This Fashion Blog is based off of the 96.1 Kiss Style Segment with DJ Scottro & Racheallee Lacek.,Listen every Thursday evening at 9:30PM to our segment and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and enjoy a Fashionable Pittsburgh!
RACHEALLEE!! More about shopping for you man...or if you are a Street Fresh Savvy Guy...
One place to get the hottest street wear get-ups is @ Timebomb on S. Highland Ave. If you already know the spot here is a lil tid bit about them...
TIME BOMB HAS THE BIGGEST SELECTION OF CREATIVE RECREATION AND ALIFE SNEAKERS!
PLUS WE SPECIALIZE IN HAND CRAFTED JAPANESE DENIM FROM EVISU AND RED MONKEY COMPANY!
TIME BOMB IS THE ONLY OFFICIAL RETAILER OF THE FINEST BRANDS SUCH AS CROOKS AND CASTLES, 10 DEEP, PLAY CLOTHS, EXPENSIVE TASTE, AND CAVI!
WE ALSO HAVE THE FRESHEST FROM L-R-G, FIVE FOUR, ARTFUL DODGER, BLAST CLOTHING, AND FAMOUS STARS AND STRAPS!
OUR WOMENS DEPARTMENT HAS THE HOTTEST STREETWEAR FOR WOMEN FROM HELLZ BELLZ, MARRIED TO THE MOB, CARDBOARD ROBOT, 10 DEEP, DIME PIECE, L-R-G, AND FAMOUS STARS AND STRAPS!
OUR WOMENS SHOES FROM CREATIVE RECREATION ARE THE HOTTEST IN THE CITY!
AND WE HAVE THE BIGGEST AND BEST SELECTION OF WATCHES FROM G-SHOCK, NOOKA, AND FLUD.
LOCATED AT 200 S. HIGHLAND AVE IN SHADY SIDE! 412.661.2233
WE ARE HOLDING A LOCAL VOTERS SPECIAL ON TUESDAY MAY 19TH: ALL VOTERS, BRING YOUR VOTER RECIEPT AND RECEIVE 50% OFF EVERY ITEM IN THE STORE!
I have heard all of my guy pals raving about a new boutique in the South Side- Shop.412 where young entrepreneur brothers Aaron & Christian Kinkela own the trendy contemporary boutique…a scene right out of TriBeca so I felt as I walked in to this open space of creativity, minimalism, clean lines and industrial feel…
The pictures represented do justice however I highly recommend the actual ambiance of going in for yourself. If I had to shop for a man, this is one of my first stops before Moda or The Garage considering the lack of men’s contemporary shops…check them out @SHOP.412
Racheallee's Fav Finds:
Some of my favorite items in the store were the KidRobot figurines, Super Eyewear, G-Shock Watches, Staple Shirts, Clae footwear for the man who loves the combination of classic and leisure, T’s by 2K by Gingham are fun if your bored with the common T-Shirt; the artists represented here are worth it and pair everything with denim from Twelve Bar.
Who We Are- Shop.412 is a contemporary menswear boutique located in the cultural Southside District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We are dedicated to bringing the newest and most trend forward styles from around the world to our customer base.
What We Believe- Shop.412 is a supporter of progressive culture. We have created a movement and are focused on abolishing the norm of Pittsburgh's fashion being two years behind cities such as New York and Los Angeles. Each day we strive to educate customers about a different lifestyle; we are advocates for contemporary art, emerging movements in music, and any other progression in creative culture. Furthermore, Shop.412 is actively involved with charities and community-enriching initiatives.
What We Communicate- We raise public awareness about issues in the world; art, culture, fashion and politics through our blog. Customer service is our number one priority and we go above and beyond what is expected to please anyone who walks through our door. In 2009 our main concentration is to bring the most inspirational fashion from places such as New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Japan to Pittsburgh's emerging fashion community.
Brands-...Here are some to name a few: Cassette, 3sixteen, 10deep, Staple, King Stampede, Clae footwear, New Balance, Reason NYC, Amongst Friends, The Hundreds.
Why 412?- The reason we chose Shop.412 is because we wanted something Pittsburgh could relate to. Instead of another "catchy" clothing boutique name that typically doesn't mean much, we figured something that represents where we are from would be more interesting and relative.
Owners Backgrounds- My brother Christian and I are from Plum Boro, east of the city. I am 24 years old and my brother Christian is 23 years old. We started this a little over 2 years ago on-line and then recently found our first storefront in November of 2008. We quickly received an incredible opportunity to move into the Southside Works and an offer we couldn't refuse; we took immediate advantage. We recently opened our newest location next to REI; 420 South 27th streetPittsburghPa, 15203.
My interview with the guys...
R: What is your passion for fashion?
Aaron- My fashion for passion is really just finding out about new styles from around the world, i like to be my own person and have a unique style separated from everyone else. Christian- Style is what you make of it, I could tell you a million brands but if you don't research them for yourself and enjoy wearing them I cannot help you. I can enlighten people about MY personal favorites but if you are into trends and want to know the best brands you need to start googling. It is difficult because these days everybody thinks they have their own clothing brand which means there are 10 million brands in the world...it is hard to keep up with everything.
R: What designers/stylists motivate your fashion buying decisions?
Christian- A personal favorite designer that relates to me would be Peter James Lee with the collection "House of Cassette". (I actually have a few but I am going to narrow it down to one). I choose this collection because it is everything I want in a brand, exclusive, attention to detail, and trend forward ideology. Subtleties really make or break a brand to me, something as small as how things button...something small really tells me that someone did their homework and took their time on designing a certain piece. There is no truer statement than "It is better to make a few GREAT pieces than a large number of AVERAGE items. This is happening a lot these days with brands that are looking at the immediate dollar over the longevity of a successful brand. We only carry brands in the store that we feel are in it for the long haul, Cassette is solid season after season. I was once told by a New York designer, "You are only as good as your last season", and I can tell who trend sets and those who copies trends; research alone motivates our buying decisions.
R: What fashions in your store right now should everyone desire?
Aaron- In my opinion, right now in the store the hottest brands for the spring are 3sixteen and Cassette.
Christian- I agree with Aaron here but honestly everything in the store is desirable, we do not buy things that some people may like or may not because I was always told by my fashion mongrel mother "If you don't LOVE it, DON'T buy it". Cassette, Staple, 3Sixteen, and REASON are my favorite cut and sew lines and they are all exclusive to Shop.412 in Pittsburgh.
R: Tell me about the Kid Robot figures and who collects them?
Christian- Kidrobot figures are collectors items, certain people see them as a joke but in the world outside of Pittsburgh these are a huge hit. I am a fan of collecting Dunny series, Fatcaps, Munny series and any Original Fake x KAWS items and Bearbricks. (If you google any of these names you will find out what I am talking about). You have odds of what toy you have a chance of receiving, everything comes in a blind box which means you have no idea what you just paid for. In every series there are super limited toys which can be resold for 10x what you paid for them. I personally am quite a nerd and love to collect limited anything, from sneakers and art, to clothing and toys.
R: I see that you guys have a great lounge area in your store, do you feel that bringing in the comfort zone enhance the customer to want to sit and listen to the DJ, watch a show/game??
Aaron- We have the lounge area in there because we want to make the store a "lifestyle" store...from art, to clothes, to TV, to music, just everyday life.
Christian- This is what a store should be, everyone’s store should be different because it would portray their lifestyle. When you walk into our store this is OUR lifestyle, from DJ'ing and music, to supporting local artists and progressive culture, and honestly who doesn't like to play Nintendo WII? We have monthly in-store events and we want everyone to feel at home, we receive a great vibe from our customers and friends alike.
R:Where did your inspiration of the design of the store come from?
Aaron- The design of the store really just came from the top of our heads....we wanted to be different than everyone else here in pgh.... the most cost effective way of doing that was building our own displays out of iron pipe. Not only was it cheaper than buying fixtures it makes the store unique and its something that we can say "we did".
Christian- We have been researching ways to display and this came after many long hours at Home Depot and Lowes. I am not going to say we are the first to ever use pipe in a space, but we started everything from scratch and never looked back, Pittsburgh is SteelTown so that made the decision a bit easier...In the future I can see people taking this idea from us! (argh).
R: Economy question...yuk...Given the state of the economy, how do you guys see the next 18 months coming along in a new location, new business and struggling retail market? What are your plans to "stand out" and rise above in the Pittsburgh Market?
Christian-The economy has hurt everyone and anyone who thinks differently is living in a hole. I am sick and tired of hearing about it personally, the more the stupid media hypes the "dismay" the country is in the more people will not spend money. People spending money = a better economy, we need to get confidence back into our citizens, because after all the people are the ones who make this country (not ridiculous congress, the President and the House), I think the government needs to get out of our pockets and should stop making too many rash decisions for us this is beginning to look like socialism. Sorry for the rant and on with the question! Our goal to stand out and rise above in the Pittsburgh Market is to be ourselves. We have gotten here by focusing on customer service and being actively involved with the community and charities. Our product will speak for itself; we educate our customers on why we order everything that we do.
OMG! Its the STYLE News with RACHEALLEE! Fresh out of Vegas!! Shopping for your Man! My guy's! HA!
Do's
Know his sizes! Bring a recent photog! Sales associates should be able to look @ his pic and "Get" his SWAG...
Think about what he likes...
Pick out the right accessories for "him"
Blah's
Don't assume cause he is 6ft tall that he has long legs! Check for that inseam too! And get the proper HEM on DENIM!! (more about this on tomorrow's post)
You may think he looks good in seersucker shorts, but if he does not have that prep street fresh swag, go basic for now check with your guys Aaron & Christian Kinkela @ Shop.412 in the SouthSide Works, inventory is on pointe!
Don't forget ladies, guys like to rock accessories as well! Sneaks from OneUp Skate Shop on Carson St., LRG GShock watches @ Timebomb...
Racheallee's Deal of the WEEK!!!
Online special for PGH Style News listeners, Blog followers, Bonics & Racheallee's Twitter followers-20% OFF KID DANGEROUS GRIME COUTURE Enter Code 'KISSMY'
Men's & Women's Super Soft T's, outerwear with a message of reality! Get your head right!
