Downtown... Erin of House of Sage, Charleston

Erin is the co-owner of House of Sage in downtown Charleston. She looked so fabulous in her knee high boots and brightly colored tunic, I posted both shots since I couldn't decided which one was better. I've actually been browsing the racks of House of Sage since it first opened before I moved back to Virginia and I always stop by when in town. House of Sage has been on my list of recommended shops when people ask about shopping in downtown Charleston for a while, so if your in town check it out for yourself.

The Gregory Brothers

Around the holidays, I spend a lot less time on the street and do other things I enjoy such as: eating, visiting family, and seeing live shows of any kind. I was pleased to find out that The Gregory Brothers, YouTube stars behind the Auto Tune The News videos and the internet explosion Bed Intruder Song, were doing their Annual Christmas show in their hometown of Radford, VA. I scored a front row seat next to, oddly enough, The Gregory Brothers' Dad, Mr. Gregory.  I truly enjoyed the auto tune-free Christmas music by The Gregory Brothers Andrew, Micheal, Evan, and Evans wife Sara Gregory.

I have to say, unlike Jennifer Lopez, The Gregory Brothers love their hometown and actually do good things for the place they give credit for their upbringing. How do I know? It turns out they gave 100% of the ticket sales to local Radford charities. Also unlike Jennifer Lopez, the people of Radford love them back. The City of Radford showed their appreciation by giving the three brothers the key to the city (presented to them by the Mayor of Radford).

Before I stop typing and put an end to my praise of the Gregory Brothers (plus one girl), their musical abilities were outstanding. Their clean layered harmonies, range, and ability to practically play every instrument on stage made for a great Christmas Eve-Eve-Eve...... Eve. If I learned anything from tonight, the most ironic part of The Gregory Brothers and their claim to fame - the digital pixidust for the untalents, also know as autotune - is that they in no way will ever need autotune for themselves (they are this thing called talented). Hopefully, the rest of the world will slowly be exposed to musical splenda and comedic genius of The Gregory Brothers.

Novel... Charleston, SC

During my recent visit to Charleston, SC, I caught word of a new shop that was pretty impressive online, so I wanted to see how it looked in person. I stopped by Novel, a showroom hidden away on the second floor on King St. housing Library Vintage, Balboa & Jane Pope Jewelry, Blue Chickadee, and Bon Vivant.

Lauren Lail is the curator of Library Vintage, hand picked vintage clothing and accessories. When I took a look around their showroom Lauren said she only picks clothing she would wear herself. When browsing through her collection, it felt like more like picking through the racks of Anthropologie, so her taste in vintage is more refined than your everyday vintage consignment shop. If I can even get the courage to say "my wife would wear this" when referring to clothing that isn't brand new, something very right is happening. 

In the back of this all white showroom gem, you'll find Balboa & Jane Pope Jewelry, costume Jewelry, as well as a fine line JPJ by DC resident Jane Pope Cooper. I don't promote a large jewelery collection to women (I'm married, it can be dangerous). If you do want more than a few items and want to skip gold, gems, and diamonds, my motto is: make it yourself, or buy it from someone who did. The options for your jewelry accessories here are clean, classy, and probably all one-offs which is key to being fabulous and original.

Also in the back of Novel is Blue Chickadee, hand painted items and artwork that are just cute! I don't really like using the word cute in text, but seriously, Look at those baby bloomers! Blue Chickadee artist/owner Way Way Allen does all the art work on canvas totes, bloomers, onesies, etc.. But seriously, I want to have a baby just to get some of those things (see picture below).

Last on my list, but one of the first things you'll notice when walking into Novel, is Bon Vivant custom stationary by Liza Cleveland. I've been requested by the wife to take her to Novel almost just for this. At least I can re-direct some of my spending from Papyrus now. Get something custom or something hand drawn, yet another one-off opportunity that Novel will offer you.

Novel was a great find. It was a bit hard to score some more dynamic photos since I was carrying a long lens, so you'll have to check it out yourself. I'm kicking myself for not snapping a photo of the stunning ladies who call Novel their work place, but it happens. From what Lauren Lail told me (who by the way is, "I forgot what I was about to say" - Gorgeous), they don't plan on leaving their lovely space anytime soon. Go visit Novel downtown Charleston at 341 King Street, Suite B , (up stairs) which is open Monday - Friday 10:30 - 3. Like many of the new retail surprises that Charleston is producing at a rapid rate, if you feel like you're walking into someones house, you're in the right place. When you stop by, tell them I sent you.

Rogue Wave Surf Shop, Charleston, SC

So about a week ago, I went down to Charleston, SC for a wedding and to go surfing with a friend. Another Charleston based surf-brethren of mine, Rhett Boyd, just opened his first retail space for his surf shop Rogue Wave Surf Shop or RW+SS for short, so I stopped by to take a look while I was in town.

I'd like to say from the start that calling Rogue Wave a surf shop is very misleading because it is 100% boutique, a boutique that sells really sick surfboards. Rhett started out by selling some artfully crafted surf boards from the California based company Gato Heroi, along with custom vintage screen printed T-shirts, and some great other vintage finds out of his home, trunk shows, or online via his blog. He now carries those as well as a few other brands like Katin board shorts, Apolis Global , CXXVI , shirts by Riviera Club, and W Durable. (Continued below)

I can't tell you how detailed and hands-on Rhett is with each product that he carries. Many of the new products found at RW+SS are made to specifications set to Rhett's standards. This makes your purchase at Rogue Wave something hard to find anywhere else.

It's hard to really to put it all in words, but Rhett is really going to make "waves" in the surf community, from his local and American made stock, to his soon to be stocked boards made by southern shaper Richard Prause designed with Charleston's surf in mind. You can even find some custom made items made by Rhett himself.

Rogue Wave Surf Shop is definitely here to stay. Rhett is all surfer, a surfer and a true southern gentleman, one who I'd say spends 50% of his time in a wetsuit or trunks and the other 50% in a bow tie and tortoise shell glasses. Having style both in the water and out, it's hard to ignore the RW+SS movement that's driven by Rhett's passion for surfing ans surf culture new and old. It's a living throw back to the hay day of surfing in the 50's and 60's; the boards were massive, the shorts were short, the music was mellow, and surfers were confident enough to wear a tie out of the water after the swell had washed out with the tide.

If you are in Charleston, visiting Rogue Wave needs to be on your to do list. It's currently at 69 Spring St., Downtown Charleston, and if you can make it to one of his parties or surf n' suds you'll really be doing yourself a solid. If you feel like you are about to walk into someone's house, you're at the right place. Let's hope his permit goes through soon and he can hang up his sign out front.

Street Style... Far East Movement, Blacksburg

So while out yesterday I ran into these guys, you might know them as Kev Nish, J-Splif, and Prohgress of the group Far East Movement.

Meet Mrs. Amber Apple.

So on the Eve of Christmas Eve, I made a stop in Charlotte to meet fellow blogger Mrs. Amber Apple and Husband Stephen. Amber writes her blog on doing things vintage, and not just a little vintage, like all the way vintage. Like jump in the Delorean back to 1955 with Marty McFly vintage. About the 1920's through the 1950's is here life's inspiration. I've always had a soft spot for old school, and secretly wanted try the whole greaser look for the weekends, mixed in with some 40's New York Gentlemen on the work days. Frank Sinatra was a bit of my inspiration on how I'd hope to be as a man, cool, a bit mysterious, well dressed, loved by the ladies....ummmm OK, Back to Amber.

So when I walked into the coffee shop where we met, I looked over and saw this young lady who looked like an extra from a Clark Gable movie, toss in a iPhone and its 1940 meets 2011 to the fullest. Now meeting complete strangers is fun, and of course you wonder, what am I going to have in common with this person? Well it turns out a lot! I had to run down the street to my car with one minute to spare to add another hour to the parking meeter because we were all enjoying our conversions so much.

So if your wondering what the hairstyle Amber pulls off so well is called? They are called victory rolls, a look more identifiable to a pin-up girl in modern pop culture, it was the status quo of 1940's womens hair style. What was even more fascinating other than the fact someone could so confidently pull off this head to toe blast from the past look, was how meticulous her hair and makeup was. I mean, it was as if I was looking at an airbrushed photo in person, (darn you people with great skin!!). On to her hair, modern hair styles are loose and flowing, hair might be placed or styled, but there are still strays in even the finest done 'dos. As we were talking, every now and then I would starting look of how her hair was constructed. Out of the two hours we spent talking, I managed to find one, and I mean one lonely hair that managed to get away from the otherwise perfectly slicked, curled up master piece. Women of yesteryear would be proud of Amber for mastering what I've now come to find (after trying it on my wife twice now) a not so easy look to accomplish.

I could go on of how cool Stephen and Amber were, but It would take forever. Did I mention Stephen has some really great Edward Cullens hair going on? anyways. Genuinely kind and good people are becoming rare since the dawning of Myspace, facebook, twitter. Now being married, I like meeting couples who are equally awesome, who clearly love spending time together,(why get married otherwise right?) makes doing group things easier when everyone likes one another equally and not one more than the other. I look forward to visiting them again, and hope they become good friends of ours. Check out Amber's site here at mrsamberapple.com.

Amber and Stephen

On the Street with Dirty Richmond.

So if you live in Virginia, read fashion blogs, and haven't found Dirty Richmond yet you need to get with the program. Dirty Richmond is one of the few blogs I actually like looking at every day. I like street fashion blogs with original photos. Anyways, I spent a few hours talking, shooting, and hanging out with Brian, the writer of Dirty Richmond and really enjoyed myself. He's mature beyond his years. What I thought was great was how many people knew him by name. I thought it was really classy of him. He'd make a great entrepreneur with social/networking skills like that. One person actually came up to us and asked him, "Aren't you Dirty Richmond?" which is pretty cool. Only being a college student, he is sort of a local celebrity. I look forward to meeting up with Brian again. Here are some action shots of him doing his thing.

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