Hey gang!  It feels like forever since I last wrote.  Between studying for the Series 7, 63, and CFA I haven’t been able to spend much time on The Pursuit; however, I have been Tumblr‘ing and bookmarking like crazy for you, and here are just a few items of particular interest:

Ovadia & Sons

I had the pleasure of meeting Shimon and Ariel Ovadia whilst at capsule this last week and was absolutely blown away by their latest and greatest collection.  Lawrence from Sartorially Inclined has a fantastic write-up here that you should definitely check out.  LAS, by the way, did an incredible job (along with Nico and friends) for BPMW/capsule.  The show is getting better and better each season.

Mark McNairy

Also at capsule, not surprisingly, was the always impressive Mark McNairy.  And shooting his New Amsterdam Spring/Summer 2012 collection was my dear friend, Justin Chung – an incredible (and increasingly busy!) talent.

The Windmill Club gets set to release another exciting collection from my man, Kevin Burrows.  I’ve been waiting to get one of these popsicle club ties since I saw Kev at capsule last Fall!

FrenchTrotters, a Parisian store owned and operated by Clarent and Carole Dehlouz, put together this fantastic video while at Pitti Uomo.  Great imagery!  You’ll find it especially interesting if you’re a fan of Daiki Suzuki and Engineered Garments, Nigel Cabourn, Gitman Vintage, Mark McNairy and Woolrich Woolen Mills, Levi’s, Alden, Yuketen, or Want Les Essentiels de la Vie!

[Via Mister Crew]

From my good friends over at FREE/MAN: A Pop-Up Market is the perfect chance to invite, host and showcase some of our favorite brands, that not only represent quality and craftsmanship but also focus on telling the story behind each product. The folks who guide these brands will also be in attendance for you to meet. They are passionate about their craft and excited to be on Canadian soil.

Over the last few years, we have been inspired by our American friends, who have hosted and produced similar events like this throughout the USA. In particular, New York’s Pop-Up Flea, Man-Up in San Francisco and Northern GRADE in Minneapolis.

There is yet to be an event of this type for the Canadian Market; one that focuses on the dedication to details through impeccable craftsmanship, storytelling and quality, which is why we decided to take matters into our own hands. This inaugural Pop-Up Market will be hosted in the incredibly beautiful, vibrant and coastal city of Vancouver, BC. If you are not familiar with the city, its home to various small boutiques, amazing coffee and many wonderful independent eateries. It truly is one of Canada’s finer locales.

We will be transforming a street level, heritage building on Saturday June 25th and Sunday June 26th, to accommodate and welcome you all to this event. Gentlemen’s Reserve promises to bring together some of the best labels in North American Menswear, Luggage, Accesories and Homewares over this weekend. We are sponsored by Viberg Boots, Driftwood Brewery, Lucy’s Eastside Diner and The Whip Gallery Restaurant. To add to the vibe we will have authentic 50′s style Milshakes available from Lucy’s Eastside Diner, an inhouse barber, and be welcoming Acquired Taste magazine to our tables.

Well done by Christopher, Douglas, et al. on another great collection from the Gant family! Key pieces in Gant Rugger’s Pre-Fall 2011 collection include a faded madras check check blazer, straight from the archives, the cord blazer, for that professorial look, threadbare in the right spots, and slipovers and v-necks in jacquard patterns. I especially like the cricket sweater, detailed by Marisa over at The Significant Other.

This morning I received the fourth edition of Inventory and quickly discovered that with features on Makr Carry Goods, John Smedley, Yuki Matsuda, and WWM (Daiki Suzuki and Mark McNairy, of course), this is the best edition yet.  The editorial content and photography are just brilliant.  My only gripe is that there are only two editions each year.  Seriously.  Check out the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd editions or, better yet, pick ‘em on up directly from the source.  Ryan, Simon, Owen, and Chris – Cheers on another job well done!

“Last week saw the launch of the Sunspel film ‘Repton Boxing Club’, by Alasdair McLellan, a fascinating look into Britain’s most famous amateur boxing club in the East End of London. The film features Ryan Pickard, Ellis Pickard, Louis Cadman and Sam Lawson, wearing Sunspel classics, boxing, training and discussing everything from tattoos to who was the world’s greatest boxer.  The launch was held in conjunction with Fantastic Man magazine, around the corner from the Sunspel shop, at the Rochelle School in Club Row. With quintessentially British food and drink, the guests were able to see the film projected the entire height of a wall, with prints that went along with the film also being displayed.” Great film. I only wish it was longer!

My good friend Christina, who works at Aerie, passed this along.  I’m glad she did…I’ve watched it at least ten times!

“Sartorial Sounds integrates both music and style, two elements embedded in every culture past and present. We think it’s important to remember that everyone is an artist in their own right. And it’s the life experiences we encounter that provoke what we splash on our own blank canvas. We assembled seven individuals to partake in this editorial. The finished product incorporates their individual talents such as spoken word, rapping, singing and tap.”

Though this has been floating around for the past few weeks, I just stumbled upon this vid and knew that I had to immediately post it. These guys are truly inspiring.

This afternoon I swung by Industria Studios for my third collection preview with J.Crew and my very first for the women’s line.  The talented Franky Muytjens, Jenna Lyons, and Marissa Webb have put together a solid collection for this year’s Fall season.  Exactly what you’d expect, right?  J.Crew is easily one of my favorite menswear brands, but after having seen the women’s collection, I’ll definitely be pushing J.Crew on all the women I know this coming Fall – even more so than I normally do!  So, check out the shots below and let me know what you think!

I’ve seen images of Pharrell in Man About Town floating around Tumblr for a while, but hadn’t actually found the magazine on shelves until a couple of weeks ago.  I have to say, I’m impressed.