You can't go wrong with the right hat

Hats are everywhere these days. But most of these hats are just awful and most of the people wearing them end up looking like morons and tacky. If you really want to wear a hat and look cool, go for a proprer design from a proper brand. Comme des Garçon has just come up with the right hat. Its looks really cool and the materials are just fine. Wrong Weather sells them in oPorto, Portugal, but you can buy them online as this shop ships worldwide.

Forestry - David Byrne's "The Forest" Remixed

The Forest" is probably the best solo project by David Byrne, right after "My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts", with Brian Eno. Composed for Robert Wilson's eponymous play, "The Forest" is inspired in the Gilgamesh and is a true masterpiece where Byrne goes operatic at times, a thrilling emotional and atmospheric record.

But I knew some tracks from that "soundtrack" had been remixed under the name "Forestry" and after a long search I managed to find it and here it is in my hands, courtesy of someone in Oregon. The record features three remixes from "Ava" and finishes with the fantastic album version from "Machu Pichu". All tracks were remixed by Jack Dangers from Meat Beat Manifesto and are a great addition to the original record, with modern industrial tunes, thus bringing it closer to the action of this play which takes place during the industrial revolution rather then in early Babylonian times, when Gilgamesh story first appeared, a story older than the Bible. Some people claim they can find traces of some episodes in the Bible in Gilgamesh's epos.

The Shoe Fetichist - Docs come in many colours

The coolest boots on Earth come also in different colours. Here's some suggestions to brighten up the grey and dull rainy days. If you retailer does not have this, have a word with him. If he can't be bothered to sell these stunning Doc Martens boots, tell him to bugger off and buy them online. There's thousands of sites with a huge selection at great prices.

The Shoe Fetichist

Miguel Flor for Eureka - It was indeed a pleasant surprise to see these shoes by Miguel Flor on the Bloom catwalk in O'Porto. The day  after there I was in the shoe store Eureka in the city centre of O'Porto and I didn't resist - I bought two pairs, one of them was this one pictured below and I will be back there.

  

All-time classics - red Doc Martens

Groovy high tops by Marc Jacobs

Eternal summer classic by the Portuguese fashion designer Alexandra Moura

Classic and elegant by Dries van Noten, one of my favourite fashion designers

 Should you knw where to find this specific pair of Doc, please let me know

They're called Mental, come from Angolo, and they designing both clothes and shoes. They have shown their collection at the Lisbon Fashion Week in October and here you can see their classic models along with  some traditional Angolan footwear.

Good shoes with a cool design are increasingly hard to find. That is why I have come up with the idea of creating a list of my all time favourites, a list that will feature new shoes every now and then.

The Man Who Waved Goodbye

There was once this man who used to stand by the side of the road just waving goodbye, saying Hi!! He died yesterday and dozens of people took the square where he used to wave goodbye and replicated his gestures waving at the cars passing by.

There he was every single night waving goodbye at the cars and the people passing by. He was nearly 80 and coming out to the street and waving was a way to fight his solitude. Good looking, with cool spectacles, he was extremely polite. He came from a wealthy family and he was probably accustomed to interact with people. His story is there for you and me to imagine. But those who drove by, especially at night, on their way to the clubs of central Lisbon, still remember him. He was there and reminded the kids they should not drink to much as they were driving. People talked to him and he was good at talking to people. In a city, like most modern cites, where people do not seem to have time to stop and talk to each other.

But the day he died, suddenly two hundred people headed to that very same square where he used to be and waved goodbye, as he did to everyone passing by. It was a good way to pay tribute to this man who, by having the odd idea of waving goodbye, suddenly reminded everyone in the city of the need to often say Hi!!.

América

Fui à América, mas foi como se tivesse ido a Santo António dos Cavaleiros. Nova Iorque é uma cidade com grande dinamismo, teatros, concertos, lojas, gente, muita gente, museus de fazer perder a cabeça. Mas é muito prédio sem graça. Times Square à noite parece a Amadora ao fim-de-semana só que com mais gente ainda e prédios mais altos. Adoro Paris, Berlim, Roma, Barcelona, onde a cada passo me delicio com belezas arquitectónicas. Em NY fartei-me de prédios espelhados, grandes e vertiginosos. E respirei de alívio quando entrei na Igreja de S. Patrick, ali entalada no meios dos arranha-céus. Nas cidades referidas sento-me deliciado a olhar pessoas elegantes, giras, diferentes. Em NY achei tudo igual, elas e eles muito sem graça. A excepção foi Greenwich Village, um último reduito de cromos e poetas, ou poetas-cromos, como preferirem.


A América nunca me atraiu e não tenho grande vontade de voltar. Já Berlim, dezenas de vezes não me chegam. Quanto a Paris comprava o passe para lá ir de quinze em quinze dias. E no que toca a Barcelona fazia click e punha-me lá em três tempos. Mas Nova Iorque falta-lhe ali a monunentalidade histórica da Europa. Quando mais vou ao Novo Mundo mais gosto da Europa . Manias!!

Zé da Guiné - Lisbon's King of Cool

Lisbon has become one of the most visted cities in Europe and is attracting hordes of tourists from all over the world. During the day some take to the monuments, others take to the beaches. But when the night comes almost everyone climbs up to the Bairro Alto, the liveliest part of the city and where you can find all kinds of restaurants and bars. After 11 p.m. the streets are crowded with people getting in and out of the dozens of bars and small disco bars. You may wonder whether this has always been like that. Yes, to a certain extent, but the difference is that where you now find trendy clubbers, common people and curious tourists there was once a different crowd. This neighbourhood with narrow streets was a red light district and the hang out for left-wing conspirers against the fascist regime and was not always a safe place to go.

But, around 1980 things started to change and a new crowd began conquering the place. One of them was José Barbosa, also known as Zé da Guiné who decided to open there the first club, named Souk. Suddenly, a new kind of clientele started venturing the streets, mainly actors, writers, journalists and young people delighted by the new sounds and trends from abroad. Decadence was becoming cooler and punks, new punks, new romantics, fashion designers and art students had a new place to go. The place was called Rock House and once again Zé da Guiné was part of it, the cool bouncer from a tiny club where we used to dance to the sounds of Killing Joke, Residents, Sex Pistols, The Cure or David Bowie. The Bairro Alto was suddenly living its most creative days and it was the right place for a new cultural elite wanting to break the conservative rules. Records had to be bought abroad, shoes like Doc Martens and Creepers were ordered from England, France or Germany and everyone shared a passion for the likes of Joy Division and Echo and Bunnymen. Everyone tried to have an style of his/her own and buying second hand was a good solution and one of the hippest things to do. Besides its entrepreneurial nature Zé da Guiné was also known for his unique style. Tall and elegant you could see him wearing all kinds of outfits with an astonishing nonchalance and that is why he is today and for many Lisbon's king of cool.

But his venture in the Lisbon nightlife did not stop here. Around 1985 more and more people, mostly wearing black, flocked to the Bairro Alto to bars such as Café Concerto, Artis, Frágil, Ocarina or Três Pastorinhos. Those places, along with Rock House, later renamed Jukebox, were the highlights of the Lisbon movida. But they all had one thing in common, alternative music, from electro pop to new punk through to the new trends in dance music with some hints of jazz and new jazz. Bars closed around 4 o'clock but that was not enough for this eager crowd. And once again Zé da Guiné, together with Mário, owner of Artis, and Hernâni, PR and bouncer in places such as Cafe Concerto came up with the idea of hosting Friday events in an old palace. Every Friday the eager crowd descended the cobbled streets of Bairro Alto and took to Longas Noites (Long Nights). Every night was a surprise. Climbing up the stairs the main room would host all kinds of events, from punk concerts to transvestite shows or dodgy magicians performing with snakes. Nearly everyone could go on stage and make a performance. Near the main room was the main bar and there he was, this tall elegant black man with a huge smile and that strong handshake and its impeccable style.

This example example of cool decadence lasted only four years and after which Zé da Guiné went back to the Bairro Alto where he opened Be Bop, a bar where you could have drink to the sound of jazz and buy second hand clothing in pop up events he use to host there. Nowadays the Bairro Alto is lacking creativity, has become a place to make easy money and Zé da Guiné is no longer to be seen. He is ill, suffering from a disease which is affecting his mobility and that is why today, November 20, 2010, a club named Maxime and a dozen musicians are hosting a fund-raising party to help the man. We owe him a lot and we do want to see him back in the streets of Lisbon. Despite being ill he claims he will be there tonight. I do hope so as I miss the man with the nice smile and the strong handshake.