Thread Space's Top Picks of The Week, Week 2
I wonder what they're going to drool over this week?
Welcome back to our (probably, semi-regular) recurring segment where we share what items are on our radar and why we’re so keen on them. This week Theodore kicks us off with his picks.
Theodore
I promised myself that I was going to diversify this week by picking more than just shoes… but I couldn’t help myself! Some of these are just too hot.
Jacques Soliviere Edouard Lug Grained Black
We are back at two weeks in a row to lust over Jacques Soliviere's arsenal of exquisite shoes. Last week, Mariano and I had a chat about the label and how it’s a fresh twist in the standard menswear/footwear space. The Edouard Lug is no exception to that fresh twist (please don’t ask me to pronounce that name — edit: my silly head learned it’s just pronounced Edward). I love this shoe and it’s not very often a non-sneaker holds my attention for this long. The last pair to do that was the Paraboot Michael (a shoe that I waited two years to cop), but I’m hoping I don’t have to wait as long this time.
I was having a conversation with one of my internet friends about Jacques Soliviere and we both agreed that the label’s intricate leatherwork is hypnotic and something you can’t get out of your head. I also initially thought the shoe was maybe a bit too expensive for my budget, but I was wrong (the site already converted to costs for me). A somewhat affordable shoe with a quality to last. I also think the footwear pendulum is swinging away from big chunky, large shoes to small, dainty, femme-leaning styles. That’s a big yay from me, and the added lug sole bridges that gap between the two styles perfectly.
Our Legacy Borrowed Shirt
I wouldn’t consider this shirt highly sought after by the masses due to its wide availability, but I’ve recently realised that my shirting needs some love. I have some shirts that I love, but not a whole lot. Our Legacy offers up a beautiful shirt with a name that perfectly describes the fit. I love the cliche of borrowing someone else's clothes and it being completely baggy… but being a married white cis heterosexual male, who’s six foot and broad-shouldered (I used to CrossFit y’know), stealing your boyfriend’s shirt and having a baggy fit isn’t an option. So Our Legacy did the hard work and stole the boyfriend’s shirt for me. The hardest part is picking a colour. I’m infatuated with the black, but the pink, seersuckered one is easily top five (and it ain’t five, four, or three). Baggy shirting is something I don’t get to experience often, but thanks to the Throwing Fits effect, I now have that opportunity.
Danielle Cathari x New Balance 991v2
If I’m being honest, this one leaves a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth, but I can’t get this shoe out of my head.
In the back end of 2023, New Balance announced a new version of their 991. If you know me personally, you would know that I think the 991 is an absolute stinker of a shoe (I can hear a thousand blads screaming in the distance); however, the 991v2 is an entirely different story. The updated model offers a sleeker design that looks much nicer on foot.
Fast forward to last week (Early February), Kith announced a Danielle Cathari x New Balance collaboration on their website. It comes in a beautiful matcha green and brown mesh. It is a really nice shoe — I’ve always found green apple colours very pleasing to the eye. The catch? It’s only available in women’s sizing (and a US-only release? tf is that about Ronnie?). The women’s sizing means the shoe only goes up to a men’s 10.5. I wear an 11, but I size down on most of my shoes for that snug fit, so my true size is closer to an 11.5 — meaning the 10.5 will strangle my feet. Sigh. Being a dude is really tough sometimes. RIP to all the WNBA players who read the ‘sletter.
Mariano
I’m trying to add some color to this series. Last week I was 3 for 3 with the black garments so I’m going to highlight some things I really loved that didn’t come in black. (Update: I tried but I couldn’t go 3 for 3 on color; 2/3 is as good as we’re going to get.)
Salomon X A Broken Arm X-Desalpes
I’m not a sneaker person; I leave that to Theo. But on occasion…very rarely…a brand puts out a sneaker so cool that I have to tell myself that I can in fact swap out the Paraboots for a bit. This is that sneaker.
Every few months my mind is reminded of these and I go through the motions of trying to explain to my wife that although I wear all black primarily, “I can definitely integrate this into my day-to-day life babe.” I’m in this stage of life as we speak.
Truth is I’m not even sure if I’d want to wear these a much as I want to put them under a microscope to appreciate the little details. Like look at this:
LITERAL ART. In a world where there is a new meaningless collaboration dropping every single day, it is refreshing to see one where the attention to detail and the execution was done with excellence. It just makes sense. It feels like this a collaboration that you can wear in your day-to-day life, you can take to the trails, and sometimes you can throw on with sweats to pick up a snack at your drugstore. And if you aren’t sure about the green-ish blue, you have a great alternative in the pink & red variation for sale as well.
Noah x Alpha Industries CWU-45P Jacket
I’ve been watching Masters of the Air lately and am entirely convinced of three things: (1) I would have wanted to be pilot if I was drafted during WW2 and (2) I’d die almost immediately, like maybe on my fourth mission and (3) Pilots looked so, so cool with their jackets. Arguably the best dressed people in the army. Naturally this led me to a deep dive on pilot jackets and before I knew it, I was a dozen wikipedia articles deep into shearlings and bomber jackets. A majority of them are insanely big and chunky, but the one that stuck out to me the most was the CWU-45. Slight crop, fold down collar, and quilted liner? SOLD. So imagine my joy when I saw that Noah was offering their own version in their newest drop.
“Mariano, you recommended a bomber jacket last week…you’re recommending another this week?” — Yeah. The bomber last week had more of a vintage, sort of loose & cropped feel to it. This week’s offering from Noah feels a little more cleaned up and proper. If you don’t believe me, peep the Five Fits article that Esquire did with Brendon Babenzein for further proof.
It comes in black with an inner red liner, and also in a really cool pink. In terms of the price point, it’s a little steep at just under $500 but you’re looking at something you can (and should) keep for the rest of your life. Not sure if you’ve seen lately but there’s a huge market for vintage bomber jackets online; keep it, give it to your kid, and let them sell it for like $200 in 20 years. I feel like $200 in 2044 is going to be the equivalent of $20 today. But honestly if the world hasn't collapsed in on itself / if we haven’t died via WW3, that $200 might cover a quick coffee & croissant run.
Samuel Zelig Track Hoodie
Rarely do I find myself completely fascinated with a brand like I am with Samuel Zelig. I first came upon them via a random Pinterest image and spent the next 15 minutes googling ‘cool embroidered hoodie’ until I came upon their site. Everything in their catalogue is worth writing about, but it’s the Track hoodie that’s deserving of a slot this week.
Having grown up in a christian version of the Boy Scouts and having a fascination with old collegiate garments, this hoodie is a perfect blend of nostalgia for me. The badges are such a throwback to the patched up vests and jackets we’d wear. They’re also so detailed and extremely specific to the point that you’d think they were ripped off a genuine uniform somewhere. With other brands, it would be fair to assume that the main product and embroidery across the front was intentionally designed and that the badges were an afterthought but if you zoom in it becomes clear that every single part of this hoodie was designed with a care for details and immersion towards a track & field post-run hoodie.
In a world where brands can easily screen print a design or a small little embroidered detail and call it a day, it’s refreshing to see someone go above and beyond with embroidery and create literal wearable art. The embroidery is clean and crisp. The fading and aging looks genuine. One look at the details shows the obsession with getting it perfect, whether with the French Terry set in Japan or double needle coverstitch to keep the embroidery clean even on the inside of the garment, SZ knows what they’re doing and how to execute it perfectly. (Hey, someone send my wife a link to their site for a birthday gift, yeah?)
The Salomons are looking real cute 👀