***THE SIG OTHER HAS MOVED***

Dear readers and visitors,  

The Sig Other is now located at:

THESIGOTHER.COM

Please be sure to update your RSS feeds, links and blogrolls. 

Thanks for reading and visiting! - Marisa

PHOTOS | POP UP FLEA 2011

Pierrepont Hicks

I'll admit, I went to the Pop Up Flea this weekend with full intentions of doing an overly ambitious, grandiose photo essay. Instead I showed up post-Sierra Nevada and a slice (courtesy Artichoke pizza), and ended up shooting the shit with some of my favorite American craftsmen, bloggers and people. This of course meant photos took a back seat to shaking many hands and generally having a great time - absolutely no regrets.  Still, I thought I'd share what I did end up shooting. Quickly though, here are some of the booths that impressed me this year:

Billy Kirk // Alexander Olch // GitmanVintage // Hickorees // Hodinkee // Danner Boots // Wooden Sleepers // Oak Street Bootmkers // Smith + Butler // Terrapin Stationers // Rancourt & Co

No better time to buy American than the holiday season! - M

Collars and Patterns

#america

Gitman Vintage

The Hodinkee Booth

Hodinkee

Gant Rugger Pop Over (aka my favorite garment ever) caught in the wild

Scene outside

Jake's Wolverine 1000 Miles and Justin's Oxblood Pony Hair Doc Martens

bloggers papping bloggers papping bloggers

Mister CB

Ryan Plett in situ

Token pocket square moment

• More photos over on Flickr
• Flash back to last year's flea

SPECIAL EDITION | THE SIG OTHER x GRAHAM WITHERS Pt. II

In the introductory post of this two part series I highlighted the finished product of my collaboration with Graham Withers and, as promised, in part two we'll take a look into the tie making process.

The ties being sold at Graham Withers are hand crafted in NYC by a legend of the tie making circuit who's been in the industry for 40 years and makes ties for the likes of Thom Browne. He's such a secret weapon that when asked to reveal his identity, Paul would only disclose that the craftsman operates out of Chelsea. He hand stitches everything save the slip stitch -  that runs the length of the back of a tie - which is sewn by a Liba machine, (Paul adds "the quality of the Liba machine stitch vs handmade slip stitch is negligible).

The fabric: a worsted English wool tartan in a deep navy and russet stripe. The tipping is 100% cashmere

Before Paul and Dave handed over manufacturing to their best kept secret, they handmade everything themselves at the factory that is the home base for Paul's family business in Long Island City. They're entirely self taught and a few weeks ago, I rode out the factory with them to document their tag team process as they hand made a Zupan tie from start to finish.

Cutting the wool from the pattern.

Paul placing the tipping at the front end of the tie.

Stitching the tipping in place

Paul sews the two ends of the tie together in the workshop at his family's factory

The sewing machine they use was once owned by a handy man who worked with the family business

The front and the back of the tie are joined

Sewing in the tipping

With the point complete, the tie begins to take shape.

Paul (seated) and Dave together in the workshop

Adding the core of the tie and folding the edges in.

The skinny end of the tie is pinned into place

The (nearly) finished product

At this stage the slip stitch is hand sewn, which takes about an hour. The entire process took about two hours, and it was an incredible experience to watch these work together and this product come to life.  See the full range of photos from the day over at my Flickr. Huge thanks to both Paul and Dave for letting me be a fly on the wall while they work their magic. - M

Related Links

• SPECIAL EDITION | THE SIG OTHER x GRAHAM WITHERS Pt. I
• More photos on Flickr
• Purchase The Zupan Tie at Graham Withers

SPECIAL EDITION | THE SIG OTHER x GRAHAM WITHERS Pt. I

Last February, Paul and Dave, the gents of Graham Withers, asked me to collaborate with them on a tie for Fall.  Nine months later, I'm excited to announce that we've released our collaborative effort and I could not be more thrilled with the result.

$84 at grahamwithersclothing.com & other stockists in the US

The final product is 2.5 inches wide made from an English wool tartan in a deep navy and russet stripe with cashmere tipping.  The fabrics were sourced from the veritable Tip Top Fabrics in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, (which is nothing short of a candy store). I handed them off to Graham Withers in August who took the reigns in design, production and product photography, (which was executed by the incredibly talented Joshua Woods).

My original intention was to create a piece that was as original as it was distinctive. So, this weekend I ventured to Red Hook, Brooklyn with a patient and willing friend and my Pentax for a test run. 

Pictured: Zupan Tie by Graham Withers, Crosby Button Down by Saturdays NYC
Woodsman Shirt by Woolrich Woolen Mills, Waxed Camo Jacket by Needles

  

This is is the first of two posts, the second of which will document production and take us to the Long Island location where Dave and Paul make tie magic happen. Stay tuned and by all means, I'd love to hear your thoughts and questions. - M

**Editor's Note** I can say with all honesty this has been one of the more rewarding experiences in my life, and it could not have been possible without the support of a great many including: Dave and Paul, for being the amazing partners, friends, and craftsmen that they are, Jonathan Evans who's got a Graham Withers tie of his own, Joshua Woods, Johnny Ridley, Daniel Edmundson, Jake Gallagher, Jahn Hall, the amazing staff at Tip Top Fabrics and my Mother, Patricia Zupan.

PHOTOS | TWO WEEKS OF DETAILS

At the Tommy Hilfiger S/S 2012 show

Two weeks ago I bought my first real camera in about a decade. It's a Pentax K20D, sold to me by one Mr. Liam Gaws. I am thrilled to have it.  I had been feeling ill equipped for too long - every day seeing things I wanted to capture for this very space, and with no means to do so. Since it arrived, the camera has barely left my face. I'm just getting warmed up again after a five year photo hiatus (I did some artsy fartsy stuff in college) but my life has already benefitted and hopefully this blog will too. Here are some of the menswear focused shots thus far. And you can see all the rest on Flickr. Many thanks to the aforementioned Liam Gaws, the wonderful Justin Chung and the patient Johnny Ridley for their continuing mentorship on this front.  - M

Beer Money

Noah

Julio

Dating bikes

Jess' shirt

Tattoo picnic

Grandpa ties

Porkslap

Hats. Fan.

Gabe

James

Tecateeeeee

Graeme's Tretorns

Jian

Danger.

Allan, designer at Svpply.