The gilet Has made a come back in the last few seasons and what a time for it to do so!! I'm not just talking about the miled weather that we have had so far this winter preventing us from getting out our heavy winter jackets, but also the trends that have bought such success back for the gullet. With so much inspiration around at the minute such as heritage, sports and expedition some fantastic winter gilets are around on the Market. With looks coming from angling to country heritage and street there are some great materials such as micro cord, tweed, leather and sueid Some. There are also some great colour pallets around this aw. You have cranberry, burnt cineman, and forest green. When you mix these colours with some of the fabrics discussed before you have some great looking gilets. Field9 have stocked Luke 1977 for some time but for the first season we have Luke 1977 gilets. We have two styles of Luke 1977 gilet. The first is the elma wich comes in two colours, black and cranberry. Priced at £85.00 in the sale, reduced from £100. The second is the Truck on, which is £102.00 in the sale reduced from £120.

 

Stone Dri was born back in the 1940's by a family of 4 brothers under the name of Joseph Stone & Co Limited. The family operated from a factory in Salford Manchester and they created an exceptional men's outerwear brand. The 1940s wardrobe had to be not only dapper but practical and suitable to withstand the wet weather of the North at the football terraces!

During the next decade the demand for quality outerwear grew and the Joseph Stone & Co brand began to expand and thrive, they opened over 100 retail outlets across the Northwest and the Midlands, a staggering amount of stores by today's standards.

It was during the 60's that the menswear brand, Fosters bought the Stone Dri business; it was during this period in time that the brand lost its identity and was fully absorbed into the Fosters business.

However with such a wealth of creating strong heritage mens outwear surly it would not be long before the brand re-emerges. Bring on 2002 and Joel Brown the owner of Baker Street Clothing gave the rebirth to Stone Dri, the story is that Joel found an old advert for Stone Dri on the cover of a football programme dating back to 1953 and was so impressed that he was compelled to bring the heritage brand back.

The brand have an exceptional wealth of knowledge in producing outerwear, with over 25 years experience this Manchester based company already has strong sourcing, design and technical abilities teamed with long standing relationships with factories across Europe and Asia it's a no brainer that they are going to become huge over the next coming seasons.

Take a look at their current range which is beautifully crafted with superb features, their attention to detail is everything. The robust outwear is seriously cool and affordably priced, the Khaki Burden which is now available on Field9.com is a waxed and coated cotton shirt jacket, the contrast cloth detail on the shoulder patches and the cross buggy lined with Stone Dri signature check binding is outstanding. It's definitely the right jacket to make a statement with. Field9 are looking forward to stocking more of the Brand over the next coming weeks: Stone Dri

 

1911 - The Fila Brothers are open for business! The brothers open their business in the small city of Biella in the shadows of the Alps, they began their trade in the clothing business by making some of the finest fabrics in Europe many of which were used by the big fashion houses of that era. With so much knowledge of manufacturing specialist fabrics it was only a matter of time before Fila became a brand in its own right.

Fast forward to the 70s and Fila Clothing moves into Athletics and Tennis sports, producing polo tee shirts and tracksuits. The first sports line in the history of Fila was the 'White Line' range, contrary to the cheeky suggestion it was dedicated to Tennis and during that era the dress code on the courts was strictly white! The 'White Line' range ultimately made Fila a huge name in tennis. The brand then went on to introduce the 'snow time', 'Aqua Time' and 'White Rock', ranges for skiing, swimming and mountaineering.

During the 70s Fila started to be represented by some of the world's finest sporting legends. On the tennis courts Bjorn Borg, a 6th time French Open Champion and 5th time winner at Wimbledon was an ambassador for the brand, together with the legendary John McEnroe who wears Fila later on that decade. Not only did Fila seem to back the best tennis players but also champions of the slopes, with the likes of Ingmar Stenmark who was the overall champion of Alpine Skiing winning over 86 world title during his career, and mountaineers such as Giorgio Bertone who also helped create the White Rock range which he personally tested in Sierra Nevada.

During the previous decade of the 70s Fila emerges with enormous backing from some of the world's greatest athletes which gave to Fila a huge public audience and attention worldwide. Bring on the 80s and the designs become brighter and bolder, and Fila go crazy with footwear.

During the 80s the Boris Becker logo is born and the brands iconic colourways, peacoat Chinese red, white and blue are showcased. The brands use of bold colours and designs never seen on the courts before and can be found in re-released in their Spring Summer 2011 range found on field9, with styles such as Trieste, Settanta and Monte Carlo. It is during this time that the brand develops fabrics called 'piquet' and the revolutionary 'Jesery' fabric. With this fabric knowledge it is no wonder that so many athletes are queuing up to be brand ambassadors

The brand continued to have success not only in the tennis, skiing, swimming etc but also Basket Ball, with the legend Grant Hill, Boxing with the Heavyweight Riddick Bowe, they also began a campaign to find future marathon runners in Kenya helping them to achieve success in their native countries. During 2000 Fila and Ferrari together sign a sponsorship deal with Michael Schumaker for the Ferrari Formula 1 team, after that success they go on to sponsor the Ducati Superbike team and with rider Neil Hodgson go on to win the championship.

Fila have always been committed to making exceptional sportswear. Some of the world's most famous players of today still proudly wear the F logo on their chests, Kim Clijsters, Dmitry Tursunov, Janko Tipsarevi, James Ward and Colin Fleming to name but a few.

In 2008 the Brand started to manufacture trainers, they sign a deal to make a performance and lifestyle footwear range heavily influenced by Wimbledon. The kids of Britain went crazy over the range and so began the birth of Fila being worn not only by athletes but on the streets.

During the Millennium Fila re-released its main designs and classics such as the Match Polo under the label 'Fila Vintage' which was launched as a true Heritage brand using iconic designs from the Fila achieves of the 80s. In the winter you will see the colours Chinese red, phantom grey and Navy, during the summer months its yellow, white and sky blue. The Match polo was brought back and features in each season. For a limited time we are paying homage to the Match Polo by giving a discount on our Chinese red and phantom grey styles at field9. Also the release of the Navy and yellow Johannesburgh almost has a nautical feel to it, bright colourways lightweight nylon with two tone mesh lining carrying the famous F box logo, this jacket would be perfect for summer festivals to make you stand out from the crowd.

The brand was again on our screens in movies such as the big British hits, 'The Business' with Danny Dyer rocking the original Fila Tracksuit and 'The Firm'. Fila Vintage is a retro classic sportswear, the brand then introduce 'Fila Gold' the range is a much cleaner with minimal branding considered to have a modern aspect and feel. Field9 look forward to working and representing the brand in the future and are always excited to see what styles are yet to come. To keep up to date on all our latest arrivals - or the Fila Vintage Sale - go to Field9.com.

Addict started out as a menswear label back in 1996. Its style of urban streetwear, casualwear and high spec outerwear has had a massive following since its humble start. With over a decade of streetwear that has big influences from music , art and boardsports, the brand has seen a massive growth in popularity and distribution.

The brand has had massive support from the music industry from the likes of Rodney P and Skiz, London Hospital Records, Maxi Jazz / Faithless to name but a few they also sponsor nights at Rukus in Bristol, New Bothemiam in Leeds, Hospitality at Herbal and Spectrum in Nottingham.

As well as collaborating within the music industry they are more famous to have had the best collaborations with some of todays most innovative and impressive artists and illustrators to produce a limited edition "artist Series Range". The Tees in the range are seriously cool, with collaborations from She one, C-Law, Mitch and Swifly, Guy Featherstone, Shargun, Will Barras, Mr Jaga and Steff Pleatz, these artists have made the Addict Family what it is today.

The Addict X Stars Tees have artwork from collaborator Mitchy Bwoy, which pay homage to the original designs featured in the Empire Strikes Back. Bloc 28 by Disney feature artwork and designs from artists that were inspired by Disney Characters as children and have re-interpreted them to produce fantastic graphics of well loved and known characters.

One off lines with brands such as G-shock watches, Van shoes and spy optic snowboard goggles to their limited edition Tees and classic album inspired artwork there is something in the Addict Vault which will appeal to everyone.

Coming from a Skate background the denim range is just as impressive as the graphic art Tees and Hoodies. Addict are renowned for their use of premium denim, many of the cuts in their jeans are loose fitting with a straight leg with urban style minimal branding. They have also produced some of the best camo shorts in the industry. They have also managed to cross over their collaborations with designers and artists into their accessories, such as the hats, caps belts and wallets which we have featured in our Addict Clothing Sale. They have also produced snowboards, record bags, footballs, artwork, record decks, headphones, luggage, toys and much much more with each new season.

Its no wonder that their street art culture and background of graffiti skateboarding and graphic design have made this one of the best British designs on the market. They have opened stores in London, Brighton and Southampton and have stockists throughout UK Europe, Japan and North America. Field9 look forward to working with them and representing the brand for the future. In the meantime why not check out the Field9 addict clothing sale. 

Stone Dri is a British heritage brand with roats that date back to 1905. Four brothers started the brand in Salford Manchester and started making a name for stone dri as a quality outer wear brand. After the second world war stone dri manufactured dapper trench coats that made there way onto the terraces of football grounds. The trench was an iconic style for stone dri and played part in an advert in a match day program at bothe the Manchester clubs, city and united.

I have been watching the increased success of Luke1977 for some years now as far as the brand image, designs and products but what about their business in respect to their sales outlets? If you see standalone stores popping up then the brand feels it's brand, and range are strong enough - and well known enough - with a loyal following of customers to have a Luke shop. This has been the downfall of labels in the past and can make or break a brand. Opening a store moves swiftly away from the art which is seen in the design of the clothes to a science, it's all formulas, calculations, costings and square feet when it comes to making the retail side of a label such as Luke 1977 work. Rails and shelves are positioned at an average high for customers eye level. Each square foot of retail spaces has to pay it's way and the window has to invite people into the shop. Sales staff are trained in closing the deal on the sale of a shirt and how to provide a great experience for the customer so they return again.

In 2009 Luke - who were started by Luke Roper who is from Wallsal but did most of his work in and around Birmingham and the midlands - opened their first standalone store in Bristol. A long glass fronted shop in a smart part of town, broadmead, Bristol created a big impact. Large branding and comments on the opening day from customers about the easy layout of the store backs up the earlier points in this blog. The second store was opened at the beginning of 2010 in Cardiff at the st Davids shopping center. The latest was opened in the Arndale center in the center of Manchester. Not only are each of these stores equally impressive but the speed at which they are opening is increasing. Already there is talk of a massive store opening in the center of Birmingham: the home of Luke 1977 as many see it.

With each of these openings comes the party! I can tell you this from experience; on the 4th of November 2010 I went to the launch party of the Manchester store. The red carpet was out with a guest list only entry. The pay desk was set up as a bar with staff serving drinks. The store was laid out with all the latest AW10 stock for all to see. The windows had live models wearing Luke. There were celebrities from football teams such as Tim Howard from Everton and members of the Shameless cast. After the opening of the store there was an after party at deansgate locks which went on into the night.

The business side of Luke 1977 must be good: the brand is increasing it's presence on the street which is the main factor in success. You can have a wonderful product and be as exclusive as you want but if you don't sell enough clothes you won't be able to do what Luke are doing. It's impressive alright and it will be interesting to see how they move on with Birmingham.

Bristol

Cardiff 2010

Manchester 2010

 

Field9 has been in association with Voi jeans for two years now. As we are on the verge of entering our fourth season with Voi we should have a look at the brand and see what's new.

In the early days of voi jeans it was fair to say their clothing was cheap and cheerful. Voi were always known from when they started in 1988 for their denim. They had the knowledge and the contacts in the production line to create innovative jeans that were well designed at affordable prices. When they launched the clothing range designs were fairly basic and although they brought out a range complete in many departments - which is a huge task - they were not the best quality. This has changed beyond recognition and not only have the designs moved to the forefront of the fashion market, their quality control is top notch, you can see this from just looking at the knitwear and shirts.

Moving on from the product, Voi as a business has been busy. They have launched a womens range, which is sometimes behind the mens range but is developing well. The same year they released their children's range which is on sale in the countries leading department store, Selfridge's. They have also opened a flagship store... an impressive one! It seems that opening a flagship store was all the trend in 2010, with Luke 1977 and Gio goi also opening them in various parts of the UK. The Voi jeans flagship store is in Miller arcade in Preston. This store sits along key multiples such as Bank, Scott's and Foot Asylum. The difference with Voi's store is it has a cafe in it. Its a modern contemporary place with black and white leather chairs, and over two floors. It's a sign that Voi jeans is expanding and stamping their authority on the clothing world.

In previous Gio Goi blogs I have mentioned about their recent success in the fashion world. Moving on quickly from their preliminary graphic printed t shirts we have followed their transformation into a highly respected commercial fashion label. They released all the required categories including shirts, jackets, knitwear, sweats and then the hard to crack and complexe category of denim. Womenswear followed which is particularly hard with competition from high end fashion and high street fashion houses with incredibly competitive prices.

The next phase is gio goi asseccories. Gio goi have had some accessories in the past few seasons but to be honest they have been far off the mark in respect of manufacturing quality and design innovation. For Ss11 Gio Goi have changed all that and have released a range of asseccories that can be seen right now at field9.com. These include cotton bennie hats with printed block branding. Leather belts with studding and slogans. Webbed belts, wallets, socks,boxer shorts and gio goi bags.

The two gio goi bags that we have on offer at field9.com is the Reporter and the bandy. The reporter the larger of the two bags is a medium sized side bag. It is a zip up bag with the zip running the length of the bag. Branding is never far away with Gio and it's hear for all to see with the Gio goi white label style log in a large white print dominating this bag. This bag is based on the the old 70's style sports bags made by puma, gola and Adidas, very classic and stylish, We at field9 like it.

The Bandy is a smaller side bag, what many may call a man bag. The man bag style means its suitable for keys, wallets etc as apposed to a night bag or sports bag. It has some nice features and looks more modern compared to the classical looking reporter. The brandy has the newer block branding, smaller in size on the front with a water proof, technical zip up pocket. The inside has smaller pockets for things such as phones and ipods.

Field9 has launched a selected range of Gio accessories earlier than anyone else. Make sure you are ahead of the game!

The January sales are well under way and the Autumn winter 2010 season is drawing to a close. The AW10 season was the first season that twostoned has been sold at Field9.com. After a very successful first term we are delighted to announce that we will soon be launching our two stoned Spring Summer 2011 collection.

In the first season field9 only stocked a few key pieces of two stone. These were winning lines including the Essential polo T shirt and the the Automatic V neck knit. Every label has items within it's range which are winning pieces that sell well season after season; some have designs that the brand a known for and that has built their reputation. These factors keep these in the range year after year and the Essential polo and the Automatic are these for Two Stoned. The colours will change come the spring summer but the fit and quality will remain.

Looking forward to the next season at field9 we have taken on a few more categories of Two Stoned. These include hoodies, graphic crew t shirts and shirts.

In the past field9 has stocked shirts from Addict, Gio goi, Luke 1977 and Superdry just to name a few winners! We are always looking for new brands, up and coming designers to help keep your wardrobe fresh and you standing out in a crowd, day or night. We really believe that Two Stoned is the best brand at the minute for summer short sleeve shirts. The factors we consider important are not just the sizing and the quality of manufacture but the design and the colour pallets. For the last 3-4 years the cow boy style check shirt has been at the forefront of the shirt design in the commercial fashion world. This summer we are bringing you a range of great short sleeve check shirts in some great summer pallets. These will include reds, light blues, oranges blended with pinks, just right for your summer holidays.

Make sure you keep an eye on our Two Stoned range and if you haven't already, join our newsletter so you know when they arrive.

We are drawing to the end of the Autumn winter 2010 season and looking forward to the new spring summer season of 2011. This has been the first season Two Stoned has been on sale at Field.com and we are pleased to announce that it will be staying with us through into 2011 spring summer collection.

Even though the small starter range we had for AW10 sold well we still have a small amount left. We're bringing you a fantastic offer in this January sale with a new improved 40% off in our Two Stoned Sale. The essential Polo T shirt was £35.00 and is now reduced to an amazing £21.00. The Essential polo is available in three colours: Late night, Oil and Melange. The Automatic fine gage V neck knits are available in Burgundy, Marl and Navy. These were £55.00 and are now £33.00 - a saving of £22.00 which is great considering that all the sale items are in colour pallets that can easily fit into your spring summer wardrobe.

There are only a limited supply of this Two Stoned range as we get ready for the arrival of our Spring summer collection.

Looking forward to spring summer 2010, Field9.com will host Two stoned for the second season. We are adding a few more categories this season with the addition of some shirts, shorts, crew neck graphic t shirts and some hoodies. The buyers at Field9 have been searching the market in past summer seasons for a new look, well fitting and great new colour pallet shirts. As far as we are concerned Two Stoned are the new label to create a great summer shirt, either long sleeve or short sleeve.

Make sure you check our two stoned sale out, get yourself familiar with the label and get ready for the new range!!