Editor, Head Honcho, "The Big Cheese": call him what you like, George MacDonald has been the driving force behind VNA Magazine since day one. FUSShop jumped on the bandwagon back when VNA was merely a Zine and was printed in black and white.
With Issue 25 on the way, George took time out of his busy schedule of documenting Street Art and changing nappies to pick his Autumn / Winter UNIFORM.
C. Norse Projects Anton Oxford Shirt - Navy: Every respectable man should own some decent Oxford shirts. Standard work/apres work look that will also get you laid* (Again possibly not).
E.Carhartt WIP Vicious Pant - Blue (Rigid): Ditch those dirty old faded jeans... Decent, dark, crisp blue jeans are another staple that should be in your wardrobe.
The first UNIFORM for Autumn / Winter 2013 goes to London based street artist A.CE, a key figure in the UK street art scene for the last ten years. In that time his instantly recognisable wheat-pasted images have featured prominently across the urban landscape. If you've walked the streets of East London recently, chances are you've seen his work.
A.Edwin ED-80 - Red Listed Selvage Denim (Unbranded): I absolutely love raw selvage denim. You go on a journey with them from day one and you’d be hard pushed to beat the wash on a pair of jeans that you created yourself from your own unique and dedicated wear over time. Your personality goes into them and you end up with a finger-print of your life. The Edwin ED-80 is the fit I’d wear, slim and a little tapered, and I wouldn’t wash them for at least a year!
B. Vans Old Skool (Vintage) Dress Blues - I’m a skater first and foremost so Vans are a brand very close to my heart. The Oldskools are a classic - well made and well priced. Perfect for skating, grippy enough for cycling and cool enough to wear anywhere.
C. Carhartt WIP Chore Coat - Hamilton Brown (Rigid): I love Carhartt - simple, clean, hard-wearing and well priced classics. Never over styled, never overly branded. This chore jacket is one of the best available and you know it’s only going to get better with age. Definitely a wardrobe staple for me.
D. BLK Pine Workshop Single Gauge Beanie - Navy: It sure gets cold in England, and you’ll need something for your head. No need to muck about with anything too fancy, so this classic single gauge beanie from BLK Pine in an easy navy does the business and looks super cosy.
E.BLK Pine Workshop Slope Daypack - Tonal Black Canvas: I’m a sucker for nice backpacks and this is a beauty from BLK Pine. Again the styling is clean, the colour is good for this time of year on a bike in London and it looks tough as hell!
F.Tanner Goods Key Lanyard - Natural: Another essential piece of kit. I have various different brass fish hooks and carabiners for my keys, but this lanyard in natural leather looks great – you know it’s going to last and that natural raw hide leather is going to get darker and look even more amazing over time.
This week we've turned to to pick out her favourite pieces from the FSHP Spring / Summer Collection.
We've known Lei since the Thomas St. Post Office days in the Northern Quarter, Manchester. Since then she has been busy working with Carhartt WIP on Oldham Street, while still finding time to start her own brand, run her own blog, and answer thousands of weird questions on !!
Anyone who has an internet connection should recognise Lei-Mai, but for those of you who have somehow missed her, Lei-Mai has put together this handy for you all!!
A. Edwin ED-80 - '63 Rainbow Selvage: I love the fit to the ED-80 and rainbow selvage has always been a favourite of mine, I'm a serial pin-roller so it just looks rad!
B. Carhartt Heritage S/S Marksmann T-Shirt - Light Grey Heather: I rarely wear tees with huge prints on unless they're something limited or special but I do like a bit of a focal point, so this is perfect for me.
C. Tanner Goods Key Lanyard - Natural: I'm always losing things so it's important for me to keep my keys on a lead, but let them dangle in style of course!
D. Edwin Road Jacket - Hickory Stripe: I just have a thing for hickory stripe and chambray, this and a lot of the workwear style edwin jackets look amazing on but I'm guessing this hickory stripe was an absolute nightmare to take product shots of! haha!
E. Norse Projects Ketel Sports Sweat - Dark Navy: Again I'm feeling the simplistic vibes of this sweat and I love norse fits.
F. New Balance '577' - Navy / Grey - M577NG: New Balance are definitely a favourite of mine, offering comfort, sleek silhouettes and of course heritage, you can't go wrong!
B. Undefeated x New Era 'Ever Since' Beanie - Black: I've never been into hairstyles, so I've always worn hats. This shitty-weather this year meant that I have been wearing beanies since October.
C.Dickies Workwear C182 Chino - Maroon: Dickies Chinos are always on point. They are quite formal but also comfortable to skate if you dont wear'em too loose. Dickies are rather skilled at making chinos and the C182 is an updated version of the original style in a Maroon colourway, but still classic.
D. Norse Projects Anton Oxford Shirt - Oil Green: Winter or summer, shirt is the uniform. Botton down, classic lines and plain colours are the best match for me. I think the Norse design is as good as Supreme or Polo Ralph Lauren.
E. Vans Era 59 CA - Pig Suede: Since I was a kid, spring and summer just meant Vans to me. Classics, lo-profile and fully skateable. Along with the Old Skool, the Era is my favourite style, still skate-friendly but elegant. I like them more if they are clean and basic like these from the California Collection.
French lifestyle blog Guillotine (better known as GLLTN) has been a daily read for us over the years as it seems to consistently beat everyone else to the latest breaking news from the world of fashion, art, footwear and toys.
This week we asked Nico to ignore the rest of the world wide web for a couple of minutes to pick out his summer 'UNIFORM'.
A. Vans Era Decon CA - Black / Beech: What better way to spend summer than in a pair of Eras? Ideal for any occasion from hot beaches to early morning bike rides… They're a must.
B.Tanner Goods Standard Belt - Saddle Tan / Nickel: Like many people, I have a fascination for ageing leather. I've been wearing a Tanner Goods double wristband for two years and it just keeps on getting nicer and nicer, so getting a belt from them might be the next step. Try one and you will thank FUSShop!
C. Reigning Champ Short Sleeve Tee - Heather Ash / Navy: Reigning Champ still hand crafts the best sweaters and tee-shirts out there. You can't go wrong with a nice heather ash tee: simple logo, no crazy fluo tropical graphics… just a nice clean tee.
D.Garbstore Welded MP Parka - Navy: Garbstore always come up with timeless designs and this nice navy parka will be perfect if the summer turns out to be as shitty as spring. Rainstorms, tornadoes, heavy snow… you never know what could happen when July comes…
E. Edwin ED-71 - Rider Wash: Edwin always offers great washes and treatments on their denim. This 12oz dark blue ED-71 Rider Wash will make you look like you've been wearing your jeans for a year straight, no wash, but you'll actually smell good and won't scare girls away.
mashKULTURE is a site that we have followed for years, combining street culture, fashion, art, design and music and if that wasn't enough, THIS happens every Monday (NSFW).
Here is mashKULTURE's founder Mark Molnar to talk you through his 'UNIFORM' for Spring / Summer.
A.Vans Authentic - White: I'm all for classics and timeless style, and how more classic can you get than a pair of all-white Authentics? They're the perfect choice on any sunny summer's day.
B. Edwin Rail Bermuda - Herringbone Camo: I can't wear my ED-39s all day, everyday, especially once the mercury goes above 25. So the next best thing is a pair of indispensable camo shorts. Edwin has been one of my favourite brands for a while now and I really like the unique camo pattern they used on these.
C. Penfield Cornell Jacket - Boat Yellow: We've gotten a fair share of rainy days over the past few months here in Budapest, and I've been getting a good deal of wear out of my trusty Penfield Gibson Jacket. It's high time for a new one, and this yellow Cornell Jacket is just what the blogger ordered.
D.Norse Projects Anton Geometri Shirt - Skye: I love how Norse design clean, classic, quality pieces with a twist in the same vein as Carhartt. I'm not really a fan of loud prints, but this geometric print shirt shows great balance between bold and subtle style.
E.BLK Pine Workshop Slope Daypack - Natural / Desert Camo: I'm always looking for new backpacks. I've had a countless amount constantly glued to my back since I can remember. Even today I never leave the house without my trusty backback. BLK Pine is one of those brand's I've yet to try out, but as far as style and choice of materials and colours go, I'm sold on them.
Here's David to talk you through his favourite pieces from the Spring / Summer collection...
A. New Balance 574 - Burgundy: Choosing a pair of New Balance trainers never requires an explanation or motivation. Not owning a pair, on the other hand, does.
B. Penfield Lansdale Shirt - Floral: I love brands that give you quality design without charging ridilocous amounts of money. This floral shirt is one of the better Penfield prints for a long time. A subtle background colour with a stylish accent flower print in wine red? Yes please.
C. Norse Projects Wool Flat Cap - Dark Grey: Next after Ebbets Field Flannels, Norse Projects make the best flat caps around. This one, in grey wool, has a great shape and the white N is a testament to subtle branding, something these Danes master.
D. Carhartt Dozier Bomber - Dark Navy: Carhartt is one of the most reasonably priced brands around today. Decent price tags, superior design... how can you beat that? This is a great example of Carhartt adding its unique design DNA to a plain jacket... they own it now.
E.Edwin ED-71 - Rider Wash: To go with the navy blue jacket, these Rider Wash Edwin jeans in a 12oz denim is the perfect choice. Even though raw denim is the everyday choice, a nice pair of worn out jeans are a must have for any decent wardrobe. Great for spring.
A.Edwin ED-71 - Red Selvage - Unwashed: Breaking in a new pair of selvage is a lot like breaking into a chemists. They’ll be one hell of a mess to start off with but the end result will have you feeling like you’re floating on a cloud of titties.
B.Reigning Champ T-Shirt - Alpine Black: I used to have a Russell athletic tee very similar to this in 1991. It survived several all night raves as well as the time I accidentally set my self on fire in Shelley’s Laserdome nightclub with a bottle of poppers and a freshly lit B&H. They don’t make t-shirts like they used to. Well Reigning Champ does, so that’s why I’ve chosen this.
C.Carhartt Anglistic Beanie - Blue Heather: Why does Carhartt have two ts? What does Anglistic mean? Two questions I’m far too lazy to bother googling. I do know that these oh so functional titfers fit my ample head a treat though.
D.Penfield Clermont Vest - Olive: Though a 70% cotton and 30% nylon mix takes me well out of my usual 60/40 comfort zone I’m prepared to stick my neck on the line for this handsome Penfield number. Look at those mitten pockets, yes mama!
E.Garbstore Camp Ringer Sweat - Oatmeal: When I was in the cub’s we had our very own ‘camp ringer’, when we finally discovered what he’d been up to we covered him in Chappie and fed him to a wolf-dog not dissimilar to the one on the front of this here jumper. Hakuna matata as they say in Stockport.
F.New Balance '577' - Grey / Navy: I like these because they remind me of one of my favourite adi trainers, the Boston Super. Except that these 577's are way better because they have a big ‘N’ on the side and its a little known fact that the N stands for Neil. Honestly.
B.Edwin EC Pocket T-Shirt - Blue Marl: A good simple pocket T-Shirt should be a mens wardrobe staple. Plenty of brands are doing a plain pocket tee, but non are quite as good as this blue marl offering from Edwin.
D.Edwin Road Lined Jacket - Camo: This is a must for winter, a good solid jacket that isn't too bulky and doesn't look like it was a knock off from Millets.
E.Reigning Champ Pullover Hoodie - Alpine Black: Keeping it on the simple tip (I like plain & simple) you need a good hoody. Definitely not constrained to be a 'only wear round the house' item, if you're going to do it, do it properly and Reigning Champ are the best of the best.
