This is the one time that I’m sad for you if you’re reading this column. Why? Well currently there are around 200,000 people having the time of their lives at Lollapalooza, the greatest festival in the USA. If you couldn’t make it out to see the vast array of musicians in Grant Park, Chicago has plenty of other dope stuff to check out. Local Threads highlights some of the freshest products currently on the market in the Chi and this week showcases gear from Leaders 1354, RSVP Gallery, Uprise Skate Shop, and Jugrnaut. Check them out below and head into any one of the stores from a great shopping experience.
Leaders 1354
Last week I spoke about how Leaders 1354’s hat game is always on point. Well they have continued to support this assertion with the arrival of their All Things Regular x LDRS1354 Madras 5 Panel New Era hats. Coming in three different colorways featuring various different patterns, the hats also bear the distinctive ‘LDRS’ square logo. If you’re looking for something to keep the sun out of your eyes while you’re hanging out in Grant Park, these fit the bill nicely.
Leaders 1354 also just restocked their collection of 10.Deep bags, coming in a duffel and backpack model, in either camo or black material. Another new addition to the store is the latest release of the Griffey Max 1‘s, a great trainer for either the gym or regular everyday wear. We mentioned the collaboration between Ends/Wealth Corp. and GLC last week, but there were no photo’s to showcase the tee. Now we do have one which you can peep below and if they float your boat head into the shop to grab one.
RSVP Gallery
The one and only RSVP Gallery caters to those with a taste in very high quality products, whether that is pillows, clothing, art, or accessories. Their stock of Super sunglasses by Retrosuperfuture fits this niche. Made in Italy, they utilize an acetate construction (high-quality plastic), meshing it with both metal and wood to create their various models. These are another great way to keep the sun out of your eyes, especially with their Zeiss lenses that block nearly all harmful rays.
In other news, the highly anticipated release of Don C’s collaboration with Mitchell & Ness will be happening exclusively at RSVP on Monday, the 8th. The hats feature standard Mitchell & Ness designs, with some not so standard snakeskin bills and back tabs. While they clock in at a hefty 400$ they will sell out very fast. Spotted on the heads of Jay-Z, Kanye, GLC, and Don C himself, the collection has some serious co-signers.
St. Alfred
We mentioned last week that STA was going to be dropping at least one more shirt before the end of this summer. Paying tribute to one of Chicago’s staples, the Chicago Hot Dog, they’ve released a tee depicting the legend itself. With the dog on the front and the complimentary mustard stain ‘St. Alfred’ on the back, the shirt is yet another installment of their continuing campaign to release gear inspired by the spirit of the city. The release comes along with two new colorways of 5 panel caps.
Also in stock now is The Hundreds latest line and a pair of Quickstrike Nikes. The new Nike drop has one shoe for the guys, a Nike Tennis Classic, and one for the ladies, a Nike Racquette. They sport a brown leather construction with the ‘Swoosh’ logo punched out of the leather upper, hurry if you’d like a pair.
Uprise
Being one of Chicago’s foremost skate shops, Uprise gets the highest tier Nike SB releases as well as some of the sickest Vans in the city. This week they received the general stock of Nike SB’s August collection. Two standouts are the Iron Dunk Lo, featuring a gum sole and all suede construction, the gray and Carolina blue colors are so simple yet they are arguably one of the dopest released for some time (excluding the Space Jams). The other eye catching model in the release is the Zoom Stefan Janoski SB in Jetstream and Brickhouse. With light gray tones and minimalistic touches of red, like the Irons, they aren’t flashy, but they are eye catching.
If you’re interested in skateboarding and having a good time, this upcoming Sunday, their will be a Drunk’n High Ollie Contest at Beauty Bar. Compete against others as you try to clear the highest you possibly can and drink the shot that is required between each try. Sounds like a pretty fun challenge to me.
Jugrnaut
If you are headed down to Lolla via the El or Metra, Jugrnaut is right where you’ll be getting off. Located at 427 S. Dearborn, dropping in for a quick look is something you won’t regret. They recently restocked on The Hundreds and last week released a Starter collaboration, which are some of the cleanest hat releases this summer (I got one myself, so trust me).
Also they recently made one of their newly stocked brands Heist & Co. available via their webstore, which we included in LT back in July. Mishka recently dropped a teaser trailer for their Fall/Winter 2011 collection (below), which should be arriving at JGRNT soon. In other news, after talking to Manny, one of the owners, I learned that in early September they will be hosting two events you shouldn’t miss. On September 3rd, they are having a Back To School celebration at Reggies rock club. The following week on the 9th, they have partnered with Bears’ wideout Earl Bennett for a charity event. The receiver collaborated with IM KING for a t-shirt, and the event will allow you to meet Earl. One of the best bonuses for purchasing the shirt, other than being charitable, is receiving a free ticket to a game. Sounds like Jurgnaut will be kicking the fall off right!
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For any brands or shops interested in being featured in Ruby Hornet’s Local Threads, feel free to contact me via email or hit me on twitter