FOLK

The one brief moment that I had to step out into the rainy London weather a couple months ago and check out some shops we went straight for FOLK. A couple years ago (or was it seasons?) I had seen their clothing at the Capsule show in NYC which had sparked an instant liking for this company. It helps (I thought to myself) that my tour guide for the day, Ben, is friends with Cathall one of the people behind FOLK, but no matter how excited I got about the prospect of meeting him, he wasn’t there. That fact didn’t stop me from touching, fondling and trying on every sweatshirt in the shop.

The shop itself is nearly perfect. In fact I cannot imagine a better place for a man to shop (the women’s store is next door – which seems to work well). What was the most interesting is the connection to the American Southwest. The influence is undeniable here and for an American in London the connection makes for an incredible amount of humorous connections. A small native looking piece of embroidery took me zooming straight into my grandparents living room. Their time spent each winter in the dry heat of Arizona had also apparently left them with a penchant for Native artifacts. Although here, outside the Midwest, none of the choices were gaudy or over the top in any way shape or form. With this resurgence (or is it just a ’surgence’ at that point?) of worker-wear and Americana that has permeated everything new these days it is nice to find a brand that can walk those lines not only tastefully, but also with a sense of humor. (See their Skynard and Joplin belts.) It is almost as if they have taken that whole genre, updated some of the fabrics, gave it a touch of class, spun it around once, and then sent it back out (maybe with a pat on its bum.) This is one company, collection and clothing that I was genuinely excited to spend my money on — Curses on you British Sterling!

Shoes were the one thing that sort of blew my mind. I had seen their foray into this world as well with the Capsule show, but the current collection was even better than what I had seen in NY and I found myself coveting more than one pair. In fact, I’m sure that Ben has been back there since to pick up this pair pictured. Previously I had associated FOLK solely with chunky sweaters and shirts with strange collars (no one wears a button up with a henley neck here) so it was great to see that they have successfully expanded into other arenas as well. Fuck! These guys are on it.

There were some great brands represented in the shop as well as their own collection. This seems to be the bane of some shops that are run entirely by one brand, but that was not the case here. Each other company represented had its own place and complimented everything else that was going on. Others: The Hillside (of course), Field Notes County Fair Editions (interesting) and a new one to me Aesop (fancy.)

Visit FOLK for yourself: 49 Lamb’s Conduit Street, LONDON WC1N 3NG