are always an interesting option, mainly because of the fact they’re hand numbered and silk screened printed.

This particular releases really got me excited; unlike the typically cartoon-inspired graphics, this one has a definite retro-vibe given to the Indian (sorry, Native American) in his ceremonial headdress. The cupcake-crossbones logo is subtlety integrated, which is another big plus. While it’s always great to receive packages in the mail, with Johnny Cupcakes there is always a little extra; some chocolates, a pin, stickers, etc.

The Headdress T-Shirt is limited to a run of 200, and there are still a few available exclusively online here.

Oh and if you’re wondering, my lady picked up the Crossbone GhostBusters Tee.

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Collabs… Everyday we’re exposed to two brands coming together for the sole purpose of releasing a product that is a sum of the two parts, and therefore 2 times better than the individual brand. Well that’s usually the desired outcome, but is not always reality. I’ve come across many suspect collaborative efforts, where either the resulting product is either completely irrelevant to each brand’s core audience or either simply an existing product with 2 new labels.

Case in point this recent collab between Stussy and Hello Kitty. Now I realize it’s Stussy Girls, and it’s Japan… but I’m seriously at a loss for words when seeing the result. To me, this does nothing to elevate the Stussy brand to the next level. For one, little girls interested in Hello Kitty don’t seem to be the same girls wearing Stussy products. For seconds, the collection is essentially the Stussy signature beside a cartoon cat. Am I missing something? I know I’m not a young girl, nor am I Japanese… but this is really horrible. To think some are blogging about it! (oh wait… I am)

I have a feeling that unfortunately, this will be a recurring column.

Today was filled with excitement, and the main reason why is because of these Oakley Jawbones that I received. Nick J. from Oakley came into the shop and hand delivered them, reminiscent of the Pony Express days. For those that don’t know, I’ve been an avid cyclist for a few years and try to ride as much as possible. I hadn’t found the right frame to wear while riding until now. The Jawbones are extremely comfortable and easily the most functional of any sunglasses that I have ever owned. These are available now via Oakley retailers and Oakley’s online shop.

Need this, again, I left mine in either Frankfurt or Istanbul. If you know of a place that stocks these, please get in touch with me JL [AT] LIMITEDHYPE.COM. Yes, I’ll hook you up with a finder’s fee. Original sold here.

For the record, I don’t watch SNL or The Office, but I really enjoyed this movie. If you’re into awkward kind of humor and storytelling along the lines of Little Miss Sunshine, you’ll enjoy this.

Adidas Original by Originals hosted a launch party the other evening for the David Beckham line designed by James Bond. The event was held at the Adidas space on Melrose in Los Angeles. DJ Muggs of the Soul Assassins provided the sounds while David Beckham and James Bond paraded the crowd to talk about the project. The space was dimly lit with cool concrete floors, white leather couches, plush carpet squares and small planter boxes filled with grass. Displayed alongside both walls were select pieces from the collection with every aspect of the line included. All items are now available at select Adidas locations and Adidas Original accounts worldwide.

More pictures of the event after the jump.

Ok, we all love Kanye. The rapper has done a lot for the advancement of hiphop, fashion and the meshing of those two worlds together. Hell, eventhough we might not like to admit it, he’s even helped legitimize the blogging game. He knows he’s got one of the biggest egos in the game (make that the world), but he’s seen great success and fortune because of it, so I guess more power to him. Yet he always finds a way to make it incredibly hard for me to give him the respect he seemingly deserve. One of the most outlandishly rude moments I’ve ever seen during a video awards ceremony was when he crashed the stage at the MTV EMA‘s, obviously upset Justice & Simian’s “We are your Friends” rightfully beat “Touch the Sky“. Perhaps he was drunk, I’ll give him that, but he still showed extreme disrespect in front of a live and TV audience, and went on whining like a diva in front of millions. He went on to further make a joke of himself saying: “I haven’t seen (the Justice V Simian video). Possibly it could have been quite good but no way better than ‘Touch The Sky’. That is complete bullsh*t, I paid a million. Obviously it’s not all about the money, but the response it got transcended everything, it really made great TV. It took a month to film; I stood on a mountain; I flew a heliocopter over Vegas. I did it to be the king of all videos and I wanted to walk home with that award.“

Well, Diva West has struck again, this time in America. During the MTV Video Music Awards last night, an award show that pretty much was a tribute to Michael Jackson, he interrupted Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech for winning Best Female Video protesting the fact that Beyoncé should’ve taken home the prize and even going as far as saying that she had one of the best videos of all time. Notice how he didn’t say THE best of all time? Obvisously accolades like that are only reserved for Yeezy. I’m no fan of Taylor Swift, but she seems like a sweet girl. I also have gained even more respect for Beyoncé, who showed tremendous class by calling Swift out at the end of the night after winning Best Video of the Year for Single Ladies, giving her the floor to finish sans-West.

Watch the event as it unfolded yesterday. What are your thoughts?

We often talk about classic, timeless design; pieces of fashion that transcend fads, trends and the latest craze. Nothing says timeless like the Ray Ban Wayfarer. You’ve no doubt seen them on everyone from John F. Kennedy, to John Lennon, to Andy Warhol, to your next door neighbor. In fact, we would even bet that the majority of you reading have had a pair at some point. But what makes these frames so timeless? The answer lies in their history. Designed for and marketed to pilots in the fifties, Raymond Stegeman’s masculine approach to plastic molded frames captured the attention of major celebrities not only when they were first released, but also during their resurgence to popularity during 80s and late 2000s. Simple, unassuming, yet bold and daring, they have always evoked a sense of rebelliousness in those who wear them. You seem to channel the cool, effortless swagger of James Dean everytime you put a pair on. Sure they’ve been copied many times, from Oakley to Super, but the original design has yet to be matched. Ray Ban Wayfarers are not exclusively sold at select retailers, they are not limited edition collectors’ pieces, they aren’t what you usually find us writing about at LimitedHype. What they are, are the one accessory we would happily take with us on deserted island. They’d also probably still be in style when we got back. Pick up a pair of Wayfarers here, or at any location where sunglasses are sold. You will not regret your purchase.

There has been a huge increase in the popularity of electronic music in recent times. This increase has blurred the lines between genres and has allowed projects like the following to occur and be accepted by the masses. Riding the waves of the electronic explosion, Dubstep music is now making it’s way into the US mainstream. Today was the release of  Mr. Grustle & Tha Russian’s Embrace The Renaissance Vol.1, presented by Cashmere Agency & mixed by DJ Plastician. This mix includes well know artists Eve, Snoop Dogg, Grand Puba, along with up and comers U-N-I and CurT@!n$. It’s an interesting fusion of Hip-Hop & Dubstep and a taste of what is to come in the future of music. Download here.

One of the things we most look forward to on Youtube nowadays, are DCshoesFILM videos with Ken Block. For their latest release, they take the comedic route and feature Rob Dyrdek’s decked-out go-kart taking on the famous Impreza STI. Dyrdek and Block obviously go way back, in fact Dyrdek joined the DC Skate Team way back in 1995 and they’ve been good friends ever since. We’ll let you watch the video yourself, as it features some of the cinematography we’ve all grown accustomed to in Block’s films, yet we’re always still in awe of how beautiful driving looks when it is slowed down. It obviously helps when you’ve got the precise driving of Ken Block, who Matthew Johnson described to us as one of the nicest dudes you’ll ever meet. It’s nice to see the good guys getting the attention they deserve.

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