Unique Footwear Took A Trippen From Berlin To New York: Trippen Opens In Soho

Just how do you stomp around the city?  It stands to reason that in one of the most diverse cities on the planet, there should be various kinds of options in food, clothing and adornment to accommodate the mix of flavors in this New York City melting pot.  Truth is that there really are diverse flavors since one can stroll around the neighborhoods of lower Manhattan and enjoy the tastes of Italy on one corner, China on the next and little worlds of commerce from worldwide labels raising their creative flags in the Big Apple.  One such neighborhood to discover that the art of the boutique has not been lost to the monotony of chain stores is Soho.  It's here that I had the pleasure of being in house for the stateside launch of the German import with definite cool points, Trippen.

Trippen is a footwear company based in Berlin that keeps an artfully-crafted ingenuity in their creations.  Since the label's inception in the early 1990s, founders/designers Angela Spieth and Michael Oehler have kept uniqueness at the forefront with an award-winning trifecta of form, avant-gardism and ecological responsibility.  So vegetable-tanned leather meets low-emission production meets platform production standards meets insightful design which give birth to uniquely inspired, design-driven and edgy footwear that walk the lines of clothing as art & architecture.  

For Fall 2017, Trippen took inspiration from the beautiful mystery of volcanoes.  The organic beauty of what lies beneath meeting what lies above and the textures, colors and shapes created by the natural ecological marriages helped to create the free-form shapes that together within the framework of footwear created an intriguing collection.  The natural inky, drab colors contrasting with the vibrant odd-earthy tones and the fluid movements together with the fixed solid shapes were reminiscent of the solidity of brutalism together with the free expression of abstract art.  However, don't just take my word for it.  Trippen is now open at 243 Mulberry Street between Prince and Spring Streets in Soho, NYC and awaiting more admirers and footwear aficionados seeking to add some avant-gard to their gaits.

  

www.En.Trippen.com

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Dave White

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Hauté-Stepping In Harlem: Bows, Ties & Revelry Annual Holiday Event - 'Rise Up'

It was Billy Strayhorn who wrote and Ella Fitzgerald who sang that you must take the A train to get to Harlem wasn't it?  I imagine when those lyrics were birthed that there were more jazz lounges and cats donning everyday three-pieces suits than luxury million dollar residences and dudes donning jeans that defy gravity, but I digress.  As the collective wand of time waves over the landscape, it's interesting to note how the people that once stepped out in sequin and gaberdine with pride have been regretfully updated by those holding onto an unfortunate shrinking pride of what once was.  Times change and such is the course of life.  However, it's also interesting to note that in speaking of that famed  iconic neighborhood that gave culture Armstrong, Hughes and Holiday, there are some things that never change.  Although rezoned and updated, the noteworthy legacies that defined a time and place never get paved over so easily.  It's about what we do today that keeps us conscious of what they did then.

Enter Bows, Ties & Revelry and its efforts to create a legacy founded on roots on friendship, community, humanity and pride.  The holiday gathering that started out with a small tight-knit group of friends but transformed into an annual event of New York area professionals, notables and those seeking festivity, is now in its 5th year.  How fitting that this year on December 9th the collective brings their soirée to Harlem's famed Schomburg Center in a party themed 'Rise Up' that coincides with two powerful exhibitions on  Black Power and Power In Print.  Now don't let the harmless words like 'themed' and 'soiree' create skepticism.  On one hand, Bows, Ties & Revelry is an after hours party during the holiday season that aims to have a focus on celebration, toasting and merriment.  On the other hand, BT&R is also a modern function that aims to pay homage to the creativity of their eclectic guests while carrying on in the tradition of what getting dapper and dolled-up in one of the best cities on that planet can be like.  With that in mind, rising up and putting your best foot forward, be it bedecked in velvet loafers, Swarovski sling-backs or stingray oxfords is in your best interest just as long as you arrive as the best dolled and dapper you.  Consider that what was once penned as their 'Salty Black Tie' aesthetic has now evolved to 'Your Best Holiday Haute' come to life.   

What the friends first started out to do was to come together and celebrate the year, give thanks and show appreciation by sharing in each other's company.  That has now been extended to all the guests in how BT&R seeks to get locations that showcase the diversity of the city, cultivate guest lists that bridge the worlds of the creative and the executive alike and sheds light on how their thankfulness might inspire you.  For the 5th year now, they have supported The Momentum Project and its mission to feed the hungry, marginalized and vulnerable of New York City.  So for an evening at a historically-prided venue in a melting-pot neighborhood, isn't it reason enough to don satin & velvet, and silk brocade & bouclé and join in BT&R's seasonal jubilation of music, dancing, food, cocktails and community?  It's with that on the brain that I'll refer back to Ella's entrancing bars and further add to that dialogue by mentioning the modern pulse of a seasoned neighborhood and the history it's known for creating as all the more reason to take the A to Sugar Hill or more notably, the 2 or 3 to 135th on December 9th.  For more information and updates on attending Bows, Ties & Revelry 'Rise Up' visit BTRNYC.com.  

www.BTRNYC.com

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Dave White

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Merrier This Season (And Beyond) With Muse: Muse™ The Brain Sensing Headband

We're all victim to it in some form.  There's a bombardment of information today that, although we are said to use far less than even 50% of our brain capacity, we can't even manage on the percentages that we do use.  Have you noticed how reading a mens magazine nowadays can often look as busy as the Dow Jones updates, breaking news, soft-selling ads and coming up next info flashing across the screen during a CNN broadcast?  Have you also noticed that although an article may seem of importance in an accredited newspaper, we often long for the very highly edited concise paragraphed version from outlets like Metro and AM?  Our brains need help with the lists, the hypnotic allure of our smartphones, our occupational demands and, if you're like me, shutting down so you can get to sleep at night.

Relief in getting the actively running brain to chill comes in the form of Muse™, the brain sensing headband.  Muse uses EEG sensor technology to provide real time audio and visual feedback on an individual's meditative state through a companion app on Android or iOS devices.  Interaxon, introduced Muse in 2014, to bring meditation practices to the consumer market and the technology has gone on to help a cross-section of individuals from executives to middle school students.  The headband uses the EEG sensors to detect brain activity in users as they meditate.  It then offers feedback via the app to help users to re-focus their attention that overtime helps them to develop stronger focus, mindfulness practices, stress-control and overall mood. 

I immediately connected with this product and its benefits since I, as well as many commuters, professionals and city-dwellers, find that multi-tasking causes us to seek vices to deal with the various demands, upsets and stresses.  Muse's mission to enable us to live more happier, healthier and in-the-moment lives is what drives their brainwave technological innovations.  This is kind of essential to help those who find it difficult to relax, pay attention and focus and who are seeking outlets to make day-to-day normalities less mind-numbing.  For more information on this restorative technology visit ChooseMuse.com and also visit Amazon.com and Target.com where today they will be offering exclusive gift-giving Black Friday discounts on the unit and a hardcase in savings of more than $100.

www.ChooseMuse.com

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Dave White

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The Want Of The Modern Man: Want Les Essentiels Mens Holiday Collection

You have Thanksgiving dinner on the brain, holiday decorations to wrangle or visiting family to contend with shortly but before you know it, that infectious bug that makes you ditch your 'bah humbug' attitude and want to snag presents to become that holiday hero will rear its head.  I always say look at that gent's life or even your own life and think about getting the core necessities out of the way first.  So when thinking core, always go for quality since these are essentially items that will go through the beatings of the everyday.  

You've seen me cover their wonderful items in the past and their present mens holiday collection still stands as testament to why.  Want Les Essentiels is a very well designed brand that offers men quality, handsome and practical accessories with a modern yet classic execution.  In this age of information overload, there is a great need to simplify one's life with organization and order to free up the brain to be bombarded with breaking news, traffic delays, commuting nightmares and work-related stresses.

What Want Les Essentials does so well is to pare down a man's accessory essentials with a streamlined elegance and luxury without sacrificing quality and design.  The results are fresh color, beautiful skins and fabrics and practical refined details that speak to the functionality that a man may look for in his daily routine.  This in turn adds to the dialogue of confidence that a man builds for himself by having one less material thing to overly concern himself with.  

The Mens Holiday Collection from Want Les Essentials offers up sumptuous textures and pristine details to personal items like wallets, folios, laptop bags, key rings, scarves, belts and shoes among other items.  If in New York City, swing by their latest store at 301 West 4th Street New York, NY 10014 in the West Village and peruse the accessible luxury that is Want Les Essentiels.  Your inner-luxurious nature will thank me later. 

www.WantLesEssentiels.com

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Dave White

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