Logos A Go-go
This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of PacSun. All opinions are 100% mine.
Pacsun has recently rolled out the Ken Block Gear, which is a collaborative effort between Ford Motor Company, DC shoes, and, of course Ken Block. Oh yeah, Monster is in on it too. Motor and racing related gear has a special type of style all of its own. In other words, its the standard ratio of logos to square inch of fabric. Once the golden ratio is executed correctly, a desirable shirt or hat is born. Now, you can’t have 40 tiny logos on it or otherwise folks will think they are polka dots. Polka dots and fast cars don’t go together unless your sponsor is Wonder Bread or you are restoring a Clown Car. On the other hand, it can’t be TOO big. If the logo swallows up one arm and 3/4 of one’s torso, it wraps around and no one can read it.
To demonstrate my theory, feast your eyeballs on the right side image. I mean left. Whoa, I am mighty dyslexic today. Or is that spacial orientation difficulties? I digress. Watch the hand placement of Ken Block emphasizing the primary and secondary logos. The width is harmonious, and in addition, for creative folks, it appears that the Monster “M” is about to land on the Ford Blue Oval landing pad. That could be tentacles or landing gear. I am not sure. The secondary logos are cautiously bystanding. The white font allows them to be read clearly, yet not scream for competition. Bonus: Skull on the back. Skulls right now are still bigger than Hello Kitty.
And there you have it. The perfectly proportioned logo-rific racing shirt. It is a true balancing act between white space (or dark space), logos, and graphics and squiggles. Good fit doesn’t hurt either.
Oh, yeah, you didn’t come to read about racing related items to not see some fast cars. Here’s the money shot:
Tales of an 8 year old CardShark
Red Hen Studios on Etsy has this fantastic poker chip and card holder. Stumbling across it brings back so many great memories. My cousins and I sat at the dining room table at Grandma and Grandpa’s house and played for pennies. They were all from Grandma’s penny jar and she let us keep our winnings. To be fair, no one went home empty handed, but most of the time, Grandma played her own hand well by convincing us to put them back for next time when someone got a little shark-ish—well as card shark-y as a few eight year olds, a 5 and a 4 year old could possibly get.
Somehow, one of my cousins, one of the 8 year olds, taught us to play 5 card stud and 5 card draw. How did he even know how to play those games? At least it was all innocent and a bit more math-skill-enhancing than Go Fish or Old Maid were. He even wore a visor just to make things that much more authentic.
Violet64 on Etsy has another caddy, shown at right, in a great old plastic with all sorts of ripples and swirls. It is a bit more handsome than what we used, of course. The caddy of choice was solid black. Actually, it wasn’t “of choice” but “of available. Poker caddies are great not just for nostalgia, but it gives you so many choices – from actual card games to building card houses to chip tosses. If the kids get bored, you can always encourage them to toss the chips in a hat and see who gets the closest. I forgot – a more challenging game is to toss them back into the caddy. I seem to remember a bit of pushing and shoving when the “close enough” rule was invoked.
What old school card and table games do you enjoy?
entertainment, games, gift ideas | Comment (0)Watchful or Watchless?
This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Victorinox Swiss Army. All opinions are 100% mine.
A close friend of mine made a horrifying confession to me recently. He doesn’t wear a watch. That’s not shocking. I can’t mentally recall if I ever noticed him wearing a watch. Of course, I notice watches but people could have them covered up by gloves and jacket cuffs in the winter, and therefore I wouldn’t have seen it at all. The bigger confession is that he has not worn a watch in at least ten years. They get lost, cracked, and bands break. Oh, and then forgetting to take it off before taking a shower and waterlogging it is another consideration. You would think something like the Victorinox Swiss Army would be durable enough. How does he tell time? His cell phone!
With the onslaught of PDAs and phones with their own perceivable IQ, the wristwatch is a real throw back because it only does one thing, or two if you are lucky.
I personally choose to wear a watch because -
- It’s low tech. A battery or wind up watch doesn’t emit any electromagnetic flim flam
- I am the Shadow. No one can punch in my coordinates and figure out where I am located on the globe.
- Accessorizing. A watch, much like cufflinks can pull a formal outfit together.
- Memento. A watch given by someone special can be worn everyday. You can look at it and say, “hey, THEY gave this to me.” My grandfather still wears the watch everyday that his dad wore every day.
- It tells time. Yep. I know that’s obvious but when the power goes out, it still ticks.
- Life saving. If you give a kidnapper or burglar your watch when they ask for it, maybe he or she will forget about your wallet and the 18th century scrimshaw sharktooth in your pocket or your life. Maybe not, but you never know.
Are you old school like me and like to wear or collect watches? The whole line of Victorinox Swiss Army watches and knives have their own Facebook fan page. Of course, almost everything besides VintageGent’s Menswear Daily has a Facebook fan page now, so it is not really that surprising. Hey, what a novel idea.
modern fashion | Comment (0)
