Present Christmas 2010

Diversification is the theme running through PRESENT at the moment. For christmas everything from notepads and bike saddles to stink bombs and slingshots have been taken into stock, to turn the Shoreditch out-fitters into a high end knick-nack shop. This has of course come at the same time as the release of the pioneer collection. I have already picked up a couple of the Bob Caps, and a plain Elbow Patch Jumper and next on my hit-list are the Corgi Fair Isle Socks as well as a Woolrich Fabric Laptop Case amongst others. The quilted cruizer jackets and lined chinos are also impressive spectacles which finish off the collection nicely.

The full collection can be seen here,

http://www.present-london.com/present/

William Fox.

Heritage Research X Present : Stadium Jacket

Heritage Research have come together with Present to create some exclusive pieces by tweaking items from their Winter collection. Of all of the specials this is undoubtedly my favourite and my most recent purchase. The charcoal colour is a lovely compliment to the melton wool and shawl colour and the quilted inside is going to keep my extra toasty. The P also replaces the H which is a nice touch.

H.R. Stadium Jacket, £395 Available at Present

William Fox.

Umbro For Present - Footballs

Umbro have kindly created some footballs for Present in a one off collaboration for the World Cup. They take inspiration from an old fashioned leather football, but instead adopt a red and black colour-way, the colours of Present. Many different teams are represented by the boys in the shop, and almost all are massive football followers, and two of them were even lucky enough to play at Wembley a month ago thanks to an invitation by Umbro. Need-less to say I have already nabbed one for myself as this is such a brilliant collaboration especially for such a big football fan. Although they are not for sale they can be seen in-store at PRESENT.

William Fox.

Present - Mark Mcnairy

PRESENT have just seen a delivery of Mark McNairy bucks. The already seen blue and camel suede red brick soled shoes and joined by the new saddle shoe. As I mentioned a few months back, the blues are a shoe I really like, and so I have already got a pair sitting aside waiting for me.

Mark McNairy - New Amsterdam collection, Available at PRESENT

William Fox.

PRESENT ELBOW PATCH KNITWEAR

This week PRESENT see their knitwear collection extended with these sand patched jumpers, adding to previous navy and black patch knits. This particular one sees a combination of 100% scottish lambswool in a grey/chalk stripe contrasting the high quality suede patches. It is a simple idea which has come out particularly well, and if the weather was not changing I would be jumping all over it. Hopefully there is more simplicity to come from the PRESENT collection.

PRESENT Elbow Patch Knitwear, £105, Available at PRESENT

William Fox.

Wings + Horns West Point Chino

For a while now I have been attempting to vary my wardrobe and recently this has been applied to my leg-wear. Having worn APC New Standards solidly for the past year or so, and before that Supreme denim, trousers are something I am relatively in-experienced in knowing anything about. These Wings + Horns navy chinos are a pair of trousers which perfectly suit what I have been looking for. A navy pair, over lets say khaki, allow me to wear similar clothing to that which I would wear with denim, but give it a completely different, in a way smarter, complexion. The fit of the West Point chino is also relatively slim, something which is fairly hard to come by from a brand in a similar bracket as the of Wings + Horns. These were money well spent, especially as there is surely always a space in my wardrobe for a pair of navy chinos.

Wings + Horns West Point Chino, £175 Available at PRESENT

William Fox.

Palace

PRESENT has forged a close link with Palace, a relatively new clothing label born out of the skate troupe Palace Wayward Boys Choir. They have stocked the label since its inception, and a couple of the Palace members even work there. Last week they released this fantastic promo video, There Is Nothing Else, which proves just how much of an exciting prospect the brand is.

Palace - www.palaceskateboards.com

William Fox.

Present x Trickers Shoe

The newest delivery of Trickers at PRESENT also sees a new shoe join the ranks. The Derby Brogue sees inspiration drawing from both the brogued boot and shoe of the last drop of Trickers. The vibram sole, and the colours, from the boot have now been added to the shoe bringing about a splendid combination. My personal favourite is the Acorn Antique colour. The classical brown contrasts wonderfully with the more modern sole. Saying that all the other colours are equally as impressive...

Trickers Derby Brogue, £295, Available only at PRESENT

William Fox.

Present x Trickers Boot

After months and months of anxious waiting the new chapter in the PRESENT x Trickers collaboration has arrived. The famous high brogue boot has now had suede added to it to create a lovely shoe. Personally I was not a fan of the old brogue boot, I could never really see where I could wear it, but these are different. The ones above are a beautiful colour, described as Gaucho Suede, and the vibram sole really complements it. The orange and brown are also fantastic spectacles. Once again the PRESENT Trickers boot exclusive comes out top form.

Trickers Suede Boots, £305, Available only at PRESENT

William Fox.

I.D. Spring 2010

Nice little piece in this quarters I.D. on PRESENT and the staff

William Fox.

Nigel Cabourn Chittagong Cricket Jacket

PRESENT has seen the newest delivery of Nigel Cabourn stock this week, with this Cricket Jacket being the showpiece. The summer collection has seen a continuation of the excellence of bringing older, more classic, designs to the fore, and that is seen especially with this superbly designed jacket. Present are currently the only British based stockists who have gone for these jackets, deciding against the beeswax parka which a lot of others have picked up . It comes in two colourways, red and green, both of which are equally fantastic spectacles. They brilliantly conjure up images of Henley in the scorching heat of July, accompanied by a straw boater perched on ones head and a glass of Pimms sitting in ones hand.

£415, Available at PRESENT

William Fox.

WANT - YUKETEN

Yuketen Spring/Summer 2010.

All in all a nice looking collection and perfect for the summer months.

The ones above are particular favourites.

Available in part at PRESENT and Oi Polloi in the coming months.

William Fox.

Present x Crescent Down Works Down Vest

Just before Christmas I picked up this new collaboration PRESENT has undertaken with American outerwear specialists Crescent Down Works. The collection sees various down vests and 60/40 mountain parkas in an array of vibrant colours for the linings. I saw this down vest, navy outer with orange ripstop lining, as the best in the collection and it is easily now the warmest thing I own. With a shell, such as my new Patagonia Rain Shadow, sitting on top of it it is the perfect outfit to combat the chilly arctic weather we are in the midst of.

£165, Available at PRESENT

Very Exciting News...

... but for the moment its a secret.

All shall be revealed soon.

GQ x Present Party

Roger Rich, in collaboration with Conde Nast, held a party at Present on thursday night to exhibit some of his recent shots for the magazine. Free booze and minor celebrities were aplenty. Later in the evening the party moved on down the road to Shoreditch House where, although my memory has failed me on this one, I taught one of the best barmen in London how to make a Snakebite, and who said university changes you... All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable night.

WANT - NIGEL CABOURN DUFFLE

For years I have been toying with the idea of a duffle coat for those frosty winters. Maybe with my imminent move to university a duffle coat is the perfect item of clothing to purchase. It conjures up images of 1968, picketing out side a student union in deep December organising wild-cat student strikes. Anyway I came across this beauty at Present. Its a pretty hefty investment at around £650 and it would take quite a lot of will power to cop but as a garment its beautiful, and ticks all the boxes of what a duffle should do. The colour is fantastically autumnal, and its just about thick enough to keep one warm when it's chilly, but not so much as to make it too heavy, thus making it a burden to wear. The wool is made by those purveyors of fine upholstery, Fox Brothers and Co. England., which again only adds to the quality It is also available at Oi Polloi in a blue, but I feel the other colour-way is much more apt.

The Beetham Jacket, as it is known, is just one of several fantastic Cabourn pieces in the winter collection. The re-issue of the everest jacket, which I am lucky enough to have access to the original of, and the cameraman parka are both outstandingly well designed, and thought-through pieces which do well in reflecting British heritage and design. Cabourn's recent revival, thanks in part to his resurgence in Japan, has produced an exciting collection and he shall be one of the designers I look forward to seeing collections by in the near future.