Beach Bums

A couple of years ago I was obsessed with tropical islands and was convinced that there was a big Tiki revival on the way. Well this hasn't quite materialised, but we are currently in the midst of a surfing 'moment', validated today with the opening of a pop-up 'surf shack' in Selfridges.

While ostensibly there is not too much of a difference between this and the usual Summer offerings of lairy mens beach wear with the odd vintage print Hawaiian shirt thrown in, there is some nice attention to detail from a couple of surf-inspired brands on show that warrants attention. Warriors Of Radness have got a super pretty website and take their surfing with a good helping of smut, but it does look like they know what they're doing with these laundered t-shirts and palm tree embroidered shorts (above).

Other notable surf garb comes from Fat Willy's x Blood Brother, Greg Noll x Billabong & Lightning Bolt (below). And for the best Hawaiian Shirt of the season you need look no further than the Advisor Shirt by dream brand Heritage Research.

Shelter Co

Such a wonderful tumblr from tent hire firm Shelter Co, I can barely choose my top 3. Currently its:

Good Morning Vietnam

If you've never sat in the shower tray with warm water splashing over your head and torso and mimed shouting battle orders like you're in a typhoon scene from Platoon then you should. Without being too flippant about international conflict, the Vietnam War did give us a really unique take on military apparel, which is a great look right now. First, some reference pictures. All from various sources (US National Archives, etc.) via vietnamgear.com. I had a hard time cutting down to just a few pics from their great gallery so feast your eyes on these:

To get the look head over to East Asia Supply Co. who do replica pieces with real panache, examples below. I'm particularly into their pilot helmet bags which would be perfect for a weekend away, and their lovely chinos in tiger stripe camouflage from their new collection.

Unfortunately no trousers yet in the friendlier beo-gam/duck hunter/frogskin camo but its worth keeping an eye on ebay for replicas or originals, or try At The Front in the US who do them in skinny sizes too. If you're dead lucky you might even come across a pair of this reversible USMC version (via Sanforized):

Or the WWII Commonwealth version (via Just Enough):

Finally some 'short' versions too, available more commercially from Edwin and YMC (below). Jackets, from Edwin again and Supreme x The North Face, from a couple of years back.

Three Bags

All from the same chap on ebay, and all quite nice.

Post-Spring look

By Gant Rugger.

Freshtripe

Freshtripe do vintage/retro/fixed/singlespeed custom built bikes and they do them quite well. The 1957 Raleigh Lenton Sports here is about the pick of their bunch, but theres lots of other nice bikes and bits over there too.

Aigle

Aigle are a French brand that do seriously outdoorsy stuff. Their list of UK stockists extends pretty much exclusively to equestrian, tackle, and gun shops, but this season they've really cracked it with some snazzy anoraks, gumboots and macs, though some stuff is still a bit Boden-esque. See what I mean with their latest catalogue. Great boots.