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Keeping our shirts wrinkle-free-free

Eric — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 19:34:34 +0000

There’s no denying it – guys love their wrinkle-free fabrics. What started as an ideal solution to an age old problem for any traveling businessman has made its way to the masses. No longer do guys have to spend time pressing, ironing, or steaming (or begging their significant others to do it for them). It’s a no-brainer, right?

Well, first it helps to understand what wrinkle-free fabrics actually are. Typically it’s just a standard cotton fabric combined with a “finishing agent” (I wish we could be explaining how wrinkle-free fabrics come from a new genetically modified, environmentally friendly, cost-effective cotton plant, but we’re not quite there yet). The “finishing agents” have evolved somewhat, but are mostly still the same chemicals that were used almost 20 years ago.

So why isn’t Biased Cut stocking these shirts? We have our reasons, and, at least for now, we’re sticking to them:

The cotton fabrics used in wrinkle-free shirts are typically of lower quality than what you’ll find in our store, and as a result they don’t breathe as well, aren’t as soft, and don’t last as long.
The “finishing agents” often include formaldehyde (yes, the embalming fluid), which can cause skin problems for some people. While the effects may be somewhat overstated, this recent NY Times article shows that the risks are still very real.
The chemicals used can make it more difficult to remove dirt and stains from the shirts
While claims for environmental concerns have been vague, we have yet to hear any evidence that they are safe either

Really, we’d love for more fabrics to be wrinkle-free. But until we’re convinced otherwise on the issues above, we are sticking with our high-quality 100% cotton shirts.

And if you really hate ironing…

A vintage find with actual story

biasedcut — Sat, 29 May 2010 18:09:19 +0000

When we buy a vintage item on Etsy or from antique and thrift stores, we don’t usually know who it belonged to or from when it was used. So we’re left to our own imagination. But our imagination is just that: some fuzzy self-created fantasy conjured without specific facts. As much as we’d like to think that there’s a story behind our newest Etsy vintage find, be it a rusty pocket watch or a Western leather belt, they don’t come with words.

But yellowed postcards that were written on and postmarked, sent, received and read, offer an explanation. Like who the postcard was addressed to and where they lived, who wrote the postcard, where the postcard was sent from (the Piazza di San Marco). And a message. A personal message for someone who is not yourself. The interception of such a note, even one as simple as “Buon Giorno!” is enough to make one feel a bit… Sherlock Holmsey, for lack of a better term.

Then there’s the handwriting. For the typography-crazed, perhaps a minute’s peek at someone’s penmanship will yield a refreshing study. You see the inconsistency of his y’s, sometimes with a looped tail and sometimes without; the meticulously even spaces between words, as if he placed his forefinger between each one to measure. His spiky letters stick straight up like picket fences without a bit of slant to them. You can see exactly where he ran out of ink, and you wonder if that second, when he dipped his pen for more, allowed him to swat away a sweat bead.

With postcards that were actually written on, you get the historical facts, dates and names, that offer the limbs from which your own daydreams can stem. When you hold an ink-blotted and browned postcard in your hand, you know that it has travelled not only in time but across distances. And more than all of that, you know that someone had been important enough for somebody else to write to them. Mary had been on Giorgio’s mind when he was standing on the steps of the cathedral in Italy. And because Giorgio took the time to write to her, Mary isn’t just Giorgio’s somebody. She’s yours, too. You have her postcard, you have her name. Now you can make her story.

Sharp Bikes from Electra

biasedcut — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 03:05:06 +0000

Sometimes we’re so caught up in the constant fast movement of cars and public transportation that a leisurely ride on a bicycle is a welcome break. They also promote benefits of exercise, environmental-friendliness, and – don’t forget – style! Electra Bicycle Company has models that combine form and function at a moderate price range ($399+). Other than their chic bright colors, a distinguishing trait of Electra bikes according to their website is their “Flat Foot Technology” that allows a more “upward, forward-pedaling position…Now, power and efficiency are combined with comfort and control.” Sounds like a great package to us!

Value Goods – Smartwool Socks

biasedcut — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 05:08:12 +0000

We’ll keep this short: if you’ve never tried Smartwool socks, do yourself a favor and try a pair. Smartwool shouldn’t necessarily be competing with these socks in your wardrobe, but they apply to just about every other informal occasion. Warm, fitted, and padded, these are like having a Dr. Scholl’s permanently strapped to the bottoms of your feet. A price of $15-20 may seem steep for one pair, but the socks last forever, too.

Hair clay that provides superb holding ability with a natural finish

biasedcut — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:21:25 +0000

Hair styling product has become such a critical part of our everyday life. Gel that makes your hair stand up like spikes with an unnatural shine (like the Gotti Boys) is out. Today, a good hair styling product has three requirements: holding ability, natural finish, and ease of removal. I am constantly trying out different hair styling products from gel to wax to putty, but my favorite has always been clay, aka concrete.

Clay is a great alternative for guys because it works perfectly on short to medium hair. It provides the necessary holding ability that is required for the spiked up look, the shaggy look, or just the every day going-to-work look, but most importantly it looks natural. Recently brands such as Axe came out with their own version of clay products, but based on my 10+ years of self-experiment, here are the three best clay products that I have encountered.

Sebastian Craft Clay

Alterna Hemp

d:fi d:struct

Just as a reminder of the horrible effect of overly-gelled hair, I attached a photo of the infamous Gotti Boy

Watch out Lomo, IPhone is on your tail – Toy Camera

biasedcut — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:33:07 +0000

Amongst the array of camera apps offered for the iPhone, our favorite is Toy Camera, created by Japanese photographer Takayuki Fukatsu. This is a fail proof app for amateur and skilled photographers alike. The user never quite knows what to expect, as each photo is embellished with random effects. Every snapshot features a retro quality, much like that of a Lomographic camera. So why shell out $50 for a bulky Diana when $1.99 will do?

Robust but simple user interface

Other than the random mode, the newest version of Toy Camera allows users to select different modes. Some of my favorites include Vintage Green, Vintage Yellow, High Saturation, Toning Sepia… to be honest, I love them all, they are just too much fun!

Here are some sample pictures I took last week. The pictures turn out amazing not only because of the Toy Camera application, but also because of the amazing city, NYC.

The tape-on picture frame

biasedcut — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 04:20:32 +0000

Droog has a great cost-effective alternative to those pricey frames that must accompany any new art piece: the tape-on frame. Similar to the chalkboard paint we’re such big fans of, the tape-on frame is a great DIY artistic addition to any room. Note: model hair styles not included.

Music: Best of the Aughts – Part I

biasedcut — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:16:17 +0000

Last week Pitchfork ranked its top 500 songs of the 2000s (I think “aughts” sounds so much cooler). Why they didn’t wait six months until the aughts are actually over, I don’t fully understand. Needless to say, there won’t be much movement at the top over the next few months – the number 1 song (spoiler warning) was Outkast’s “B.O.B.” (2000), and six more were from 2004 or before. Only Animal Collective’s “My Girls” was from 2009.

I spent countless hours reading through all 500, and even listened to most of them, thanks to the Lala player. My feelings towards Lala are quite mixed; it’s super convenient to be able to listen to a song instantly on the page (after logging in), but also super annoying to only hear it once. That’s where the beauty of YouTube needs to be leveraged.

So, some of these song rankings had me really excited or really riled up (though mostly the former), and I thought I’d share Biased Cut’s edit of the Pitchfork 500. And before anyone starts thinking, “oh great, here we go with another indie music ranking that doesn’t acknowledge the best and most successful mainstream songs”, hold up – Pitchfork’s list include Brittney, JT, Rihanna, Jay Z, Missy Elliott, Destiny’s Child, Kelly Clarkson, and Gwen Stefani. So eat that.

398. Chemical Brothers – “Star Guitar“: many people would consider this generic “techno”; and I guess they wouldn’t be that far off. But have an open mind here (and on a few more below). Check out the video here and tell me you don’t want to instantly put this song on your next workout mix, or cruise the highways in your make-believe Porsche. Off of 2001 album Come With Us.

331. Andrew Bird – “Fake Palindromes“: Well I guess I’m relieved to see him on the list, but this is hardly the song I would choose. A good one, to be sure, but why not include the dreamy guitars of “Anonanimal“off his latest album, Noble Beast? Or “Lull” from back in 2003? If you aren’t familiar with Andrew Bird, I recommend throwing on his MySpace page and letting it play through – it instantly soothes the highest level of stress or most painful headache.

271. Arcade Fire – “Intervention“: Arcade Fire has long been a fixture in the Pitchfork/indie music scene, and appropriately makes multiple appearances on the Pitchfork list, including the top 10. I choose “Intervention” because of the video and Win Butler’s escalating croons.

270. Damian Marley – “Welcome to Jamrock“: Of all of Bob Marley’s spawn, Damian seems to get it the most right. Ziggy was close, but couldn’t quite find it; Damian embraces the hip hop influences and has a much more raw sound. Great song of summer 2005.

255. At the Drive In – “One Armed Scissor“: These afro (as in the hairstyle, not music style) rockers were so volatile and combustible they broke up soon after this album. Critically acclaimed, yes, these guys had energy and passion that lacked any of the pretense and superficiality of most other hard rock groups.

254. Radiohead – “Reckoner“: For a song that ended up being my second favorite, only behind “Let Down“, I sure wish offered more than the $0.75 I paid per song on this album (recall they put it online and customers decided what they wanted to pay).

237. Cut Copy – “Out There On the Ice“: I’ve liked Cut Copy for a couple years, but as soon as In Ghost Colours came out, I instantly became one of their biggest fans. I’m thrilled to see two of their songs on this list (“Hearts On Fire” made it to 102). But, I think they’re missing two of the greatest not only of the album but the decade!?! How about “Feel the Love” and “Nobody Lost Nobody Found“? And. And. It must be said. They must be seen live. Light show, live mixing, solos, and lots of partying.

206. Bat For Lashes – “Daniel“: It’s a beautiful song, artfully done video, it’s about Daniel the karate kid, and Natasha Khan is hot. ‘Nuff said.

199. Portishead - “The Rip“: And, speaking of beautiful songs, Portishead masterfully makes use of Beth Gibbons’ gorgeous vocals. Playing to their script, the video is but a little creepy…

170. Guillemots - “Trains to Brazil“: Just a totally uplifting, fun tune… until you find out it’s about the Brazilian dude wrongfully killed by British police in the aftermath of the London Tube bombings.

166. Gui Boratto - “Beautiful Life“: Picking up on the beauty theme yet? Another electronic piece here, but this is one to just kick back and literally enjoy… simple yet euphoric. And if you like this, you’ll almost certainly enjoy his reprise to Beautiful Life in his second album, the song called “No Turning Back“. This Brazilian really knows how to make them stick.

148. Air France – “Collapsing At Your Doorstep“: Air France is going to round out this phase in the list of the dreamstate / ecstasy-influenced / pop electronica. But in fitting fashion – Air France is one of a few recent groups following in the sampling footsteps of The Avalanches (a group that includes label mates and Spanish upstarts Delorean). We’ll definitely be seeing more of this more sophisticated blend of old school loops and modern electronica synth. And even if not, this is catchy enough to stay with you for a very long time.

So that rounds out part one of our (Pitchfork) Top 500 Songs of the Aughts analysis. Stay tuned for the rest, coming soon. If I can stop actually listening and write instead.

Trend rejected

biasedcut — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:33:30 +0000

Plump stomachs as the next hipster trend? As my old boss used to say, it ain’t got any wheels. First off, that which is easy to attain never stays in style long. Second, are they really saying that the latest fashion trailblazer is this dude??

Biased Cut

biasedcut — Thu, 28 May 2009 04:00:00 +0000

Eventually, many of us reach a point in our lives where we realize that staying on top of fashion trends is an exhaustive, self-perpetuating chore. We want to spot the best and brightest trends before anyone else, but we can’t spend hours a day following new runway collections or collecting dozens of RSS feeds from fashion blogs in our Google Reader. We want to know how to masterfully express ourselves through the slightest of accessories, but not put more than five minutes of thought into our outfit each morning. We want to be respected for our individual style in an otherwise uniform workplace, but not so unique as to risk ostracism.

It is, without a doubt, a difficult compromise. And it shouldn’t be rewarded only to those creative types with an innate ability for style – you know, the people that always just seem to look good, whether they’re fly-fishing in the Rockies or crashing a young Latina girl’s Quinceañera at a Miami steakhouse on New Year’s Eve (true story). To us, it requires a combination of three simple things:

1) an understanding of basic fashion rules (yes, the basics: black belt + brown shoes = tongue lashing from the girlfriend, OR pinstripe suit + plaid shirt + gingham tie = bar mitzvah hypnotist)

2) recognizing simple trends over the course of the year (skinny ties popular in 2008, but probably on downward slope now)

3) understanding how to express one’s self through their clothing (you’re a gym rat and need custom fitted shirts for your slim waist and tree stump neck; you probably shouldn’t wear white the day after you fell asleep for 5 hours at the beach sweating SPF 4).

The goal here is to help on all three of these accounts. There are, admittedly, many blogs in existence today that do some serious informed teaching and rock-uncovering of each of these, and kudos to them. We’ll probably even link to them. A lot. But we want this to be a more casual forum for those in the workplace today, seeking a splash of style to their otherwise busy corporate lives. Emphasis is on clothing, but everything is fair game – nightlife, restaurants, music, everything.

We buy clothes for work, and then often use them for play. Why not reverse that? Let’s push the boundaries a bit, eh?