Thread Space's Top Picks of The Week, Week 1
This week Mariano and Theodore go head-to-head on their picks of the week. Who you got?
Welcome to our (probably, semi-regular) recurring segment where we share what items are on our radar and why we’re so keen on them.
Mariano:
Let’s address the obvious — everything I chose comes in black. I’m sure some weeks there will be more color but for the most part expect everything I’m into to have a black version. Let’s start with the footwear and work our way up.
3Sixteen Square Toe Side-Zip
I’ve been a fan of 3Sixteen for a bit now, slowly amassing a collection of their footwear collaborations so naturally when I saw this side zip, I started to scheme on how I could swing the $495 price. Unfortunately for me, they sold out much faster than I anticipated.
Now…do they look like Camions? Yeah, sort of? The square toe and the chunky sole? I’m not the only one that thought so either — the Throwing Fits reddit dropped this gem of an image:
Commenters had their opinions on whether or not these were worth choosing over the Camions but at the end of the day, 3Sixteen’s quality has proven itself over and over again for me. If it was between these and the OLC’s, I’d choose these every time (assuming they don’t sell out in 13 seconds again). I genuinely believe that 3Sixteen’s greatest strength is their ability to take good products & ideas, add their spin on it and produce some truly great pieces in the process. Every time I wear my mules I get asked ‘Where did you get your Birks?’, if I wear my Padmore & Barnes it’s ‘I love those Clark Wallabies!’ — It’s the care for details that sets 3Sixteen’s products apart, and it’s the very reason why I’m so into these. If you really like to nerd out on the details you can peep their videos discussing their products in depth on Instagram and Tik-Tok. The boot specific video can be seen here.
Bare Knuckles Breach Bomber Jacket
IDK IF YOU HAVE BEEN ONLINE AT ALL BUT EVERY MENSWEAR HERO HAS BEEN SHOWING THIS ONE OFF THIS WEEK. It’s been coming up over and over and my desire for it has been growing at the same time. I think the BK flow team is extremely stacked and extremely varied. My two faves have been Lawrence from Throwing Fits and Albert Muzquiz.
Cole from Bare Knuckles posted a thorough recap on the jacket on his Instagram and it’s worth the watch. Both Cole and Jacob’s passion for their products is so abundantly clear and you can see it through their posts and videos. I appreciate how much detail has gone into the silhouette, the color, and ribbing and stitching. This one unfortunately has also sold out — my gift is creating a desire for items you can’t even buy right now and force you to lowball some poor guy on Grailed for it.
Again, for me it’s the details. Could I find a similar vintage Alpha bomber online? Probably. But the fit and the construction and the materials are so intentional here and worth celebrating in their own right. Out of all the jackets they’ve made so far, this one stands out as my personal favorite from Bare Knuckles so far. Let’s pray for a restock.
Jacques Soloviere Lex Loafer
These snuck up on me. I have no idea what this brand is or what they’re making but I’ve found myself coming back to look at these over and over. Theo and I actually have been going back and forth on how the brand’s whole catalogue is filled with HEAT. I think that’s one of the best feelings too, discovering a brand for yourself accidentally and then really loving what they’re making.
I was originally deciding between Paraboot and Blackstock & Weber for loafers but these really are making me reconsider my choices. Sure, they’re cemented which means they aren’t as likely to last as long as the other two options since you can’t resole them, but honestly in 2024, cemented soles have gotten so good that it doesn't really worry me. The piping around the front reminds me of the Lemaire slippers albeit drastically cheaper. And the textured leather is a win for me. I can see these being worn to dates or work but also casually with sweats as I run to Walgreens for milk. Oh, and these aren’t sold out!!!! I think for the sub-$400 range you really have a solid choice in these.
Theodore:
Not going to lie, I was completely stumped when trying to come up with my three picks for the week. Part of me thinks I’m so spoiled for choice, and the other part of me says I’ve touched on a lot of specific pieces in other write-ups (present and future) that I can’t keep recycling them even though my neuro-divergent brain fixates on them for weeks on end.
1. JJJJound x New Balance 2002r (GORE-TEX)
Ok, so Mariano called that I was going to talk about this shoe when we discussed our joint post and he is spot on. Releasing February 15th, JJJJound is releasing yet another collaboration with New Balance.
“But Theodore, Justin’s done like forty-five New Balance collabs, aren’t you bored of them?”
NO. I love New Balance, and I love JJJJound’s approach to collaborations. Every time they announce a new (with NB or any other brand), people literally seethe in the comments about how ‘boring’ they are, but people only claim boring because they’re not the latest Jordan 1 mid for their toddler taste palette. Like bro, what do you expect? JJJJound is literally a uniform-focused label whose drive is solely on making items that are perfect for literally wearing every day. How can a pair of shoes be uniform if they’re super loud, or got a crazy silhouette? I digress.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Storm Blue 2002r that they released back in 2023. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, but it didn’t do a whole lot for me; however, this new drop is a whole ‘nother story. Both colourways are fantastic, but I am gonna give the grey/black the edge. I am huge on black soles as of late, but what makes this collaboration so good is the use of materials. GORE-TEX + dark colourways = everyday wearer’s dream. Having a GORE-TEX material and a black sole means you don’t have to worry about ruining them ever. I’m a Newbie boy for life (I had 990s before they were cool), and a certified JJJJound enthusiast so I am always down for this.
2. ROA Hiking Rozes
Some of y’all might be a little surprised by this pick, but with being on the back end of summer (yes, it’s hot this time of year in the southern hemisphere), where days are becoming slightly cooler and there aren’t any venomous snakes slithering under your feet (the state of South Australia only has venomous snakes btw), it’s time to start thinking about the outdoor wears!
ROA has been slithering onto my radar for a while, but before now I only really knew them for their Andreas model. There are a lot of models that I like from the label, but at this moment I’m fixated on the Rozes. This shoe looks great for heading outdoors for your half-dayer or getting technical wit it in the streets. I think the upper is cool because it has tough-as-mud (rock on, dude) materials, but what feels like a femme-leaning shape, creating this awesome juxtaposition of “let’s walk for five days straight through the mountains, but let’s look good while doing it.”
There are so many amazing models in the ROA Hiking lineup, like the CVO, and the Pala (think of a Birkenstock London with a kick-ass chunky Vibram sole), but it’s quite easy to find a pair of the Rozes on sale and I’m one more SSENSE sale page away from clicking check out.
3. Goldwin Gore-tex 3L Aqua Tect Jacket (Acid Yellow)
I didn’t realise until I got to actually doing the write-up that all three of my picks this week are outdoor-focused, or outdoor-adjacent. Kinda funny. Anyways, Goldwin is a label that recently came onto my radar when I was doing some recon for a writing piece I’m doing on Gorp 2.0 (COMING SOON SO STAY TUNED).
Coming out of the city of Oyabe, Japan 70 years ago, Goldwin has been focused on making great outdoor garments that are suitable for all biomes. There are a lot of great garms from this label but I am transfixed by this Shrek’s piss yellow that would look amazing on the trail, or the ski fields. it comes with a tonne of features — most notably the use of what they call CORE C-knit technology which means the inside liner is quite cozy and soft — but that means it comes with a hefty price tag of $750 USD, I don’t know if I’ll actually be able to acquire this anytime soon — might have to start making money from this newsletter if I want to afford it 👀
In all seriousness, this is a fantastic jawn and anybody would be lucky to own it.