Trav: It’s always interesting to see a brand revamp itself and go in an entirely new direction. Banana Republic, once a brand dedicated entirely toward safari clothing, is now one of the top go-to brands for the urban professional.

Given its status as a somewhat classy clothing line, I often wondered why the company chose a name for the brand that is also used to describe unstable Third World countries dependent on agriculture. My curiosity, however, was never quite severe enough to push me to seek an answer. It was one of those frivolous questions that we sometimes ponder with no intention of taking it any further. It’s quite obvious now that it was meant to be a witty name used to describe this adventurous safari line.

Founded in 1978 by husband and wife Mel and Patricia Ziegler, Banana Republic got its start as a catalog company selling vintage military surplus items from around the world. They later made the leap to a full-fledged clothing line that was widely popularized by their quirky, fascinating catalogs. GAP bought the brand in 1983 and slowly transitioned it into the Banana Republic we know today.

I was fortunate enough to get my hands on this vintage BR jacket. It’s essentially a jacket with removable sleeves. The abundance of pockets means there seems to be a place for every little item I tend to carry around. What I like most is how light-weight it is. I can easily get away with wearing this jacket on a hot day. In fact, it looks a lot like a photographer’s vest with the sleeves removed. I also came across another cool jacket that I’ll be sure to incorporate in an upcoming post.

Fit details: BR jacket and shirt. Topman pants. Polo loafers.

I mentioned that Banana Republic became widely known due to their creative catalogs. In 1986, they took that a step further when they released Banana Republic Guide To Travel & Safari Clothing. This book is fundamentally similar to the catalogs but on a larger scale. It catalogs virtually every piece of safari/military clothing with nice visuals and some insightful text that covers the history/origin of these pieces. This book is sure to hold your interest, as it explains everything with a fun, adventurous writing style.

JKISSI : A dream for anyone that is a little more “enthusiastic than usual” about style or fashion would be to have their own branded product. While everyone here was stateside experiencing the brutal the winter, I was able to take a trip out to the Dominican Republic along with six influential bloggers to work on a unique opportunity called the Nexus Project.  Personally unaware of the amount of strenuous work that goes into designing and selecting certain leathers, it was an experience of a lifetime to happen upon. As the  youngest of the collective (twenty-something), one aspect I focused on was embracing the experience as a whole, knowing that this project was going to open doors for other young influential individuals to do similar things.

Although sometimes looked down upon, blogging plays a major role in today’s social media landscape by allowing people to provide their own unique point of view, a far cry from traditional media. I’m still perplexed in this particular experience and how we were allowed to do such a project with free reign over the whole process.

We at Street Etiquette would like to sincerely thank everyone at Sebago and Ronnie Fieg for making this project possible.

The Nexus Project

http://www.Jakedavisfilms.com

http://www.marcustroy.com

http://www.williamyan.com

http://www.Cultureshoq.com

http://www.Ronniefieg.com

SEBAGO^® COLLABORATES WITH RONNIE FIEG TO INTRODUCE “THE NEXUS PROJECT”

Power Bloggers and Ronnie Fieg Work with Sebago to Design a Series of Custom Docksides, Lighthouse and other Nexus Styles

ROCKFORD, Mich. (June 2010) — Over a span of months and a collaborative spirit, David Z’s Ronnie Fieg along with a select group of power bloggers, teamed with Sebago to design a series of ten custom Sebago shoes to form “The Nexus Project”.  Fieg and some of the most influential bloggers including Marcus Troy, Jake Davis, Greg Weinstein of Culture Shoq, William Yan, and Joshua Kissi of Street Etiquette experienced a complete immersion at Sebago’s Dominican Republic Facility to create this ultimate collaborative Sebago collection.  Designs include individual takes on the Docksides, Lighthouse boot as well as other exclusive Nexus styles.

“Ronnie has a well-known history of putting together great collaborations,” said Gary Malamet, Sebago’s general manager.  “We’ve worked with him many times in the past with success.  When he came to us with this project, we knew we had a chance to develop something completely fresh. In this day of collaborations, and the unstoppable power of blogs, we felt the combination of the two was unprecedented”.

Sebago worked with the bloggers and Fieg and took them to the manufacturing plant in the Dominican Republic, bringing in representatives of some of the world’s best tanneries and various suppliers to pore through leathers, colors, finish details and more to select materials for each custom shoe.  Each participant in turn went through the process of creating their shoe by hand with the team of master craftsmen at Sebago.  Processes included soaking and heating the leathers and finally stitching the shoes together – a seven hour project for each shoe.

Throughout the summer of 2010, a limited run of 48 pairs will be created of each Nexus style.  The shoes will be available exclusively at David Z’s flagship store in New York as well as davidz.com. Bloggers will each bring their own angle and story to their blogs to communicate the Nexus Project. The entire collaboration was filmed by Jake Davis on location in the Dominican Republic. Each blogger will have their own trailer that can be seen on their respective websites. Please make sure to check out each bloggers trailer throughout the release of this project”

Stay tuned for our pair.

JKISSI: Today, we’re going to stray from the normal events of formulated post on my and Travis’s latest sartorial endeavors. Everyone has them: The photo albums we sometimes refuse to visit because of some rather embarrassing photo moments from stages in our lives which bring back nostalgic feelings.

I randomly came across piles of family photo albums and began to follow suit by cleaning off the flakes of dust toppled on the covers. My parents’ loyal enthusiasm for taking photographs during any event with significance left a visual story without words.

Our posts have always contained an element about reflecting on the past. This time around, though, we chose pictures of ourselves from the late 1990s instead of pictures from the early-to-mid 1900s. Diverging from our usual editorial-esque posts, Travis and I provide a more personal look into our earlier lives with little resentment.

It seems we grow up in a heartbeat, often forgetting these types of moments that were filled with pondering on what was yet to come. The rather interesting point is we all go through many styles from our adolescent years to adulthood, depending on how we choose to identify ourselves at that moment.

(Photo from 2010)

Growing up quickly, Jeremiah may have a different aesthetic from the usual five-year-old kid. He has play dates on the weekends and he’s still a kid who loves to return home with stains all over his clothes. With technology altering the way we live our lives, things may be slightly different for this spelling-bee champion Jeremiah when it’s time to look back. Instead of flipping through an old photo album, all he may have to do is look online to find his own pictures on his uncle’s blog.

(Photos from 1994-1998)

In these pictures, you see a turtleneck tucked into trousers, multi-colored button-up shirts, and loud color palettes. I can still somewhat sense a connection to my style presently. To see myself in what looks to be a double-breasted suit brings a smile to my face, totally aware that in a previous post, I mentioned my unique admiration to possess one.