Hasta La Ideas

Made in California, Shortomatic board shorts update the classic surf style with a host of patterns designed by both renowned and emerging artists like these pictured above by Brandi Milne and William Cawley respectively, or for a fully personalized pair you can customize your own by uploading an original image as shown below using some of my photos from Tokyo, shopable here.

Shortomatic began as many passionate companies do, out of a frustration for lack of options. Feeling that board shorts all boasted the same graphics—usually of Hawaiian flowers or stripes—the team behind Shortomatic decided to challenge the stale market with a collection of bold and artistically driven patterns. Each pair is printed, cut and sewn in Los Angeles and made from a sturdy super suede polyester microfiber.

The shorts can all be designed and purchased online, each pair is $99 with a portion of proceeds benefiting the Global Green organization.

A former banker, Alexander West is no stranger to the button-down shirt. After finding a lack of smartly designed, nicely tailored shirts on the market he took it upon himself to create them. While he’s not doing shirts for women (yet), West took the time to make a custom-fitted shirt for me and the result is nothing short of remarkable both in fit and style.

West provides a few options for fashioning a custom shirt. If there is already a shirt you adore you can send it in for him to recreate, or he will simply take your measurements either online or in person at the NYC showroom. To ensure the same quality for the DIY measuring as an in-person appointment, West supplies a short video on how to accurately measure yourself. Offering a few hundred colors and fabric patterns online, a trip to the showroom reveals a seemingly endless supply of options (over 1200 in all).

Once fully measured, West provides even more choices such as type of collar or cuff, pocket or pocket-less and shape of the bottom edge. A personal favorite, West will also add an embroidered monogram with three choices on placement.

His attention to detail and raw understanding of both fit and cut leads to a precisely tailored shirt that meets a customer’s exact specifications. Depending on fabric choice, shirts range from $105-150 or $175 for a tuxedo shirt. Check his website for a full list of products including ties and cufflinks.

With acclaimed Greek fashion designer Sophia Kokosalaki at the helm, the Diesel Black Gold Autumn/Winter 2010 collection maintains its defining rock ‘n’ roll attitude but updates it with the newly-appointed designer’s characteristically intricate details.

To set its pieces apart from their world-renowned denim, the Italian label’s high-end line uses better fabrics and elaborate embellishments, like this season’s metal embroidery. Kokosalaki seemed to embrace a heavy Americana streak for her debut collection, with a Harley-inspired vibe ironically lending clothes a look that would fit right in at a county fair in the early ’90s. This knit quilted motorcycle jacket featured impressive technical specs, while denim and leather jackets boasted airbrushed graphics on the back.

For the denim itself, Kokosalaki explained how she treated the denim as if it were yarn. Her technique involves such elaborate approaches as combining three layers of yarn to achieve a true vintage effect and spending nearly six months developing one type of denim.

Extremely slim silhouettes cater to a set that likely doesn’t share body types with the bikers they emulate, and feminine components—such as lace outlining denim hot pants, sheer tulle over denim jumpsuits, crystal studded belts cinching mono-shoulder leather mini-dresses, and soft mohair tops layered over black leather shorts—add another twist to the concept.

Wanting to “keep the Black Gold DNA” an obvious element, Kokosalaki successfully integrated her own elegant aesthetic without taking away from the label’s edgy nature for a cohesive collection.