Shit You Should Be Aspiring To: This guy's shoe collection.

Uhh, wow.  This is some random Japanese dude's shoe collection, which he posted on Flickr seemingly for not reason other to make us all feel bad about ourselves.  My kind of guy.  Check out his whole collection here (ya, that's right, this isn't even all of them; he's up to 200 pairs now), where you can see a larger HQ pic of each pair and its details.

Jealous ones envy.

source: The Bengal Stripe

Shit Worth Checking Out: David King's photographs of Muhammad Ali in 1974 while training for The Rumble in the Jungle.

In 1974, Muhammad Ali trained for sixteen weeks in the Pennsylvania Mountains in preparation for the Rumble in the Jungle, his historic heavyweight title fight against George Foreman in Zaire.  These photographs were taken by David King during that training session and appeared in his 1975 photographic biography of Ali I Am King.  See more of his photos below the cut.  These are awesome in every way.

Shit Worth Checking Out: "Savage Beauty": The Alexander McQueen retrospective at the Met.

“When I’m dead and gone, people will know that the twenty-first century was started by Alexander McQueen.”  The Metropolitan Museum recently launched its Alexander McQueen retrospective, "Savage Beauty", and The New Yorker published a great article by Judith Thurman in relation to the exhibit.  The article gives a good overview of the exhibit itself, of course, but its real value lies in offering an overview of McQueen himself, and of his impact on the world of fashion.  Thurman offers a high-level biography of the late McQueen, from his upbringing to his early days at college and on Savile Row to his suicide early last year, speculating on the influence some of the more momentous events in his life might have had on his art. (Particularly interesting was Thurman's observation that McQueen's "puberty coincided with the explosion of AIDS, which is to say that he was forced to witness a primal scene that haunted the youth of his generation: sex and death in the same bed.")

Alexander McQueen as a label has never been one of my favourites, as far as the men's line is concerned; I think his best work has always been womenswear, and most of his pieces that do appeal to me ruin themselves by being adorned in skulls, something I try to leave for those who enjoy wearing the likes of Affliction.  Sarah Burton took over for McQueen upon his death, and seems to be taking the line in a more favourable direction as far as my personal style is concerned.  That being said, I appreciate McQueen's work as the art it is.  Nobody can deny the sheer bravado and originality of the man's shows, and based on Thurman's article it seems that Savage Beauty captures this well.  I'll be heading to New York in July, and will definitely be checking out the exhibit when I head over to the Met.

source: The New Yorker

Shit Worth Checking Out: The five literary works that inspired Woody Allen.

Woody Allen is a workhorse of epic proportions; the man averages a movie a year, and his latest film, Midnight in Paris, just opened the 2011 Cannes Film Festival a couple days back (and was very well received).  Admittedly, not everything Allen touches is gold, but hey, with that rate of production, the man can't be expected to be churning out perfection.  Allen is, however, responsible for some of the greatest films of the past 45 years or so, including arguably the greatest romantic comedy of all time (a genre that produces trash at a rate unlike any other), as well as one of the finer tributes to Alfred Hitchcock you'll ever see.  Recently, The Browser conducted an interview with Allen where he set out five books that have resonated with him.  His choice of literature is of course interesting in itself, but the commentary from the eminently quotable Allen does not disappoint, either.

Combining Fashion and Finance: Interesting interview with Gilt Groupe CEO Kevin Ryan

Bloomberg Television conducted an interview the other day with Kevin Ryan, the CEO an co-founder of everyone's favourite flash sale shopping website, Gilt Groupe (well, not those of us in Canada, but that's another story...).  Gilt recently completed another (allegedly its final) round of financing, for $138 million.  The financing attaches a market value to Gilt Groupe of $1 billion; not bad for a company that is only three years old.  Although not yet profitable when taking all of its divisions into account, Gilt's revenue has grown steadily since its inception, and Ryan predicts gross revenue for the year ended June 30, 2011 between $400-500 million.  Gilt employs over 700 people across seven different verticals, including women's fashion, men's fashion, Gilt City (city-specific deal service a la Groupon), and Jetsetter (travel sales division).  More after the jump.

Interesting Shit that I'm Too Lazy to Write Anything About: May 13, 2011.

Tour Mark Zuckerberg's $7 Million new home (it looks like a Vermont B&B for seniors...)

The Icon's Guide to Sunglasses (featuring Steve McQueen, Robert Downey Jr., Marcel Mastroianni, and even the Secret Service)

Wall Street Journal article on retail reward programs: Why Pay Full Price?

Study finds world luxury market to grow 8%

The 50 Most Stylish Musicians of the Last 50 Years

Will Smith as lead in Tarantino's Django Unchained?

Shit Worth Checking Out: Want to see how handmade Italian ties and shoes are put together?

Every been curious about just how those crafty Italians make ties and shoes by hand?  Ponder no more.  Check out the two videos below, produced by Mad About Town, to see the process in all its glory.  The first video features a Finollo, a Genovese tie maker, and the second features a Mr. Riccardo Bestetti, an Italian cordwainer.  See them in action after the jump.

Shit Worth Checking Out: Very nice lookbook from Brunello Cucinelli for S/S 2011.

I'm a big Brunello Cucinelli fan (from afar...sigh), and the 2011 Spring / Summer campaign doesn't disappoint.  Once you get past how beautiful the setting is, you can focus on the clothes, and there are some very nice pieces to be seen.  Check out the pics below.  I am particularly a fan of the brown DB suit; awesome in every way.  My only complaint would be the last photo; looks like your typical sartorially-bankrupt dude.  Ignore that one; I include it only to show that nobody, not even Cucinelli, is perfect.

Shit Worth Checking Out: The Philosophy of Michael Drake.

The website for Drakes London features a blurb on The Philosophy of Michael Drake, the founder of Drakes London, that is worth checking out for a Sunday afternoon read and outlines Drake's personal style.  Take from it what you will; his style is decidedly English and not for everyone, and his claim that '[t]he best-dressed Neapolitans aim for an understated English style' is slightly biased at best.

Check out the article after the jump, or go right to the source if you trust yourself to avoid getting sucked in to shopping.

Shit Worth Checking Out: Citizen Kane at 70: The Legacy of the Film and Its Director.

The Atlantic had an interesting article the other day looking at Citizen Kane and its influence over the past seventy years, titled Citizen Kane at 70: The Legacy of the Film and Its Director.  The article focuses on Welles's career and his importance to cinema, but the most interesting bits look at some of the lost footage from his films, including an entirely unreleased film, The Other Side of the Wind, which remains unedited and the subject of a lengthy legal dispute.  While one can argue forever whether Citizen Kane is indeed 'the greatest film of all time', its innovatory importance is not up for dispute, nor is its (or Welles's himself) impact on film.  Check out the article here; it's well-worth a read.